and the scripture:
(Mark 2:10-11) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Albert Garner also points to Lazarus' rising from the dead:
'At the tomb of Lazarus, our Lord performed a miracle in calling Lazarus forth. He did not do it just to make Mary and Martha happy, but for the sake of the unbelievers who were standing by.'
The scripture:
John 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
So.. that is what miracles are for.
For the unbeliever.
Again, this is a very narrow way of viewing things. Sure, we know that this miracle was done so that people might believe. Why did Jesus walk on water without anyone but His disciples present to watch, then? Why would Ananias and Saphira drop dead, probably with only believers there present to view it?
It's what tongues are for also.. for the unbeliever.. 1Co_14:22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
I was in a Bible quiz program as a teen and memorized I Corinthians as the first book I memorized. I don't know how many times I repeated that verse to learn to quote it, like the rest of the verses, and how long I repeated it afterwards when I quoted the chapter. But I never interpreted the verse the way you did. I think the cessationist lens really effects how some people read this verse.
In the verse we see that tongues is [a sign for them that believe not.] It doesn't mean that tongues are only exclusively for them that believe not. That would contradict the rest of the passage. Tongues, to them that believe not, serve as a sign. To say that tongues are ONLY a sign for them that believe not is to say that Paul was wrong earlier in the book when he lists tongues and interpretation among the gifts that profit the body. It would mean that Paul's argument before and after this verses, running throughout much of the chapter, that tongues should be interpreted to edify the assembly, is false.
No one is saying the Holy Spirit is no longer active today. But that some are saying He has put down some tools He used in the past and now can use the Bible to guide men without need for signs and wonders.
God did not have to give signs and wonders in the first century. If He had any obligation, it was only insofar that He had prophecies about such things to fulfill. They did not have any right to demand signs and wonders from God. God could forgive people in the first century without signs and wonders. The people said that John did no miracle, but Jesus pointed out that tax collectors and prostitutes repented at the teaching of John the Baptist.
So sure, God can guide through the Bible without signs and wonders. But the Bible does not teach that God stopped doing signs and wonders because we have the Bible. that's man made theology. The idea that miracles were needed to confirm the Bible and were no longer necessary is also man-made doctrine. It is not taught in scripture.
Cessationism seems to be based on reading 'only's into the text where they aren't there. You find a verse that indicates that a miracle served a certain purpose, and then extrapolate that miracles ONLY served that purpose or a certain other set of purposes, while ignoring other scriptures about other functions of miracles.
I can't say that cessationism is based on one approach. This relatively new belief of cessationism, which is not taught in scripture btw, is based on very different and sometimes contradictory arguments.