We've been in an extended study of Righteousness. We've seen what Righteousness is, right standing with God. We've seen who the Righteous are, those who trust in Him alone, and now we are focusing on the necessity to receive of this gift of Righteousness in every area of our lives and our walk with God.
We have seen how Righteousness received positively affects and influences our relationships. We have seen how Righteousness received is the cure for guilt and shame when we fail. Today, we want to examine the healing power received in the gift of Righteousness.
When it comes to healing and wholeness, the Body of Christ as a whole seems to struggle knowing if healing is God's will. Let's look at Jesus' attitude about sickness and disease for a Bible response. Look at Mark 1. Here we see Jesus' willingness to cleanse and make whole. Why would He withhold from you if the motivation to heal was because of His great compassion?
Look at Matthew's gospel to see Jesus' idea of ministry. There is not a single person Jesus turned away. There is not a single person we ever see Jesus telling that "this disease or virus or sickness is there to build your character, to evangelize, for others will see how happy you suffer and die, or this is for God's glory." He simply healed all who came to Him.
God sent His Son on our behalf. It was Jesus' perfect work on the Cross that perfectly procured and purchased our healing and wholeness. However when it comes to receiving we muddy the waters so to speak, trying to earn or deserve a touch of healing. We feel we must earn or be worthy enough to receive His healing.
We look within ourselves to deem whether or not we qualify for wholeness. We look at our diet, our exercise, or lack thereof as a plus or a minus. Instead of looking to the Word, the Cross, and Jesus' perfect work we look inwardly to ensure we've completed enough spiritual disciplines. Or we look outwardly onto our actions, behavior or choices.
So often our focus is not on what Jesus has already done but on what we are doing. Or we look at what we aren't doing, and not what Jesus has done for us. Our perspective shifts from the finality of the Cross, Jesus' once for all perfect sacrifice onto our own performance, our achievements, or onto actions we feel we aren't doing enough of. Jesus' Finished Work was enough, we can't add to it or take away from it by our doing or lack of doing.
We can't undo what only Christ, God's Grace, and His shed blood could attain. Look at the perfect beautiful work of that Cross. Jesus poured out all He has for all that we were not, never could attain to, and never could achieve. He became something He never was so we could become something we've never been.
This is the beauty of this simple Good News Gospel of Grace. God created man for the purpose of family and fellowship but man chose rebellion and self. All mankind since have been born separated spiritually, in need of a Savior. God became a man, paid the price, shedding His sinless spotless perfect blood paying the debt of all mankind. Now whosoever receives this free gift of eternal life, trusting in Christ alone receives total forgiveness of all their sins and the gift of perfect righteousness; right standing, acceptance, and approval with God permanently.
When we receive of the gift of Righteousness, we move away from trying to earn or qualify for what Christ has accomplished and provided. We don't look at our achievements we look upon the Finished Work and trust in, cling to and receive what Jesus bled and died and rose again for us to possess. Righteousness says I receive because of what Jesus did not what I do or don't do.
In Genesis 20 we see the first mention of divine healing. Traditionally some people equate healing with sin or wrongdoing, as if sickness is mostly the byproduct of personal sin. Certainly, when sin entered the World, sickness, disease and death followed.
But is that what we are to understand about healing in it’s first mention? No! Abraham offered prayers for healing and he is the one who had lied, failed to trust God, and put his needs above his wife's by giving her away. Yet, God answered Abraham’s prayer for healing for Abimelech. The first mention of healing is revealing the goodness and faithfulness of God. That is it was His goodness that provided the healing not Abraham’s. God answered the prayer for healing because of Covenant, because of His mercy and loving kindness. He brought forth healing because He is good not because Abraham was.
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 MEV
God is a Good Father. God anointed Jesus, the Son with the Spirit and He went about Israel healing all. This passage doesn't state that Jesus healed only the deserving. Only those who had their spiritual disciplines perfected. Only those whose good outweighed their bad.
This passage doesn't state but Jesus refused to heal all those whose sin caused the affliction in the first place. Or He refused to heal those who had not walked in love and forgiveness. It didn't state Jesus reserved healing for only the most deserving.
Because of the gift of Righteousness we can receive healing and wholeness apart from our performance or behavior. We can walk in His healing power apart from our ability to always forgive others quickly. We can freely receive because the price was freely paid by our perfect Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Certainly, walking in love and being quick to forgive is a wonderful fruit of our new nature. Of course, not living in sin is a great witness to those around us and brings a joy to our heart because we are living out of our new nature. Yet these fruits aren't the root of how and why we receive healing or any promise. We receive because the gift of Righteousness has made us accepted and approved of God and the shed blood made us worthy to receive.
In summation, we can receive healing and wholeness because of Jesus' perfect work and never our own attempts to merit or earn anything from God. Let me also say, living in a fractured and fallen world, no one has all the answers as to why some didn't receive their healing. Why some died prematurely. Why some prayed and their loved one passed.
Knowing God through Jesus and His perfect Word though we can trust and know that God is always good and never the author or "sender" of sickness, disease or disaster. That there is nothing that can ever disqualify us from receiving all God has purchased for us at Calvary. That God is no respecter of persons, that Faith moves mountain and all believers have Faith, and we can speak to that mountain of sickness and disease and command it to move. Jesus' perfect work of redemption, His shed blood and God's gift of Righteousness made us worthy to receive all He has purchased and provided.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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