Saturday, February 7, 2026

Signs Follow Believers

These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
- Matthew 16: 17-18

Signs are nothing more than indicators. We look for signs everywhere we go—for directions, for places of business, for people—and if we don’t find them, we have questions about whether or not we are headed in the right direction or in the right place.

In the same way, God provides signs to show those who are seeking Him that they are headed in the right direction. But if people see no signs of His activity, they may become confused and wonder if God is really in that place or with those people at all.

Jesus gave us unmistakable indicators of His influence and activity in a person’s life or within a body of believers, and they are listed in Mark 16:17-18. Some of them are controversial in much of today’s church, but they have not changed in the two millennia since Jesus mentioned them, and we should not try to change them, either.

The first sign is that believers would cast out demons. This should come as no surprise since much of Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated authority over demon spirits. Even though we may not encounter them as often as He did, we need to know that we are well equipped to deal with them by casting them out and exercising our God-given authority over them.

The second sign is that we would speak with new tongues. This is a direct reference to the Holy Spirit coming in all His fullness on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. One of the results of His infilling is that He gives His people the ability to communicate directly to God in a language their mind does not know, and to pray according to the perfect will of God, according to Romans 8:26-27.
The next two signs involve supernatural protection for God’s people as they accomplish His work in the earth. If they are bitten by a venomous snake or accidentally ingest some poisonous substance, they will be protected by the power of God. This is confirmation that none of the devil’s schemes can overcome a believer’s faith in an almighty and everlasting God.

The last sign Jesus mentioned is that believers shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. This is a testimony to the healing power of God that is still active and operative in the earth.

I have often said that signs are the “Amen” of God following the proclamation of His Word. We don’t worship signs, but we recognize that they point to the Savior, Jesus Christ, the resurrected Lord of Glory. After all, as believers, we testify that Jesus is alive— that God raised Him from the dead. Since He is alive, we should expect Him to do the same things now that He did during His time on earth. The difference is that now He does those things through those who believe in His name.

Further Reading

• Matthew 16: 17-18
• Acts 2:1-4
• Romans 8:26-27