When we put the Lord to the test, we fail

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test,as you tested him at Massah.--Deuteronomy 6:16, ESV

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”--Matthew 4:7, ESV

It's always sad when it happens. But not surprising. The Bible clearly warns against presuming upon God's promises. Yet a small group of American Pentecostals- a fringe group of a fringe group- persists in handling venomous snakes as evidence of their faith that God will do what He has not promised to do, and prevent them from dying of bites inflicted by venomous snakes they tease in church.

Sometimes He doesn't. Nor should that be surprising. He hasn't promised to.True, Jesus is quoted in Mark 16:17-18 as saying, "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 with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." But aside from the fact that the earliest manuscripts do not contain these words, Jesus speaks them to the apostles in commissioning them to begin their mission of carrying the Gospel to the world. It is by no means clear that even if He actually spoke these words, He intended believers to tempt fate- and God- by deliberately courting death by snake venom or oral strychnine. Nor is it clear that this promise- again, assuming that it is genuine- was intended to extend beyond the apostles' mission. While it is true that none of them, as far as we know, died of snakebite or poisoned food or drink, all but John died violent deaths. It would seem that if Jesus actually spoke these words, they are less a matter of promising unconditional protection to His followers than of serving their stated purpose: And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs" (Mark 16:20 ESV).

Yet that fringe within a fringe insists on "proving" their faith (as if God were in the dark about it) by handling venomous snakes. And not infrequently, one bites one of them. And since the whole premise of the exercise is to trust God for protection, they do not receive medical treatment- and they often die.

Mack Wolford, a Pentecostal minister from West Virginia who was famous all over Appalachia for his herpetological manipulation, had gotten away with presuming upon God's protection for years. But last Sunday, a rattlesnake he was handling bit him. Hours later, he died.

Not only that, but his father had died the same way.

What are we to gather from this? That Pastor Wolford's faith was lacking? That God reneged on His promise- and might therefore renege on any other promise He has made to us?

Neither. The lesson, I think, is the one Jesus quoted to Satan in the wilderness: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

We encounter the same kind of thinking in the strangest places. I remember a Missouri Synod deaconess I knew years ago who insisted that when she got married she would not practice birth control, but rather "let God decide how many children I will have." I asked her how often she crossed the street with her eyes closed, and let God decide whether or not she made it to the opposite curb without being run over.

God gave us minds and judgment for a reason. He is not pleased when we refuse to exercise them, and then excuse ourselves by saying that we were trusting Him to save us from our own presumptuous behavior.

HT: Drudge