Popular Myths about Evangelism No 7: Charismatic Gifts are for use within the Body of Christ

Another related myth is to say that the Gifts died out with the Apostles. Both statements would keep the use of Gifts of the Spirit out of Evangleism.

Isn't it funny how, when people quote the following scripture:

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:15-16

They conveniently leave out what it goes on to say:

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Mark 16:15-18

And remember - it is widely accepted that this was added after Mark wrote his Gospel - after the days of the Apostles, in other words.

I believe as follows:

1. We should specifically seek the Lord for and pray for for the baptism/filling/empowering of the Holy Spirit for ourselves and others.

2. We should seek the power of the Holy Spirit in our evangelism before we go out to preach the gospel.

3. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for use in evangelism, not just building up the church.

4. When we preach the gospel we should expect ‘signs following’ to confirm our message
Healing and other signs are an aid to evangelism because, (i) They help people to see that the Gospel is the truth, (ii) They speed up God’s judgement on those who refuse to believe, (iii) They create natural opportunities for preaching the Gospel to people who who would otherwise not listen, (iv) They point to God’s nature as a merciful, gracious God, (v) They point to the present and future Kingdom of God in which healing, deliverance and wholeness prevail.

5. Evangelism with healing and signs results in a bigger harvest of souls, that is more people are saved.

6. As well as ‘positive’ signs, such as healing and deliverance, ‘negative’ signs such as blindness, illness and death sometimes occur to those who oppose the Gospel or fail to act in the fear of the Lord.

7. Those who have a ministry of healing, deliverance and signs invariably suffer persecution, particularly from religious people.

8. There are accounts throughout church history of signs used to accompany the preaching of the gospel.

9. True gifts can and do get counterfeited and misused. Those who exercise them can become proud and fall into the Devil’s condemnation. Or they can lose their first love, compromise to avoid persecution or become hard-hearted, religious or corrupted by power.

I write as somebody who was led to the Lord by someone from a Charismatic Brethren background (yes, I know that’s something of an oxymoron). I came to Christ with a repentant heart and I was prayed for very soon afterwards to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I had a very real experience of the Holy Spirit. My Christian upbringing has mostly been in or near to Charismatic or Pentecostal believers. And believe me, in that time I have seen my share of wacky stuff, been taught some weird things, heard plenty of false prophecies and seen plenty of people in Christian ministry whose lives are in poor shape spiritually and morally.

Early on in my Christian walk, I was affected the chaotic approach to teaching among some of the Christians around me. I soon had to resolve not to listen to every bit of advice I was given, but to weigh everything up against scripture. I sought out teachers who accepted spiritual gifts and who were strong in the scriptures, like Timothy Pain, Derek Prince and David Pawson.

In my time I have often ended up at odds with people, including leaders where I have felt that there has been compromise over scriptural truth because of convenience, the fear of men, sloppy interpretation of scripture, absence of church discipline, failure to take sin seriously, pursuit of the sensational and so on. It hasn’t always made church life easy for me and I have had to conclude that in spite of all the talk of revival, church growth and evangelism, the church in the UK is mostly in a pretty dreadful state.

I can add that I have learned a huge amount in recent years from people who are either cessationists or at least do not emphasise the miraculous.

I have more to write on this, and it is turning into a long post. I want to deal later with some of the popular objections to the assertions I have just made.

See you!

McM