What Do I Mean By Cessationism?

I’m sure many of you who know me saw my recent Facebook post about becoming a reformed cessationist. That post drove a LOT of questions. Some I got directly, and some were politely danced around in other conversations. Let me say right up front that I don’t and won’t take offense to questions or conversation or push-back about what I believe for three reasons. First, I LOVE having conversations about faith and theology. Second, if there’s a chance that I am wrong, I want to consider what other’s thoughts are and what they bring to the table (scripture and other sources) to back it up. Third, if someone is in deception that I can help bring light to, I absolutely want to do that. All that said, this will be a short post because it’s based on my opinions, and though my opinions are based on what I’ve found in scripture, I won’t dive into all of that here. -I hope you will, though, if you’re curious about what I’m saying.

So, what do I mean when I say that I’m a cessationist? I simply mean that I believe the apostolic gifts (signs and wonders gifts such as healing, new revelation/prophecy, etc.) have ceased as primary gifts that Christians operate in today. What I don’t mean is that all signs and wonders and miracles have ceased. I think that’s probably a super common misconception about cessationists. It’s what I used to think about cessationists until I took time to understand and seek out scripture on this topic. God is still God, and He can still do the miraculous whenever it is His will! The problem that I’ve found is that we can have a tendency to put blanket statements in God’s mouth that He never actually said. A big one I used to hear and believe is that it is never God’s will for people to be sick because there’s no sickness in heaven. I think this comes from misunderstanding the context of what Jesus was praying when He prayed the Lord’s prayer (“on earth as it is in heaven”) and overlooking scriptures where we can see that it is sometimes within God’s will for us to be sick or suffer.

Here’s the gist of where I stand: Yes, let’s pray and have faith for healing and the miraculous. Yes, let’s seek God for help with our finances. Yes, let’s hear and test prophetic words of revelation or knowledge. If God answers our prayers for health or healing, praise Him! If He doesn’t, praise Him! He is God. He is sovereign. He knows what we ultimately need in our journey of sanctification. If God miraculously provides for us financially, praise Him! If He doesn’t, praise Him! He is God. He is sovereign. He knows what we ultimately need in our journey of sanctification. If a word of revelation or knowledge lines up with scripture and it proves to be true, God has given a word for us. If it doesn’t line up with scripture or it proves not to be true, God is revealing the person who gave it as a false prophet. Either way, praise God! (And going forward, be wary of the person who gave a false word unless and until they truly repent. Encourage them to do so if possible.) God’s word is true and trustworthy and enough.

That’s it. That’s where I stand. It’s not earth-shattering. It’s not new. It is, however, biblical. I hope you’ll take the time to explore what I’ve said here within scripture for yourself.

God Bless
💜 Robin