Miracles Not a Test of God’s Favor
47
When the Miracle Worker Disregards God’s Law
We must not trust the claims of men. They may, as Christ repre-
sents, profess to work miracles in healing the sick. Is this marvelous,
when just behind them stands the great deceiver, the miracle worker
who will yet bring down fire from heaven in the sight of men?
Nor can we trust impressions. The voice or spirit that says to a
man, You are under no obligation to obey the law of God; you are holy
and sinless, while he is trampling on the divine law, is not the voice
of Jesus; for He declares: “I have kept my Father’s commandments”
(
John 15:10
). And John testifies: “He that saith, I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him”
(
1 John 2:4
).
Then how can these manifestations of great power, and these won-
derful impressions, be accounted for, except on the ground that they
are given through the influence of that miracle-working spirit that has
gone forth to deceive the whole world, and infatuate them with strong
delusion that they shall believe a lie? He is pleased when men and
women claim to possess great spiritual power, and yet disregard the
law of God, because through their disobedience they mislead others,
and he can use them as effective agents in his work.—
The Signs of the
Times, July 21, 1887
.
[50]
None Need be Deceived
Every one of us will be sorely tempted; our faith will be tried to
the uttermost. We must have a living connection with God; we must
be partakers of the divine nature; then we shall not be deceived by the
devices of the enemy, and shall escape the corruption that is in the
world through lust.
We need to be anchored in Christ, rooted and grounded in the
faith. Satan works through agents. He selects those who have not been
drinking of the living waters, whose souls are athirst for something
new and strange, and who are ever ready to drink at any fountain that
may present itself. Voices will be heard, saying, “Lo, here is Christ,”
or “Lo, there”; but we must believe them not. We have unmistakable
evidence of the voice of the True Shepherd, and He is calling upon us
to follow Him. He says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.”