I had intended to do a round-up of recent debate in blogosphere, but I need to get something off my chest. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that only non-Charismatics have really taken the New Covenant Age of the Spirit seriously. Charismatics are still stuck in the Old Testament age. They’re not New Testament believers – they’re Old Testament believers.

Let me explain what I mean.

The Gift of Prophecy

Take the gift of prophecy for example. Many cessationists are happy to acknowledge that the gift of prophecy is a New Covenant gift for all believers. The cessationist Richard Gaffin, writes this:

…according to the New Testament all believers are prophets; the whole church is a congregation of prophets. Analogous to the Reformation insistence on the universal priesthood of believers, we may speak of the ‘prophethood’ of all within the new covenant community…¹

The charismatic on the other hand believes that there are only some New Testament believes who are gifted as prophets. The majority of us don’t have that office. And so, just like the Old Testament priests and prophets, there is a spiritual hierarchy, and those who are not prophets must go to those who are to find out what God’s will is for them.

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For the last two years The Royal Bank of Scotland has conducted a survey to discover how students spend their money. They report that the ‘average’ student spends £51.48 purely on entertainment, during every single week of term. That doesn’t include the £15.82 spent on clothes and cigarettes. Isn’t it staggering that a student can afford to spend hundreds of pounds every month simply on keeping themselves entertained? But before you start to heap all the blame on students, take a look at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s report:

What many do not consider is the escalating cost of enjoying a student lifestyle. Not only do students have to budget for obvious costs such as rent and socialising, but there are also many hidden extras: …like food, …library fees and course books.

Now perhaps I’m just being old fashioned here, but I thought the point of going to university was to learn! Not according to the bank. Library fees and course books are thought of as a hidden extra. The obvious cost, is the cost of socialising. And who thought to put the cost of food on the list of ‘hidden extras’?

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I’ve been tremendously helped by Dan Doriani’s A Man After God’s Heart which I’d thoroughly recommend to every Christian man. It’s honest, biblical, and Christ-centered. The extract below is one I can certainly relate to:

The man after God’s heart is a sinner, and everywhere he goes, he participates in societies of sinners. At work he puts down his rivals; he shades the truth to get a slight advantage. At home he rebukes his children a little too harshly for sins he showed them how to commit. With a friend, he puts up an argument even when he knows he is wrong, because he would rather be wrong than appear to be wrong. In athletic contests and checkout lines, he chooses not to correct errors made in his favour. He would weep over it all if he were not so cold. I know it; at least I know it, we think. We cling to the Gospel, but even our clinging is tainted because we are too glad that our sin is covered, and not sorry enough that we did it. We even need to repent of our repentance… The man after God’s heart knows this and so returns again and again to the beloved Gospel.