Seeing is Believing?

In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

(Psalm 78:32)

One of my biggest struggle in reading thru Exodus was - HOW can the Israelites NOT believe in Jehovah God despite ALL those signs & miracles?! WHY?!

More than once, deep in my heart, how I wish I could literally go into the pages of the bible and SHOOK UP those blind fools! I wanted to scream: "CAN'T you SEE that God is REAL?!"

Yet, despite the 10 plagues...despite the parting of the Red Sea...despite hearing God's thunderous voice on Mount Sinai...despite ALL the signs & wonders, Bible says: "They DID NOT believe."

Now, forward the time to the time of Jesus... Again, we see a period of time whereby God fully manifested His glorious power in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ through such an outpouring of signs & wonders.

Jesus touched the lives of thousands & hundreds of thousands. From the poorest to the richest, from the outcast to the most educated...Jesus touched the lives of all classes of people. His fame went throughout Judea & Samaria. Everywhere Jesus went, Bible says MULTITUDES followed Him.

Yet, despite ALL that, Bible says there were ONLY 120 disciples in the Upper Room, in fear, awaiting for the "promise of the Father". ONLY 120 out of the thousands & thousands & thousands who had been eye witnesses of Jesus' miraculous ministry.

ONLY 120.

Measured against much of today's "corporatized" churches, Jesus was a DISASTER, a MAJOR FAILURE! What happen to the "convincing" power of signs & wonders? It defies logic, doesn't it?!

What then is the purpose of signs & wonders? How are they applicable to the Church today? Well, these questions are beyond the scope of this article.

What I want to say is: When we, the Church, is seeking signs & wonders as a means to making believers...as a means to convince an unbelieving world... it is DOOMED to failure. And extremely dangerous. But most importantly, it isn't biblical.

There is ONLY one way - by the preaching of the Gospel.

Yes, it sounds like such foolishness. Yes, it sounds so weak & beggarly. Yes, it sounds so naive. Yes, it sounds so boring. Yes, it sounds so low-tech... Well, at least thats how it sounds to unbelievers, that is.

But what does the Bible say?

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is THE POWER OF GOD for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

The Church is called to be faithful in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ - the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus Christ!

And that is the ONLY way God has ordained to save souls!

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

(1 Corinthian 1:21-24)

Seeing is NOT believing, but the righteous shall live by faith.