Gossip - Move In The Right Direction "vs" Patrick j miron C.C. keys

Watch out for patrick j miron--

Matthew 7:22
²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

 ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'

²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
 

Apparently there are also people who would have the ability to drive demons out in Jesus' name and yet Jesus would not accept them because they were not true believers.
 

So was Jesus' criteria for a true believer in Mark 16 wrong?


RESPONSE:
Zawadi’s logic goes something like this:

1. True believers will perform signs.
2. This means that false believers will not be able to.
3. The individuals in Matthew 7:21-23 performed miracles.
4. Therefore they must have been genuine believers.
5. Yet Jesus rebuked them for being false believers.
6. Therefore we have a contradiction.

Let us repeat what Mark 16:17 says in context to see why the problem lies not with the texts, but with Zawadi’s erroneous logic:
"And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen." Mark 16:15-20



Now that we have looked at the context the following questions need to be asked:
Did Jesus say that only true believers would perform signs? No.
Did Jesus say that false believers would not be able to perform signs? No.
Did Jesus even say that unbelievers who follow different religions would not be able to do miracles? No, not at all. In fact, this is what he did say about unbelievers and false prophets:
"And then if any one says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. False Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But take heed; I have told you all things beforehand." Mark 13:21-23