O Dom de Línguas e a Missão Adventista: Implicações para a Igreja Adventista

The gifts that the Holy Spirit grants to church members are directly linked to the fulfillment of the order given by Christ to “go, make disciples, baptize and teach” as described in the great gospel commission of Matthew 28,18-20. In a similar manner, Jesus´s order to “go through all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” described in Mark 16,15-18, links the task of preaching the gospel with speaking in tongues (glossolalia) as a sign that would accompany the believer-disciple-missionary as he/she obeyed such an order.

Due to the few biblical references pointing to the gift of speaking in tongues2 and, at the same time, to Paul’s warning to do everything with the aim of edifying the members of Christ’s body (the Church), in an orderly manner and with understanding, it is apparent that to some, the gift of languages has become almost unnecessary or even insignificant. Therefore, the task of preaching the gospel, at least in the Adventist mission context, is seen as having to be fulfilled without the need of receiving nor practicing the gift of tongues. Yet, to millions of Christians, there is no mission without the reception of the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the gift of speaking in tongues. Now, in this context, would it not be important to re-evaluate the negative reaction that some show in relation to the Charismatic movement, especially in light of the Adventist mission to embrace and include everyone?