Back to the Very Beginning: Part 8

Our theology series (see Parts 1, 2, 3,  4, 5, 6, or 7) has moved from the history of the church in the Bible to the history of the church in England to the divisions in the church and reformation to modern-day denominations! This month I thought I would bring to you a battle of the Baptists. We previously talked about the Reformation and how there was a battle of doctrines that created Catholics vs. Protestants. Another battle in early church history is the battle of the Baptists vs. Anabaptists. This month we are talking about cessationists.

The cessationists tend to be in battle with the Pentecostals of part 6. This battle is about whether or not Jesus still moved today. For context, here is a Scripture about how God may move:

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name, they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

-Mark 16:15-19

Cessationists believe that this Scripture is irrelevant to today. Miracles were for the Bible and Bible times and don’t exist today. Here are six arguments directly from “GotQuestions” on why spiritual gifts and miracles no longer exist:

1) The apostles, through whom tongues came, were unique in the history of the church. Once their ministry was accomplished, the need for authenticating signs ceased to exist.

2) The miracle (or sign) gifts are only mentioned in the earliest epistles, such as 1 Corinthians. Later books, such as Ephesians and Romans, contain detailed passages on the gifts of the Spirit, but the miracle gifts are not mentioned, although Romans does mention the gift of prophecy. The Greek word translated “prophecy” means “speaking forth” and does not necessarily include prediction of the future.

3) The gift of tongues was a sign to unbelieving Israel that God’s salvation was now available to other nations. See 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 and Isaiah 28:11-12.

4) Tongues was an inferior gift to prophecy (preaching). Preaching the Word of God edifies believers, whereas tongues does not. Believers are told to seek prophesying over speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:1-3).

5) History indicates that tongues did cease. Tongues are not mentioned at all by the Post-Apostolic Fathers. Other writers such as Justin Martyr, Origen, Chrysostom, and Augustine considered tongues something that happened only in the earliest days of the Church.

6) There are indications that the gift of tongues has ceased. If the gift were still available today, there would be no need for missionaries to attend language school. Missionaries would be able to travel to any country and miraculously speak any language fluently, just as the apostles were able to in Acts 2. As for the gift of healing, we see in Scripture that healing was primarily associated with the ministry of Jesus and the apostles (Luke 9:1-2). And we see that as the era of the apostles drew to a close, healing, like tongues, became less frequent. The Apostle Paul, who raised Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:9-12), did not heal Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-27), Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20), Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23), or even himself (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). The reasons for Paul’s “failures to heal” are 1) the gift was never intended to make every Christian well, but to authenticate apostleship (2 Corinthians 2:12; Hebrews 2:4); and 2) the authority of the apostles had been sufficiently demonstrated.

These are all the cessationist arguments for why they also disagree with the Pentecostal. This modern-day church debate is secondary to what both cessationists and Pentecostals agree on. They both believe that you need Jesus, the Gospel message, and in going to Heaven. The difference is going to be HOW they relate to Jesus.

When you don’t believe God can use you to do supernatural things, that limits what God can do. At Tirzah, we are not cessationists. Mark 16 (see our verse earlier), says very clearly that miracles, signs, and wonders still exist. This negates a lot of the arguments from the cessationists. There are many stories of God using miracles do to incredible things. We also agree with the cessationists - one day the gifts will no longer be needed. That day will be in Heaven. Today, God uses many people and their gifts & talents to reach everyone for His Kingdom. If we are wrong on this issue, what harm can come from believing the God of the Universe is capable of anything even today?

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

1 Corinthians 13:7