Book of Common Prayer
Signs for believers and unbelievers
20 Brothers and sisters, don’t be children in your thinking. Be babies when it comes to evil, but in your thinking be grown-ups. 21 This is what it says in the law: “I will speak to this people in foreign languages and with the lips of strangers, and even so they won’t listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 So tongues are not meant for believers, but are a warning for unbelievers; while prophecy is not designed for unbelievers, but for those who come to faith. 23 What I mean is this: if the whole assembly comes together and everybody speaks in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers come in, they’ll say you’re crazy, won’t they? 24 But if everyone prophesies, and outsiders or unbelievers come in, they will be called to account by everyone, judged by everyone, 25 the secrets of their hearts will be laid bare, and so they will fall down on their faces and worship God, declaring that “God is truly among you.”
Final instructions for worship
26 So where does this leave us, my brothers and sisters? When you come together, one person has a psalm, another some teaching, another a revelation, another a tongue, and another some interpretation. Let everything be done for the general upbuilding. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, there should be two or at most three, each taking their turn, and one of them should put it into plain speech. 28 But if none of them can do that, let them be silent in the assembly, and speak to themselves and to God.
29 As for prophets, let two or three speak, and the others evaluate what is said. 30 If fresh revelation comes to someone sitting there, the first person should be silent. 31 You can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone can learn, and everyone can be encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are under the control of prophets, 33 since God is the God, not of chaos, but of peace.
As in all the assemblies of God’s people,
39 So, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a seemly fashion, and in proper order.
42 “Think about these little ones who believe in me,” he went on. “If anyone causes one of them to slip up, it would be much better for that person to have a huge millstone put around their neck, and be thrown into the sea.
43 “And if your hand causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life maimed than to have two hands and go into Gehenna, into the fire that never goes out.
45 “And if your foot causes you to slip up, cut it off. It’s better for you to go into life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna.
47 “And if your eye causes you to slip up, throw it away. It’s better for you to go into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into Gehenna, 48 where
their worm lives on forever
and the fire can never be quenched.
49 “You see, everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is great stuff; but if salt becomes unsalty, how can you make it salty again? You need salt among yourselves. Live at peace with each other.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.