Against Cessationism

Last updated on: December 12, 2022 at 9:36 am by Roger E. Olson

Against Cessationism 2022-12-12T09:36:02-05:00 Roger E. Olson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

*Note: If you choose to comment, make sure your comment is relatively brief (no more than 100 words), addressed to me, on topic, civil and respectful (not hostile or argumentative), and devoid of pictures or links. Know that this is not a discussion board; avoid misusing my blog to promote your own, alternative worldview, belief-system, ethic, etc.

I do NOT hate Christian cessationists. (So far as I know all “cessationists” are Christians at least nominally.) I have known and been friends with many cessationists over the years. However, I would never join or regularly attend a cessationist church or one pastored by a cessationist.

So what, you ask, is “cessationism?” It is the belief that at least the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 ceased when the Bible was completed. For most cessationists, those include especially speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, healing, miracles and possibly, at least for some, words of knowledge and words of wisdom.

The alternative to cessationism is continuationism. As the word implies, continuationism is the beliefs that ALL the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament are still available, from the Holy Spirit, to Christians today and ought to be used, “manifested,” in churches “decently and in order” (as Paul commanded in 1 Corinthians 14).

I will go so far as to say that cessationism is at least heterodox and unbiblical. Nowhere does the Bible point to it. The only passage cessationists can point to is 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 which says that tongues will cease when “the perfect” is come. But it also says “knowledge” (gnosis) will cease. Did Paul mean the whole of scripture, the sixty-six books of the canon, when he prophecies (!) that “the perfect” will come and tongues will cease? That is sheer eisegesis, not exegesis. (Eisegesis is reading things into scripture that are not there.)

Although both Luther and Calvin were cessationists, most modern cessationists are fundamentalists. Except what I call “practical cessationists”—those Christians who do not adhere to the belief in cessationism but in practice neglect or suppress the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Modern conservative evangelical/fundamentalist cessationism’s classic is Benjamin B. Warfield’s classic book “Counterfeit Miracles.” It was written in the late 19th century against the rise of proto-Pentecostalism among the Holiness Christians, especially the “healing movement.” Then, when the Pentecostal movement began and took off in the first decades of the 20th century, many conservative evangelicals/fundamentalists made cessationism almost a dogma, certainly a doctrine to be taught and to govern churches’ worship and even individuals’ spiritual devotion and practice of the Christian life.

Perhaps the most outspoken and notable contemporary cessationist is fundamentalist pastor, evangelist, radio preacher, author John MacArthur. But he has many followers in his aggressive cessationism. (Note: I call him a fundamentalist which is my personal opinion based on listening to him speak, watching him on Youtube videos, and reading his books. I believe he is the contemporary embodiment of mid-20th century American fundamentalism.)

I think one reason cessationism became popular is fear, fear of the unpredictable happening. Cessationists fear losing control in worship and over congregants. Pentecostal-charismatic theologian David DuPlessis talked about the “sovereign unpredictability of the Holy Spirit.” The New Testament says that the Spirit, like wind, blows where it/he/she will. And in 1 Corinthians 14 Paul expressly forbids forbidding speaking in tongues!

I identify as post-Pentecostal because, like cessationist Baptist pastor Charles Stanley, I grew up Pentecostal but no longer identify as one. But he and I are very different post-Pentecostals. He is a cessationist now and I am not. I am a continuationist without any specific Pentecostal or charismatic identity. And I believe cessationism is profoundly mistaken and evangelical leaders ought to call it that.

This is not just a matter of differing opinions. Cessationism is wrong and ought to cease. I am a cessationist about cessationism. I believe a Christian church or denomination should take an “open” view toward the “sign gifts” today, neither opposing them nor promoting them as necessary. I believe the “sign gifts” should function in individuals’ lives and in small groups. I don’t oppose their manifestation in public worship services, but it seems to me that in Paul’s wrestling with this in 1 Corinthians 14 we can see that he was nervous about that and wanted to put limits to it.

When I was Pentecostal, including attending a Pentecostal Bible college and being assistant pastor of a Pentecostal-charismatic church, I saw and heard how difficult it is to keep “wildfire” (misuse of the supernatural, sign gifts of the Holy Spirit) from disrupting public worship. I decided it was extremely difficult if not impossible to worship “decently and in order” (and I’m not talking about high liturgy only) when people disrupt the worship with speaking in tongues, prophecies, etc. I witnessed a lot of abuse of these gifts in worship services but also experienced a lot of proper and helpful use of them in small groups—prayer meetings, Bible studies, “covenant groups,” etc.

I do not speak in tongues, but I know people who do and I respect them for it.

An obvious problem here is that in 1 Corinthians 14 Paul offers some confusing advice or even commands about the governing of the sign gifts, especially tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy, in the worship of the church—especially when there are unbelievers present.

So confusing is Paul’s advice (or instruction) about this in that chapter that one author of a Bible “translation” (more of a paraphrase) simply re-worded parts of the chapter to make it make sense! I don’t recall right now which one of the many that was but my possibly mistaken memory suggests it might have been J. B. Phillips.

So why am I attacking cessationists here? How much influence do they even have? A few years ago the Southern Baptist Convention put out a rule that missionaries supported by the SBC could not speak in tongues even in their private devotions and prayers. Several missionaries, I don’t know how many but I knew some, had to resign their ministries and either “come home” to do something else or look for financial support elsewhere than the SBC.

In my opinion, that rule violated Paul’s clear command not to forbid speaking in tongues. The irony here is that the SBC and most other conservative evangelical and fundamentalist cessationist groups claim to adhere to the doctrine of “biblical inerrancy” but absolutely violate it by forbidding speaking in tongues and other supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit such as prophecy and healing. And many of them have attacked open theists, for example, for allegedly violating the rule of biblical inerrancy just because they interpret the Bible’s witness to God’s foreknowledge differently.

When it comes especially to aggressive cessationists I withdraw, I stay away, I want nothing to do with them. Practical cessationism is different; I view practical cessationists as fellow Christians who simply need my help to rediscover and allow, if not encourage, speaking in tongues, especially in individuals’ prayer lives and possibly in small groups of Christians who meet for prayer, Bible study, and discipleship.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 8, 2022

Paul Tillich and “Theonomous Culture”

Next Post

December 15, 2022 How to Read the Apostle Paul in the New Testament

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Against Liberal Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life”?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John Jesus Peter Paul