Two Faiths?

The term “Signs and Wonders” appears some twenty times in the Bible.  In the Old Testament, signs and wonders were used by God to show He is the ultimate authority in the universe: He could bring the plagues on Egypt, save Daniel from the lions’ den, even stand with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.  With God, impossible is often just the starting point.

In the New Testament, Jesus used signs and wonders to show who He was, the truth of His message, and His authority:

Mark 2:10-12 (ESV)  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Miracles lent authority to Jesus’ words, but should we base our faith on signs and wonders?  Scripture says “no” for some very good reasons.  Signs can be used by the enemy as well as by God.  They can be used to mislead:

Matt. 24:24 (ESV)  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Because of the emotion and the curiosity brought by miracles, we can be drawn into becoming a “miracle groupie.”  We can end up seeking out miracles for personal interest and thrill.  We don’t see mature Christians doing this in Scripture.  It is the new Christian and the lost who want their curiosity satisfied.

Miracles are meant to give credibility to the message of the gospel.  Centering on the miracles, though, in a very real way discounts the gospel.

Jesus had enough of people seeking signs and wonders and told them so (Matt. 12:39, 16:4; Mark 8:12).  Many are drawn at rumors of miracles not for the message but for the “show.”  Even atheists will often ask for a sign to prove Jesus is Who He says He is, make Him their personal bell hop.

The church has lost many followers over the centuries as these folks look for new experiences, new feelings, emotional highs.  Since Jesus spoke against such things, where should we look? It is in God’s Word we find all we need to walk the Christian walk:

2 Tim. 3:16 (ESV)  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not speaking against miracles here.  I’ve seen miracles in my own life including a friend miraculously healed.  In fact, my faith – like yours – is founded on the greatest miracle of all which was performed 2,000 years ago when our Savior raised His own body from the dead.  What’s dangerous to God’s church, though, is faith founded on emotion or seeking signs rather than on the Word of God.

Why is this important?

In John chapter four, we see two distinct groups of people interested in what Jesus had to offer.  I think this exemplifies the church today.  The Samaritans in Sychar believed Jesus was the Savior of the world because of what they had heard from Him (vs. 4:42), and the Galileans (vs. 4:45) were much more interested in seeing Jesus do more miracles.  These were probably the same bunch who saw Jesus do signs earlier:

John 2:23-25 (ESV)  Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Note Jesus didn’t “entrust” Himself to them here and didn’t seem to trust the folks among them from Galilee:

John 4:48 (ESV)  So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

The “you” in both cases in this statement is plural in Greek.  Jesus was speaking to them all, not just one person.

We as Christians have a choice: do we rest our faith on God’s instruction book or on personal experience and the “Jesus Show” many Christians and non-Christians pursue?  The former leads to a much deeper faith and closeness to our Savior.  The latter leads to a shallow faith and disappointment – if it leads anywhere at all.