Others claim miracles are needed today to help people with their problems.

We are told that God gave miracles to help people with their problems because of His love and compassion (Matthew 14:14; 15:32; etc.). God still loves people and He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34,35), so He must still work miracles. So when people today have illness, financial debts, lack of job, family problems, or perhaps some deep emotional need in their lives, they are taught to “expect a miracle.” However:

Even in the age when miracles were being worked, problems were not solved for all believers.

2 Timothy 4:20 – Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

Philippians 2:26,27 – Epaphroditus was sick nearly to death - so sick that people far away heard about it.

1 Timothy 5:23 – Timothy often had stomach infirmities. Why didn’t Paul do a miracle and heal him? Why recommend a natural remedy?

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 – Paul himself had a thorn in the flesh, which he even prayed to God to remove. But God decided to leave it.

If compassion and love were the main reasons for miracles, why weren’t these people all miraculously healed? Didn’t God love these people? Was He a respecter of persons in these cases?

We have learned that the primary purpose of miracles was to meet a need greater than physical needs.

We have proved that the main purpose of miracles was to

confirm God’s word, so people could believe and be saved. This was more important than physical needs. Nomiracle was performed unless this greater need would be met.

* Many miracles solved no physical need at all.

Exodus 7:10-12 – Aaron’s rod turned into a serpent and back again.

Numbers 17 – Later his rod produced blossoms and almonds. Matthew 14:22-31 – Jesus and Peter walked on the water.

1 Kings 18:30-39 – Elijah called down fire to consume a sacrifice. What physical problem did these miracles solve? None! But they did serve confirm truth that had been revealed from God.

* When it was clear that miracles would not lead to faith, they were not performed, even though physical needs would have been met.

We already listed cases of sick people who were not healed. Consider other cases:

John 6:26-31,36 – Jesus refused to miraculously feed people when He realized they did not appreciate the miracle as proof of who He was.

Matthew 4:1-7 – When tempted by Satan, Jesus refused to do miracles for His own physical benefit.

Matthew 13:58 – Jesus refused to do miracles in His own hometown, because He knew already that no one would believe. [Cf. 12:38-42]

Luke 4:23-27 – Jesus expressly cited Old Testament examples in which miracles were not done, though they would have produced physical benefits for people in need.

Again, did God not love these people? Do these cases prove God is a respecter of persons? If not, then why would it show lack of love or respect of persons if He refuses to do miracles today?

* In fact, some miracles even caused physical problems or punished people for sin.

Numbers 16:28-35; 2 Kings 1:9-12; Acts 5:1-11 – Sometimes people were struck dead.

Acts 9:8,9; 13:6-12 – Some people were struck blind.

Exodus 7-12 – God miraculously brought the ten plagues on Egypt.

Were these acts of compassion to relieve peoples’ physical problems? Clearly not, but all did serve the purpose of confirming truth that had been revealed from God.

God still does meet His children’s needs, according to natural law.

Consider some examples that show the difference between miracles and answers to prayer through natural law:

* Food: A blessing from God through natural law would be praying for daily bread (Matt. 6:11) then getting a job and working for it (Eph. 4:28). But a miracle would be: (1) using a boy’s lunch to feed thousands of people and having more food left over than you started with (Matt. 14:13-21), or (2) manna coming directly from heaven (Ex. 16:14-16), or (3) turning water to wine (John 2:1ff).

* Human reproduction: Natural law would be a man and his wife conceiving a child by natural procreation (Gen. 4:1,2). If they had prayed for a child, that would be a blessing from God in answer to prayer through natural law (1 Samuel 1). A miracle would be making a woman from a man’s rib (Gen. 2:21,22), or causing someone to be conceived in the womb of a virgin (Matt. 1:18-25).

* Health: Likewise, if we pray for good health (3 John 2), we may heal by natural body processes, perhaps aided by medical treatment, diet, exercise, etc. (2 Kings 20:1-7) This would be a blessing from God in answer to prayer through natural law. Miraculous healings,

however, are those we have described, which clearly did not occur according to natural law.

The fact God does not do miracles today would not prove that He lacks love or compassion nor that He is a respecter of persons. He still helps His children in answer to prayer (Matthew 6:33; James 1:17). But He answers through natural processes, not by miracles.

When we pray, sometimes God gives what we asked for, and sometimes He does not, just like some people were healed by miracles and others were not. This is because sin in is the world, and all must suffer as a consequence. (References saying God is no respecter of persons are talking about salvation, not physical blessings. Otherwise, God would have to physically bless all His people exactly the same. See Matt. 5:45.)

When the primary need is caring for His children’s physical

problems, God can meet that need by natural processes in answer to prayer. Miracles were used only when the primary need was to

confirm truth revealed from God (though physical blessings often occurred as a secondary benefit). The determining factor in whether or not a miracle would be done was whether or not the word needed to be confirmed.

But the word today has been completely confirmed, so miracles are not needed at all. To claim miracles just to meet physical needs is to misuse the purpose of miracles.

4. Some want spiritual gifts to prove they are spiritually