False Arguments for Performing Miracles Today
In defense of the existence of modern-day miracles some have argued, “Take away the supernatural from Christianity, and Christianity ceases to exit.” However, a miracle is more than just a supernatural event. Prayer and divine forgiveness by God are supernatural events in Christianity. Miracles are supernatural events that supersede the laws of nature. Yet there is a plethora of other arguments used by today’s miracle workers.
Argument #1: “God Does Not Change, So Miracles Must Continue”
God does not change. “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6). It is argued that since God does not change miracles must continue. God has the power to make men out of dust and women out of ribs, and He once did it, but he is not doing that anymore. God changed his mind about the destruction Nineveh in the book of Jonah. Will there be miracles in Heaven throughout eternity? God is love, God is jealous, etc. His nature does not change. Check the context.
Hebrews 13:8 reads, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Jesus performed miracles in the past; therefore, miracles must be performed today according to the logic of some. This is an example of “proof-texting.” This is where someone takes a passage out of context to prove one of their beliefs. This verse in questions was written to give encouragement to the saints that God was with then as always – examine the context! Jesus has changed many times. He was in heaven. He came to earth as a man. He was the Messiah and now He is King of kings. This argument demands Jesus must still performing miracles in heaven. This is illogical because heaven in a spiritual realm not governed by the Laws of nature.
Argument #2: “Healing is in the Promise of Atonement”
Pentecostal denominations hold that Atonement for sins is directly connected to divine healing. Therefore, without healing there can be no atonement. “Is Divine Healing in the Atonement? We believe it is….” (F.F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer, pp. 25,38). “Divine healing, as we teach and believe, is altogether a product of the atoning merit of Christ’ sacrifice on the cross. ‘He bore our sicknesses on the tree’ and ‘by his stripes we are healed’” (Pentecostal Holiness Discipline, 1957).
Is physical healing promised in the Atonement? Look at the proof-text they are using: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:4-5). Now compare this prophecy with Jesus’ fulfillment in Matthew 8:16-17: “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” The healing is primarily spiritual and not physical. Sin is like a disease which needs healing (Is. 1:5-60).
Jesus is the healer of our sins. He said, “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ “ (Matt. 13:15). Again, He said, “so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn’” (Mark 4:12).
If physical healing is in the atonement and all a person has to do is “claim his healing,” why did Paul leave Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20). Paul did not tell him to “claim his healing” and come with him? Paul could have healed Timothy’s stomach problems and oft infirmities (1 Tim. 5:23), but he did not.
If physical healing is in the atonement, it should be as common as spiritual atonement. All disciples should be healed. Christians should live free of disease while atheists suffer infirmities. Why did Oral Roberts build a hospital?
Argument #3: “Do Not Test Us by Seeking a Sign”
Ask a faith healer to prove his claim by working a miracle and he will say, “I won’t because you’re tempting God”? Many have tested God like Gideon (Judg. 6:36-40). King Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel ”…tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation” (Dan. 2:9). Anyone could make up a false interpretation for the king’s dream, only God can know the dreams the come to a man during sleep. Not once did Daniel accuse King Nebuchadnezzar of tempting God. “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Dan. 2:47).
We are told “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign” (Matt. 12:38-40. Jesus did give that generation and every generation since a sign: the sign of Jonah which is the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Today, many are seeking a sign but others are not allowed to question these so-called “signs”. The Pharisees were condemned, not because they did not believe in Jesus’ performance of miracles. They had rejected the ample evidence of miracles by demanding and demanding more evidence. If men today were performing miracles as the first century Christians did, we would not have to ask. John commanded us thus, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Argument #4: “Faith of the Recipient of the Miracle is Required”
When the “faith healer” fails in their attempt to heal someone, who is to blame? The failure is not on the part of the “faith healer” is their explanation. They claim, “Healing does not fail because of the Will of God, but because of the unbelief of his children.” They will tell the person who was not healed, “It is your own fault you are not healed: you do not have enough faith” This gives the “faith healer” a great advantage. In the medical field when a surgery does not work or a medicine does not help, the blame is almost never put upon the patient.
Consider the role of faith in the miracles of Jesus. Sometimes faith was present in the person healed. However, Jesus did not require faith in order for the person to be healed, for example, the two blind men near Jericho (Matt. 20:29-34); the leper (Matt. 8:1-4); the woman with an issue of blood (Matt. 9:20-22); the man with withered hand (Matt. 12:10-13); many healed in Gennesaret (Matt. 14:34-36); the impotent man in John 5:1-47; and finally, the man blind from birth (John 9:1-7). This blind man did not even know who Jesus was until after he was healed. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The formerly blind man responded by saying, “And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”(John 9:35-38).
Others were healed based upon the faith of others, such as, the daughter of Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:21-28); the demoniac child (Matt. 17:14-21); the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54); the palsied man (Matt. 9:1-6) and the centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:5-13).
Then we have a unique category of those healed who evidenced no faith in Jesus at all. Consider the two demoniacs at Gadara (Matt. 8:28-34); many near Galilee (Matt. 15:29-31); the deaf and dumb men (Mark 7:31-37); the blind men at Bethsaida (Mark. 8:22-26); and again, many at Galilee (Matt. 4:23-24); the man of Capernaum (Matt. 8:16-17); the demoniac in Capernaum synagogue (Mark 1:21-28) and the servant of Malchus (Matt. 26:47-56).
Faith was not always required on the part of the one upon whom a miracle was performed. Miracles do not REQUIRE faith, they PRODUCE faith – by simple observation!
However, in contrast, the faith of the miracle Worker is required. When the disciples failed to cast out a demon from a boy “Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly” (Matt. 17:20). Furthermore, “the prayer of faith will save the sick” (James 5:15). Paul prayed three times to be healed. God said “no.” But God’s negative answer was not due to Paul’s lack of faith (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
Argument #5: “Miraculous Signs are Promised to Believers”
Some use Mark 16:17-18 as a proof-text that the ability to perform miracles was promised to all believers: “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18). The context shows this was promised to the Apostles. The apostles did perform these miracles promised to them (Acts 16:16-18; 2:1-4; 28:4-6; Acts 3:6-7). The only act not directly confirmed is the drinking of a “deadly thing.”
The purpose of these miracles by the apostles was to confirm the Word they preached. “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20). This is not the purpose of modern-day faith healers. In fact, most of their preaching is not the Truth. They don’t even teach Mark 16:16: “He that believes and is baptized will be saved.” Instead, they teach one believes and is saved and later gets baptized.
– Daniel R. Vess