MIRACLES-ABUSED
[Miraculous
gifts] were not for the possession of the primitive Christian as such; nor for
that matter of the Apostolic Church or the Apostolic
age for themselves; they were distinctively the authentication of the Apostles.
They were part of the credentials of the apostles as the authoritative agents
of God in founding the church. Their function thus confirmed them to
distinctively the Apostolic Church, and they necessarily passed away with it.
B.B. Warfield
Counterfeit Miracles, Banner of Truth, 1918, p. 6.
Any
sensationalism inevitably is frustrated by the law of diminishing returns. People
are never satisfied. They always want one more sign, one more miracle, one more
show. To have maintained His influence over the people by the use of miracles,
Jesus would have had to produce greater and greater sensations. Because the
natural, carnal heart can never be satisfied, this year’s miracle would have
become next year’s bore. His followers would only have been lovers of
sensation, not lovers of God.
John MacArthur
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary
Matthew 1-7, Moody, 1985, p. 94-95.
Demanding
sensational proof is not evidence of faith but of doubt. To
long for the visible sign, the big miracle, the dramatic proof is nothing but
masked unbelief. It is the farthest thing from faith.
John MacArthur
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary
Matthew 1-7, Moody, 1985, p. 94.
The truth
is, those who claim miracles today are not able to
substantiate their claims. Unlike the miracles in the New Testament, which were
usually done with crowds of unbelievers watching, modern miracles typically
happen either privately or in religious meetings. The types of miracles
claimed, too, are nothing like New Testament miracles. Jesus and the apostles
instantly and completely healed people born blind, a paralytic, a man with a withered arm – all obvious, indisputable
miracles. Even Jesus’ enemies did not challenge the reality of His miracles!
Moreover, New Testament miracles were immediate, thorough, and permanent. Our
Lord and His disciples never did a miracle slowly or incompletely.
John MacArthur
Charismatic Chaos, Zondervan, © John MacArthur, 1992, p. 132, www.zondervan.com.
Peter knew a
sounder basis for faith than that of signs and wonders. He had seen our Lord
Jesus Christ receive honor and glory from God the Father in the holy mount; he
had been dazzled and carried out of himself by visions and voices from heaven;
but, nevertheless, even when his memory and heart are throbbing with
recollections of that sublime scene, he says, “We have something surer still in
the prophetic word.”… It was not the miracles of Christ by which he came to
know Jesus, but the word of Christ as interpreted by the Spirit of Christ.
Samuel Cox
Cited
in Marvin Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament: 2 Peter, Eerdmans, 1980,
p. 687.
Though
miracles of all types did speak of Christ’s divine origin and were instrumental
in authenticating His and His apostles’ message (see Jn. 3:2; 10:38; Heb.
2:1-4), Christ surprisingly did not appreciate those who sought for a
sign. Herod was among them (Luke 23:8). In fact, Jesus said, “An evil and
adulterous generation craves for a sign” (Matt. 12:39).
Jim Elliff
Seeking Miraculous Healings: Musings and Cautions,
Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.
Ultimately,
no sign, miracle, wonder, or gift will persuade a person to believe if God has
not opened his heart to receive the word (cf. Acts 16:14; Lk. 16:27-31)… Many who see signs will at first appear to believe,
yet will still be unconverted. “Many believed in His name, observing the signs
which He was doing,” said John. “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting
Himself to them” (John 2:23-24). Why not? John says it was because Jesus knew
their hearts (v. 25). Seekers may be entranced by the miraculous and look as
though they are true believers, yet still be unchanged
in their hearts.
Jim Elliff
Seeking Miraculous Healings: Musings and Cautions,
Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.
My appeal is
for you to rest in God’s sovereign will and to put more emphasis on developing
discipline in your life, learning and practicing God’s Word, becoming holier in
word and spirit, proclaiming the gospel, and “engaging in good deeds” (cf.
Titus 2:14; 3:1, 8, 14), rather than being enamored with the pursuit of visible
signs. Be careful about following those who can turn miracles on at 7 p.m. during
a certain meeting. Pray and trust at all times, but do not become absorbed in a
lust for miraculous signs like the wicked and adulterous generation Christ
spoke of (Mt. 12:39). It will be an illusory journey that will often disappoint
you.
Jim Elliff
Seeking Miraculous Healings: Musings and Cautions,
Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.
God did
not rescue Paul in Asia (2 Cor. 1:8-11) or spare Epaphroditus from death (Phil.
1:27) in order to encourage others to seek a miraculous deliverance from
affliction. Rather, these acts of deliverance were intended to encourage Paul
and the rest of God's people to endure suffering in their own lives as a
profound testimony of God's sufficiency (2 Cor. 1:6; 4:7-12; Phil. 4:6). This
side of Christ's return, God does not reveal His power and love in our lives
primarily by performing miracles but by enabling us to persevere in the midst
of adversity because of our trust in Him. God rescued Paul in the past to teach
him to trust God for his future, in order that he might endure in the present.
Scott Hafemann
Why do God's People Suffer? by
Scott Hafemann taken from The God of Promise and the Life of Faith by Scott
Hafemann, copyright 2001, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers,
Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org,
page 152.
Some would
suggest that Jesus was “seeker sensitive” in that He worked His miracles in
order to attract large crowds to which He could share the gospel. But in
several passages it is plain this is not His motive: Mark 5:43; 7:36; 8:26, 30;
and Luke 4:9-12 (and these are by no means exhaustive). Clearly, Christ did not
intend these miraculous works for public exploitation. There is little to
indicate Christ worked miracles in order to draw a crowd. He was opposed to
selling the gospel by appealing to their love for the sensational. (See Jn. 2:23-25)…
He sharply rebuked the five thousand for seeking Him for merely physical
satisfaction. Jesus did not teach us to draw people to Him by appealing to
their senses. Instead He claimed full responsibility for drawing all to Himself
by way of the cross (Jn. 12:32); therefore, exalting Christ, "and Him
crucified," is to be the primary object in worship, as well as evangelism.
(See Rev. 5:8.)
Bill Izard
The Sensitivity of True Worship, Christian Communicators
Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.
Men
can see the greatest miracles and miss the glory of God. What generation was
ever favored with miracles as Jesus’ generations was? Yet that generation
crucified the Son of God!
Tom Wells
Christian: Take Heart! By Permission of the
Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA. 1987, p. 106.