Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Still More Objections to healing in the Finished Work


 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.           1 Peter 2:24

Over the past several weeks we've been looking at healing in the finished work of Jesus Christ. In a brief review we have seen that Jesus purchased for us the healing of our physical bodies in His finished work on the Cross. He has paid the full price for our wholeness. We answered some objections such as not looking at the experiences of others. We saw how by the blood of Jesus we are perfect in Him and God isn't withholding healing from us. We answered the sovereignty and God's willingness objections with God's love and His Word. We looked at focusing on the finished work and not bitterness or unbelief. 

Even after all these truths are revealed there still remains some objections to healing. This week I'd like to address a major objection to healing that many sincere believers cling to. That God is glorified when we are sick. This is a belief among many in the Church, that God gets glory sometimes when we suffer with sickness and disease. 

This idea has its roots in some misunderstood Scriptures in the Gospel of John:

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. John 9:1-3 
This verse is coupled with John 11
Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. John 11:3-4
See brother, its right there. God gets glory out of sickness. Paul said in the mouth of two or three witnesses will a truth be established. Twice we see how God uses sickness to glorify Him. This is usually how the dialogue goes. Trying to reach these folk who steadfastly hold to this interpretation of Scripture is rather difficult. Some folks minds are likened to cement. Thoroughly mixed and well set.
The interpretation of these passages usually plays out like this. God made men sick so that Jesus could come around and heal them. Then all those who saw would realize Jesus came to be the Messiah and many would believe. That is where they totally miss God. They reason that Jesus only went about healing to prove His Divinity and who He was. If this is so why did Jesus many times discourage people from revealing who He was? 
The missing element to the equation in tradition ruled thinking is the love and mercy of Almighty God. Jesus healed people because of His compassion and love for them. Newsflash, God so loves you too. He wants you well and whole. 
Here is something to consider. If Father God gets glory out of sickness why did Jesus go around healing ALL who were oppressed of the devil and "rob" God of all that glory? Was Jesus being counter productive to God's plan?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. Matthew 9:6-8
 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. Matthew 15:30-31
What do we see that gives God glory? The healing power of God in demonstration. The Lord in His loving mercy removing painful illness and restoring brokenness into wholeness caused men to truly glorify God in Heaven. God's Word is not contradictory. We must not allow obscure passages to rob us of clear passages that prove beyond doubt what God's will is on a certain truth. The problem with the obscure passages is we haven't rightly divided them. 
So I want to rightly divide these two passages to remove this concept that God gets glory out of you suffering with sickness and crippling and painful disease. I will do this over the next couple of posts. If you want the truth about these passages then don't hesitate to stay tuned to get the answers. God and His Word are one. They never lie. God desires you to live in wholeness. This is the good news of the gospel, the finished work of Christ.
I truly pray this post blesses you abundantly. Consider sharing with others so we can get this truth out there that God is good and sickness is bad! May the blessing of the Lord overtake you this week.