Are miracles scientifically possible?

The Man Who Supposed the Laws of Nature Forbid Miracles

He was an educated man who valued science, and he had been taught that miracles are impossible: since the laws of nature govern the world with a fixed regularity, what contradicts them cannot happen; and a miracle, by definition, contradicts natural law, so it is therefore impossible. So he supposed that the educated person who respects science cannot believe in a miracle. But one day he read how the Bible presents the laws of nature: not as an autonomous machine governing the world by itself, but as the faithful order of God who arranged it, and in which He is free to act: "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14). And he paused: if the laws are God's order, not a chain upon Him, then perhaps their Maker is free to act within them as He wills.

The Bible's answer to the question of miracles is a single sentence, and once it is grasped it changes the view: the laws of nature are God's faithful order in arranging His world, not a machine that binds Him; the Maker is free to act in His creation, for nothing is too hard for Him; and ruling out the miracle in advance is an assumption, not a discovery. As for the supposition that the laws forbid the miracle, it is overturned by the fact that the laws are a description of what God ordinarily does, not a chain preventing Him from doing the unusual. And as for the supposition that the miracle is impossible because nature is uniform, it is overturned by the fact that this presupposes that there is no God who could act — which is the very question at issue. So the miracle is not the breaking of a blind machine, but the act of a free Maker in a world He Himself arranged.

What the Educated Man Assumes in His Question

Let the position be stated fairly. Many educated people assume that miracles are impossible: the laws of nature are fixed and uniform, the miracle contradicts them, so it cannot happen. And from this it is understood that the scientific mind, seeing the regularity of nature, must reject every claim of a miracle, since a miracle — in their view — is the breaking of what cannot be broken.

And we acknowledge true things here: that nature is broadly uniform, that respect for this uniformity is the foundation of science, and that one should not believe every claim without discernment. All this we value and do not deny. But the matter is not whether nature is uniform — that is agreed — but what these laws are, and whether they bind their Maker. So here we ask: what is the nature of a «law of nature»? Is it an autonomous force governing the world by itself and forbidding everything contrary, or a description of God's faithful, ordinary order in His world? So when we ask about miracles, we are not asking whether nature is uniform, but whether its uniformity prevents its Maker from acting within it as He wills. And the Bible answers: the laws are God's order, not a chain upon Him; and ruling out the miracle before examining the evidence is a prior assumption, not a result science imposes. So the real question is the freedom of the Maker in His world, not the uniformity of the world in itself.

The Laws of Nature Are God's Faithful Order, Not a Machine That Binds Him

The first thing that settles the matter is understanding what «the laws of nature» are. They are not an autonomous force governing the world by itself, but a description of the order by which God ordinarily works in His world. For the Bible declares that God is the One who upholds and arranges the universe, and that by Him all things consist: "and by him all things consist" (Colossians 1:17). So what we call a «law» is God's faithful, ordinary ordering of His creation, not a machine working apart from Him.

For the regularity we see in nature is not independence from God, but the mark of His constant faithfulness: the sun rises, the seasons succeed one another, because He keeps His order steadfastly. So the law is a description of what God ordinarily does, not a force dictating to Him what He is able to do. So if the law is God's ordinary order, the miracle is not the breaking of an autonomous force, but the act of the Maker Himself when He chooses to work in an unusual way for a purpose He intends. So the one who supposes that the law forbids the miracle imagines the law to be an autonomous machine governing the world and binding even its Maker; but the law is not so — it is a description of God's ordinary faithfulness. So the One who set the order is free to act within it as He wills; for the order is His servant, not His master. So the laws, then, do not stand between God and His world as a barrier that prevents Him, but are His ordinary way, which He can transcend whenever He wills for a higher purpose. So the miracle is not a violation of a blind force, but the free Maker's act within His own order.

The Maker Is Free to Act in His Creation

And the foundation on which the possibility of the miracle rests is that God, who made the world, is free to act in it. For nothing is too hard for Him: "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14). And with Him all things are possible: "but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

So if God is the One who made the universe and its laws, He is above these laws, not under them. For the One who set the order is able to act within it in a way that surpasses the ordinary, just as an author who set the rules of his story is able to write in it what he wills. So the miracle, then, is not a failure of the law, but the act of the law's Author. So the one who believes that God made the universe from nothing — which is the greater — ought all the more to believe that He can work a miracle within this universe. For the One who made the whole can act within the part. So the One who made the sea can part it; the One who made the body can heal it; the One who made life can raise the dead. So miracles are not deeds beyond God's power, but are easier for Him than creating the whole universe. So the one who grants that God is Creator, then denies that He can work a miracle, contradicts himself: for the power that created the universe is greater than the power that works a miracle within it. So the freedom of the Maker in His world is the foundation of the possibility of the miracle; and nothing is too hard for Him.

The First Objection: «A Miracle Contradicts Natural Law, So It Is Impossible»

Here the educated man raises his strongest objection: is not a miracle, by definition, a contradiction of natural law, and therefore impossible? And the answer reveals that this reasoning runs in a circle: for to say that a miracle is impossible because it contradicts the uniformity of nature presupposes that there is no power above nature able to act — which is the very question at issue. So the objector places in his premise what he ought to prove.

For if there is a God who made nature, He is able to act in it in a way surpassing the ordinary; and if there is not, then there is no miracle. So the whole matter turns on the existence of God, not on the uniformity of nature. So to say «nature is uniform, therefore no miracle» leaps over the real question: is there a free Maker behind nature? For if there is, the ordinary uniformity of nature does not prevent Him from doing the unusual whenever He wills. So the reasoning, then, begs the question: it assumes the absence of God to prove the impossibility of His act. And intellectual honesty requires that we not reject the miracle before examining, but ask first: is there a God who can work it? For if there is, there is no impossibility. So the one who rejects the miracle on the ground of nature's uniformity rejects it only because he has already assumed there is no Maker behind nature; and this is an assumption, not a proof. So the ordinary uniformity does not negate the power of the One who set it to transcend it; rather the objector assumes this negation before he proves it.

The Second Objection: «Ruling Out the Miracle Is a Scientific Result»

And the educated man raises a second objection: is not ruling out miracles a result that science itself imposes, not merely an assumption? And the answer is that science describes what ordinarily happens in nature, not what its Maker can or cannot do. For science observes the regularity and formulates it into laws; but it cannot prove that there is no power above nature able to act within it. So ruling out the miracle is not a scientific result, but a philosophical assumption added to science.

So when the scientist says «the dead do not rise,» he is describing what ordinarily happens by nature alone; and this is true. But the miracle does not claim that the dead rise by nature alone, but that God raised them. So science describes nature left to itself; and the miracle speaks of the intervention of its Maker. So they do not contradict: for science describes the ordinary, and the miracle is an unusual act from outside the system. So the one who says «science rules out the miracle» confuses «what ordinarily happens» with «what God can do»; the first is science's province, the second is beyond its scope. Indeed, the miracle, in order to be a miracle, presupposes the regularity that science describes: for unless the dead ordinarily do not rise, a resurrection would not be a miracle. So science, in establishing the regularity, does not negate the miracle, but makes it stand out as a meaningful exception. So the scientist describes the rule; and the miracle is the intervention of the One who set the rule, for a purpose He intends. So ruling out the miracle in advance, then, is not science, but a philosophy dressed in the garb of science.

The Uniformity the Objector Relies On Points to a Faithful Maker

And what turns the objection is that the uniformity of nature on which the objector leans is itself something that needs a foundation. For why is nature uniform and dependable? And why do things run tomorrow as they ran yesterday? Science assumes this uniformity, but it does not explain it. And the Bible answers: because God is faithful in keeping His order; so the uniformity is the mark of His faithfulness, not a law standing by itself.

So the fixed order that makes science possible is exactly what we would expect if a faithful God upholds the world steadfastly. For the sun rises every morning, not because a blind machine compels it, but because God keeps His order faithfully. So the paradox is that the very uniformity the objector relies on to deny the miracle points to a faithful God behind it — and this same God is free to do the unusual whenever He wills. So the one who would lean on nature's uniformity leans on a mark that points to a faithful Maker; and the one who grants this Maker can no longer deny His power over the miracle. So the uniformity and the miracle both proceed from the same God: the first His constant faithfulness, the second His purposeful freedom. So the one who appeals to the first to deny the second saws off the branch he sits on: for the uniformity he trusts presupposes a Maker, and the Maker he presupposes is free to work the miracle. So faithfulness in the order does not negate freedom in intervention; rather both are the faces of one God, faithful and free.

The Miracle Is a Meaningful Act, Not Caprice or Chaos

And what clarifies the nature of the miracle is that it is not caprice nor chaos overturning the world's order, but a meaningful act that God works for a purpose He intends. For the miracles in the Bible are not a display of power without aim, but signs that testify to a message and reveal God. So the miracle does not abolish the order, but points to its Setter.

So when the Lord Jesus Christ raised the dead, opened the eyes of the blind, and fed the multitudes, these were not random deeds toying with nature, but signs testifying that He is from God, calling people to believe Him for the very works' sake: "the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me" (John 10:25). So the miracle is not a glitch in the order, but a message from the order's Setter, who works in it in an unusual way to reveal Himself or to work salvation. So the one who supposes the miracle to be chaos imagines it a random breaking; but in the Bible it is a purposeful, meaningful act, rare by its nature, for were it to become ordinary it would not be a sign. So the rarity of the miracle is part of its meaning: it stands out against the background of regularity, pointing to the fact that God has spoken or acted here. So the miracle, then, does not overturn God's wisdom in ordering the world, but completes it: for the order declares His constant faithfulness, and the miracle declares His freedom and purpose. So together they reveal a God faithful in His order, free in His intervention, wise in both.

The Greatest Miracle: The Resurrection of Christ

And the summit of the miracles the Bible declares is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; it is the miracle on which the whole faith rests. For He died, was buried, and rose again the third day: "how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

So if God exists, and He is the One who made life, then raising a dead man is not impossible for Him; rather it is the act of the One who possesses life to give it whenever He wills. So the resurrection is not a capricious breaking of a blind law, but the greatest sign God worked to testify to His Son and to work the salvation of mankind. So the one who rejects the resurrection on the ground that the dead do not rise returns to the same begging of the question: for he assumes that there is no God who can raise, and this is the very matter. But the dead do not rise by nature alone — and this is true; and the Bible does not claim that Christ rose by nature, but that God raised Him. So the resurrection is the act of the free Maker, the greatest meaningful miracle: by it God declared that the atonement was accomplished, that Christ is His Son, and that eternal life is offered to everyone who believes. So the great miracle is not caprice, but the axis of the whole message: for if Christ has risen, then all He said is true, and all He promised is sure.

How to Consider This Sincerely

And if you seek the truth sincerely, there is an honest path: not to reject the miracle before examining, but to ask first about the basis of its rejection. So ask: is the law of nature an autonomous force binding its Maker, or a description of His ordinary order? And is rejecting the miracle a scientific result, or an assumption that there is no Maker behind nature? So if you distinguish this, it becomes clear that the matter turns on the existence of God, not on the uniformity of the world.

Then do what the sincere seeker does: do not judge the miracle by a prior assumption, but examine the evidence, and seek the One who can work it. For God has promised that the sincere seeker finds: "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). So begin with the Gospel of John, and read the signs of Christ, not as impossible legends, but as works testifying to the One who worked them, asking God to show you the truth. For the Bible itself was written that you might believe and have life: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31). So sincere examination reveals that the miracle is not impossible if there is a free Maker behind nature; and that the real question is not «can a miracle happen?» but «is there a God who works it?».

Closing — A Free Maker in a World He Arranged

If you have supposed the laws of nature forbid miracles, the Bible reveals to you that the laws are God's faithful order, not a machine that binds Him; and that the Maker is free to act in His world, for nothing is too hard for Him. You are not called to reject the miracle before examining, but to see that rejecting it in advance is an assumption that there is no Maker behind nature — which is the very matter. So the miracle is not the breaking of a blind force, but the act of the free Maker, meaningful and purposeful. And the greatest of them is the resurrection of Christ, who died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Come, then, and do not let a prior assumption close your mind before you examine the evidence. Read the Gospel of John for yourself, and look at the signs of Christ, and ask God to show you the truth, confident that the sincere seeker finds. For the miracle is possible if there is a free Maker behind nature; and this Maker revealed Himself in His Son, who rose from the dead as the greatest sign. So the One who made the universe and its laws is able to work in it what He wills; and He invites you to know Him — not as a blind force, but as a living, free God, who made your world, and invites you to Himself through the risen Christ.

A Special Prayer

If you have come to see that miracles are possible because God is a free Maker in His world, and that the greatest of them is the resurrection of Christ who died and rose for you, you may come to Him now, even while you still examine. What saves you is not the words of a prayer, but faith that the Lord Jesus Christ died for you and rose again. So pray from your heart to the living God who hears:

"O great and holy and loving God, the one true God: I supposed that the laws of nature forbid miracles, and I see now that Thou art a free Maker in Thy world, for whom nothing is too hard. I confess that I am a sinner, and that I need Thee. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. I trust in Him alone as my Saviour. Reveal the truth to me, forgive me, receive me, and grant me eternal life. I pray in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen."

After You Have Prayed

If you prayed this prayer from a sincere heart, then you have come to the free Maker God, who raised Christ for you, and you have become a child of His forever. Here are steps to steady you:

First — read the Word of God every day. Know that the King James Version (KJV) is the truest and purest copy of the Word of God in all the world, His true and pure Word, and you will find it on this website (alinjil.com); and in Arabic, read the trustworthy Van Dyck translation. Begin with the Gospel of John, not in haste, but with meditation and prayer, for God speaks to you through His Word.

Second — pray to God directly every day in words from your own heart, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, thanking Him that He is the free Maker who hears you.

Third — ponder the signs of Christ and His resurrection, for they testify that He is from God, that you may grow in trust of Him.

Fourth — seek a church that honours the Word of God and proclaims the resurrection of Christ and His salvation, join the fellowship of believers, and be baptized in obedience to the Lord.

Fifth — bear witness to others with gentleness and love that the miracle is possible because God is a free Maker, especially to those who supposed science forbids it.

And keep reading the Word of God in the King James Version, the truest and purest Word of God in the world, and in the Van Dyck in Arabic — both found on this website — that you may grow in the knowledge of the free Maker who raised Christ.

A Personal Word to You, Dear Reader

Thank you for taking the time to read this message about miracles, and the salvation that God offers through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have received Christ as your own personal Saviour, you have come to the free Maker who raised Christ from the dead, and you have become a child of God forever. "but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

We encourage you to begin reading the Gospel of John for yourself, to continue in the Word of God in the King James Version — the truest and purest Word of God in the world — and in the Van Dyck in Arabic, both found on this website (alinjil.com), and to share this good news with everyone who supposed miracles impossible. May God richly bless you as you come to know the free Maker who raised Christ, and called you to Himself.

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