People are so happy when they leave cessationism behind. At times there remains some resentment as they slam the door on the heresy, having wasted so much time to it, and having suffered so much because of it. Some of them could only watch as they lost sick friends to cessationism, because they never knew that they could receive healing from God by faith. Any glimmer of hope they saw from the Bible was decimated by the intimidating ramblings of their seminary-manufactured pastors. Their friends died, and they never even tried to grasp what was before them in the word of God. It was within reach. It was right in front of them! Cessationists killed them.

They sometimes tell me they had the sense that something was wrong with the doctrines they received. The things they learned from Christian leaders did not match what the Bible said. On the other hand, the so-called charismatics appeared unable to explain themselves, and they even appeared repulsive, especially when seen through the constant criticisms of the cessationists. There are competent charismatic scholars, but these people did not know them. There was nowhere for them to turn. Their hearts were restless because they sensed that the truth was different from what they were told, but at the same time what they were told kept them contained. They felt trapped. They became prisoners in their own minds. They became unable to grasp or accept the word of God. The Bible calls this a demonic stronghold.

God’s word is not bound. It penetrates the soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It invades men’s inner dungeons and sets them ablaze with fire. As I declared the truth from the Bible — the same Bible they had all along — and harshly condemned cessationism, it was as if the prison doors were blown aside. Some of them would express tremendous gratitude. What joy and liberation! Happy is the one who has been set free to have faith in God. They needed someone to give them “permission” to leave false tradition and to follow after Christ. I was not the one who delivered them, but with biblical doctrines and arguments, and with candid rhetorics, I offered a choice that was denied to them. Then the matter was between them and God. When God worked in their hearts, they threw off their chains and embraced the truth.

Of course, when confronted with the truth, some people harden their hearts even more. When the word of God comes, you can never remain the same. You will either accept it and get better, or you will reject it and become worse. Jesus said, “Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him” (Matthew 13:12). The people think they know a lot, but if they reject the word of God that comes from us, even what they have will become ineffectual in their lives. They will lose their light, and their knowledge will turn against them.

Unbelief carries its own punishment. God can arrange a feast in front of them, and they cannot recognize what is before them. It is a degrading existence. I present the matter in a way that those who have “eyes that see and ears that hear” (Matthew 13:16) will embrace the truth, and those who do not will commit even more to the lie. This is precisely what happens. As Isaiah said, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:13-15). They point their fingers at me, but they are offended by the word of God, and Satan steals it from their hearts. Each time he does this to one of them, he also tears out a piece of his soul. The man begins to die from within, and he eventually becomes a walking corpse, a religious zombie.

You can show the Bible to them, and read it to them like they are children, but nothing registers, and they keep rehearsing the same excuses in protest. When you speak to them, they are like those who have been brainwashed by the cults. Something has hijacked their minds. They cannot reason with you intelligently. The exchange makes no sense. They never win, but they persist. They often refuse to interact with your points, but they still think they are justified. The next time you see them, it starts all over again as if the previous conversation never happened. It is bizarre. What is this? Their hearts have hardened. Their minds are fortified by a demonic stronghold that filters out the truth. God can deliver them, but until then, they are stuck in a rancid pile of cessationism.

The topic indeed demands strong language. It concerns the heart of the gospel. It concerns the place of Christ the Mediator, his position at the right hand of God. Cessationism is as serious and sinister as any heresy. It must not be discussed with academic detachment, but with bloodcurdling earnest. It is serious in principle, but also serious in consequence. Is this a God of secret providence, or also a God of evident demonstration? Is he a God who hides, or a God who shows? The answer makes a difference to all the church and all of humanity. Still, I coerce no one. I have no power to compel other people’s hearts. I cannot harm them or punish them. They can believe what they want, and God will hold them accountable. To those who have faith, the topic itself is not a harsh one. There is no struggle or judgment. It is the gospel. It is good news from God, the power to save and help all those who believe.