Do We Need Miracles Today?

 Many people hear the Good News of Jesus and believe without being healed supernaturally. When sick believers die, they go to God's heaven, where there is no more sickness.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Many years ago, I heard from a friend that an old woman was dying in a hospital in Australia. She was Hungarian and could speak German but not English. With the chaplain's permission, I visited the very old woman to read the Bible to her in German.

So she heard various passages from the Bible, God's promises, the Good News.

My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. Jn 10:27–28 NRSV

One day she was very distracted, suffering from dementia, and looked around in confusion. Was it actually dementia, or was she looking into the spiritual world, as some people do as they approach death?

Then I read her the promise of eternal life.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 
and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Jn 11:25–26 ESV

It seemed as if she immediately came back from her inner wanderings and she answered strongly, clearly and decisively: “Yes, I firmly believe.”

I did not see her again. The next day I heard that she had died. I was satisfied. I knew she was in heaven.

This woman was a devout Catholic. She already knew that eternal salvation comes from Jesus and can somehow be obtained through faith. She only needed to hear the simple message of God's Word to understand the gospel.

But there are many communists, agnostics, Muslims and Hindus who have no biblical foundation at all, so we cannot lead them to faith so easily. 

Jesus said:

Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” Jn 4:48 NRSV

There are billions of people today who do not believe, and many will only believe when they see or experience miracles. God loves humanists, Muslims, occultists and especially Jews, and He wants to reach them and win them over.

This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, 
who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Ti 2:3–4 NRSV

I know a Jewish woman who converted because she saw Jesus with her natural eyes. 

I know a German woman who looked directly into hell every day for nine months and then converted when Jesus visited her personally and she recognised him by his tangible presence, without seeing him.

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jn 20:29 NIV

But Jesus also wants to reach the millions who cannot be saved without signs and wonders.

What would you think if someone claimed, ‘Many sick people recover without major surgery. We no longer need surgeons.’ Many people believe in Jesus without miracle healings, but others do not believe until they experience miracles. 

There is a theology based on God's sovereignty, in which the love of God is not emphasised.

This often leads to dogmatism, resignation and cold hearts. As a result, many sick people suffer needlessly and many people whom God loves are lost who might otherwise be saved.