#29 Jesse Barden - Cessationism vs Continuationism

Today we welcome on a fellow ID brother Jesse to discuss the debate of cessationism vs continuationism. This is a discussion on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and if they still exist today as they did in the early church. Jesse has spent considerable time in both camps and considers himself sort of in the middle now, which is how the 3 of us would also consider ourselves. Further definitions of the 2 concepts below.

Continuationism is the belief that all the spiritual gifts, including healings, tongues, and miracles, are still in operation today, just as they were in the days of the early church. A continuationist believes that the spiritual gifts have “continued” unabated since the Day of Pentecost and that today’s church has access to all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible.

Cessationism is a doctrine that spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing ceased with the Apostolic Age. The doctrine was developed in the reformation and is particularly associated with the Calvinists. More recent development has tended to focus on other spiritual gifts too, owing to the advent of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement that have popularized a radical continuationism – the position that the spiritual gifts are meant for all Christians in every age.