I am not a Charismatic in the sense that I do not speak in tongues or prophesy, or whatever. But I can say that back in 1982 when I thought I was saved (I wasn’t, but that’s another story), I was attending a Charismatic church. In that church I was taught that if you don’t speak in tongues then you’re not saved. If you don’t speak in tongues then you are not a Christian and cannot be a Christian. People would stand up and babble gibberish off and on throughout the worship services, and there would always be an interpreter there, and the interpretations were always an alleged message from God, and were always something like, “I love you my children,” or “Keep praying!” or a passage from the Bible. Were these really direct messages from God? If so, then why did God not think His Word, the Bible, was sufficient for us? So much so that He apparently had to recite to us what He had already written?

I have witnessed the so-called “holy laughter” and “singing in the spirit” that are supposedly from God, but all they do is cause confusion and chaos with various church members babbling gibberish, singing gibberish, and laughing hysterically. Is God the author of confusion? This is what I have witnessed in Charismatic churches. You can tell me that John MacArthur doesn’t know what he is talking about, but my own personal experiences tell me that he knows exactly what he is talking about.

I am not saying that Charismatics are not Christians, but I will state without hesitation that the so-called “manifestations” that I have witnessed in those Charismatic churches that I have gone to are clearly and obviously not supported by God’s Holy Word.