Spiritual Gifts ARE For Today (or…John MacArthur Is Wrong)

I am supremely bugged lately by cessationists, and specifically John MacArthur, who is going out of his way to write books and organize conferences which attempt to prove that the miracle gifts and anointing on individuals is not happening today. In fact, he attributes such things to the devil.

I love the man, and he’s my brother, but c’mon dude!

My response is to go back a few steps to the beginning…

Jesus died to provide much more than simply a ticket to heaven. Old Testament believers already had a ticket to heaven. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob will be in heaven, even though they died long before Jesus paid the penalty for sin. How? Because they loved God and believed in Him.

The Bible is clear that when OT believers died they were ushered into the presence of God (Psalm 16:11, Psalm 23:6, Matthew 22:31-32, Ezekiel 37:12-14, Daniel 12:1-2, Matthew 25:46, 1 Thess. 5:1-11, Rev. 20:4-6).

So, Jesus did not provide a ticket to heaven. Those who believe that this is the crux of salvation are missing the whole point. He provided for us so much more! Power. Authority. Wisdom. Revelation. And yes, miracle-working power to show His love to the world.

A cessationist theology like John MacArthur’s denies all of this and mocks the cross of Christ. He must state that the only real purpose of Christ’s sacrifice is entrance to heaven. Fire insurance. Nothing more. But once again, the OT saints will be in heaven, so salvation through the death of Jesus was not necessary. Jesus came to give us something so much more valuable and amazing: new life in Christ. Here and now AND in the age to come.

Those who think God has withdrawn His miracle-working power are slapping Jesus in the face. They are saying to Him “All that suffering that you did, all those promises of ‘greater things than these shall you do,’ all those promises of spiritual gifts in the New Testament are all bogus. You must have been kidding. We really can’t have those things. You, Jesus, were wrong.”

Dangerous ground, methinks, to be trashing the Gospel and the cross of Christ like that.

The word “gospel” comes from a Greek word that is a superlative. It literally means “almost too good to be true news.” So let’s take a look at that from a cessationist standpoint:
– The Apostles had miracle gifts, but you can’t have that.
– The Apostles had prayer languages that helped them receive supernatural revelation, but you can’t have that.
– The Apostles could lay their hands on people and instigate miraculous healing, but you can’t have that.
– The Apostles could heard God’s voice in miraculous visitations, but you can’t have that. The Bible is all you need. You’re not allowed to hear God’s voice.
– The Apostles could prophesy for the edification of those around them, but you can’t do that.

Doesn’t sound “too good to be true” to me.

I believe that cessationism is birthed from a personal worldview in which the individual has not experienced the supernatural, therefore he/she concludes that the supernatural is not for us today, regardless of what the Bible clearly says. It most certainly is not a biblical viewpoint. The Bible very clearly guarantees that true followers of Jesus can regularly operate in the gifts of the Spirit and that the gifts did not pass away with the disciples.

No doubt John MacArthur loves God and is trying to teach the right things, but he’s just plain wrong. And it is disturbing that he is taking such a hard-core stance on such a crucial issue, even to the point of attributing some miraculous works to the enemy.

I trust that John MacArthur will see the error of his ways and the great harm he is doing to those who believe his teaching, and that he is literally robbing them of healing, revelation, and other miraculous benefits that come from having been placed in Christ.

I leave you with the article below by Darren Wilson, which says things very much in line with what I’m thinking on this subject. I invite comments on this crucial issue, because as we enter in an era of ever-increasing spiritual warfare, we need the miraculous power of God and the gifts of the Spirit to do battle more effectively than we ever have in the past.
DARREN WILSON’S ARTICLE

I would also like to refer readers to this valuable resource on Andrew Wommack’s website, a compilation of true miracle stories from people who have believed Andrew’s teaching that God Wants You Well, and who trusted that the healing power of Jesus Christ is still active and powerful today:
HEALING TESTIMONIES