Recently, I posted the following statement on a social media site: “Sickness is never God’s will. Never.” In response to that post, I have had individuals point to different verses in the Bible where people did become sick. And from that, they have conflated separate theological concepts: God’s will, God’s sovereignty, and man’s individual responsibility: to develop an unscriptural viewpoint on God’s will concerning divine healing: God makes people sick. I would like to confront that false and heretical viewpoint. And I would like to present a Biblical and theologically accurate viewpoint. Now, adequately handling those subjects would require books. Obviously, posts are not meant to be books. So, with that in mind, consider what I say and the Lord give you understanding in all things.
One person used Job as an example of God allowing sickness. Yes, Job was afflicted with boils, not by God’s hand, but through Satan’s work. We see Job’s trials play out in real life AND we see what happened behind the scenes, Satan said to God, “stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.” Job 1:11, Berean Standard Bible. God responds to Satan, “Everything he has is in your power, but you must not lay a hand on him!" Job 1:12, God’s Word Translation. Here, it’s assumed, even by some translators of this verse, that God authorized Satan to do what he did. Yet, is that true?
Before answering that question, I want to point out a significant scriptural truth that would be easy to miss: Satan seeks to have God turn His hand against Job. In other words, Satan tempts God to pervert God’s nature to become an instrument in Satan’s hand. From there, because God limits Satan from harming Job, it’s assumed that He authorized Satan to attack Job. And we must ask: Did God authorize Satan? Did God set a boundary on Satan’s work? Did God make a statement of fact to Satan? Is there a combination of things taking place here? Right here, we learn that interpreting scripture isn’t as easy as it looks. And we can see how people, including ourselves, can easily make assumptions as to what is taking place here.
The Apostle Peter, in writing of the Apostle Paul’s writings, which he calls scripture, says, “some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” In interpreting the scripture, there’s always an implied warning: We can twist and pervert scripture. Further, if we do twist or pervert scripture, it can cause us and others great harm. In other words, interpreting the scripture carries risks, rewards, and consequences. Few pay attention to that warning. As a result, many cause harm through their misunderstanding and misinterpretation of scripture.
Today, we have a myriad of heresies, speculations, and reasonings based around scripture, but avoiding the central truths in scripture. As Edward R. Murrow so eloquently stated, The obscure we see eventually; the completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. Like the Jewish religious leaders, we strain over every jot and tittle; nevertheless, we miss the main point. For example, the Old Testament clearly reveals God’s commands for us to love Him and love one another. Yet, love was nonexistent under the Jewish leaders understanding of religion. And in the end, they were willing to crucify the God of love because they didn’t understand His love, even though it was revealed in the Torah.
Similarly, the Church has missed the singular quality of Christ — Jesus, The Healer. I say that, not from my perspective as a modern day Christian; rather, from the perspective of Luke, who authored the book of Acts. He summarized Jesus’s ministry in this one statement: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” Acts 10:38. Luke was able to recognize what many reject, albeit in the name of trust, that Jesus Christ healed ALL.
But some might say, Jesus didn’t heal everyone. You’re right. Jesus healed everyone He could heal. Jesus was (and is) willing to heal. Yet, like those in His hometown of Nazerath, “because of their (our) unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” Mk. 6:5, NLT. Not that Jesus wouldn’t, scripture says, He couldn’t. Why couldn’t Jesus? Scripture says, “because of their unbelief”.
Today, we disguise our unbelief as faith. But, in reality, the results are the same as what took place when Jesus was in Nazerath: He couldn’t heal the sick and wasn’t able to do any miracles. Wow! For miracles to take place in our lives, God requires mankind’s cooperation. Yes, God doesn’t heal us based on His sovereignty. Nor does healing take place solely based on God’s will. What Jesus demonstrated is God requires mankind’s faith and cooperation to heal. That concept is foreign to the Church. Yet, it’s clearly revealed in God’s Word in Jesus’s life.
There’s more. Jesus commanded His Church to “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils”. Matt. 10:8. No equivocation, excuses, or false humility. Rather, Jesus expected results. I think we’ve forgotten what the Bible clearly teaches: we will all be judged. That thought causes me to tremble and do what the Apostle Paul said, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” 2 Cor. 13:5, NASB.
Our faith is proven by what we do not what we say. Neither is it proven by our theology. When the rubber meets the road is the fruit of our faith. Real faith will produce real fruit — fruit that remains. Sadly, we don’t rely on real faith to live. Instead, we have a pseudo faith; it looks like faith, talks like faith, walks like faith, but it lacks the real fruit of faith. In this case, the fruit of Jesus healing the sick. We don’t see the sick healed because we don’t have to rely on faith in God to be healed. Unless what we face is terminal, we don’t really exercise faith in God to be healed. That is our dilemma — we have a form of godliness without the power of God.
What we need is God’s power. What we need is the real Jesus who heals the sick. What we desperately need is deliverance from false doctrines that cause us to minimize the work of Christ through unbelief. Instead, we must rise up in faith, claim our natural birthright as believers, receive healing, and heal the sick. We need to demonstrate to the world that Jesus Christ is still the same, yesterday, today, and forever. The Jesus we serve was, is, and always will be a healer.
Jesus is the healer. That’s the good news we bring to this sick world. They desperately need to hear that. We desperately need to show that. Jesus is looking for His Church to do what He commanded us to do — heal the sick. Yes, He has given us the authority and ability to heal the sick; it’s our birthright as believers. Let’s expect Jesus to heal the sick. Yes, we need to expect a miracle. Now is the time. Today is the day. Jesus, the healer, is here. Receive!
Let us pray!
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