Mark: He Came to Serve

I suppose one of the most controversial movements in the church today is that called the charismatic movement. I do not like to use the word use the word "charismatic" for a movement that stresses just one or two gifts of the Spirit, for all the gifts of the Spirit are charismatic. In First Corinthians 12 the apostle clearly says that every Christian has one or more charismatic gifts. I would prefer to call this group we are observing in the church now the Pentecostal movement, or, perhaps even more accurately, the glossolalia movement. The term glossolalia comes from the Greek (glossa, the tongue, and lalia, to speak) and is the more accurate term for this group because it stresses speaking in tongues. This movement relies heavily upon the closing verses of Mark's gospel for biblical support of its views. These verses refer to the signs that accompany those who believe: casting out demons, speaking in new tongues, healing the sick, picking up serpents, drinking poison, etc. We want to examine this passage very carefully.