TheologySense

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”  Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.  He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. – Acts 3:6-8

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good . . . to another gifts of healing — 1 Corinthians 12:7, 9

Illustration:

A few years ago, a friend of mine went on a mission trip to Ecuador.  While she was at a prayer meeting, she witnessed several events which defied logic and the common western scientific mindset (the one that believes in a closed universe – matter is neither created or destroyed, but can only change form – no allowance for a supernaturally-acting God).  Among the happenings, She witnessed a young child miraculously grow a new ear.  Now we know that starfish can regenerate arms, and certain lizards can regenerate tails, but the human body is not known to be able to regenerate body parts – if this was so, where would the prosthetic industry be???  Yet it happened, by the power of God.

God’s desire to heal people in miraculous, physical ways is essentially restorative in nature.  As I hope you glean from this message, divine healing should be a common experience for the church.

Why do we not see miraculous healings often?

Four Hindrances to the Ministry of Divine Healing:

1.  Sanctification by Sickness

The first hindrance to a common (everyday) healing experience is what many people wrestle with – the belief that God somehow desires us to endure sickness because they believe that God sees good in it, and that He uses sickness to purify the soul and build character.

Francis MacNutt says of this idea,

“When we say that God sends sickness or asks us to endure it, we are creating for many people an image of God they must eventually reject.  What human mother or father would choose cancer for their daughter in order to tame her pride? . . . Those preachers and chaplains who try to comfort the sick by telling them to accept their illness as a blessing sent from God are giving an immediate consolation, but at what ultimate cost? . . . In a sense, we unwittingly treat God as something like a pagan deity, placated by human sacrifice.”

The roots of this idea of “sanctification by sickness” originated in the early church.  Just decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the early church experienced persecution at the hands of the Roman government.  The church endured extreme persecution, and as a result, learned to place a value on suffering.  Later, when the Roman government adopted Christianity as its state religion, those who had endured suffering turned to self-persecution.  The early ascetics endured long fasts, exposure to the elements, and deprived themselves of sleep.  As a result, sickness often characterized these people, and sickness became synonymous with the suffering of those who were “true believers.”  Sickness, in a twisted way, began to be viewed positively.

This shift away from divine healing was even reflected in the way the church interpreted the Scriptures.  For instance, a passage in the book of James, 5:13-18, which clearly refers to divine healing, was used to support what was termed “Last Rights.”  The verse was changed from reference to healing from sickness to healing in a final way from sin.

God does not, in a general sense, bring sickness on people in order to purify them or make them holy.  The Bible does say that, in rare circumstances, God brought sickness onto specific people in order to correct a specific sin.  And they always knew what the sin was; when the sin was dealt with, the sickness was removed.  For instance, he blinded Saul of Tarsus (later the Apostle Paul) in order to reveal himself to him.  This is not the case with interminable, chronic illness with no explanation.

Some people are sanctified through sickness, but that would be true no matter what life’s pain brings, for Paul in Rom. 8:28 tells us, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those that love Him.”

The bottom line is this, that we are not to receive sickness passively, as if it was good in and of itself.  We are to fight it with all we have, and the church has been given the ministry of healing for this purpose.

Another word about the Scriptural approach to “suffering” – no where in the New Testament does suffering include sickness.  In every situation, suffering is related directly or indirectly to witnessing as a Christian, for Jesus.  So we should make sure to separate suffering, as believers may endure, from sickness.

2.  Divine Determination

Many people believe that God controls all events, and He, by implication, decrees all sickness and suffering.  How can we fight something that God wills?  But, this “divine determination” thinking is not Scriptural!  Have you ever been around someone who prays, “Lord, if it is Your will to heal so and so, so be it.”  This thinking makes healing prayer irrelevant.

We need to believe, as the Bible tells us, that God has revealed himself to us as a loving, heavenly Father.  There have been many times when our boys were very sick in the middle of the night, and Kristina (and sometimes even me!) get up like a shot – to their bedside in a flash to bring comfort and love.  Do we ever stop to think if it is the Father’s will to comfort the boys?  No!  We immediately reach for the medicine or call the doctor, and expect healing.  Why then, are we confused over whether or not it is the will of God to pray for the sick and expect healing?

This “divine determinism” undermines the ministry of divine healing by creating despair and a passive approach to healing.

Here is a very important thing to understand.  Our human lives are not simply the result of God’s decrees, but also determined by human choices.  When humans choose to reject God’s desires and will as expressed in the Bible, then God’s will is not accomplished.  Jesus spoke of this in His model prayer:  “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The concept of God’s sovereignty in the Bible does not mean that He controls every event, every happening in our lives.  God’s will will one day be done perfectly on earth as it is in heaven, but that time has not come fully yet.  God’s desires and will are thwarted by humans and a number of spiritual beings.  Expressions like “God wills” or “God allows” bad things to happen are at best crude attempts to understand a reality we know little about.

Because God does not will or predestine illnesses does not mean He cannot work His good purposes in and through them, and even despite them (Rom. 8:28).  God does work through sickness caused by sin, accident, and stupidity in order to accomplish His will.  He also, and this is important, works through His obedient servants to relieve these sicknesses!

Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father, and His desires – His heart.  So we need to look at Jesus’ ministry in order to get a true perspective on God’s view of sickness and healing.

Luke 13:10-15, “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

^{LK 13:14} Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

^{LK 13:15} The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

Here is the bottom line:  God’s desire is for believers to aggressively and confidently pray for the sick.  If we don’t, we have not recognized the comprehensive nature of Jesus’ victory over evil, nor have we understood the nature of the ministry we have been given.

3.  Faith Formula

Now on this hindrance, I want you to understand that I don’t want to criticize those who stand on the biblical promises of God in a balanced way.  However, those who hold to a “faith formula” approach to healing, as I am presenting it, are essentially manipulating the power of God.  Those who hold to this thinking see a very tight relationship between healing and faith.  Such that the healing power of God rests solely on their faith.  They believe that all of God’s blessings, such as health and prosperity, are fully and constantly available to all believers.  These blessings, they believe, are available to every child of God and can be instantly appropriated by those who know enough and believe enough.  This thinking is human-centered, and defines faith as the human will to believe.  The goal of faith, in this system, is to get results.

Scottish theologian and charismatic Thomas Smail has said that the human-centered orientation “is deeply engraved in modern Pentecostalism out of its background in Methodist holiness teaching.  The baptism of the spirit and our reception of His gifts are dependent on our fulfillment of the conditions God lays down.  If we know enough, repent enough, pray enough, at the end we shall have them, but if not, we shall not.”

As applied to healing, the formula goes like this, “If you fulfill God’s conditions by believing enough, God will heal.  If you do not fulfill God’s conditions by believing enough, God will not heal.”

Charles Farrah, a retired professor from Oral Roberts University, says that in this thinking, “Failure to be healed must always come back to lack of faith.”

Here is the crux of this “Faith Formula” thinking:  if there is a strict relationship between faith and healing, then with enough faith and prayers, anyone can be healed.  This just simply is not the case – it is not reality.  I remember when I was a interning as a chaplain at Tulsa Regional Hospital, in the ICU.  There was a young man – a believer – who was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I prayed for him, and he had faith that God could and would heal him, and he had many church prayer teams working away at prayer for him.  Yet he died.

The faith formula fails the test of reality.  God does not require a certain amount of effort on our part before He heals.  He does not have a contractual relationship with us – it is covenantal, and His blessings come out of His grace for us, not our works.

We must understand that faith has to do with God’s promises for the here and now.  And divine healing in the present world is temporary.  Lazarus was buried in that tomb a second time.  The future and ultimate blessings of God have to do with what we call hope.  And hope is never disappointed.

If our gospel of healing does not ultimately hinge on the hope of eternal blessings and an eternal home, and cannot be spoken with confidence and received as comfort at the deathbed, it is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We must understand that God’s power is as near to us in sickness and death as it is in healing.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:38-39), and the one who prays and is not healed can be assured of that.

Many equate “faith formula” thinking with Christian healing ministry in general, but this is false.  In fact, I believe it has been a deterrent for many Christians (and others who are just checking out the claims of Jesus) to accept the ministry of divine healing because of these fringe elements.  However that may be, although the faith formula thinkers exaggerate what is fully available to us in the here and now, they are much closer to the truth than those who reject the healing power of God altogether.

4.  Secular World View

The secular world view characterizes many western first-world countries, such as Western Europe and the U.S.  Secularism essentially denies the existence of anything religious.  God is removed from their view of reality, and the universe is a closed system, governed by the cause and effect of so-called “natural” laws.  These laws are discovered scientifically, observing the world by empirical methods.

Secularists say that, since science has proved that the universe is a closed and mechanistic system, the need for a God is passé.  Are not all human experiences explainable in terms of natural processes?  Yet what is not said, or thought, is that science cannot inherently be atheistic – that is a fundamental flaw in the secular mind’s processes.  Science is the study of what exists, not a study in ultimately why these things exist.  The moment a scientist begins to postulate about beginnings, he or she ceases to be a scientist and begins venturing into the realm of philosophy.

Until the 17^th century, the predominant world view was theistic.  Then a man named Rene Descartes developed a view of the world based upon mathematics – a view that saw God as the beginning, with no further role.  In Descartes’ system, all processes could be described mathematically.  Although Descartes himself believed in God, those who proceeded him began to leave God out of the equation.  The agenda of science became not “thinking God’s thoughts after him” but became a discovery of the physical laws which governed the universe.  It was and still is believed by many that if we can discover these laws, we can predict and eventually control the movements of the machine.  The result is God has become unnecessary to our lives.  Not that God is disbelieved, but He has become nonessential.

So how do our beliefs work with modern science?  I believe that a combination of loving prayer with medical and psychological expertise creates the most preferable environment for healing.  Medical science and healing prayer fight a common enemy with differing approaches.

My experience tells me that when people don’t expect miracles, they don’t see them.  And when people do expect miracles, they happen.  I have my own experiences in one particular third world country that settled this issue for me.  And I continually hear of miraculous events occurring in third world countries where the western secular mindset does not exist.

A Balanced, Biblical View of Divine Healing:

1. A balanced, biblical view of healing begins with the acknowledgement of the origins of sin and sickness (Gen. 2:17; 3:10-19)
   1. Sin and death entered the world with the disobedience of the first man and woman.  God allowed humans a free choice, and they chose to disobey and suffered the consequences.  Before this choice, no sickness or sin existed.
   2. God did not force Adam and Eve to sin, yet He had to allow it to happen – it was their free choice.  Thus, the consequences resulted from human decisions, not God’s.
2. A balanced, biblical view of divine healing must also acknowledge the characteristics of God versus the Devil or Satan
   1. God is good.  As I said earlier, the Bible clearly shows us that the heavenly Father is kind and compassionate, full of mercy and love.  He is good, all the time.
   2. The Devil or Satan, however, is bad.  He is continually portrayed as a liar, a deceiver, an accuser, a murderer, and, in general, the primary source of evil in the world.
3. A balanced, biblical view of divine healing must understand Jesus’ revelation of the Kingdom of God
   1. Jesus shows us that God desires comprehensive healing to all that Satan and sin have wounded
   2. Lutheran theologian James Kallas has written, “If we see the work of Jesus as the defeat of Satan and the destruction of Satan’s grip on this world, then suddenly the life, work, death and resurrection of Jesus assumes an impressive unity.  He begins the fight with Satan in the exorcisms and healings, attacks Satan where he is strongest . . . in the realm of death by bringing them back to life . . . and then Himself shatters death as the ultimate weapon of Satan, thus completely destroying the power of Satan.  The life of Jesus thus seen is a cohesive, closely knit ascending battle which reaches its climax in the resurrection.”
   3. Jesus shows us that the Father’s heart is filled with Mercy & Compassion for the sick and sinful

Jesus shows us that salvation is not just for our spirits/souls, but salvation includes our physical bodies.  His ministry is described as primarily a healing and restoring one

1. A balanced, biblical view of divine healing must understand that the kingdom of Satan is organized and is currently waging a defensive war against the offensive advance of the Kingdom of God
   1. Mark 3:22-27: “So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come”
   2. Luke 10:17: “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name”
2. A balanced, biblical view of divine healing must understand that the fight against sin and sickness is real and requires our efforts
   1. James’ perspective on faith – it is dead without action (Jas. 2:17: In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead)
   2. Lack of faith = lack of the signs of the kingdom of God (Mark 6:4-6 Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ And he was amazed at their lack of faith)
3. A balanced, biblical view of divine healing must understand ultimate things
   1. We can have victory now, but it is incomplete.  Eventually, Lazarus was buried in the grave and his body will stay there until the resurrection
   2. The ministry of healing is partial, provisional, and ambiguous; essentially it is a mystery

i.    2 Tim. 4:20 (Trophimus was sick, and the Apostle Paul had to leave him behind)

ii.    Phil. 2:26-27 (Epaphroditus nearly died bringing gifts to Paul in prison)

iii.    1 Tim. 5:23 (Paul counseled Timothy to drink a bit of wine because of his stomach and frequent illnesses)

iv.    Yet, Acts 28:9 (Paul healed all who came to him)

Conclusion

God is a loving God – a good God, and He wants to heal and restore you.  He wants to heal your body.  He wants to heal your spirit, your soul, your finances, and your relationships.

Why does God heal, when, as we all know, it is ultimately a temporary thing?  Ultimate healing is spiritual in nature, and is a future hope.  Why does God heal here and now?  I can list many reasons, but the greatest, I believe, is because He wants to show us His mercy and compassion.  His love is best shown through restorative acts.

Two things I want you to consider as a result of this message:

1. If you are a Christian, and I mean you have received salvation by faith, through grace, in Jesus (not just a mental assent to God), then part of your “daily walk” needs to be this ministry of restoration.  Practice it this week.  Pray for the sick! (be ready in season and out of season!)
2. If you are not a Christian, consider, How can you experience the things I have been talking about without a relationship with the one who restores?  Some of you may need to initiate or restore that relationship.  You need forgiveness for the wrong things you have done – relief from guilt, and a new life.  Some of you need a new start, and today can be it!

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