It has been a couple of years since I last appeared on Apologetics Live to discuss Grace Fellowship Church (GFC). I was recently invited to discuss a sermon Tony Miano delivered in July 2022. I’ve written several articles about Tony (1) or some of Tony’s behaviors. (2). We were hopeful he would help reform Grace Fellowship. That not only didn’t happen, but Tony bought in entirely and changed the landscape even more. Perhaps, even making it worse than it was, although that’s not provable.
I’ve stated it before, and I’ll repeat it: I like Tony. We’ve had some great conversations; it is not my desire to malign, hurt, or attack him. I desire to wake him up and bring him to his senses. Perhaps he will listen to his words and realize he has bought in, hook, line, and sinker, with the exact type of church he warned against. (3).
I take no joy in writing about GFC or Tony. It’s not something I wring my hands about and say I can’t wait to write more. I wish they’d repent of their wickedness, clean up their act, or close their doors. But what have they done? More specifically, what has Tony done? He has played the victim card. While playing the victim card, he went on the offensive. He predicted in his sermon (4), someone would say something about it, and well, here I am. Fulfilling his wish to persecute him some more.
I’ve been referred to as the chief reviler, slanderer, and now wolf and coward. If we evaluate what Tony said there is a great deal of hypocrisy to uncover. I understand Tony doesn’t like the articles nor does the church he belongs, but there is a simple answer. Stop hurting people. The track record of spiritual abuse is long. It has gone on for a long time and there are a lot of witnesses that have testified to it. For them this is a problem. I didn’t invent this stuff out of thin air because I was bored and had nothing better to do with my life. We thought it was necessary to warn people. The Scripture says, love warns. Paul warns the elders in Ephesus to be on guard. Jesus says, beware of false prophets.
I have often wondered if Tony ever thinks about how many people he has abandoned? He has cut them out of his life for disagreeing with them as if they never existed. He’s disposed of some of those he would have called his best friends for no other reason than raising a red flag about Mike Reid. This has been very costly for him, but he has turned the tables and accused these people of leaving him on the field of battle. How clueless can he really be?
Tony’s resume. Tony claims this is not sharing this as some tacky attempt at self-promotion, but he does just that but in a humble-brag sort of way. He states this is a confession of sin that he has done evangelism wrong for all these years. But guess what? Now he has it figured out because he is finally under the authority of the right guys.
I’d be curious to know how Tony reconciles his claims that he was a member in good standing of the many churches he was a part of that had ordained and sent him out as an evangelist, but somehow this was bad because the ministry, “was mine,” as he so boldly proclaims. I can’t read Tony’s mind in his past 20 years on the streets. Perhaps, it is as he says. Perhaps, he primarily sought his own glory and not the glory of Christ, but the Scriptures also point out that no matter whether it was done out of selfish ambition, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice, says Paul (Phil 1:15-18).
Was it all done perfectly? Doubtful. Is it done perfectly now? Also, doubtful. I believe the fallacy here is that somehow NOW that Tony is under the authority of Mike Reid and company, he is doing it much better than he did before. Well, of course, we’ve heard this many times from Tony. If you’ve ever watched his videos or heard audio of his open-air preaching, he usually begins with saying, “I’m here under the authority of my pastors and elders of so-and-so church.” We could go down through the years and see the many articles he has written in the past or statements made about doing this. Time and again it was now being done better. When he landed at Grace Community Church, he finally found the place to give him this long-desired spiritual covering. That didn’t last long. He quickly found this Utopian society in Davenport, Iowa.
Since we’ve heard this before, will it happen again? It’s not easy to escape Davenport, IA, I know. Tony appears to be bought in more than he has at these other places, and that is likely due to Mike Reid’s charismatic influences. I often wonder if Tony thinks about what has happened at the Church of Davenport since he arrived. Has he looked around and noticed how many people have left? How many of those that have left were excommunicated (5), for leaving? Has he noticed that many of those he called, “dear brother,” at one time or another and now he won’t even look at them if he sees them at Starbucks? Has he thought and pondered the suicide of a good friend (6), and the horrible treatment the family and friends received at that disgusting display of a “sermon” they preached? Has he thought about how many friends he has abandoned in that open-air community he deemed worthy of destruction? Has he considered that advisory board that he once trusted and now has zero communication with anyone of them, except perhaps one.
There’s an old saying that if the same thing keeps happening to you, perhaps it is you that are the problem. I think that applies to Tony’s situation and specifically to the Church of Davenport. Why is it that so many people have left and claimed spiritual abuse? Why has Mike Reid consistently been the target of these claims? Have all those that have left been in sin because they left? Or the old saying, where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire. The stories coming out of Grace Fellowship all have the common theme of authoritarianism and spiritual dominance. We experienced it. Our friends that left before and after us have experienced it.
Tony is an intelligent man; how does he not see it? He refers to us as wolves and cowards, but what does it mean to be a wolf, scripturally? The word appears only five times in the New Testament. Contextually, only two verses matter. Matthew 7:15 and Acts 20:29. To understand what a wolf is in the Bible, Matthew 7:15 is a good starting point. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.
Jesus says that wolves are first of all false prophets. They appear religious, and they appear to be pastoral, they are even in the office of one in religious authority. A pastor, an elder, maybe even a deacon or evangelist, but the thing Jesus says, is we need to beware of them.
Paul says about them to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:29, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. I included verse 28 to show that the context driving the understanding of a wolf is that they are in Christian service, primarily as an overseer. Verse 30 says, they will arise from within the ranks of Christianity.
How do we know who is a wolf? Jesus says you will know them by their fruits. What kind of fruit does a wolf produce? (7). What do wolves do in the wild? They devour sheep, for one. They scatter the flock according to Paul. They are carnivorous, so they bite and damage those in their care. They are wearing the clothing of sheep. If we were to examine the ministry of Mike Reid and compare it to what I have done since leaving I believe anyone with a degree of honesty would conclude that Mike Reid is the wolf, not me. Sadly, Tony, by association, is damaging the flock as well and he is doing it knowingly and willingly.
Tony spent considerable effort and time exposing false churches, authoritarian leaders and wolves before he came to Grace Fellowship. He did it with Bethel Redding and with the Church of Wells. We did a long podcast on that topic to show Tony, in his own words, how much GFC and Wells are alike. In the sermon discussed on this podcast Tony, in his own words, shows his forgetfulness.
The entirety of this podcast shows Tony’s hypocrisy and dare I say, cluelessness? Is he really this blind? Or is he under the sway of a charismatic leader that has bewitched him? You judge for yourself.
Here is a link (8) to the most devastating quote of the show. It is Tony in his own words speaking about something he is directly involved now, and the number one cheerleader for. But please listen to the entirety of the show and hear for yourself. And Happy New Year, may the Lord bring justice to the victims and trail of dead bodies behind the GFC bus.
I wasn’t expecting that to come from the podcast I listened to. It seemed out of the blue, but there it was. I’ve become a fan of the Shawn Ryan Show, and Shawn asked his guest this question. The man was describing a challenging relationship with his father (Starting around the 52:00 minute mark). The father seemed to use the man for most of his life for his benefit. He always needed confirmation and kept score on the good things he’d done for his son. I’m sure it’s not uncommon.
In religious circles, it happens also. Religious leaders use people for their benefit. The stories are awful about the physical and sexual abuse that runs wild in certain religious circles. There is also the spiritual abuse that seems to be showing up everywhere. Podcasts, books, and blog articles have increased dramatically, seeking to expose the abuse. I’m grateful for those.
When Ryan asked this man about forgiveness, there was an awkward silence. He was thinking about it, but I’m guessing he was also thinking, “No way…. That’s the last thing I want to do.” Being a good host and wise man with experience, Ryan navigated the hesitation with a story about his hurt, and how the abuser sought forgiveness from Shawn. It was liberating, he said. “It was like a weight was removed. I’ll never speak to him again or want to be around him if I can help it, but I’m choosing to forgive.”
Forgiveness is the Christian message.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14
Forgiveness, or the other forms of the word, forgive, is used 129 times in the New Testament. Romans 4:7 says, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered.
We all need forgiveness because we’ve all sinned against God, but we’ve also sinned against others. Others have also sinned against us. When we choose to forgive, we are not declaring everything is back to how it was. No, it’s a conscious decision to no longer allow bitterness and pain to rule over you.
I have forgiven those in my past who abused their religious authority over my life and the life of my family. I will, however, continue to expose their evil deeds. That is not an unbiblical thing to do. They have no power over me or my family’s life, and forgiveness is something I have willingly chosen to do so. I have also chosen to hold them accountable for their sins, especially since they continue to do those sins and hurt other people.
Forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is also liberating. It returns the power to you over those that have done damage. It is the better path to healing and restoration.
May we all seek peace, forgiveness, and uphold righteousness.
It has now been over three years since Grace Fellowship responded to the various blog articles I’ve written about them and the podcasts done through Apologetics Live that highlighted the abuses and distortions in their teaching. They responded using an unusual method. They created a fairly well-produced private video. It actually is a good strategy. They don’t open themselves up to scrutiny by someone like me, but they can send it to the appropriate people with questions about their ministry.
I have sought to proclaim the truth of what happened to us and many others during our time at GFC. For those who might be new, we spent nine years at the church under the “authority” of Mike Reid and the eldership of GFC. We came to see the abuses, domineering society, and cult behaviors of what parades itself as an orthodox Baptist, 1689, Reformed Church. I’ve written many articles on the topic, all available for scrutiny and criticism. I have nothing to hide. I also have the required two to three witnesses to bring the charges, followed by at least another hundred who would affirm my charges and concur that these things do occur.
Not everyone agrees with me, which is the point of this article, but first, I’ve noticed a new attempt at damage control by the GFC brain trust. I looked up the term damage control, and the best description is “measures taken to offset or minimize damage to reputation, credibility, or public image caused by a controversial act, remark, or revelation.”[1]
Having a good reputation is important. According to Paul, it is a qualification for the office of elder in a Christian Church. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil (1 Tim. 3:7).
There are several interesting points regarding this verse. A man’s reputation in church leadership matters to people outside the church community. He is expected to have a good reputation. He should be a good neighbor to those who live near him. He should be well thought of by those who hear of him, and all this predicts how he will behave inside the church and in his private life. He should be an upright and a stable man.
I have had more than my fair share of conversations regarding Grace Fellowship’s leadership and its principal leader, Mike Reid. One would be hard-pressed to find glowing reviews of his character among the non-believing and church communities. His reputation does not meet the requirements listed above, and his reputation does, indeed, precede him. I’ve made this argument before, along with several other qualifications mandated by the Apostle Paul. Will anyone see it within the GFC community? Unlikely.
This brings me to the main point: if your reputation is known (Proverbs 20:11), and Mike Reid’s reputation is well-known, you should improve your reputation somehow. Recently, they came up with an idea to write an article titled “In Case You Googled Us,” a friend told me they were showing up at certain college campuses. People would Google them and then confront them over their wacky behavior. Others we’ve known of had even mentioned they did Google searches, and the negative press was overwhelming. The article is well-written in its form, but it is distorted and inaccurate. Given the writing style, it leads me to believe it was written by Tony Miano, and since Tony doesn’t know all the details of our history at GFC, I can understand how he has been influenced to believe what he wrote. I wrote a response to set the record straight on one significant error, which continues to be repeated, as if telling a lie more often will make it so.
As a side note, much of this could be avoided by cleaning up the mess they’ve created rather than trying to whitewash it. However, the issue is that they can’t backtrack on their mistakes. That would show weakness, and the pride of their sins would have to be crushed. That’s not possible for them to admit. They can’t possibly go back and acknowledge the pain and misery they’ve caused to so many people.
The last point in trying to perform damage control is to improve your Google Review scores. Today, no matter where you are going, you probably check the reviews. These reviews are generally helpful. Most people want to give a fair analysis of their experiences, whether it be a restaurant or a church.
Let’s take a restaurant, for example. If I go to a place and receive good food and good service, it doesn’t mean the food is always good, but if you see enough reviews that indicate the restaurant is good, you can expect it to be good in most cases. Your odds are reasonable; this is a decent restaurant.
If you went to a church and enjoyed the service, experienced friendly people, and what you thought was a good sermon, it is a snapshot in time. It might be a good church, but it doesn’t mean it is. You’ve been given a glimpse of an unrealistic reality. If the people were nice, that doesn’t mean the people are always nice. It also doesn’t mean they aren’t. What you need is more information. What if that great restaurant you love has a bunch of health code violations or gave a bunch of people food poisoning? These may not show up on the review, but if you knew someone from the health department or someone from the health department contacted you to inform you, that might help change your mind.
A church review is different from a restaurant review. Churches mostly have the same people coming to them. GFC is a small church, so it doesn’t receive visitors that often. What happens when a new face comes into the building? Have you ever heard the term love-bombing? They put their best foot forward and go out of their way to welcome them, and they will probably be invited to lunch after the service so the pastor can ask them how they liked his sermon (no joke).
Can one or two visits be enough to get an accurate understanding of a place? Well, yes and no. When you see signs like love-bombing, you should be aware. It’s good to be friendly, but not too friendly. One way to bolster your rating is to have all the member of GFC write glowing reviews and that is what they have chosen to do. Every review on there is from members less two. .
Certainly, hospitality, friendliness, and open arms are part of what it means to be a church of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that does not mean anything more than being friendly and welcoming. You may get the same treatment at your neighborhood Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Friendliness is not an inoculation against error, authoritarianism, or dozens of other potentially damaging actions.
Lastly, if you want to improve your Google reviews, not only have all your members write really nice things about how great the church is but also remove any negative feedback. That is the strategy they have utilized. Drown out, ignore, or remove dissension, but no matter how hard you try to whitewash your reputation it has a nasty habit of following you wherever you go. The only positive reviews are from the indoctrinated, and if you read them, it will tell you a lot about what you might be in store for if you attended GFC. Lord, help them.
Sadly, GFC continues the path it has been on since Mike Reid became the pastor. By all intents and purposes, he is the Lord of the Flies, and GFC is his kingdom. Perhaps somewhere in his mind, he thinks he’s doing the right thing. Perhaps. However, it’s hard to believe he has missed all the people he has hurt down through the years. Jesus said, by their fruits, you will know them, and for Mike Reid, that fruit looks like it has been trampled and smashed, and I pray nobody else inadvertently stumbles into this place because of the fake reviews.
The growth of Reformed Theology in the last two or three decades has profoundly impacted Christianity today. It has been positive in some respects, but there are also negative aspects. The movement has also ushered in a resurgence of cessationist[1] views. This paper will provide an overview of the two primary views on miraculous gifts: continuationism and cessationism. Each view will be examined from the primary passage, 1 Corinthians 13:8—10, seeking to understand and explain how these viewpoints reach their conclusions. Based on the supporting biblical texts, each position will be fleshed out and evaluated for strengths and weaknesses.
Moreover, an alternative position will be argued for, most adherents of which are not firmly in either the continuationist or cessationist camp. This position is open to the possibility that miraculous gifts still occur in unique and special circumstances. Seeking to engage with the different viewpoints of the arguments will allow the reader to form biblically based decisions. Additionally, this paper will present and examine some arguments of prominent theologians with differing views on the topic at hand and seek to understand how each argues for their preferred position.
[1] Cessation is derived from the word ceased, indicating that spiritual gifts no longer operate as described in the New Testament. Continuation means the gifts are still operable in a normative sense. Additionally, there is an issue regarding canon and whether revelation has ceased and is firmly established in the books of the Bible, with no further revelation being authoritative.
Continuationism
How should a believer in the 21st century view the continuation of the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament? This is not an easy question to answer. First of all, what are the gifts being referenced? The New Testament contains many examples of gifts. For example, in Romans 12:6—8, Paul mentions prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, and mercy. Paul dives a little deeper into 1 Corinthians 12:1—11, introducing gifts of the miraculous kind, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. The website GotQuestions.org offers a succinct definition of continuationism:
Continuationism is the belief that all the spiritual gifts, including healings, tongues, and miracles, are still in operation today, just as they were in the days of the early church. A continuationist believes that the spiritual gifts have “continued” unabated since the Day of Pentecost and that today’s church has access to all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible.[1]
Much of the debate involves the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:10, “But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”[2] More attention will be given to the verse and the various interpretations, but in the parlance of the continuationist movement, “the perfect” comes at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, anything listed as a miraculous gift is still active worldwide. Wayne Grudem comes to this conclusion.[3] Grudem states, “1 Corinthians 13:10, therefore, refers to the time of Christ’s return and says that these spiritual gifts will last among believers until that time. This means that we have a clear biblical statement that Paul expects these gifts to continue through the entire church age and to function for the benefit of the church until the Lord returns.”[4]
Grudem further clarifies his position regarding “the perfect” coming. He says:
The main point of the passage may well be that love lasts forever, but another point, and certainly an important one as well, is that verse 10 affirms not just that these imperfect gifts will cease sometime, but that they will cease ‘when the perfect comes.’ Paul specifies a certain time: ‘When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.’[5]
John Piper indicates that prophecy and tongues will continue until Christ returns. He points out verse 9, “…as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues they will cease…,” and he comes to this conclusion, “So this text is a pretty clear argument, I think, that the gift of prophecy and tongues will continue until Jesus comes back.”[6] Piper has also stated that he desires the gift of speaking in tongues but has never done so other than attempting to will himself to do it, and he feels as though his approach was not genuine.[7]
Gordon Fee is a well-respected New Testament scholar and formerly a professor at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, and an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God denomination. Fee’s commentary on 1 Corinthians is considered one of the best studies of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Fee agrees with Grudem that verse 10 refers to the end of the age. He says, “Thus the basic verb chosen to describe the temporal, transitory nature of the charismata is an eschatological one, used elsewhere in the letter to refer to the ‘passing away’ of what belongs merely to the present age.”[8] Fee argues that the verb choice recurs in the following sentence and that the contrasting nature has to do with eschatology and not with maturity, which is one of the competing interpretations. What that means, in short, is that the perfect coming could mean the church matures enough that the gifts pass away. Fee is clear in his assessment and understands this is not a consistent exegesis of the text.
The continuationist position hinges on this understanding of the perfect coming, which is the return of Christ at the end of the age. They provide convincing arguments that the continuation of the gifts flows naturally with the plain reading of the text and an understanding of the gifts being linked to the eschaton. Fee is also careful to identify the significance of the gifts as edifying to the church community. In his footnote speaking about prophecies, he states, “Not because it is superior to any of the others, but because it is representative of intelligible utterances, which can edify, in contrast to uninterpreted tongues, which cannot.”[9] Here is an important distinction in properly understanding charismatic gifts compared to some wild abuses of extreme Pentecostalism.
Cessationism
The second viewpoint to examine is that of cessationism. Cessationism is the belief that the miraculous gifts of prophecy, healing, and tongues have ceased at the end of the apostolic age. The Cessationist argues from the same passage as the continuationist but with a different emphasis. Rather than the focus being 1 Corinthians 13:10, the emphasis includes verse 8b, “As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” Given the previous commentary by Gordon Fee, verse 10 completes Paul’s thoughts on verses 8 and 9, thus contextualizing the passage and offering a valid argument that to claim verse 8 as proof of cessationism would qualify as proof-texting or using it out of context.
The cessationist position seeks to offer additional proof of why these gifts have ceased.[1] It is important to contextualize the immediate and the whole letter to the Corinthians. What did Paul desire these saints to understand? 1 Corinthians 14, verses 1 through 3 confirm the gift of prophesying is more beneficial than speaking in a tongue. It is designed to encourage and build up the church rather than edify the speaker. This indicates a progression of the gifts. As the New Testament progresses, the topic of tongues and healing, particularly, ceases to be discussed. Paul does not mention the office of healing or tongue speaking in the pastoral epistles. However, he does highlight the office of pastor/elder and preacher. In his commentary on 1 Corinthians, Tom Schreiner writes,
The purpose in context is clear: the period of childhood is compared to this present age, this present era, when spiritual gifts like prophecy, tongues and knowledge are needed. Paul does not demean these gifts in comparing them to childhood, but he does put a temporal limit on them. Just as the days of childhood are temporary, so are the gifts God has given the church.[2]
At this point, briefly discussing the gift of prophecy is important. The gift of prophesying in the Old Testament was one of the ways God communicated His truth to the world. He had chosen men who spoke with authority, and there were distinct ways to measure the validity of their message; these men spoke, “thus saith the Lord,” and that was to be taken as the Word of God. False prophets were subject to death, “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die” (Deut. 18:20). New Testament prophesying is speaking the canonized Word of God to edify and build up the people of God. The book of Hebrews opens its pages with these words: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:1—2). Here, it shows a turning point: the Lord Jesus Christ is the last prophet, the final word and the prophets have passed, but speaking the inscripturated words of God is still an active and important element of the Christian faith.
Like other doctrines in the Bible, cessationists appeal to multiple scriptural references and church history. Writing an article on cessationism and a response to Sam Storms continuationist views, Pastor Josh Buice says this,
As a cessationist, I’m quite aware of the fact that no Bible verse can be supplied that states “all of the apostolic gifts will cease.” Just as the doctrine of the Trinity is supplied through progressive revelation, so is the doctrine of cessationism. As we read the Scriptures, progressive revelation makes it known that some gifts do cease because they were given for a specific time period and purpose in redemptive history. The office of the prophet has ceased and the gift of the apostle is no longer given to the church in our day, as Paul clearly stated that he was the last of the apostles (1 Cor 15:8).[3]
If the canon is closed and prophecy has ceased, then it is possible that the other miraculous gifts, such as tongues, knowledge, and miraculous healings, have also ceased. In addition, it is important to note the difference between the ordinary use of these gifts and the extraordinary gifts, which will be discussed in the next section. If the gift of healing, as described in Acts by Peter and Paul, were still in place, hospitals would likely be emptied of their patients. What kind of a faith healer would not desire to see a children’s hospital void of sick children? The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith states clearly, “The Holy Scriptures are the only sufficient, certain, and infallible standard of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.”[4] If the confession is true, then further revelation is unnecessary. Since the gift of prophesying is classified under preaching it is still relevant and necessary for the New Testament church.
Lastly, the cessationists’ argument appeals to church history as evidence these gifts are no longer commonplace. There are opposing views to this claim, notably by Sam Storms, who has written the gifts “were most decidedly not absent. They were at times less prevalent, but the same could be said about the presence of signs, wonders and miracles in biblical history as well.”[5] While Dr. Storms makes an interesting point, one would wonder how a decline in these gifts and a resurgence of the gifts in the early 20th century are intertwined. In the 2nd Century, the Montanists claimed they possessed the gift of prophecy and spoke in an ecstatic babble, similar to modern-day tongues speakers. One of the most famous Montanists was Tertullian. The Reformation period saw its own version with Zwickau prophets, and in the latter 17th Century, the Huguenots and then later the Quakers all used the ecstatic glossolalia[6] to receive a word from God.
The biggest revival of the modern Pentecostal movement began in Topeka, Kansas, in 1900, by Charles Parham, the founder of Bethel Bible College. Parham was an itinerant evangelist and faith healer. He asked his students to read the book of Acts and answer, “What is the biblical evidence of the Holy Ghost?” They overwhelmingly agreed it was speaking in tongues and quickly spread through the school. Other movements, such as the Azusa Street Revival, caused Pentecostalism to grow quickly, but like all movements, they encountered internal problems resulting in factions. Whether the ongoing work of miraculous gifts was truly miraculous through the post-apostolic era is probably in the eye of the beholder. Still, for cessationists there are real doubts about the validity of some of the movements.
There appear to be reasonable arguments from both camps that can confuse those seeking to form a doctrinal position, so where would one land if they are not fully convinced of either position? Is there another place to provide for the possibility of some of the miraculous gifts without violating the Scriptures? With that, there is an open but cautious position.
Cautious
Is it essential for Christianity to have firm views on the above positions? Or is it possible to maintain a middle-of-the-road perspective because of uncertainty? This third perspective explores that question. It is important to understand that doubts are not sinful, nor does it mean one is weak on theological convictions. Given testimonies of unusual events through the years of miraculous occurrences must be explained as demonic activity or a work of God. While it is imperative not to believe every spirit but to test them (John 4:1), is it possible that the Spirit of God continues to work in miraculous and unusual ways? Cessationism, in all fairness, does not prohibit miraculous works; the position merely articulates they are not commonplace, nor are they done in the same way they were performed by Jesus and the Apostles.
The third position provides an opportunity for those not residing firmly in either camp. When unexplained miraculous events are attested to, how should Christians receive this testimony? As 1 John 4:1 indicates, they must be tested. John Calvin offers sound advice:
But the Spirit prescribes an altogether different way: that believers be watchful not to accept any doctrine lightly and without judgment. We should be careful not to be offended by the variety of opinion in the church; we should rather discriminate between teachers, with the Word of God as our only norm. It is enough to make it our rule not to listen indiscriminately to everyone that comes along.[1]
A Christian must judge these situations and discern the legitimacy of claims to healings, tongues, and miracles. However, it is difficult to dismiss the many testimonies describing miraculous events. A more recent phenomenon in the past couple of decades has been dreams and visions in the Muslim world. These accounts claim they are visited by the Lord Jesus Christ in a dream. Since the canon is closed, most cessationists will claim no further need for special revelation.[2] However, the biblical accounts are replete with God appearing in theophanies or dreams. (Gen. 3:18, 18:1, Ex. 3:1—4, Gen. 28:12, Gen. 15:1, Ez. 8:3—4) Dreams and visions are also seen in the New Testament (Luke 1:5—23, Matt. 1:20, 2:13, 27:10, Acts 9:10, 10:1—6, 10:9—15, 16:9—10, 18:9—11, and 2 Cor. 12:1—6).
How does the topic of the canonical text play into dreams and visions from either the Old or the New Testament? And since the canon had not yet been inscripturated, what is the relationship? Cessationists will argue that since the canon is now complete, there is no further need for revelation, which is a reasonable position to take. However, what about places where access to the Scriptures is limited or not yet translated, such as Middle Eastern and heavily Muslim countries? Pastor Tom Doyle spent eleven years as a full-time missionary in the Middle East and Central Asia. He has experienced and recounted many stories of the Lord Jesus Christ appearing to Muslim people in his book, and he writes, “Each of their stories is really His story. Jesus wants you to know what He’s doing and to appreciate the power by which He still works today…. The stories in this book are about real people I know personally or are known by my family’s closest friends in the Middle East. If we couldn’t verify the experience, we left it out -no Christian fairy tales here.”[3]
The stories in Doyle’s book are compelling and gripping. If they have no valid connection to the New Testament Jesus, they should be dismissed. But Fatima’s story confirms the dreams through a hunger and thirst to read about Christ on the pages of the Bible. Doyle recounts Fatima’s story:
And it seemed that every day she met yet another person who had dreamed about this Jesus. Each one recounted a powerful, gentle Person who overwhelmed him or her, not with unendurable shame as the Muslim leaders did, but with a pure love that reached deep inside. This idea of a loving God is what astounded her. One friend described him as a shepherd watching over and caring for His sheep. Fatima’s soul ached for such an experience of belonging and acceptance.For months, the young woman pored over the New Testament online and saw for herself the glorious love of Jesus for His disciples. He was irresistible, and one night she bowed in obedience to His call on her life.[4]
Fatima would not have had easy access to the Bible as those living in the West would. So given the limited abilities, why would it be impossible to reach these people by way of a dream, vision, or theophany? While this is not considered the normal mode of gospel transmission, denying the countless stories of such occurrences is difficult.
The topic of tongues, as seen in the book of Acts, has also been attested to by witnesses that confirm missionaries going to people groups and not knowing the language but being able to miraculously speak in a foreign tongue without any training. While cautious, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones believes the gift of speaking in tongues continues. He qualifies that these gifts occur only as the Spirit moves upon a person, not at will, and if ever to be done publicly, they require interpretation.[5]
Conclusion
It is often difficult to reconcile the practices that commonly occurred in the times of the early church or the Old Testament. While caution should be the day’s rule, the miraculous gifts’ continuation must be critiqued and evaluated. These should never be assumed, but neither should they be denied or taken as a deceptive tool of the enemy. Whether it is appropriate to accept them as orthodox is another question and one not always easily answered.
God has not left the world without direction. These directions are complete in the Old and the New Testaments. However, this does not authoritatively declare God cannot work through other means. Although these means are rare, they are not impossible. There are good people on both sides of this discussion, and there are good people who have not made firm decisions, and in it lies an opportunity for increased love for those who disagree. The cross and the gospel are the central themes of God’s design to bring glory to Himself and reconcile sinful man. God has declared the answer, which is found in the work and person of Jesus Christ. May the Lord provide clarity, wisdom, and discernment for those seeking His glory.
Schreiner, Thomas R. 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018.
[2] Special revelation is a way God reveals Himself using miraculous means. These can include dreams, visions, the written Word of God or through Christ Himself, such as Hebrews 1:1—3 proclaims.
[3] Tom Doyle and Greg Webster, Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World? (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2012). xiv.
[1] It is noteworthy that this paper only discusses the continuation and cessation of the miraculous gifts. There is also considerable debate about the cessation of revelation. From this paper and this writer’s perspective, it is important to note that without the cessation of special revelation, it would be difficult to establish objective truth through God’s Word, knowing that it is subject to change. Theologians like Wayne Grudem offer explanations about the New Testament that space limits our exploration, but holding fast to the Word of God as complete is crucial to establishing the Bible as the final authority on all matters of faith and life. See Chapter 53, Systematic Theology by Grudem.
[6] Eerdmans Bible Dictionary states the erratic speech of “glossolalia” is not an actual human language, not to be understood in those terms, but directed toward God, and is referred to as “tongues of men and angels” (1 Cor. 13:1) by the Apostle Paul. Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 1011.
[2] All Bible translations are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
[3] Grudem gives three reasons for his continuing view of miraculous gifts. 1. He says verse 12 determines the context of verse 10 as the time of the Lord’s return, as we shall see Him clearly, as face to face. 2. Paul is emphasizing the greatness of love, “To prove his point he argues that it will last beyond the time when the Lord returns, unlike present spiritual gifts. This makes a convincing argument: love is fundamental to God’s plan….” 3. Grudem interprets 1 Corinthians 1:7 as Paul tying the possession of spiritual gifts to the activity of waiting for the Lord’s return.
Most people don’t think much about decorum, but in the world we live in, it is a lost art. The Cambridge Dictionary defines decorum as controlled, calm, and polite behavior. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we no longer live in a world that is controlled, calm, or polite. There is a modicum of decorum in certain circumstances, but in general, society has degenerated to baseness. Baseness is the state or quality of being dishonorable, cowardly, selfish, or mean-spirited; morally despicable character.
What in the world draws me to this conclusion? Am I being overly critical of society or holding people to a standard I have no business or expectation of having? I suppose so on some level that is true, but it seems to me that society has degenerated so quickly that many don’t even know what it’s like to maintain a social standard or mores. Allow me to illustrate my point from today.
Today is Thursday, and it’s the day my wife and I spend time together. It so happened that we took the kids to school together, and then I had to take her to get a loaner vehicle as her car needed some repairs. In the line for school drop-off, we were sitting behind a truck, and the license plate said something not worth repeating but having a sexual reference. Our elementary-age children are in a Christian school, mind you. Jen had to look up the reference, and it started a conversation between us talking about how people don’t even hide their depravity anymore.
The second instance happened as we were driving to our destination, and a commercial painting van was driving beside us, it had a sticker on the window that said, “For tailgaters: 1. Either go around or 2. Go to Hell.” It just so happens that we know this company; they painted our home before we moved to New Mexico, and we found out about the company from the church we attended. If I’m a business owner, I don’t want that on my vehicle, period. But if I’m a Christian business owner I couldn’t imagine allowing such a thing, assuming he knew of it.
The third instance involved a woman’s t-shirt where we went for coffee. It said, “F*$&! that Guy.” The woman was standing there talking with some people at a very upscale type of place as if it was no big deal to wear such a shirt. Of course, it’s not the only time I’ve seen these shirts with gross profanity in plain sight for any children that might walk past. I can only assume she is referring to a former president, or perhaps even a current one, but who knows for sure.
I look around, and I try to view things around me through the lens of a Christian Worldview. Since I’m a Christian we have a standard to live by. We don’t get to say whatever comes to our mind or do whatever we want to do. Paul told the Ephesians to let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths… (Eph. 4:29). To say that society has downgraded is an understatement.
As we left there was a vehicle in the parking lot that had a sticker that said, “I Hope Something Good Happens To You Today.” We drove away and said, that’s a message I can endorse and agree.
As a Christian, I have an opportunity to be different. To stand out as a light in a dark place. I’ll tell you, I’m not always so good at it. But I sure want to try to stand out. Not for my own sake, but for the sake of Christ and the gospel. Lord, help us to offer the hope of salvation in a sin-filled world. A world that no politician is going to save, only the work of Christ.
Uncommon Faith 