Article Examines Concept of Functional Cessationism Within Modern Evangelicalism

A recent commentary explores the concept of "functional cessationism," arguing that individuals or churches may hold cessationist views even if they identify as Charismatic or Pentecostal. The author defines cessationism as the belief that certain spiritual gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, as described in Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, are no longer active in the contemporary church.

The piece suggests that "evangelical rationalists" often demystify Scripture by filtering biblical truth through human reason. According to the author, a person acts as a functional cessationist if they do not believe in, practice, or experience divine spiritual phenomena, such as the five-fold ministry gifts or the belief that God speaks subjectively outside of the written Word. The author contends that while true Christians must believe in the supernatural reality of the resurrection and the new birth, some believers inconsistently apply an anti-supernatural worldview to the ongoing operation of spiritual gifts.