Why We Are Cessationist
Introduction
We believe that God the Holy Spirit gifts each and every believer with what is necessary for the work of Gospel ministry. We recognize and believe that (at times) God has worked in extraordinary ways, and that He also works in ways unseen and also ordinary. At Coram Deo Reformed Baptist Church, our doctrinal position is known as being “Cessationist“ in our view of the extraordinary sign gifts (which were present during the times of the Apostles and have since ceased). In this article, we will carefully define Cessationism and explore each of these gifts. We will also explain the opposing “Continuationist“ view, that these gifts are still available and are in operation, and why we reject this view. However, we do recognize that there are indeed fellow believers who hold to a Continuationist view, and that there are different variations of each of the views. Therefore, we hope that this article provides a helpful explanation for what we define as “Biblical Cessationism“.
The Doctrine of Cessationism
As mentioned in the introduction, the doctrine of Cessationism essentially asserts that the supernatural and extraordinary gifts, which stood as signs of the Apostolic ministry, have ceased along with the Apostles and are not in operation today. These would include the gifts of Speaking in (and the interpretation) of Tongues, Healing, and Prophecy. We must also address the common misconceptions related to
So let us carefully explore and consider each of these three gifts more in depth:
-TONGUES-
The Gift of Tongues is an extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowered a person that was gifted with such the ability to miraculously speak to other people in their own language, to proclaim God’s Word.
In the New Testament, specifically in the book of Acts (Chapter 2), we see the arrival and an incredible working of the Holy Spirit on what is known as “the Day of Pentecost“. Most notably, it is recorded that “divided tongues of fire” appeared on men’s heads, and they began to speak in tongues (and the Holy Spirit gave them utterance). These men went out to others in Jerusalem, and began to speak to the Jews who had come from different lands beyond Jerusalem. These Jews were amazed that they could hear and understand these believers who were filled with the Holy Spirt, in their own native language. These believers shared with the Jews of “the mighty works of God”. Furthermore,
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SCRIPTURE:
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-HEALING-
Healing text.
SCRIPTURE:
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-PROPHECY-
Prophecy text.
SCRIPTURE:
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The Opposing View: Continuationism
Continuationism text.