God's promise to deliver you from poisoning is further proof of his healing covenant with you.

Mark 16:15-18

One sign that Jesus said would follow believers was immunity from poisons, delivered either through a drink or through a serpent. This is not a license to drink poison to prove something; you'll prove only that Mark 16:15-18 does not work for people who deliberately ingest poison!

We can see that the statement that you would "take up serpents" refers to immunity from poisonous snakebites, as exemplified by Paul's experience on the island of Melita. A poisonous viper (snake) bit Paul while he was getting wood for a fire. Paul would normally have died, but he didn't suffer any harm at all, and went on to get everyone healed who was sick on the island.


Consider for a minute the foolishness of thinking that God would deliver you from poisons but not from sicknesses. Some poisons (such as anthrax) are actually disease organisms that multiply in your body. Also, some diseases cause your body to poison itself by "reprogramming" it to generate toxins that break down your organs. If some poisons are diseases and some diseases poison you, where are you going to draw the line? It seems to me that you have to be delivered from both or neither.

Consider also that some diseases can be caused by poison. Prolonged exposure to certain chemicals can cause illness. You don't want to knowingly expose yourself to danger, but if you have been exposed to poisonous chemicals and have gotten sick as a result, you should claim Mark 16:15-18. I am not saying that you should do so to the exclusion of medical treatment, but you have a right to trust God to heal you!


If poison from a snakebite or something you drink doesn't kill you, it could at least make you sick. Thank God, deliverance from poisoning and deliverance from sickness is part of the same gospel package. You don't have to think about what caused your sickness; you have a right to be healed no matter what caused it -- viruses, chemicals, even your own foolishness if you have repented of it (Psalm 107:17-20).

If God will not allow your body to be destroyed by a poison, why would he turn around and let it be destroyed by an infection? Infections and poisons do the same thing -- they destroy and kill part or all of your body. The fact that God has made protection from poisoning part of the New Covenant is further proof that healing is part of that covenant. You can be healed of anything that is caused by a poison as well as anything caused by viruses, birth defects, or anything else.