Speaking in Tongues: 5 Things Most Christians Get Wrong

Tongues is the gift that makes even other Christians uncomfortable. Some churches treat it as the dividing line between real and fake believers. Other churches never mention it. Both are wrong, and both are causing the same problem: people don’t actually know what the Bible says about it.

This post is five misconceptions, handled carefully, with scripture.

Misconception 1: “You have to speak in tongues to prove you’re saved”

This is the “initial physical evidence” doctrine held by some Pentecostal and Charismatic streams. It is not what the Bible teaches.

Paul asks directly in 1 Corinthians 12:30: “Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” The grammatical construction expects “no” as the answer. The same chapter says the Spirit distributes gifts “as he determines” (v. 11) — which means different Christians get different gifts. Not every one gets every gift. Not every gift gets given to every Christian.

Salvation comes through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8). The mark of the Spirit’s presence in your life is fruit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness (Galatians 5:22–23). Tongues is a gift some Christians have. The fruit is required; the gifts are optional.

If a church tells you you must speak in tongues to be saved, or that you’re a second-class Christian without them, they are outside the Bible’s teaching on this. Leave gently and find a healthier church.

Misconception 2: “Tongues is just babbling nonsense sounds”

This is the cessationist critique — the argument that modern tongues isn’t the real thing. It has some teeth. A lot of what happens under the label “tongues” is not, in fact, the biblical gift. But the answer is not to deny the gift exists; it is to handle it carefully.

The Bible describes at least two kinds of tongues:

Acts 2 — known human languages. The disciples spoke actual foreign languages they had never learned. Parthians, Medes, Elamites — a list of fifteen nationalities — each heard the gospel in their own native tongue. This was a missionary miracle with a clear, intelligible message.

1 Corinthians 14 — a prayer language. Paul describes something different: a speech pattern that the speaker doesn’t understand and that requires interpretation to be useful. He calls it speaking “to God” rather than to people (v. 2), and says it edifies the speaker privately (v. 4).

Are these two gifts or one gift with two expressions? Theologians debate this. But both are clearly in the New Testament. Denying that either exists requires ignoring one of those passages.

Misconception 3: “Whatever happens in our church must be fine because the Spirit is leading”

Paul explicitly and directly says otherwise. 1 Corinthians 14 is essentially a chapter of rules:

• Interpretation required in public. “If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God” (vv. 27–28). This is blunt. No interpreter, no speaking.
• Orderly, not chaotic. “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (v. 40). The God who creates order does not author chaos in worship.
• Edification of the body. “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (v. 4). Paul explicitly ranks prophecy (intelligible speech) above tongues in corporate settings.

Most “spontaneous tongues” services today would fail Paul’s own test. That is not a Spirit problem. It is a leadership problem.

Misconception 4: “Private tongues and public tongues are the same thing”

They are not. This is the single clearest finding in 1 Corinthians 14 and it gets missed constantly.

Private tongues (v. 2, v. 4): Paul describes a prayer language between the believer and God that needs no interpreter because no one else is listening. It “edifies” the believer. Paul himself practiced this (v. 18 — “I speak in tongues more than all of you”). This is personal prayer.

Public tongues (vv. 27–28): In the church, this must be interpreted for everyone’s benefit — or the speaker must stay silent. Public speech is for the congregation; if no one understands, it does not serve them.

Many Christians today pray in tongues privately and never use the gift in a public service. That is completely Biblical and, frankly, probably what most of the mature use of this gift looks like.

Misconception 5: “If it was important, it would be in all the Gospels and every letter”

Tongues only appears by name in three New Testament books (Acts, 1 Corinthians, Mark 16). That is sometimes used as an argument that the gift is marginal. But:

• The Bible does not rank gifts by word count. Marriage gets more text than baptism. Baptism is still commanded for every Christian.
• Where tongues does appear, it is treated as a real manifestation of the Spirit’s work. Paul spends three chapters on it in 1 Corinthians.
• The Spirit himself is sparsely named in some books — the Old Testament says very little about him — and that is not evidence he is unimportant. It is evidence that different biblical writers had different emphases.

The right posture: neither obsessing over tongues nor dismissing them. Hold them the way Paul did — as one gift among many, valuable in its proper place, governed by clear rules, and never the headline of the Christian life.

What we practice at Carlsbad Coast Church

Since this is the most common honest question: here is what our services look like.

• We do not feature public tongues in Sunday services. We believe the gift is real but we don’t have a structured way to ensure Paul’s regulations are followed weekly, so we prioritize intelligible teaching.
• We believe in private prayer language. If the Spirit has given you this gift and you use it privately in your own walk with God, we think that is Biblical and good. We don’t need to hear it to validate it.
• We teach on the Spirit clearly. See our beginner’s guide to the Holy Spirit and our pillar resource on spiritual gifts.
• We welcome people from all backgrounds. If you came out of a charismatic church and that was formative for you — welcome. If you came out of one that was manipulative and you’re wary — welcome. Both are normal here.

What’s next

• Our pillar resource on tongues — the longer, deeper treatment.
• Who is the Holy Spirit? — start here if this is all new.
• The “unforgivable sin” explained — related anxiety-inducing topic, handled honestly.
• How to pray for the Spirit’s help — practical prayer patterns.

Tongues is not the test. Fruit is. Love is. Walking with Jesus over decades is. If this gift is for you, you’ll know. If it isn’t, you are no less loved, no less led, and no less full of the Holy Spirit than anyone around you.