Alba 3-8-2026
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?
I Corinthians 14:20-25
They say that “Crazy is as crazy does.” James Snyder, minister with Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, Florida, said he remembers once getting in trouble with his wife whom he calls “The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage.” He said he was in his easy chair reading a book when his wife came in very anxious and said, “Have you seen my glasses? I can’t find them.” He looked at her and assumed this was a trick question and she was setting him up for something because her glasses were on the top of her head. He didn’t know where this “joke” was going, but he thought he would just play along.
Looking at her, he said, “Are you crazy or what?” Then he laughed hysterically as she stared at him. “I am not crazy; I just cannot find my glasses.” She wasn’t laughing. Looking through the living room, she finally reached to the top of her head and said, “Oh, here they are on top of my head. Why didn’t you tell me? Are you crazy or what?”
In other stories that James Snyder tells, it sounds like that phrase “Are you crazy or what?” comes up frequently in their conversations. Now if someone were to call you crazy, you may not take it very kindly unless it is in jest or in fun. Otherwise we usually like to be taken seriously in what we say or do, don't we?
As we turn to scripture, we see in First Corinthians chapter fourteen that the Corinthians in the church there considered themselves to be blessed with spiritual gifts. And one gift in particular seemed to receive the highest recognition – the gift of tongues, languages. And while the apostle Paul encourages the use of spiritual gifts among them, he has some words of caution in their use. He warns them that used improperly people will think that they are crazy.
Here is what he tells them in I Corinthians 14:20-25.
“Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. In the law it is written: 'With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me, says the Lord. Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.”
Using the illustration that a Christian should be wise in understanding, Paul uses scripture from Isaiah 28:11-12 to help us understand the purpose of tongues. The choice of that scripture in Isaiah is interesting because it was given as a warning that in the same way the Northern Kingdom had been defeated by the Assyrians, the Southern Kingdom of Judah would be taken captive by the Babylonians. Isaiah is telling them that they would be hearing words spoken in another language, but it wouldn't be a blessing to them.
It was a warning of judgment that was coming because of their unfaithfulness to God. And Isaiah says that even that would not cause them to repent. In applying that scripture, verse 22 says, “Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.”
The “sign” that Isaiah was giving was a sign of judgment. So is that the purpose of “tongues” in the New Testament? It is interesting that scripture does not record words that were spoken given through the gift of tongues. It simply speaks of it as a spiritual gift. Even though the apostles amazed people on the Day of Pentecost by speaking words that people from all over could understand in their own language, it took the apostle Peter speaking in plain language explaining what was happening to cause 3,000 people to respond in obedient faith.
In a way, tongues on that day was a message of judgment. In his message, Peter quoted from the prophet Joel who said that a day was coming when God would pour out His Spirit and there would be prophecy, visions and dreams from old and young. That appears to be what happened on that day.
And the rest of Joel's scripture says this: “And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.” That sounds like judgment. But then the next verse promises, “But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
In Acts 2:36 Peter brings this word of judgment saying, “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Messiah!) Some say you should soft peddle the gospel so that people will not be offended. But how will they know of their sin and of God's remedy for it if things are not stated plainly? Because here's the thing, even though we were not present at the time that Jesus died on that cross to pay the penalty for sin, we were there. Because through that one sacrifice, once and for all, our sins were also on that cross.
And how did those people who heard Peter's message that day respond? Acts 2:37 says, “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'” It was then he was able to tell them how to call upon the name of the Lord. They were to repent and be baptized into Jesus Christ. And it is the same for us. The response we are to give has not changed. God's Word has not changed. The message is that there is judgment for sin, but our salvation is in Jesus Christ. The Spirit's gift of tongues upon the apostles was used to call the attention of the people to the message that Peter preached that day. It was a sign to the unbelievers that drew them to hear the good news about Jesus.
In this chapter the gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy are continually being compared. So verse 22 includes this explanation: “prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe”. Remember, prophecy is not so much the narrow “fore-telling,” but rather it is “forth-telling.” In other words, prophecy is the proclamation of God’s truth with clarity and conviction. That is something we all need. That is why my sermons and your personal Bible study need to include the whole counsel of God so that we can keep a grasp on what the Lord wants us to know and apply in our lives.
After a Sunday morning service, the minister stood at the back of the church, shaking hands with the worshipers as they left. As one man was leaving, he looked intensely at the minister and said, “Powerful sermons, preacher. Thoughtful, well researched. I can always see myself in them…uh…could you please stop?!?”
Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Someone has said that the Word of God exposes secrets buried like splinters in the hidden recesses of the soul.
It is for that reason that Paul cautions the Corinthians in the use of the gift of tongues in their meetings together. Because he says unbelievers and strangers may come to their meetings and if all they hear is some foreign language, they will not be helped and will leave confused. In fact he suggests in verse 23 that the guests in their meeting will look at what is going on and say, “You are out of your mind!”
In order to get a picture of what this chapter is addressing here, lets use our imagination for a minute. Just imagine that it is the middle of worship and everyone is talking at once. And let’s also suppose that different ones in the group are speaking in French, Russian, Spanish and Greek. With that in mind, let’s also imagine that you are a visitor just walking into the building when something like that is going on. What would you think about that church? At the least you would think, this is crazy!
So how would it do any good for the congregation, or for guests? It would be “speaking into the air” as it says in verse nine. When unbelievers would come into their times of worship and see people doing this, they could only think that these believers must be crazy. Nothing makes sense. They wouldn't get anything out of it at all. The gift of tongues would provide a language that only God would recognize. Instead of being a blessing to the church, these tongues became divisive to the congregation in Corinth.
Do you remember the Tower of Babble? What caused them to be unable to complete the tower and made them separate from one another? It was the confusion of the languages. They could no longer speak so that the other person could understand what they were saying.
Clear understanding is better. In an article called “Delivery of a Child” in The Christian Reader, it tells of a man who was excited and nervous about the birth of their first child. When the anticipated day arrived, the father-to-be drove his wife quickly to the hospital, speeding past the admitting entrance. “Bill, that’s where we’re supposed to go,” Betty said. “No, honey,” Bill said. “I saw a sign that said DELIVERIES IN THE REAR.” Understanding is important.
In presenting the gospel, our words and our songs and our message need to clearly connect us with Jesus Christ, and help us to focus on the God's Word. Only Jesus can give us peace by knowing that by His crucifixion He paid for our sins. And the hope in what Paul is saying is that unbelievers coming into the meeting will hear the divine message of life. They will learn of their own offense against a Holy God. But they will also hear how God has provided salvation.
Was there a time for you where the message was so clear that you couldn't pretend it wasn't for you, and you couldn't pretend that you didn't understand. You heard God's truth, and you saw people who had been changed by that truth. You had to make a choice. You could either ignore it because what God said didn't fit with who you were, or you could let it penetrate your heart and watch some changes begin to occur.
Wouldn't it be great to experience that as we gather together here? The gospel being made so clear in each of us that a person who comes to our meeting would fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
What is done here in this assembly of worship needs to make God’s presence known so clearly that everyone in the assembly knows it. Have you seen God here lately? You should. The Lord is present and welcome in our company. We are here in the name of Jesus Christ, assembled before the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We thank God for his presence and we hope that all will know by our worship that God is truly among us.
CLOSE:
A four-year-old boy was eating an apple in the back seat of the car, when he asked, “Daddy, why is my apple turning brown?”
“Because,” his dad explained, “after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple came into contact with the air, which caused it to oxidize, thus changing the molecular structure and turning it into a different color.”
There was a long silence. Then the son asked softly, “Daddy, are you talking to me?”
Many people feel the Bible is too complicated and too hard to understand. Actually, the REAL problem most folks have with the Bible is not the parts they don’t understand, but rather the parts they do understand. God is pretty clear in the things we really need to know and do.
In Luke 11:28 “Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
