Family of God: [Church_of_Christ] Re: Holy Spirit 3

Kent,

> > George: If the promise [of "spiritual gifts"] was for me, shouldn't I
> > have received what was promised?
>
> Sounds logical, but I might point out that this logic results in a
> conclusion based on personal experience rather than on God's Word.
>
> (Please note: I'm not saying it contradicts or is inconsistent with
> God's Word; I'm not saying one way or the other. What I'm saying is that
> your conclusion is based not on the text but on personal experience.)
>
> A book I read a year or two brought this point home: most of us don't
> reject the miraculous because of what the Bible says, but rather because
> we don't experience the miraculous, and then force-fit our experience
> into our understanding of what the Bible says.
>

Thank you for pointing this out.

I don't usually get into this issue because it is quite involved. nevertheless, it is true. Cessationism, at its root, is based on experience, not scripture.

Everyone who argues that the gifts have ended ultimately base their conclusion on one of two things:

1. They have never witnessed the gifts being used.
2. They have witnessed 'fake gifts' in charismatic/pentecostal circles and have refused to pursue the issue any further.

Both responses are based on experience, but neither is a valid evaluation of either experience or scripture.

One must begin and end with the text itself if one is going to claim that the gifts have ended or continue. Any appeal to experience and the argument is invalid. The proof/disproof of gifts is in the promise of God, even if no one on earth ever spoke in tongues, including Pentecost.

Thanks, Kent, for bringing this point up.

Ray

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