DO MIRACLES HAPPEN TODAY?
And other questions about signs, wonders and
mighty works
By Tim Chester
The Good Book Company. 92 pages. £3.99
ISBN 978 1 909 559 691
This slim paperback is in the growing ‘Questions Christians Ask’ series from the Good Book Company. It sets out to give a plain and Biblical answer to the question in the title – a question sometimes asked urgently (and even agonisingly) by believers facing great trauma in their own lives or in the lives of those who are precious to them. It is written by Tim Chester, a prolific author, experienced working pastor, and conference speaker.
In a brief, but surprisingly comprehensive, book Tim begins by succinctly tackling the key background question of whether the Bible’s accounts of the miraculous can be taken seriously. In particular he focuses on the credibility of the records of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
In the front-line of mission
From there he moves to his main theme, the sadly contentious issue of whether we can ever see, or perhaps even expect, miracles today. His clearly articulated and carefully argued position is that our compassionate God still works miracles today, especially (though certainly not exclusively) in the front line of mission in places where the Bible is unknown and occult influence is strong.
As well as giving a thoughtful response to this key question, he also manages to find space to deal sensitively and clearly with a whole series of important practical questions related to the subject of contemporary miracles. These include the following. How should we respond when we hear claims that a miracle has happened? Why are there fewer miracles in our land today than in the early church? Should we hold healing services? Do we need specific confidence that our prayer for healing will be effective before we can have any hope that God will intervene for us? Indeed, is our lack of faith the cause when we don’t see a miraculous answer to our fervent prayers for a friend’s healing? And, what can we say to children about praying for healing?
‘Greater things than these’
The book is full of telling expositions of key Bible texts. These include a lengthy treatment of Jesus’ promise that His true followers will not only do the works that He does, but ‘greater things than these’ (John 14:12).
It shows convincingly (from John 5) that the greater works are the ability to bring the gospel to bear with life-transforming and destiny-changing effect upon those who by nature were spiritually dead. Unfortunately it doesn’t really explain what Jesus meant when in the same breath He promised that His followers would also do ‘His works’, words that surely require comment. Perhaps it would have been helpful at least to add that Jesus immediately stresses that it is He who continues to do such works in response to their prayers – prayers offered in His name, with real concern for His honour.
Our weak faith?
Yet that is a small quibble in regard to a slim book that is so singularly helpful. I particularly appreciated its stress on the fact that ultimate healing will come only with the return of Christ and the resurrection of the body. I also appreciated the challenge that our cries for miraculous healing may often be a mark of weak faith – faith that lacks confidence in Jesus’ promise that for the believer death will bring us into His presence, which must prove unimaginable gain for every true believer.
Good framework
I heartily recommend the book to any believer, whether new to the faith or mature in it. It probably won’t answer all your questions, but it will give you a good Biblical and theological framework for finding answers to them, or at least making headway with them. For it is eminently readable (and affordable!), saturated with Scripture, theologically astute, realistic, sensible, balanced and surprisingly thorough. It is also sensitively written and shows real pastoral wisdom and concern. And there is nothing here that is either strident or merely academic, not something one could say of all books on this and closely-related subjects.
