But if the gift of tongues be truly a sign to the generality of “them that believe not” (v. 22), it is hard to perceive why it should not have been the specially appropriate gift to exercise on any occasion when an unbeliever might be present. The solution to this apparent contradiction in thought is most naturally found by adhering faithfully to the precise significance of the apostle’s citation from the Old Testament. Tongues were given as a sign to the Jewish people only, from which it follows