Carrie was very shy. For her to get up out of her seat at the invitation of a faith healer, in front of hundreds of people, was an act of faith at the very least. Too bad she had to go home after being lied to. Too bad somebody told her she didn’t have enough faith.
Faith. That seems to be the magic word these days with most of our Christian healers: “God will heal anybody, so long as they have faith.”
Carrie went forward because she had asthma. I went with her for moral support. The preacher laid hands on Carrie and I’ll never forget his words. “OK. I think the Holy Spirit really is working. There may be a set back from Satan. I think what you need to do is just claim it by faith.”
At the risk of sounding unspiritual: A bunch of whitewashed mumbo- jumbo came out of this minister’s mouth! How do you like these characters? It you don’t get healed, you’re the problem. After all, they are promising healing to everybody and they will look quite stupid if people come forward and don’t get this marketed product called healing. Therefore, the “lack of faith” clause bails them out! If you don’t get healed it’s only because you did not have enough faith!
I have always believed that God can heal, but I never embraced healing ministries with much enthusiasm. I was simply too turned off to all this “name it, claim it” drivel.
This all changed when I experienced a more Biblically based healing ministry in Thomaston, Georgia a couple years ago entitled Be In Health. Although I owe these people a debt of gratitude, I must confess that I did not agree entirely with all of their theology either. But that’s OK. God can work despite our theology. The apostles proved this. For years they taught and believed that one must first become Jewish (and get circumcised if they were male) before becoming a Christian. That’s about as heretical as any weird theology taught today, and yet the Holy Spirit used the apostles to heal, perform miracles and even raise people from the dead! So, while in Georgia, I decided to take out the bones and eat the fish. I decided that if I could at least agree with their main thrust, I could always integrate it into my own theology.
God used these people in Georgia. He used them in a mighty way with me. As a matter of fact, it was almost an epiphany, the fifth major paradigm shift in my Christian thinking. It seems I had been so frustrated with faith healers who ignored clear passages of scripture where God chose NOT to heal people, that I drifted far too much in the opposite direction. As a theologian, I was guarding the biblical exceptions to the rule so much, I ignored a great big rule: For the most part, in general, God does want to heal us. But not because of faith primarily, because of obedience!
Men and women were meant to be immortal and perfect, physically and spiritually. They were never meant to die or have any disease. Because our ancestors turned from God and turned toward sin, things got fouled up, big time.
In the resurrected kingdom of Christ we will be immortal again. However, the church is an embassy of Christ’s kingdom exhibited here and now. When people get healed, it is a foreshadowing of a future kingdom
In John 11:25-36 Jesus, speaking about the future resurrection, is about to demonstrate the truth of his words, by raising Lazarus as a foreshadowing:
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
In Matt. 12, Jesus healed a blind and mute man by casting out the demon that was holding him in bondage. “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” 12:28
How frequently should we expect God to heal?
It seems that scripture shows healing as a general rule but also shows exceptions where God chooses not to heal.
Ps 103:2-3
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits–
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
Deut 7:15-16
15 The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.
Although he was specifically talking to ancient Israel, this certainly says something about God’s heart. We must remember that the ancient Hebrews used a good deal of hyperbole when they spoke. Still, even if words like all and every are hyperbolic, and even if the Jews knew healing would not happen every single time, we should assume that beneath the hyperbole, God is at least saying that He will heal most of the time. This seems to be suggested by the main idea and spirit of the passages.
Evidently, healing is a New Testament general rule as well:
Matt 8:14-17
When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“He took up our infirmities
and carried our diseases.”
We see here that according to Jesus, His death on the cross, as prophesied in Isaiah 53, was somehow associated with physical healing as well as deliverance from sin. This is probably because of the cross’ tie to the resurrection. As we noticed in the case of Lazarus, healing foreshadows the day when we will be completely delivered from all sin, evil, and demonic activity, a time when we will live in the paradise of Christ’s kingdom.
Because demons can influence our mind and because the mind affects the body, demons are often (but not every time) connected to our diseases. This is why Jesus often cast out demons while he healed people (Matt 12). There is an important lesson here: If we spent more time helping people repent of their sins (inspired by demons) instead of merely talking about faith, we might see more genuine healing.
On my radio show, I interviewed an impressive young man named, Darrell. Darrell had leukemia and came to realize, after certain Christian friends prayed over him, that this disease had been brought on due to bitterness. Darrell had a horrible relationship with his Dad and never received the love and nurture that a child needs. Although this was not Darrell’s fault, the bitterness was eating away at him. When he was able to ask God for emotional healing as well as physical, and when he was able to forgive his dad, the leukemia was chased away. I do not merely mean that it went into remission. I mean Darrell was completely healed! I interviewed him years after the fact!
At the same time, there are others who were traumatized as youth, who have offered forgiveness but are still plagued with depression, low self image, fear etc. In this case, they do not need an extra guilt trip, because we are not talking about their sins. We are talking about horrible things that happened to them. They still need deliverence, but of a different nature.
As evangelicals, we tend to stress only part of the gospel, that Jesus died to deliver us from sin we commit. But Jesus also died to deliver us from sin commited against us.
It may be helpful to review the original Jewish concept of Messiah. Although some messianic prophecies speak of a savior who forgives sin, the popular expectation of the Messiah was that of a warrior who would completely deliver the people of Israel from her enemies and from all infirmities. Jesus claimed to be this very Messiah after reading one such prophecy in a public temple service.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
(Luke 4:18-19 From Isaiah 61:1-2)
Notice the phrase “preach good news to the poor.” This is what the very word gospel means, good news. Typically, we take that to mean, “the good news that we can be forgiven of our sins.” True enough, but only partly true. Think. If forgiveness from sin is all of the good news, in what way is our message a gospel for the poor? Apparently Jesus is also talking about the good news of being delivered from the effects of sin.
In the case of the poor, the specific sin they are being delivered from is the greed and apathy of a society who cast them aside.But social injustice is not the only evil chain Jesus came to break. He also mentions blindness. Although such physical conditions can be blamed on no man (John 9) we would nevertheless agree that back in paradise nobody was blind. And so, all physical infirmities from blindness to deafness to death itself are ultimately the result of a sin cursed world. Jesus will someday overcome the entire biological curse of the earth (Romans 8:22-25). Meanwhile, as a sample and foreshadowing of this blessed day some will actually receive healing ahead of time.
As we continue to study the New Testament, we see that the deliverance is even more thorough. Jesus not only healed people physically, he healed them mentally. Sometimes He did both at the same time.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, the epilectics, and the paralyzed, and he healed them (Matt 4:23-24).
The term epileptic is translated more accurately as lunatic in the King James.
-The actual Greek word is selanuiazomenos, meaning moonstruck or crazy.
Evidently, there is sometimes a relationship between mental/emotional problems and demonic affliction.
As we can see, the New Testament defines gospel as the good news that we will be completely free from sin across the board. This includes the sin we commit and the sin committed against us, be it the evil of men, the evil of demons or the consequences of sin in nature. Christ means to free us physically, mentally and spiritually from all sin.
“If the cross is about atonement and forgiveness, how does the cross deliver us from the effects of sin committed against us?”
It is the cross’ connection to the resurrection which delivers us from sin committed against us.
“If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.” (Rom 6:5-9)
On the cross, all sin is destroyed. The resurrection brings about new life, completely free from sin. There could be no resurrection without the cross. It is a two step process, destruction of the old nature and creation of the new nature. The ultimate deliverance frees us from death and returns us to paradise.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20).
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor 15:22).
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you ( Matt 5:10, 12a).
I will no longer commit sin against others and others will no longer commit sin against me. That is the nature of paradise.
Example of Exceptions: (Biblical examples of times God does not heal)
1) Paul had the gift of healing but also a “thorn in the flesh”.
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times, I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses that Christ’s power may rest on me. (II Cor. 12:7-9)
Note: God has other areas that he wants healed besides physical and he will sometimes sacrifice physical qualities for character qualities. Yet Paul had faith in God and the power of God
3) Blind man, John 9
For a length of time, it was not God’s will to heal this man until a certain day, so that his healing could glorify God. It is important to remember that in this case, sin had nothing to do with the man being blind in the first place and lack of faith had nothing to with God delaying the healing.
John 9:1-4
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
4) Job, also, for a length of time, received no healing.
Note: God’s answer as to why he suffered was not: “You did not have faith,” or ,“You did not think positive.” It was:
Job 38:4-7
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
5) The fact that we will all die some day.
Unless God just takes us in some unusual manner, or unless we are murdered or killed in an accident or earthquake type catastrophe, we will die by some kind of sickness.
“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom 8:19-21).
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive. But each in his own turn Christ, the first fruits, then when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he had destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (I Cor. 15:22-26).
Who can heal?
1) Elders
James 5:14-15
“Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Context: This was concerned with sicknesses brought on due to sins. This is one type of sickness and one type of healing. Oil was cultural symbol for setting people apart for some kind of ministry or blessing.
2) Those called to special healing ministries. (1 Cor 12)
Can one with the consistent gift of healing heal every time?
On the assumption that one is using this gift in obedience to the Spirit’s leading, yes, i.e. Whenever the gift is properly used, it is properly effective.However, there are guidelines:
a) The faith of both parties, the healer and the one being healed.
In Matt. 17 Epileptic was not healed because of disciple’s lack of faith
We do not want to exaggerate the notion of faith as though our faith were some actual guarantee like the “Name It And Claim It” kind of faith healing promises. When God does choose to heal by honoring faith, He honors even the weakest amount. It is not about how much faith we have.
Luke 17:6
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
Another great example of Jesus accepting whatever faith we have:
Mark 9:20-25
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
b) The will of God.
Abraham’s faith was based on a reaction to what God had told him. His wife was beyond the age of bearing children and God spoke to Abraham to tell him that she would bear a son despite her many years (Gen 18). Abraham did believe God with great faith. However, (and this is very important) it was God’s idea not Abraham’s. Abraham did not merely “name it and claim it.” Certainly he may have asked God for a son at various times in his life and I would be surprised if he hadn’t but that is not the same as saying to himself one day, “Hmm…Even though Sarah is unable to have a son, I think I’ll just claim a son any way and have faith to trust that God will do as my faith commands.”
And so it is with modern healing. If God speaks to the person who is sick or perhaps speaks to the one called into a healing ministry and ACTUALLY TELLS THEM that He means to heal, then of course God wants us to believe Him and put our faith in his promise. But we do not claim promises God never actually gave.
.
3) Can one be healed by praying themselves, apart from the interaction of any elder or faith healer?
Yes, because we cannot put God in a box. He may do anything He likes and even if He generally ministers one particular way through one particular type of structure, there are always exceptions.
King Hezekiah was ill and told through the prophet Isaiah that he would soon die. After Isaiah left, Hezekiah, all on his own, asked God to heal him and extend his life.
2 Kings 20:1-6
In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 “Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.'”
Conclusion: As a general rule, God prefers to heal. This has little to do with faith and mostly to do with the casting out of lying demons who have access to our minds and therefore access to our bodies. Although there are exceptions to this rule, we want to stress the rule and not the exceptions. We must always remember that those who follow God but do not receive healing in this life, will still be resurrected and ultimately healed once and for all in the next life, never to suffer again.
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