What Pastor Tom Pennington Got Wrong About the Gifts of the Spirit

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With all respect, the biblical case for cessationism collapses on itself. It's time for The Line of Fire with your host, biblical scholar and cultural commentator, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity.

Call 866-34-TRUTH to get on the line of fire. And now, here's your host, Dr. Michael Brown. We're going to have a rich time in the Word of God today. I believe it's going to be eye opening, impacting, maybe even life changing.

This is Michael Brown. Welcome to The Line of Fire. I cannot express my delight to have this opportunity to share the next hour with you. If you'd like to call in and comment on the topic, which I'll introduce in a moment, the number to call is 866-34-TRUTH.

866-348-7884. We won't be talking politics today. We won't be talking culture wars today. We won't be answering random Bible questions today.

But if you want to weigh in on the subject matter, 866-34-TRUTH. So, I've known for some months that there is going to be a new movie coming out called Cessationism, making the case that according to the Bible, the miraculous gifts that were seen in New Testament times, specifically things like tongues and prophecy and divine healing, that these things that were normative in New Testament times were not normative today. We understand that cessationists believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit until this moment. We understand they believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit to save the lost and to sanctify and to work in the hearts and minds of God's people.

But they do not believe that we can expect in any normative way to see miracles of healing, to see people speaking in tongues, receiving interpretation to tongues, prophetic utterances, things like that. That which was normative in New Testament times, they would say, has not been normative through church history because it served its purpose and it's finished. So, that's a position I tried to embrace in the late 70s and early 80s as I was coming against some of my early Pentecostal roots in the Lord. I tried to embrace it.

I had my own bad experiences. I had my own reasons and maybe some pride in my life if not wanting to be associated with the Pentecostals, Charismatics. In any case, the Word of God convinced me, the Word of God convicted me that I could not go that route. So, if I never saw a sick person healed, I'd still believe it was promised because of Scripture. If I never spoke in tongues, I'd still believe it was promised because of Scripture. If I never prophesied or received an accurate prophecy, I would still believe it was accurate based on Scripture. My experience has confirmed what is in Scripture, but my beliefs are based on Scripture first, just to make that absolutely and abundantly clear. So, with respect to my cessationist brothers and sisters, I deeply differ with them, and I mean this from the heart.

Please hear me. No sense of condemnation, no reading between the lines for a deeper meaning of what I'm saying. From the heart, I feel bad for my cessationist brothers and sisters because, ultimately, they're spitting against the wind, and I mean the wind of the Spirit. What I mean is that the Word is just too clear, that you cannot make a case based on the Bible for the cessation of these miraculous gifts, and around the world, the Holy Spirit is being poured out in extraordinary ways, and yes, there is false fire and strange fire, and there are mixtures, just like I could go into Reformed circles and cessationist circles and Baptist circles and Presbyterian circles and find all kinds of error and problems and issues, the same in the worldwide Charismatic Pentecostal movement, but there's no question around the world the Holy Spirit's being poured out, and you can go to Baptist churches and Presbyterian churches in different parts of the world and people speak in tongues and drive out demons because it's in the Word, and it's what the Spirit of God is doing and has been doing in wonderful ways for many, many years and never stopped doing in different ways through Church history. So, the news of the documentary coming out is kind of a sadness, I feel, because it's fighting a losing battle because the Word and the Spirit are ultimately against it. And someone sent me a link, it's being advertised now, and with it, a release of a book by Tom Pennington, Pastor Tom Pennington, who I've never met or interacted with, I trust that he's a godly man who loves the Lord and loves the Word and loves the Church, that he has now produced an expanded version of the sermon he preached at the Strange Fire Conference some years ago and it's called The Biblical Case for Cessationism, A Biblical Case for Cessationism. Now, I did find curious that the link I was sent said that you get this special producer's edition of the documentary and the book for $49.95. Now, if that had been a charismatic or a Pentecostal doing it, the critics would be all over it, you're trying to make money off the Gospel, why not just give it away for free? But I understand things cost money to produce, so I don't begrudge them for doing that, but I just thought, how curious, if it was coming from some charismatic or Pentecostals being advertised at our TV ministry or something like that, we'd be called charlatans or profiting off the Gospel. So, it's always good not to pass judgments as others that you don't want passed on yourself.

I just had a smile when I saw it. So, immediately I downloaded Tom Pennington's book and it's an easy read, it's clearly written, and even though it's almost 200 pages, it's short, a lot of the pages are short, etc. You can go through it in an hour, probably, if you didn't know the verses and how to look them all up, then it would take you longer. And I was reading it, and again, with all respect to my brothers and sisters who are Cessations, let me say this, some of the finest Christians on the planet today are Cessations. Some of the finest churches are Cessations. Some of the finest ministry schools and seminaries are Cessations. I honor and respect my Cessations brothers and sisters, and I know that some of them have dealt with many who have been hurt in the charismatic Pentecostal movement. I'm often dealing with folks on the other side, they got hurt in a Reformed church, they got hurt in a Cessations church, where they came alive when they came into the things of the Spirit.

So, there's no question there are casualties on all sides because human beings make mistakes and there can be abuses in various ways. So, I don't doubt the sincerity of the ministry of these brothers and sisters and their passionate belief that they're helping those who are being hurt by dangerous doctrines. And Tom Pennington is very clear, saying those who deny fundamental doctrines, deny the fundamentals of the Gospel, the deity of Jesus, or God's trying in nature, etc. So, he brands them false teachers, all clear, all clear.

But he says other Charismatics are our brothers and sisters, so that's how I'm dealing with my Cessations friends, brothers and sisters in the Lord. But with all respect, going through the book, I was mortified. I was mortified at the weakness of the arguments. I was mortified at how inaccurate some of the arguments were, biblically and in other ways.

I was mortified at key verses weren't even touched or addressed. And this is now the book. So, I want to give an open invitation. This is not a challenge.

This is not a mono e mono machismo. No, no, this is an open invitation. There are quite a few Christian leaders who gave glowing endorsements to Pastor Pennington's book and John MacArthur.

Pastor John MacArthur wrote the foreword to it. So, I want to give an open invitation. I've done this before, but I want to do this again. I'm not calling out people by name. This is not a challenge, right? For whatever reason, you choose not to do this. I'm not saying you're afraid to or you're backing up. I'm not saying any of that, okay?

I'm not saying any of that, all right? But I want to give an open invitation for the glory of God and the edification of the church, for the clarity of the body. I want to give an open invitation to have a formal moderated debate. Let's make it full. Let's make it in-depth. Let's make it with full-length cross-examination back and forth and rebuttals.

Let's make it like three hours if we need to. With moderation, I can assure you on my end it will be honoring and respectful and Jesus-glorifying. Does the Bible support Cessationism?

That's the question. Does the Bible support Cessationism? I can't say in argument from my position, well, 10 people were raised from the dead in the last 10 years and it's documented.

It doesn't matter whether it happened or not. That's not the issue. And you can't say, well, this guy on TV is a false Pentecostal preacher and he's a... That doesn't matter.

The issue is, for the argument, does the Bible support Cessationism? I want to give an open invitation. Now, please hear me. There will be some of you listening who say, well, Dr. Brown, I'll debate you on that, but you don't have credentials. What does that mean?

It means that... Here, I'll give my standard analogy. I have no credentials in areas of science. None. No credentials whatsoever. So, what good would it do if I debated Professor Richard Dawkins on evolution? He'd chew me up.

He'd chew me up and spit me out in a matter of seconds. That my greatest arguments, I know I can give the arguments, I'm familiar with them for creationism and so on, but I'm not a scientist. And if he demolished me on scientific issues, what would it prove? Really, nothing. So, in the same way, if I debate someone that doesn't have the credentials and the qualifications and demolish them, it doesn't help.

And that's not the purpose to demolish someone. The purpose is to have an open discussion from which the whole body can benefit. To have an open discussion so seekers and those with questions can hear the best arguments on both sides, can hear qualified representatives who know the Hebrew, who know the Greek, who understand the theology, who are familiar with the biblical text, who are familiar with the arguments and the nuances of the arguments. And he'll say, yeah, let's do it. And people on our side will say, yeah, we respect Dr. Brown. He represents our side well. And the people on the cessationist side will say, yeah, we respect Dr. So-and-so or we respect Pastor So-and-so.

And that person represents our arguments and our position well. And this way, it can be a great learning experience for the body. So, I openly give this invitation. I'll do my best to circulate it in written form again. It is not meant as a challenge.

It is not meant as put up or show up. You might say, well, Dr. Brown, we like you, but we don't like the people you hang out with, so we're not going to debate you. Oh, it's your prerogative. Or we don't think it's wise to have the debate because it might pollute the thinking of others. That I challenge you on a bit, because if your views are that weak or your position is that weak that for someone to challenge it in an educated, gracious, respectful way, you don't want people to hear, that's a concern, because I want people to hear the cessationist side. I want them to hear both sides, right? I want them to hear, here, read Strange Fire by John MacArthur and read Authentic Fire by me.

Seriously, read Strange Fire by John MacArthur, Authentic Fire by me. Read it, put them side by side, and then come to your conclusions. So, let us have a public, constructive, edifying debate slash dialogue where we both do our best to present our positions and challenge one another's positions for the glory of God and the good of the body. The rest of the show, I'm going to go through some of Pastor Pennington's book and just explain to you why I find it so extraordinarily faulty and lacking and really collapsing on itself. We will be right back. First, a special word from our co-sponsor Triveda.

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Go to TriVita.com or call 800-771-5584, again 800-771-5584. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks for joining us on the Line of Fire. Okay, just a quick health update. You know, we talk about this a lot.

Healthy Church starts with Healthy You. For the first time in my life, I stepped foot in a boxing ring with another brother who's trained in boxing, just for fun. We are going to have a fun video for you, oh, for the next week or two as soon as we get to edit it together. There's rumor that I took a dive. There is rumor.

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And make sure you read the free mini book that you will get as well. Okay. Pastor Pennington makes the interesting claim in his book of biblical cases against cessationism that 1 Corinthians 13, 8 through 10, it says, when that which is perfect is come the imperfect will cease. That that refers to the close of the canon of scripture and how tongues and prophecy and those things would cease. And he specifically says this, that through most of church history, the passage was used to teach cessationism.

Those of you who are church historians, theologians, could you just check that claim out for yourselves? Would you do that? Would you just go through church history, go through the major church leaders, teachers, etc. And would you just find that for me?

Would you do that? That 1 Corinthians 13, 8 through 10 was used through most of church history to argue for cessationism. Just do a little study for that.

All right. So, Pastor Pennington gives a multi-tiered argument for cessationism. His first argument is that the purpose of miracles in the Old Testament. And he says this, many Charismatics and Evangelicals believe miracles litter the pages of the Old Testament, but the biblical evidence is that there were only two periods in Old Testament history when God worked miracles through uniquely gifted men at the time of Moses and Joshua and Elijah and Elisha. And in those cases, it was just to validate the messenger is bringing the words. Well, that's not true.

That's not true. It's not a true statement that there are only two periods in Old Testament history when God worked miracles through uniquely gifted men. Did God work miracles through Abraham? Did God give him prophetic revelation? Did God open the wombs of those in the harem of Abimelech in Genesis the 20th chapter where he's called a prophet?

Hmm. Did God miraculously intervene in the life of Jacob or Isaac in any ways? And what about the visitations they had, the angelic visitations? Is that not miraculous? Well, what about after Joshua in the book of Judges? Are there not miraculous interventions through Judges, angelic appearances? What about Samson? God most conspicuously used men miraculously in the Old Testament with all of his failings. So, by the way, failings don't deny the miraculous gifting. Hmm.

So, that's right through Judges. What about 1 Samuel? What about God working miraculously through Samuel? And what about the prophetic utterances coming through him in Revelations? And then in 2 Samuel, what about God working miraculously on behalf of David?

Well, it's not gifts of healing, although he says God heals all, forgives all the sins and heals all his diseases, Psalm 103. What about the divine interventions there in the life of David and God appearing to Solomon twice? I mean, these are the kinds of things that we talk about, God appearing, God speaking, God acting.

And then what about through all the prophetic history where God speaks and acts through the prophet? Is that not miraculous? In fact, Psalm 74 is asking where are the signs and wonders because that meant something was wrong. The absence of signs and wonders meant something was wrong.

You read through the whole Old Testament, it's filled with visions, it's filled with prophetic words, it's filled with dreams, it's filled with divine intervention, you know, Hezekiah miraculously healed, the sundial going back that's in the days of Isaiah, the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib, isn't that one of the biggest miracles? So, it's patently false. The whole statement is false right there.

Boom! And this is considered to be the strongest initial argument. And it literally collapses on itself just by reading through the Old Testament and noting in chapter after chapter and book after book and one period of history after another divine intervention, divine action, the divine hand stretched forth in God's speaking and acting and appearing throughout the entire Old Testament. So that, the big argument, doesn't even make it out of the gate before it collapses.

I'm just being honest and candid. And then here's the other question. If the importance of the miracles and the import of the miracles was to validate the messengers, well, what happens when the gospel goes to a new place today?

Well, what about those messengers? Well, we have a holy book that was verified 2,000 years ago. You go to a Muslim world. Well, we have a holy book and it's straight from heaven and it's miraculous. The book itself is miraculous. Well, our book had… God, to this moment around the world, is validating the preaching of the gospel through signs, wonders and miracles to this moment he is demonstrating his nature, his character by being compassionate, loving and kind and interacting with us as I speak.

I have no question whatsoever. And this is not by divine revelation, just by simple logic. As I speak, around the world right now, the gospel is being backed by God. Someone is being miraculously touched. Someone is being miraculously spoken to by the Spirit. Someone is receiving a message from God, the scriptural message of Jesus and who he is and what he's done and is being backed by healing, a miracle. Sometime today, these very things will happen and people will come into the kingdom, maybe even by the thousands around the world. As I'm speaking, this very day, this 24-hour period, it's happening.

Why? Because God continues to validate the message and that the messenger is bringing that message. As we go on, the question comes up here. Why are miracle-working men so scarce in Old Testament history? The primary purpose of miracles has always been to confirm the credentials of the divinely important messenger to establish a genuine prophet who speaks for God.

Well, that's the same thing happening today. God is confirming that the people preaching the gospel are sent by him, especially to unreached areas that are not impressed with the holy books. They have their own holy books. They're not impressed with claims from ancient times of miracles.

They have their claims from ancient times from miracles, right? And again, miracle-working men, they're not scarce through the Old Testament, especially when you recognize that prophetic words themselves are miracles. God's speaking through prophets and bringing their words to pass. That's one of the things we say is still happening today. That happens throughout the Old Testament. And again, the absence of prophets was a sign of judgment of something wrong. The first supposedly biggest pillar of all falls quickly. All right, maybe there's some better arguments that Pastor Pennington is going to raise. I say this with all respect.

It's out there. There's an aggressive push that's going to be made to undermine charismatic teaching, preaching doctrine. I'm simply responding as a watchman on the wall, as a lover of the word, as a lover of the spirit, and as a lover of the body. We'll be right back.

Hey friends, Dr. Michael Brown here. Do you remember when people thought I was crazy, when I said it's not too late for America, that God can still do something in our country, that there is going to be a pushback, a gospel-based moral and cultural revolution? And do you remember when people thought that you were crazy because you felt the same way, because you believed what I was saying and already felt it in your heart? Well friends, that pushback is here. The gospel-based moral and cultural revolution we've been talking about for 25 years is unfolding and we are right in the thick of it and the line of fire broadcast is divinely positioned for such a time as this. Friends, you would be so gratified and blessed as I hear, if you could hear what I hear, testimony after testimony as leaders, young people, old people, moms, dads, students, people from all backgrounds come up to me and say, Dr. Brown, you're providing a template for us.

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But now there's a solution you can fight this dangerous silent killer with. Nopalea, made from the super fruit of the Nepal cactus, containing a unique group of bioflavonoids clinically shown to reduce chronic inflammation. In a random double-blind placebo-controlled study, it showed a reduction of elevated at-risk C-reactive protein levels, resulting in an improvement in range of motion in the back, neck and joints and an overall improvement in the quality of life.

Nopalea has helped thousands of people by lowering levels of chronic inflammation. Let's hear what customers are saying. I'm a personal trainer and owner of three gyms.

Super excited doing a renovation here, bringing new equipment in. And as I was bringing the new equipment in, I was trying to move a piece. I moved, the equipment didn't move and I injured myself severely. So it was frustrating.

It was really depressing. I wasn't able to work out. I wasn't able to train.

I wasn't able to do just normal daily functions. So he says, Matthew- It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the line of fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. What are you talking about? Well, it's the only time it speaks your miracles. But that's the only thing it talks about is what happened then. And that was normative. That was normative. Again, I was reading it last night with a colleague as I was being driven home from the airport and I thought, well, what in the world?

Okay, enough said there. He says, for the apostles, miracles validated the message they preached about the crucified and resurrected Christ. In both cases, miracles testified to the truth of Jesus Christ, which is the heart of the gospel message of redemption and salvation.

Yes, exactly the same to this moment. The miracles testified to the validity of the message and exalt Jesus. Just why so many people around the world, by the hundreds of millions recently, recently I mean in the last century, have come to faith in Jesus as God has made himself real to them. And I've been around the world. It's not hearsay. I've been overseas over 160 times.

I've been out of the U.S. 200 times. I've seen with my own eyes, year in, year out, year in, year out, decade in, decade out, wonderfully solid, godly, fruit-bearing, grounded, Jesus-loving, charismatic, Pentecostal continuationist brothers and sisters. Jesus is doing the work we should be rejoicing. Mr. Pennington writes this, he says, Jesus worked countless miracles, not simply for the sake of convincing skeptics or even showing compassion to those afflicted with disease, but to validate his claim of deity. He truly is the Christ, the Son of God.

Amen. There is a unique demonstration of the Spirit through Jesus pointing to him as the Son of God. He also healed out of compassion.

He also said, if you've seen the Father, you've seen me. What happened to that compassion? No, it wasn't only based on compassion, but it often was based on compassion. And in times, there are accounts, just read through the Gospels, where he heals everyone because he's moved by compassion.

What about that same compassion today? Is not Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever? Okay, let's just look at another passage. And unless I miss something, this passage is not dealt with at all.

Pastor Pennington doesn't deal with it. John chapter 14, beginning in verse 8. John 14, beginning in verse 8. Philip said, Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content. Jesus replied, If I've been with you for so long, and yet you've not known me, Philip, the person who's seen me has seen the Father.

How can you say, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I'm in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs as miraculous deeds. Believe me that I'm in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, believe because of the miraculous deeds themselves. I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds I'm doing, the same works I'm doing he'll do, and will perform greater deeds than those because I go into the Father. Study out the Greek phrase, hapistuon enme, the one who believes in me. Study it out in Greek, hapistuon enme, the one who believes in me. Go through the Gospel of John and you'll see every time it's used, it's a universal promise.

Whoever believes in me. Jesus said they'll do the same works and even greater. I didn't write that. That's not my position. That's not my argument. Jesus said it's not limited to the apostles. He said it. And that's why around the world, no, we're not all doing the same things and none of the apostles walked on water if Peter tried to and started to sink, right? It's not recorded that any of the apostles turned water into wine, but the miraculous deeds, the healings, driving out of demons, they continue to happen through the people of God to this moment.

To this moment. God's doing it. But, dress it with what Jesus said. Those aren't my words. Those are his words. And to my shock, to my real shock, Pastor Pennington did not address this.

Okay. He says the second argument for cessationism is the ending of the New Testament gift of apostleship. Let's not even debate that right now, whether there are apostles after the Twelve or not.

You can make an easy case that there are. Just look at Acts 14, 14, Barnabas is called an apostle there, too, and there are others called apostles in the New Testament. But let's even put that aside entirely.

Let's put that aside entirely. What about the argument that the gifts tied in with apostleship, all right? What about that argument that the gifts tied in directly with apostleship and with the death of the apostles, the gifts? Well, actually, the New Testament testimony is the exact opposite of that.

It's the exact opposite. I'm just talking about the Word. What does the Word say? Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit is poured out of Pentecost, shovel with Feast of Weeks, all right? Acts chapter 2, and Peter explains what's happening with these 120, right?

Not just the apostles, but the 120 speaking in new languages. In the last days, starting in verse 17, in the last days, God says, when in the last days, what period are we living in now? The last days, in the period in which we are living now, from the death and resurrection of Jesus until his return, the last days. In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Not just the apostles, not just the prophets that were known.

No, no. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions.

Your old men will dream dreams. When? During the period of the last days. God says that's when it will go.

That's how long it will go. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophesy. And then you scroll down to verse 39, after the call to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, says, end of verse 38, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Remember he just said the Holy Spirit is company with prophecy, with dreams, with visions. The promise is for you and your children and all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call.

Wow, wow, wow. Again, a fundamentally important passage and not dealt with by Pastor Pennington. And what's Paul's whole argument in 1 Corinthians, the 12th chapter? His whole argument in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 is that the gifts of the Spirit are given to everybody for the common good. It's not just the apostles. It's not just the prophets.

It's not just the leaders. And in the book of Acts, is it just Peter that's used miraculously or Paul that's used miraculously? No. Who's used miraculously? Philip is used miraculously.

Stephen is used miraculously. These men were deacons. They waited on tables. They served the poor, the needy. And they were filled with the Spirit and they worked miracles.

Right? What does the word say? Philip working miracles, Stephen working miracles. Acts 8, Philip goes out and preaches and demons are driven out of people and people are miraculously healed and there's great joy in the city. So, it's through all the others outside of apostles, remarkably. 2 Corinthians 12, 12 is probably quoted, I don't know, 10 times in the book, maybe more. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 12 is quoted over and over and over to say, well, these are the signs of an apostle.

And I want to read it to you from the ESV. 2 Corinthians 12, 12, the signs of a true apostle, the Greek doesn't say true, signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, the signs and wonders and mighty works. Doesn't say the signs of an apostle were signs, wonders and mighty works. In point of fact, there were others like Stephen and Philip who were used in these same ways. And there were others who prophesied and Philip had daughters who were prophetesses. This was common outpouring of the Spirit.

But remarkably, what's missed here is the Greek. Go to samstorms.com, samstorms.com. Sam has been a New Testament professor at Wheaton College and University. Sam, Dr. Storms, has been the president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Sam is Calvinist, he's a millennial, right?

So, we have some different beliefs on certain things. Sam demolishes this idea that these signs of an apostle are signs, wonders and mighty works and only the apostles do them. He demolishes it grammatically, exegetically, all right? So, go to samstorms.com.

He just posted that article, Why Does Cessationist Continue the Site? 2 Corinthians 12, 12, to defend their position. I mean, it's such a secondary argument anyway because the whole thrust of what's happening in the New Testament here. Jacob, James, chapter 5. Let me just read this to you. Putting aside even the question of the gifts of healing.

James, Jacob, chapter 5, beginning in verse 13. Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

Was that just for the first century? Is any of you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

No, obviously not. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.

Remember, you're sick enough, you have to call for them to come. The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise them up. If they've sinned, they'll be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. So, it is just supposed to be a common occurrence that a prayer of faith produces a miraculous healing and the Lord raises up someone who otherwise would not have been healed.

This should just be normal. Putting aside entirely the question of the gift of healing. And again, Paul's whole argument is that these things are happening through the body. And cessationists will freely admit, yeah, it's true, we don't have a single verse in the Bible that says explicitly that these things would stop. Yeah, but we have explicit verses saying that we should pursue them. And we have verses saying that they'll continue in the last days until Jesus comes.

So, what more could we have? It's the normative pattern. It reflects the nature of God. It's been normative through all the Bible. Oh, and by the way, church history is one of the worst arguments a cessationist could raise.

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Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. All right, let me move quickly here, and maybe at some point I'll write up a more full-length rebuttal. Again, with all respect to Pastor Pennington and those who endorsed the book, I was somewhat mortified going through it. I'm just saying that as a student of the Word, the lover of Scripture.

So, just being candid with you, just being as straight and candid as I can be. Let me explain why the argument from church history works against the Reformed Cessationist position. First thing, let's just ask the obvious question about Calvinism.

If you're a Reformed, you're a Calvinist, where in church history do you get the clear arguments for the position of predestination and election that you hold to? All right, show me in the late 1st century, early 2nd century church fathers, 3rd century church fathers. Oh, you have to wait really until you get to Augustine, because you can make a good case for the church preaching something different. You say, well, Augustine recovered what Paul said. Oh, interesting! So church history would say the first few centuries until you get to Augustine, you really don't have a clear statement that Calvinists could say, amen, that's exactly what we teach and affirm. Isn't that interesting?

Oh, wait, wait, hang on, there's a bigger problem. If you're a Protestant in general, you believe that there are things that God gave at the outset that got lost over history, and there had to be a Reformation. And shouldn't there be an ongoing Reformation? Isn't that part of the Protestant Reformation, always Reforming and going back to Scripture?

So, God continues to bring us back to Scripture. And, if you want to argue with church history that miraculous gifts ceased, well, then you have to accept church history that they've returned, overwhelmingly. Here, take the time to read Craig Keener's book Miracles Today. If you have the real time and want to get into the larger philosophical and exegetical issues, then you read his two-volume award-winning study Miracles, Craig Keener, K-E-E-N-E-R. But if you don't have the time, just read Miracles Today, document it case after case after case after case after case after case after case after case, where you, the only choice you can have is either to say, it's all lies, it's mountains and mountains of lies and doctors' lies and so on and so forth, or thank God, thank God for what he's doing. Or read Randy Clark's Eyewitness to Miracles, Eyewitness to Miracles.

And then look up the documented scientific studies that he cites, even his own doctoral dissertation of praying for people with metal implants and documenting results, okay? God is doing miraculous, wonderful things around the world to this moment. But what about church history? Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, written around 160 AD, Justin Martyr.

For those watching, we'll put some slides up for you. For the prophetic gifts remain with us even to the present time, all right? So, this is long after the death of the last apostle.

Or let's go to Irenaeus of Leon, Against Heresies, 180 AD. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe and join themselves to the church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come, they see visions and utter prophetic expressions. Others still heal the sick by laying their hands upon them in their made whole. Yet moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up and remained among us for many years. We do also hear many brethren in the church who possess prophetic gifts and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages.

Basil the Great, 350 AD. The Spirit enlightens all, inspires prophets, gives wisdom to lawmakers, consecrates priests, empowers kings, perfects the just, exalts the prudent, is active in gifts of healing, gives life to the dead, frees those in bondage, turns foreigners into adopted sons. Now, what's interesting, as Pastor Pennington quotes Augustine about gifts ceasing, etc., but what he doesn't quote is that as Augustine was writing City of God, his magnum opus, he had to change his views on the gifts of healing and miracles because in roughly a two-year period they documented about 70 miracles in their community. So, he had to revise his views based on what he was experiencing. Of course, the Scripture never changed in terms of that.

Now, I, again, I don't mean this to be disparaging, but I read the book and I was shocked after shocked after shocked. He writes, Charismatics teach that since tongues speaking is a learned behavior and an acquired skill, all Christians could do it. I know he's got a quota to that effect, but I've been speaking in tongues since January 24th of 1972. I've prayed in tongues, God knows how many thousands of hours.

I've ministered around the world in Charismatic Pentecostal circles for decades. I've never met anyone who says it's an acquired skill or a learned behavior. It's a gift. It's a gift of the Spirit. Now, if we believe that anyone can be baptized in the Spirit, that anyone can potentially speak in tongues, but it's a gift.

You can't make it happen. You can't, I don't learn the words, learn the, I've studied maybe 13 different languages over the years. I understand what it is to try to learn a language, all right? I didn't learn tongues.

The Spirit came on me. I began to speak in other tongues and have done so ever since. The idea that the New Testament says it's always a foreign language, that breaks down.

There's one example of it in Acts, the second chapter. Why were foreign languages spoken? Because there were many Jews there, right? There were many Jews there from around the world, and the Spirit spoke the message and whether the miracle was in the speaking, which I believe it was. Some believe it was in the hearing that they heard in their own language.

Let's say it was in the speaking. They spoke new languages so that all these people could recognize this as a miracle. When the Spirit falls in Acts 10, there's no reference to them being foreign languages, but if there were, what was the purpose? There were no foreign speakers there. What was the purpose of foreign languages? Nobody's going to understand them. Acts 19, Paul with the Ephesian believers, they speak in tongues and prophesied.

It doesn't say foreign languages, but again, what would have been the purpose of foreign languages? Who are they speaking to? But let's break this down even more. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 14. And let's look at what Paul says. Now here, this is an exhortation from Paul to you and to me.

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. This is for everybody, not just the apostles, not just the prophets. And it wasn't to get Revelation to add until the New Testament was written. And Chris, just leave the verses up there. It wasn't to, Pastor Pennington said the gifts were there to get Revelation until the New Testament was written.

No, the gifts operated for other purposes. They weren't getting revelation about the atonement, revelation about God's triunity, and revelation about other things, and then once the apostles wrote it, they stopped getting the revelation. No, and what's that got to do with healing or other miracles or tongues?

Nothing. In point of fact, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14, the prophetic words were speaking to people and revealing sin in their lives and bringing repentance etc. And the prophetic words we have in the New Testament are not bringing revelation but personal direction or rebuke or guidance or things like that, or confirmation. Read through it! Just look at the Word! Read it through!

It's there! So, Paul wrote this to you and to me. Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. That remains an exhortation until this day.

Until this moment. That is, the Spirit of God speaking to you and to me. For anyone who speaks in the tongue does not speak to people but to God.

Indeed, no one understands this day under mysteries by the Spirit. Okay, well hang on. If that means a foreign language, let's say that's what it means there. For anyone who speaks in the tongue, meaning a foreign language. So, miraculously I could start speaking in Hindi, or miraculously I could start speaking in Russian, or miraculously I could start speaking in a Mongolian dialect.

Alright? Let's just say that's what it means. What to what purpose? It does not speak to people, but to God. What is the purpose of me speaking in Mongolian to God? What's the purpose of me speaking in Hindi to God? What's the purpose of me speaking in Russian to God?

What's the purpose of that? No one understands. Well, certainly a Mongolian would understand it, or an Indian who speaks Hindi would understand it, or a Russian would understand it, but no one understands. It's not a foreign language, but what would be the purpose of me speaking a foreign language to God in prayer?

And I don't understand the words of it. No, they utter mysteries by the Spirit. It's a spiritual language. It's your spirit praying.

That's the whole thing. Now look, but the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strength and encouraging and comfort. Well, that would be like me speaking in a foreign language to someone that speaks that language. Right? I'm preaching and suddenly I begin to speak in tongues and it's actually speaking in Vietnamese to a Vietnamese person that happened to walk in the building. So, I am speaking to people, but it's just in a foreign language.

Right? But look at this. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. Okay, please, think about this. Please, please, please, think about this with me.

Will you? How does speaking in a foreign language I don't understand edify me? The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself. And I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I'd rather have you prophesy. And then he says, then he says about himself, I speak in tongues more than all of you, but in public I'd rather speak five words in a known tongue than 5,000 words in an unknown tongue.

Not a foreign language, an unknown tongue. And he says, people come in from the outside, what are they going to think? They hear you speaking in tongues, they're going to think you're crazy.

What are they going to think? You're speaking gibberish. That's what Paul's dealing with in the first century.

So, please think about it. If it's a foreign language, why would God's Spirit come on me to pray in a foreign language when there's no one there to understand it? I'm talking about in private prayer because everyone says keep it in private. Okay, why on earth would the Holy Spirit move on someone to pray in private in Chinese alone in their home for an hour with no Chinese person to speak to?

How were they edifying themselves? Paul says, when I pray in the Spirit, my mind is not fruitful because my mind doesn't understand it. But if you're praying the language of the Spirit, if it's the Holy Spirit praying through you, you are edified. And then as you continue to pray, then the Holy Spirit begins to give insight to your heart and mind so you pray that you may interpret. But the whole argument that it's a foreign language breaks down on itself by the very nature of what Paul writes, so you edify yourself. Friends, these are major arguments presented in what is now like the book on cessationism. The arguments collapse on themselves, embrace the Word, embrace the Spirit. If you've been hurt by people, flaky stuff, may God bring healing and help to you and then re-embrace the Word and the Spirit and everything God is doing on the earth today. And once more, my public, open, gracious invitation to any cessationist scholar or theologian that's recognized, let's have a good two, three-hour public moderated discussion for the edifying of the body and the glory of Jesus.