The gospel does not need miracles to be effective
One of the core beliefs of the uber-popular Bethel Church in Redding, California, is that evangelism must include manifest signs and wonders to be effective. They call it the “gospel of power.”
The prominence of “power” in their missiology is evident in this video of Bethel leader Bill Johnson, where he says, “It is impossible to adequately display the love of God without power.” It’s an “absolute necessity,” he says. “Power must be displayed for this gospel to be revealed for what it is … without power, it’s not good news.” He has said elsewhere that a gospel not accompanied by experiential manifestations is “a different gospel.”
More on Bethel’s false teachings:
I fully agree that the gospel must be powerful to be legitimate and effective. The problem is that to them, “power” only means miracles — signs that can be seen and experienced. Without miracles, your evangelism is worthless, they believe. If you do nothing but preach the gospel, they don’t think there’s any power in that.
They don’t believe the word is powerful, even though the Bible says it is (Hebrews 4:12). They don’t believe the gospel itself is powerful, even though the Bible says it is (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18). They don’t believe that saving faith comes by just hearing a preached message, even though the Bible says it does (Romans 10:14-17).
No, they put God in a box by confining His power to signs and wonders.
Related: God’s power is in His word
This is not an argument for cessationism. I fully believe that God still does miracles today, including on the mission field. Of course signs and wonders accompanied Jesus and the apostles during their gospel ministry — sometimes. The signs attested to the authenticity of the message (John 5:36, Acts 2:22, Hebrews 2:4) at a time when Christianity was new, the church was being founded, and the New Testament was not yet written. They helped herald the Christ’s arrival. This isn’t about the occurrence of miracles, but their necessity.
A simple way to prove they’re not necessary is to show in the Bible where the gospel was preached, and people came to faith, with no mention of such signs. Here are several examples in the book of Acts:
Chapter 8: Philip leads an Ethiopian to faith through Isaiah 53. The story ends with Philip being caught away by the Holy Spirit, but only after the Ethiopian believed and was baptized.
Chapter 10: Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius without any signs. Cornelius and his household spoke in tongues only after they believed.
Chapter 13: Paul preached the gospel in a synagogue in Antioch, Galatia. No miracles take place, but his speaking is so effective that “the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath” (verse 42).
Chapter 17: In Thessalonica, Paul did nothing but reason with them from the Scriptures, and some believed.
Chapter 17: Paul preached the gospel in Athens, and some believed. No miracles.
Chapter 18: In Corinth, Paul again “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.” No miracles.
Chapter 19: In Ephesus, disciples of John the Baptist receive the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, but only after Paul’s preaching that they should believe in Christ.
Related: The apostles didn’t preach the gospel like Christians today
In addition to those examples, Jesus Himself refuted the necessity of miracles in His parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man, in Hades, asks Abraham to raise Lazarus from the dead so that such a spectacular sign would lead the rich man’s brothers to believe. He thought like Bethel does.
But Abraham answers, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” In other words, if faith doesn’t come through hearing the word, it won’t come through a miracle. The sufficiency of preaching is the Lord’s point.
Related: A parable of Jesus blows up beliefs about healing, miracles
Why is this issue a big deal? Because it’s another example of Bethel’s low view of the written word. It leads their people further into dangerous, occultic mysticism. It sets them up for disillusionment. It’s a reproach to Christianity when miracles don’t happen the way they’re declaring. And it discounts multitudes of conversions over the centuries that had nothing to do with signs and wonders. It’s an insult to faith that comes through hearing the word.
We don’t need to try to work up miracles in our evangelism, because the new birth is the greatest miracle of all. Turning a heart of stone into a heart of flesh is a miracle. Raising a dead soul to life is a miracle. And it always comes through the miraculous power of the living word of God.
More about miracles:
