The answer may surprise us.

Pentecostal leader Jack Hayford once said, “Genuine spiritual fullness is bridge building.” That insight cuts to the heart of the issue. If spiritual maturity leads us into isolation or superiority, something has gone wrong. True fullness of the Spirit should expand our vision of the church, not shrink it.

Many Baptists, particularly those influenced by cessationism, believe that certain supernatural gifts, such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing, ceased in the early church. Charismatics, on the other hand, believe these gifts remain active and available today, just as described in 1 Corinthians 12. This disagreement is significant, but it is often overstated.

In practice, the lines are far more blurred than many assume. A growing number of Baptists affirm that spiritual gifts continue today, even if they express them more cautiously. Over the past few decades, studies have shown a notable increase in openness among Baptist pastors to the idea that the gifts of the Spirit are still operative. Even within traditionally non-charismatic environments, one can often find evidence of deep spiritual experience, fervent prayer, and moments that defy easy explanation.

History also complicates the narrative. Charles Spurgeon, the famed “Prince of Preachers,” was a staunch Baptist with no formal connection to charismatic theology. Yet accounts from his ministry include moments of remarkable spiritual insight that many today would describe as prophetic. Similarly, Billy Graham, arguably the most recognized Baptist figure of the modern era, spoke openly about divine healing, the laying on of hands, and the possibility of renewed signs and wonders in the last days.

These examples suggest that the divide is not always as clean or as rigid as our labels imply.

On a personal level, my own journey reflects this complexity. As a young believer, I was committed to Christ and grounded in Scripture, yet I sensed that something was missing. My first encounters with Charismatic Christians were, admittedly, uncomfortable. Their expressions of faith seemed unusual, even excessive at times. But I could not deny that many of them possessed a depth of spiritual life that I longed for.

And that is the point. The church was never meant to be a collection of isolated tribes, each guarding its own distinctives. The apostle Paul’s vision in 1 Corinthians 12 is not of uniformity, but of unity, a body with many members, each contributing something essential. The problem arises when we elevate our distinctives above our shared foundation in Christ.

When Charismatics lose sight of that foundation, they risk drifting into excess and confusion. When Baptists do the same, they risk reducing the Christian life to doctrine without experience. Both dangers are real. Both require correction. And both are best addressed not in isolation, but in conversation.

Image: Stephanie Krist

There is much we can learn from one another. Charismatics can benefit from the Baptist commitment to biblical clarity and theological discipline. Baptists can be enriched by the Charismatic emphasis on the active, present work of the Holy Spirit. The broader Christian tradition reminds us that no single group has a monopoly on truth. As the early church father Justin Martyr suggested, whatever is true belongs to all Christians.

In the end, the question is not whether Baptists and Charismatics will agree on every point of doctrine. They will not. The question is whether they can recognize one another as fellow members of the same body, pursuing the same Lord, and working toward the same mission.

If they can, then perhaps the divide is not as wide as we have imagined. And perhaps, in a divided world, that unity will speak louder than any difference ever could.

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Craig S. Keener, “Apostles Today” YouTube (October 18, 2025).

Pastor John Lathrop says: “At the link you can hear Dr. Craig Keener speak about apostles (about 42 minutes long). In part of his teaching he shares the names of people in church history that he thinks qualify as apostles using Paul’s criteria for apostles.”

James F. Linzey, “International Pentecostal Leaders Minister in Coffeyville, Kansas: ORU Scholars Step into a Century-Old Prophetic Stream in Coffeyville” Christian Newswire (November 12, 2025).

Gordon Govier, “10 Striking Biblical Archaeology Stories of 2025: Research and natural disaster uncovered exciting finds from the ancient world” Christianity Today (December 23, 2025).

Craig S. Keener, “Yes, there IS a Christian genocide in Nigeria” Bible Background (December 28, 2025).

Craig Keener introduces this 26 minute video: “I am not interested in defending the partisan right or left, and that’s not what this is about. The suffering in northern Nigeria didn’t start recently—it’s been going on for decades. I have interviewed many friends from northern Nigeria, plus I depend on reports I received already when I taught there in the 1990s. In some places, there is ‘religious cleansing’ taking place, alongside other terrorist activity.”

Image: Filip Bunkens

Craig Keener, “Differing with John MacArthur on 1 Cor 14” Bible Background (January 5, 2026).

Joy Ren, “Influential Chinese House Church Faces New Crackdown” Christianity Today (January 16, 2026).

Updated on January 21, 2026: “Two of the detained face charges of ‘inciting subversion of state power.’”

Frank Viola, “50 Things the Holy Spirit Does” Frank Viola Unfiltered (January 25, 2026).

Bonnie Kristian, “Protesting in Church Is Wrong. So Is Immigration Theater” Christianity Today (January 20, 2026).

The subtitle of this opinion piece by Christianity Today deputy editor Bonnie Kristian reads: “Demonstrators should not disrupt worship services. ICE should be competent, cool-headed, and constrained by the Constitution.”

Craig Keener, “A charismatic view of suffering?: Suffering and baptism in the Spirit in Mark’s introduction” Bible Background (March 2, 2026).

Carey Nieuwhof and James Sells, “Reclaiming the Church’s Role in Mental Health: We have a holy opportunity to return to our roots—a chance to recover the kind of care that once marked every aspect of the early church” Leadership Journal (Fall 2025).

This article is from CT Pastors, Volume 38 of Leadership Journal.

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Myles Werntz, “You Don’t Need a Rule of Life: What you need is a church” Christianity Today (October 10, 2024).

Paraclete journal now available online

The Consortium of Pentecostal Archives has made the quarterly journal gratis available online. Paraclete (1967-1995) was a journal of practical theology for Assemblies of God pastors (replaced by Enrichment). Emphasizing the person and work of the Holy Spirit, articles covered Bible exposition, theology, and history. All 112 issues may be browsed and are available for full-text searches.

Brad East, “The Loosening of American Evangelicalism” Christianity Today (May 20, 2025).

This look into the current state of Evangelicalism’s morality in the USA is subtitled, “Long-standing norms against drinking, tattoos, and Catholic-coded church practices have rapidly fallen. What’s going on?” Many Pentecostal/charismatics may see similar patterns in their own churches, whether or not they consider themselves part of Evangelicalism with a capital E.

In case you missed it: Craig Keener, “How to Succeed at Suffering: Lessons from the Gospel of Mark” Influence (February 14, 2024).

Jared Michelson, “Why Choose the Path of the Pastor?: Despite fewer pursuing pastoral roles today, the vocation provides the unique privilege of making a profound impact by sharing oneself with others” Christianity Today (May 15, 2025).

Chad Harvey, “From Cessationist to Pentecostal: Discovering the Spirit’s transforming power” Influence (Spring 2025).

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Ricky Roberts, Just When Did Spiritual Gifts Cease? (Florida: Creation House, 2003), 112 pages, ISBN 9781591852353.

The basis of this short book is that the spiritual gifts have never ceased. Roberts divides his argument into scriptural and historical evidence. Roberts builds a case that the spiritual gifts were not intended to be temporary, (tied to the apostolic age) but rather continue until the age of perfection (the second coming of Christ). The author uses scriptural interpretation and the church fathers to support his case. In this, he does a fairly good job.

However, in the historical section of the book, Roberts case left me disappointed. Roberts does not give a complete view of the reformers and he uses a Gnostic gospel as support. Roberts also defends Montanism as a legitimate group, but falsely accused. While they may have started out as a legitimate group, they did not end that way. This historical evidence is shaky at best.

Roberts makes an interesting claim in his book that the tongues (i.e. language) will cease because in heaven we will communicate mentally. After speaking with some colleagues, among them some theologians, there was a 50/50 split on whether this idea might be correct. There is also a problem with his transliteration (for example, διδομι [didomi] is written as thethome). Roberts may also hit a nerve with some readers because of his claim that all for whom Christ prayed were not healed (in places other than the account in Mark 6:5). He further claims that God places disease on His children as a punishment or test.

I requested to review this book because it pertained to my dissertation topic, however I was disappointed with it. Any reader looking for a better overview of the understanding that church leaders had of the Holy Spirit and His work should read the trilogy on the Holy Spirit by Dr. Stan Burgess. Even though I have had personal experience with this subject, Roberts did not convince me that the gifts had not ceased. This book is by no means scholarly and I would only recommend this book as an example of how not to write.

Reviewed by Patricia Riley

This review was originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website on September 12, 2007. Later included in the Spring 2024 issue.

The editor, Robert W. Graves is a Pentecostal scholar and president of The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship. This non-profit encourages Pentecostal/Charismatic authors, with awards for excellent new works. Mr. Graves has had a long-standing passion to defend Charismatic and Pentecostal claims of the present-day activity and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The topic of the book, a rebuttal of cessationism, is both important and sad. It is sad because many good Christians still dispute the reality of the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12–14) in the life of the contemporary church. This is over a hundred years after the Azusa Street revival and over sixty years after the Charismatic renewal burst among mainline churches. The suspicion and resistance to the operation of these gifts came under renewed attack in recent decades by the popular and influential ministry of the Rev. John MacArthur. His radio ministry and multiple books have lambasted gifts of the Spirit as bogus and their practice as heretical. This reviewer has had the honor of being the object of his critical comments with an entire chapter criticizing my work.[1] In fact Mr. Graves edited an earlier volume of essays dedicated to responding to MacArthur’s cessationist best-seller, Strange Fire.[2]

The Kingdom Case against Cessationism has a forward by Dr. Craig Keener, currently the most well-known and distinguished Charismatic New Testament scholar. The book is made up of 12 chapters by various authors, several of which are widely known and respected, such as Randy Clark and Michael Brown. But all are distinguished scholars in their fields.

The articles are uniformly excellent, and I found Randy Clark’s contribution, “The Inaugurated Kingdom of God–Now and Not Yet,” particularly useful. The same for Mr. Graves’s contribution, “Cessationism and the Struggle for the Promises and Commands of Jesus.”

The Kingdom Case against Cessationism contains three essays by Jon Ruthven, whose death has been a serious loss to Pentecostal scholarship (and to whom this book is dedicated). They were taken from his PhD masterpiece that also produced On the Cessation of the Charismata.[3]

The Kingdom Case against Cessationism has an index of persons as well as an index of biblical citations and ancient church sources. It is especially valuable to pastors and church leaders who have people in their congregations who still hold to the cessationist view. It is a handy source of biblical answers to the folly and “heresy” of cessationism. Mr. Graves is to be commended for his scholarly and useful work for the Charismatic/Pentecostal churches.

Reviewed by William De Arteaga

Notes

[1] John MacArthur, Reckless Faith (Crossway, 1994).

[2] (Nashville Thomas Nelson, 2013) See Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scripture (Tulsa: Empowered Life Academic-Harrison House, 2014). [Editor’s note: See the Strange Fire roundup at PneumaReview.com: “Are Pentecostals offering Strange Fire?” See also the PneumaReview.com interview with Strangers To Fire editor Robert Graves and reviews by Tony Richie, John Lathrop, and further reflections by Jon Ruthven.]

[3] Jon Ruthven, On the Cessation of the Charismata (Tulsa: Word and Spirit, 2010). [Editor’s note: See Amos Yong’s review of Jon Ruthven: On the Cessation of the Charismata.]

Robert Shinkoskey has two main proposals in Do My Prophets No Harm. The first proposal is that the Ten Commandments provide ancient Israel’s constitutional government. In theory, the Ten Commandments are “purely secular law, rather than a mixture of cultic and civic law” (p. 81). The first five commandments serve two purposes: the preservation of “freedom of religion for prophets and other dissidents who work to restore worship of the God of their ancestors” (back cover summary); and an adversarial purpose: to stand separate from the civic government. The role of the prophet is to call into question any policy or personal power that negates or abuses the last five of the commandments.

Shinkoskey’s second proposal is to challenge the notion of the cessation of prophecy. God always reveals Himself to those who are sensitive to Him, namely the prophets. This is necessary in order to preserve not only the first five commandments but also the second five. The prophets urge Israel to repent and return to their calling. Israel’s call is to honor and keep the second five commandments and to be a light to the nations: how to treat one’s neighbor in love and mercy and the stranger or alien among them.

This reviewer finds Shinkoskey’s analysis intriguing. He seems to suggest that the observance of the second five of the Decalogue promotes the worship of the God of the Exodus, the one who brought them out from slavery to Egypt. New revelation from God restores the people of Israel to their calling to be light to the nations. The prophets are those receptive to that revelation and must prophesy; hence, “Do my prophets no harm.” It is Shinkoskey’s contention that when a government exceeds its bounds whatever its form, monarchy, democratic republic, theocratic, those in governance seek to silence the prophets. It also occurs when complacency or satisfaction occurs in a nation. This is where religious liberty is threatened.

However, what can get easily leveled against continuationists, from a more cessationist camp, is the idea that such revelation would no longer be needed knowing we now have the completed revelation of God in Jesus Christ, which is, of course, summarized in the full canon of Scripture. This revelation is the final word and no other such revelation is needed. And I understand the concern, especially noting such doctrines as the sufficiency of Scripture. However, I believe there is a very balanced approach that allows for the God-breathed Scriptures to maintain their authoritative place as God’s written revelation while also maintaining that God still speaks, reveals and communicates today.

Here is what I believe we need to recognize.

We must confess there is no more needed revelation from God with respect to his redemptive purposes in Jesus Christ. No more! The work of Christ and the revelation concerning this work – summed up in his life, ministry, death and resurrection – are the final word on God’s redemptive revelation and purposes. And I believe the New Testament makes this quite clear.

Yet, I do not think it is out of bounds to believe God continues to communicate in what I might term as a non-redemptive measure. This is where continuationists part from cessationists.

Again, I reiterate that it would be quite detrimental to say there is still more for God to reveal concerning the redemption of humanity through Christ and the gospel of the kingdom. Christ remains the final word on such. But, to believe God still reveals today, in a non-redemptive sense, should not be seen as harmful to a faith that looks to be grounded in Christ, the gospel and the testimony of the canon of Scripture. Matter of fact, I would argue that, to not allow for God to still directly speak and reveal today, in all his various manners, would cut us off from something very dear to the heart of God.

In all, I want to give two pointers as to why I believe in continuing, non-redemptive revelation:

1) Even while the canon of Scripture was being formed, God was always speaking para-Scripture, meaning he was speaking alongside what would be included in the canon of Scripture.

A couple examples would be found in places such as 1 Samuel 10:10-13 and 1 Timothy 1:18-19.

Introduction

Twentieth century Pentecostalism reawakened the world to miracles. The growth of this movement activated individuals in established religion to wrestle with a major player on the world scene of Christianity. Even so, as Pentecostalism expands, the cessationist view resuscitates a theological position that corresponds with the European intellectual development of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries named the Enlightenment. The proponents of cessationism believe that their cause is true and just. As a consequence of the strict emphasis on Enlightenment presuppositions in theology, their belief system allows no place for the miraculous in Christian living. The thesis of this paper argues for the clear biblical authority and support for miracles in contrast to the problem of the unbiblical history of cessationism. The topic is divided into five sections. First, a presentation of the problem of cessationism and the purpose of this study is submitted. Second, specific historical figures from church history represent the foundation for cessationism. Third, historical antecedents supporting miraculous experiences are surveyed. Fourth, a theological and biblical critique of cessationism is examined. Fifth, concluding thoughts and reflections on the unbiblical basis for cessationism is contested by the biblical revelation of the miraculous in Christianity.

The problem and study

The purpose of this paper exegetes the faulty presuppositions underlying cessationist opinion. This study examines the historical ethos behind cessationism and buttresses the biblical belief in the miraculous with Holy Scripture. In fact, the modern day cessationist view is not grounded in Scripture but rather in the principles of the Enlightenment, which support the secular American culture. An honest evaluation of cessationism would cause many conservative fundamentalists to reconsider the underpinnings of their belief system.

Notable persons from church history supporting cessationism

Specific historical antecedents for the unbiblical belief in cessationism are copious. Numerous Christians holding a cessationist theology have contributed to this investigation. This section discusses the remarks of five particular people: John Chrysostom, Augustine, John Calvin, B.B. Warfield and John MacArthur. Their outspoken influence creates a thread of unbelief and skepticism enduring two millennia of Christianity.

“Is [Craig S. Keener] seriously suggesting that there is a cause and effect relationship between German anti-supernaturalism and cessationism?”
— From comments on Craig Keener’s review of John MacArthur, Strange Fire

It’s not cause-and-effect, though there is a relationship. Antisupernaturalism may have made it easier for hard cessationism to flourish and harder for continuationism to get a hearing, but the influence apparently went especially from cessationism to antisupernaturalism. (Here I am not referring to belief in the cessation of this or that gift, but the actual belief that miracles had ceased, i.e., hard cessationism.)

David Hume (1711-1776)
Image: Wikimedia Commons

David Hume (Scottish, not German) was able to gain ground in his argument against miracles, following English Deists (the connection with Deists is established quite clearly in The Great Debate on Miracles: from Joseph Glanvill to David Hume (Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1981), partly because cessationism was so widespread that many dismissed evidence for current miracles. The same evidence for current miracles — testimony of experience — was also the evidence for biblical miracles, so discrediting the former led to skepticism about the latter. Openness to the possibility of current miracles also led to stronger defenses for biblical miracles. See on this point especially Robert Bruce Mullin, Miracles and the Modern Religious Imagination (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996).

Today there are sufficient credible miracle reports to turn the tide against skeptical scholars who deny claims of miracles in the Gospels. It is no longer plausible to argue that eyewitnesses do not claim these kinds of experiences in theistic contexts. For hard cessationists to deny miracle claims based on eyewitness evidence today (rather than to explore the reliability of the witnesses) is to play into the hands of antisupernaturalist critics, who are more than happy to use the same standard to deny all miracle claims in the Bible.

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Michael L. Brown, Authentic Fire: A Response to John MacArthur’s Strange Fire (Excel Publishers, Dec 12, 2013), 418 pages.

Authentic Fire, by Dr. Michael L. Brown, is a masterful answer to the intemperate and angry attack on Charismatic movement and Pentecostalism by John MacArthur in his work, Strange Fire.^[1] In the public launch to Strange Fire, MacArthur made clear his utter disdain for the Charismatic Movement in particular:

Nothing coming from the Charismatic movement has provided recovery or strengthening of the biblical Gospel. Nothing has preserved truth and sound doctrine. It has only produced distortion, confusion, and error. Yes, there are people in the movement who know and love the truth, have an orthodox Gospel, but are heterodox on the Holy Spirit. Not all of them are heretics. But I say again the contribution of truth from the people in the movement doesn’t come from the movement, but in spite of it …^[2]

Brown is one of the best-qualified persons in Christendom to answer MacArthur’s accusations. He converted from nominal Judaism into Pentecostal Christianity, and then for a season became a cessationist. However, his careful study of the scriptures showed him that cessationism was indefensible. Subsequently, mission trips to Third World areas showed Brown time and again that today God works powerful “signs and wonders”—just as in New Testament times. Well educated, Michael Brown holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, his dissertation was on the healing character of God in the Old Testament. He has written multiple books on a whole range of issues, from biblical commentaries to works on revival, and Jewish oriented apologetics.

In his pastoral and teaching roles of the Brownsville Revival, and in his numerous teaching positions at various Pentecostal and Evangelical seminaries, Brown has demonstrated his commitment to the Pentecostal/charismatic appreciation of the gifts of the Spirit. But Brown has also been a critic of the excesses within the Charismatic movement, especially the exaggerated prosperity theology so present in Christian TV ministries. One of his many books, The End of the American Gospel Enterprise, took special aim at this issue.^[3] In a recently released book he also criticizes, in his typical respectful but biblically forceful manner, the new “grace message” circulating in some charismatic churches. ^[4]

In fact, Brown may be considered among a special category of Christian theologian and critics—what I term, “prophetic critics.” That is, one who appreciates and affirms the moves of the Holy Spirit in revivals, but is critical of the improper “spillover” of revival, as when ministries and evangelists go beyond the bounds of scripture. In this august group one should first cite Jonathan Edwards, whose numerous writings both defended the First Great Awakening, but also critiqued its exaggerations.

Many past revivals have had such prophetic critics. For instance, Captain Kelso Carter was a leader of the first healing revival of modern Christianity, the Faith Cure Movement (1880s). However, he saw that many of its leaders were taking a wrong turn in advocating the rejection of medication as being contrary to healing prayer, and critiqued them for this.^[5] In the charismatic movement of the 1970s, Charles Farah, Jr., one of the early leaders of that movement, wrote a now classic critical work on the exaggerations of the Word Faith Movement, From the Pinnacle of the Temple.^[6] This work strongly criticized some of Kenneth Hagin’s teachings.