Read Divine Healing Made Simple: Simplifying the supernatural to make healing & miracles a part of your everyday life (The Kingdom of God Made Simple Book 1) for Free Online Page A
Authors: Praying Medic
sin, but our freedom from sickness. Notice the actions in this verse; the prophet saw our transgressions and iniquities being taken from us at the same time peace and healing were given to us. If the suffering and death of Jesus purchased our forgiveness of sin, they also purchased our healing. Forgiveness and healing are eternally tied together at the cross.
Forgiveness and healing are tied together in other places in Scripture. Jesus connected them in the following account from the gospel of Mark:
“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
MK. 2:9-11
While it’s true that Jesus used this encounter as a visible demonstration of His authority to forgive sin, it also illustrates the relationship between forgiveness of sin and healing. Jesus has the same authority over both sin and sickness and the grace of God deals with them in the same way. With the same proclamation Jesus forgave the man’s sin and healed him of his sickness.
James also tied forgiveness and healing together. Notice how he confidently asserts the outcome of prayers for the sick:
Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
JAS. 5:14-16
The Will of God and Healing
Although there is much debate over God’s will toward healing, I hope to convince you that His will is not as mysterious as it seems. If you understand God’s will toward salvation, you can understand His will toward healing, because the same principles apply to both. Failure to understand this connection has caused much confusion.
If you are a Christian, it’s unlikely that you would need to ask the question, “Why are some people saved while others are not?” Most Christians know the answer to this question, which is found in the Bible:
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 PET. 3:9
It is God’s will that all people be saved. Men and women are saved by the preaching of the gospel. If the gospel is not preached, no one hears it. If they do not hear it, they are not saved (see Rom. 10:14-15).
Salvation comes when men and women cooperate with God in preaching the gospel and when they receive it. If men are not saved, it is not because God doesn’t want them to be saved, but because man has not effectively preached the gospel or he has rejected it. The bottom line is – God’s will about salvation is known. He wants all people to be saved, even if many are not.
The exact same principle applies to healing, because healing, like salvation, is an act of God’s grace. Healing is delivered through believers like you and I. When we lay hands on the sick, God has an opportunity to heal them. If we fail to deliver healing or if people refuse to receive it, we shouldn’t question God’s will toward healing. Just as with salvation, His will is that we would be healed, even if not all people are healed.
God does not force His will upon anyone. He has chosen to limit the enforcement of His will so that we might be able to exercise free will. In addition, He has given key roles to non-human beings. We must account for the interactions of angels and demonic beings, which also have free will. God has limited His involvement in our affairs to the degree that He has allowed Satan and his minions to oppose virtually every aspect
Forgiveness and healing are tied together in other places in Scripture. Jesus connected them in the following account from the gospel of Mark:
“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
MK. 2:9-11
While it’s true that Jesus used this encounter as a visible demonstration of His authority to forgive sin, it also illustrates the relationship between forgiveness of sin and healing. Jesus has the same authority over both sin and sickness and the grace of God deals with them in the same way. With the same proclamation Jesus forgave the man’s sin and healed him of his sickness.
James also tied forgiveness and healing together. Notice how he confidently asserts the outcome of prayers for the sick:
Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
JAS. 5:14-16
The Will of God and Healing
Although there is much debate over God’s will toward healing, I hope to convince you that His will is not as mysterious as it seems. If you understand God’s will toward salvation, you can understand His will toward healing, because the same principles apply to both. Failure to understand this connection has caused much confusion.
If you are a Christian, it’s unlikely that you would need to ask the question, “Why are some people saved while others are not?” Most Christians know the answer to this question, which is found in the Bible:
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 PET. 3:9
It is God’s will that all people be saved. Men and women are saved by the preaching of the gospel. If the gospel is not preached, no one hears it. If they do not hear it, they are not saved (see Rom. 10:14-15).
Salvation comes when men and women cooperate with God in preaching the gospel and when they receive it. If men are not saved, it is not because God doesn’t want them to be saved, but because man has not effectively preached the gospel or he has rejected it. The bottom line is – God’s will about salvation is known. He wants all people to be saved, even if many are not.
The exact same principle applies to healing, because healing, like salvation, is an act of God’s grace. Healing is delivered through believers like you and I. When we lay hands on the sick, God has an opportunity to heal them. If we fail to deliver healing or if people refuse to receive it, we shouldn’t question God’s will toward healing. Just as with salvation, His will is that we would be healed, even if not all people are healed.
God does not force His will upon anyone. He has chosen to limit the enforcement of His will so that we might be able to exercise free will. In addition, He has given key roles to non-human beings. We must account for the interactions of angels and demonic beings, which also have free will. God has limited His involvement in our affairs to the degree that He has allowed Satan and his minions to oppose virtually every aspect
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