The subject of healing within the Christian world is huge and nebulous: this post is intended to be a broad comment and not a detailed or exhaustive analysis. It’s also intended for people who are genuinely seeking facts and who may be disillusioned because what they see doesn’t match their expectations. At the outset I must state that I believe God sometimes heals today, but I do not believe in healers, and some hard truths must be told. My last subtitle is, “How to be healed”.
FAILURE IN THE CHURCH
Unfortunately, too many people are unwilling or unable to examine Scripture in any depth or honesty: they would far rather just believe what they want to believe, and then look to people who claim to have the power to do it. There are also those who think that if you even question that God will heal you, you’re limiting Him and He can’t reward you, or literally isn’t able to do it. These mistaken beliefs lead many others who might otherwise come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ to become offended, when they see the healers or claimed methods of calling on the Holy Spirit not actually producing real results.
THE HARD TRUTH
I once prayed loudly over my mother who had recurring and serious headaches, and many other times I prayed quietly for her to be healed. I believed God could heal her, but He didn’t: she had headaches for the rest of her life. Some would here insist that I or she didn’t have enough faith to make it happen. After forty years, I have another explanation: it was not the will of God for her to be healed. That’s a tough idea for many people including myself to accept, and one which is labelled by some as “unbelief”. I’ll answer that accusation later in this post.
However, like it or not, we’re all human, frail, and very temporary, and there’s a good reason for this. Those who insist that healing is in the atonement and so assume that we should all be healed and perfectly healthy, are ignoring the fact that, “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). How can we be fully healed and at the same time, die?
The hard truth for every one of us is that the Lord God almighty ensured in the Garden that humanity would not live in this fallen world forever. It is He who has put a limit on our lifespan and therefore our health. You can’t die if you’re perfectly healthy, can you? Our present body will not enter heaven:
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:50).
YOU DON’T NEED MOUNTAIN-MOVING FAITH TO BE HEALED
Reading through the New Testament you can find examples of people being healed even though they had little faith. Consider the story in Mark’s gospel of a man whose son had a mute spirit-a demon. Without doubt, Jesus was looking for faith in him as he is in all of us, but didn’t use it as a condition of healing:
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Jesus healed the boy anyway, and then
Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose (Mark 9:14-27).
The father had weak faith, the son clearly displayed none, yet Jesus healed the boy. Jesus told his disciples that this kind of problem required prayer and fasting, not tongues or a man of great power (verse 29). Note that Jesus didn’t pray and fast for this healing, but told the disciples that this was the method they required.
Here’s another example. After Jesus’ resurrection, Peter and John were at the temple courts, when they came across a lame man begging. The man expected to get money from them, but got far more instead:
Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do 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 (Acts 3:4-8).
This man did not have to build or display enough faith to be healed: he didn’t even know what Peter was going to do before Peter did it.
CHRIST NOT ABLE TO HEAL?
We’re told in Matthew’s gospel that Jesus “… did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). Some people use this verse to bludgeon those of weak faith and blame them for not being healed. How harmful this accusation can be! We should not limit the power of Christ by thinking that he literally was not able: with God all things are possible, are they not? Instead it was the attitude of the people there which prevented them from seeking and receiving miracles. They did not receive because they did not ask-they didn’t even want to.
MIRACLES PRODUCE FAITH
Interestingly, in the gospels–particularly in Johns- healing and miracles led to faith in those who saw them happen, not the other way around:
Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name (John 2:23).
Here’s another striking example:
Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him (John 12:9-11).
Therefore on the strength of John’s gospel, those claiming to be filled with the Spirit today because they speak in tongues and “do miracles” should actually be able to bring people to faith because of their claimed power: the miracles should come first, then the faith in those who see them!
MIRACLES AUTHENTICATED THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST AND HIS IMMEDIATE APOSTLES
It’s vital to recognize the fact that Jesus did not come into the world in order to make everyone wealthy and healthy! As I said above, the will of God is our physical demise and our departure from this world! Jesus healed during his ministry because he loved those he saw and he cared for them deeply. He also healed in order to authenticate his message. His power led to the faith of many. He passed some of that power on to his apostles, in order to authenticate their message too. That authority did not continue, and to insist that it did is a denial of the facts.
IS IT UNBELIEF TO BOW TO THE WILL OF GOD?
Some on the Charismatic world insist that if you think God’s will must come into the healing equation, you’re doubting God and ensuring that you won’t be healed. Here’s the truth.
On one occasion a leper approached Jesus:
And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed (Matthew 8:2-3).
The leper did not insist that Jesus heal him, as some try to do. To attempt to “make” God heal is arrogance and pride. Another example is seen in Paul’s own testimony. Here we see that Paul-perhaps the greatest apostle-had some unpleasant malady which went unhealed:
“… I was given 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 weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
How many of us can have that kind of humility, to accept the will of God even when it hurts?
STEP UP TO THE PLATE, MR. APOSTLE!
There are no apostles today with the authority of those we read about in the book of Acts. Can you really heal as Jesus did? Then let’s see you in action! Prove it! That’s exactly what Paul did:
I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles (2 Corinthians 12:12).
Don’t settle for someone claiming to make a leg longer: watch how they perform with those truly in need of healing.
Though an “apostle” is one who is sent, the Biblical qualification of an apostle in the fullest sense of that word-the Peter and Paul type of apostle-was one who had seen the physically risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). This limits the number of those with “the signs of an apostle” to those in the first century. People claiming to be Peters and Pauls today are charlatans or self-deceived. I’ve known enough of them to see this for myself: they just can’t deliver.
FAITH AND REALITY
What can we say, then, about the power of Jesus Christ, who came into the world, healing and doing great miracles? Where is that power today? I am one hundred percent sure that during his ministry Jesus Christ raised people from the dead, restored the sight of the blind, and cleansed lepers on the spot: I believe it without question. And for you who are wondering, I am also one hundred percent sure that Jesus Christ is able to do the same today. The question is not, “Is he able?”, it’s “Is He willing?”. And here really is the rub. You can discuss the ins and outs of faith all you like. You can accuse people of not having enough faith to be healed, and you can accuse churches of not believing that God can heal. You can even accuse people like me of questioning God for saying that it’s down to the will of God, but in the end, you can’t deny that fact, for long.
Sometimes God will heal-I can attest to that. Sometimes He will not. Eventually and reluctantly you will have to admit that you, or your loved one, has not been healed.
Take a truly deformed or disabled child or adult to a Benny Hinn rally, and then take them home afterwards. What happened? Why wasn’t that child healed? Did you not give enough money to Benny’s “ministry”? Did you not have enough faith? Did the child not have enough faith? Was it an off-day for Benny? Was “the Spirit not moving” on that occasion?
You can demolish all these demoralizing accusations by reading through the New Testament. There’s no doubt that faith did come into the equation, but you can’t help reading about things happening in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles which do not happen now. Even those who insist that if you just have enough faith you can move mountains, try as they might and sometimes do, can’t and don’t deliver, in reality, such scenes as we read about. Insisting that it will happen if we just speak in tongues, or get into that fuzzy feeling mood, and sway around and fall over, is just denying the obvious. It’s actually destructive to the faith of some, who are led to believe that Christianity is about health and wealth and everything going according to plan, but who find out painfully that it “doesn’t work”.
The Christian walk is primarily about righteousness, holiness, peace, joy and love, and having Jesus Christ at the centre of our thoughts, decisions and actions. He has saved us from this dark world, and we are to be lights to other people. The primary goal of our faith is not prosperity, success or perfect health, it’s all about Him.
HEALERS AND MIRACLE WORKERS
There are no “healers” today. You can strike me off as a heretic or as being faithless if you like, but eventually you must face the truth. Those who claim to be healers are charlatans, or deeply troubled individuals, perhaps seeking power or affirmation. Biblical healing was a sign to the world that Jesus Christ was not an ordinary man: he was and is the Son of God. The apostles were given the ability to-sometimes-heal as a sign of authority. They had “the signs of an apostle”. Do you have the signs of an apostle? Then let’s see you in action. Let’s see the signs. I don’t mean telling a congregation that “somebody here has a backache and the Lord is saying you are healed”. I don ‘t mean making a leg longer to match the other one. I mean “Open the eyes of that blind child!”
HOW TO BE HEALED
Having said that there are no healers, I want to declare that God can and does heal today, so long as it’s within His will. I’ve been healed of minor things myself after I prayed. I’ve prayed for my children and they got well-quickly. I’ve seen the Lord work in my life, and any time I have a problem, I ask for it to be solved, or for the grace and strength to get through it. If you have a sick loved one pray for them, because God is good, and He answers prayer. Here’s the Biblical prescription:
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they 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 person is powerful and effective (James 5:14-16).
Prayer and righteousness: think about it.
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 