Cessationism and Pentecostalism (Part V) "The Bible Says"

    

I was listening to a sermon recently by one of my first Pastors in Pentecostalism. This is a man I put great trust in and grew to love him and his family dearly. We were about the same age so our boys played together, and we ate at each other's table. Our families were very close, and his influence in my life was greater than any previous Pastor I had known.

In the sermon, he told the story of how he personally prayed for a young child that had been dead for 4 days and raised it back to life. He told of the time he was preaching and God told him to call a man in the congregation up for prayer. The man had been in an accident and had gotten his foot caught in some machinery and his foot was crushed and it was said he would never walk again. God told him to take the man's foot and beat it against the floor three times. The man was reluctant to allow it because of the pain, but after doing so the Lord immediately and totally healed him. What before was just a limp lump of crushed flesh was now a brand-new foot.  He told of the time he prayed for a 14-year-old girl that had been born without a spine. After several operations, she now had a 10-inch steel rod in her back supporting her. After praying for her he told her to touch the floor with the palms of her hands. She immediately became flexible and was able to do so. She came back a few days later in another service and presented X-Rays of her spine before and after. The steel rod had disappeared and a brand new spine was in its place. He told of the time a woman came to him and wanted him to pray for her daughter that was in a mental hospital. He had two peppermint candies in his pocket. He took those mints out and prayed over them in Jesus's Name and told the lady to give them to her daughter. By the end of the week, the hospital called the woman and told her to come and get her daughter, she was normal. All of these things affirm his calling as a modern-day Prophet and Apostle. 

The difficulty of this is, because of who he is, I still want to believe this man after many years of absence. Compounding the difficulty, his whole family affirms what he says, a whole congregation of people whom I love and trust affirms him still to be trustworthy. However, the substance of our faith must rest in scripture alone and not the words or experiences of men.  We as Christians at one time placed everything upon what the Bible says, and men often quote the Bible saying, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) They imply since he does not change and he did signs, wonders, and miracles then he must still do so now. It was an argument a young scripturally naive man like myself found reasonable. 

I have come to understand what the Bible says is more than a phrase quoted without its context. There was a friend at work who told me one time, "you can make the Bible say anything you want it to". That's a common argument for those who want to reject its authority. 

You may remember the Christmas video where someone took clips from the Star Trek series and so comprised them together they appeared to be singing a Christmas song. You can weave through the Bible and do the same thing. However, if you take it as a whole in its meaning, the real truth of the Scripture is revealed. Watching the whole series of Star Trek reveals it had nothing to do with Christmas. So it is with Scripture, you must take it as a whole and weigh its doctrines in its entirety. Therefore, I cannot accept his statements as true. What the actual facts concerning those events are I do not know. Perhaps they occurred in such a way that he himself believes them to be. Perhaps there is some truth to them which has been embellished to appear more than they are. I cannot answer for him, I can only know from the Scriptures they cannot be as he has stated them to be. I know there is a debate within Christianity between Cessationism and Continuationism. The fact there is a debate affirms for me there is no continuation of the Apolostic offices and gifts. They were so profound in their time there was no debate if they existed or not. That was their purpose, and they did not fail. Every argument I have heard or read for their continuation eventually falls apart. Everything presented as their evidence and every testimony in their favor is swallowed up in the providence of God.  

In this series so far the emphasis has been on Pentecostalism, its practice, and behavioral experiences. Very little has been mentioned concerning Cessationism as understood in Christianity. Let's begin by defining Cessationism. The word is not in Webster, only cessation, which is defined as: "a temporary or final ceasing (as of action)" Theopedia defines Cessationism stating, "in Christian theology, is the view that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, such as healing, tongues, and prophetic revelation, pertained to the apostolic era only, served a purpose that was unique to establishing the early church, and passed away before the canon of Scripture was closed (comp. 1 Cor. 13:8-12 with Heb. 2:3-4)." The purpose was to affirm and validate the words and actions of the Gospel message. The Apostle Paul uses this argument as a ground for his authority in 2 Corinthians 12:12 ESV

(12)  The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. The use of the word "true apostle" would seem there were those claiming apostleship, but a distinction was made between the true and the false by the works.

Cessationism states these signs, wonders, and mighty works as done by these men ceased as the church was firmly established. However, Cessationism does not promote the idea that miracles, healing, and God's governance have ceased in the world today, only the apostolic gifts and office. Cessationism would confirm by the process of prayer the bringing forth of healing or some miraculous work through his divine providence. The contrast would be Peter in Acts 9:32-35 ESV

(32)  Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

(33)  There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed.

(34)  And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose.

(35)  And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

Cessationism would suggest that Peter's Apostolic office and gift are no longer operating in the church. It would however embrace a Christian walking in and praying for one like Aeneas and perhaps later hearing they had unexpectedly recovered and regained their health. Cessationism allows for God through His providential means to provide for and meet the needs of his people and accomplish His will and purpose. It appears more miraculous to me for God to govern the acts of an untold number of events and circumstances to bring about a particular purpose than to do it in one miraculous act. 

Now let's move on to Christian doctrine and how the church has experienced and lived the faith throughout history. Beginning in the book of Acts, we can see a salvation experience in its infancy.

 Acts 8:30-38 ESV

(30)  So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

(31)  And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

(32)  Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.

(33)  In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”

(34)  And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”

(35)  Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

(36)  And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”

(38)  And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

This is a wonderful example of Christian conversion, you have a man reading the scriptures not quite sure of his understanding. Another man comes to his aid explaining how it is to be understood and the Gospel's meaning. The Holy Spirit so working upon the mind that a clear understanding is achieved and faith arises. Having repented and believed the Gospel, he inquires concerning baptism. The requirements being met, he is baptized in water and begins his Christian walk. Notice the simplicity of the Gospel, no fire tunnels, no being slain in the spirit, no speaking in tongues, no signs and wonders, nothing but faith and repentance necessary. As this man left that day, his life would be changed. How would he now live? How would he now think? We do not know how much doctrinal understanding he had received that day from Phillip, but he began like the rest of us on a journey of studying the scriptures and learning Christian doctrine. Through the teachings of Christ and the Apostles, their writings, and the Old Testament Scriptures, the Christian church learned and grew.  Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV

(19)  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

(20)  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

(21)  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

(22)  In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

This in its essence I think is what Jude was referring to in Jude 1:3 ESV

(3)  Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. This common salvation and the Christian faith was once and for all time delivered to the saints, it was not to be altered or changed. It is that faith we as Christians are to hold to and long to preserve. 

Most likely the understanding the Ethiopian eunuch left with that day would have been very similar to what is seen in the Apostles Creed. It was so named as a sum and substance of the early Apostolic teaching that the disciples would have taught. The earliest version found is A.D. 215.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen.

For the protestant reader, the term "holy catholic church" does not refer to the church in Rome. Catholic is a term meaning the universal church, it is in connection to the statement by Jude concerning the one faith delivered to the saints for all time. There is only one true universal church and it consists of and rests upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. It is upon that foundation alone that Christian doctrine resides. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

We also have a document called the Didache, simply meaning "Teaching". It is a collection of instructions drawn from the teachings of the Apostles as well. The Didache was widely read by the early church and used much like the great Confessions of the Reformation. It consists of various parts, starting with the “Two Ways” ethical instruction and including community rules for liturgical practices and leadership conduct, before ending with a short apocalyptic section. While some of the material is dated before the year 100, the current form of the document is probably mid-second century at the earliest. It gives instructions concerning baptisms and the Communion meal along with other church activities. Today, one feels like they are navigating a maze trying to discern what Christian doctrine actually is. Churches are so diverse from one another that you can call them anything but a universal church. Discovering the early church creeds gave me a compass to navigate with. I realized the doctrine laid down in those early creeds we scripturally based and those core beliefs were consistent in the true church throughout its history. I found more solid ground reading the early church liturgies. I realized, if I were to walk upon a church service from 2,000 years ago, even without knowing their language, just by observance I would recognize it as a church service. That is how consistent the Christian Church has been in history. 

Within the Didache you find statements such as these:  

1. Whosoever then comes and teaches you all these things aforesaid, receive him.

2. But if the teacher himself be perverted and teach another doctrine to destroy these things, do not listen to him, but if his teaching is for the increase of righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord.

3. And concerning the Apostles and Prophets, act thus according to the ordinance of the Gospel.

The Church in its beginning was very serious about maintaining orthodoxy. If anyone were to bring such behavior as we are seeing in the Pentecostal churches today into their fellowship, it most certainly would be brought into question. In all the early liturgical practices recorded in the first few centuries, we find no instructions for practices such as "slain in the spirit, fire tunnels, impartations, dancing, running, jumping, or any of the Pentecostal manifestations we see today. 

This can be demonstrated by examining the teachings of Montanus. Like Pentecostalism, his teaching took on an "ism" Montanism. He was active under Antoninus Pius who ruled from 138 to 161 AD. He felt the church was falling back into worldliness and needed to be reformed. His primary emphasis was like our Pentecostalism, on the charismata. He claimed to be able to receive direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. Because of this revelation from the Holy Spirit, he promoted the idea he could interpret the scriptures properly. He believed (like my previous Pastor) he had special prophetic gifts like the Apostles. The Montanists held to the traditional orthodox views of church doctrine which made them even more dangerous. They looked and talked like every other Christian, their error was their addition of continued revelation and miraculous gifts. They like Pentecostalism believed that true Christianity depended on a mystical experience with the Holy Spirit, and they taught a two-tiered division of believers, distinguishing between ordinary believers and the "pneumatakoi", or “spirit-filled” believers. Those who were filled with the Holy Ghost were “more spiritual” because they had received a special indwelling of the Holy Spirit after conversion. According to the Montanists, a life of true holiness or godliness was not possible if you were not numbered among the "pneumatakoi" those baptized with the Holy Spirit. 

 Like many in Pentecostalism, Montanism taught that, ultimately, any believer at all, could become a “prophet” for Christ had promised the Paraclete or Holy Spirit to all believers.  

Montanist worship services included prophetic declarations much like we see today on Christian television. Another belief was to minimize entanglements with the physical world. According to historical accounts, Montanus, a recent Christian convert, appeared at Ardabau, a small village in Phrygia in about 156 AD. He fell into a trance-like state similar to the Pentecostal "Slain in the Spirit" doctrine and began to “prophesy under the influence of the Spirit.” He was soon joined by the two young women, Prisca and Maximilla, who also began to prophesy and they would eventually introduce women into church leadership. The movement spread throughout Asia Minor and inscriptions have indicated that a number of towns were almost completely converted to Montanism. This was no small controversy and troubled the church extensively. They insisted on being called Christian and possessing the true Christian doctrine. They were eventually deemed a heresy, however, they had gained such a large following it took over 400 years for it to finally fade away. 

The Church recognized that the Montanist prophecies were of a different order. True prophets did not, as Montanus did, deliberately induce a kind of ecstatic intensity and a state of passivity and then maintain that the words they spoke were the voice of the Spirit. It also became clear that the claim of Montanus to have the final revelation of the Holy Spirit implied that something could be added to the teaching of Christ and the Apostles and that, therefore, the church had to accept a fuller revelation. The tongues speaking also was like the Pentecostals today consisting of a non-discernable jibberish instead of known languages as demonstrated in the Apostolic record. Before its popularity waned, even Tertullian, the great defender of the Christian faith became a convert. 

Pentecostals today for the most part have no idea their beliefs and practices are nothing more than the old heresy of Montanism revisited. It took 4 centuries last time to purge the church of its teachings, we have had it again now for slightly over 120 years. Like then, it has now spread over the entire Christian world. Like then, it retains much of the Orthodox Christian teachings and insists on being recognized as Christian. Yet, it suffers the same fault of continued revelation and spiritual mysticism. I would implore you to avoid any of these groups and search the scriptures yourself for true Christian doctrine. 

Acquaint yourself with the early Church creeds and confessions as most of these heresies have been fought and defeated by previous generations and Orthodox teachings reaffirmed. For those outside of the Christian faith, I would implore you to avoid what is seen today on Christian media. I would instead direct you as well to the scriptures and early church teachings for an understanding of true Christian faith.

David

Cessationism and Pentecostalism (Part IV) "The Psychology"

The catchline of an old commercial I used to see as a child has stayed with me over the years, you may remember it, at the end they stated, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste".  We will discover I think, it is also a difficult thing to understand. In preparation for this discourse, I read numerous articles from various psychological websites, both from religious and secular perspectives. My desire was to perhaps gain some insight into the seemingly strange behavior I encountered within Pentecostal circles. This obviously overlaps with some of our previous discussions. For instance, speaking in tongues, outside of Pentecostalism appears to be a bizarre behavior. What motivational forces lie behind an otherwise normal intelligent individual to cause him or her to leave their linguistic mode of communication and enter into a non-linguistic mode of vocalization? Those within Pentecostalism would say the Power of the Holy Ghost. However, in the minds of many, that is questionable. 

The first behavior we will discuss preceded our Pentecostalism, however, Pentecostalism has embraced it as a unique manifestation of their own claim of a fuller measure of God and spirituality. In spite of this claim, many of the behavioral manifestations they present as evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit we also find in Eastern religions and cults. Therefore, our quest for understanding the mind goes beyond the scope of Pentecostalism to a much broader range of behavior. I suppose our best approach would be to describe exactly what behavioral manifestations we are talking about.  

All churches have a liturgy that governs the way they do things and people generally know what to expect during the service. In my experience in Pentecostal circles, that expectation was to expect the unexpected. The understanding was you couldn't put God in a box, you were to let the Spirit move. The Scripture passage 1st Thessalonians 5:19 ESV (19)  "Do not quench the Spirit." was sometimes sighted to validate these behavioral manifestations. Albeit, in the scriptural context of that command no such understanding is suggested. 

One such behavioral practice I observed often was that of being "slain in the Spirit". This practice usually consisted of a minister or church leader touching a willing participant on the forehead or chest area during the later part of the service which was usually referred to as ministry time. Upon being touched, the participant would fall backward and what is called a catcher would catch them and gently lay them on the floor. A number of TV Evangelists practice this in dramatic form during their telecasts to obtain optimum attention.   

This behavior supposedly is a result of the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon this person. The minister's ability to do this is usually referred to as the anointing.  The state of awareness this person is placed in varies depending upon the experience. Some report to have been in some kind of trance totally unaware of their soundings, even seeing visions while others remain aware yet in a heightened state of spiritual ecstasy. I would give you a scriptural text for this practice but there isn't one. There is nothing like it recorded in scripture, either of a descriptive or prescriptive nature. Pentecostal supporters will sometimes give reference to accounts in scripture where individuals did fall or were unable to stand as a result of God's presence. However, none of those accounts describe this particular behavior or practice. 

I found myself a participant in this practice numerous times, and I was expecting to be zapped at any moment. In my experiences, I felt nothing while many around me were slain by this phenomenon. After inquiring why that might be to my Pastor, he told me I should simply yield to the minister and fall and let the catcher lay me on the floor. He then said I should lay there and let God minister to me. What "letting God minister to me" exactly meant I was not told. So I obeyed my Pastor and at the next opportunity, I yielded to the minister, was caught by the catcher, and was laid on the floor. I remained there for a great while trying to focus on God and asking Him to do whatever He was supposed to do. I was much aware of what was going on around me, so much so, it was hard to concentrate, while others were being zapped. Finally, I returned to my seat disappointed, confused, and feeling very unspiritual. I was left wondering why I was never able to experience God like these other people did.

One very troubling aspect of this came the next Sunday morning. I was a Sunday School teacher in a youth class. That morning in my class one young lady commented about observing my experience in that service. Her statement was that she had been skeptical of the reality of that experience. However, my influence in her life was such that having seen me fall under the power of God in that service convinced her of its reality. Sadly, I was too weak and naive to tell her I had experienced nothing. I didn't want to discourage her in what I saw then as spiritual growth in faith. To this day I regret having misled that young girl into that deception. It was not purposely done, but my own deception and confusion led to that damaging influence. I had to wonder how many others had done the same thing, and I was like this young girl, being deceived. That is one of the reasons I write articles such as this, hopefully, to help someone avoid such deception. 

This was but one event that began a long road of questioning what I believed and why. I will admit, that quest almost brought me to the point of despair with religion. At one time I wondered if true Christian doctrine could ever really be known. President Jefferson once said, "Question with boldness even the existence of God, because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than the blindfold of fear." - Thomas Jefferson. Question I did, and it brought me back to Scripture. Every doctrine must be weighed by that measure. 

Because we have no scripture to support this practice, we will have to approach it from another perspective. That application I believe is made from the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. That is the Latin phrase for Scripture alone. It is the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture that I believe should lead one to the Regulative principle of worship. The regulative principle of worship as opposed to the normative allows for only that which is clearly prescribed by Scripture. The observance of this principle even in a moderate sense helps keep the church safe from unorthodox practices such as this. Our Christian worship and practice should be what we see prescribed in our New Testament text. This practice cannot be supported by that principle. 

 

So how exactly are we to explain what causes people to exhibit such behavior when they ordinarily would not do so? The Pentecostal response of course would be the power of God. But that answer sets the course for some serious inquiry. If it is God, is He validating Eastern religions also? I was told in my circles the Eastern religions that do these things were simply counterfeits, they were demonic and copied Christianity and the power of the Holy Spirit. What the Pentecostal churches were doing were supposedly real manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit and what the Eastern religions were doing was nothing more than demons presenting a false experience. That is a good thought-stopping technique and was sufficient to stop me from inquiring for a while. However, I could not help but wonder about the other religions. Once you begin to look into their experiences, you find they are reporting similar experiences.

So what was happening to these people around me? They were my friends, brothers in Christ! I had known most of them my entire life. I knew their character, they certainly would not mislead me. I knew they loved God and wanted to obey him. This was very troubling and I simply couldn't understand what was going on. Why would they act this way, and report such experiences if God was not involved?

I knew it had to be real to them. A Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy statement suggested that such experiences "serves to reassure the believer of their growing closeness to God." I could understand why it would, but what were these experiences, and where were they coming from? Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy explained the reality of what they may be feeling this way. Using an example of embarrassment, "on this account will involve the thought (which may be simply entertained rather than asserted) that I have done something that will lower the regard in which I am held by others, where this thought gives rise to a feeling of a broadly negative nature, involving some sort of pain, discomfort or distress (and depending on the model, the particular character of this feeling may be taken to be relative to embarrassment or kindred emotions, or understood in more generic terms) (see Budd 1985, Chapter 1)." 

This I could understand, for this was a real experience. I knew embarrassment had caused a real physical manifestation in my body and I could feel it. Where did it come from? It came from my mind, a thought from my perception of others and how they perceived me.

This may not answer our questions fully, but it does open up the possibility that the mind is capable of producing real emotions and physical manifestations that can affect our behavior. If the mind can, by a simple thought cause one to blush, feel hot, uncomfortable, and even shake, could it not also produce these so call spiritual sensations that I was seeing in others around me? As I was brought to embarrassment, that same situation might not affect the person next to me and bring them the same embarrassment. From this I can conclude, I was not less spiritual than the other people, my mind was just not affected by the stimulation of the service as theirs was. What was being perceived as a touch from God could simply be an illusion created by stimulations of the mind.

We have already discussed in previous posts how the power of suggestion and placebo can affect us. By definition, "suggestion is a psychological process in which people are manipulated by a scene, an image, a word, or a situation." At the University of Washington, researchers gave a pill to a group of people and told them that it would improve their level of intelligence. In reality, it was a placebo, and it didn’t increase any cognitive ability whatsoever. Nevertheless, the participants’ state of alertness and attention increased, and they achieved better results on the tasks that the researchers gave them. If a group of students can experience such a level of behavioral change, would it be unreasonable to think a group of church members placed in a strongly suggestive situation could also experience a real behavioral change?

Please understand, we're not saying Christianity is to be experienced without emotion. We most certainly experience a variety of emotions in our Christian walk. The feeling that is experienced with the discovery of a wonderful truth and the feeling that is manipulated to produce an illusion are two different things. 

 

Nineteenth-century revivalist Charles Finney recognized the importance of such manipulation in the work he did, and he gave a clear theological explanation for the purely natural ways in which he controlled emotions. In his Lectures on revivals, he writes: “Almost all the religion in the world has been produced by revivals. God has found it necessary to take advantage of the excitability there is in mankind, to produce powerful excitements among them before he can lead them to obey.” He saw emotional excitement as essential to revival as well as a sign of spirituality: “There must be excitement sufficient to wake up the dormant moral powers, and roll back the tide of degradation and sin.” Finney frankly recognizes that this emotion was not at all supernatural. It was entirely natural, at the disposal of the preacher and listener but in essence, lead one to an experience with God: “There is nothing in religion beyond the ordinary powers of nature. It consists entirely in the right exercise of the powers of nature.” In our understanding today he might say powers of the mind. Indeed for Finney, “a revival is as naturally a result of the use of the appropriate means as a crop is of the use of its appropriate means.” Though Finney preceded Pentecostalism, he was a precursor to that movement. In his zeal to find an experience, he relates a moment of seeking God in the woods by describing a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost which he explained was “like a wave of electricity going through and through me…seemed to come in waves of liquid love.” This is the kind of language you find today in Pentecostal circles. Finny used these means of experiences to manipulate and achieve what he saw as success in evangelism, and it appears Pentecostalism is using them to achieve its behavioral manifestations. 

Some other behavior oddities I encountered would be a practice called "Fire tunnels". A fire tunnel is when a group of church members line up and make two rows facing each other. Participants will walk between the two rows while the members lay hands on them usually crying out "Fire!". Many times participants will fall while in the tunnel and supposedly experience the same sensation as the "slain in the spirit" participants. 

Impartation is another practice that occurs in some Pentecostal churches. Participants line up while the minister lays hands on them and imparts to them some special spiritual gift. Having received this gift generally brings the persons into the deception of thinking they have an ability they previously did not possess and are told to practice it and become more proficient in it. Obviously, when they try to operate in this gift unsuccessfully, they are instructed to not get discouraged and to keep practicing. These extremes are becoming the norm in many Pentecostal churches. They grew out of the older behavioral practices such as Jericho walks to things like foot washing. These older practices had lesser spiritual emphasis and were for the most part harmless. But once you open the door to extra-Biblical practices other things are waiting outside seeking to follow suit. 

There are extremes to these behavioral practices that I can't explain by these Placebo and suggestive methods, they go to a different level. I have seen some that are quite concerning. People go beyond just experiencing sensations and physically jerk and convulse violently, many times crying out in a frightening way. They report feeling pressure on their body and an inability to control their actions. Some even report seeing gold dust or angel feathers falling from the ceiling, I have a dear friend who claims to have seen such. They are told this is God and so they believe it to be so. What this is I don't know, it appears very similar to the demonic activity you read about in Scripture. It is very concerning. We have this command in Scripture,  1 John 4:1 ESV (1)  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

   

People involved in Eastern religions often give similar testimonies. They report feeling love and compassion for all that is and recognize themselves as an intrinsic part of all. This sounds very similar to what Finney described happened to him. Their body may shake and feel hot. People involved in these eastern religions demonstrate various physical healings just like those demonstrated in Pentecostal circles. Everything that glitters is not gold and every spiritual experience is not God. 

 In Acts 8:9-13 ESV we have the account of Simon, whatever he was doing that is translated as magic, had people convinced it was God. 

(9)  But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.

(10)  They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.”

(11)  And they paid attention to him because, for a long time, he had amazed them with his magic.

(12)  But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

(13)  Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Notice the signs and great miracles amazed even Simon; it was beyond what he was able to do. Today one can find no great distinction between what Pentecostalism is producing and what the Eastern regions are producing as far as testimonies and results. What is being presented by Pentecostalism falls far short of the actual gifts described and demonstrated in scripture. Some of the older Pentecostal circles present an orthodox gospel, but they brought the magic of Simon and the sensations of the Eastern religions into the church. They took scriptural phrases and eisogeted them into their practices. They took descriptive passages and use them as rules of behavior in Christian worship. As a result, the door was opened for the manipulation of men and perhaps even the influence of the demonic.  

If you are in a church where any of these things are occurring,  please take a moment to question what you are being taught and perhaps even experiencing. If what you are seeing or doing is not clearly stated in Scripture and the practice is easily understood without some attempt at eisegesis, you are in danger of stepping beyond the bounds of Christian worship.

Next time we will examine Historic Christianity in contrast to what is being presented today in these Pentecostal churches. 

David  

Cessationism and Pentecostalism (Part III) "The Still Small Voice"

 

In part III we will examine one of the most abused and yet subtle teachings/practices that have come out of Pentecostalism. It has found its way into almost every denomination and scarcely a Christian has not heard it. It concerns hearing the voice of God. You likely have heard it referred to as "the still small voice." It is a doctrine brought forth from 1st Kings 19:11-13. Let us look at it starting with verse 9 

1 Kings 19:9-13 ESV

(9)  There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

(10)  He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

(11)  And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

(12)  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (KJV a still small voice.)

(13)  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

From this single passage, an entire doctrine has developed. It is so wide and broad that we can't cover all the nuances associated with it in this discussion. An endless list of books is offered to promise to teach you how to hear God's voice. One popular Baptist TV preacher is well known for his testimony of how God told him where to go buy a Thanksgiving turkey. We are told we should be hearing God's voice in every detail of our lives. However, if you notice in the passage, the text is not implying God's voice is small or a whisper. Elijah did not have any difficulty hearing God clearly and loudly before or after the quietness described in the experiences. The text has nothing to do with how God speaks to us, God seems to be making a comparison between judgments and tender mercies. Exodus 34:6 ESV (6)  The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,. Abert Barnes comments saying, "literally, “a sound of soft stillness.” The teaching is a condemnation of that “zeal” which Elijah had gloried in, a zeal exhibiting itself in fierce and terrible vengeances, and an exaltation and recommendation of that mild and gentle temper, which “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” But it was so contrary to the whole character of the stern, harsh, unsparing Tishbite, that it could have found no ready entrance into his heart. It may have for a while moderated his excessive zeal, and inclined him to gentler courses; but later in his life the old harshness recurred in a deed in reference to which our Lord himself drew the well-known contrast between the spirits of the two Dispensations". Yet from this one isolated phrase in all of scripture comes this enormously popular teaching. 

In the circles of Pentecostalism I was associated with it goes something like this. Someone would come up to you, would say, "I feel the Lord saying" or "I have a word for you" and then describe the particular message they would have from God. Generally, it was something concerning a blessing or some promotion coming into your life. Mostly very vague so any number of things that might happen or had happened could possibly be associated with "the word" that was given. 

You also might be found struggling with a particular decision personally. In this case, you would be instructed to go and pray in tongues and listen for God to speak to you "in this still small voice" of course. To understand my reference to speaking in tongues go here: Speaking in Tongues  This instruction leaves you spending sometimes hours a week speaking in your mystical prayer language and listening for this still small voice. You don't know exactly what that's going to sound like, perhaps a thought or intuition in your mind. The nonpentecostal version is pretty much the same except without the ecstatic tongue language.  

After time and effort, you either find something in your mind you can associate with hearing from God or you are left wondering why you can't hear God like these other people do. I've been in both those modes and they are both frustrating, confusing, and harmful. And if you actually do hear a voice, I'm told there are doctors that can help you with that. I'm using a little sarcasm, but it is no joking matter,  most of the largest religious cults find their root in the fact someone heard a voice speak to them. This is a very dangerous doctrine and Pentecostalism is promoting it in the Christian world and it is causing tremendous division and confusion. 

Sometimes it is even suggested signs are to be interpreted as God speaking to you. Someone may come to your mind in prayer and you interpret that to mean you need to pray for them or go witness to them. You may wake up at a particular time of the night and interpret that to mean God is wanting to speak to you in this still small voice. You may have a feeling to go a different way to work and find out later there was an accident on your usual route. You may interpret that as God telling you in that still small voice to go a different way to avoid the accident. You may see a billboard traveling down the road, it may be worded in such a way as could be an answer to your prayer and you interpret it as God speaking to you. Some of this may sound silly, but I have heard all these things in Pentecostal circles. None of those practices are spoken of in scripture as means by which God speaks to us. Should we really be accepting unbiblical practices and implementing them into our Christian walk? Largely these things are just simply overlooked and dismissed as harmless, but in reality, they are quite the opposite.    

If so dangerous, what are we to do? Did Jesus not say in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”? He most certainly did and they most certainly do. Pentecostalism takes this verse and others like it out of its context to affirm its doctrine of hearing God's voice. The context of this scripture is not about hearing a voice in your head or any other wise telling you where to go buy a turkey etc. This is in reference to his people hearing His call to repentance and coming to him in Salvation. 

How then am I going to know what God wants me to do with my life? Peter tells us 2 Peter 1:3 ESV

(3)  His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,. 

Peter also said, 2 Peter 1:19-21 ESV 

(19)  And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 

(20)  knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.

(21)  For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

He has spoken to us through the scriptures everything we need to know, they are sufficient for us to enjoy fellowship with Him and live a successful Christian life. The routes we take going to work, the people that come to our minds during prayer, the times we are awakened at night, and all the contingent events of our lives that turn us one way or the other, these are not God-speaking specific instructions into our lives. They are simply His governance over our lives through His wonderful Providence. If we have a major decision to make in our lives, we most certainly pray about it. We go to Him in prayer and ask God for guidance according to His purpose. Then we take what we know and have learned from his word and make a decision based upon those principles and trust His Providence as we walk through this life. We must understand what appears to us as perhaps a mistake or contingent event in our lives has been ordered by God's Sovereign decree for our own learning and benefit.

We as Christians must rest in the sufficiency of Scripture. We have His history, His revelation of Himself, the revelation of our Redemption, and all the practical ways of living the Christian life laid out before us in the Scriptures. Our lives are secure in Him, we can walk the Christian life with certainty. 

It is when we step outside of this sufficiency we move into mysticism and all the uncertainty it brings. We are left wondering, was that God or me, was that God or just circumstance. We are never sure, and if something doesn't work out, Pentecostalism just tells us we simply missed God. God is too big to miss, if He wants us to know something, do something, or go somewhere, His wonderful Providence will surely see it come to pass. There are wonderful examples in scripture where God did speak loudly and clearly of His revelation and instructions to the church through the Apostles and Prophets. We also have wonderful examples where he directed his people through His divine Providence in their lives without speaking through some special still small voice in their heads or giving them some special sign. They simply walked with him through his ever-sufficient Word. Take a look at  Acts 19:1-5 ESV.

(1)  And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.

(2)  And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

(3)  And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.”

(4)  And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”

(5)  On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Notice in verse 1 all these events "happened" (γίνομαι "A prolonged and middle form of a primary verb; to cause to be (“gen” -erate), that is, (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literally, figuratively, intensively, etc.) The KJV uses "came to pass". Let us examine some of the nuances within this text. (1st) Apollos (happened) to be at Corinth. (2nd) Paul was in route and he (happened) to arrive at Ephesus where he (happened) to find disciples. (3rd) The disciples (happened) to be traveling through as well or abiding at some location within Paul's travel path. (4th) The disciples had not the full knowledge they needed concerning Christ. (5th) Paul (happens) to have the knowledge they needed. (6th) When they meet, conversation (happens) in such a way this knowledge is brought to the forefront. All these events result in these disciples being baptized.

Notice no one is following a "still small voice" getting a "word" "waking up during the night" or "seeing a billboard along the way". They are all going about their daily lives following the course of their responsibilities. In that course, God actively works to effect His will and purpose in all these events. His governing Providence has each decision within its grasp, arranging all things according to His designed purpose. This hearing the voice of God doctrine has our focus distracted, looking or praying for some specific event to happen in our lives; all the while our lives are filled each day with his perfect Providence as we simply walk with him. Let us clear our minds of such troubling doctrines and walk with our Father through his Word, serving Him in the Holy Spirit, enjoying the redemption of the His Son by His wonderful grace. In Part IV we will examine the aspect of Pentecostal behavior.

David 

Cessationism and Pentecostalism ( Part II ) "The Holy Spirit and Power"

                                                                                   

At the beginning of part II of this series, it will be necessary to take a brief look at the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The Pentecostal view concerning this doctrine is their main deviation from orthodoxy and gives substance to all the other aberrant teachings we will later discuss.

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit itself has variations within Pentecostalism. All forms hold to the experience while some would say the experience itself is a sign of Salvation, making it in some cases a salvation issue. The circles I was associated with did not hold that strict of a view. They understood a salvation experience followed by this second blessing that would be accompanied by speaking in tongues. This was called "being filled with the Spirit" or sometimes "getting the Holy Ghost." I have already covered speaking in tongues in a previous article so I will not repeat that here. If you desire to explore that subject in greater detail you can do so by following this link: Speaking In Tongues 

In Pentecostalism after having experienced this second benefit or blessing, one was to expect a much greater power in living the Christian life. Power over sin and temptations were to be greatly increased. This has its roots in the Holiness movement that preceded Pentecostalism, but that is another subject for another time. If you had asked me while I was in the movement, I would have affirmed this power to be true. Looking back now years later, I realize the only thing that has strengthened my walk or sanctification is just simple growth in the Christian life over the years. Sanctification is a true Biblical doctrine, but it is not brought about by some powerful second experience. It is brought about in the Christian's life by his or her growth in the knowledge of God and understanding of His word. 

One of the scriptures Pentecostals will point to as proof of this power claim is Acts 1:8 ESV

(8)  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Truly this did happen and the disciples did witness with great power until all the known world had heard the Gospel. However, leaving this text in its context and considering the totality of scripture that has been given to the church, we discover the true work of the Holy Spirit. It is not found in some second powerful experience that creates another class of Christians where one group has this wonderful ability and the other group does not. We do find the Holy Spirit working in all Christians' lives with power. Paul gives us some insight through one of his prayers in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 3:14-21 ERV

(14)  So I bow in prayer before the Father.

(15)  Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him.

(16)  I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit.

(17)  I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.

(18)  And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is.

(19)  Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.

(20)  With God's power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.

(21)  To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.

He does his work of sanctification in the believer through the knowledge of the scriptures. John 17:17 ESV

(17)  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV

(3)  His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

(4)  by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Secondly, in Pentecostalism, the power to heal sickness and cast out devils is also attributed to having received this second experience. I have seen hundreds of people prayed for over the years, many of which gave testimony of some measure of healing. I myself have been prayed for and then given testimony of relief from pain or some greater comfort as a result of that prayer. I have seen demons cast out while the person lay on the floor of the church making scary sounds, afterward to testify of deliverance. However, looking back now upon those times I realize nothing changed in any of the circumstances. There were no real healings or demonic deliverances. All those people continued later to be sick and the supposed devil casting resulted in no real change in the person's life. Yet at the time, all these things seemed real. How are we to understand this? 

It seems what I was seeing was the "sugar pill" effect, we have all heard how that works. Someone is instructed to take a certain medication when in reality, it is only a sugar pill, but the patient has such an expectation or belief that it will work they experience improvement. This even interferes with medical research, for it skews the results. I was recently reading some research on the effects of certain natural remedies for a specific health issue. Some of the research had shown considerable improvement through natural remedies. However, the same research was done using a placebo treatment (sugar pill) and they received nearly the same results as the natural herbs.

Those testimonies of healing, including my own, were true testimonies, but our minds were deceiving us because of our enhanced expectation of receiving the healing. Science journalist Erik Vance speaking of the brain states, " . . . it's an expectation generator. It creates these expectations. What's interesting about them is when your expectation and reality don't match, sometimes the brain will step in and make the expectation a reality. The easiest example of this is with pain. In one of my first reporting experiences, I got electrocuted in this chair for half an hour or so. Every time I got a green light I got a small shock. Every time I saw a red light I got a large shock and went back and forth." Erik goes on to explain at the end of the experiment they were shocking him equally with the larger shock on both green and red lights, yet, because of his expectation, his brain gave him the illusion the green light still felt like the smaller shock. 

That is why it is so difficult to correct these misconceptions within the church because, for those who have had hands laid upon them for prayer, the experience was real. That is why the testimonies you hear are what are referred to as psychosomatic healing. (psychosomatic medicine/psychosomatic science is the study and practice of integrating mind, brain, body, and social context into medicine.) Everyone I saw prayed for with a terminal disease later died of that disease regardless of their testimony. In over 25 years in these circles, while attending conventions of some of the biggest superstars in the business, I never saw a single miracle that was verifiable. Yet, the placebo effect (The tendency of any medication or treatment, even an inert or ineffective one, to exhibit results simply because the recipient believes that it will work.) provided enough results to keep the mind deceived.

How this healing power is administered varies with Pentecostal groups, in the circles which I was associated with it came both by laying on of hands usually while anointing the person with oil, and then declaring whatever results were desired in Jesus' Name. Generally, the person prayed for would testify of healing or at least an improvement immediately. If they didn't receive it immediately, they were usually instructed to maintain that confession while exerting their faith to receive the healing they desired. In this manner, the successful improvement could be attributed to the power of prayer, and if not it could be attributed to their lack of faith. Sometimes it would become necessary to pray for someone with a serious issue where the Placebo effect could not make a difference. Such cases as broken bones or invalids. Of course, in those cases, no one got up out of a wheelchair, ever. 

Some of these aberrant teachings are produced and affirmed by using such scripture as Mark 11:22-24 ESV

(22)  And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.

(23)  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

(24)  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Considering Mark 11:23-24 scripture, this was spoken by the Lord in response to the disciple's amazement at the miracle of the fig tree that had previously occurred. Sometimes this is used to teach one can receive their healing through their own faith and speaking it in confessions. Nowhere in scripture do you find this being taught by Apostolic authority or demonstrated in Church practice.

We do find in scripture the disciples doing exactly what Jesus did tell them in Matthew 11:23-24. In Acts Chapter 3 we find a man lame from birth, yet Peter is able to simply say, "rise up and walk" and the man is instantly healed without any faith on the part of the lame man. In Acts 13:11 we find Paul simply saying "you shall be blind for a season" a false teacher was blinded. Many things like these were done by the Apostles exactly like Jesus instructed in Matthew 11:23-24, but nothing was done because the Apostles decided to do something. It was not at their whims but as the Spirit willed according to His purpose and as He granted extraordinary faith. There is no one doing these things today. These isolated scriptures must be understood in the context in which they are written.

So what does scripture teach us about prayer and healing? We do find many accounts of wonderful healings and miraculous works recorded in the Gospels and Acts. However, we must understand the distinction between prescriptive and descriptive passages.

Prescriptive / prĭ-skrĭp′tĭv / adjective / Relating to or making rules, laws, or directions. 

Descriptive / dĭ-skrĭp′tĭv / adjective / Involving or characterized by description; serving to describe.

However, these accounts are of a descriptive nature and not prescriptive as the setting forth of rules that were to continue through all time as church practice. These signs and wonders were for a specific time and purpose within church history. We are told in Mark 16:20 ESV

(20)  And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. And then again we are told in Hebrews 2:3-4 ERV

(3)  So surely we also will be punished if we don't pay attention to the salvation we have that is so great. It was the Lord Jesus who first told people about it. And those who heard him proved to us that it is true.

(4)  God also proved it by using miraculous signs, wonders, and all kinds of miracles. And he proved it by giving people various gifts through the Holy Spirit in just the way he wanted.

These miraculous works were what set the Apostles and the Gospel message apart from any other competing message, and there were many claiming to be the truth delivered from God. But none received validation as the truth but that which was spoken by the Lord and His Apostles. This is how we understand the books we have in our Bible to be the word of God because they were validated to be the truth of God by signs and wonders. All other writings from that era or any other are considered outside this validation.  

In conclusion, we can confidently say we have a gracious Heavenly Father. In our sicknesses and various trials in life, we can certainly turn to him in prayer and make our petitions known. In His Providence, He certainly hears and answers our prayers and heals our bodies as it pleases Him. These things have always been a part of the Christian faith, and true testimonies of His grand Providential acts are a part of our history and continue to be an expectation within the church today. 

However, the introduction of this Pentecostal Power and its administration of the restoration of the Apostolic gifts into this present age is harmful and misleading to the body of Christ and causes much division. The means by which Pentecostalism has been delivered is very deceptive because the scriptures are lifted out of their context and given the appearance of affirming the Pentecostal doctrines. The Placebo effect and manipulative techniques compound the deception and have turned this movement into the fastest-growing sect of Christianity today. In our next post, we will continue to look at another aberrant teaching found in Pentecostalism.

David