Speaking in tongues is one of the most widely debated gifts in modern Christianity, but the Bible speaks about it both precisely and directly. The problem is not that tongues are unbiblical. The problem is that people have either abused it, counterfeited it, sensationalized it, or rejected it without seriously studying scripture.
The New Testament does not present speaking in tongues as strange fringe Christianity; it presents it as part of the normal activity of the early Church.
In The Book of Acts, tongues erupted repeatedly when the Holy Spirit was poured out:
Acts 2 at Pentecost
Acts 10 in Cornelius’ house
Acts 19 with the Ephesian believers
Paul later devoted entire sections of First Corinthians to regulating tongues in church gatherings, not eliminating them. That matters enormously. If tongues were fake, demonic, or unnecessary, Paul had the perfect opportunity to forbid them entirely. Instead, he said: “Do not forbid speaking in tongues.” (1 Corinthians 14:39)
That is about as clear as scripture gets, there's no countering this.
Biblically, tongues appear in three primary ways:
Known earthly languages miraculously spoken by someone who never learned them.
At Pentecost, people from many nations heard the disciples declaring God’s works in their own languages.Prophetic prophesies being downloaded directly from heaven, in a heavenly language. To be shared.
Spiritual, private, personal prayer language. Paul describes praying “in the spirit” and says “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.” (1 Corinthians 14:14)
This is where many Christians split. Some believe every tongue must be a known human language. Others believe scripture clearly allows both earthly languages and heavenly/spiritual utterance. Paul even references: “…tongues of men and of angels” (1 Corinthians 13:1)
The strongest biblical defense for tongues is simple: The New Testament never teaches the cessation of this gift.
Many cessationists argue that miraculous gifts ceased after the apostles died. The problem is that there is no verse or context that explicitly says: “The gifts of the Spirit will end with the apostolic age.” The most common argument comes from 1 Corinthians 13: “when the perfect comes…”
But historically and contextually, many scholars and church leaders understand “the perfect” to refer to the return of Christ and full completion in eternity, not the closing of the biblical canon. Christ is the only thing ever made perfect.
Historically, manifestations resembling tongues have appeared throughout church history:
Early church fathers documented supernatural gifts.
The Moravians reported similar experiences.
The Methodist revivals under John Wesley recorded spiritual manifestations.
Modern Pentecostalism exploded globally beginning around the Azusa Street Revival.
Today, Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity represents one of the fastest-growing movements in the world, particularly in Africa, Asia, and South America. Hundreds of millions of believers testify to experiences involving tongues, prayer language, healing, and spiritual gifts.
Having said that though, please know this too- abuse absolutely exists.
Some churches manipulate people emotionally into “performing” tongues.
Some people fake it to fit in.
Some leaders use spiritual gifts for attention, status, or spectacle.
Some gatherings become chaotic and unbiblical.
Paul confronted abuse directly in Corinth because spiritual immaturity was creating disorder. But notice what Paul did NOT do:
He did not throw the gifts away because people mishandled them.
Abuse does not invalidate authentic use.
People abuse money, but money still exists.
People abuse leadership, but leadership still exists.
People abuse scripture, but scripture remains true.
People abuse spiritual gifts, but the gifts remain biblical.
Biblical guardrails matter:
Tongues should never produce confusion and disorder in corporate gatherings.
Public tongues should involve interpretation according to scripture.
Spiritual gifts should glorify Jesus, not the individual.
The fruit of the Spirit matters as much as the gifts of the Spirit.
A person constantly displaying gifts but lacking love, humility, and holiness is spiritually unhealthy.
The Holy Spirit is not theatrical chaos. He is holy.
There is also a massive misunderstanding that tongues are somehow the “badge” of elite Christianity. Scripture never teaches spiritual superiority through gifts. In fact, Paul rebuked the Corinthians because they obsessed over gifts while lacking maturity and love.
At the same time, many modern Christians have become so uncomfortable with anything supernatural that they explain away nearly every spiritual manifestation in the New Testament. That creates another imbalance entirely. The early Church in scripture was deeply supernatural:
healings
prophecy
deliverance
miracles
discernment
tongues
visions
radical encounters with God
To remove all supernatural expectation from Christianity is difficult to reconcile with the New Testament itself, because you just simply can't do this authentically.
For that reason, I strongly feel that the healthiest biblical position is neither blind sensationalism nor cold skepticism.
It is:
rooted in scripture
open to the Holy Spirit
grounded in discernment
submitted to biblical order
centered on Jesus Christ
The purpose of tongues is prayer, worship, intercession, edification, and at times a supernatural sign. Here are a few facts, well supported by scripture:
Not every believer operates in the public gift of tongues.
But many believers may receive a personal, private prayer language through the Holy Spirit.
It is available, but not mandatory.
It is a gift, not proof of spiritual superiority.
If we’re being honest, ultimately, the greatest evidence of the Holy Spirit is not specifically the ability to pray in tongues. It is a transformed life that increasingly looks like Christ.
And ultimately, the central issue is not: “Can someone still speak in tongues?”
The deeper question is: “Does the modern Church still believe the Holy Spirit actively moves today the way scripture says He did?”
~Devin
Devin Osborne
The Early Church
