Cessationist Life

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Article Living the Cessationist Life by John Divito (who currently serves as Pastor of Cornerstone Fellowship Church in Newburgh, IN. He is also a Director of African Pastors Conferences and a Board Member of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. John and his wife Jennifer have been married for 20 years and have four children. He received his MDiv from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Original source here.)

Will the debate over the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit ever cease? Maybe not, with many books coming out, debates being held, and conferences taking place on this controversial subject. One of the primary reasons for the intensity of this issue is that it directly relates to how we should live the Christian life. For those who hold that the charismatic gifts continue, we should seek these gifts in our lives so that we will live our lives in the fullness of God’s blessing. But what about those of us who believe these gifts were given during the apostolic age and have ceased with the completion of apostolic doctrine recorded in Scripture? How do we live our lives? What does the life of a cessationist look like? Here are three aspects of our life in Christ.

We are Filled with the Spirit

This may sound strange to some ears, but cessationists live the Spirit-filled life. I remember once visiting a charismatic church where a man came up to me after the service and introduced himself to me. He asked me where I was from and where I went to church, and when I told him that I was a Baptist, he replied: “I used to be Baptist, but then I came to believe in the Holy Ghost.” I’ve sometimes heard charismatics say that the cessationist Trinity is “God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Bible.” But these are gross and even dangerous misunderstandings of what cessationists believe.

Of course we believe in the Holy Spirit! He is the third person of the divine Trinity whom we worship. The Holy Spirit regenerates our hearts, removing the heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, giving us spiritual life. The Holy Spirit bears fruit through us, equipping us with lives of righteousness and devotion to God. The Holy Spirit empowers us, providing us the strength we need to obey God’s law and to serve His kingdom. The Holy Spirit seals us, guaranteeing the inherited blessings God has promised us. The Holy Spirit leads us to eagerly wait for Christ’s return when we will finally receive all of God’s blessings as we enjoy life in His presence. And until then, the Holy Spirit blesses us with spiritual gifts for the good of Christ’s body, the church. We are filled with the Holy Spirit through our faith in Christ so that we will live for His glory. What a glorious gift!

How frustrating it is then to hear the role of the Holy Spirit reduced to providing the charismatic gifts of prophecy, tongues, and miraculous healings in the minds of many. The Holy Spirit fills us without the extravagance of outward wonders. After all, His goal is not to get our attention and become our focus, but to direct us to Jesus Christ in whom we find our salvation and our souls’ rest.

We Hear God’s Voice

We also recognize that as God’s people, we need to hear from God. So how does God reveal Himself and His will to us? He speaks to us in and through His Word. The Bible is not simply a collection of ancient inspired writings that we are supposed to read. God speaks to me today in Scripture. I hear His voice, not through my ears, but through the Spirit’s illumination of my mind and heart as I read God’s Word. As a result, Scripture reading is more than a daily discipline for me. It is a blessed opportunity to hear from God and commune with Him.

At the same time, I also hear God’s voice with my ears when His people gather together in worship to listen to the preaching of His Word. God calls and sets apart men to become His mouthpiece as they stand behind the pulpit on the Lord’s Day and open His divinely revealed Scripture to us. Pastors have been appointed by God to speak to His people, and through them, when they correctly explain and apply the Word of God, it is our privilege to hear God’s voice weekly so that our covenant with Christ is reaffirmed by the gospel and our lives will be transformed through the renewal of our minds.

When the church meets for worship, it is not to see supposed signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit, but it is to experience the Holy Spirit’s ministry as He applies God’s Word in my heart and works His Word out in my life. Furthermore, my daily communion with God does not depend on tongues from the Holy Spirit or a private prayer language, but on the Holy Spirit’s enlightening of my mind and enflaming of my heart as I read and study His Word.

We Rely on God’s Word

Finally, the life of a cessationist is one that is thoroughly committed to the sufficiency of Scripture, which gives us all that is needed for a life of godliness. We please God by our obedience to His Word. Our relationship with God does not depend on our subjective feelings, but it is nourished and flourishes by our devotion to obeying God’s objective revelation to us in Scripture.

If someone believes that he must have additional experiences from the Holy Spirit for his spiritual vitality (whether prophecy, tongues, or miraculous healings), then at some level he believes that Scripture is not enough. We need more to live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit must provide us with some kind of supplemental revelation to grow in the gospel and draw close to God. This will subtly undermine our commitment to God’s Word.

When we rely on the treasure of God’s Word, then we don’t need anything more. We are kept focused on the glories of Christ by the Holy Spirit’s work in us and desire to love God and love our neighbor because our Savior first loved us. Cessationism doesn’t forbid us from fully living the Christian life; it frees us to fully live the Christian life through the means of grace that God has given us.

Vessels Prepared for Destruction

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Excerpt from Dr. James White’s book “The Potter’s Freedom” (pages 211-214):

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. Romans 9:17-18)

The example of Pharoah was well known to any person familiar with the Old Testament. God destroyed the Egyptian nation by plagues so as to demonstrate His might and power in the earth, and key to this demonstration was the hardening of Pharoah’s heart. Before Moses had met with Pharoah the first time God told him:

When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. (Exodus 4:21)

It was God’s intention to bring His wrath upon the Egyptians. God’s actions were not “forced” by the stubborn will of the Egyptian leader. God said He would harden Pharoah’s heart, and He did. Listen to the impudent response of this pagan idolater to the command of Moses:

And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharoah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.'” But Pharoah said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:1-2)

Is this not what God said He would do? Will someone suggest that Pharoah’s heart is “soft” here? No indeed, and Moses well knew that God was behind this for when the Pharoah then increased the work load of the Israelites, Moses complained to God in Exodus 5:22. Why complain to God if, in fact, God had nothing to do with it and it was all just a matter of the Pharoah’s “free will choice”?

This provides the background of Paul’s citation of Exodus 9:16. The portion of truth that here stings the pride of man is this: it is more important that God’s name is magnified and His power made known than it is that any single man get to “do his own thing.” Pharoah was surely never forced to do anything sinful (indeed, God probably kept him from committing many a sinful deed). He acted on the desires of his wicked heart at all times. But he is but a pot, a creature, not the Potter. He was formed and made and brought into existence to serve the Potter’s purposes, not his own. He is but a servant, one chosen, in fact, for destruction. His destruction, and the process that led up to it (including all the plagues upon Egypt), were part of God’s plan. There is simply no other way to understand these words.

Paul then combines the fact that God showed undeserved compassion and mercy to Moses (Exodus 33) with God’s hardening of Pharoah’s heart (Exodus 5) and concludes that whether one is “mercied” or “hardened” is completely, inalterably, and utterly up to God. The verbs here are active: God performs these actions. He “mercies” whom He wills and He hardens whom He wills. The parallel between “mercy” and “hardening” is inarguable. We may like the “mercying” part more than the hardening, but they are both equally a part of the same truth. Reject one and you reject them both. There is no such thing as preaching God’s mercy without preaching God’s judgment, at least according to Scripture.

The passage reaches a crescendo in these final verses:

You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? (Romans 9:19-20)

Paul knew well the objections man presents to the words he had just penned. If God has mercy solely based on His good pleasure, and if God hardens Pharoah on the same basis, all His own glory and honor, how can God hold men accountable for their actions, for who resists His will? Paul’s response is swift and devastating: Yes, indeed God holds man accountable, and He can do so because He is the potter, the one who molds and creates, while man is but the “thing molded.” For a pot to question the Potter is absurd. These words cannot be understood separately from the fundamental understanding of the freedom of the Sovereign Creator and the ontological creatureliness of man that removes from him any ground of complaint against God. Though already devastatingly clear, Paul makes sure there is no doubt left as to his point:

Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. (Romans 9:21-24)

The Potter’s freedom pulses through these words, flowing inexorably into the sea of sovereignty, rushing any would-be proponent of free will out of its path. God has the perfect right to do with His creation (including men) as He wishes, just as the Potter has utter sovereignty over the clay. Just as God had demonstrated His wrath and power by wasting idolatrous Egypt, so too He demonstrates He wrath upon “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.” Are these nations? Classes? No, these are sinners upon whom God’s wrath comes. They are said to have been specifically “prepared for destruction.” That is their purpose.

Why are there vessels prepared for destruction? Because God is free. Think about it: there are only three logical possibilities here. Either 1) all “vessels” are prepared for glory (universalism); 2) all “vessels” are prepared for destruction; or 3) some vessels are prepared for glory and some are prepared for destruction and it is the Potter who decides which are which. Why is there no fourth option, one in which the pots prepare themselves based on their own choice? Because pots don’t have such a capacity! Pots are pots! Since God wishes to make known the “riches of His grace” to His elect people (the vessels prepared for mercy), there must be vessels prepared for destruction. There is no demonstration of mercy and grace when there is no justice.

The vessels of wrath, remember, like being vessels of wrath, would never choose to be anything else, and they detest the vessels that receive mercy…

Church Membership – Like a Marriage?

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Article: A Pastor’s Reflections: Like a Marriage by J. V. Fesko (original source here)

It seems like far too many people treat relationships of all sorts as being disposable. As soon as they hit a rough patch of any sort they decide to pull up stakes, move on, and find a new relationship. This is especially the case, I believe, when it comes to church membership. Rather than viewing one’s church membership as something closer to a marriage, they treat their membership like a health club. When the church does not meet their expectations, they start looking for the door. In this vein I think many in the church look at their membership with a product consumer’s mentality. The membership is all about receiving benefits and service.

As common as such thinking might be, our attitude towards church membership should be closer to a marriage relationship than a health club membership. A marriage is supposed to be nearly unbreakable. The Bible gives very few legitimate reasons for breaking a marriage vow. The words, “till death do us part,” captures the nearly unbreakable bonds of marriage. Now while church membership is not a marriage, we should nevertheless treat our membership vows like a marriage vow. In other words, just because we hit a rough patch should not mean that we immediately look for the door.

When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, the first question we should ask is, “Does my church still exhibit the three marks?” In other words, does it still preach the gospel, rightly administer the sacraments, and perform church discipline?

If our answer is, yes, then chances are we don’t have a really good reason for leaving. Intra-personal conflicts, for example, might make us uncomfortable, but they don’t rise to the level of legitimate biblical grounds for leaving a church. When we find ourselves in a difficult spot, our first response should be prayer—we should pray that the Lord would help us figure things out and bring reconciliation.

If we always leave a church the moment we have conflicts, then we’ll never give ourselves the relational space to mend broken relationships. Mending broken relationships, I believe, is like mending a broken bone—the relationship will often come out stronger. Do you feel like your church is no longer serving you? It might be that it’s not time to leave but time for you to roll up your sleeves, look around, and find out how you can serve others in your church. All too often people think that the church is for their own benefit rather than an opportunity for them to serve others. In other words, how can you make your church a better place through your own sacrificial service?

How much does the world shape the church? How does the mentality of disposability affect our attitudes? In one egregious example I remember listening to someone list more than a dozen churches where she had been a member over the course of forty years despite the fact that she had lived in the same home for that same period of time. It was a very sad testimony, to say the least. My hope and prayer is that we would think twice before we leave a church.

Instead of running for the door we should drop to our knees in prayer and figure out how we might serve our brothers and sisters around us. Instead of leaving because of difficult relationships, our hope should be to strengthen our friendships in spite of whatever challenges we face. In the end, this all amounts to seeking to show the love of Christ to the church.

Four Incriminating Witnesses

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Text: John 5:30-40

While Christ’s own testimony, by itself, should be more than enough evidence to convince the greatest skeptic, He then calls on four others to testify to His claims – John the Baptist, the works He did, the Father who sent Him and the very Scriptures the Jewish leaders were supposedly immersed in. A powerful Gospel call!

When Choosing a Church

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Article: What to look for when choosing a Church by Nicholas Davis (original source here)

A Christian is joined to a local church not because it is a service provider for a consumer or a club for a member. The church is a kingdom with a king, and the Christian belongs under this king’s rule. We are not primarily knit together by a common interest or common need but by this common kingdom that is not of this world (Jn. 18:36). God’s kingdom is over this world and informs our life in this world.

Jesus Christ is King, and as Christians, we are his people, or to use another biblical metaphor, we are his sheep and he is our shepherd (Ps. 23; Jn. 10). Jesus shepherds us through the local church, the primary place where we as God’s people begin to follow him.

So what exactly should we look for when choosing a church?

The most important thing to look for when choosing a church is whether it is true or false in its teaching. Notice that the most important thing is not musical style, what programs a church runs, the size or age of its building, whether it meets in a school, or the types of children’s activities it offers. (Those things are not unimportant, but they are not most important.)

In the ever-changing and growing religious landscape of America, many buildings have the name “church” on them and claim to have the truth. The difficulty is always in discerning truth from error, as error abounds these days. Religious cults are often passed off as “Christian,” even though they have no doctrine of the Trinity, hold to a different doctrine of Scripture, and to a different understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ—to name only a few differences.

So what is a person to do? How can we know where to find a faithful and true church?

There are two marks that you should look for when finding a church to call home. Is the Word of God rightly preached, and are the sacraments rightly administered?

The Word
A true church will clearly preach the whole Bible with the central focus being on the person and work of Jesus Christ. If a church rejects the gospel, it has committed apostasy and is no longer part of the visible church of Christ.

On this ground, if a church cannot confess the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ at the bare minimum, then it is not proclaiming the gospel.

The Sacraments
A true church will also rightly administer the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (i.e. Eucharist, Communion, Lord’s Table, etc.). The word “sacrament” may sound off-putting to some, but that’s just what my tradition calls it. To others, it may be more commonly known as an “ordinance.” Either way, the word comes from an older Greek word meaning “mystery,” but let’s not get sidetracked by the word and miss the point.

The point is this: does a church faithfully practice these two things or not? If you find a church that meets these two criteria (of Word and Sacrament), then it’s worth sticking around. If not, look elsewhere.

Other Important Factors to Look For
– Church membership: Does the church take membership seriously? It’s interesting that repeatedly in the New Testament, elders are appointed to each local church and are given the charge to shepherd the flock of God. Church attenders are told to submit to their leaders (1 Pet. 5:1–2; Heb. 13:17). The important thing is that there is some measure of common agreement. In other words, this specific person is my pastor, these are my elders, and I belong to this particular local church in this local place. How can the elders shepherd, and how can the sheep submit without having something like “church membership” in place? If we are to heed these apostolic commands, then church membership (or whatever name you give it) is a biblical necessity.

– Church discipline: Does the church faithfully and lovingly practice church discipline (1 Cor. 5:1–13)? Jesus Christ introduced church discipline for the sake of his sheep (Matt. 18) so that they would be protected from wolves and truly loved and cared for by his appointed shepherds.

– Church officers: The Holy Spirit has gifted his church with the ordinary offices of ministers, elders, and deacons. Does the church view elders and deacons as essential for the ministry of the church? Furthermore, are qualified and godly men leading the church (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Tit. 1:5–11)? The biblical requirements for officers in the church stretch beyond mere ability.

– Church fellowship: In Acts, Paul tells us what the earliest Christians did when they met together as a church:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42, emphasis mine)

From this early witness in the New Testament, it is clear that God’s Word, the sacraments, and prayer are central elements of a church service. But it’s also true that real fellowship with the “communion of saints” is equally as important. Often this is one of those “marks” that is left out by neglect.

Fellowship, of course, begins as we are knit together by true faith in Jesus Christ from Sunday to Sunday, but it doesn’t stop there! True churches will experience true fellowship with one another, long after the official service is over.

These are the most important things to look for when you’re trying to find a regular place of worship for you or your family.

May the Lord bless you as you seek to worship him and be ruled by Jesus, the King of Kings.

Science and the Bible

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(1) Science Confirms The Bible (Ken Ham Speaks to Teens):

Learn about DNA as evidence for the infinite God, the basics of genetics and natural selection as they relate to biblical “kinds,” the origin of so-called races, the truth about Cain’s wife, evidence for the worldwide Flood, the actual time of the Ice Age, literal vs. figurative creation days, the origin of death, dating methods, and more.

(2) Astronomy Reveals 6,000 Year Old Earth – Dr. Jason Lisle

Am I among the elect?

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How can I be assured that I am among the chosen?

The New Testament warns about false assurance. Can we ever be sure that we are saved? From Ligonier’s 2016 National Conference, Ian Hamilton and R.C. Sproul explain what it really means to be assured of our salvation.