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Dr. MacArthur makes many assertions, but quotes only a couple of words of Scripture. This is alarmingly typical for these cessationists. He makes claim after claim, but He doesn't quote a single Bible verse. Not one.
Now, we realize this is a forward to a book written by Tom Pennington and not a teaching. But we have examined Dr. MacArthur's presentations quite often in this blog, and his pattern is to avoid Scripture and to make unsupported statements. So we make our evaluation based on his track record. And it is disappointing.
Lastly, Dr. MacArthur wants to talk about present-day charismatics, but that has nothing to do with "The Biblical Case For Cessationism. We shall note these with red typeface.
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It should be obvious to anyone who observes the modern charismatic movement (What the "modern charismatic movement" does or doesn't do has nothing to do with making one's case from the Bible.)
that the gifts of healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues practiced by today’s Pentecostals are nothing like the apostolic gifts (There is no such thing as "apostolic gifts.")
described in Acts and 1 Corinthians. (Well, maybe. But where is the Bible verse that says these things must be identical?)
Furthermore, the peculiar manifestations that have dominated that movement in recent decades (holy laughter, drunkenness in the Spirit, spiritual birthing, fire tunnels, animal noises, people being slain in the spirit, and other peculiar charismatic practices) bear no resemblance whatsoever to the work of the Holy Spirit as described in the New Testament. (See, for example, John 15:26; 16:13-15; Galatians 5:22-23). (Let's quote his verses:
Jn. 15:26 When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
Jn. 16:13-15 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
Ga. 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
How do charismatics negate these verses? Well, we don't know. Dr. MacArthur simply levels the accusation and moves on to blast charismatics some more.)
The apostolic office and the miraculous gifts that constitute “signs of an apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12) have ceased. That is self-evident. (There we have it. It is "self-evident," yet the "continuationists" persist in their beliefs.
Perhaps the biblical case for cessationism isn't as strong as Dr. MacArthur thinks, if he's simply content to proclaim it as self-evident.)
No one anywhere today can credibly claim to have a healing gift comparable to Peter’s (Acts 5:12-16) or Paul’s (19:11-12). (Did anyone in the NT heal exactly like Peter healed?)
The glossolalia charismatics today call “speaking in tongues” are not identifiable languages. (We discuss Tongues in detail here.)
Charismatic prophecies are notoriously fallible and often dangerously false. (We discuss prophecy in detail here and here.)
The brands of miracles routinely claimed by the charismatic movement do not come close to meeting the standard of undeniable reality (Where in the Bible is this standard found?)
that characterized the authentic signs and wonders described in Scripture. (Perhaps so. But again, the state of the present church is not biblical evidence.)
The apostolic office and the miraculous gifts that constitute “signs of an apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12) have ceased. That is self-evident. (Sigh. We have dealt with these claims extensively in our blog. Suffice to say, the case is not so open-and-shut as Dr. MacArthur seems to think.)
It is a simple fact of history (Appeal To History.)
The apostolic office and the miraculous gifts that constitute “signs of an apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12) have ceased. That is self-evident. (Sigh. We have dealt with these claims extensively in our blog. Suffice to say, the case is not so open-and-shut as Dr. MacArthur seems to think.)
It is a simple fact of history (Appeal To History.)
that the true signs of an apostle diminished and faded from use before the canon of Scripture was even complete. Nothing is said about miraculous gifts in any of the later epistles of Paul. (Argument From Silence. What the Bible does not say does not prove anything.
And by the way, what about
He. 2:4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
1Pe. 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
Ja. 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Ja. 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
Ah, the problem here is that Dr. MacArthur artificially limits his argument to Paul's writings. Unfortunately for him, these other NT writers didn't fall into line.)
Nor does he bring up the subject in any of his pastoral epistles. (Paul didn't mention the cross to the Thessalonians or to Timothy. He didn't mention repentance to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, or the Colossians. Should we assume these things weren't important? He didn't talk about baptism to the Thessalonians or Timothy or Titus. Are we supposed to assume baptism was fading away?
It is dangerous to argue doctrine from what isn't said. Dr. MacArthur should know better.)
Given their proven potential for serious abuse, if these gifts were permanently crucial to the church’s mission, the New Testament writers surely would have dealt with the miracle gifts throughout their epistles. (Dr. MacArthur's problem is that the NT writers didn't write about the things he wants them to write about.)
Instead, one of the last things Paul ever wrote was that he had left Trophimus “sick at Miletus” (2 Timothy 4:20). If it were still in Paul’s power to heal, why would he leave a ministry partner in a state of illness that kept him from traveling? (Some better questions are, what happened in Miletus where Paul would part ways with Trophimus? And, was he supposed to be healed? Is there some account somewhere in the Bible that Paul tried and failed to heal him? Was he a good partner of Paul's or did something happen, like Demas [2Ti. 4:10] or Barnabas [Ga. 2:13]?
Dr. MacArthur seems to believe that Paul should have healed Trophimus but couldn't. The Bible doesn't say this. Indeed, what if Paul didn't want to heal him?
We don't know any of these things, so we can't assume anything. Dr. MacArthur should do the same.)
But Paul deals with miraculous gifts only in 1 Corinthians, where his main purpose is to correct some paleo-charismatics in that church who were abusing their spiritual gifts for self-aggrandizing purposes, and disrupting order in the church in a way that actually foreshadowed modern charismatic chaos. (But did the Galatian church have this problem? How about the Ephesians? The Thessalonians? Well, we don't know, do we? Paul's letters were written for the specific situations occurring in each of these churches, so why would he write about things not pertinent to their situations?)
Until the start of the twentieth century, biblically-minded Protestants universally affirmed that miracle gifts, (This is an Appeal To History, not the Bible. And by the way, all spiritual gifts are supernatural.)
revelatory gifts, signs, wonders, and the apostolic office had all ceased by the time the canon of Scripture was complete. The Westminster Confession of Faith, for example, explicitly affirms that view—known as cessationism. The Confession states plainly in its very first paragraph that “those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people [have] ceased.” (Hmm. Dr. MacArthur can quote a confession but not the Bible.)
Cessationism has fallen on hard times in the past half-century. It seems the belief that now dominates most of the evangelical movement (including many Protestants who consider themselves confessionally Reformed) is a weak strain of continuationism. Those who hold this view insist that the gifts never ceased but have been operational throughout church history. (Or perhaps, should have been.)
Historical evidence (beginning with the biblical record of the apostolic era) argues strongly against that view, but a devoted continuationist will embrace and affirm practically any claim about Spirit-wrought signs and wonders. Gold glitter in the church’s air-conditioning ducts is enough to convince many that a heavenly miracle is occurring before their very eyes. The fact that so many prophecies and charismatic urban legends turn out to be false doesn’t seem much of a deterrent to a devoted continuationist. (Sigh. He keeps wanting to talk about anything other than the Bible.)
Apostolic-quality miracles are not being done in the church today, and a few of the more sane and cautious charismatic leaders have admitted this. Still, they insist that they are not cessationists and cannot embrace cessationism because they cannot find the doctrine anywhere in Scripture.
That assertion has become the focus of debate between cessationists and continuationists: Does the Bible support cessationism?
Tom Pennington says yes, it does, and he meticulously builds a careful, thoughtful, biblically sound case for cessationism, showing how both Scripture and history utterly rule out the continuationist claim. (Well. Really. Several years ago we critiqued a sermon he delivered for Dr. MacArthur's "strange fire" conference and found it to be extremely lacking. If this is the best that Mr. Pennington has, well, we are less than impressed.)
A book like this has long been needed. The tentacles of charismatic beliefs and practices have penetrated into every corner of Protestant Christianity over the past seventy years or so, and the result has been confusion, disillusionment, and disorder. But publishers and theologians alike have generally tried to tiptoe around this debate for decades because of the volatility of the issue and the perceived threat it poses to church unity. (Or maybe the biblical case in favor of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the church today is worth considering.)
It’s time to shine the light of truth on the central question that divides cessationists and continuationists. I’m grateful for the courage, clarity, and conviction with which Tom writes.
But real unity is rooted and grounded in truth, and if cessationism is the correct understanding of what Scripture teaches—and Tom Pennington argues persuasively that it is—then this is the pathway to real unity. It’s time to shine the light of truth on the central question that divides cessationists and continuationists.
I’m grateful for the courage, clarity, and conviction with which Tom writes. This book had its inception at the “Strange Fire” Conference sponsored by Grace to You almost a decade ago. Tom spoke on this subject, and his message (still available on YouTube) has been instrumental in leading countless people out of doctrinal confusion and discouragement. The book expands and amplifies what Tom taught in that conference session. My prayer is that it will spark a widespread, candid discussion, and that it will provoke an awakening that is long overdue.
John is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, as well as an author, conference speaker, chancellor of The Master’s University and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry.
Cessationism has fallen on hard times in the past half-century. It seems the belief that now dominates most of the evangelical movement (including many Protestants who consider themselves confessionally Reformed) is a weak strain of continuationism. Those who hold this view insist that the gifts never ceased but have been operational throughout church history. (Or perhaps, should have been.)
Historical evidence (beginning with the biblical record of the apostolic era) argues strongly against that view, but a devoted continuationist will embrace and affirm practically any claim about Spirit-wrought signs and wonders. Gold glitter in the church’s air-conditioning ducts is enough to convince many that a heavenly miracle is occurring before their very eyes. The fact that so many prophecies and charismatic urban legends turn out to be false doesn’t seem much of a deterrent to a devoted continuationist. (Sigh. He keeps wanting to talk about anything other than the Bible.)
Apostolic-quality miracles are not being done in the church today, and a few of the more sane and cautious charismatic leaders have admitted this. Still, they insist that they are not cessationists and cannot embrace cessationism because they cannot find the doctrine anywhere in Scripture.
That assertion has become the focus of debate between cessationists and continuationists: Does the Bible support cessationism?
Tom Pennington says yes, it does, and he meticulously builds a careful, thoughtful, biblically sound case for cessationism, showing how both Scripture and history utterly rule out the continuationist claim. (Well. Really. Several years ago we critiqued a sermon he delivered for Dr. MacArthur's "strange fire" conference and found it to be extremely lacking. If this is the best that Mr. Pennington has, well, we are less than impressed.)
A book like this has long been needed. The tentacles of charismatic beliefs and practices have penetrated into every corner of Protestant Christianity over the past seventy years or so, and the result has been confusion, disillusionment, and disorder. But publishers and theologians alike have generally tried to tiptoe around this debate for decades because of the volatility of the issue and the perceived threat it poses to church unity. (Or maybe the biblical case in favor of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the church today is worth considering.)
It’s time to shine the light of truth on the central question that divides cessationists and continuationists. I’m grateful for the courage, clarity, and conviction with which Tom writes.
But real unity is rooted and grounded in truth, and if cessationism is the correct understanding of what Scripture teaches—and Tom Pennington argues persuasively that it is—then this is the pathway to real unity. It’s time to shine the light of truth on the central question that divides cessationists and continuationists.
I’m grateful for the courage, clarity, and conviction with which Tom writes. This book had its inception at the “Strange Fire” Conference sponsored by Grace to You almost a decade ago. Tom spoke on this subject, and his message (still available on YouTube) has been instrumental in leading countless people out of doctrinal confusion and discouragement. The book expands and amplifies what Tom taught in that conference session. My prayer is that it will spark a widespread, candid discussion, and that it will provoke an awakening that is long overdue.
John is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, as well as an author, conference speaker, chancellor of The Master’s University and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry.
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