SANCTIFIED DEISM, ENTITLEMENT AND LOW BARS - A LOOK AT PROPHECY, PART 3 OF 5

Joseph Interprets Dreams, by Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow

"But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." 1 Corinthians 12:11, NKJV

Raise your hands if you believe this verse concerning Spiritual Gifts. Okay, looking into this computer screen I see everybody's hand raised. But do you know what God's will for gifts for the church? Ah, I think I see some hands start wavering. They probably should.

The focus on this series is the gift of prophecy. We need to remember, though, that prophecy and tongues are the gifts primarily focused on in the debate on Spiritual Gifts today, because of their mention in 1 Corinthians 13:8 as failing and ceasing.

If you paid attention to the title, you'll notice my first mention is "Sanctified Deism." Most of you will know that "sanctified" means "set apart." I have a hunch that some of you may not be as familiar with the term "Deism." It is a view that God got this world started, then sat down and watched what will happen. A popular version of that is the song "From a Distance."

I know enough about cessationism to not put everybody in the same box. There are cessationists that believe God is still at work, that the Holy Spirit directs our lives, and that while some gifts have ceased because they were for a sign to the 1st century Jews, God still gives spiritual gifts today. 

However, I've heard some who basically believe the Holy Spirit isn't doing much today. Related - one book pointed out that the Spiritual gifts that haven't ceased (e.g. giving, helps, mercy, administration) can be exercised without the Spirit's activity.

Cessationism puts God in a box. But are Charismatics guilty of the same thing? Yes, it is a bigger box, and God is allowed to do more, but it's still a box. 

I've heard some ask why the early church had gifts like prophecy, tongues, healing, and miracles but we don't. They probably think it deals with not limiting the Spirit, but I hear something else: Entitlement. That we're just as entitled to the showy gifts as they were in Jesus day.

Really? Yes, God is capable of giving those gifts. But is He obligated to? 

One other thing I've noticed from both continuists and Charismatics is setting a low bar on defining the gifts. With prophecy, it is drawing a line between Old Testament prophecy and New Testament prophecy. That line cancels the test of true prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:20-22, where it states that if the prophecy does not come to pass, it is not of God.

I have a friend who has a reason why Deuteronomy 18 was applicable to the Old Testament but not to the New: because we're no longer under Law but under grace. Interesting point, but why did God have that stipulation? Because God's Word is to be trusted to be true, and errant prophesy undermines that image. Has that changed between the Testaments? No. The reason for Deuteronomy is because the word of God, whether written or spoken by a prophet, is truth. 

Believe it or not, I believe that the bar lowering for the gift of tongues is allowing it to be a non-human language. But isn't that allowing heavenly languages? Ah, but how do I know it's a heavenly language? But if, as in Acts 2:5-11, tongues are known languages, then you have a means of verification, just as the listeners at Pentecost knew what was being spoken. 

Related, allowing the speaker of the message in tongues to interpret is another means of lowering the bar. But wouldn't it make sense if God wanted us to have a message, He'd speak it the first time so we all can understand it? 

To me, nothing would be more of an evidence of the Spirit at work than for this guy with a southern drawl to speak in a different language, followed by a Asian lady struggling with English to interpret it, and then this bewildered Hispanic say that the first guy gave a message in the dialect of the South American tribe his parents grew up in, and the lady accurately translated it. 

So let's get back to the verse. Both the cessationist and the one who believes all gifts need to be in exercise today are imposing their will on God. One is convinced God has limited Himself from using the sign gifts today, or in the future for that matter. The other believes God is required to allow the same gifts as He did in the Apostolic Age, and simplify things so it's easier to credit the Spirit for what could be done in the flesh.