As he spoke about speaking in tongues as the sign that you are a believer I began to be grieved. I have been a Christian for eight years now and have never spoken in tongues. It hurt deeply to hear someone say I was not saved. My thoughts were, “What have I been doing all this time then?” and “Why bother any longer with any of it?”
I have prayed before for tongues, not as much as other things though, because of several reasons. First, to my knowledge Jesus never prayed for that. I have been praying the things that I know Jesus prayed for. Second, Paul says speaking in tongues does not edify the church as well as prophecy and other gifts. Lastly, I have always believed that it is a gift that the Holy Spirit decides who to give it to and when. I want to be one with the Father and to glorify him, so if speaking in tongues will do this (and it will) then I want it. I want the Father’s will for my life. I am not against it in the least, yet I still do not have that gift. So, am I not saved?
Jesus said you will know people by their fruit and Paul tells us what those fruits are. The fruit of the Holy Spirit do not include speaking in tongues; no rather, they are things that can be more easily seen and relate to how we treat others. I agree with the Pastor that these develop more over time, as we learn more and more about them and the Father’s will. I do believe, however, that these fruits will be evident from the beginning. There will be an immediate change in a person’s demeanor and life when they accept Christ and anyone who knew them before will know something has changed. Will they be the most loving person? No, but they will be more loving than before. Will they be the most patient person? No, but they will be more patient than before. The fruit will begin to show in a new believer’s life. Additionally they will put off the old self and no longer act in certain ways that dishonor God.
As to whether or not you can lose your salvation, I agree partially with the Pastor. I do believe that it might be possible to lose your salvation, but like the writer of Hebrews I am confident of things pertaining to salvation. I don’t think it is as easy as he made it seem to lose your salvation. We can have assurance of things hoped for and still not be perfect. Look at how Paul addressed the Corinthians, he called them infants for acting according to the flesh. An infant is someone who is born and so, Paul was talking to believers. They were not the best of believers, perhaps, but they were believers nonetheless.
I pray that all of us will humbly seek the Lord in these matters, which can be confusing. That we will be careful with what we say so that it builds others up in the faith and pushes them closer to God and not away. We will likely disagree with one another from time to time, but Christ is the head and he will show us the way if we ask him.