1 Corinthians 14:27 - 28
ESV - 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
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If you go back to the KJV Bible, the word tongue was translated from the Greek word meaning language. Many pastors of charismatic churches often refer to "unknown" tongues. When looking at the word 'unknown' in the KJV, you will see that it is italicized, meaning that the translator had no English equivalent for what was in the original Greek text. This was used as a placeholder for later revision. Tongues (languages) are used to convey thoughts and images to others. It would be illogical to assume we need and unknown language to speak to God, since he knows our every thought, belief and idea. So this would just be confusing to others around us to hear us speaking in a jibberish language that only God can understand..
Eph 1:13-14 should clarify your question. It states that the moment you believe in Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our salvation. By your faith in Him you are at that moment sealed with the holy spirit until the day of redemption. People that speak in tongues are exercising their personal gift. Some may have the gift of dreams, some interpretation, some discernment, but not everybody does all of these. We can seek for these extra gifts and we may acquire them. You don’t need to speak in tongues to go to heaven. The holy spirit is freely given to you at the moment you believe. God gives it freely because He knows that on our own we can not fight against our sinful nature. We need a helper. The holy spirit is necessary for the true Christian to make spiritual choices over carnal ones.
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