As great and necessary as the miracles of Jesus and His followers were in the first century though, there were things that miracles could never do. A miracle could never sanctify a hearer. It could never renew the inner man after the image of God. It did not convict the conscience or soften the heart. It could not give wisdom or produce love or bring salvation. Think of all of the people who witnessed the miracles of Christ yet rejected Him. Think of the ten lepers who were cleansed of their disease and then ask how many returned to thank Him and acknowledge who He was. Five thousand ate the loaves and fishes. How few were willing to eat the Bread Which Came Down Out of Heaven?

Some things just naturally go together. Bacon and eggs. Bread and butter. Peanut butter and jelly. Love and marriage. Horse and carriage. The miracle and the Word.

The working of miracles in conjunction with the preaching of the Word of God – these two great instruments – were in constant and simultaneous use in the advancement of the kingdom of God during the first century of Christianity. In the gospels we read of miracles and the Word nearly everywhere Jesus went. When John the Baptist expressed his doubts about whether Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus responded with, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, [the miracles] and the poor have the gospel preached to them [the Word]."

In the accounts of the spreading of the gospel across the Roman Empire in the days of the apostles, these two instruments, miracles and the Word, continued together. We read in Mark 16:20, "And they went out and preached everywhere [the Word], while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs [miracles] that followed."

It makes good sense. The miracle awakened the attention of the audience. It was a witness to confirm the doubtful. The early preachers didn’t have what we have today – twenty centuries of Christian history to commend the validity of the Word they preached. The miracle showed God’s sovereignty and power over nature. The one impressed by the miracle would perhaps at least listen to the Word of God that the messenger preached.

As great and necessary as the miracles of Jesus and His followers were in the first century though, there were things that miracles could never do. A miracle could never sanctify a hearer. It could never renew the inner man after the image of God. It did not convict the conscience or soften the heart. It could not give wisdom or produce love or bring salvation. Think of all of the people who witnessed the miracles of Christ yet rejected Him. Think of the ten lepers who were cleansed of their disease and then ask how many returned to thank Him and acknowledge who He was. Five thousand ate the loaves and fishes. How few were willing to eat the Bread Which Came Down Out of Heaven? The whole Sanhedrin knew of the lame man who was healed at the Beautiful Gate. They even agreed that a "noteworthy miracle" had taken place. But it only made them more eager to silence the voices of those who spoke the Word of Jesus and the resurrection. There are things miracles can never do.

When Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and could not speak, the multitudes were amazed at the miracle. But when the Pharisees heard about it they rejected His words and accused him of casting out Satan by the power of Satan. Then they had the nerve to come to Him and ask for another sign! Jesus responded appropriately: "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet." When the miracle did not cause them to listen to the Word, He refused to do any more in their land. Again, when Jesus preached the Word in his hometown of Nazareth they refused to believe, so he refused to do any more miracles.

Though these two great instruments – the miracle and the Word – worked hand in hand all the way through the inspired account of Christianity in the first century, the miracle was never the thing to be prized. The important thing was the Word of God. The miracle was only a means to that end. The credibility of the Word in the mind of the hearer was the goal. Only it could save.

The generation that craved for a sign in the time of Christ but rejected His Word is gone, but their descendants live on today, still craving miracles – still rejecting the Word. They are attracted by claims of miracles today, but they quickly fade away when the Word comes to bear on their lives. It has been my observation that often the ones who seek miracles the most are the ones who have the least regard for the Word of God.

I have made no secret of the fact that I believe that the day of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit we read of in the New Testament is nineteen centuries past. Today we have a complete and confirmed revelation of God’ word in the Bible to take their place. Paul informed the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 13 that when the perfect came, these partial things (miraculous gifts) would be done away. I have little doubt that the "perfect" he referred to was the completed, written New Testament. In that same context he spoke of doing away with childish things (three of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit in the context). As one man put it:

"Miracles were the swaddling clothes of the infant churches, not the garments of the full grown."

Does God do miracles today? Certainly there can be a case made for the occasional intervention into the affairs of man to heal or provide in a way that overrules the laws of nature. God can do whatever He pleases! When righteous men and women pray, sometimes God does move miraculously, even today. But probably if we are honest we will recognize it is the exception and not the rule. We all know of godly people who have prayed for healing and were not healed. They prayed for miracles and no miracles came. I doubt it could be said that all of these lacked faith. Some of the most dedicated, godly people I know have seen their requests for a miracle answered in the negative. I’m not saying God won’t answer and provide a miracle. I’m saying that His doing so today is the exception and not the rule.

This morning we are continuing our Acts of the Apostles Series. Today’s message, taken from Acts 14:1-20, is called The Miracle and the Word.

Paul and Barnabas are the key players in this section of Scripture. They’re on their first missionary journey. A quick glance back over their shoulders reveals the gospel trail they had just blazed across the face of the island of Cypress, then Perga of Pamphilia, and Antioch of Pisidia. If you’re unfamiliar with the pace of their evangelism in this section of Scripture, I encourage you to take some time to read through Acts at your first opportunity. It will help you understand the rest of your New Testament.

Driven out of Antioch when the Jews instigated a persecution, they went on to Iconium. We pick up the story there where we find:

Initially the results in Iconium were good. By now Paul and Barnabas were set in their evangelistic method. First they sought out the local Jewish population and preached to them. Some of the Jews would respond, along with some of the godly Gentiles who attended the synagogue. The unbelieving Jews would stir up opposition, and in time the two missionaries would be forced to move on to the next place. The seed planted, though, would continue to grow as the new believers spoke to others they knew. We see just that pattern happening here.

Apparently the bitterness against them wasn’t life threatening at first though, so they stayed on.

Now, notice the words of the second half of verse 3. They have to do with this "bacon and egg" association between miracles and the Word.

3b with reliance upon the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace [the word], granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands [the miracles].

Why did God grant the power for them to do signs and wonders? It was for the purpose of "bearing witness to the word of His grace." God granted them power to do miracles, not for the comfort and convenience of the believers, but to bear witness that the Word they were preaching was the truth so that they could be saved from eternal destruction!

The purpose of miracles in the first century was not to make the Christians "healthy, wealthy, or wise." It was to show them that the word the Apostles preached was credible!

I point these things out because some today claim to have the power to do miracles yet never seem to get to the issue of the Word. They preach a "health and wealth" gospel. "Come to Jesus and get rich!" "Come to Jesus and get healed!" "Come to Jesus and be successful in your business!" "You need a miracle in your life!" The Lordship of Christ and the terms of discipleship, along with the need for salvation are either ignored or greatly diminished. Preachers preach it because it packs pews and pads paychecks. Sadly, people fall for it in droves.

Yet God did not give the miracles of the first century for man’s comfort and convenience. He gave miracles to confirm the Word! Listen to this principle in several other places in the Scriptures:

Mark 16:20 says, "And they went out and preached everywhere [the Word], while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed [the miracle]."

According to Exodus 4:5, God gave Moses the power to do miracles in the presence of Pharaoh "that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

In Mark 2:10-11 Jesus told the Scribes who doubted the credibility of his word, "But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins [the Word]" He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home [the miracle]." This miracle wasn’t done primarily for the benefit of the paralytic (though he certainly did benefit from it). It was done to give credibility to Jesus’ word.

In John 20:30-31 we read, "Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples [the miracles], which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God [the Word]; and that believing you may have life in His name."

If miracles were given for the physical health, comfort, and convenience of the people involved, Jesus would have come to set up a hospital, not the church. For every one who was healed by Christ and the apostles in the first century, there were thousands who never had the opportunity.

We see miracles performed here in our text from Acts 14, but as verse 4 says:

When you start preaching the Word, people are divided. Some don’t like it. Some don’t want it. Many are interested in miracles – not nearly as many are interested in the Word.

You can’t preach the gospel if you’re dead! So they moved on.

Again, what is emphasized, the miracles or the preaching of the Word? We come now to Luke’s description of:

Actually, there were probably many lame people living in Lystra besides this "certain man." Why is he singled out? Again, think of the purpose of the miracles.

Look at this man’s condition. He was "lame from his mother’s womb." The miracles described by the Bible never left those who witnessed them wondering whether they were authentic. The apostles did not pick those out of their audience who had questionable illnesses. This guy had been "lame from his mother’s womb." Those around him knew it because they had seen him over time. No one could later say they had seen him walk at some previous time so that maybe he was healed, maybe he wasn’t.

Where among those who claim to be able to do miracles on demand today do we find wonders of this quality? Can you imagine what that man’s feet and legs looked like after never having walked in his whole life? They must have been withered and drawn up, perhaps diminished in size. Yet, look at the miracle! "He leaped up and began to walk!" My observation of so called "faith healers" today is that this kind of person gets pushed to the back of the healing line until the last night. When he is finally brought to the stage, he is told that if he has enough faith, God will heal him. But somehow he never seems to have enough faith – and since it’s the final night, no one is around the next day to see what happened! Where is the miracle of this quality today? I would love to see it.

These people certainly recognized the miracle, but it had the wrong effect! These people were idol worshippers. Two of their "deities" were the Greek mythical gods Zeus and Hermes. There was even a temple of Zeus just outside of town. Now the crowds were chanting for a sacrifice to worship the two missionaries!

Notice again that Paul states the purpose of their coming and doing the miracle. It was so that they could "preach the gospel" to them. Paul and Barnabas wanted them to listen to the Word, not sacrifice to them! Thus, their primary purpose wasn’t to heal the physically lame man. Certainly the lame man benefited, but that was only the means to their end. There were doubtless other lame men in Lystra that day that were never healed. In the face of the misguided attempt of these pagans to sacrifice to them, Paul continues...

What is Paul doing? He’s trying to preach the Word to them! You would think that people this impressed with such a miracle would fall at Jesus’ feet when they heard the gospel message behind it, but it didn’t happen. Just as the majority of Israel who followed Moses across the Red Sea and witnessed miracle after miracle of God disobeyed and died in the wilderness - just as the majority of people who witnessed the miracles of Jesus rejected Him (some even participated in crucifying Him) so too these people, though impressed with the miracle, had no lasting appetite for the Word.

Can you believe it? In verse 18 they’re ready to worship Paul because of the miracle and in verse 19 they stone him! Oh the fickle nature of man!

Do you see why I say that there are some things miracles can’t do? Miracles can’t sanctify. Miracles can’t save. Miracles can’t soften hearts. Only the Word of God can do those things. So the miracle isn’t the important thing. The Word is the important thing!

People often call our church office during the week and ask for help. Can you guess what they most often want? Of course, they want money. The second most common request is for prayer for someone sick. Guess how many people out of those we help want to know more about the Lord? Almost none! I can’t remember the last time someone called who was interested in learning more about the gospel. To them the church exists for the convenience and comfort of people’s physical bodies and nothing more. Try to tell them about the gospel and in most cases, they want nothing to do with it. I tell you from Scripture that the church never existed for the comfort and convenience of people’s physical bodies. It exists to save souls. Yes, we can and should help those in need when we can, but we dare not forget that the purpose of our helping goes far beyond physical needs.

Probably what we’re seeing here is yet another miracle in progress. Some believe Paul was resurrected from the dead. That’s my view. Others suggest that he was severely injured by the stoning and God healed him. Either way, what a miracle!

I don’t want any of you to get the idea that I don’t believe the miracles of the Bible or even that I don’t believe there are miracles today.

I do want you to get the idea that I highly suspect the claims of those who assert that they can perform miracles on demand today in the sense that we have seen Paul and Barnabas do here. Why?

First, because the purpose is usually wrong. The so-called miracles aren’t used to confirm the Word. They are used to draw attention to certain personalities and their money-making schemes.

Second, because the so-called miracles are inferior to those we read about in the Bible. When I see someone healed who has been seriously crippled from birth, I’ll take another look at that.

Third, most of them are teaching false doctrine when compared to the Scriptures. It is hard to believe that God would grant the miraculous gifts of the Spirit to someone who teaches false doctrine.

Miracles were never intended to stand alone. They were designed to give credibility to the Bible as truth so that its message could be heard. For us, that means we should elevate the Word of God in our lives to its rightful place of prominence and personal influence.

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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