Pagan Ways Transferred to Christians: Looking for Signs

by Terry Wane Benton

On the Isle of Malta, Paul found some friendly natives. When a viper bit Paul, these people read that as a sign. They were wrong, and people who try to read events as signs today are borrowing from paganism.

In Acts 28:1-4, the natives read the viper event as a sign that Paul was a murderer and justice was catching up with him. That is a problem with trying to figure out what God or the gods are trying to show you or tell you. It is all subjective guesswork subject to error.

When the viper bite did not harm Paul, they read that as a sign that Paul was a god. (Acts 28:5,6) They were wrong both times. That is the problem with training yourself to look for signs and events mixed with guesswork and imagination to figure out what God is “trying to tell you.” God does not operate that way, and when a Christian operates that way, he is playing into the devil's hands. He is borrowing the pagan mentality!

The devil would love for us to forget that God’s written Scriptures “completely furnish the man of God” (II Timothy 3:16-17). Satan loves for us to think we get some guidance apart from the written word. When feelings and imagination become a more convincing guide to us than the Scriptures, they will prevail over the Scriptures every time. However, the Scriptures will be right every time, and feelings and imaginations will be wrong every time.

The Scriptures will safely guide us to heaven, while guesswork and imagination will justify themselves all the way to hell, and then these people will be shocked when they get there. (Matthew 7:21-23). Either the scriptures “completely furnish” us, or they don’t! Since God says they do, I trust God on this matter! What about you?