For almost two decades of my life, I was immersed in the Charismatic movement. If I had to describe the beliefs I once held, they would fall under the cornucopia of Word of Faith, hyper Charismatic, and New Apostolic Reformation. For fifteen years, I professed to my own private prayer language, and I coached other people to do the same in altar calls, using verses such as Jude 20 to support it. There were dreams and visions I experienced through the years, along with copious journal entries claiming God had spoken to me in the first Person. I claimed to receive prophetic revelation and to cast out demons. I went through numerous fire tunnels, participated in praying for people in fire tunnels, fell to the floor more times than I can count, and I laid hands on people to declare healing. I even rebuked the weather, thinking I had the power to do such things.

Several years ago, my family and I left the movement after a series of providential events. It was one of the most difficult times in my life, but I thank God for what He did in bringing us out of it and for His mercy and grace. Some may say that the pendulum swung to the opposite side when I left, and to a certain degree, that is correct. I went from being Biblically illiterate to understanding Scripture. I desired the written Word over hearing the next alleged prophetic word. I realized through Bible study and testing my experiences that much of what I had been taught or experienced was error or contradicted Scripture. There was much that was rejected, and the things I could not explain, my pastor was patient to help me understand God’s saving grace in spite of those things. There has been freedom from spiritual bondage of the hamster wheel over the past several years, and through trials and difficulties, God faithfully helped me and corrected me in how to pray according to Scripture.

One of the things that seemed difficult to resolve was the view of spiritual gifts. For a while, I was open but cautious. The more I considered that belief, the more it seemed like a compromise. So, I read books on the matter. For years, I had been told about the continuation or rather, the restoration of the gifts, including the offices of apostle and prophet. There were generals of the faith propped up on supernatural pedestals for us to emulate or to receive their mantles of power. I became troubled when studying Scripture and comparing it to what I had been taught. The gifts appeared to be different.

Tongues was a big one for me. The fact that false religions also claim to speak in tongues was troubling. The verses I had been taught ad nauseum concerning a private prayer language were not agreeing with the Bible in its proper context. I began to understand what it meant to truly be Spirit filled, and the conviction came to no longer speak in an ecstatic utterance. I read and heard how the private prayer language came to be. You likely know where I am going with this and how the dominoes fell, but after several years of searching and wanting better understanding, there was peace in coming to terms with being a cessationist.

That may sound like a bad word to some, and I understand that perspective given my background. I also understand that much of the time, there is discouragement from looking into such things out of fear in quenching the Holy Spirit. With the current release of the movie Cessationist, there has been quite a bit of backlash and commentary on the topic. I recently heard a Charismatic minister state that cessationism is heretical, while also stating that there are brothers and sisters in Christ who believe it and will be in heaven. I listened to what he had to say and wondered if he was having an Inigo Montoya moment, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” In fact, to state that someone holds to heretical beliefs puts them outside the Christian faith.

I heard several other people sound off on the film, stating that it was demonic and sinister. A self-professing prophet claimed to receive a word about the film and cessationism thirteen days after it was released. I will not keep you in suspense: it was not a prophetic word. How do I know? Because this individual believes in fallible prophecy, and he has had failed prophecies in the past. One failed prophecy is one too many for a prophet claiming to speak for God.

Taking some of these things into consideration, I found the argument for cessationism as heretical to be weak and an angry straw man looming around every quippy statement. Some people are downright angry about this film and gatherings to support this belief. There are claims that no one wants to debate on behalf of cessationism. I encourage you to do your homework. The debates are out there. There are people stating that cessationists focus too much on calling out the gifts today of prophecy, tongues, and healing, while welcoming the other gifts like a buffet. I can tell you in the many years I held to the belief of fallible prophecy, ecstatic tongues and such, there were no conferences to encourage the gift of teaching or serving. There were no webinars or impartation services for the gift of mercy. The focus in the Charismatic has been on prophecy, tongues, and healings. I would hope that leaders would be concerned about false prophecy and other practices that do not agree with Scripture coming out of the Charismatic and hyper Charismatic circles.

In his book, Signs of the Apostles: Observations on Pentecostalism Old and New, Walter Chantry states this with regard to the modern Pentecostal movement, “None of these gifts (prophecy, tongues, dreams, and visions) may be conceived of apart from the concept of an infallible revelation from God delivered to us through those who are experiencing the gifts. Anyone who speaks in this manner must be identified as an agent of divine revelation. Certainly dreams and visions from God are claims to receiving inspired communications of God’s truth.” There are some respected continuationist leaders who would say that for us not to pursue the spiritual gifts as instructed in Scripture is disobedience to God’s Word. When it comes to modern fallible prophecy, ecstatic utterances said to be a private prayer language, and questionable or unverified healings, cessationism is not relevant or applicable to the argument because such gifts contradict those found in Scripture.

The modern prophetic movement has displayed error and the lack of satisfaction in the sufficiency of the Word of God. Jesus Christ is our Prophet, Priest, and King. We do not need modern apostles or prophets today, and if someone insists on needing them, then we need to ask where sola Scriptura fits into the equation. The foundation has been completed. The church could not have been built on an incomplete foundation for 1900 years if that were not so.

Furthermore, the forthtelling of the gospel to spiritually dead men and women whose hearts are likened to stone is prophetic because God’s Word does not return to Him void. It fulfills the purpose for which it was sent (Isaiah 55:11). It is God who gives us a new heart, one of flesh rather than stone (Ezekiel 36, Jeremiah 31). He does a truly miraculous work. When I stop and think on what I once believed, I have to ask: when did the glorious gospel stop being enough to be in awe of the majesty, the glory, and the holy splendor of God?

Furthermore, I reject the notion that because I thoughtfully and carefully came to the Biblical understanding of cessationism, I do not know God, the Holy Spirit has not sealed me for the day of redemption, and I do not honor His sovereignty, His power, and His will. I heard His voice the day I heard the gospel, and I am content with that. You heard His voice the day you heard the gospel, for those who have received Him as their Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit helps you and leads you to understand the very word he carried men along to write (2 Peter 1:19-21). The supernatural experience that marks you and I as His own is regeneration. Does God heal and do miracles according to His will? Yes, He does. I can confidently say I know of no one with the gift of healing, and I have never heard the gift of tongues in accordance with Scripture, which are known languages unknown to the speaker for the glory of God.

I understand what it is like to constantly seek to hear the voice of God while plucking Scripture out of context. I have recognized my own error in assigning a “prophetic” meaning to a passage it never said, while being blind to the glory it contained and satisfied with the testimony of my Lord and Savior. It seems that such discussions regarding the gifts is an in-house discussion among believers in Christ, and these discussions should be conducted without the misuse of terms, hyperbole, or adhominem attacks. They can be conducted with patience, gentleness, and love. This glorifies Jesus Christ, and this is what we are instructed to do in His Word. These things do matter, and we must understand what Scripture has to say, especially when it crosses over into dangerous aberrant teachings as those found in the New Apostolic Reformation.

Cessationism is not heretical, and it does not deny the continuing power and work of the Holy Spirit today. It seeks to honor the sufficiency of Scripture and to highlight the power of God and His glorious gospel.

Listen to this in-depth episode regarding the claims against cessationism and the claimed prophetic word regarding this topic: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: Is Cessationism Heretical? on Apple Podcasts