Are there Spiritual Gifts today? Yes, absolutely. Yet some have ceased. And our purpose is to explore via some links below, how God's purpose in the gifts differ greatly in emphasis from that which is evidenced today in the broad charismatic movement. We hear some today who testify that they now "believe in the gifts" as if cessationists do not. But the real question isn't belief in gifts in general, the question is really this: Whether there has been a continuation or cessation of "sign gifts"; meaning those that are related to individuals by gift, doing miraculous things like tongues, prophecies, and (yes-demand it-all or none!) raising the dead.
As an interesting side note, most who are "continuationists" have elements of cessationism in their position. For example, the modern tongues movement is destitute of the New Testament pattern of being fluent in "foreign languages." Healing miracles as seen in Acts are nowhere purported. And even the office of apostleship is generally agreed by continuationists to have ceased (though in some circles this too is a problem). In short, it is impossible for anyone who believes that the sign gifts continue today, it is impossible for them to be an unqualified continuationist, if the so called sign gifts of today are compared to what took place in the New Testament period.
It is important again to note that this category (sign gifts) is in contrast to ongoing and non revelatory edifying gifts that build up the body, which (gifts) most all agree continue today.
So having said that we are linking below to several good online articles for this topic. We would like to say the following as well with regard to the underlying objection we sometimes sense is charged our direction:
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We are not anti supernatural, When it comes to understanding the cessationist position, the question is not: Can God still do miracles in the world today? Cessationists would be quick to acknowledge that God can and does act at any time in any way He chooses. (quoted from the last blog link below)
Samuel Waldron has aptly written (in To Be Continued): "I am not denying by all this that there are miracles in the world today in the broader sense of supernatural occurrences and extraordinary providences. I am only saying that there are no miracles in the stricter sense of miracle-workers performing miraculous signs to attest the redemptive revelation they bring from God. Though God has never locked Himself out of His world and is still at liberty to do as He pleases, when He pleases, how He pleases, and where He pleases, He has made it clear that the progress of redemptive revelation attested by miraculous signs done by miracle-workers has been brought to conclusion in the revelation embodied in our New Testaments."
“The charismatic movement is not faith. It is doubt looking for proof.” - J. MacArthur
Below are a few varied & choice blog links on the topic of spiritual gifts and the related topic of cessationism. Keep in mind, the view taken here is not that God cannot do as He pleases, nor that spiritual gifts are lacking among Christians; but whether sign gifted men are operative today, doing the miraculous such as raising the dead and revealing new truth. This we deny.
Be a Berean on these suggested blog articles, and note that such links are not an endorsement of everything therein, nor even of the authors themselves. Each article stands on its own merit....
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From Mr. Thomas Schreiner at the Gospel Coalition web site, "Why I am a cessationist". Click → here to read more.
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From Mr. Jean Gibson at a "brethren" web site: Effective Use of Spiritual Gifts. Click → here to read more.
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From Mr. William MacDonald, author of Nelson's Believers Bible Commentary: Gifts for today and Why Gifts are given. Click → here to read more.
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From Mr. Tom Pennington, link to an online article summarizing his teaching on the subject at the Strange Fire Conference. A Case for Cessationism Click → here to read more.
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From Mr. N. Businetz whose blog at the Cripplegate web site clears up some misconceptions. What cessationism is not. Click → here to read more.
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