Miracles in evangelism

A great deal of evangelists emphasize the importance of on-going miracles in bringing souls to Christ. In essence, the idea is that if a sinner only knew God’s power in their lives, they would turn around and come running.

Many prominent preachers have even argued that miracles are more effective than merely preaching the gospel. They suggest that the presence of God must be demonstrated spontaneously in evangelism in order to be effective.

However, there are three inherent fallacies in this philosophy that render it unreliable and unproductive in leading people to genuine faith in Christ:

• By relying on modern miracles for evangelistic invitation, the real message of the gospel (Christ’s atonement for our sins and His right authority over our lives ~ Romans 14:9) becomes incidental.
• Instead of focusing on the Savior Himself, the faith becomes focused on signs & wonders and the preacher who did them.
• The biblical and historical Jesus is often pushed aside in favor of a ‘mystical’ and ‘dainty’ god who exists to fulfill their desires.

Modern miracles cannot save those who put their trust in them, regardless of how sincere and earnest they chant the name of Christ. Genuine faith always focuses on the Lord Jesus Christ.

An evangelist cannot call someone to faith in Christ unless they make clear the basic biblical truths of the gospel, which Paul deemed is “of primary importance”:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NKJV)

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Every proclamation of the gospel must focus on “preaching Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23), as Paul always did. When any message excludes this truth, it is simply pretending to be evangelistic.