Afraid of the Holy Spirit?

Is your conception of the Holy Spirit too safe? Dan Edelen writes,

When the Holy Spirit shows up in power in a church, the status quo changes. Those people especially touched by Him, ones who were often sideline sitters, suddenly are empowered to take on new roles and responsibilities within the body of Christ. The old ways of doing church fall into line with God’s way. Distracting programs and costly plans end up abandoned. Miracles happen. The charismatic gifts break out. And on and on.

And that threatens a lot of people. Especially those in charge.

Read the entire article here.

Considering the claims of the cessationists

The Pyromaniacs (Phil Johnson) have posted a good article in support of cessationism. If you’ve read my blog for any time, you know that I am not a cessationist (I’m not a Pentecostal or Charismatic, either). I share the views, generally speaking, of those in the continuationist camp. That is to say, I believe that the so-called “sign gifts” (the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, the working of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, various kinds of tongues, the interpretation of tongues, etc.) did not cease with the death of the apostles and the completion of the New Testament canon. Now, before you get the idea that I’m some wild-eyed, rolling on the ground fanatic (and those that know me realize how far-fetched that would be), the only reason I hold to this view is because I have never been convinced from Scripture that these gifts of the Spirit ceased. I have heard many of the arguments for cessationism (and I’m sure there are a many other arguments I have not heard), but I have found none of them convincing.

Until today.

It’s not that Phil Johnson or any of the commenters on his post produced any Scripture texts to prove conclusively the cessationist’s position. Rather, a few of the comments, particularly those by some ex-Charismatics, got me to thinking. On this issue of the gifts of the Spirit and Pentecostalism, you could say I’m still on a journey. At one time, many years ago, I was actually quite sympathetic to the Charismatic movement. Over the years, however, I’ve witnessed for myself some of the foolishness and nonsense that goes on in church in the name of “the Holy Ghost.” I’ve discovered that some people will believe anyone or anything that claims to speak in tongues or have a “word from the Lord” or acts like they have “the Holy Ghost” (there is a certain way to “act”, you know). Over and over again, I’ve seen and heard people elevate their experiences above Scripture and sound doctrine. Because of the utter foolishness of some Pentecostals and Charismatics that I knew, I was sorely tempted to swing my theological pendulum from being sympathetic to Charismatics to being totally against anything Pentecostal-Charismatic. It was only because I could not find any proof in the Scriptures that these things had ceased to be that I did not totally reject “sign gifts.”

What I read at The Pyromaniacs today, however, has seriously motivated me to rethink my position. Above all, I want my beliefs and doctrine to be biblical. I’ll change my mind in a second if I see that I’m out of sync with Scripture. I do not want to advocate anything that is in error. As I said, so far, I do not find any conclusive proof in the Scriptures that the sign gifts have ceased. However, as I survey the religious landscape, I see a whole lot of foolishness going on, supposedly under the power of “the Holy Ghost” (As God would have it, just yesterday, I got to the part in Arnold Dallimore’s biography of George Whitefield where Dallimore describes how John Wesley interpreted physical “manifestations” as a “sign” from God that he should preach against Predestination. And just to be sure that it was the will of God for him so to preach, Wesley cast lots.).

So, I encourage you to read Phil Johnson’s article on cessationism and the comments afterwards. Then let us together examine the Scriptures to see if these things are so.

The Bible and tongues

Dr. Sam Storms wrote what I think is an excellent response to Jimmy Draper, of the Southern Baptist Convention, on the subject of the Bible and tongues. In fact, I think Dr. Storms is “spot on”. Read it, here.

And the “fight” continues

Actually, it’s not a fight. When I was a kid in school, it took at least two people to make a fight. If one person doesn’t fight back, then the situation is just somebody getting “beat up”. On the blogs, the cessationists are beating up charismatics and continuationists.

In case you don’t know, I consider myself a continuationist. That is to say, I don’t believe that God has revoked any of His gifts to the Body of Christ; I believe all the gifts of the Spirit continue (hence, the term, “continuationist”). Cessationists consider the so-called “sign gifts” (see 1 Corinthians 12:8-10) to have ceased with the death of the apostles and the completion of the New Testament canon. So, basically, when the apostle John completed The Revelation and “kicked the bucket”, that spelled the end, or cessation, of most of the gifts of the Spirit. I have long considered the cessationist position to be pure “hogwash”. Scripture states clearly that “when the perfect comes, the partial [prophecies, tongues, knowledge] will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:10). When I compare 1 Corinthians 13:12 with 1 John 3:2 and Ephesians 4:11-13, it seems clear (to me, at least) that the “perfect” is the return of Christ. So…since Jesus ain’t back yet, guess what? All the gifts are present and operative in the Body of Christ! That seems simple enough. But, hey, what do I know? I don’t read Greek, after all. However, I do read English, and this is what I understand my Bible to say.

I don’t consider myself a charismatic because, as I have always understood the term, a charismatic is a person in a non-Pentecostal church who has experienced the Pentecostal “baptism” with the Holy Spirit, with the “evidence” of speaking in other tongues (at least this is the definition I learned some 21 or 22 years ago; if it has changed since then, no one has let me in on it). I cannot say without a doubt that I’ve had this experience, therefore, I don’t consider myself a charismatic. However, I am open to whatever gifts or experiences God desires for me.

John Piper, Wayne Grudem, C.J. Mahaney and others, are all continuationists with influential conference and writing ministries that are having an effect in changing attitudes towards the present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit. I think cessationists are simply reacting out of fear and defensiveness because people are being convinced of the biblical rightness of the continuationist position. As an example, just read these articles from the “Pyromaniacs”, and the comments that follow: here and here.

Let me say, I understand the cessationists’ concern. I have seen and heard—live and in color—my fair share of aberrant teaching, emotionalism, fanaticism, and the like. But, it seems to me that some of my cessationist brothers and sisters in Christ have a nearly irrational fear of anything that is beyond their control or emotional in nature (they also seem overly confident they have God all figured out). In other words, they fear that which they don’t understand. Well, this is how I see it: First of all, God is God. In other words, He can do anything He wants to do. God is a super-natural Being, therefore, He can work in super-natural ways. God can do things you won’t understand! Get used to it! Secondly, God created people with emotions. If we can shout, holler, jump and dance at sports events, what’s wrong with ecstasy in response to God? Every week, millions in America cry over “Extreme Makeover Home-Edition” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (TV shows). For goodness sakes, God is greater, more exciting, more awe-inspiring, more thrilling and more marvelous—by far—than either Oprah or a home makeover! God is worth being emotional about! Plus, it makes sense to me that when frail humanity meets God, there will, of necessity, be an emotional reaction. We simply can’t encounter God—really and truly encounter Him—and remain unmoved. So, I think the cessationists are responding out of a misplaced sense of fear and defensiveness. In my opinion, they need to “chill out.”

On the “other side”, I find the articles of brothers like Adrian Warnock and Dan Edelen to be much more balanced and reasonable. I commend them to you. At the very least, I think we should all be more excited about God and what He, through Christ, has done for us than about anyone or anything else in the world. I’m just sorry that I’m not more excited, more emotional, more “fired up” for God. I pray that God would melt the coldness and hardness in my heart, and stir my soul once again.

Some links to make you think

Frank Lauterbach reflects on the gifts of the Spirit. He has some good thoughts. Read, ponder and search the Scriptures “to see if these things [are] so” (Acts 17:11).

I just saw this post by Anthony Bradley. He puts out there for us the question, “Is Barak Obama Black?” Some of you may know nothing about the discussion. It’s a variation on an old theme, for others of us.

Thabiti Anyabwile continues his posts (part 4, part 5) on reforming the Black Church. These posts really do touch a nerve for me, having been 35 years in the Black Church. Read and think about what he writes and, if you have a burden for the Black Church, pray about what, if anything, the Lord would have you do.

You mean, God doesn’t do that anymore?

Inspired (or provoked) by a series of cessationist posts at Pulpit Magazine by Nathan Busenitz (check out this post and the links on this page), I want to put down in words some of my thoughts about this ongoing controversy over cessationism versus continuationism.

I want to make clear that I’m not even trying to take on anybody in some kind of battle of biblical texts. I’ve mentioned it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m no seminary graduate (in fact, I’m a seminary dropout), and I know I’m no intellectual match for all the illustrious theologians out there who hold differing views. I don’t know biblical Greek or Hebrew (and I do the best I can with English), and have no expertise to which anyone would be obliged to give deference. I figure my time can be better spent doing something else, rather than try to convince a cessationist that he or she is wrong. In fact, they can hold their theological position “until the cows come home”, or until Christ returns (whichever happens first). I don’t care. I just want to express some of my thoughts. Is that all right?

First of all, why do some cessationistic Christians feel the need to spend so much time and energy just to prove that “God doesn’t do that anymore”? I don’t understand that. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t see why this is so important. I mean, if you don’t believe God bestows any supernatural spiritual gifts, fine! Go on about your own business! But, why spend so much energy trying to change other people’s minds?

I suspect the real reason some cessationists spend so much time arguing their case is not so much to convince continuationists that the cessationist viewpoint is correct as it is to keep people from switching over from the cessationist camp to the continuationist camp. Most cessationists cannot dismiss the theological and biblical qualifications of men like Dr. Wayne Grudem and Dr. John Piper, and these men are continuationist. They’ve written convincingly (Dr. Grudem, Dr. Piper), with ample biblical support, advocating the continuationist view. And these men, and others, have convinced many that the cessationist view is simply wrong. I think that’s the reason some cessationists work so hard trying to prove that “God doesn’t do that anymore”. It’s a desperate attempt to keep people from "escaping" the narrow confines of cessationism.

Let me back up. I said cessationists don’t believe God any longer bestows any supernatural spiritual gifts. Well, let’s check and see if this is so. Looking at 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, and thinking about all I’ve read and heard from cessationists over the years, you can eliminate “the utterance of wisdom”, “the utterance of knowledge”, “gifts of healing”, “the working of miracles”, “prophecy”, “tongues”, “the interpretation of tongues”, and perhaps “the ability to distinguish between spirits”, as spiritual gifts that are available to the Church today. That leaves you with “faith” as the only gift that cessationists will allow.

The list in Romans 12:6-8 fares better. In this list, you would just have to eliminate “prophecy” as a gift available to the Church today. “Service”, “teaching”, “exhortation”, giving, leading, and mercy remain available for the Church.

So, I restate what I said before: Cessationists don’t believe that God any longer bestows any supernatural spiritual gifts. Not that the remaining gift that Paul mentions in Romans and 1 Corinthians aren’t supernatural but, really, with the right training, one could “pass” as spiritually “gifted” in the average evangelical church without the “gift” really having anything to do with the Spirit of God. It comes through in every discussion of spiritual gifts that I have ever heard. Most of our “gifts” function just fine, thank you, without the Holy Spirit. There’s nothing supernatural about them.

But, as I read Scripture, spiritual gifts must be supernatural, or they’re not spiritual gifts; they’re only merely human abilities. Look carefully at 1 Corinthians 12:7:

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit…”

What are spiritual gifts? They are a “manifestation of the Spirit”—they are supernatural. They are not produced naturally; they are not talents or abilities. Spiritual gifts are produced by the Holy Spirit—they are super-natural—above our natural ability to perform.

That’s what I find so wrong about cessationism. Cessationism seeks to eliminate that which cannot be controlled or explained or regulated or honed in an approved seminary.

But, what irritates me, is that some cessationists aren’t satisfied with just trying to control what God can or can’t do in their churches, but they have to keep beating the same dead horse, blogging and producing books and other literature, to argue why no one else should do unapproved things in their churches (or in their private lives, like pray in tongues).

What are they so worried about anyway? How are you going to prevent somebody from praying in tongues in their private devotional life? You can’t! Does the pronouncement that God will only speak through the Bible and no other way, actually prevent God from speaking directly to any individual by His Spirit? No it doesn’t!

For the record: I don’t speak in tongues. But, if I did, I certainly wouldn’t tell a cessationist!

Why does this bother me? Because, honestly, I believe cessationism is just a variant form of unbelief.

Why? Because, if God is God (and He is!), He can do whatever He wants to do! He hasn’t changed. He said so! “For I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6a). God gives “the manifestation of the Spirit”—spiritual gifts—“to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11). And if God wants to give someone the gift of tongues, for instance, that’s His business, not mine! If God wants to speak to someone directly by His Spirit, first of all, know that He can, but, also, know that He has that right!

To think otherwise, in my opinion, smacks of unbelief.

The Scripture passage most often cited to “prove” that “God doesn’t do that anymore”, is 1 Corinthians 13:8-12. We’re told that “the perfect” of verse 10 is the completed canon of Scripture. Well, if that’s so, then, according to verse 12, we now “know fully” and see “face to face”. But, that’s not true, is it? You don’t know fully, and neither do I. You don’t see clearly, and neither do I. “The perfect” has not yet come. One day, “the perfect” will come: Jesus Christ our Lord, in all His glory. “When he appears we shall be like him [i.e., “perfect”], because we shall see him as he is [“face to face”, no longer “in a mirror dimly”]” (1 John 3:2).

So, since “the perfect” has not yet come, “prophecies”, “tongues”, and “knowledge” continues!

Well, what is the continuation of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit supposed to look like today?

I don’t know!

And, guess what? I don’t have to know! I only know this: God can do what He wants, and He doesn’t need my permission or approval to do it!

Some of my experiences with Pentecostalism (Part 4)

Let me state, for the record, I am not suggesting uncritical endorsement of all the various forms of Pentecostalism I’ve encountered over the years. Far from it. There is much that I’ve described from my past that, at this stage of my life, I definitely would not endorse.

You must remember, however, that I did not grow up under thorough, sound, biblical teaching in church. The general method of preaching practiced by the various pastors I sat under was to take a verse of Scripture and then preach a message that may or may not have anything to do with the text. In Sunday School, by 5th or 6th grade, the teachers would sometimes ask me for answers. My real Bible teaching came from home, from my great-grandmother and her sister. They knew more about the Bible than the average evangelical that I encounter today (that’s both a tribute to God’s grace in their lives, and a criticism of the shallowness of the teaching in the average evangelical church today), but there was a whole lot they didn’t know and, quite frankly, because they were Black, they were never exposed to it. So, they taught me the best that they could.

So, again, I’m not so much endorsing as I am reporting what I’ve seen and heard. All these experiences are part of the journey I’ve taken to get to where I am today, particularly as it concerns my views of the present ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. And, ultimately, that’s where I’m headed.

As I said in my previous post, one of the stages in my life which saw some of the greatest changes occurred between my salvation in 1980, when I was still in high school, and my graduation from graduate school in 1986. When I started college I was still very much a new Christian. Being denominationally loyal, I sought out the church in town that was of my denomination, rather than looking for the best church. Sadly, the church of my denomination in that town was not even as good as my church at home, as far as helping me spiritually. But, God was faithful in that He kept me, taught me as I read His Word, and brought Christian friends into my life to encourage me.

A few of these friends came from a Pentecostal background. My earlier encounters with Pentecostals and Pentecostal practice made this inhibited and repressed boy naturally curious about believers who could experience such joyful freedom in their worship. From observing, talking to and just being around these friends, I learned, first of all, that any stereotype of Pentecostals as ignorant fanatics, or people who are odd and irrational, was false. Remember, I was in college. These friends were not ignorant; they were college-educated or earning their college educations, like I was. These people helped remove for me some of the mystery surrounding Pentecostalism. I had the opportunity to watch these friends in worship as they danced or “shouted” before the Lord. I learned that the “holy dance” wasn’t so much about being “overcome” with the Spirit as it was about having the freedom of spirit to express one’s joy enthusiastically before the Lord. They could control themselves, but they chose not to: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1).

I also remember a couple brief conversations about “tongues” or glossolalia. Two friends in particular admitted to me that they utilized a “prayer language”—in their private devotions. They described it as something natural, not weird or out-of control, but under the control of the speaker. That seemed to me to accord with Scripture: “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:32/in context).

Admittedly, I was curious about the whole idea of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals traditionally taught that tongues were the necessary evidence of the Spirit’s presence, pointing to Acts 2:4; 10:45-46; and 19:6. My friends did not hold to that position. But, whatever the case, I really felt I needed something more. It wasn’t a case of devaluing Christ Jesus, rather, it was a case of seeing my sin and a needy world and realizing that I didn’t have what it took to conquer sin in my life, minister to a weak and wayward church, or reach a lost and dying world. I needed what these people claimed to have.

About this time, God demonstrated His kindness to me by introducing me to the local Christian bookstores. The authors of Christian books have been my mentors and teachers ever since. What I lacked in the local church, I found in Christian writers. Among some of the early books I bought, were about three titles by Charismatic authors. I must admit, I probably wouldn’t recommend any of these books to anyone today. Primarily for this reason: You must be able to eat the fish and spit out the bones. Do you understand? I don’t condemn these writers. One book, in particular, helped me greatly. But, lest someone try eating these “fish” and accidentally end up with a “bone” stuck in their throat, I’d rather recommend other writing.

Nevertheless, it was these Charismatic books that God ordained to come into my hands. They’re still in my possession. As I sit here typing, they sit on the shelves next to me. I generally don’t get rid of any book I receive. To me, many of these books represent stages in my spiritual growth; they remind me of where I’ve been and how far I’ve come, by the grace of God. So, I’m sorry if anyone thinks my library is somehow “spoiled” by the inclusion of Charismatic literature. It’s my library—it’s what God gave to me—and I like it.

Anyway, here’s how these particular Charismatic books helped me: God used them to stimulate in my spirit a desire to seek Him. As I said, I became hungry for something more from God. I can imagine someone reading this and asking, “Isn’t Jesus enough?” Well, yes! Jesus is enough! But, didn’t the apostle Paul say “I want to know Him” (Philippians 3:10/in context)? Paul already knew Christ, yet he said, “I want to know Him!” Paul wanted something more from God. Moses was privileged above anyone else in history: He spent 40 days with God on Sinai and received directly from the hand of God “the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). Now, you would think that would be more than enough to satisfy Moses. You would think he could live with that. But, what does Moses say? “Please show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18). Moses wanted something more from God. This is where I was, and I began to pray toward that end—seeking to know God more, seeking to experience Him in a deeper way, seeking the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Did God answer my prayer? I believe He did. First of all, I’m convinced that any usefulness I’ve had in the Lord’s service through the ministry of preaching, teaching, writing, singing, playing the organ and piano, or leading God’s people in worship, over these past 20 years, has been the result of what God began to do in my life in answer to my prayers for more of Him. The spiritual gifts I have, God gave me in answer to those prayers. I’m convinced of it. I have desires and interests and passions and abilities that I know did not exist before I first began to seek God for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I know that! The passion that I’ve had these 20 years to feed and tend Christ’s sheep (see John 21:15, 16, 17) came into being right there in my dorm room, in graduate school, as I poured out my heart to God in prayer for the Holy Spirit.

So, yes, God answered my prayer. He didn’t necessarily answer in the way I expected. I’ve continued to struggle with sin. I think the Wesleyan holiness and Pentecostal camps are correct to desire freedom from sin, but they go too far when they expect perfection or the eradication of the sin nature in this life. Concerning the human struggle with sin, I’ve received far, far greater help from J.C. Ryle and John Owen (who I am currently reading). But, in His mercy, God used those books by Charismatic authors to stir in my spirit a desire, a hunger, for more of Him. And God answered that prayer.

I remember one night in particular—I can’t adequately describe it, and I don’t want to glorify an experience—but it seemed that God Himself came down and filled my room with His glory. I hear and read what the anti-Pentecostals say, but I feel like Peter and John: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather that to God. You must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). And I cannot deny what God has done in my soul.

Some of my experiences with Pentecostalism

Recently, I’ve come across some discussions on the blogosphere (most notably at Pulpit Magazine: here, here, and here) about the gifts of the Spirit, cessationism versus continuationism, the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, and so forth, subjects which are in some way identified with Pentecostalism. I’d like to eventually give you some of my thoughts about cessationism versus continuationism, but I thought, perhaps, it would be helpful if you first knew a little bit about where I’m coming from on this subject.

First of all, I’m not a Pentecostal. But, I have had some exposure to Pentecostalism—starting from childhood, actually. Pentecostals lived in my neighborhood. In fact, we lived across the alley from an older Pentecostal pastor, who happened to be a friend of the family. He died when I was about nine years old. Maybe some of you out there have had nothing but negative experiences with Pentecostalism or negative images of Pentecostals but, in general, my experiences have not been bad.

There were three types of churches in the Black community in the area where I grew up: Black Baptist, Black Methodist (AME), and Black Pentecostal. When I was a boy, Black people called the Pentecostals and their churches “sanctified” (I know all true believers in Christ are sanctified, not just Pentecostal believers, but let me just tell the story). Most, though not all, of these “sanctified” churches were members of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).

But, before I go on, a little bit of church history (I'm writing this off the top of my head, but, I believe I've got the basic facts correct):

The Church of God in Christ is a predominantly Black denomination, founded in about 1897 (if I remember correctly) by C.H. Mason and C.P. Jones—two Black holiness Baptist preachers. In about 1905 or 1907, Mason visited the Azusa Street “revival” in Los Angeles and experienced the “baptism of the Holy Ghost” and spoke in tongues. As I understand it, Mason came back from Azusa teaching the Pentecostal “baptism of the Holy Ghost”. Jones didn’t accept this addition of tongues to the holiness doctrine of a “second work of grace”, so he left Mason and started the Church of God, Holiness. Mason, who claimed the name Church of God in Christ was revealed to him in a vision, kept the group he and Jones founded and moved it in a Pentecostal direction. I don’t think it’s well known that the COGIC is older and larger than the more well-known Assemblies of God, and one of the fastest-growing denominations in this country. Also, I found it particularly interesting to learn that the COGIC, under Black leadership, was an interracial group. Sadly (and so typical of racial relations in the U.S.), in about 1914, whites pull out of the COGIC to form the Assemblies of God.

End of history lesson.

Anyway, when I was growing up, you could usually recognize a “sanctified” woman or girl by the fact that they wore absolutely no makeup and never wore slacks or pants. Sanctified folks believed in holiness, which usually seemed to mean no drinking, no smoking, no dancing or partying, no makeup, and no pants on women.

As far as worship in the sanctified church, you could count on lively, upbeat music, complete with Hammond organ, drums and tambourines. You seldom, if ever, saw drums in the Baptist or Methodist churches, and you never saw tambourines. In the sanctified church you were guaranteed to have those instruments. The reason I know this is because there was a little sanctified church on the block where I grew up. Since they had no air conditioning, their windows would be open in the summer, and you could hear the pastor preaching and the people singing all over the neighborhood. They also had service nearly all day on Sundays. “Morning” worship lasted until about 2pm. Then, I think there was an afternoon service. Finally, this church had a Sunday evening live radio broadcast, which I used to listen to, occasionally.

It was on their radio broadcast that I would hear what, to me, were some of the most unusual features of “sanctified” worship.

(To be continued…)