Question: .

In Mark 16:17-18 it sounds as though if we don't do all the signs mentioned, we are not believers. In my heart I know that's not true. I'm sure I'm missing the meaning. Can you help?

Bob

Answer:

Dear Bob,

The subject of this passage concerns what happens in the life of believers. The principle is that Christians are filled with power to face life's problems that others do not possess (i.e. Galatians 2:20 - Christ lives in us). We need not, nor should we, attempt to understand this passage in some extremely literal way, as if these are things that all believers will do, and if they do not, they are not believers.

If such a woodenly literal understanding was intended by the Holy Spirit, then we would have to conclude that all Christians who have not handled snakes (like the Appalachain snake handlers, who believe that true spirituality is demonstrated by handling snakes in church services) are not true believers. But this passage is not teaching that.

Signs are given to those who believe, not in order that they may believe, but as a part of the witness and example that God demonstrates through individual Christians. All of these signs in this passage, with the exception of "drinking deadly poison" are recorded as happening within the early church in the book of Acts. This simply could have been written as a historical statement of what had already happened.

However, once again, these signs did not happen to every believer in the early church -- and most of the signs did not happen to the majority of believers. Signs/miracles/healing/divine intervention does happen in the life of a Christian -- but we have no guarantee in Scripture as to how and when and how often they will -- or even if they will. Signs do not signify God's favor on the ones who are favored with a sign/miracle as compared to his disfavor with those who do not.

True Christians die every day in car crashes and because of horrible diseases, cancer, etc. True Christians have been martyred -- as most of the apostles were. Many Christians today are being tortured and some killed for their faith -- in China and other parts of the world. Are such people inferior Christians, do they "lack faith," do they have some "secret sin," is God punishing them for something? Absolutely not! God does not work in our lives in that way, and to suggest that he does is to misunderstand the Bible --s and in this case Mark 16.

In Christ.

Greg Albrecht