Speaking in Tongues Does Not Make You Holy

Some people speak in tongues, shout the name of Jesus, plead the blood, rebuke demons, declare victory, and repeat religious phrases until everyone around them assumes they must be close to God.

Then they leave the church and live like they never met Him.

They lie. They mistreat people. They refuse correction. They gossip, manipulate, condemn, and hide their cruelty behind spiritual language. When confronted, they answer with another rehearsed phrase instead of repentance.

That is not spiritual maturity. It is religious performance.

Speaking in tongues does not make you holy. Knowing church language does not make you faithful. Saying “God told me” does not mean God spoke. A person can sound powerful in prayer and still be proud, dishonest, bitter, or cruel.

Paul wrote, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Without love, the impressive spiritual sound is only noise.

## CULTURE SAYS: THE MORE SPIRITUAL YOU SOUND, THE CLOSER YOU MUST BE TO GOD

Church culture sometimes rewards the appearance of spiritual power. The loudest prayer receives attention. The most dramatic testimony receives applause. A person who uses certain phrases may be treated as though he possesses special authority.

Scripture does not measure holiness by volume, excitement, vocabulary, or public display.

Jesus warned about people who make prayer into a performance: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men” (Matthew 6:5).

The hypocrites prayed. Their words may have sounded religious. Their problem was that they wanted an audience more than they wanted God.

A prayer can mention Jesus repeatedly and still be directed toward the people listening.

## SCRIPTURE SAYS: SPIRITUAL GIFTS DO NOT PROVE SPIRITUAL CHARACTER

The Corinthian church possessed spiritual gifts, but it was filled with pride, division, disorder, immaturity, and selfishness. Paul did not point to their gifts as proof that they were living rightly. He corrected them.

He told them plainly, “Ye are yet carnal” (1 Corinthians 3:3).

That destroys the false assumption that a visible spiritual gift automatically proves holiness. A person may possess ability and still lack maturity. A person may speak impressively and still behave shamefully.

Paul taught that gifts are given by the Holy Spirit according to His will: “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will” (1 Corinthians 12:11).

The gift does not make the person superior. The Spirit chooses. The believer receives.

Paul then placed love above every gift. Without love, eloquence becomes noise, knowledge becomes pride, sacrifice becomes empty, and religious activity produces nothing of eternal value.

## TONGUES ARE NOT THE PROBLEM

Scripture does not allow us to mock every person who speaks in tongues. Tongues appear in the New Testament. On the day of Pentecost, the disciples spoke in languages understood by people from different nations (Acts 2:4–11). Paul discussed tongues as a spiritual gift and said, “Forbid not to speak with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39).

Christians disagree about whether every form of tongues continues today and how certain passages should be understood. That disagreement is real. Honest believers stand on different sides of it.

But one truth is beyond debate: Scripture never presents tongues as permission for pride, disorder, manipulation, or false claims.

Paul required order. If tongues were spoken publicly, interpretation was necessary. He wrote, “If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church” (1 Corinthians 14:28).

He also limited public speakers and required them to speak one at a time (1 Corinthians 14:27). His conclusion was direct: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

Screaming over other people, creating confusion, and pressuring everyone to imitate the same experience cannot simply be excused by calling it the work of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired the instructions that require order.

## WHEN CHRISTIAN LANGUAGE BECOMES A SPELL

A spell is spoken because someone believes the words themselves will force a supernatural result. Biblical prayer is spoken to God in faith, dependence, and submission.

The difference is control.

Prayer asks God. An incantation attempts to operate spiritual power.

Jesus said, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7).

The problem was not merely repeating words. Jesus repeated His own prayer in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:44). The problem was trusting the repetition itself, believing that many words could pressure heaven into responding.

The same corruption happens when people repeat “in Jesus’ name” as though His name were a password. It happens when “I plead the blood” becomes a protective chant. It happens when someone speaks in tongues to manufacture an atmosphere, prove superiority, escape a difficult question, or avoid honest repentance.

The name of Jesus is holy. The blood of Christ purchased our redemption. The gifts of the Spirit serve the body of Christ. None of them were given to feed our ego or help us perform holiness.

## SAYING “IN JESUS’ NAME” DOES NOT MAKE EVERY PRAYER CHRISTIAN

Jesus promised, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do” (John 14:13). Praying in His name means approaching the Father through Christ and asking according to His character and will. It means more than attaching a phrase to the end of a demand.

John wrote, “If we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14).

A selfish demand does not become righteous because someone ends it with “in Jesus’ name.” Greed does not become faith. Personal anger does not become prophecy. Gossip does not become discernment. Your opinion does not become God’s command because you placed His name in front of it.

The seven sons of Sceva attempted to use the name of Jesus as a spiritual technique. They said, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth” (Acts 19:13). They knew the name, but they did not know Christ. The evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” (Acts 19:15).

They treated His name like an incantation, and their performance was exposed.

## “GOD TOLD ME” CAN BECOME A WEAPON

Few phrases shut down honest questions faster than “God told me.”

If God truly spoke, no human being has the right to overrule Him. That is exactly why the phrase can become so dangerous in the mouth of a manipulative person. It can be used to control marriages, demand money, excuse reckless decisions, silence criticism, or pressure frightened people into obedience.

Scripture commands believers to test spiritual claims: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).

Paul wrote, “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge” (1 Corinthians 14:29).

Biblical spiritual claims were not protected from examination. They were judged.

When someone becomes angry because you compare his claim with Scripture, the anger may reveal what his religious language was trying to hide. Truth does not fear examination.

## THE FRUIT MATTERS MORE THAN THE PERFORMANCE

Jesus said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16).

He did not say we would know them by how loudly they prayed, how long they worshiped, how dramatically they fell, or how many spiritual phrases they memorized.

The fruit of the Spirit is described as “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22–23).

Where is the love when you humiliate people?

Where is the gentleness when you use Scripture to crush someone?

Where is the self-control when every disagreement becomes a spiritual attack?

Where is the humility when you speak as though you are seated beside Christ, helping Him judge everyone beneath you?

A person may speak in tongues and still need to repent. A person may preach and still need to repent. A person may lead worship, quote Scripture, cast out demons, or perform mighty works and still be unknown to Christ.

Jesus gave the warning Himself: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?... and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22–23).

Religious activity is not the same as belonging to Christ.

## STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER PEOPLE

Religious performance survives through comparison. We look at someone else’s failure and use it to avoid facing our own. We thank God that we are not like them. We speak about their sin with polished words while protecting the darkness in ourselves.

Jesus described a Pharisee who stood and prayed about his own righteousness. He thanked God that he was not like other people. Nearby, a publican would not lift his eyes toward heaven. He struck his chest and prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

Jesus said the humble man went home justified.

Stop measuring your righteousness against the person beside you. The standard is Christ, and before His holiness every one of us needs mercy.

See yourself through the sacrifice of Christ. Your sin was serious enough to require His blood, and you were loved enough that He willingly gave it. The cross leaves no room for spiritual pride, but it also gives no reason for hopelessness. Christ receives the person who comes honestly.

## FINAL VERDICT

Speaking in tongues does not make you holy. Repeating Christian phrases does not force God to move. Shouting “in Jesus’ name,” pleading the blood like a chant, declaring victory, or filling a prayer with impressive language cannot replace obedience.

The issue is not tongues. The issue is using Christian language like a spell while the heart remains proud, cruel, and unchanged.

Put down the flowery words you use to condemn other people. Ask Christ to forgive what is false in you. Ask Him to expose the difference between the person you display in church and the person you become when nobody is impressed.

When Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9), his question revealed a heart that wanted no responsibility for his brother. Christ calls us to something better: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

Prayer should bring you closer to God and make you more faithful toward people. If your religious language makes you feel superior, but never makes you more honest, compassionate, or responsible, something is wrong.

Stop trying to sound like you are seated beside Christ judging everyone else. Come before Him as someone who also needed the cross.

Ask for His forgiveness. Ask for His strength. Then stand beside your brother instead of standing over him.