These Signs Shall Follow...

Mark 16:14-18

These Signs Shall Follow.....But Only If You Believe In Them!

After Jesus had risen and showed himself to some, there were the others who did not believe it, so later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart because they did not believe those who had seen Him after he had risen.

He told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He said He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who doesn't believe, will be condemned.

Then He proceeded to tell them what signs (miracles) will follow them who believe. He said in His name (authority), they will cast out demons, they will speak with other tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them, and they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

A statement was made in a church gathering by the leader that if you don't have these signs following you, you will not make it to heaven. If you have not cast out a demon, you will not make it to heaven! I do not believe this statement. I have never cast out a demon, so this means I'm not going to heaven? Ridiculous! I do not remember that being part of salvation. My salvation is based on what Jesus did, not what I DO! Our salvation is not based on works!

I believe from this portion of Scripture in Mark, it says these signs shall FOLLOW us IF we believe. If we have the faith to believe in them! We don't go LOOKING for demons. In other words, if the opportunity arises, we have the authority to cast out demons, but we are not to go looking for demons just so we can make it to heaven. Just like the drinking of poison, or handling of snakes, we don't go doing those things. We are not to tempt God! The Bible is stating that if we happen to drink something poisonous, or are made to drink it, or if we are bitten by a snake, God will protect us....just as he did Paul when he was bitten by a snake. No harm came to Paul. (Acts 28:3-6)

We are to do all things in the power and demonstration of the LORD. I will not lay hands on just anybody, nor will I let just anybody lay hands on me. You never know what can be transferred from a person onto you. When the opportunity arises and God directs me to lay hands on someone that they may be healed, I will do so. I am to have the faith that they WILL recover. The same as everything else. The opportunity came when I spoke in tongues, receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I believed and I received!

Making judgments on others, saying that they won't make it to heaven because they have not cast out a demon, or spoke in tongues, or drank deadly poison or handled a snake or laid hands on the sick so they can recover, is very wrong!!

The key word is “follow”. These signs (miracles) shall follow them that believe. As I stated before, we don't go looking for them. When the opportunity arises, we have the authority, and we have His protection. But we have to believe!

You have to believe or these miracles won't follow. They are not going to happen, if you don't have the faith to believe. The Bible isn't saying you're not truly a believer if these signs don't follow you, thus keeping you out of heaven. If that were true, we all need to be going out and looking for demons to cast out, and poison to drink and snakes to handle all the time. Our salvation is NOT based on what WE DO. It is what HE DID FOR US! 

It was the faith of the eleven that He was focusing on or was targeting.  Jesus was telling them that these signs (miracles) are going to be following them but only if they believed for them to happen!!  Because as you see in the beginning when He first sat down with them, He was rebuking them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they didn't believe those ones who had come and told them Jesus had appeared unto them. One of them was actually Mary Magdalene whom Jesus had cast 7 demons out of! 

Connie Schmoll