Tongues! Signs! Wonders! Are they operative in the church today? Samuel E. Waldron builds a systematic case for the complete cessation of the miraculous gifts as well as the offices of apostle and prophet. Building an insurmountable argument step by step, he shows that the Bible is quite clear on this issue. If you are struggling to come to grips with what the Bible says on this most important and oftentimes confusing topic, then this book is essential reading.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dr. Samuel Waldron is a prolific writer and teacher. His other books include The End Times Made Simple.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well done,
By
This review is from: To Be Continued?: Are the Miraculous Gifts for Today? (Paperback)
There are few subjects more debated and more hotly debated in the church today than whether or not the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit continue to this day. We have recently seen a great deal of discussion about this issue in the blogosphere. It is an issue which leaves many believers confused, unsure as to what they believe and what they should believe. Cessationists, who believe that the miraculous gifts have ceased, often point to the excesses of the charismatic movement as proof that God surely could not stand behind such manifestations of His Spirit. Many continuationists, who believe the gifts continue to be poured out on the church, suggest that it is unfair to rely on the extremes of the movement and point instead to the more biblical, moderate charismatics, among whom are often cited Sam Storms, John Piper, Wayne Grudem and C.J. Mahaney.
In an attempt to bring clarity to this issue I recently conducted interviews with Dr. Wayne Grudem and Dr. Sam Waldron. Dr. Waldron discussed a defense of cessationism he outlined in his new book To Be Continued. Dr. Waldron's argument is simple. If it can be proven that the gift of Apostle is no longer operative in the church today, and this is something that even many continuationists believe, that provides the opportunity to discuss the possibility that other gifts have also ceased. And so he argues from the greater to the lesser. If the gift of Apostle has ceased, so too can it be proven that the other miraculous gifts have ceased - gifts that include speaking in tongues, miracle working and prophecy. His argument naturally cascades from one point to the next. This is how Dr. Waldron summarized the argument of his book during the interview I conducted with him: That we must begin as cessationists with what is most clear in Scripture and it is also admitted by many continuationists, and that is that there are no longer "big A" Apostles, or what I might call, strictly speaking, Apostles of Christ or the church. But what I argue is that that is a great or even fatal admission for continuationists to make, and it is also something that's made plain in the Scriptures. If there are no Apostles of Christ that creates the precedent for saying that, at least in certain respects, the apostolic period and the church today are distinctly different because the absence of Apostles of Christ is a great difference between the apostolic period and today. The first gift, the most important gift, is now missing in the church. I think that exposes a fundamental flaw in continuationist argument and in the mockery of cessationism that you meet in some circles. Then I argue that if Apostles are no longer in the church that creates a precedent for discussing the issue of whether prophets are in the church. And then I bring, on the basis of the absence of the Apostolic gift, arguments for the absence of the prophetic gift. And then on the basis of those two things I argue that tongues-speaking was a form of prophecy and on the basis of the precedent set by the absence of Apostles and prophets, we may also argue the absence of tongues-speakers. And with those three arguments set and clear I then proceed to say that we can also argue that miracle workers are no longer given to the church. And therefore you have a kind of cascade from Apostles to prophets to tongues-speakers to miracle workers. I found Dr. Waldron's argument both compelling and forceful. It is infused with Scripture and whether a person agrees or disagrees with it, he will not be able to say that the author has not attempted to be faithful to Scripture. Finally, the book is generous. Dr. Waldron does not argue against worst-case scenarios and does not argue against some of the more bizarre and patently-unbiblical manifestations of the charismatic movement. Instead he seeks to answer the Grudems and Pipers - moderate charismatics who are known more for their love of and respect for Scripture than for believing in the continuing gifts. It is telling that this book is endorsed by such notable cessationists as John MacArthur, Tom Nettles, and Al Mohler. This is clearly a book that cessationists feel puts forth a convincing argument. To Be Continued is quite a short book and one does not require a degree in theology to read and understand it. It is adequately supported by Scripture and not merely theological but also deeply practical. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking to understand whether or not the miraculous gifts continue to be operative in the church today.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gets right to the point!! Short and sweet...,
By
This review is from: To Be Continued?: Are the Miraculous Gifts for Today? (Paperback)
In "To Be Continued" Sam Waldron presents an excellent case for the cessation of the New Testament miracle gifts. And not only does he present a compelling case, but he does so from a reformed perspective. Contrary to other works on the subject, Waldron builds his case on the foundation of the Apostles. In other words, if there are no Apostles alive today, then there is no prophecy, no miracle-workers, and no tongue speaking.
The first few chapters dealt with the issue of the Apostles. Waldron brilliantly demonstrated that there can be no Apostles alive today. He did this in a number of ways; 1. The church was founded upon the apostles 2. Apostles were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ 3. The Apostles were chosen personally by Christ These were a few of the many criteria that Waldron based his claim on. There is no way any man today can claim to be an Apostle because he simply would not be able to fulfill these claims. Another interesting concept was modern-day prophecy. Are there prophets alive today? Is God still giving divine revelation? These questions and many more were answered by Waldron as he refuted many of the latest objections to the cessation of modern prophecy. Personally, I've encountered more than a few alleged modern prophecies. And I can now say with certainty that these were false prophets. How do I know? Because if even one prophecy is found to be false, then the prophet is false. This is the one area of Pentecostalism that I find most disturbing. When anyone claims a "thus saith the Lord" they are claiming that the Bible is not complete and sufficient. They may not claim this or agree, but there is no way else to put it. Does the Bible not contain all the revelation and prophecy that we will ever need to live our lives? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 seem to say so! So why are Pentecostals continuing to give modern prophecy? Why isn't the Word of God enough? One thing that I found to be extremely helpful was the discussion of 1 Corinthians 13:8-13. Until I read Waldron's work, I used this passage as evidence that prophecy and tongues had ceased with the completion of the canon ("that which is perfect"). I was honestly awestruck to find that Waldron didn't agree with this interpretation. He claimed that both the cessationists and continuationists were wrong. The passage had nothing to do with the gifts themselves, but rather the knowledge that was given through the gifts. But fortunately, the case against continuationism is so compelling that we are not dependent on such passages to refute the assertions of Pentecostals. Overall, I found Waldron's work to be short and to the point. It wasn't filled with hundreds of quotes and long discussions. In fact, "To Be Continued" is only a little over a hundred pages long. But the discussions were very in depth. However, I feel that Waldron should have made a slightly lengthier book simply because it wasn't as enjoyable to read as I had hoped. However, I gained much insight and I highly recommend it to anyone who is seeking to understand more about this important topic that is pervading the church today.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
To Be Continued? . . .,
By Dr. David L. Bell (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
This review is from: To Be Continued?: Are the Miraculous Gifts for Today? (Paperback)
The previous two reviewers did an excellent job summarizing the purpose, content, and line of argumentation of the book. Therefore, I will not belabor those points. Dr. Waldron uses the cascade argument quite effectively to prove his main point: the miraculous gifts ceased with the end of the apostolic age and close of the biblical canon.
In this review, I want to stress the importance and usefulness of the book. I am concerned about the growing influx of the charismatic movement in evangelical theology, especially in light of the "third wave" theology promoted by some evangelical pastors and scholars. My concern becomes particularly acute as I see the charismatic movement making inroads in my own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. I believe the charismatic movement has a divisive influence when it penetrates local churches and denominations that are not historically charismatic. I can name local churches that are right now being torn apart over divisions caused by members who adopt charismatic beliefs and practices. The main problem is that too many evangelical pastors and theologians have never wrestled with the main claims of the charismatics. Thus, they do not have a clear response when their fellow pastors and parishoners begin to dabble with charismatic theology. These pastors and theologians tend to "ride the fence" when asked about these issues. Many of them may have a gut-level feeling that the movement is wrong, but they do not have a good biblical foundation to support their feelings. Dr. Waldron has provided a valuable solution to the problem. "To Be Continued?" is a brief, effective treatise that provides evangelicals with a firm biblical foundation to respond to the charismatic movement. This book helps us to become clear-headed in our thinking in this area. It is also written in a style that is accessible to the layman and brief enough that it can be read in one sitting. (I took this book with me on vacation, settled down in a lawn chair, and finished it in a couple of hours.) I especially liked two things about this book. First, his handling of the question of modern-day Apostles is devastating to the opposition. He proves beyond any doubt that there can be no "big A" Apostles after the close of the biblical canon. Therefore, the third wave movement and its relatives are destroyed at the foundation. Second, he ends the book on a very inspiring note. Chapter 9, "Has the Glory Departed?" provides an excellent discussion of one of the parables of Jesus. Dr. Waldron leaves no doubt: the glory has not departed! even if the miraculous gifts have ceased. I commend this book to any evangelicals who wish to think more clearly and more biblically about the charismatic movement. I especially commend it to those pastors and churches who are even now being divided by charismatic influences.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
