The Top 10 Objections to Speaking in Tongues

Some Responses to Overcome Spiritual Language Resistance

I recently wrote an article on “Why Speak in Tongues?” I think that every Christian should seek Jesus for this beautiful gift. The apostle Paul said that not every Christian does speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:30) but that he wished everyone would (1 Corinthians 14:5). Very often I hear unbiblical arguments that prevent people from speaking in tongues. So let’s take a look at these common objections and how to look at this through Scripture. Here are the top ten objections to speaking in tongues (according to objections I’ve heard) and why I don’t think they stand up to Biblical scrutiny.

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1. It sounds funny and embarrassing.

When you pray in tongues you pray with your spirit. It will sound different because you are not praying with your mind (1 Corinthians 14:14). 1 Corinthians 13:1 implies that tongues could be an earthly or heavenly language. There is nothing to be embarrassed about, but I suppose that many Christian practices and principles seem embarrassing to people who don’t believe in Jesus. Be informed by Scripture more than your experience.

2. Someone pressured me to try it.

No one should pressure you to speak in tongues. I am not a fan of people having others copy their tongue to get them speaking in tongues. Some have argued that tongues is a language and just have people copy someone else’s spiritual language and it will kickstart them into their own. They liken it with natural reasoning how children learn to talk. But Acts 2:4 says the apostles and those believers in the upper room prayed as the Spirit enabled or gave them utterance. This is a beautiful spiritual gift that is bestowed by the Holy Spirit. This is not something that is helped by pressure to make something happen.

3. I can’t get my mind around it.

1 Corinthians 14:14 tells us that praying in the Spirit does not speak to our mind or understanding. We can have a tongue interpreted to understand what we are praying, but tongues by itself is not for our mind. You have to surrender your tongue which the Bible says is the most unruly part of the body (James 3:8). You also have to surrender your mind and try and seek to understand in a Biblical and supernatural way of faith.

4. I think it’s fake.

Well, tongues can be faked but just because something can be faked doesn’t mean that it always is. Counterfeits are made after things that are valuable. Tongues can be demonic or can be faked from a human spirit. Satan and humans like to mimic God’s gifts at times, but it has nothing to do with the legitimate and Biblical expression of the gifts of the Spirit.

5. The gift has died with the apostles.

The doctrine of cessationism is a teaching that the gifts of the Spirit and the sign gifts of the Bible like miracles, tongues and prophecies all died with the last apostles and the completion of the Bible. This doctrine is often held up by people who claim to be “the Bible” people or “the Word” people. However, this doctrine is easy to refute Biblically. If tongues is not supported by the Scripture, Christians should have nothing to do with it. Additionally, there are records of Christians throughout church history who continued to use the gift after the apostles. The idea that 1 Corinthians 13:10 speaks to the ceasing of spiritual gifts when the Bible is complete is false. The context is clearly about the return of Christ and the future kingdom of God when we have perfect knowledge. The Bible is perfect but we don’t have perfect knowledge yet. We won’t need spiritual gifts at that point when Jesus makes everything perfect and we know in a perfect way.

6. I was taught it’s Satanic.

This is hard for people to overcome at times. Even when they disagree with the premise that tongues is of the devil at this point in their life, there can be a deep fear that something is wrong with tongue talking. There is nothing in the Scripture that tongues is of the devil. We learn in Exodus that gifts could be imitated or copied by evil spirits when the magicians of Egypt can do the same signs as Moses. We must reject unBiblical notions of spiritual gifts. We must also reject that the devil alone gives spiritual power and miracles. Don’t accept a powerful devil and a powerless God just because the Bible is complete.

7. What if I try and I make it up or the devil takes over?

Sometimes people are afraid that if they open themselves up to a spiritual experience with God, then the devil will jump in last second and take over. Jesus tells us that if we ask the Father for the Holy Spirit, we will receive (Luke 11:13). Our Father in heaven ought to be a bigger vision to us than our vision of the devil. If we seek other gods or false spirits, we could open ourselves to the devil. But when we seek God through Christ, we can be assured the devil cannot take over.

8. It will make me weird.

I’ve met a lot of people who don’t speak in tongues over the years that are weird. Being weird makes you weird, not speaking in tongues. Yes, all Biblical spirituality is weird to a materialist mindset that believes in a physical world only. The virgin birth of Jesus, angels, demons and the resurrection are all weird to atheists. I say be weird if it means being true to God. But being extra weird is not necessary. God will at times do things when we experience the Holy Spirit that are weird in some sense (like when the apostles appeared drunk after being filled with the Spirit in Acts 2), but being filled with the Holy Spirit strengthens us and helps us love others more (Jude 20-21).

9. It’s the least of the gifts.

In 1 Corinthians 12 in the list of the gifts of the Spirit, you will see tongues and interpretation of tongues as the last gift in the list (in a couple of places in this chapter you see tongues at the end). In the Greek language whatever is listed first is most important and whatever is listed last is of the least importance. I’ve heard people criticize tongues as the “least of the gifts.” I don’t understand why people would use this as a reason that tongues doesn’t matter. It is a gift of God to us. Would you like to be the last on a list of the top nine wealthiest people? What about last on a list of the top nine people who have most impacted the world? Tongues can be the least of the gifts and still of incredible value and importance. It’s a spiritual gift of God’s grace and power to us. It may be the last or the least, but’s it’s the last of something that is still powerful and incredible.

10. Jesus didn’t speak in tongues.

We don’t know if Jesus spoke in tongues or not. There is some teaching that we should only follow the words and life of Jesus but not the rest of the Scripture. We definitely must follow the words and life of Jesus, but not to exclusion of the rest of the Bible. The whole Bible is inspired. If Jesus is not mentioned in connection with tongues, but the Spirit gives us the gift of tongues after Jesus told the apostles to wait for the Spirit in Acts, then we embrace the gift!