If you have read my notes on the Bible you will have realised that I am definitely not a cessationist, and have countered some of the cessationist arguments from time to time. We were talking briefly about the subject at a class I run at church called Deeper in the Word while we were looking at Hebrews and this included the Hebrews 2:1-4. So I thought it might be helpful to look briefly at three of the main arguments made by cessationists that I am aware of. Before going any further, let me make it clear that I am fully aware that there are many misuses of spiritual gifts. Sometimes these are just mistakes, sometimes people are childish or immature, and there are cases where it is downright abuse. This can be spiritual abuse, or seeking to con people out of money. I, and all charismatics that I know, are absolutely appalled by such misuses and teach against them.
Anyway, on to the three arguments. The first, and weakest, is based on 1 Cor 13:8-12 where Paul says prophecies and tongues will cease when the perfect comes, and the “perfect” is taken to be completion of the canon of Scripture. This seems to me to be a clear example of eisegesis if ever there was one, ie reading something into Scripture, rather than getting something from Scripture. The far better interpretation is that Paul is talking about the completion of all things when Christ returns. Moreover, James White, a reformed and cessationist theologian (and who I greatly respect, though don’t always agree with) admits that the completion of the canon of Scripture argument is a dubious argument.
A second argument is that the gifts were given to confirm or affirm the apostles. Now there is more to this argument. Most of the miracles recorded in Acts were carried out by the apostles, and signs and wonders were one mark of an apostle. However, miracles were not limited to the apostles. We should also look at Hebrews 2:1-4, where it says that God gave signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit to attest to the gospel. While signs and wonders were involved in attesting to the apostles, it seems to me from Acts, and the passage in Hebrews, that the primary purpose was to attest to the gospel. Furthermore, I would say that our society in the West is at least as resistant to the gospel as the Graeco-Roman world of the first century was. Now we need to know that miracles most certainly do not guarantee that people will be saved (see the response to Jesus, the prime miracle-worker!), but I can see no Biblical reason why God will not do miracles today.
The final argument I will look at is the one that says miracles were dying out as we go through Acts. First, we should note that there is absolutely no statement in the Bible that signs, wonders and gifts would cease. So at best this is an argument from silence, and such arguments should always be treated with an element of caution. Then we should also note that Luke recording fewer miracles is not the same as miracles being less common, rather it means that Luke was focusing on other things. In particular, Luke’s emphasis in the latter part of Acts is on Paul’s journey back to Jerusalem and then on to Rome. However, and this is the “clincher” if you like, read Acts 28:7-10. While on Malta after the shipwreck we read that many people (in fact it says all the people who had diseases) came to Paul and were cured. So it seems that miracles were just as prevalent.
We have looked at three of the arguments against spiritual gifts being for today. This has been done briefly, and there is much more that could be said, and from both sides, and more eloquently than I have done. However, the most compelling argument for spiritual gifts is that the New Testament teaches about them, they were clearly a normal part of church life in the New Testament, and were intended to be so, and there is no indication whatsoever that this would cease to be the case before the return of Christ. Finally, if there was one New Testament church that you would think might be best to focus on other things, might be least suitable for using spiritual gifts, which would it be? Corinth! The church at Corinth had virtually every sin and failing imaginable, and in abundance. Yet, to which church did Paul give the most detailed teaching on Spiritual gifts? Corinth!
Spiritual gifts are meant to be part of church life, part of the life of a Christian. We should learn about them, and use them in a Biblical manner, and with Biblical balance, but they have not ceased.
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