Full Question:
I got saved, baptized and received Holy Spirit before some years. Before a month, I back slided from spirituality and started committing certain severe sins again. But still when I sit to pray, I'm able to speak in the tongues as earlier. How is it possible? Why am I able to speak in tongues, without Holy Spirit? and How can I confirm that the tongues which I'm speaking is from Holy Spirit and check that the Holy Spirit is still in me or not?
Answer:
Dear friend, there is no need to get much worried with these kind of things. But I will try my best to clear all your doubts regarding these things through my answer. Anyway thank you for your good question and the way you asked the same is also excellent.
Holy Spirit, who is God was here in the universe from the very beginning and his presence and acts are visible in many parts of the Old Testament. Before the time of Old Testament, Holy Spirit used to remain in human beings until the time of Noah, according to Genesis 6:3 "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.", When we study about the noticeable presence of Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, we can see His presence in the people (people, prophets, priests),temple and in the ark of God. In the period of Old Testament, there is no permanent solution for the sins of people,priests and nation. Due to the holiness of Holy Spirit and unholiness of human beings, Holy Spirit was not able to always be with human beings.
In the period of New Testament, the situations changed upside down by Jesus Christ. Here Son of God came down to earth as Jesus Christ and he paid his life as a price for all sinners. Thus for all who believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have a permanent solution for their sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament Jesus provided the Holy Spirit abundantly for all believers. Jesus Christ mentioned it as the fire baptism.
The prophet Ezekiel prophesied very clearly about this divine plan of God very long ago, before the birth of Jesus Christ. Ezekiel 36: 24-31, 24 " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!
There are many parts in the bible in which we can clearly confirm the departure of Holy Spirit from people, when they commit sins. One good evidence is the prayer King David prayed after he committed sin in Psalms 51. Here King David is praying to God to Psalms 51:11 "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me."
Bible says it clearly that we who were baptized in to Jesus Christ have put on Christ in Galatians 3:27. According to my opinion, similar to this is the case of fire baptism which is mentioned in Luke 3: 16-17, Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Acts 2:4 and so on. By receiving the fire baptism of Holy Spirit, we have put on Holy Spirit in the same way we put on Jesus through water baptism. So due to this very reasons, what I understand and believe is that, once a person, a believer of Jesus Christ received Holy Spirit through the baptism of Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit will remain in that person for all his life.
In the case of committing sin, it is not only you, every believer in Christ, including me, who was baptized in water and Holy Spirit is committing sins almost always one way or another. John 1:10 "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" and Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", confirms it. In my opinion, Christians are not sinless and have weakness, but what for a true Christian, who is saved and baptized by the blood of Jesus Christ have solution for all their sins.
This truth about the solution for the committed sin is not a license for any Christians to commit sin as they wish and it doesn't means that there is no problem in committing sin. You should be aware of things and consequences which happen when you commit sins. One of the major consequences of committing sins is much related to your question and my answer. We have already seen that in the New Testament period, once we received the Holy Spirit, He will remain in us always.
Thus Holy Spirit will remain in us even at the times when we commit sins. It is not easy for Holy Spirit to remain and act inside a person when he is committing sins, for the very reason that Holy Spirit is Holy. So when a person who received Holy Spirit commit sins, Holy Spirit is suffering inside to remain in you, may be like we suffer to remain in suffocation. He is weeping inside us about our actions. This is why bible clearly says that, do not bring sorrow to Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:30 "And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption."
One another important consequence of committing sins is that, you should have to stand before the judgment of God. Committing sins also deviate you from the purpose of God in your life and it will also remain as a stumbling block for your blessing and deliverances from God.
As the Holy Spirit is in you, most probably the tongues you speak is also the tongues of Holy Spirit. It would be helpful if you read the question regarding tongues. Can demonic spirit gave utterance to speak in tongues? Hope my answer helped you. May God bless you and keep you.
