“Strange Fire?” The Dilemma of Cessationism

My view of church history is that for about nineteen centuries men have tried to find a system that would work without the Holy Spirit and they never have come up with one. There are plenty of people coming up with systems in our time but there is no system, no set of rules, that will work without the Holy Spirit.-Derek Prince ¹

In 2013, John MacArthur’s hysterical “Strange Fire” conference opened a whole new round of attacks on charismatic Christians. The basis for the conference was a doctrine known as cessationism which MacArthur and his colleagues militantly promote. The idea is that the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit such as healing and speaking in tongues are no longer in operation today.

The name of the conference comes from an incident found in Leviticus 10:1–2. Nadab and Abihu were the sons of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. Shortly after the tabernacle was set up and God’s presence appeared, they offered “strange fire” or “unauthorized fire” before the Lord—something God had not commanded. As a result, fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died instantly.

Certainly this account is a sobering reminder that we should never be flippant or irreverent with holy things. However, it has absolutely nothing to do with spiritual gifts. In fact, I would argue that promoting Christianity apart from the miraculous power of the Spirit is much closer to offering this “strange fire” to God.

Sola Scriptura?

Before we proceed, I would like to briefly examine the foundational doctrine of Sola Scriptura which emphasizes that the Scriptures alone are the basis for Christian life, teaching and practice. Most anti charismatics, including MacArthur rightfully hold to it. While upholding the authority of the Scriptures is certainly commendable, problems arise when it comes to cessationism. In short, cessationism is NOT Sola Scriptura. Why is that? As this meme astutely points out:

In order to meet the criteria of Sola Scriptura, one would have to prove using Scripture alone that the gifts have ceased. However, simply put, no such Scripture exists (yes, I am aware of 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 and 2 Corinthians 12:12. We will be discussing them shortly). Jack Deere, a former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary (and a former associate of MacArthur) observes:

If you were to lock a brand-new Christian in a room with a Bible and tell him to study what Scripture has to say about healing and miracles, he would never come out of the room a cessationist…This is not a system of doctrine I would have ever come up with on my own. I had to be taught that the gifts of the Spirit had passed away. ²

Your typical anti-charismatic presentation would begin by (correctly) pointing out that we should not determine truth by experience. This would then be followed by ad nauseum examples of blatant charlatans and obvious chicanery that a responsible charismatic would not want to be associated with any more than the cessationist would. Nonetheless, these caricatures are completely irrelevant to whether or not the gifts are still in operation. In other words, the cessationist is judging truth by experience, just like they accuse the charismatic of doing. Deere further elaborates:

No cessationist writer that I am aware of tries to make his case on Scripture alone. All of these writers appeal both to Scripture and to either present or past history to support their case. It often goes unnoticed that this appeal to history, either past or present, is actually an argument from experience, or better, an argument from the lack of it. ³

MacArthur has popularized categorizing the gifts in terms of “the permanent edifying gifts” as opposed to “the temporary sign gifts.” ⁴ The Bible, however, makes no such distinction. All of the gifts were given for the edification of the church and the only one specifically referred to as a “sign” is the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 14:22), although any of the gifts could take on an evangelistic effect in certain settings (Mark 16:20; Acts 4:28-29; 14:3; Hebrews 2:3-4 ). Further, it is incorrect to assert that God does miracles exclusively (or even primarily) as “signs.” Jesus frequently performed them simply out of compassion for those who were hurting (Matthew 8:3, 16-17; 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 8:2-3; Luke 7:13; John 11:34-38).

With that in mind, we will now look at some of the various schools of thought within the cessationist camp:

View # 1: The gifts ceased after the Twelve Apostles died.

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

These gifts were distinctively the authentication of the Apostles… Their function thus confined them to distinctively the Apostolic Church, and they necessarily passed away with it.- B.B. Warfield ⁵

Certainly special miracles were a key part in the ministry of the Apostles, both the Original Twelve and beyond. Yet this does not in any way preclude them in the lives of others.

In the Book of First Corinthians, we see a church that featured lots of spiritual manifestations such as speaking in tongues (chapters 12-14). Note that these gifts were occurring in the lives of ordinary laypeople, not just apostles. Yes, this church had some major problems, among them being sexual immorality (chapter 5) and drunkenness (11:17-34). In light of this, it seems that Paul would have been perfectly justified to call a “Strange Fire” conference of his own, yet he did not.

Yes, Paul strongly corrected them for the areas in which they were in the wrong. Yet he never said that the manifestations they were experiencing were not real, nor did he tell them to stop seeking them. In fact, he encouraged them to pursue the gifts all the more diligently (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1, 39).

In addition, we see numerous other accounts in the New Testament of miracles and spiritual gifts occurring in the lives of believers who were not apostles. Among them would be:

Unnamed disciples – Luke 10:17–20
Stephen– Acts 6:8
Philip– Acts 8:6–7
Ananias – Acts 9:17–18
Agabus– Acts 11:28; 21:10–11

These examples clearly show us that the power of God was not limited to the apostles but was active in the broader body of believers to confirm the gospel and build up the Church. So why should we expect any less today?

View # 2: The gifts ceased with the completion of the Bible

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. -1 Corinthians 13:8, 10 ESV

The miraculous gifts were given to confirm the word while the New Testament was being written, and once the Scriptures were complete…those gifts ceased.”- John MacArthur ⁶

As the above quoted passage from Corinthians 13, tells us, there will be a time when prophesy, tongues and other miraculous gifts will cease. But when will that happen? Let’s pick it back up in verse 11:

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV, emphasis added.

Of course, the Bible is perfect but nowhere in the context of these passages is it being discussed. To claim otherwise is blatant eisegesis. Verse 12 further describes the day when we see face to face, not face to page. This is plainly referring to the return of Christ. When He returns, we will see everything clearly and then the gifts will no longer be needed.

I Corinthians 1:7 further tells us that “…we are not to lack any spiritual gift as we eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” So until that day, the supernatural gifts of the Spirit are to be a regular part of our lives.

View # 3: The gifts ceased (or at least declined) due to corruption and compromise within the church.

The angel of the Lord appeared to (Gideon) and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”Sir,”Gideon replied, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have (Judges 6: 11-12, 13).

It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were common in the church for more than two or three centuries…The cause of this was not (as has been vulgarly supposed) “because there was no more occasion for them”…The real cause was, “the love of many,” almost of all Christians, so called, was “waxed cold.” The Christians (sic) had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other Heathens…This was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian church-because the Christians were turned Heathens again, and had only a dead form left.-John Wesley ⁷

Of these respective views, Wesley’s is by far the most faithful to the whole of Scripture, to history and to common sense. The Bible itself does acknowledge that there will be times when the supernatural power of God may be more prominent than others. When we don’t see it as much as we would like to, it says that we are to “go with the strength that we have.” But even then, that doesn’t mean that the power of God is not there.

In fact, the above cited passage from the life of Gideon is one of several accounts in the Bible in which God’s people noticed that supernatural manifestations of God’s power were conspicuously absent:

And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision (1 Samuel 3:1).
We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long (Psalms 74:9).
Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord (Lamentations 2:9).
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God , that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the (prophetic) words of the Lord .(Amos 8:11).

In these instances, notice a common theme: The lack of supernatural power was the result of God’s judgment, not because He arbitrarily decided to stop giving it.

As Wesley points out, it did not take long for the early church to lose the power and purity it had in the beginning. The influence of the original apostles began to wane over time. Christian theology was becoming increasingly influenced by Pagan Greek philosophy. Furthermore, as the Roman Empire became more “Christianized” after the reforms of Constantine, believers became more comfortable and complacent. While these were far from the only factors, they were at the root of much of the decline.

Still, the New Testament ideal remains unchanged.Three times in Scripture we are exhorted to covet (Pursue with passion) the Gifts and fullness of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1, 39, the same Greek word is used in all of these Scriptures.) This is a commandment, not an option. Failure to do so is, let’s call it what it is, disobedience. To divorce the Gospel from its supernatural manifestations is to undermine the unchanging nature of God. There never was an “Age of Miracles.” There is a God of miracles, and He never changes!

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He still baptizes in the Holy Spirit, still heals and still empowers His people with gifts. His kingdom is not in word only but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20), and we must not settle for a form of godliness that denies this power (2 Timothy 3:5).

Let us be discerning, yes, but also full of faith. Let us test the spirits (1 John 4:1), but not grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). Let us uphold the authority of Scripture, even as we welcome the Spirit who inspired it. Above all, let us be a people who know and love Jesus—not just in doctrine, but in living communion, empowered by the very Spirit who raised Him from the dead.

Keep It Real,

James

NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Prince, Derek. Rules of Engagement: Preparing for Your Role in the Spiritual Battle. Chosen Books, 2006, p. 27.

2. Deere, Jack. Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. Zondervan, 1993, p. 53.

3. Ibid. p 102.

4. MacArthur, John F. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Thomas Nelson, 2013.

5. Warfield, Benjamin B. Counterfeit Miracles. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1918., p. 25.

6 MacArthur, John F. Charismatic Chaos. (1992), p. 134

7. Wesley, John. Sermons on Several Occasions. Sermon 89:
The More Excellent Way.

Holmes, Michael W., editor. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3rd ed., Baker Academic, 2007.

Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho. Translated by Thomas B. Falls, Christian Heritage, 1948. Chapter 39.

Irenaeus. Against Heresies. Translated by Alexander Roberts and William Rambaut, edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885. Ante-Nicene Fathers, www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103.htm.

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