With regard to the operation of spiritual gifts within the Christian church in modern times, there are basically three positions. The first holds that all spiritual gifts ceased after the original apostles of the early church passed away. A second option, pentecostalism, says that none of the spiritual gifts ceased in operation because God is unchanging and the gifts were passed on by the first century apostles to their disciples. A third position, cessationism, argues that most of the spiritual gifts in the early church still operate, however, there are a few gifts that were given as "signs" to the early church through the apostles.
For the record, there are two definitions of an apostle. The strict definition of an apostle defines an apostle as one who was an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (see Acts 1:22, 1 Cor. 9:1). The second defines an apostle simply as "one who is sent". In the case of spiritual gifts and their operation in the church, the former definition typically applies.
Cessationists posit that the gifts of healing, tongues, prophetic foreknowledge, and apostleship (in the strict sense) were signs given to the apostles of the early church in order to establish the church.
Instead of rehashing a multitude of theological arguments about cessationism, I'd like to point out that the three gifts that cause the most problems in the modern church are prophecy, tongues, and healing. These are the very gifts that cessationists argue are no longer in operation within the church. (Cessationists do not argue that these three phenomena are necessarily impossible, but rather that the apostolic gift to operate in them on a regular basis has ceased.)
Prophecy is probably the most abused spiritual gift of them all and it can cause the most damage if misused. Many people have put their hope in so-called prophets who make pronouncements in the name of God that never come to pass. This can cause those who have listened to the false prophets to doubt God, make poor life decisions, and generally end up in a state of despair. Prophecy has also been used frequently to manipulate others.
In addition, the Bible makes several forceful warnings about false prophets. We should not doubt that the consequences are severe for those who claim to speak in the name of the Lord and use that privilege for personal gain.
The gift of tongues was always somewhat of an embarrassing practice to me, even when I attended a charismatic church. In the early church, every indication we have is that the tongues used by the early apostles were real languages that could be understood by native speakers of the languages. If a person spoke publicly in a tongue during a Christian gathering, Paul instructed us in his first letter to the Corinthians to wait for an interpretation. If no interpretation was given the person who gave the tongue was asked to remain silent in the gathering.
Even if tongues function in non-human languages (i.e. "tongues of angels") they should still sound like languages. My linguistic curiosity got the better of me at a few points and I started analyzing the tongues I heard other people using and, to be frank, most of them weren't languages at all.
Additionally, when I've heard charismatic evangelicals stereotyped in the media and elsewhere, speaking in tongues is almost always the first point mentioned, usually in joking fashion. I have a feeling that it is stumbling block for those who are first exposed to Christianity through charismatic churches, but are looking for simple, sensible Christianity.
Lastly, the gift of healing, though wonderful, can also be misused. This happens mostly with faith-healers who tell people that all they need to be healed is faith. If a person has faith and does not get healed, what then? Is God somehow to blame? Is God a liar for making promises He didn't fulfill? Surely not, but if someone is exposed to this sort of intense disappointment, it is easy to forego this logical problem and blame God. Either that, or the person realizes the minister has mishandled the scripture and that person extrapolates his/her disillusion with the particular minister to the church at large and never darkens a church door again.
I've seen all of these things happen on many occasions. I've seen many people leave the church and abandon Christianity because of them. Either these three gifts are no longer in operation in the church and their presence indicates false practitioners within the church, or church leaders have displayed an embarrassing lack of discernment and wisdom in their application. Is it better then to simply adopt a cessationist position regardless of its validity given the abuse resulting from these three gifts? Which is more valuable: a few spiritual gifts that can appear in miraculous signs and wonders or the spiritual well-being of those who would be lead astray if the gifts were misused?
For the record, there are two definitions of an apostle. The strict definition of an apostle defines an apostle as one who was an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (see Acts 1:22, 1 Cor. 9:1). The second defines an apostle simply as "one who is sent". In the case of spiritual gifts and their operation in the church, the former definition typically applies.
Cessationists posit that the gifts of healing, tongues, prophetic foreknowledge, and apostleship (in the strict sense) were signs given to the apostles of the early church in order to establish the church.
Instead of rehashing a multitude of theological arguments about cessationism, I'd like to point out that the three gifts that cause the most problems in the modern church are prophecy, tongues, and healing. These are the very gifts that cessationists argue are no longer in operation within the church. (Cessationists do not argue that these three phenomena are necessarily impossible, but rather that the apostolic gift to operate in them on a regular basis has ceased.)
Prophecy is probably the most abused spiritual gift of them all and it can cause the most damage if misused. Many people have put their hope in so-called prophets who make pronouncements in the name of God that never come to pass. This can cause those who have listened to the false prophets to doubt God, make poor life decisions, and generally end up in a state of despair. Prophecy has also been used frequently to manipulate others.
In addition, the Bible makes several forceful warnings about false prophets. We should not doubt that the consequences are severe for those who claim to speak in the name of the Lord and use that privilege for personal gain.
The gift of tongues was always somewhat of an embarrassing practice to me, even when I attended a charismatic church. In the early church, every indication we have is that the tongues used by the early apostles were real languages that could be understood by native speakers of the languages. If a person spoke publicly in a tongue during a Christian gathering, Paul instructed us in his first letter to the Corinthians to wait for an interpretation. If no interpretation was given the person who gave the tongue was asked to remain silent in the gathering.
Even if tongues function in non-human languages (i.e. "tongues of angels") they should still sound like languages. My linguistic curiosity got the better of me at a few points and I started analyzing the tongues I heard other people using and, to be frank, most of them weren't languages at all.
Additionally, when I've heard charismatic evangelicals stereotyped in the media and elsewhere, speaking in tongues is almost always the first point mentioned, usually in joking fashion. I have a feeling that it is stumbling block for those who are first exposed to Christianity through charismatic churches, but are looking for simple, sensible Christianity.
Lastly, the gift of healing, though wonderful, can also be misused. This happens mostly with faith-healers who tell people that all they need to be healed is faith. If a person has faith and does not get healed, what then? Is God somehow to blame? Is God a liar for making promises He didn't fulfill? Surely not, but if someone is exposed to this sort of intense disappointment, it is easy to forego this logical problem and blame God. Either that, or the person realizes the minister has mishandled the scripture and that person extrapolates his/her disillusion with the particular minister to the church at large and never darkens a church door again.
I've seen all of these things happen on many occasions. I've seen many people leave the church and abandon Christianity because of them. Either these three gifts are no longer in operation in the church and their presence indicates false practitioners within the church, or church leaders have displayed an embarrassing lack of discernment and wisdom in their application. Is it better then to simply adopt a cessationist position regardless of its validity given the abuse resulting from these three gifts? Which is more valuable: a few spiritual gifts that can appear in miraculous signs and wonders or the spiritual well-being of those who would be lead astray if the gifts were misused?
1 comment:
Such a paradox right? The gifts…so complex, and yet so simple. So valuable and potentially so destructive. It’s no wonder a large portion of the church avoids the entire mess. With that said, I’ve got a great story.
This summer I heard a kid named Eric share during a service at Tithemi (a hardcore church in Redlands, CA.) He and his band had just gotten home from tour.
Eric said that one night he was prayer-walking around the outside of the venue they were playing…an awesome dive of a bar inside an Asian food restaurant. While outside, he saw a kid with a sling on his arm and knew he wanted to pray for him. Later that night, he saw the kid out behind the restaurant and, ignoring the couples making out in the vicinity, he asked the kid how his arm was hurt and if he could pray for him. The kid looked at him kinda strange, but agreed. So Eric gathered a few other band members around and prayed something along the lines of “Jesus please heal this kid’s shoulder,” and he was healed. Just like that. Eric told the kid, ”that’s just God letting you know that He loves you and knows who you are and He just wants to say 'Hi'.” There were more accounts from that evening, but that’s the one that really convicted me.
How does it all get so complicated? Could it be that within the layers of truth on this subject, that John 13:34-35 is to be the priority? "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." That the abuses of exercising spiritual gifts are abated when performed with that kind of love?
I suspect there is much to learn in the parking lots of asian food restaurants... seeing broken kids reaching out to other broken kids and telling them there is hope because God loves them.
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