I came across the above video by Virgil Walker, from G3 Ministries, in which he argues in favor of cessationism—meaning the cessation of spiritual gifts following the days of the Apostles. The following clip is from the first four and a half minutes of the video:
In recent years a growing number of Christians have embraced what is often called open but cautious cessationism, a middle ground approach that acknowledges the possibility of miraculous gifts, like prophecy and healing, while remaining weary of their abuses. While this position may appear balanced, I contend that it introduces significant theological confusion, neither fully rejecting nor affirming the cessation of Apostolic gifts. This ambiguity undermines the sufficiency of scripture, and opens the door to doctrinal error. Cessationism, rooted in scripture and upheld by theological stalwarts like John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and B.B. Warfield, affirms that the miraculous gifts of the Apostolic age ceased with the completion of the New Testament Canon. Calvin famously stated in the Institutes of Christian religion quote:
“Assuredly the Holy Spirit is still present with the people of God. Without His guidance and direction the church of God cannot subsist, for we have a promise of perpetual duration, by which Christ invites the thirsty to come to Him, that they may drink living water; but those miraculous powers and manifest operations which were distributed by the laying on of hands have ceased. They were only for a time.”
Calvin warned against expecting ongoing revelations, or miraculous signs, asserting that such gifts served a specific purpose during the early church’s foundational period; yet despite this clarity, “open but cautious cessationism” continues to blur the lines, weakening the church’s doctrinal integrity, in an age increasingly driven by emotionalism and personal experience. It is vital that believers stand firm on the sufficiency of scripture, and the finality of God’s revealed word—the historical foundation of cessationism. Cessationism is neither a modern concept, nor confined to the theological insights of a specific group of Reformers. Throughout church history, prominent voices have supported the cessation of miraculous gifts. For example Augustine of Hippo, an early Church Father, initially believed that miracles continued; but later in his life he acknowledged that the miraculous signs accompanying the Apostles had ceased. Quote:
“In the earliest times, the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed, and they spake with tongues which they had not learned, and the Spirit gave them utterance. These were signs adapted to the time, for there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all tongues, to show that the gospel of God was to run through all tongues, over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening and it passed away.”
This view aligns with the broader historical understanding, that the extraordinary gifts were for the church’s foundational period, and not meant to continue indefinitely. By the time of the Reformation, Calvin and other theologians echoed these same convictions, solidifying the cessationist position as a critical aspect of Reformed theology. Misunderstanding cessationism, one of the core issues with the “open but cautious cessationist,” is its fundamental misunderstanding of the traditional cessationist position. Cessationism is not a denial of God’s power to heal or perform Miracles; it is not an argument that God has ceased intervening in his creation. Instead, cessationism asserts that the miraculous gifts, specifically the gift of healing, prophecy, and other Apostolic signs, ceased with the end of the Apostolic era. The critical point is that while God can and does heal according to his sovereign will, no one today possesses the Apostolic gift of healing, enabling them to heal at will. In other words, healing and miracles are by definition extraordinary acts of God, not normative or expected practices. The same applies to prophecy. While God has revealed his will through scripture, there is no longer a gift of prophecy, whereby individuals receive new direct revelation from God. The authority of the Apostles and prophets, upon whom the church’s foundation was built, is complete (Ephesians 2:2).
The problem with that argument is that it ignores certain passages of scripture that contradict it:
Mark 16:
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
According to this scripture, faith is the only requirement for the performance of miracles; nothing else is required. Throughout the Bible, Old and New Testaments, miracles have been performed by faith; and nothing else but faith has been the requirement.
The highlighted bit in his quote, “heal at will,” is also problematic. Neither Jesus, nor his Apostles and disciples, were able to “heal at will”. They were only able to heal, or perform miracles, on condition of the faith of those involved:
Matthew 13:
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works [miracles] there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 17:
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mark 6:
6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
None of them were able to “heal at will”—including Jesus. They were only able to do so on condition of, and in accordance with, the faith of those involved. When faith was sufficient, miracles could be performed; and without faith, no miracles could be performed—not even by Jesus.
This of course is not meant to be an argument in support of Charismatics and Pentecostals etc. It is also possible to make false claims. That is why we are commanded to “try the spirits” (1 John 4:1). But just because it is possible to make false claims, it doesn’t follow that it is impossible to make true claims. I had previously discussed this subject in an earlier blog post which can be seen here.
