Why do Pentecostals emphasize speaking in tongues when this is mentioned only a few times in Acts and 1 Corinthians 12 to 14?
Pentecostals who are well rooted in Scripture do not emphasize the baptism in the Spirit and speaking in tongues to a greater extent than other doctrines such as the New Birth (salvation) and water baptism. They emphasize all the teachings of the New Testament, giving to tongues the same priority that it has in Scripture. The goal is for balance. Admittedly, some have failed to keep that essential balance. The Pentecostal movement suffers wherever there is an imbalance in teaching and practicing all that is in the New Testament. God has brought the Pentecostal movement into being in order to help the Church rediscover the doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the accompanying gifts of the Spirit. In obedience to that charge, Pentecostals have placed a high priority on this particular doctrine. However, much of the supposed imbalance is more imagined than real.
