Monday, August 31, 2020

Wokeism Is A Religious Cult!

Wokeism is an odd religion. It teaches people to nurse grudges, cast blame, cultivate ill will against entire people groups, and deepen that personal sense of resentment. It is a canon of doctrine deliberately designed to provoke conflict, prolong resentment, and foster bitterness between different ethnicities. Wokeism encourages people to be offended by things that never actually happened to them—while blaming others for sins they did not actually commit. It doles out guilt and shame rather than grace and redemption. Though it is promoted by people who say they oppose ethnic strife, it is a blatantly prejudiced worldview, condemning entire ethnic groups for sins that were committed generations ago by people long dead. It attempts to hold current generations guilty for the sins of generations long since dead.

The notion that the Gospel can be improved by blending it with Wokeism is sheer folly, and shame on any Christian who attempts to unite the two. The "Woke" worldview is impossible to blend with Gospel truth—and its inevitable drift will take today's wanna-be-Woke evangelicals exactly where the social gospel of Walter Rauschenbusch took the mainline denominations in the twentieth century: into rank theological liberalism and unbelief. The "Woke" worldview is rooted in secularism—and arguably, Marxism. Its central claims and distinctive jargon are taken not from Scripture but from secular political discourse.

Have nothing to do with the "Woke" movement! It is another one of the devil's ploys and distractions. Keep your eyes focused on Christ!

The Clipboard Cut-and-Paste Method of Proof-texting

"Christians routinely take verses out of context and misapply them to their daily living. Seeing the Scripture in its proper historical context will safeguard you from making this all-too common mistake.
[U]nderstanding the story [of the New Testament] will forever deliver you from the 'cut-and-paste' approach to Bible study that dominates evangelical thinking today. What is the 'cut-and-paste' approach to Bible study? It is the common practice of coming to the NT with scissors and glue, clipping and then pasting disjointed sentences (verses) together from Books that were written decades apart.
This 'cut-and-paste' approach has spawned all sorts of spiritual hazards—one of them being the popular practice of lashing verses together to build floatable doctrines. Another is that of 'proof-texting' to win theological arguments. (A vast majority of Western Christianity behaves as if the mere citation of some random and de-contextualized verse ends all discussion on virtually all subjects.)
The Medievals called this 'cut-and-paste' method 'a string-of-pearls.' You take one text, find some remote metaphorical connection with another text, and voilá, an ironclad doctrine is born! [Such as the 'Rapture.'] But this is a pathetic approach to understanding the Bible. While it is great for reading one's own biases into the text, it is horrible for understanding the intent of the biblical authors.
It has been rightly said that a person can prove anything by taking Bible verses out of context. Let me demonstrate how one can 'biblically' prove that it is God's will for believers to commit suicide. All you have to do is lift two verses out of their historical setting and paste them together:

"And he [Judas]...went...and hanged himself" (Matt. 27:5).
"Then said Jesus...'Go and do the same' " (Luke 10:37b)

While this is an outrageous example of the 'cut-and-paste' approach, it makes a profound point. Without understanding the historical context of the NT, Christians have managed to build doctrines and invent practices that have fragmented the Body of Christ into thousands of denominations. Understanding the sequence of each NT Book and the socio-historical setting that undergirds them is one remedy for this problem."

Frank Viola, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church


We Christians have been taught to approach the Bible in one of eight ways:

→ You look for verses that inspire you. Upon finding such verses, you either highlight, memorize, meditate upon, or put them on your refrigerator door.
→ You look for verses that tell you what God has promised so that you can confess it in faith and thereby obligate the Lord to do what you want.
→ You look for verses that tell you what God commands you to do.
→ You look for verses that you can quote to scare the devil out of his wits or resist him in the hour of temptation.
→ You look for verses that will prove your particular doctrine so that you can slice-and-dice your theological sparring partner into biblical ribbons. (Because of the proof-texting method, a vast wasteland of Christianity behaves as if the mere citation of some random, decontextualized verse of Scripture ends all discussion on virtually any subject.)
→ You look for verses in the Bible to control and/or correct others.
→ You look for verses that "preach" well and make good sermon material. (This is an ongoing addiction for many who preach and teach.)
→ You sometimes close your eyes, flip open the Bible randomly, stick your finger on a page, read what the text says, and then take what you have read as a personal "word" from the Lord.

Now look at this list again. Which of these approaches have you used? Look again: Notice how each is highly individualistic. All of them put you, the individual Christian, at the center. Each approach ignores the fact that most of the New Testament was written to corporate bodies of people (churches), not to individuals.
But that is not all. Each of these approaches is built on isolated proof texting. Each treats the New Testament like a manual and blinds us to its real message. It is no wonder that we can approvingly nod our heads at paid pastors, the Sunday morning order of worship, sermons, church buildings, religious dress, choirs, worship teams, seminaries, and a passive priesthood—all without wincing.
We have been taught to approach the Bible like a jigsaw puzzle. Most of us have never been told the entire story that lies behind the letters that Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude wrote. We have been taught chapters and verses, not the historical context.
For instance, have you ever been given the story behind Paul's letter to the Galatians? Before nodding, see if you can answer these questions off the top of your head: Who were the Galatians? What were their issues? When and why did Paul write to them? What happened just before Paul penned his Galatian treatise? Where was he when he wrote it? What provoked him to write the letter? And where in Acts do you find the historical context for this letter? All of these background matters are indispensable for understanding what our New Testament is about. Without them, we simply cannot understand the Bible clearly or properly.
One scholar put it this way, "The arrangement of the letters of Paul in the New Testament is in general that of their length. When we rearrange them into their chronological order, fitting them as far as possible into their life-setting within the record of the Acts of the Apostles, they begin to yield up more of their treasure; they become self-explanatory, to a greater extent than when this background is ignored."
Another writes, "If future editions [of the New Testament] want to aid rather than hinder a reader's understanding of the New Testament, it should be realized that the time is ripe to cause both the verse and chapter divisions to disappear from the text and to be put on the margin in an inconspicuous a place as possible. Every effort must be made to print the text in a way which makes it possible for the units which the author himself had in mind to become apparent."
You could call our method of studying the New Testament the "clipboard approach." If you are familiar with computers, you are aware of the clipboard component. If you happen to be in a word processor, you may cut and paste a piece of text via the clipboard. The clipboard allows you to cut a sentence from one document and paste it into another.
Pastors, seminarians, and laymen alike have been conditioned by the clipboard approach when studying the Bible. This is how we justify our man-made, encased traditions and pass them off as biblical. It is why we routinely miss what the early church was like whenever we open our New Testaments. We see verses. We do not see the whole picture.

Frank Viola, Pagan Christianity?

Friday, August 28, 2020

What Church Community Looks Like

The Church is a community. As a community, believers in Christ ought to be supporting one another, helping each other's businesses to flourish. If you bother to look around at modern society, any time the world disagrees with a Christian or a Christian-run business, they attempt to boycott it in order to see it go out of business. Christians should be supporting one another and giving their business to those Christians who meet their particular need. Just as your local area talks about supporting your local businesses so that they do not go out of business, so too ought Christians to be practicing the same mentality among each other.

If Christians are in need of help, especially poorer Christians, other believers ought to be giving of their talents without asking for remuneration. Remember this verse?

"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:17-18
If poorer Christians need a little work done on their house or to their yard, other believers ought to be lending a charitable helping hand. If we support each other's endeavours, then we all win. By so doing we fulfill this verse:
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35

Remember, giving in the New Testament involves our time, talents, and treasures for the benefit of others. Our giving is supposed to be an act of worship, giving of ourselves and what we possess the way Jesus gave of Himself and all that He possessed for us. The giving of our time, talents, and treasures is meant to support people: the needy, the widows, the orphans, the sick, and the imprisoned. They can even be used for evangelistic and missionary endeavours. If we supported each other, instead of supporting famous secular individuals who already have more than enough money, how much better could our businesses be doing? We also should not just support famous household names such as John MacArthur, John Piper, and the likes, but we should be supporting the little guy to help get them some recognition. Good recommendations from fellow believers can bring other believing customers from other areas to support us.

The New Testament commands Christian believers who follow Jesus to treat one another with love, humility, and respect, encouraging one another and being unified.

  • Love (John 13:34; 15:13, 17; Rom. 13:8; 1 Thess. 4:9; Heb. 13:1; 1 Pet. 1:22; 3:8; 4:8; 1 John 3:11, 14, 23; 4:7, 11; 2 John 5)
  • Encourage (2 Cor. 13:11; 1 Thess. 4:18; 5:11; Heb. 3:13; 10:25)
  • Greet (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Pet. 5:14)
  • Be Humble (Eph. 4:2; 1 Pet. 3:8; 5:5)
  • Have Compassion (Eph. 4:32; 1 Pet. 3:8)
  • Live in Peace (Mark 9:50; 1 Thess. 5:13)
  • Bear in Love (Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:13)
  • Forgive (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13)
  • Have the Mind of Christ (Rom. 15:5; Phil. 2:5)
  • Confess To (James 5:16)
  • Serve (Gal. 5:13)
  • Admonish (Col. 3:16)
  • Be Sympathetic (1 Pet. 3:8)
  • Live in Harmony (Rom. 12:16)
  • Submit (Eph. 5:21)
  • Offer Hospitality (1 Pet. 4:9)
  • Agree (1 Cor. 1:10)
  • Be Devoted (Rom. 12:10)
  • Do Good (1 Thess. 5:15)
  • Spur to Love (Heb. 10:24)
  • Don't Grumble (James 5:9)
  • Speak Songs To (Eph. 5:19)
  • Don't Judge (Rom. 14:13)
  • Instruct (Rom. 15:14)
  • Be Like-minded (1 Pet. 3:8)
  • Don't Provoke (Gal. 5:26)
  • Honour (Rom. 12:10)
  • Be Kind (Eph. 4:32)
  • Don't Deprive (1 Cor. 7:5)
  • Spur to Good Deeds (Heb. 10:24)
  • Don't Slander (James 4:11)
  • Pray For (James 5:16)
  • Be Gentle (Eph. 4:2)
  • Have Equal Concern (1 Cor. 12:25)
  • Accept (Rom. 15:7)
  • Build Up (1 Thess. 5:11)
  • Don't Lie (Col. 3:9)
  • Be Patient (Eph. 4:2)
  • Don't Pay Back Wrong (1 Thess. 5:15)

Genuine believers in Christ want a community where they are known, loved, and cared for by other Christians. They want a community where they can know others and experience the joy of pouring into their lives and loving, encouraging, and helping them, and ministering to their needs. They want a community where they can be useful and a blessing to others who are struggling. They want a community where they can be spiritually led, biblically fed, and lovingly protected. They want a community where other believers are joyfully committed to keeping watch over their souls, speak the Word to each other, and help each other grow in their knowledge of God and their intimacy with Him. They want a community where they can experience Christ rather than just hear about Him.

I hope this helps you understand our commitment and responsibility to one another. The reason why cults such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons seem so appealing is because they put these kinds of things into practice. If they help people without expecting anything in return, how much more so ought we Christians to be doing the same, especially toward one another? If we want the world "to know we are Christians by our love," then perhaps it is time we started to live it out. Know a Christian who has, or is trying to start, their own business? Help them out by giving them a shout out and recognizing them and their efforts on your social media platforms.

May God bless you in accordance with the measure with which you bless others.

Church Membership

According to the New Testament, what constituted membership in the Church? 

"Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved." Acts 2:46-47

"But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand." Acts 4:4

"And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number," Acts 5:14

"Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. ... The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith." Acts 6:1, 7

"So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. ... And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. ... It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord." Acts 9:31, 35, 42

"And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. ... for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord." Acts 11:21, 24

"In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. ... After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch," Acts 14:1, 21

"So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily." Acts 16:5

"Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men." Acts 17:12

Do you see any hoops to jump through mentioned in any of those passages with regard to Church membership? Do you see any mention of membership applications, membership classes, waiting periods, voting, approval boards, or any other such practices? No, I did not think so. In the Bible, upon one's confession, and subsequent baptism, one became a member of the Body of Christ, that is, the Church. When you repent and put your trust in Jesus, and are born again by the Holy Spirit, you are immediately placed into the Body of Christ and need not join another one.

Where in the New Testament does it teach that men must join as a "local member" (with the many extra unbiblical rules) into the Christian gathering they attend? No preacher can give a biblical answer to this question. "Local membership" is not "assumed" or "implied" from various Bible passages, as some preachers have attempted to argue. Many will attempt to say, or infer, that if you are not part of a "local body," then you are not truly in Christ, or that your Christian life is "defective" somewhere. However, this is a logical fallacy; it is manipulation. Provide a single chapter and verse reference that says anything of the sort. I challenge you!

Memberships the way they exist in the majority of religious organizations today were invented by man in order to control people. Memberships today resemble country clubs, gyms, and the like. Man has added membership applications, membership classes, waiting periods, voting, approval boards, and various other denominational rules. Memberships today ask you to swear allegiance to a particular religious organization and usually include a section that says something along the lines of, "I agree to financially support such-and-such religious organization," pertaining to your continued "tithe." (For more on this, see The Biblical Place of Tithing and Tithing is Taxation.) Some religious organizations will even chase you down if you have not paid it, and will even punish you (they attempt to call it "discipline") until you have paid it. Does that sound very Christ-like?

Ever since the idea of "local body membership" was introduced decades ago, preachers have used it as a means to control congregants. They use this unbiblical practice of "local body membership" to lord it over the people, force their unbiblical ways upon the people, take more control, and even to get money out of those who are its members. This practice is shameful! Nowhere in God's Word does it support additional local man-made membership steps. Today's memberships enforce man-made rules upon you in order to control you. Such religious organizations are not teaching you the biblical 'one Body' of Christ.

One of the early church fathers (Augustine?) came up with the concept of the "universal body" and the "local body," but this is contra Scripture. Paul made it abundantly clear that there is "one Body" (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 6:16; 10:17; 12:12-13, 20; Eph. 2:16; 4:4; Col. 3:15). The fact of the matter is extremely simple: if you are in Christ, then you are a member of the true Body. You need not be a member of any other.

As part of the true Body of Christ, biblical membership involves intentional commitment to every other member. Look up every "one another" passage within the New Testament. That is what each member of the biblical Body of Christ is to be committed to. Biblical membership also involves intentional obedience to the Word, intentional submission to one another, and intentional discipline against ungodly conduct. Scripture says we are to keep each other accountable, and to be accountable to each other. If you are not willing to do this, then you might want to examine yourself to see if you are truly in the faith. If I travel to India and meet a fellow Christian there, I am accountable to him and he is accountable to me. We have a common bond that unites us. In our local assemblies where we congregate, these elements are present without the need to swear people to them.

When Jesus returns, is it going to matter if your name was on a particular religious organization's membership role? No, not in the least. The only thing that will matter is whether your name is found written in the Lamb's Book of Life. If your religious organization claims to "do everything by the Book," then why are they not practicing membership (or even baptism) in accordance with the Book?

There were local congregations in the Bible, just as we have today, but do not be deceived; there is only one Body, and Jesus is its Head. Not some CEO-preacher or some denominational organization such as we predominantly see today. If persecution struck the church in Rome, forcing its members to flee, they would simply attend other congregations wherever they could find them, and they were not required to apply for entrance or to switch locations. They just started attending and were welcomed; no strings attached. There is one Body of Christ, and it exists all over the world. If I am traveling, or moving, and find a congregation in Zimbabwe, I should be able to join and participate without restraint. I should be welcomed upon my profession alone. I should not have to jump through various hoops first and have some committee vote on whether I can attend or participate. Such is unbiblical, ungodly, and unChrist-like.

Are you a member of the Catholic body? the Lutheran body? the Calvinist body? the Anglican body? the Presbyterian body? the Baptist body? the Methodist body? the Pentecostal body? Or are you a member of Christ's Body? Who do you follow? God? or Man?

Let us start following the Bible and the practices of the early Christians, instead of adding our own man-made traditions to the mix the way the Pharisees did. Let us experience the Christian life the way it was originally intended. Away with tradition, and back to the Bible!

Ordo Solutis (The Order of Salvation)

"For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." Romans 8:29-30
The above passage is known as the Golden Chain of Redemption.
  1. Predestination — "also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will," Eph. 1:11
  2. Atonement — "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10
  3. Gospel Call — "They said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'" Acts 16:31
  4. Internal Call — "for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." Rom. 10:10
  5. Regeneration — "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit," Titus 3:5
  6. Conversion (repentance and faith) — "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit," Titus 3:5
  7. Justification — "because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20
  8. Adoption — "so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Gal. 4:5
  9. Sanctification — "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love" Eph. 1:4
  10. Glorification — "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." Col. 3:4
Before you can respond to the call, God must first regenerate you. If He does not, you are still spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins, having a heart of stone, and hating God. Without regeneration, what in and of yourself can change any of those things so that you can respond to the call by faith (which is a gift given by God)? God is always the primary cause while everything else is the secondary cause.
 
It should be noted that the "heart" does not believe. All the organ inside your chest does is pump blood throughout your entire body. It does not think, believe, feel, or anything else. Those are all operations of your mental faculty—your mind. When Scripture uses the term "heart," it is referring to either your mental faculty, or to the central core of man (which still may be his mind).

Tithing Is Taxation

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I want you to understand something. Listen to me, and listen to me well. Nowhere in the New Testament are people commanded to tithe. Nowhere! Tithing was Israel's taxation system. The nation of Israel was required to pay tithes in order to run their country. They were mandatory and commanded. There was the tithe for their festivals (of which there were 7), there was the tithe for the poor, and there was the Levitical tithe (because the Levites did not have an inheritance among the other tribes). These tithes equate to 30-33%. If you want to learn more on this, see these previous articles:

God's pattern, in both the Old Testament and New Testament, has always been free-will offerings. In the Old Testament, free-will offerings were on top of their mandatory tithes. In the New Testament, giving consists of our time, our talent, and our treasure. The point has always been this:

"Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Cor. 9:6-7

This verse, however, does not mean what the false teachers of the Prosperity Gospel use it for. Any preacher who uses this verse to try and guilt you into giving your hard-earned money to them is a false teacher and you ought to run far from them. When the Bible talks about giving to the Church, it is not talking about giving to support one or more people's pay checks or to support a building that largely sits empty most of the week. When the Bible talks about giving to the Church, it is talking about giving your time, talent, and treasure to support people! It is meant to help the widows, the fatherless, the sick, the imprisoned, and the needy.

"When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, 'Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?' He said, 'Yes.' And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, 'What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?' When Peter said, 'From strangers,' Jesus said to him, 'Then the sons are exempt. However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.'" Matthew 17:24-27

In the above passage, Jesus paid taxes and commanded that his disciples do the same.

"Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?' But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, 'Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.' And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?' They said to Him, 'Caesar's'" Then He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.' And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away." Matthew 22:15-22

In the above passage, the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes. Jesus told them that we are to give to men what belongs to men and to God what belongs to God.

"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing." Romans 13:1-6

In the above passage, Paul reminds us of why we pay taxes. The following passage is one we should be heeding, and is a test of our Christian love.

"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:17-18

If you are guilty of what John is describing above, then you may have every right to question whether you are actually in the faith or not. But this is only one of several tests that exist in the book of 1 John for discerning genuine converts from false converts. If you fail this test, it could simply be due to ignorance and having not been taught properly.

Also, brothers and sisters, beware of preachers who attempt to teach that Acts 11:27-30 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 teach giving to the Church (to support one or more people's pay checks and to maintain a building). This is why context and correct exegesis is so important, as well as knowledge of some basic history. Because of a famine in the land, the Jerusalem church was suffering. Paul collected a relief fund from the Gentile churches in order to meet their needs. This was not tithing, and it was not obligatory.

Preachers tell you what they tell you, knowingly twisting key Bible verses, to make sure they have money in their pocket. If you stop paying these people to deliver you one or two messages a week, see how many of them stick around. These people are nothing more than hirelings. They do not care about the flock. If you are going to give money, make sure your money is going toward what it is intended for: taking care of the widows, the fatherless, the sick, the imprisoned, and the needy. If it is not, then it is your responsibility to make sure that it does.

Remember, giving is an act of worship. God does not need our money or anything else. What He wants is us; He wants to know that He is first in our lives. He wants to know if we truly love others and are willing to care for them and look out for them (as numerous passages in the New Testament command us). Far too many Christians have the attitude of, "What's the least I can give of my time, talent, and treasure to others and still receive God's blessing?" Does that sound like a worshipful heart? Does that sound like a loving heart that meets 1 John 3:17-18? Giving is not about the bare minimum you can invest in others; it is about surrendering everything to the God who gave everything for you.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

The Mark Is Not Physical—It Is Spiritual!

"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead," Rev. 13:16

Do you notice how it says nothing about men receiving this mark? It is not something you have any say in or control over. It says the second beast "causes all . . . to be given a mark." The mention of the "hand" and the "forehead" in Revelation 13 is important for us to take note of. The book of Revelation uses a lot of imagery and symbolism from the Old Testament. This same terminology—of the hand and forehead—is used four other times in the Old Testament (Ex. 13:9, 16; Deut. 6:8; 11:18-19). What it has to do with is what you believe and how you act in accordance with that belief. It is not a microchip! Not by any stretch of the imagination. It is not a physical mark of any kind!

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9

The thoughts we think with our minds, and the deeds we perform by our hands, are they glorifying to God?

"By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:10

The sensationalist interpretations of Dispensationalism is where the imaginary fictional concept of a microchip was first given birth. All because they try to interpret the Bible by what is happening around us rather than interpreting the Bible by the Bible. Remember, every post-first century religious context is foreign to the Bible, and therefore is not the context of the Bible. The right context for interpreting the Bible is the context that produced it—the worldview and cognitive frame of reference of the biblical authors, who intentionally conveyed meaning through the manner in which they structured their books. You cannot read our cultural context into the Bible. That is called eisegesis.

Now, to all—small and great, rich and poor, free and bond—the false prophet gives a mark. It is the mark of the first beast. Here the false prophet, in outward appearance, resembles the Lamb. Have not the followers of the Lamb been sealed on their foreheads? Hence the followers of the beast must be marked or branded on their foreheads or right hands. But what is meant by this "mark of the beast"? Various amusing answers have been given. These theories err in this respect, namely, that they interpret this mark as a single, individual, outward, visible sign that will appear on the forehead of hand of the wicked at one particular moment in history; then, and then only. But the beast always persecutes the Church and indicates every form of secular power that tries to destroy believers. Wherever whenever the beast appears, you will also find the mark of the beast. The two go together and cannot be separated.
In order to understand the expression "mark of the beast" we must remember that not only cattle but slaves also were branded or marked. The mark meant that the slave belonged to his master. Very soon the expression "to receive the mark of someone" began to mean to belong to someone, to serve or worship someone. Let us prove this point. In Revelation 14:9 we read: "If any man worships the beast . . . and receive the mark on his forehead." Here "receiving the mark of the beast" seems to mean "worshiping the beast." Similarly, in Revelation 14:11: "They that worship the beast . . . and receive the mark of his name" (cf. also Rev. 20:4). So "receiving the mark of the beast" seems to mean "belonging to the beast and worshiping the beast." The "mark of the beast" is the God-opposing, Christ-rejecting, Church-persecuting spirit of Antichrist, wherever and whenever it shows itself. This mark is impressed on the forehead or right hand (cf. Deut. 6:8). The forehead symbolizes the mind, the thought life, the philosophy of a person. The right hand indicates his deed, action, trade, industry, etc. Therefore receiving the mark of the beast on the forehead or right hand indicates that the person so characterized belongs to the company of those who persecute the Church; and that—either preeminently in what he things, says, writes, or more emphatically in what he does—this anti-Christian spirit becomes evident.
This interpretation harmonizes entirely with our explanation regarding the seal that the believer receives on his forehead. This seal indicates that he belongs to Christ, worships Him, breathes His spirit, ans thinks His thoughts after Him. Similarly, the mark of the beast symbolizes that the unbelievers, who persists in his wickedness, belongs to the beast and therefore to Satan, whom he worships. Observe, however that there is a difference. The believer receives a seal, the unbeliever a mere mark. Through the dispensation it has been true (think of Thyatira) that those people who have not received the mark of the beast and have not worshiped his image have been thwarted in their business pursuits. They are the ones who are crowded out and oppressed. They are not allowed to buy or to sell as long as they remain loyal to their principles. As we approach the end this opposition will increase. Nevertheless, let not the believer despair. Let him remember that the number of the beast is the number of man. Now, man was created on the sixth day. Six, moreover, is not seven and never reaches seven. It always fails to attain to perfection; that is, it never becomes seven. Six means missing the mark, or failure. Seven means perfection or victory. Rejoice, O Church of God! The victory is on your side. The number of the beast is 666, that is failure upon failure upon failure! It is the number of man, for the beast glorifies in man, and must fail!
William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors, pp. 166-167.

What is the mark (vv. 16-17) of the Beast? It is a counterfeit for the seal of God's name on the saints (7:2-8; 14:1; cf. Ezek. 9; Deut. 6:8). The Beast owns those who are marked, and they are his slaves (14:9; 19:20; 20:4). A mark denotes spiritual allegiance and ownership, both in the case of God's mark an din the case of the Beast's counterfeit mark. In both cases, the mark is at the root spiritual rather than visible. The multitude of speculations about a visible mark are beside the point.
What about the number 666? Divine completeness would be expressed by 777, and 666 consistently falls short of that. Thus, the number 666 has an obvious symbolic value. But there may be a further association. In both Hebrew and Greek, a numerical value was associated with each letter of the alphabet. In Greek, A had the value of 1, B had the value of 2, I have the value of I, and so on. The letters were sometimes used as a shorthand for numbers. Both Jews and pagans sometimes played arithmetical games with the numerical value of whole words. Christians found that the name Jesus had the numerical value of 888 in Greek. Hence, the number 666 contrasts with the name of Jesus (cf. 14:1). Jesus is the Christ, who brings in the new creation on the eighth day. The Beast is the Antichrist, who counterfeits Christ, but falls short.
Many have attempted to connect the number 666 with the numerical value of someone's name. But there are far too may possibilities. Some people have transliterated or translated names into Hebrew or Greek, as well as putting them in a Roman alphabet; others have used different forms of names, adding or deleting titles and abbreviations of titles and names. By such means, people have succeeded in correlating the number with each of the main Roman emperors of the time—Nero, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian—and with modern tyrannical figures. But such speculations miss the point. Revelation calls not for cleverness, but for spiritual discernment.
Vern S. Poythress, The Returning King, pp. 147-148.

The demand that everyone, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, receive a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead could be an allusion to the ancient practice of branding or tattooing disobedient slaves, soldiers, and loyal devotees to gods of various religions. If the association with slaves is in mind, then the beast's worshipers are seen as his property; if soldiers or religious devotees are in view, the worshipers are seen as the beast's faithful followers. Here, the mark is clearly figurative for the way in which the state keeps check on whether people are submitting to compulsory idol worship. Those not submitting to receiving the mark are unable to buy or to sell. This is a reference back to 2:9 and 6:5-6 (on which see), where economic measures are directed against Christians. The mark (Greek charagma) was used for the emperor's seal on business contracts and for the impress of the Roman ruler's head on coins. If this background is in mind, then it enforces the metaphorical idea that the mark in Revelation 13 alludes to the state's political and economic "stamp of approval," given only to those who go along with its religious demands. the mark on their forehead, which is the names of the beast, or the number of his name, is the parody of and the opposite to the "seal" in 7:3-8, which is the divine name written on the foreheads of true believers (14:1; so likewise 22:4; cf. 3:12). Since the seal or name on the true believer is invisible, so is the mark on the unbeliever. That the two are of a parallel spiritual nature and intended to be compared is evident from the immediately following mention of the names of God and Christ written on the foreheads of the saints (14:1). Believers are protected by the power of Christ's name, which is His presence with them. They may suffer and even die, yet they will receive the ultimate reward of eternal life (20:4, on which see). Unbelievers may receive temporary prosperity, but will be punished ultimately with eternal death (see on 14:9-11). The mark may also connote that the followers of Christ and the beast both are stamped with the "image" (= character) of their respective leader.
That the mark of the name is figurative and not literal is also evident from the picture of the beast, who has written on his heads "blasphemous names," which figuratively connote false claims to earthly, divine kingship (see on 13:1). Likewise, the point of saying that the worshipers of the beast have his name written on their heads is to underscore the fact that they pay homage to his blasphemous claims to divine kingship. In the OT, God told Israel that the Torah was to "serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead" in order to remind them continually of their commitment and loyalty to God (Exod. 13:9). The NT equivalent is the invisible seal or name of God (see on 7:2-3). The "forehead" represents ideological commitment and the "hand" the practical outworking of that commitment. Likewise, as a travesty of the signs of membership in the OT community of faith, the beast's marks on the foreheads and the hands of the worshipers refer to their loyal, consistent, and wholehearted commitment to him.
G. K. Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, pp. 282-283.

Verses 16 and 17 tell us how to identify the beasts. They say, "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
The mark of the beast, like so many things in Revelation, should not be taken literally but symbolically. We are not to look for a barcode, a brand mark, or a credit card number that is to be embedded on the forehead or the right hand. Myriad suggestions have been made by those who view the entire book of Revelation as literal. Their interpretations and predictions may be entertaining and sell books, but they mishandle Revelation and its symbols.
The mark of the beast it not a literal mark any more than is the mark of God's elect, which seals them as His own (Rev. 7:2-4). The mark of the beast is simply a sign of ownership. In the days of Roman rule, slaves were marked with their owner's seal, which meant they had to serve that person. Receiving the mark of the beast, then, means that you belong to Satan, serve him, and worship him. The mark is pressed upon the forehead, which symbolizes the mind or philosophy of a person; or on the right hand, symbolizing a person's actions, deeds trade, and industry. In other words, when people's thinking and actions are controlled by someone who hates Christ, they bear the mark of the beast.
Has the beast left his mark upon you? You may profess with your mouth that you are Christian. But what do you think about the Lamb, and how do you act? Do your thoughts and actions tell others that you belong to Christ? Or do you appear more like a slave of the great red dragon and his world?
It is possible to profess that you belong to the Lamb while thinking and acting like a dragon. When you habitually behave like dragon people, speak like dragon people, or think like dragon followers, your profession is false. May God help those who delude themselves and those around them that they are sealed by the blood of the Lamb.
Some of you say you are Christians, but what you do in business is contrary to what is taught in the Bible. You say, "We are in the world; so we must use the methods of the world." Yes, we are in this world, but it is pervaded by the spirit of antichrist. To what extent has this left its mark on our heads and hands?
The beast out of the earth also has a number. Verse 18 says, "Here is wisdom." Notice that it doesn't say, "Here is a riddle for you to solve if you're clever enough." Many people have attempted to interpret the number of the beast, and their theories range from the pope's phone number, to a special number on a computer, to the name of a particular man reduced to a number by a code. These ideas are simply ludicrous. John's advice is clear. In speaking of wisdom, he says, "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six"—that is, 666. In Scripture, the number six is often a symbol of fallen man, with all his sins and shortcomings. Hendriksen explains this succinctly: "Six is not seven, and never reaches seven. It always fails to attain to perfection; that is, it never becomes seven. Six means missing the mark, or failure. Seven means perfection or victory. Rejoice, O Church of God! The victory is on your side. The number of the beast is 666, that is, failure upon failure upon failure. It is the number of man, for the beast glories in man; and must fail."
The number of the beast, then, is the number identifying those who do not fear God. The sixes of the beast fall far short of the sevens of the Holy Trinity. So those with the mark of the beast are ungodly. They refuse to worship God, preferring lies about Him rather than the truth, and going their own way into increasing ungodliness.
Do you have any spiritual insight, wisdom, or understanding about what is going on in this world and behind it? Have you seen what this world and its ideologies, institutions, and personalities add up to? They are marked with 666, the number of human failure. John wants us to be wise about the world in which we live, which is pervaded by the spirit of antichrist. This world can be so impressive and intimidating that we are afraid to call it what it is. But John says the world is doomed to fail.
Joel R. Beeke, Revelation, pp. 367-369.

Finally, we must still discuss the name of this great beast which all its worshippers bear on their foreheads or in their right hand. We read: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."
Many and varied are the interpretations given of this number; and we shall not tire your attention by enumerating them all. A very favorite interpretation is that which is given by an old church father, Irenaeus, and accepted by man of our own time. The interpretation is as follows. The letters of the Greek alphabet were used as numbers. If this is taken as the basis of the interpretation, we find that the letters in the word Lateinos, or Latin, together give us the number 666. And therefore the name of the beast as it is spelled by this number is "Latin," and denotes the kingdom of the Latins, or of the Roman Empire. But even this interpretation we cannot possibly accept as true. For, in the first place, however ingenious it may be, it is nevertheless more or less arbitrary. On this basis I can also construe other names which are just as suitable, which also amount to the number 666, but which simply are formed by a different arrangement of the same letters. But, in the second place, notice that our text does not say, "Here is a riddle; let him that is bright solve it," but plainly states: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast." And therefore we must have something different. And, in the third place, we should not lose sight of the fact that the numbers in Revelation have symbolical significance and that they stand also in this case for a higher spiritual reality.
Let us then notice, in the first place, that the mark of the beast, the number of his name, the number of the beast, and the name of the beast all denote identically the same thing. The beast has a name. And the name in Scripture always denotes character and being. The name of this beast has been impressed upon his followers, so that also they may be distinguished as his subjects. And that name is the same as is expressed in the number Six hundred sixty-six. Now that is the meaning of this number?
Six is the number of the creature in all its fulness. In six days God created the world; and in six days creation was completed. The fulness of creation has come to realization in six days. But the full weeks is not expressed in the six, but in the number seven. The seventh day is the day of consecration and adoration of God, on which the creature was to lift himself from the sphere of the mundane and consecrate himself to the Creator. On the seventh day man was to bring the glory of all God's work to Him. it was hallowed. But the seven is lacking in the six. And therefore it speaks of the fulness of creation and all the powers of creation, but without God and without the service and glory of God. The world with all its fulness, with all its powers, but without God, under the influence of sin, — that is the symbolism of the number six. Ten, as we have had occasion to notice more than once, is the number that denotes a complete measure of anything according to the decree of God, whether it be a measure of time, of power, or development, or anything else. Now notice that Six hundred sixty-six is six, plus ten times six, plus ten times ten times six. Ten times six would denote the world and all its fulness, without God, developed according to the measure of God's plan. And ten times ten times six denotes that same development in the highest degree, coming to its fullest consummation.
The idea, therefore, is not so difficult. God has created a world, in order that this world should glorify Him and be consecrated to Him. But that world tore itself loose from Him, refused to glorify Him; and man now developed the kingdom of the world without God. God allows that kingdom of the world to develop to its full extent. Although man has fallen away from Him, He nevertheless allows him to exercise dominion over the earthly creation and to bring to light all the hidden powers of creation without God and under the devil. It is the climax of development of the Man of Sin. It is the kingdom of man, of the creature, without God, without the seven. And therefore his number is Six hundred sixty-six, the number of man indeed.
Herman Hoeksema, Behold, He Cometh!, pp. 474-476.

The beast's mark, like the seal of God applied to the church (Rev. 7:1-3), is not outward tattoo or insignia on the body but rather a symbol of the beast's ownership and control of his followers' thoughts (forehead) and deeds (right hands). Immediately after this discussion of the beast's mark, the sealed army of God reappears in the company of the Lamb, their champion; and the seal they received is interpreted as "having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads" (14:1). Ancient Israelites were to tie the law of God on their foreheads and hands in order to signify that their thoughts and actions were in submission to the Word of the Lord (Deut. 6:8). Now the beast, assisted by its false prophet, blasphemously demands the world's universal allegiance.
Dennis E. Johnson, Triumb of the Lamb, pp. 196.

John concludes this dramatic chapter with the point of his teaching: "This calls for wisdom" (Rev. 13:18). Looking back to chapter 12, with the vision of the dragon at war with the church, and then in chapter 13 with the tyrannical beast aided by false and beguiling ideology, we see that Christians need to be very wise. We must be wise in discerning the difference between true and false prophets, by paying careful attention to God's Word. We must be wise in expecting to pay a price for our faith. All through Revelation, Jesus has promised salvation blessings only to those who persevere in faith and overcome spiritual warfare through their witness to him.
John has a final form of wisdom in mind in the final verse. This is the wisdom that enables Christians to see the enemy for what he is, so that we will not be beguiled by his deceits or intimidated by his threats. The entire Bible bears testimony to God's faithfulness in saving his people from spiritual attacks. Our wisdom thus calls us not to shrink back in our witness out of temptation or fear. John makes this point with the most well-known and most widely contested verse in this chapter: "This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666" (Rev. 13:18).
Many commentators suppose that 666 is a coded reference using an ancient practice known as gematria. Language such as Greek and Hebrew did not have numbers, so letters were assigned numerical values: some single digits, others tens, and still others hundreds. The idea is that John is enabling us to identify the Antichrist, or first beast, because the letters of his name in Greek add up to 666. Using this and similar systems, Christians in recent years have argued that Ronald Reagan is the Antichrist, since each of his three names had six letters. The American statesman Henry Kissinger was long considered an Antichrist candidate, not only because of his labors for a secular world peace but also because the letters of his last name add up to 666 in the Greek system. The problem is that by this approach there is virtually no limit to Antichrist candidates. One commentator fancifully made a case for Barney, the children's television figure, since the words cute purple dinosaur yield the calculation 666.
The person most commonly associated with 666 is the Roman emperor Nero. By translating the name Caesar Nero into Hebrew, the letters add up correctly, so that some scholars see John's 666 as a code name for Nero. The point is that like him, the beast will be a popular but depraved despot who launches violent persecutions against Christians. The problem with the approach is that John's readers, being Greek converts, did not likely speak Hebrew, which this theory requires. Moreover, one must slightly misspell Caesar for the numbers to add up. These factors make the Nero theory unlikely.
A better approach to unpacking this number is to understand the symbolism of six. We have often encountered seven in Revelation as a number of completion and perfection (Rev. 1:11, 12, 20; 3:1). Six falls short of this number and is therefore imperfect, incomplete, and defective. This describes fallen mankind, which is why John says that this is "the number of a man" (13:18). The dragon and his two beasts set themselves forward as a fake divine trinity. God's judgment and Christ's victory will reveal them as a triple fakery and threefold failure. G. K. Beale writes that "six repeated three times indicates the completeness of sinful incompleteness found in the beast. The beast epitomizes imperfection, while appearing to achieve divine perfection.
It turns out that the word beast in Greek (therion) calculates to 666. Interestingly, the name Jesus calculates to 888. If this was at least part of John's message, the meaning is clear: whereas Jesus superabounds in perfection (7 + 1), the beast falls short as a defective impostor (7 = 1). From this point of view, John's meaning seems to be that while Christians need to know about the two beasts, we should not take them as seriously as we might be tempted to do. Yes, they dominate this present age of the world and are able to persecute us. But in the end, the beast is doomed for failure and judgment in the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20). Whereas Christ's reign will be eternal, the beasts are mortal, and in the long run their reign will be seen to have been short-lived, permitted by God only so long as it served his purposes in judgment and redemption. Those who bear the mark of the beast partake of the failure that his name and number imply. But those who reject the beast, even under persecution, and hold fast to the perfect name of Christ will partake of his character and blessings.
Richard D. Phillips, Revelation, pp. 382-383.

Christian, in this world, when you refuse to bow the knee to the interests of civic loyalty and cultural conformity, but instead demonstrate character and integrity by remaining loyal to your Lord and Saviour, Jesus, you are seen as a threat and must be eliminated. We have seen these kinds of things in Communist Russia and China. We have seen these kinds of things increase recently, where Christians are being persecuted by homosexuals and those who approve of their perversion by seeking to boycott them and put them out of business. In other words, if you do not bow to the golden idols that this world values, you will be unable to "buy or sell." But it is not just homosexuality and transgenderism. The world opposes your morals, values, and principles, and seeks to destroy you when you stand by them. Why? Because, like a mirror, it shows them their own guilt and their consciences cannot bear it.

This is not a thing of the future. This applies to the entire period between Jesus' first coming and His second coming. Culture has always been this way toward God's faithful elect. Some cultures more than others. While President Trump's "protection" of the Church might look like a blessing, more than likely it is a curse. If you do not learn from the past, you are bound to repeat its misfortunes. Under Emperor Constantine, the Church was flipped upside down. It seemed like a blessing how the Church suddenly become protected and prominent, even receiving money from the government, but this was a great curse for the Church, and the Church has never recovered from the damage Constantine inflicted upon her. The majority of denominations still retain many of the elements he introduced, being rooted in the Roman state and pagan religions all the while being none the wiser that they are unbiblical and hurt the Church.

If calculating a name were in view, no other language but Greek would be acceptable. Revelation is written in Greek. Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega, which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Transliterations of names to different languages would not be acceptable. You could not use English names and try to find Greek equivalents to the letters. It would have to be all of Greek in the Greek and nothing but Greek. Even if there were a calculable name, it would go hand-in-hand with the fact that the mark is not physical, but entirely spiritual.

Sunday, August 23, 2020

The Biblical Gift of Tongues

If you have not read it yet, please go and read the article, The Biblical Truth About Spiritual Gifts. It lays the groundwork for what we are about to discuss here. If you have already read it, then let us get into it...

In 1 Corinthians 14:21, Paul quotes from Isaiah 28:11. This quotation was a curse pronounced upon Israel. In other words, for our Charismatic friends who attempt to deny it, "tongues" are a sign against Israel, a sign for unbelieving Jews. That is the context of the Old Testament quotation. Paul then goes on to say, very clearly, "So then tongues are a sign...to unbelievers." The miraculous "tongues" were a sign to the unbelieving Jews that God was speaking to all nations and calling all men into one new spiritual body composed of both Jews and Gentiles: the Church. “This people” refers to the Jewish nation to whom the prophet Isaiah was speaking. The curse pronounced in Isaiah 28:11 was literally fulfilled in Acts 2, 10, and 19. If you continue reading in Isaiah, he predicts their demise following their rejection of God's sign, which was fulfilled in A.D. 70.

Fernand Legrand, a former Pentecostal, makes the following observation:

“It is worth noting that wherever the sign appears, it is always in the presence of JEWS, and where we do not find Jews, as in Athens or in Malta, neither do we find the sign. ... It is in the very nature of the sign that we find the nature of their unbelief. ... The sign denounced or corrected their lack of faith concerning the salvation of those who spoke languages that were foreign to their own, that is, the Gentiles. .... But this was precisely what the Jews did not want to believe. In fact, they were ‘contrary to all men: forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved’ (1 Thess. 2:15-16). ... The idea of now being made one with foreigners was more than the first-century Jews could stand. The thought alone was enough to fire up their Hebrew atavism. Yet that was the first thing they had to understand and finally admit. So God gave them the best sign possible to make them understand what they could not or would not believe; HE MIRACULOUSLY MADE JEWS SPEAK IN THE LANGUAGES OF FOREIGNERS. IN SO DOING, GOD PUT JEWISH PRAISE INTO THESE PAGAN TONGUES." (All About Speaking in Tongues)

The Greek word glossa (γλῶσσα) means "1. the tongue, a member of the body, the organ of speech. 2. a tongue, i.e. the language used by a particular people in distinction from that of other nations; to speak in foreign [languages]; to speak with new [languages] which the speaker has not learned previously." (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon); "I) An organ of the body. II) Metaphorically, speech or language. A) Generally. B) Of a particular language or dialect. C) Different than their own native [languages]." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament).

Whenever the word glossa is used in the plural (glossai) with a singular pronoun or subject, it refers to known, understandable languages that were not learned by the individual. In 1 Corinthians 14:6 and 18, Paul refers to speaking in glossais, meaning languages he already knew. In case you were not aware, Paul could speak four languages fluently. This is what he was referring to; not to some "mystical" language. In 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28, 30; 13:8; 14:5-6, 18, 21-22, and 39, "tongues" clearly refers to actual ethnic languages.

Mark 16:17 (which is much disputed) promised, "they will speak with new tongues." This was a promise of speaking in languages other than one's own native language. This was literally fulfilled in Acts 2, 10, and 19. These were foreign languages which the speakers had not learned. The signs promised in Mark 16:17 were not for believers of generations to come, but for previous believers. The Greek pisteusasi, translated as "believe," is in the aorist tense, indicating those who at some time in the past had believed.

The Corinthians were trying to show off and one-up each other. The "tongues" they would speak in were not genuine Spirit-given tongues. They were ecstatic speech. (This might be why the KJV supplied the word "unknown," which is not in the original Greek, in verses 2, 4, 13, 14, 19, and 27.) If our Charismatic friends would bother paying attention to the context of the chapter, in verses 1-19 Paul condemns the Corinthians for their misuse (pursuing after the gift in order to show off), and then in verses 20-40 corrects them in the biblical use. Verse 27 is very key. In correcting them on how the gift of tongues is to be used biblically, he informs them that they need an interpreter (the interpreter needs to know the same language, which means it is referring to known and understandable human languages, as we see listed in Acts 2), or else they need to remain silent.

Here is another aspect of 1 Corinthians that our Charismatic friends need to understand. When Paul says that the person who speaks in "tongues" "edifies himself," that is not a good thing. The spiritual gifts were given to the Church as a whole so that the entire Church would be edified by their use (12:7). If speaking in tongues only edifies you, then it is not edifying the entire Church. In other words, it is selfishness! This is precisely what Paul gets at with verses 5 and 17. What were the Corinthians doing? They were desiring the flashy gifts of the Spirit so that they could show off to one another. Instead of proof texting your favourite verses, my Charismatic friends, how about you pay attention to what Paul says in verses 7-12. If you do not understand what Paul is saying in those verses, then you need to spend some time meditating upon them and praying for the Spirit's guidance until you do understand them. If you are the only one who understands what you are speaking, then there is a problem. If you do not even understand what you are speaking, then there is an even greater problem.

If everyone around you speaks the same language as you, then what would be the purpose in speaking in "tongues"? If there are no unbelievers around you, then what would be the purpose in speaking in "tongues"? Each and every single spiritual gift is to be used for the edification of the entire Church. If the gift of "tongues" only edifies you, then that is complete selfishness.

Pay attention to the order in 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10, 28, and 29-30. The gift of "tongues" is the least of all spiritual gifts (see also 14:5). Not only is "tongues" not the initial evidence of someone being born again, but if all believers are not appointed and gifted to be apostles, it follows that all believers should not expect, or be expected, to receive any particular gift, including the gift of "tongues." Paul makes that abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians 12:30: "All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?" The answer is an emphatic, "No!" Also, if Charismatics have to teach people how to "speak in tongues," then it is not the biblical gift of tongues. It is a counterfeit! In 1 Corinthians 13:1, Paul is posing a hypothetical argument. He is not saying that he can or does speak in the languages of angels (if they had any). The fact is, whenever angels spoke with men, they always spoke in an understandable language, requiring no interpreter, such as to the shepherds, the virgin Mary, etc. Never did an angel speak in a language that the hearer could not understand.

None of these gifts are the best way to serve, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 13. The motive that guides and directs the exercise of the gifts for the benefit of the whole Church (12:7) is love! Love does not express itself through envy, boasting, or pride that places attention on one's self. If love motivates the exercise of the gifts, it is clear what gifts should receive priority in worship. The gift of prophecy (whether explaining the significance of God's actions and words for the present, or revealing what God intends for the future) instructs and convicts those who believe the words spoken.

Nowhere in the New Testament will you find a single verse that encourages praying in tongues. It is not a prayer language. Jesus said, "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do... Pray then like this:..." Jesus prayed clear, understandable prayers (see John 17), and so should we. Nowhere does Paul encourage praying in tongues. Notice Paul's hypothetical use of the word "if" when speaking to the Corinthians and correcting them about their misuse of tongues. Pay careful attention to verses 14-15: "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also." Our Charismatic friends think this is positive? How many times throughout the New Testament are we commanded to be in control of our mental faculties? In other words, our minds are not to be idle, but they are to be fruitful (see Phil. 4:8). In verse 39, when Paul says, "do not forbid to speak in tongues," what is the context? It has to do with prophesying, not private prayer. Again, the gift of tongues was a sign for and against unbelieving Israel.

If biblical "tongues" have ceased, it is because of this reason: If I were to tell someone who is meeting me at the train station that he will recognize me because I will be wearing a blue hat, the blue hat is the sign. Once we have met and he recognizes me by the sign of the blue hat, the need for the sign has ceased. Isaiah prophesied that God would speak to the Jews by foreign languages and that they would reject it and subsequently be judged. The sign of this prophecy was fulfilled three times in the book of Acts (2, 10, 19), demonstrating that the way to salvation was open to people from all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages. The Jews rejected the sign and were severely judged in A.D. 70. First Corinthians 13:8 could support "tongues" ceasing, since it is not mentioned further, but, according to verses 9-10, prophecy and knowledge would continue until "the perfect comes." Even faith and hope will be done away with. Once Jesus has returned and ushered in the age to come, what need is there for either faith or hope.

Remember, if you are not edifying the Church, then you are merely edifying yourself, which means you are in sin. Selfishness is sin.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

When We Understand the Text...

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Acts 1:6-8

Here is another instance of where Restorationists miss what Scripture, and Jesus, had to say. What was Jesus' answer to the disciples' question? His answer was very clear. They asked Him, "Will you restore the kingdom to Israel now?" He responded, "You will receive power from the Holy Spirit and you will be My witnesses in the world." Jesus said that the revival of Israel would be found in the preaching of the Gospel. Whoever believes in Jesus is true Israel. If you do not believe this is true, let us look at a few more passages of Scripture that prove it.

"I am the true vine..." John 15:1

In the Old Testament, Israel was always typified as the vine. Here, Jesus is saying that He is the true Israel. Jesus fulfilled all that the nation of Israel foreshadowed.

Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. ... Not the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one. "And to your seed," that is, Christ. ... And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:7, 16, 29

This passage could not get any more clearer. If you are of the faith, then you are a promised child of Abraham. Paul even goes on to call Christians "the Israel of God." No, "Israel" in the Bible does not always mean ethnic Israel. Observe these passages:

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. Romans 2:28-29
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all [spiritual] Israel who are descended from [ethnic] Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "Through Isaac your descendants will be named." That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. Romans 9:6-8

In Romans 11 where Paul divides national ethnic Israel into two groups—believing Israel and unbelieving Israel, apply the previous two passages to both of those groups. After merging believing Gentiles with believing Jews, Paul then goes on to say this...

And in this way all [true] Israel will be saved... Romans 11:26a
No, the Church has not replaced Israel. The Church is the expansion of Israel, through the Gentile inclusion that was prophesied all throughout the Old Testament. In Amos 9, God promised to restore the tabernacle of David. In Acts 15, James quoted this passage as being fulfilled in the Church. Peter even quoted Old Testament passages referring to ethnic Israel as finding their fulfillment in the Church:

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. 1 Peter 2:9-10

Now, pay very careful attention to what Paul has to say in this next passage. It utterly dismantles and destroys the teachings of Dispensationalism, whose foundational tenet holds to a distinction between Israel and the Church.

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.
Ephesians 2:11-3:13
Paul makes clear that Jesus broke down the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles and made a new man out of those who believed in Christ. The early Christians referred to themselves as the "third race." The Church is comprised of believing Jews and believing Gentiles, Old Testament saints and New Testament saints. The ethnic nation of Israel prefigured the spiritual community that would one day display God's eternal nature on the Earth—that is, the Church, the Body of Christ, His Bride. It was never about national ethnic Israel; and it never will be!

The Biblical Truth About Spiritual Gifts

(or Charismania versus Charisphobia)

I am not a Charismatic, and I reject the counterfeit "gifts" taking place inside the Charismatic movement. With that said, individuals like John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Justin Peters, Nathan Busenitz, and other Cessationists need to learn what it means that Scripture is our final authority. Their teachings do not come from a position that allows Scripture to be our final authority. They come from a position that allows their feelings and opinions to be their final authority.

Where in the Bible does it teach that any of the gifts of the Spirit have ceased? First Corinthians 13:8-13? Please! That passage says no such thing. You have to read such into the passage, which is eisegesis. It is also desperate reaching. As I have said before, we cannot over-react to false teaching because then we merely swing to the opposite end of the pendulum and create a different kind of false teaching. Scripture must always be our final authority, but we must pay attention to what it says and keep it in its context. So let us do a bit of a Bible study, shall we?

"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." Hebrews 2:1-4

What we have heard from whom (v.1)? Who were those who heard (v.3)? Those who heard the Lord were the early Christians. How was someone to know whether the message of the early Christians was true or not, that it could be trusted or not? How has God always made known His messengers who carried His messages? By signs and wonders.

"Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles." Acts 2:43

"And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people;" Acts 5:12a

"And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people." Acts 6:8

"The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing." Acts 8:6

"In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands." Acts 14:1-3

"Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." 2 Corinthians 12:12

Did you notice how "signs and wonders" are associated with the early Christians who spread God's word? These were miraculous events. Notice also that it was not just the early apostles who were performing signs and wonders (Acts 6:8 and 8:6). Peter's shadow falling upon someone and healing them (Acts 5:15) does not fall under the gift of healing in the spiritual gifts given to the whole body of Christ. This falls under signs and wonders.

Have signs and wonders ceased? Perhaps. There does not seem to be any record of such things taking place (as far as I am aware) beyond the first century. If there were, I am open to correction. But here is something our wacky Charismatic friends need to understand: Who were the signs and wonders for? Here is a bit of a hint for you: They were not for the church! Signs and wonders are not for believers. They are for unbelievers. Even if the supposed nonsense taking place in your buildings were true (which it is not), what is the purpose? It goes against Scripture! Signs and wonders were performed among non-believers.

To our Cessationist friends out there, let me ask you a question. Where in 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, Hebrews 1:1-2, or 2:1-4 (or even Ephesians 2:20) does it ever say that any of the things you deny have ceased? Where in the overtly eisegeted verse of Revelation 22:18 does it say that any of the things you deny have ceased, and that this is so because of the completed canon of Scripture? Nowhere! You have to read this into these verses, which is eisegesis. Show me a single text that unequivocally states that signs and wonders, dreams, visions, or certain gifts of the Spirit given to the whole body of Christ in order to edify her, have ceased. Not verses you proof text via eisegesis because they appear to be ambiguous, but absolutely clear verses.

Some of the signs and wonders gifts overlap with the gifts of the Spirit, yet the two are not one in the same. If Charismatics and Cessationists bothered to actually study the issue, this would become apparently clear.

SIGNS AND WONDERS
The 18 occurrences of the combination of hōthe and mōpheth (“signs and wonders”) in the Old Testament acts as an authentication stamp upon a revelatory message and messenger. Likewise, the 16 occurrences of sāmeion kai tĕrata (“signs and wonders”) in the New Testament function as an authenticating stamp for the messenger with his message. Charismata occurs 17 times in the New Testament. The specific sense is that of “spiritual gifts” (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4-31).
Distinction in Operation: “Signs and wonders” bridge both testaments. It is used in the Old Testament for Moses and a few others, and in the New Testament for Jesus, the Apostles, and a few others. On the other hand, charismata is strictly a New Testament phenomena that is limited to the church.
Distinction in Distribution: “Signs and wonders” were given to a few select individuals, whereas the manifestation of the charismata is given to every member of the body of Christ.
Distinction in Purpose: “Signs and wonders” is a fixed expression for the divine authentication of a messenger and his message. The charismata is for the edification of the church.
The sign nature of the gift of tongues is to be distinguished from “signs and wonders” on the general distinctions which have already been made. The Apostles are unique in history in that they were divinely authenticated by “signs and wonders,” and that they were part of the body of Christ and were given a manifestation of the charismata. There is a fundamental distinction between “signs and wonders” and charismata, particularly in the lives of the Apostles.

HEALINGS
There are three forms of divine healing: (1) literal, immediate, and miraculous healings performed in connection with the authentication of a messenger of God; (2) charismata healings, which are generally (though not exclusively) and primarily spiritual, emotional, or psychological; and (3) miraculous (though not always immediate) healings in answer to prayer (James 5:14-20).
The understanding that the charismata gift of healings are primarily spiritual, emotional, or psychological fits (1) the original language, (2) the edifying purposes of Charismata, (3) the non-spectacular nature of the other Charismata, (4) the current ministry of many individuals within the church, and (5) the distinction made between “signs and wonders” and charismata.
Miraculous healing is to be sought by prayer (James 5) and emotional, spiritual, and psychological healings (1 Cor. 12:9) is to be sought from an individual who is gifted in that particular area (i.e. a counselor). “Signs and wonders” healing is limited to God’s special authentication of a messenger with his message and is extremely rare, even in Scripture.

MIRACLES
The charismata “gift of miracles” is not a reference to an individual working miracles, but rather to an energizing spiritual strength. “Signs and wonders” miracles, for the most part, seem to be limited to Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and Jesus.
The translation of ĕnĕrgēmata duamĕōn as “gifts of working of miracles” is unfortunate because: (1) The “words deriving from the stem duna- all have the basic meaning of ‘being able,’ or ‘capacity’ in virtue of ability… the stress falls on being able,” not the performance of miracles! (2) the word’s most common usage in secular literature is not connected with miracles but with natural abilities. (3) While the term is used in the New Testament for the working of a miracle, it is more often used for a non-miraculous ability or power. (4) When ĕnĕrgia is used with dunamis, it most often refers to God’s provision of Spiritual strength for the believer.
The phrase would be better translated as “gifts of energizing powers.” The significance being much akin to the “gift of faith.” In other words, just as everyone is given a measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), but not all are given the “gift of faith” (1 Cor. 12:9), so likewise all believers are given spiritual strength (2 Tim. 1:7), but not all are given the “gifts of energizing powers” (1 Cor. 12:10). This understanding is significant in light of Colin Brown’s description of dunamis having a “relative” and “absolute” use. He asserts that this word used “relatively” refers to an inherent ability or capacity to perform a task, and used “absolutely,” it refers to power given to work, or to carry something into effect. The picture becomes clear. This gift is a spiritual capacity given to an individual to work, presumably in some sort of ministry. This understanding of the “gifts of energizing powers fits (1) the original language, (2) the edifying purpose of the Charismata, (3) the non-spectacular nature of the other Charismata, (4) the current ministry of many individuals within the church, and (5) the distinction made between “signs and wonders” and charismata.

The Charismatic movement can benefit from recognizing (1) that the miraculous nature of the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles was unique, and is not normative for today, (2) that physical healing is not to be sought from so-called “faith-healers” or “miracle-workers,” but in confession and prayer, (3) that spiritual gifts are not designated to be made a public spectacle but are divine enablements for edifying and building up the body, (4) that the “gifts of healings” and “gifts of energizing powers” are not necessarily miraculous in nature.
Non-Charismatics can benefit from recognizing (1) that spiritual gifts named in the New Testament are valid today, (2) that poor, or questionable exegesis of a cessation of Charismata, or part of the Charismata, prior to the completion of the church is unnecessary, especially when a proper distinction between “signs and wonders” and the charismata is understood.

God's Word clearly states, "so that you are not lacking in any gift..." (1 Cor. 1:7). The charismata was given to the church. Not for a specific time only, but for its entire existence. These gifts are meant to build up the body of Christ. If some are missing, how can they accomplish such? When you rightly understand the difference between signs and wonders and the gifts of the Spirit, and when you rightly read, interpret, divide, and exegete the passages, everything becomes clear and makes sense.

Can someone today have a dream, a vision, or a prophetic word? I believe they can, because Scripture does not say anything to the contrary, despite the efforts of Cessationists to eisegete God's Word toward that end. However... if someone claims to have had a dream, a vision, or a prophetic word, it will not contain new revelation nor will it contradict Scripture. If it is from God, it will corroborate Scripture and it will come to pass exactly as given. If it does not, then it was not of God! Period! All you have to do is look to Deuteronomy about those who speak presumptuously for the Lord.

Also, what we believe and how we live out our lives are not and are not to be centered upon our experiences. Sometimes experiences are flat out wrong. The Bible is our only authority. If God gives us a dream, a vision, or a prophetic word, that is great; but it is an exception and not a rule. Charles Spurgeon received prophetic words that gave him insight into people he did not know, and yet he was wise enough not to trust in it above Scripture. Here is one such instance from Spurgeon's life, contained in his autobiography:

At the Monday evening prayer-meeting . . . [Spurgeon] mentioned the sermon at Exeter Hall, in which he suddenly broke off from his subject, and, pointing in a certain direction, said, "Young man, those gloves you are wearing have not been paid for; you have stolen them from your employer." At the close of the service, a young man, looking very pale and greatly agitated, came to the room which was used as a vestry, and begged for a private interview with Mr. Spurgeon. On being admitted, he placed a pair of gloves upon the table, and tearfully said, "It's the first time I have robbed my master, and I will never do it again. You won't expose me, sir, will you? It would kill my mother if she heard that I had become a thief."

I consider myself a Cautious Continuist with regard to God's dealings with men. Just because someone says they experienced something, does not mean I believe it. But it also does not mean that I dismiss it. The measure of its genuineness is in the validity of its occurrence. If something is from God, it always happens exactly according to how God revealed it, and it never contradicts His holy word. If it does not come to pass, or if it contradicts God's word, then it was not from God. Period! Also, it is not ambiguous, such as the false "prophecies" concerning Covid-19: "There's going to be a major shift concerning this virus." Really? Which direction? Better or worse? These "prophecies" are left so ambiguous so that these false "prophets" can say, "See! I was right."

The gifts were given by the Spirit to the body of Christ. The Bible clearly declares, "so that you are not lacking in any gift..." (1 Cor. 1:7). The church will not be lacking in any of the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to her. They are for the edification (building up) of the body of Christ. Rather than dismiss these gifts in ignorance, perhaps we should better understand what they are and what they refer to, as I discussed above. There have been many non-Charismatics who have had experiences that they cannot deny. Matt Slick of CARM even shared two of his own experiences in a podcast I listened to about fifteen years ago. While we should never elevate our experiences above Scripture, nevertheless what do we do with such experiences?

If you believe that many of the spiritual gifts have ceased, I truly pity you. How pitiful and powerless is your puny god? I was raised as a Cessationist, and I am by no means a Charismatic, but I have come to realize that the truth on this matter (as in most matters) is somewhere in the middle. I am not going to box God up due to my fear of the unknown, nor will I blindly accept everyone's experience as legitimate. Both are grave errors. There are four ways with which you can discern with wisdom whether a person's gift is genuine or false:

  1. It will contain no new revelation.
  2. It will not contradict God's revealed Word contained in Scripture.
  3. If it is from the Lord, it will come to pass.
  4. If it is not from the Lord, it will not come to pass.

Just because someone claims to have had an experience does not make that experience legitimate. Just because someone perverts the gifts by counterfeiting them does not mean the genuine gifts do not exist. Let us leave the distribution of the gifts up to God, and let us simply act with wisdom and discernment, so we do not fall into either the ditch of Charismaticism or the ditch of Cessationism. The fact that Christian sects and many cults counterfeit these gifts (such as speaking in tongues) is proof positive that the genuine gifts exist. If they did not, there would be no need to counterfeit them. It would be pointless to do so. Try counterfeiting money that is no longer in circulation and see how far you get.

Let us look at the verses typically cited to claim that certain gifts are no longer present or required, shall we?

"Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Where in this passage does it say that any of the spiritual gifts have ceased? It says that two of them will cease, but not that they have ceased. With regard to knowledge, what kind of knowledge is this? Is this a gift of some kind, or is it general knowledge? Quite clearly knowledge has not ceased. So since it has not ceased, how can one argue for the other two items to have already ceased? Not only that, but the passage says nothing of the completion of Scripture. The "perfect" does not refer to the completion of Scripture. Do we now see "face to face"? Do we now "know fully" as we "have been fully known"? Have we all attained "to the unity of the faith" or "mature manhood" or "the fullness of Christ," as is mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-13? Quite obviously not. The "perfect" is Christ Jesus! Has He returned yet? No? I did not think so.

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." Hebrews 1:1-2

Where in this passage does God say that He used to communicate with dreams and visions and such, but that He no longer does so? You have to insert it. It has to be read into the passage. *Cough* Eisegesis. *Cough* No distinction is made between the message spoken formerly and the message "in these last days." God spoke then and now (and continues to speak) through the ancient prophets as through His Son.

"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." Hebrews 2:1-4

Where in this passage does God say that He had testified by signs and wonders, but that they have since ceased? The verb "testifying" is present tense active. It is not past tense.

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22

Where in the underlined verse does it say that certain gifts of the Spirit have ceased because they were only foundational with the function of apostles? In fact, where in Scripture does it say that the function of apostles has ceased or will cease? (See the article The Gift of Apostleship for people's confusion as to what an apostle was and what they did. Even in the 300's, when someone was sent to evangelize a foreign nation, they were referred to as "the apostle to" that nation, e.g., "Bob, the apostle to the Goths.")

"I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book." Revelation 22:18-19
Where in this passage does it say anything about certain gifts ceasing because the canon of Scripture is closed? Cessationists quote the first verse against the counterfeit "gifts" of the Charismatics, but the second verse applies to themselves. Furthermore, the correct interpretation of this verse in context has to do with the book of Revelation and not the entire Bible: "the words of the prophecy of this book." It has application to the entire Bible, but contextually it only applies to the book of Revelation.

Not only does Scripture not say that any of the spiritual gifts have ceased, but those who claim they ceased after the deaths of the apostles have history to contend with. Observe:

For the prophetical gifts remain with us, even to the present time. ... Now it is possible to see amongst us women and men who possess gifts of the Spirit of God. Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165), Dialogue with Trypho, 82 & 88.

Those who are in truth the Lord’s disciples, having received grace from Him, do in His name perform (miracles) for the benefit of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some certainly and truly drive out demons, so that those who have been cleansed from the evil spirits frequently believe and are in the church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come, and visions, and prophetic warnings. Others heal the sick by imposition of their hands, and they are restored to health. Irenaeus (A.D. 125-200), Against Heresies, 2.32.4.

This is He who places prophets in the Church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works, often discrimination of spirits, affords powers of government, suggests counsels, and orders and arranges whatever other gifts there are of charismata; and thus make the Lord's Church everywhere, and in all, perfected and completed. Novatian (A.D. 210-280), Treatise, 29.

Other early references to the existence and exercise of spiritual gifts are recorded by respected church leaders such as Tertullian (A.D. 160-200), Origen (A.D. 184-253), Saint Hillary of Poitiers (A.D. 315-367), and Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430). It is true that some church leaders spoke out against the exercise of certain spiritual gifts. One such leader, Augustine, later changed his position (City of God, 22.8-10).

Charismaticism and Cessationism are opposite sides of a pendulum. Do not fall into either ditch. Read the Scriptures—in context, and then believe what they say. Look through church history for anything else, but always remember that Scripture must be our final authority on all matters of faith and practice. Not our feelings or opinions. I believe the reason the church in the Western world does not experience the power of the Gospel and of the workings of the Holy Spirit is because they have boxed God up and deny the existence of certain gifts. If God were to do such among them, they would act like the Pharisees and attribute it to the devil. And then you wonder why your expectations of the power and the presence of the Lord are so low and/or non-existent? You did it to yourselves.