Pentecostal and Charismatic Theology — Unit 10: Critics and Conversation: Cessationist, Reformed, Baptist and Ecumenical Responses

Key Verse

"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. State the main arguments of cessationism fairly, and answer each one from Scripture.

2. Explain the concerns that Reformed Christians raise about Pentecostal teaching, and give a Pentecostal response.

3. Explain the concerns of Baptist and other evangelical critics, and name the beliefs we share with them.

4. Describe the ecumenical conversation, including dialogue with Roman Catholics, and explain why Pentecostals take part with care.

5. Describe habits of a good conversation with critics, and name ways in which critics have helped us.

The Voice of This Unit

This course is written from inside classical Pentecostalism, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and Trinitarian. This last unit gathers the objections that other Christians raise against us. We state each one as its holders would, and then we answer from the Pentecostal side. Peter tells every believer to be "always ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). The answer must be given with meekness. We are not trying to win an argument. We are trying to speak the truth, and to keep the friendship of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Cessationism: The Argument Fairly Stated

Cessationism is the view that the miraculous gifts, such as tongues, prophecy and gifts of healing, ceased when the apostles died or when the New Testament was completed. Many cessationists are deeply faithful. They love the Bible, preach the gospel, and sincerely fear that other teaching will weaken the authority of Scripture.

It is important to be fair. Most cessationists do not say that God no longer heals or works wonders. B. B. Warfield, in Counterfeit Miracles (1918), argued that God still answers prayer, but that the miraculous gifts given through people belonged to the apostolic age. Modern writers such as Richard Gaffin and John MacArthur make similar arguments in their own ways. Their case usually has five parts.

1. Signs confirmed the apostles. Paul wrote, "Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). Hebrews 2:3-4 says the message of salvation was confirmed by those who heard the Lord, with signs and wonders. When the apostles died, the signs were no longer needed.

2. Scripture is complete and sufficient. If prophets still speak for God today, they say, new revelation is added to the Bible.

3. First Corinthians 13:10. Some cessationists read "that which is perfect" as the completed Scriptures.

4. Church history. They say that miracles became rare after the apostolic age, and that later claims were often doubtful.

5. Abuse and counterfeit. Many false healers and strange practices claim the name of the Spirit.

The Pentecostal Answer to Cessationism

We take these arguments seriously, and we answer each in turn.

1. Signs were not only for apostles. It is true that signs confirmed the apostles' message. But the book of Acts shows others who were not apostles doing signs. Stephen, a deacon, "did great wonders and signs among the people" (Acts 6:8). Philip, an evangelist, saw unclean spirits leave and the lame healed (Acts 8:6-7). In Corinth, Paul writes to a whole church and says that God gave gifts of healing and "miracles" within the body (1 Corinthians 12:9-10, 28). He says to this church, "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts" (1 Corinthians 14:1). He does not say the gifts are only for apostles. And the signs have other purposes than proof. Jesus healed because of compassion. The gifts build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:12) and help to bring people to Christ.

2. Scripture is sufficient, and prophecy does not replace it. We hold with all our heart that the Bible is the inspired, complete and final authority for faith and life. But the New Testament does not teach that prophecy in the church is the same as writing Scripture. Paul commands, "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge" (1 Corinthians 14:29). The church tests every message (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). The Bereans checked even Paul's teaching against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). A word of encouragement, warning or guidance, given to a local church and tested by the Bible, is not a new chapter for the Bible. Pentecostal churches must keep this rule strictly. Whenever a prophetic word contradicts Scripture, the word is rejected, and not Scripture.

3. First Corinthians 13:10 speaks of Christ's return, not the Bible's completion. Paul continues in verse 12: "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." Seeing "face to face" and knowing "just as I also am known" is not a description of a closed book. It speaks of the day when we see the Lord. The Corinthians could hardly have understood the "perfect" to mean a New Testament that did not yet exist. Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us that Christ's gifts to the church continue "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." The church has not yet reached that goal.

4. Church history is more mixed than the argument says. Historians debate how common the gifts were after the apostles, and the answer is not simple. A second-century writer such as Irenaeus speaks of gifts still at work in the church of his day. The Montanist controversy in the second century raised fears about prophecy, and the church had reason for caution. But silence in some records is not proof that God stopped working. Today believers in Africa, Latin America and Asia give wide testimony to the gifts. We do not make experience our final authority, but we also cannot ignore what millions of believers testify. And the cessationist argument from history is an argument from absence. It cannot override Acts 2:39: "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

5. Abuse is not a reason to reject the gift. The Corinthian church was disorderly. Paul's remedy was order and love in chapters 12 to 14. He wrote "Do not quench the Spirit," and then, in the same breath, "Test all things." If abuse proved that a gift should be discarded, we would have to discard preaching, because it too is often abused. We admit that some Pentecostals and charismatics have brought shame on the name of Christ through greed, showmanship and false claims. We say this with sorrow, and we address it again in Course 4, Unit 10.

Reformed Concerns

Reformed Christians, such as Presbyterians and many others, form a large and learned part of the church. Many Reformed pastors are not cessationists. We write here about the concerns that Reformed critics, both cessationist and continuationist, most often raise.

Concern 1: Word and Spirit. The Reformed tradition teaches that the Spirit works through the Word and sacraments, and it fears that Pentecostals put experience above Scripture and doctrine.

Our answer. Pentecostals honor the Word. The statements of faith of classical bodies such as the Assemblies of God begin with the inspired Scriptures. Word and Spirit belong together. We agree that experience must always be judged by Scripture, not Scripture by experience. Jonathan Edwards, a Reformed pastor, gave a lasting guide in The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741), which helps us to judge revivals, and we recommend it.

Concern 2: Spirit baptism happens at conversion. The Reformed critic points to Romans 8:9, "Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His," and to 1 Corinthians 12:13.

Our answer. We agree completely that every believer has the Spirit from the new birth. But Luke describes something more: power for witness for those who already belong to Christ (Acts 1:8). We have given the reasons in Units 4 and 5. Faithful Reformed teachers such as D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones also taught that there is a distinct empowering of the Spirit after conversion, even though he did not use Pentecostal terms.

Concern 3: Perfectionism and the "second blessing." The Reformed tradition worries about teaching that a person can reach sinless perfection.

Our answer. As Unit 6 showed, Pentecostals themselves have differed on sanctification. Many classical Pentecostal denominations teach that sanctification begins at the new birth and grows throughout life. Spirit baptism is not the end of growth, and no Pentecostal teacher should claim that a person has "arrived."

Baptist Concerns

Baptists are our close neighbors in many places. We share much with them: the authority of Scripture, the call to personal faith in Christ, baptism of believers by immersion, and a passion for mission. Their main concerns are these.

Concern 1: Tongues as initial evidence. Baptist critics note that Scripture does not state that every believer must speak in tongues, and Paul's question is, "Do all speak with tongues?" (1 Corinthians 12:30).

Our answer. We have answered this in Unit 5. Briefly, we distinguish the gift of tongues given in the assembly from the sign of Spirit baptism recorded in Acts 2, 10 and 19. We hold this as our reading of Acts, but we do not say a believer without tongues is lost.

Concern 2: Private tongues have no place. Some Baptist leaders and bodies have been cautious about the use of tongues in private prayer.

Our answer. Paul speaks of such use. "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God" (1 Corinthians 14:2). "I wish you all spoke with tongues" (14:5). "I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all" (14:18). And he writes, "I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding" (14:15). In the congregation, he demands order and interpretation.

Concern 3: Church order and ordinances. Baptists emphasize the local church and the careful practice of baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Our answer. Here we have much in common. Most classical Pentecostal churches practice believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as ordinances, and we value the local church.

The Ecumenical Conversation

The word "ecumenical" refers to the relations between different parts of the Christian church. Some critics, such as Roman Catholics, Orthodox and mainline Protestants, ask whether Pentecostals will take part in the larger conversation of the church, or will stand apart.

Our own tradition has been divided about this. Some Pentecostals have worried that dialogue with churches of different doctrine leads to compromise. Other Pentecostals have been glad to take part. A formal dialogue between Pentecostals and the Roman Catholic Church began in 1972 and has continued for many years. Some classical Pentecostal churches in Latin America have also joined the World Council of Churches, though many classical Pentecostal churches around the world have chosen not to.

Jesus prayed for His followers "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:21). We take that prayer seriously. At the same time Paul says we must be "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). So we offer this approach:

• We seek friendship and cooperation in works of mercy and witness with all who confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

• We take part in dialogue to explain our faith and to listen, and we do not give up convictions that we hold from Scripture.

• We pray for the unity that the Spirit gives, while knowing that unity does not mean agreement on every point.

• We guard the gospel of salvation by grace through faith, for no unity is worth losing that.

How to Talk with Critics

Here are six habits of a wise conversation.

1. Listen first. Ask what the person believes, and why.

2. Know their best argument. Do not answer a weak form of it.

3. Go to Scripture together. Ask, "What does this verse say?"

4. Admit our faults. The movement has had failures, and honesty is persuasive.

5. Hold your convictions humbly. We do not need to be nervous, and we do not need to be proud.

6. Pray for them and with them. The Spirit teaches in ways that arguments cannot.

We should also be thankful for what critics have given us. Cessationists have warned us against the abuse of prophecy and against treating experience as above the Bible. Reformed brothers have helped us to value deep doctrine and the preaching of the Word. Baptists have encouraged mission and order. Catholics and Orthodox Christians have reminded us of the church's long history and its worship. We can learn from each without giving up what we have received from the Lord.

Pastoral Application

After a flood in a small town, the pastors of the town meet to plan a joint effort to give food and clothing. A Baptist pastor says, "I can work with you in the relief, but I cannot join in worship with anyone who speaks in tongues. I believe those gifts ended."

The Pentecostal pastor first listens and thanks him for coming. Second, he agrees to work together on what they share: the gospel, the Scriptures and the needs of the people. Third, he does not argue in front of the other pastors, but he invites the Baptist pastor to coffee and offers to study 1 Corinthians 12 to 14 together. Fourth, he tells his own church not to speak with scorn of the Baptist pastor, and to give generously to the relief work. Over time, friendship may do more than debate.

Summary

Cessationists teach that the miraculous gifts ended with the apostolic age. They argue that signs confirmed the apostles, that Scripture is complete, that "the perfect" in 1 Corinthians 13 is the Bible, that history shows the gifts ceased, and that abuse is common. We answer that signs were also done by others, that tested prophecy does not add to Scripture, that the "perfect" points to Christ's return, that history is mixed, and that abuse calls for order rather than rejection. Reformed critics worry about experience over the Word, Spirit baptism at conversion and perfectionism. Baptist critics question tongues as initial evidence and private tongues, though we share believer's baptism and mission. In the ecumenical conversation we seek unity and truth together. We speak with meekness, we listen, and we are thankful for the help our critics have given.

Further Reading

• B. B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (1918), a cessationist argument.

• Richard B. Gaffin Jr., Perspectives on Pentecost (1979).

• Wayne Grudem, ed., Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views (1996).

• Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence (1994).

• Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (1996).

• Jonathan Edwards, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741), a primary source.

• James D. G. Dunn, Baptism in the Holy Spirit (1970).

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