A Believer who does not believe in God's Power
There are many Christians who believe God has ceased doing miracles. In that He ceased working miracles through the message of Christ, which He did through Jesus and the original apostles.
Some argue God only worked miracles in the early days to get the attention of the people back then. To get the Church started if you will. Yet today, the Bible itself now suffices for everything. God doesn't need to demonstrate His power, because now we have a completed Bible.
This astounds me because all of the Bible is written by men, copied by men. (Many anonymous, so women could have wrote Scripture as well.) Many other religions in the world have their texts as well. How do we know which one is right just by the text?
No, if you're asking me, I don't truly believe from those who say God ceased doing miracles because we now have a "completed" Bible. In my opinion, it is just a cop out excuse to explain the lack of miracles at best, and just unbelief in God at worst. We really don't expect God to do anything on our behalf. Just so long as we are comfortable in this life, we don't ask God to do anything. Because if God does do something, you feel like you lose a sense of self control in your life. In our flesh, we are comfortable in what we can see. This reminds me of King Ahaz when God told him to ask for a sign. This is found in Isaiah 7:1-12 which reads.......................
Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:
‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’
But this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘It will not arise; it will not happen.
For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’ ”
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,
“Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”..............
Here we have Ahaz telling the prophet he would not put Yahweh to the test! Sounds so pious right? Ahaz trust God's word about the destruction of the kings coming against him, he doesn't need it confirm with a sign or God's miracles! Wrong!!! Ahaz was shaking in his boots, as verse 2 stated. The real reason why Ahaz didn't ask for a sign was because he made a tribute payment to the king of Assyria at the time, for his protection. Ahaz was trusting in his own understanding, and thus wasn't trusting in God.
God gave Ahaz a sign anyway. This is where we get the Immanuel prophecy. Which there was a boy born, and God told Ahaz by the time this boy was old enough to know right from wrong (12-13 years), the kingdoms coming against him would be no more.
Ahaz didn't truly believe in God's power, even though he acted as if he was faithful toward God by saying he would not put Yahweh to the test. It was having a form of godliness, but denying the power
So at the end of the day for most, I believe it is unbelief that many have. I mean if God has ceased working on behalf of believers, what do you truly have? That means you are alone does it not? If the Church needed God's power to get started, how much more do we need to keep it going? The people back then had Scripture. They had the TaNaK. To say they needed miracles to believe God but somehow we don't, is to say we are somehow smarter or greater than they. Are we greater than Paul and Peter? Are we greater than James and John? That we don't need God's power?
No, this is how we deceive ourselves. We are not better than those who lived during the time of the birth of the Church. If we needed God's power then, we definitely need it now.
Some argue God only worked miracles in the early days to get the attention of the people back then. To get the Church started if you will. Yet today, the Bible itself now suffices for everything. God doesn't need to demonstrate His power, because now we have a completed Bible.
This astounds me because all of the Bible is written by men, copied by men. (Many anonymous, so women could have wrote Scripture as well.) Many other religions in the world have their texts as well. How do we know which one is right just by the text?
No, if you're asking me, I don't truly believe from those who say God ceased doing miracles because we now have a "completed" Bible. In my opinion, it is just a cop out excuse to explain the lack of miracles at best, and just unbelief in God at worst. We really don't expect God to do anything on our behalf. Just so long as we are comfortable in this life, we don't ask God to do anything. Because if God does do something, you feel like you lose a sense of self control in your life. In our flesh, we are comfortable in what we can see. This reminds me of King Ahaz when God told him to ask for a sign. This is found in Isaiah 7:1-12 which reads.......................
Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:
‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’
But this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘It will not arise; it will not happen.
For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’ ”
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,
“Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”..............
Here we have Ahaz telling the prophet he would not put Yahweh to the test! Sounds so pious right? Ahaz trust God's word about the destruction of the kings coming against him, he doesn't need it confirm with a sign or God's miracles! Wrong!!! Ahaz was shaking in his boots, as verse 2 stated. The real reason why Ahaz didn't ask for a sign was because he made a tribute payment to the king of Assyria at the time, for his protection. Ahaz was trusting in his own understanding, and thus wasn't trusting in God.
God gave Ahaz a sign anyway. This is where we get the Immanuel prophecy. Which there was a boy born, and God told Ahaz by the time this boy was old enough to know right from wrong (12-13 years), the kingdoms coming against him would be no more.
Ahaz didn't truly believe in God's power, even though he acted as if he was faithful toward God by saying he would not put Yahweh to the test. It was having a form of godliness, but denying the power
So at the end of the day for most, I believe it is unbelief that many have. I mean if God has ceased working on behalf of believers, what do you truly have? That means you are alone does it not? If the Church needed God's power to get started, how much more do we need to keep it going? The people back then had Scripture. They had the TaNaK. To say they needed miracles to believe God but somehow we don't, is to say we are somehow smarter or greater than they. Are we greater than Paul and Peter? Are we greater than James and John? That we don't need God's power?
No, this is how we deceive ourselves. We are not better than those who lived during the time of the birth of the Church. If we needed God's power then, we definitely need it now.
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