Proof #5: MIRACLES CAN BE USED TO CONFIRM A MESSAGE FROM GOD.
Proof # 5: MIRACLES CAN BE USED TO CONFIRM A MESSAGE FROM GOD.
A few months ago I had lunch with a young man in Tulsa who said he was an atheist. We talked about many things but in the course of our conversation I said to him that if someone could prove to me that Christianity were false (like proving Jesus did not rise from the dead etc… ) I would not be a Christian. He looked shocked and said, “Why?” I said, “Because it would have been proven to be false.” He said, “Why would that matter?” In the course of our conversation I realized that he thought being a Christian was knowingly embracing myths like the tooth fairy or the great pumpkin. When I shared with him that I was a Christian because I believed it was a factual faith that is based on truth we had a very in depth and meaningful conversation.
In looking at the 12 proofs that show that Christianity is true we are giving a rational and factual basis for the Christian faith. Knowing the truth of Christianity does not make someone a believer but it does give good reason to believe. It shows that we are placing our faith in a real God who has truly revealed Himself in history in the person of Jesus Christ.
Here is where we have been:
Proof 1: Truth about reality is knowable.
Proof 2: The opposite of true is false.
Proof 3: It is true, a theistic God exists.
Proof 4: If God exists then miracles are possible
Proof 5: Miracles can be used to confirm a message from God.
Even skeptic David Hume acknowledged that miracles could confirm a message from God. He said, “It is a miracle that a dead man should come to life because it has never been observed in any age or country” (Enquiry 10 pt. 1) The miracles we see in the bible meet the standard of a miraculous confirmation.
- The events are supernatural
- The miracles are multiple
- The miraculous event is connected with some truth claim in the name of God.
- The miraculous event must be unique
- There is a predictive element in confirming a divine claim ( i.e. Jesus predicting his own death and resurrection).
All three theistic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) consider a miracle to be a confirmation by God of a truth claim made in his name. Miracles confirm a message of God through a messenger of God.
Miracles In Judaism
- Confirming Moses as a prophet
“Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him… Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."
As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.” Numbers 16: 5, 28-33 (NIV)
We have the famous confirmation of Elijah as a prophet of God who shows Jahweh’s superiority over the false god Baal (I Kings 18: 36-38) We see it throughout the Old Testament.
Miracles in Islam. The Qur’an records Moses saying of his miracles “thou knowest well that these things have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heaven and the earth as eye-opening evidence.” (Sura 17: 102)
Miracles in Christianity. We see miracles all throughout the Gospels confirming that Jesus is God. The Gospel of John confirms the ministry of Jesus through a series of miracles. In John 2 turning the water into wine… In John 4 the healing of the royal officials son…John 5 the healing of the man who had been unable to walk for 38 years. John says this , “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20: 30-31 (NIV)
When the Jewish leaders asked Jesus for a sign, he pointed them to his death and resurrection (Matthew 12: 38-39). In the book of Acts Jesus ministry was accredited by miracles (Acts 2: 22).
It is clear that one of the ways the New Testament confirms Jesus as God by through his supernatural miracles. The question that needs to be answered then is the New Testament historically reliable? That is what we will answer in the next proof.
Pastor Scott
Sources:
Norman Geisler. “Twelve Points That Show Christianity is True: A Handbook on Defending the Christian Faith.”pp. 57-67.
Norman Geisler. “Introduction to Christian Apologetics” Lecture “Miracles Can Confirm A Message From God”