SUPERNATURAL GIFTS TODAY? by steve finnell

Supernatural gifts were used in the first two hundred years of the church to confirm the gospel plan of salvation.

Hebrews 2:3-4 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken  through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. (NASB)

The gospel plan of salvation was confirmed by sign, wonders, and miracles. The key here is, was confirmed. It has already been confirmed. There is no need for more confirmation. There is only one Jesus and one gospel. The Bible has all we need to understand and believe the truth of the gospel.

Mark 16:17-20 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" 19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down  at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed word by signs that followed. (NASB)

Did first century Christians speak languages that they had never learned? Yes. Were they hurt by deadly serpents? No. Did they heal the sick? Yes. Did they perform miracles? Yes. This was all true. It was in order to confirm the gospel plan of salvation. We do not need the gospel to be reconfirmed, we have God's written word, the Bible.

Can you name one modern-day Christian who can raise men from the dead? No, you cannot. The apostle Peter did just that.(Acts 9:36-42)

Can you name one missionary who can go to country and speak  in a language he does not know and the people will  understand the gospel message? No, you cannot. The apostles did just that. (Acts 2:5-11)

Can Christians today lay hands on the diseased people of an entire island and heal them all? No, they cannot. The apostle Paul accomplished the feat. (Acts 28:8-9)

Can contemporary Christians be bitten by poisonous snakes and not be harmed. No, they cannot they become sick and sometimes die. The apostle Paul was not harmed by a poisonous snake bite. (Acts 28: 3-6)

1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.(NASB) Did the first century Christians have these gifts? Yes, they did.

Do modern Christians need the supernatural gifts of tongues, knowledge, and prophecy to confirm that the gospel plan of salvation is true? No, the truth is confirmed in the Bible.

The gospel was confirmed in the first two hundred years of the church of Christ. We have the Bible, God's truth has been confirmed. God's truth does not need to be reconfirmed.

There are no supernatural gifts in the church today.