Expert: Mr. McClellan - 5/25/2005

Question
Good afternoon,
Last night during our Bible Study on John one of the members of our group asked about whether or not Satan can heal people in order to deceive. What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you so much for your time.
God Bless,
Victoria

Answer
Hello Victoria, thanks for letting me help you and the other members of your Bible study group.

The Bible seems quite clear on this kind of thing. Satan only has the power that God allows him to have. Take note of the introductory statements in the first chapter of Job and then read the exchange between Nicodemus and Jesus in the third chapter of John. No one can do the kind of things that Jesus did unless God gives them the power. However, the Devil can help people do false signs and wonders (fake miracles) and a great many people have been and are being fooled by them. Mat 24:24; 2Thes 2:9; Rev 19:20. You must understand that miracles, real miracles, have not taken place since the last half of the first century. The proof for this is that the purpose of the miracles done by Jesus and his apostles were specifically done to confirm the word preached by them and to present a gurantee to all honest observers (witnesses of these things) that the preacher was actually sent by God and was not just trying to pass himself off as a prophet of God. First, Jesus tells his apostles that when the Spirit comes He will guide them into all the truth. Later, Paul makes it clear that when the Spirit has finally revealed all the truth to the apostles miracles will be done away with because they will have no further purpose. See 1Cor 13. Since the scriptures now contain everything that pertains to life and godliness, and since the word has been confirmed true, and since we have been completely furnished with all that we need for every good work what else could you ask for? See 2Pet 1:3; 2Tim 3:16-17; Heb 2:2-4. Satan, through those that he influences, is now the only one working what people now recognize as miracles. This is one of the best ways, though by no means a foolproof way, to tell the people of God from the servants of Satan. Remember, if what was spoken by Jesus and his apostles is changed in any way, or if anything is added to it or taken from it, even if it is an angel from heaven that does it, it becomes a lie and is no longer the truth.

There are numerous passages that make it plain that miracles were intended to be the basis of a person's faith and to provoke them into action since faith alone is hypocrisy. Since the time of the apostles, however, we have had to rely on sound reasoning, correctly interpreting the word of God, as Timothy was told to be careful to do. 2Tim 2:15.
I know that this goes contrary to the position held by many these days. But a careful comparison between the miracles as they are described in the Bible and the things people are calling miracles today will make it quite clear that there are a lot of hoaxes being pulled in obvious efforts to get people to believe something or other. Just think of some of the fairly recent claims for miracles by people that became famous for them only to be exposed as false prophets later. False prophets can only work false miracles (perform tricks to deceive). Then too, the scirptures make it clear that only Jesus and his apostles were given the authority to pass the ability to perform miracles to other people. Those to whom power was granted by Jesus and the apostles were not given the power to pass that power on to anyone else. Therefore, as a natural consequence, miracles ceased before the last of Jesus' apostles died. Just because the Spirit is still given to obedient believers does not mean that he has to grant them miraculous abilities. Faith, hope, and love are now what is left to us and the greatest of these is love.

I'm sorry that my answer is a little dis jointed. I wrote this letter very quickly and didn't take time to arrange my thoughts carefully enough. However, the truth was still presented and I think that you are able to recognize it.

Please feel welcome to ask me anything on Biblical doctrine that you like. And remember this, if you obey the commands of Jesus, and if you live your life treating others the way you would honestly like for them to treat you because you sincerely honor and trust God then you will be fulfilling God's will for you.

One last thing. Just the other day, a young girl asked me how she could know when she was saved. First, I helped her recognize that a person is saved when God forgives them of their sins. Then I told her to go and read the second chapter of the book of Acts where Peter answers that precise question put to him by the Jews that he and the other apostles had just preached the gospel to. Then I told her that if she did just what those people were told to do, she would be saved just like those people that did what Peter said to do were saved, and since God said it she could trust it. That's how you can know for certain. If Jesus is going to be your Lord, you have to do what he says no matter if it makes sense to you or not. Read the story of Naaman in 2Kings 5. He thought that what God wanted him to do was rediculous too. How could the water in the dirty Jordan River cleanse him of leprosy? What Naaman didn't realize was that he had to let God be God. Naaman had to do what God said to do and when he did, God cleansed him of his leprosy. It wasn't the water, though he had to dip all seven times, it was God that cleansed him when Naaman finally humbled himself enough to do what seemed unnecessary to him and to do it just because God said to do it. That is exactly the part baptism plays in salvation now. It is a test of faith that a person must pass before God will forgive their sins. Until belief causes a person to take action by obeying God, he/she is just a hypocrite and no one is going to be saved by a hypocritical faith. It is at the point of baptism (immersion in water) that a sinners sins are forgiven and the guilt is wiped away just if it had been washed off in the water. See the imagery used in Acts 22:16 and then see Paul's statements in Romans 6.

Sorry if I gave you more than you wanted to know.

Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan