I was once baptized into the Apostolic Church, because my friends told me that’s what I had to do in order to speak in tongues. If they had told me that I had to stand on one foot while holding a penguin for three days, I would have done it. I wanted the gift so badly. I was taught a lot about the gift of tongues from my friends and my pastor. But when I read my Bible, I found out that practically all of it was false.
We’ve already produced a study where we explore four questions about the truth of the gift of tongues. If you haven’t read it already, we hope you plan to after reading this one to the end.
According to the Bible, the gift of tongues was a spiritual gift to be desired (1 Corinthians 14:1). When I see what modern-day “tongue speakers” are doing today, I do not desire that. Yet so many people do. Why? When I desired it, it was because of peer pressure. All the religious folks around me were doing it. It was treated as a rite of passage. You were not part of them if you couldn’t speak in tongues the way they could. And I was convinced that God was holding out on me since He didn’t give me the gift, even after I was baptized in water. I wanted the gift of tongues so badly that I even considered faking it, but I knew that wouldn’t be honest in the sight of God. So I continued to follow the pastor’s instructions: Have faith. That wasn’t enough. Have more faith. Get dunked in water. Raise my hands. “Open myself up.” Receive the laying on of hands. None of it worked. Why not? Was it actually because I didn’t have enough faith? Having read the Bible, I now know the one reason why I could never speak in tongues like my friends: I was lied to. Not from malicious intent, but I was lied to nonetheless.
Does everyone in the Apostolic Church or similar movements believe the following doctrines? No. This is simply what I was personally taught while associated with a specific Apostolic Church. I am passionate about this topic, because I was deceived. I love the Holy Spirit, and I feel that when my friends tried to introduce me to Him, He was misrepresented. If my passion comes across as anything but a loving desire to show you God’s word and grace, please forgive me. I was angry when I learned the truth, but I’m not angry anymore. Now I am trying to lovingly help those who are in the same position I was in. If these lessons help you in any way, give God the glory. Here are eleven lies I was told about the gift of tongues, either explicitly or implicitly.
1. The gift of tongues is all over the Bible
Tongues was a primary subject for my friends in the Apostolic Church. For most of them, that’s why they went to church. Later on in life, I befriended a man named Danny who was a deacon in a different Apostolic Church. He told me that tongue speaking in church was always the highlight of his week. It was a vital part of his faith, and he didn’t know how he served Jesus before ever speaking in tongues.
Given this emphasis, it would be reasonable to assume that the gift of tongues is all over Scripture. I know I assumed that. I expected to be able to turn my Bible to a random page, land on a verse, and have a high probability of finding tongues there. When I tried, I was surprised. You may be surprised too to learn that there are only five passages in three books of the Bible that explicitly talk about the gift of tongues. And one of them is only a single verse. The exhaustive list of Scriptures that mention the gift of tongues is:
- Mark 16:17
- Acts 2:1–12; 10:46; 19:6
- 1 Corinthians 12–14
If you suspect you’ve been lied to about the gift of tongues, put the teachings to the test by simply reading your Bible. The gift of tongues is so easy to understand. Everything you need to know can be learned by taking a few moments to read these five passages in their contexts. I was deceived. The gift of tongues is not all over the Bible. The next lie I was told is:
2. The gift of tongues cannot be understood
The first time I witnessed what my friends called “speaking in tongues,” I was shocked. Honestly, I thought they were crazy. Without trying to be insensitive, all I could do was describe it as gibberish. Scripturally speaking, this verse describes pretty much what happened to me:
Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
1 Corinthians 14:23
I couldn’t understand anything the speakers were saying in their ecstatic utterances. Whenever this happened in the Bible, however, the tongue speakers were: 1. rebuked, and 2. told either to find an interpreter or stay silent. The first time the gift of tongues was used in the Bible, here’s how the unbelieving audience responded:
Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?… We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
Acts 2:7–12
When the apostles spoke with tongues, the audience understood what was said. If you’ve been taught that the gift of tongues cannot be understood by humans within earshot, you’ve been deceived. You may have also been told that the gift of tongues is an angelic language. We’ll get to that in a minute. First, let’s explore this lie:
3. The gift of tongues is a conversation between only you and God
With this one, we actually have to sneak in another lie I was told: The gift of tongues is given in two different ways: speaking in tongues and praying in tongues. I guess we will call that one number 3.5.
I was taught that “speaking in tongues” edifies the church but that “praying in tongues” is between you and God alone and it edifies, well, you. The first red flag is that there is not one example of someone in the New Testament praying in a “private prayer language.” We will look at a verse in a moment that some point to in order to rebut this point, but it’s important to note now that the Bible doesn’t teach what modern-day churches today called “praying in tongues.” Certainly, people who had the gift of tongues used it while both praying and teaching. Yet that happened publicly. What we are looking at right now is this concept of a “private prayer language.” I was taught that every Christian—every single one—should have this gift eventually. If so, why don’t we see anyone ever doing it in Scripture?
Does that necessarily mean that it’s wrong? Would it be wrong for you to speak in a language privately that only God knows? Here’s the passage people often use to teach that we are to pray in tongues.
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:14–17
Notice these four points about this passage:
- If you pray in a language you don’t understand, it is unfruitful.
- Desire, therefore, to pray not with only your spirit, but also pray with your mind. In other words, be sure you know what you’re praying.
- Otherwise, those who hear your prayer, if they also do not understand what you’re saying, will also have an unfruitful experience. This point also shows us that a prayer in a tongue is not to be private, but public.
- Therefore, if you pray in a tongue, pray for interpretation. How did I come to this final conclusion? That’s literally what Paul says right before he mentions praying in a tongue.
Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.
1 Corinthians 14:13
Leading up to this verse, Paul uses the illustration of a trumpet on the battlefield (see vv. 6–12). Prior to battle, the musician and the soldiers agree on certain strings of notes to play in order to communicate to everyone over the sound of battle. Probably by watching cartoons, we all know that “duh-dut-duh-dat-duh-daaaah” means “Charge!” But what if the trumpeter invents a new song on the spot? No matter how beautiful it sounds, it’s dangerous if the hearers don’t know what he means. Trumpets on the battlefield are not meant for entertainment. They’re meant for communication. The gift of tongues was not meant for “spiritual experiences,” but for communication.
Someone might bring up verse 2, which says:
For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
1 Corinthians 14:2
In your Bible, it might say, “For he who speaks in an unknown tongue.” Be aware that the word unknown was added by the translators. In this verse, Paul seems to be talking about a Christian who is speaking with tongues that no one can understand. In that situation, the speaker “does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries” (v. 2). The phrase “in the Spirit” means he is being moved by the Holy Spirit; the information he is speaking is not his own, but he speaks the mysteries of God. Many people have used this single verse on which to build their entire doctrine of ecstatic utterance and “prayer language.” Of course, as always, we blunder when we read a single verse in isolation out of context. Paul is not prescribing here, but describing. This is what was happening in Corinth, but it’s not what was supposed to be happening.
The speaker was speaking to himself and God alone. Who was being edified by that? Only the speaker. That was an abuse of the gift. It’s clear in the next section of this chapter where Paul chastises the Christians for speaking in any way where the audience could not understand. Paul, in essence, says, “You’re like a trumpeter on the battlefield blowing random notes. You sure are making a lot of noise, but it’s not doing anyone any good.” Remember, not once do the Scriptures even hint at the idea that the gift of tongues gave someone the ability to speak languages that didn’t exist on earth. If you’ve ever used this verse to justify the confusion that happens in an assembly, you haven’t prayed! You’ve fallen prey to ripping verses out of context. In Scripture, if the audience could not understand the particular language the tongue-speaker was using, how should the speaker proceed? Either pray for an interpretation, or stop talking.
Also, someone might bring up Jude 20, which instructs Christians to pray in the Holy Spirit; however, the only way to conclude that Jude is talking about praying in tongues is to 1. approach that text with your mind already made up, 2. read the verse isolated and out of its context, and 3. read your own desire into the verse. The book of Jude has nothing to do with tongues. It’s only 25 verses long. Read it for yourself.
As we saw, when Paul speaks of praying and singing with the spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:15, he says it also must be done with understanding. He then goes on to rebuke those who pray or sing in a way that cannot be understood.
What about Romans 8:26?
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8:26
This verse is so beautiful, and it’s heartbreaking when people reduce it to a prooftext for their doctrines. If anyone ever tries to use this verse to teach the idea of a private “prayer language,” please remember these four facts.
- The context of this passage has absolutely nothing to do with miraculous gifts, much less speaking with tongues. Tongues was something that was uttered. In fact, the Scriptures say that when the Holy Spirit gave someone the gift of tongues, He gave them utterance (see Acts 2:4). However, what Paul is speaking of in Romans 8:26 is something that cannot be uttered. Remember that the book of Romans doesn’t even explicitly talk about the gift of tongues.
- The context of this passage does say who this applies to: “those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (v. 28). In other words, this promise applies to every man or woman of God, not just tongue-speakers.
- This passage teaches that the Holy Spirit is the one speaking, not the believer. Those who use this verse to teach that tongue-speaking is a code language that Christians have miss this point. The next verse shows what’s going on. In utter despair, the Christian is unable to utter—unable to speak—but can only groan. The Spirit then searches (not the tongue, but) the heart of the suffering saint and speaks on behalf of him or her to God. So, when this passage is actually fulfilled, it doesn’t sound like languages. It sounds like a groan from emotional agony.
- This passage is meant to be an encouragement to the suffering Christian. But folks have tried to turn it into a passage that can only be applied if a Christian “prays in tongues,” which then leaves out anyone like me who doesn’t have that gift. That’s pretty discouraging. Romans 8:26 should encourage you, but it has nothing to do with tongue-speaking. It has to do with groanings. If you are a child of God, sometimes you face circumstances that leave you speechless. Instead, if you were pressed to use your vocal cords, you’d only be able to groan. You don’t even know how to pray. God’s Spirit, who knows the mind of God (see 1 Corinthians 2) and can see into your heart will bridge that gap.
Is the gift of tongues a conversation between you and God alone? No. If you’re being taught this, you are not being told the truth. Related is this next lie I was told:
4. The gift of tongues is an angelic language
1 Corinthians 13:1 speaks of tongues of men, but also tongues of angels. I was taught that if you have the ability to speak the tongues of angels, you could pray to God without Satan being able to eavesdrop. In fact, those who supposedly have this gift pray in a way that even humans cannot understand, just in case the nearby hearers are possessed by demons. I never thought to ask why the evil one’s ability to hear my prayers was a problem to begin with. But it did sound super spiritual to be able to have this secret code language. We’ve already seen, however, that the Bible destroys this concept. The apostle Paul emphatically warns that if you pray in a tongue that you and the nearby hearers cannot understand and where there is no interpreter, it is an unfruitful prayer. So even if you could speak in a secret code language, the Bible says it would be useless. The three reasons why you should not believe anyone has the ability to pray in a private, angelic, “secret code” language are:
- The Bible doesn’t say that. ’Nuff said, but let’s move on.
- When the gift of tongues is defined in the Bible, it’s always a reference to known, human languages.
- The Bible doesn’t talk about Satan listening in on our prayers. But even if he does, Scripture does not even hint at the idea that Satan gains an advantage over God or His people by being able to understand our prayers.
Please know I say this carefully and sensitively, but it’s important that you understand it clearly: If you think that, for some reason—any reason—Satan or demons have the power to prevent God from hearing or answering your prayers in any language, then you’re facing more problems than bad interpretations.
If not secret, angelic languages, then, what is Paul talking about in 1 Corinthians 13:1?
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
Clearly, he’s talking about the importance of love. Read the entire chapter, and that point is made even clearer. The hyperbolic nature of this verse is obvious when, two verses later, Paul says, “If I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing” (NASB). If you’d like to build an entire doctrine on Paul’s mentioning the tongues of angels, then what doctrine are you building on body burning? Next, I was told:
5. The gift of tongues is an uncontrollable gift
I recently heard a preacher say that the gift of tongues is when the Holy Ghost borrows your vocal cords. I’ve heard others describing their experience as being “slain in the Spirit,” where they believed the Holy Spirit took control of their body and their tongue. My friend Danny was a deacon in the Apostolic Church. He asked me to study the Bible with him on the subject of the Holy Spirit and miracles. When we studied the gift of tongues straight from the Bible, he was blown away. He became as angry as I had become. “I was lied to!” he said. He admitted that when he was part of the Apostolic Church assembly, he had always lost control and spoke in what he thought was his code language. Once he learned from Scripture what the gift really was, he told me he was committed to that truth. Not only was he going to do the right thing moving forward, but he was also going to show the truth of the Bible to his friends. But the next time we got together, I asked him, “What happened this past weekend?” He looked at me with sad eyes and said, “I spoke in tongues again. I couldn’t help myself!” He wasn’t looking for my approval. He wasn’t even repenting. But he described his disappointment in that, although he knew the truth of Scripture, he had gotten himself so wrapped up in the emotional experience that he drove the truth of Scripture from his mind and let the moment control him.
You’ve likely heard of demon possession. It happened a lot in the New Testament. Because demons often took control of their victims’ bodies, many people have thought the Holy Spirit does the same to Jesus’ disciples—as if the Holy Spirit is the antithesis of demons. False. Here’s what the Scriptures say:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22–23
When the Holy Spirit bears fruit in a person’s life, that fruit includes self-control. In Scripture, when the audience couldn’t understand the tongue spoken, the Christian was to use this self-control either to find an interpreter or stay silent (1 Corinthians 14:28).
There was a part of this gift that was uncontrollable: who was given the gift. In 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, Paul speaks of the diversity of gifts the Spirit gives to members of Jesus’ church, and it is up to the Spirit who receives what gift.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:11
Yet two popular claims contradict this teaching. First, I was taught that I needed to pray to receive the gift of tongues. Second, some churches actually hold classes that teach you how to speak in tongues. You can even find YouTube tutorials on how to do it. Both of these ideas contradict the Holy Spirit. Have we now found two more bonus lies in these teachings?
Have you been told that the gift of tongues is uncontrollable? Like me, you’ve been deceived. Another lie I was told is:
6. The gift of tongues is meant to be used in a closed assembly only
Was the gift of tongues used in private assemblies of Christians in the Scriptures? Yes. At least in Corinth. We actually have no record of any other church using the gift of tongues. But when my friends tried to teach me about the gift of tongues, they explained it as something meant for only Christians to experience either as a private prayer language or within the church assembly. Nowhere else.
As we have already seen, however, the first time the gift of tongues was used in Scripture was in public for the purpose of unbelievers learning the gospel. Outsiders witnessed the miracle, which confirmed the teachings. Thousands of people repented and were baptized because the Lord sent the apostles out in public to speak the gospel with tongues.
Although my friends never went out in public performing what they thought was the gift of tongues, now, with the internet, many assemblies are broadcast for all to see. Do those broadcasts yield the same results? Are nonbelievers converted to Jesus because they see a YouTube video of someone allegedly speaking in tongues? Not for a second. Unfortunately, this has been the only face of “Christianity” for many people, and the internet is full of unbelievers mocking Christ as a result.
If you truly are speaking with biblical tongues, use it for the glory of God and the teaching of the gospel to nonbelievers! Go out in public and prove the message of the cross! If you’ve been told that the gift of tongues is meant for the assembly only, I am sorry to say, you’ve been deceived. Related to that is this false belief:
7. The gift of tongues is meant to be used by many people in the assembly at one time
Whenever my friends in the Apostolic Church got together for their “Holy Ghost meetings,” it was a given that at least ten people would be “slain in the Spirit” to speak in tongues at a time. In their minds, the more people the Holy Spirit controlled at a time, the more successful their meeting was. Of course, this is not true.
How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.
1 Corinthians 14:26–28
In Acts 2, we do have a record of multiple tongue speakers speaking at a time. In our lesson on the truth about speaking in tongues, we dealt with how many people have falsely taught that this was a group of 120 people speaking at a time, so we won’t rehash it all here. In reality, it was only twelve tongue-speakers, and they were speaking distinctly enough to the thousands of people assembled that the unbelievers could say:
Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
Acts 2:7
When you distribute twelve among at least three thousand (a number mentioned in v. 41), you have one tongue speaker per 250 people. That’s much different than what I was taught, which was that, if possible, everyone in the assembly should speak with tongues at the same time.
If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.
1 Corinthians 14:27
8. The gift of tongues is the greatest spiritual gift
As I’ve been saying, what my friends thought was the gift of tongues was next to the gift of Jesus. Jesus was greatest. Tongues was second greatest. They never expressed it in those words, but that’s what I inferred by how they lived. However, when Paul wrote to believers who were trying to compete over differing gifts the Holy Spirit had given them, he set the record straight:
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:27–31
Clearly, the gift of tongues was not the best even of the miraculous gifts. Paul took the next chapter to explain that above tongues, prophecy, and knowledge, disciples of Jesus should seek faith, hope, and especially love. How can one believe that the gift of tongues is the greatest spiritual gift? It has to do with this lie I was told:
9. The gift of tongues is a sign of salvation
I spent a few months in some French-speaking countries. The entire time, I was taking French classes, with which I struggled mightily. Imagine, however, in the middle of class, I wanted to tell my professor about the gospel, and then I started speaking French fluently—and not just French, but specifically his dialect of French. He would have been blown away. He would have known something spiritual and supernatural was happening since he had seen me for weeks and months struggle with the language.
That’s what happened in the book of Acts. In Acts 2, when a largely uneducated group of ragtag guys from Galilee began speaking the mighty deeds of God in all the dialects of the crowd around them, the people wondered at it. Sure, some people scoffed, just like you’ll get people who scoff at the gospel today. Yet thousands of people with open ears heard the gospel that day in their own languages. Similarly, when Peter and the other apostles were reluctant to accept Gentiles as recipients of the grace of God, the Lord convinced them by giving the gift of tongues to the Gentiles (see Acts 10 and 11).
Yes, God used the gift of tongues as a sign. But not a sign of personal salvation. The gift of tongues was meant to be a sign for the onlookers (onlisteners?).
Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers.
1 Corinthians 14:22
I was deceived when I was told you couldn’t know you were saved until the Holy Spirit gave you the gift of tongues. When I finally learned to ask the right questions, I wanted to know where in the Bible it says that. Of course, it doesn’t. And the problem is further compounded if you believe this lie:
10. The gift of tongues is a gift for every believer
Let me ask you: How many hands does the typical human body have? How about eyes? Noses? My point is that the body is made up of many different members, all with different purposes. That’s the exact illustration Paul uses to describe the church. When Christians began acting as if they were better than others because of their gifts and other Christians began feeling less valuable, Paul took care of it quickly with 1 Corinthians 12. Read the entire chapter. For now, let’s focus on what we quoted a moment ago:
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
1 Corinthians 12:27–31
Is every one of your body parts a hand? Of course not. Is everyone in the church an apostle? Nope. In that passage, Paul rhetorically asks, “Do all speak with tongues?” The implied answer is no! Paul begins each question with the Greek word μή (mē), which “is the negative of will, wish, doubt…denies the fact.”1 Certainly, each Christian had been given a gift or gifts from the Holy Spirit, but not all of the gifts were the same.
I felt like a second-class part of the Apostolic Church when I couldn’t speak in tongues. What made it worse is when I was continually reminded that (as they believed) you cannot even know you’re saved until you speak in tongues. That led me to the sin of covetousness. I wanted so desperately what others had that I began thinking evil thoughts. What got me out of it? What made me feel better? I stopped asking the preacher and started asking God. I actually read the Bible, which clearly says that God did not provide every Christian with every gift. In fact, the only church we know for sure that had members with the gift of tongues was the church in Corinth (and possibly Ephesus, if you consider Acts 19:1–7). Even in Corinth, not every Christian’s gift was tongues. Isn’t it beautiful that each member has different gifts?
Now couple this clear, biblical conclusion with the false conclusion that praying in a tongue is a secret code with God. You’re saying that God gave this code language only to some people in the church? Did God say, “Sue, you get to talk to Me secretly and bypass the demons, but John, you’ve gotta stick with human languages when we talk”?
This is what happens when you do not test teachings with the Scriptures. In my case, I believed lies. Lies like:
11. The gift of tongues can be understood through experience
What do I mean by that? Ask most “spiritual” church-going people today about the gift of tongues, and they will talk to you about their experiences, citing what happens to them when they pray or go to church. Like them, I too was once taught that these experiences are reliable.
When I read the Bible, however, my experiences were contradicted. What do you do in that situation? If you see these clear biblical teachings, and you respond with, “Okay, but…” and then you talk about what supposedly happened, you are not on a truth quest. If your experiences can cause you to close your ears to Scripture, nothing will convince you, and you’re in a religion that’s egocentric. It’s all about you and what happens to you, and not what God says. I have friends in many contradicting religions who have claimed positive, “spiritual” experiences. Are we to believe that God is approving contradicting teachings by these experiences?
Again, I am not trying to be mean. I am passionate and am prayerfully trying to guide others out of the deception I was in and into the truth of God. To misrepresent the Holy Spirit with these lies is a serious sin. Will you love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind? Come out of the grips of your preacher, and rest well in the hands of the Good Shepherd.
Eleven lies I was told about the gift of tongues. Of course, it’s not enough to say what the wrong teachings are. We need to have the correct teaching. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our lesson on just that. If you’d like to learn more, check out my book called Clouded by Emotion: Studies on the Holy Spirit and Miracles. God bless you. Go with God.
- μή, BDAG, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. ↩︎