What about miracles today: Part 3
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Searching the Scriptures
David A. Bass, Rockford Church of Christ
No Bible believer denies the miracles of the Bible! Throughout the Bible we see the mighty hand of
God working with great power. Our desire in this series of columns continues to be to answer the question, “Are miracles still being performed today?”
Miracles that occurred in the Bible were undeniable. They were not performed in an obscure place among unknown people. For example, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11). Jesus knew that he was sick, but He intentionally waited so that he would arrive after he had been in the grave for four days.
Why? Let’s read John 11:4,6,15, “When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. (6) When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. (15) And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.”
Jesus wanted to use this to create faith in the hearts of his disciples and in others.
In Acts 3 Peter and John healed a man who had been “lame from his mother’s womb” (forty years –
Acts 4:22) in front of the temple in Jerusalem. This man’s healing occurred “immediately” (Acts 3:7-8) and according to verses 9 and 10, “all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.”
In Acts 4 we find the High Priest, the elders, rulers, and scribes making the statement, “What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it” (Acts 4:16).
Miracles were to confirm the word spoken and to produce faith in the hearer. We read in Mark 16:20,
“And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”
Again the Bible says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” (Hebrews 2:3-4).
The New Testament was not yet written in its completed form. Those preaching the gospel needed to prove (confirm) that their message was from God.
The miracles that Jesus performed were to prove that He is the Son of God. John wrote, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:30-31).
The miracles that the apostles and others performed were to prove that their message was from God. Today, the New Testament is finished and we have God’s complete revelation.
Jude 3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” This phrase is literally, “one time for all time” (see Hebrews 9:28 “Christ was once offered”).
Miracles have served their purposes of proving the deity of Jesus and confirming the word of God.
Since the word has been confirmed it is forever proven. Next week we will see that miracles were never intended to be permanent.
Send your comments or questions to: Dabass1962@bellsouth.net.
Join us for Bible study on Sunday at 9 a.m. and at 10:00 for worship. We meet right down Highway
231 near Dollar General in Rockford.
