Is Healing for Today?

Much of the teaching we hear is that God did things in the past,  will do things in the future, but at some unknown point quit doing it. Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today and forever.” If you want to know what God is doing today look at what he did yesterday.

A woman with an issue of blood for 12 years spent all of her money on doctors and was not made any better (Luke 8). Somebody (with faith) told her about this man Jesus who had healed others. The woman went and the place was crowded. “If I can just touch his clothes” she said. When she touched, Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” His disciples answered, “Who touched you? Everyone’s touching you”  He turned and saw the woman and said “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” That’s how Jesus healed then and that’s how he heals today. If you’re such a good Christian, have you told anyone that Jesus heals? Do you believe in Hebrews 13:8?

Was it different then because she could touch his clothes and we can’t do that today? The Centurion in Matthew 8 told Jesus that his servant was sick and needed a healing. Jesus said he would go to the house and heal him. The Centurion said “I’m not worthy to have you come to my house. But speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. Jesus said, “as thou hast believed so be it done unto thee.” The servant was healed in the selfsame hour. As you go about as a disciple of Christ do you ask Jesus for healing of unsaved people who have no faith? Do you have the faith of the Centurion (who was not even of Israel or a child of the kingdom)?

But that healing was just for that one person you say. Well the Bible says in Matthew 4 that Jesus healed everybody that wanted to be healed. The only time that Jesus did not heal everybody was when he went back to Nazareth. The Bible says “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58). If you are not seeing healing is it Jesus’ fault? The disciples in Matthew 17 could not cast out a demon and they asked Jesus why they could not. “Because of your unbelief” (verse 20). Jesus told them that they needed to pray and fast.

In Matthew 8 when Jesus was making some comments about how the Centurion was more of a believer than the church people, Jesus said “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Read the Bible and you’ll see that he was talking about church people who don’t believe in healing.

But, you say, my church does believe in healing. But we also believe that God calls people home. A few weeks ago we had Sister Jones on our prayer list. She wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t come to church. Then the next week we prayed that when she went for tests that they would come back negative. Then the next week we prayed that she would get through surgery ok. Then the next week we prayed for her full recovery. This week the Lord called her home and we had her funeral.

Well since your church is such a strong believer in healing why didn’t it do what the Bible says? James 5:7-15 is talking to church people. “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

Most churches ignore this command. If this command is followed it’s usually done as a religious ritual while the “believer” is under the care of a doctor. The church did not teach Sister Jones about this scripture because it really does not believe it does any good. The church today has lost the power of the early church but it is not because Jesus changed. There is so much carnality in the church today that like in Nazareth, Jesus can do no mighty works “because of their unbelief.” For sickness it’s much safer to publish a list in the church bulletin even when the sick person didn’t ask for it.  So what if it’s not scriptural. It seems ok and we’ve always done it this way.

I heard one woman say, “We used to preach it and we went to the altar and didn’t get healed.” In other words she no longer believes that God heals. Maybe the churches no longer believe God saves. Maybe that’s why many of them have quit giving altar calls for salvation.

I’ve been to healing services where people didn’t get healed. But I’ve been to many more evangelistic services where people didn’t get saved. That does not mean that salvation is gone.

Psalms 103:3 says, “who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.” If God does not heal any more maybe he does not forgive sin any more either. You say you believe in Jesus in John 3:15 when Jesus says that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Why do you not believe in Jesus when he says “as thou hast believed so be it done unto thee.” Why do you not believe him when he says that you fail “because of your unbelief?” In Luke 17:5 the disciples said “Lord, increase our faith.”

Today we hear that God heals through doctors. I have yet to see any scriptural basis that God now works through a system that is flawed and constantly changes. The Bible says rough things in Revelation 22:18-19 about anyone who adds to the word or takes away from the word. It also says (Proverbs 14:12) that “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Some say that Jesus healed then because of all the unbelievers. We’ve got more unbelievers today than there were then. If there was ever a time that healing was needed to show God’s power it’s today.

In Malachi 3:6 it says, “For I am the Lord, I change not”

God has not changed. He still heals and he still saves.

What do you believe? 

David Sneed