Are Cessationists "Missing Out"?

I don’t often blog about this topic because it tends to make tempers flare. However, in recent weeks, I’ve been finding myself in constant unintended conflict with Christians who disagree with something I’ve written or posted on-line that would fall into this category. I’m hoping I can use this post in response so that I don’t have to get into further debates about this.

I find these discussions extremely discouraging for several reasons. Firstly, the huge numbers of people who are being led astray due to their excessive focus on signs and wonders. Secondly, the fact that those who hold to a cessationist position, or who have cessationist leanings, seem to be increasingly rare despite this being the traditional, historical position of the church. Thirdly, the complete misunderstanding of what a cessationist actually believes.

To be clear, a cessationist believes that the sign gifts that appeared in the New Testament, specifically tongues, prophecy/words of knowledge, casting out demons and healing, ceased, or died out, with the apostles, or with the completion of Scripture. They don’t usually believe in modern day prophets or apostles. They are cautious about accepting at face value reports of dreams and visions, especially of Jesus appearing in person and communicating with people. They evaluate all reports of miracles and the supernatural through the lens of Scripture. They usually believe that God communicates via the Bible rather than in an audible voice. They believe that the Holy Spirit always points back to Jesus rather than drawing attention to, or placing the emphasis on Himself.

The conflict I’m referring to isn’t usually coming from those who hold a continuationist position but who recognise the need to check everything against the Bible. It is also not from those who cautiously examine all phenomena and test the spirits to see if they are from God. I have many friends with these views and conflict is rare.

I’m referring to those who fall into the aggressively argumentative camp. Those who are not happy just to hold their own views about what the Bible says, but wish to convert others to their way of thinking, whatever it takes. The people who find it offensive that others believe something different to them and who refuse to recognise that an alternative viewpoint has validity.

Amongst other things, I’ve been told that my spiritual life is fake, that I’m not a Christian, that I’m dead in orthodoxy, that I’m a Pharisee, that my views are toxic, that I’m arrogantly presumptuous, and that I’m missing out on the work of the Holy Spirit, and that people feel sorry for me. One person even sent me a private message  stating they were going to “defriend and block” me on a book sharing website. This person had begun a debate on a book review I had written. The worst suggestion, to date, has been that I'm in danger of committing the unforgiveable sin (blaspheming the Holy Spirit) by questioning whether these things are from God.

I’ve had people detail all of the incidences of charismatic phenomena/supernatural occurrences in the New Testament. Then, they remind me that God doesn’t change, that He is all powerful, and that it must be my lack of faith that causes me to question or doubt. One person even said that the reason I haven’t been healed from an auto-immune condition is due to a lack of faith on my part. 

These people approach me in the street at my free Christian book table, comment on my social media posts and debate on my book reviews and blog posts. They attack me for expressing my sincerely held beliefs about what the Bible teaches. They assume that I am ignorant and in need of enlightenment. 

Perhaps, most discouragingly, many are astonished to hear my views because they have never heard them before. They are in churches where constant supernatural manifestations have become common-place and any other way appears strange to them. They have not been taught to exercise discernment or to test the spirits. They often comment that these things must be from God because they are good, forgetting that the devil comes as an angel of light to cause confusion.

My point here is not to argue about which position is correct hence continuing the conflict referred to above, which I’m fed up with. Obviously, cessationists and continationists can’t both be right; either the gifts have ceased or they haven’t. Theologians have debated this for many years and I’m not hoping to resolve the issue here!

I want to remind Christians, that both positions are honestly held, and that there shouldn’t be a need for hostility, or any type of conflict. In most cases, the Bible has been studied to form conclusions, and posting something about the cessationist position on-line isn’t a personal attack on a continuationist, and vice versa.

Here are some resources that, alongside the Bible, helped me in reaching my cessationist viewpoint:

Strange Fire Conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhG2CBVQy3w

John MacArthur/Grace To You:
Charismatic Chaos and Strange Fire books, and Sermon Series

Peter Masters:
The Charismatic Phenomenon/Illusion

Got Questions:
https://www.gotquestions.org/cessationism.html

Tim Challies:
https://www.challies.com/articles/why-i-am-not-continuationist/

R.C Sproul:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/zeal-without-knowledge/

All Christians, regardless their interpretation of charismatic gifts, should be aware of these Bible verses (and others not listed), that call for discernment:

Matthew 7 vs 15

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Matthew 7 vs 22-23

 “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Matthew 24 vs 24

"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”

2 Corinthians 11 vs 13-15

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

2 Timothy 4 vs 3-4

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

2 Peter 2 vs 1-3

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

1 John 4 vs 1

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Charismatic Chaos--The Sign Gifts

I tend to steer clear of this area having spent a considerable amount of time studying it when I first came to faith and making a decision that ‘Cessationism’ was the most convincing position. I am not going to use this platform to argue or try to persuade others that this is what the Bible teaches. For those who don’t know, Cessationism is the belief that the sign gifts (tongues, prophecy, healing, casting out demons) ceased after the period of the Apostles and that individuals are no longer given these gifts. God may still answer prayer in relation to the latter two (healing/casting out demons) and perform miracles of healing/allow a person to be freed from demons but specific individuals no longer have these gifts to exercise. 

I have decided to address this today because I believe that it has become one of the most controversial areas in church life and practice and has sadly resulted in serious confusion, discouragement and disillusionment for many professing Christians. Regardless of whether or not we believe the gifts have ceased, we are required to submit everything that takes place to the authority of Scripture. The Holy Spirit always points us to Jesus. The Bible is God’s Word to us and is reliable for every spiritual dilemma that we face. It follows that any experience that occurs outside the bounds of Scripture, or in some cases being totally against what God has said in His Word, cannot be from God. God does not and will not contradict Himself and He had given us His Word as a complete revelation. The conclusion must be then, that when these things happen outside His Word, as I know they do, they are either something that we have manufactured ourselves, maybe with prompting from our teachers/leaders, or something sent by the enemy to cause confusion in the church.  And this it has done. God is a God of order not of chaos.

I recently read ‘The Charismatic Illusion’  It is a revised and expanded edition of ‘The Charismatic Phenomenon’ which has been around for several years. I was reminded of many good points that some Christians seem to have disregarded or forgotten with the passage of time. I am going to highlight a few of these here in the hope that it will help you as you seek to ‘discern the Spirits’ to see if they are from God. I was prompted to do this after having a discussion with a poor lady this week who had been told by her church leader that it was her fault that her son was ill and that he wasn’t healed due to a lack of faith on her part. She had been told that God always heals and that this is His desire. She then watched a drunk girl stand on the stage in her church whilst speaking in tongues, this girl then apparently became sober under ‘the power of the Holy Spirit,’ The lady was totally discouraged as she felt the experience may have been ‘fake’ but she wasn’t sure and then she felt that she was lacking the joy and excitement that others seemed to be feeling as a result of their ‘personal experiences with God’. She was thinking of walking away from her faith. Sadly, this is all too common.

Tongues were originally given to show that the church was authentic (God’s miraculous power) and to allow the spread of the Gospel (so that everyone could hear it in their language.) In the modern church it seems that mostly people are seeking this gift for personal fulfilment or spiritual one-up-man-ship. The purpose of any of God’s gifts is to edify and build up his church, they are not granted for selfish use. Tongues in Scripture were recognised foreign languages and there was a clear purpose for them. They were not taught or learned, they were given instantly and used immediately. Now, people are taught tongues by church leaders and through various courses in order to enhance their spiritual experiences. The tongues that are learned are not generally recognisable as foreign languages and there seems to be no discernible message for the church. They are often exercised without an interpretation which means that no one is edified as no one understands what has been said. It is widely accepted that anyone can learn to speak in ‘tongues’ and that this practice forms part of many pagan rituals, other religion’s worship and cult activity. As for speaking in tongues privately in prayer, this is, in my view, a strange practice. We are taught not to empty our minds and to worship in Spirit but also in truth. If we don’t understand what we are saying to God and only He understands, having granted the gift in the first place, then what is the point?  It takes discipline to pray consistently and regularly and there are no shortcuts.

Prophecy was originally used for a similar purpose to tongues. It was used before the Bible was complete to demonstrate that God was in control and that He knew what would come to pass. We can see evidence of this due to many of the Old Testament prophecies having already been fulfilled in the New Testament. It was meant to encourage us and teach us to trust in God. It was widely known even in those days that if a Prophet’s word didn’t come to pass then he was a false Prophet and should be disregarded. The majority of contemporary ‘prophets’ have made at least one prophecy that didn’t come to pass yet they are still allowed to bring messages to our congregations. If God has granted the gift of prophecy to an individual do you think that He would really allow ANY of their prophecies to fail to come true? Surely this would then cast doubt on Him if He is truly speaking through this Prophet. Modern day prophecies sometimes tell people to do things that are not in Scripture or even to follow the ‘Holy Spirit’s’ leading away from Scripture. But these are clearly wrong. Why should we trust anyone who claims additional revelation that causes us to doubt the reliability of the Word of God? Prophecy is sometimes used to encourage someone or to affirm a Biblical message or a course of action. If this is found in Scripture and Godly counsel has already been received, then maybe it can be considered along with the other factors. But there are people making life changing decisions based on the ‘prophetic word’ of a person acting outside the bounds of Scripture. If Christians don’t have the Bible as their firm foundation they can end up absolutely anywhere….

Healing is probably the area that is causing the most suffering both in terms of physical pain from the illness and emotional pain due to charismatic teaching. In the Bible healings were always total, complete and irreversible. They were not of aches and pains or things that come and go. We see sight being restored, lame people walking, people being cured of leprosy and even some being raised from the dead. If there are modern gifted faith healers, why do they not spend all of their time in the world’s hospitals? Often these people themselves have illnesses which they cannot cure. What a terrible thing to tell an immature believer that they remain sick due to a lack of faith or that it is their fault that they are sick in the first place. Occasionally God may use illness to discipline someone but there needs to be clear evidence that this is what is happening before making pronouncements along these lines. It is cruel to suggest that someone’s level of faith can heal them of serious illness or disability. It is clear in Scripture that miraculous healings had already begun to die out later in the New Testament; Paul had a thorn in his flesh, Timothy had to take wine for his stomach and others were sick and not healed. Why not if God wants everyone to be healed? Surely Paul should’ve been able to heal those around him if not himself? Did Paul have a lack of faith? No, God clearly told him that He would not take away his thorn because it was used to keep Paul weak in order for God to be glorified. God uses sickness to draw us closer to Him and to teach us to trust in Him completely and totally. He doesn’t promise healing. We can and should pray for it but we need to learn to accept His will if we remain ill as there is always a purpose for our suffering.

Demon possession is not something we commonly see in the West but it is prevalent in other parts of the World. A true Christian cannot be possessed by a demon. I am always amazed by the number of people who think this would be possible but if Jesus is living in a heart by the power of the Holy Spirit then there is definitely no room for a demon there. People cannot be possessed by a demon   accidentally, a door must’ve been opened. A door to the occult/satanic activity; maybe through tarot cards or Ouija boards or idol worship or even the use of some drugs/substances. Christians don’t need to be afraid that they will inadvertently be possessed. Even those who have dabbled in dangerous areas can pray for God’s help and protection and ask a Christian leader to pray for them.  If there is real evidence of demon possession, then experienced church leaders should be called to pray for the person asking God to free them. It is not something that someone needs to be gifted to do, but I wouldn’t recommend dealing with it alone or as an immature believer, even the disciples were unable to deal with demons on one occasion (Mark 9.) This is a serious subject and shouldn’t be taken lightly, yet now we see people casting demons out of everything and delivering people from all kinds of imaginary bondages. Where does this even come from? It’s definitely not in Scripture, when people had demons it was obvious by their speech and behaviour.

To conclude, God is able to do anything and He does answer prayer. Believing that the sign gifts have ceased does not mean that God’s power is limited or that Christians who hold this position don’t believe in the Holy Spirit. It is a belief based on an interpretation of Scripture and how God chooses to work through individuals in our day. Regardless of our specific stance on this we should check everything that happens against the Bible and not allow our experiences to determine our viewpoint. A church leader once said to me that he was dubious about the gifts until one of his relatives was healed when she touched the television during a faith healing show. But surely this is the wrong way round. Our experiences should be submitted to Scripture; we shouldn’t try to fit Scripture around our experiences or take individual verses out of context in order to justify them. We also need to remember that the enemy can counterfeit these things and appears as an angel of light in order to deceive people. He prowls around like a roaring lion.

A diet of exciting charismatic experience can leave people feeling empty when they come down to earth. They are seeking fresh ‘words from the Lord’ or ‘words of knowledge’ rather than being satisfied with a daily personal devotion time which takes discipline to maintain. We are taught to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5 vs 7.)  Charismatic practice can also leave people feeling lost and alone if they don’t have the same type of experiences as their friends or people in their church. This type of competitive self-seeking is not what God wants to see and it is not loving. The main teaching on the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 has at its core the famous passage about love in 1 Corinthians 13. It reminds us that if we have/seek gifts but don’t have love we are like a clanging gong or resounding cymbal. My former Pastor made this point by entitling a sermon “The best teaching on spiritual gifts ever” thus drawing the crowds, but then preaching the whole sermon on 1 Corinthians 13.

Let’s remember this as we seek to discern the spirits and to live sincere lives for God. Let’s come back down to earth and focus on Jesus’ death and resurrection and the Good News of forgiveness of sins through Him and eternal life with God. Let’s take the focus off ourselves and channel our zealous energies into obedience to God and into fulfilling the Great Commission by telling others about Jesus so that they too might be saved! 

John 14 vs 15

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”

Matthew 7 vs 21-23

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

1 Corinthians 1 vs 21-23

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach[a] to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,”

2 Corinthians 11 vs 12-15

“And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”