Over the years, I can recall hearing numerous stories of great men and women of God who did great exploits. One book that was utilized for sharing such stories was God’s Generals, and one particular story came to mind recently. It was the story of John G Lake and the bubonic plague said to have died in his hands while he was in South Africa.

Lake shared this account in his writings and sermons stating, “During that great plague that I mentioned, they sent government ship with supplies and a corps of doctors. One of the doctors sent for me, and said, “What have you been using to protect yourself? Our corps has this preventative and that, which we use as protection, but we concluded that if a man could stay on the ground as you have and keep ministering to the sick and burying the dead, you must have a secret. What is it?” I answered, “Brother that is the ‘law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.’ I believe that just as long as I keep my soul in contact with the living god so that His Spirit is flowing into my soul and body, that no germ will ever attach itself to me, for the Spirit of God will kill it.” He asked, “Don’t you think that you had better use our preventative?” I replied, “No, but doctor I think that you would like to experiment with me. If you will go over to one of these dead people and take the foam that comes out of their lungs after death, then put it under the microscope you will see masses of living germs. You will find they are alive until a reasonable time after a man is dead. You can fill my hand with them, and I will keep it under the microscope, and instead of these germs remaining alive, they will die instantly.” They tried it and found it was true. They questioned, “What is that?” I replied, “That is ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.’ When a man’s spirit and a man’s body are filled with the blessed presence of God, it oozes out of the pores of your flesh and kills the germs.”

Why am I talking about an alleged incident said to have taken place one hundred thirteen years ago? Because the truth matters. Proper doctrine matters. Just because a personal account is stated over and over by well-known people does not necessarily make it true. We are to utilize critical thinking in testing things against Scripture. We also have no documentation to verify this taking place, and it should not bring controversy to ask for such things. In this instance, questions could be asked such as how does one get a hand under a microscope to see bacteria die? Are bacteria seen that easily without processes such as staining? With such a miraculous claim, why did the newspapers not report this? Why did Lake not heal or even resurrect the dead since he was operating in what he called the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ”? If he had the power to kill the bacteria upon contact, then why not demonstrate that to others who were suffering?

I took time to research this account, and I found more information to refute Lake’s claim than to confirm it. The most notable things found were articles discussing the presence of pneumonic plague in South Africa and its end several years before Lake had even arrived there. Additionally, some have relayed the account as not being the plague but blackwater fever, a complication of malarial infection, which would not be contagious to people and would change the basis of his account. In other words, it could be argued there is inconsistency in this account., and inconsistency brings credibility into question.

The other area of importance here is the understanding of Romans 8:2 quoted by Lake in explaining this account. The things Lake stated are very much in agreement with the Word of Faith teaching and not in agreement with what Scripture plainly says in context to this verse. In the context of Romans 8:2, “The law of the Spirit is the gospel or good news of Jesus, the message of new life through faith in the resurrected Christ. The law of sin and death is the Old Testament Law of God.” (Got Questions)

It is important to know the fruit of one’s life claiming to do such miraculous wonders and that we are not idolizing or desiring to emulate fallible people who are conducting themselves in a manner either worthy or unworthy of the gospel of Christ. We are to follow Christ and to be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit working within us. Men and women like Lake have been set upon a pedestal and their lives have become the high watermark to attain. There is no pleasant way to say it; this is idolatry. We are to look to the Lord for our instruction. We are to be led by the Holy Spirit who testifies of Jesus Christ (John 15:26, 16:14). We look to His Word for Godly counsel and guidance into all truth. We do not take personal accounts and make them the gospel, and this is the concern; unsubstantiated claims of the miraculous are promoted as the standard by which one should live, and if you do not perform such miracles you are said to be void of power. This is made to be the gospel by some, but the power of God is in the gospel of Jesus Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

We are encouraged by Romans 1:16,17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” I do believe God still heals and performs miracles today beyond our comprehension. However, these cannot be willed by us or commanded by us. They are not guided by spiritual laws or the power of our words, and there is no denying the greatest miracle is the regeneration of a spiritually dead man.

I encourage you to test what is written here and to search this account for yourself if you so choose. This is not to disparage a man or to diminish one’s faith. Regardless of its validity, it does not change who God is and the power of His Son to save those who are lost. It does not diminish His majesty or His glory. He is to be our focus.

For a more in-depth discussion on this topic, check out the latest episode of The Lovesick Scribe Podcast.