Any person who strives to uncover truth from the Bible, and to become a footstep follower of Christ Jesus, will be faced with an onslaught of scriptural do's and don't's from well meaning and sincere people. One man will say "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," (Leviticus 24:19-20) and assert you must take vengeance from those you believe have harmed you. Another man, just as well meaning and sincere, will show you the scripture where Jesus said to "turn the other cheek" and say you have no right even to defend your own life, or that of your family. (Matthew 5:38-39) They probably both mean well, and you might appreciate their efforts to share their faith with you. They can not, however, both be right. Neither of them might be! That is for you to decide personally. It is what you must do with the material presented on this website as well. Sorting through suppositions by men (their understanding of what the Bible teaches) is what growing to Christian maturity amounts to. It is what protects you from being tossed about by scriptural assertions made by those who are misguided; like a wave tossed before the wind. (James 1:6 ; James 1:2-4) Remember: You must come to know our Heavenly Father personally and intimately. (John 17:3) Our lord and savior (Christ Jesus) came to make his Father known to us. (Matthew 11:27-30 ; John 18:37)
One of the teachings put forth by a small segment of professed Christians is that followers of Christ are commanded (in the Bible) to handle poisonous snakes. No matter how strongly you might feel about giving a knee jerk response to such assertions, can you support your response with the Bible? Even if you believe the question is absurd, can you defend your faith from the Bible? Are you humble enough to realize your personal opinion has nothing to do with the scriptural answer? All that matters, for any of us, is what God had recorded for us in the Bible. Do you know if the snake handlers have based their assertion on any scriptural text? Let us examine what the Bible says about handling serpents, and what Bible principles might apply.
As we start our discussion, we must recognize it is not our place to give the answer to such questions, but to understand and help others understand what the scriptures say about it. We will then, each of us, after we have a scriptural understanding, be able to assert our own faith on the matter. That is all any of us have, our faith! That said, we believe this provides an example of how people often use one scripture (or a few) to build a doctrine of faith for themselves. Mark 16:18 does say Christians will pick up serpents and be unharmed. Some argue the translation of that scripture is not reliable. Without opening that debate, the Bible says at Luke 10:19 Christ's followers are given authority over serpents and scorpions, and they would not be harmed by them. Some folks thus use these scriptures to defend their faith we should all be handling snakes if we are "truly" Christians. How can we use the Bible to join them in their faith if it is scriptural, or to scripturally refute the idea if it is not a Bible teaching (for ourselves at least).
We might start by considering a Bible example of what Jesus was talking about when he said his followers would not be harmed by serpents. Acts 28:1-6 ESV
(1) After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta.
(2) The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.
(3) When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand.
(4) When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."
(5) He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
(6) They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
Paul didn't choose to take up a snake. He was attacked by it. He got free as quickly as possible. We can also apply the principle taught us when Christ Jesus when tempted by satan. Matthew 4:5-7 ALT
(5) Then the Devil takes Him along to the holy city and sets Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
(6) and says to Him, "Since You are God's Son, throw Yourself down, for it has been written, 'He will give orders to His angels concerning You,' and 'they will lift You up on [their] hands, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'" [Psalm 91:11,12]
(7) Jesus said to him, "Again, it has been written, 'You will not put the LORD (Jehovah) your God to the test.'" [Deut 6:16]
Satan quoted from Psalm 91:11 and 12, where it says God's angels would protect Jesus. He went on to misapply that scripture by saying Jesus should throw himself off the temple to prove he was really God's son. Jesus corrected satan's unbalanced view by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, that we should not put Jehovah to the test. Could satan's encouraging Jesus to throw himself off the temple to show God's protection over him, be akin to someone suggesting you take up a snake to demonstrate it? Even though Jesus told his first century followers they had protection from such things, and we see that Paul did have such protection, it might be better to follow Jesus's lead by not putting Jehovah to the test.
Remember also, the first century Christians could heal sick raise dead. They had such authority to prove they were who they claimed to be: To demonstrate for the whole world the proper form of worship had been switched from Judaism to Christianity. [Or, more accurately, that Christianity had grown out of Judaism.]
For any trying to take snake handling as a command from Jesus, you should also note: That scripture says nothing would do them harm. They all died! Jesus was telling them nothing would harm them so as to keep them from their assigned preaching activity.
So, while not wanting to be judgmental of the faith of others, we don't believe Jesus was teaching his last day followers they should be taking up snakes as proof of their faith. We also doubt the wisdom of refusing medical attention in the event of a snake bite.
Those powerful gifts of the spirit granted the first century Christians died out with them. There is no one raising the dead today. The gifts of holy spirit given them to support them in their preaching work served their purpose. Today we live by faith.
Use browser "Back Arrow" or Alt+Left_Arrow keys to previous page. | Home Page