Let's discuss healing in the New testament
James 5:14-16 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. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
There are some misconceptions from this verse so let's clear them up. "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church". You may think this means that calling for the elders should be the first thing you should do. That is not correct, first you should go to the Lord and ask the Lord what is going on. Consider Job, he was sick, his friends came and counseled him and he felt the counsel was useless, not until Elihu spoke up did things begin to change. But it wasn't until the Lord talked to Job that he got better. If you have a good relationship with the Lord you should be able to ask why this or that has happened and get an answer. So, you call the elders when you are unable to get an answer from the Lord in your private prayer.
Second misconception, many think that sickness is a result of sin. But that is not what this says, it says "if he have committed sins". That is one possible cause.
Micah 6:13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
This is why we need to call the elders. Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine and not just water for his frequent ailments. Sometimes our diet is the cause. Paul said that exercise profits a little, sometimes the issue is we need exercise.
Third, there is a difference between sins and faults, just as we have sin offerings and trespass offerings. Is it a sin to shoot a rabbit for dinner? No. But if you are poaching on someone else's land then it is trespassing. Are impure thoughts trespassing? No, but it is a result of your sin nature. If you have trespassed that needs to be confessed and properly dealt with. For example, let's say you have stolen something from someone. They don't know it was you. However, if you tell them it may make things worse, like poisoning a well. Instead it is possible the Lord would lead you to confess this to an elder, to return the item to the elder along with additional payment to make restitution. Then the elder goes to the person and lets them know that this was returned, as someone felt guilty and returned this to the elder for them to give to the person.
1Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
Fourth, "pray for one another" may not refer to sins or trespasses. Perhaps the real issue is that you need wisdom. James begins this book saying that if you need wisdom ask God who gives liberally. In the world they give you drugs instead of wisdom. Suppose my child is doing poorly in school. What we really need is wisdom, but what they give you is Adderall.
Is there any mention of doctors or medicine? No.
Exodus 23:25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
According to the Bible if the land is full of sickness it is because they have stopped serving the Lord and thus they have cut off the blessing. For example, we don't think of relating these verses in James about anyone being sick to marriage. But the bible says "it is not good for man to be alone" indicating that a lot of mental illness can be caused by loneliness. What is the cure? The world will give you antidepressants, but the Lord would advise you to serve the Lord. I remember as a young person I loved to serve the Lord because there were a lot of other young people there too.
Deuteronomy 7:15 And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
This does not mean that sickness is not real. What it does mean is that if you are right with the Lord then all these sicknesses should be taken away from you. I am in my sixties and doctors are surprised when they learn I don't take any medication and never have taken any prescription medicine since getting saved. So then, if you are sick know that the Lord wants to talk to you about it. That is the bottom line. Maybe you need an adjustment in your diet, or exercise, or perhaps you need to get involved in a ministry, perhaps the problem is the TV, maybe it is sins, or trespasses.
2 Samuel 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
In this case the child was sick but it had not committed sins, it was David and Bathsheba that had sinned and trespassed. Here we learn a lot, the child was sick because God wanted to talk to David. In the end David confessed, repented and was forgiven. But he was not forgiven by Ahithophel and so this led to his son committing insurrection against David, his concubines being abused, and his son dying. There are consequences to sin. Another time David numbered the children of Israel but not in accordance to the law and it resulted in a plague.
1Kings 8:37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men
40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
This is a promise to us, it is part of our covenant with God. Yet do you know what many Christians say, they think that first you go to the doctor, and then by all means you can pray also. This is not an expression of fear of God. That advices is completely contrary to both the Old Testament and New Testament. If you are sick or suffering from a plague on your family or business you first go to the Lord. If you can't get through you call the elders and they can fellowship with you and try to figure out the issue. It is possible that the elders will advise some remedy like Paul advising Timothy to take a little wine. Also it is possible that God will not heal you, just as He told Paul "my grace is sufficient for thee". Sometimes the illness is to keep us humble, which is what Paul learned by going to the Lord.
Hezekiah was sick and the prophet told him he would die. He prayed, and God gave him another 15 years of life. But, during those years he revealed all the treasure in his kingdom to Babylonian spies and it led to Israel being carried off captive. So then, make sure you are praying that God's will be done. When Jesus was going to the cross He could have prayed for deliverance, but He said "not my will but thine be done".
Isaiah 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Why all the mental illness in the US? It is because they have rebelled against the Lord.
Studies show a notable rise in the number of people reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression. A report by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health indicated a significant increase in the number of U.S. adults reporting poor mental health between 2011 and 2022.
Why is the church sick? It is because they have stretched out their hands with scorners.
Hosea 7:5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.
James 5:14-16 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. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
There are some misconceptions from this verse so let's clear them up. "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church". You may think this means that calling for the elders should be the first thing you should do. That is not correct, first you should go to the Lord and ask the Lord what is going on. Consider Job, he was sick, his friends came and counseled him and he felt the counsel was useless, not until Elihu spoke up did things begin to change. But it wasn't until the Lord talked to Job that he got better. If you have a good relationship with the Lord you should be able to ask why this or that has happened and get an answer. So, you call the elders when you are unable to get an answer from the Lord in your private prayer.
Second misconception, many think that sickness is a result of sin. But that is not what this says, it says "if he have committed sins". That is one possible cause.
Micah 6:13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
This is why we need to call the elders. Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine and not just water for his frequent ailments. Sometimes our diet is the cause. Paul said that exercise profits a little, sometimes the issue is we need exercise.
Third, there is a difference between sins and faults, just as we have sin offerings and trespass offerings. Is it a sin to shoot a rabbit for dinner? No. But if you are poaching on someone else's land then it is trespassing. Are impure thoughts trespassing? No, but it is a result of your sin nature. If you have trespassed that needs to be confessed and properly dealt with. For example, let's say you have stolen something from someone. They don't know it was you. However, if you tell them it may make things worse, like poisoning a well. Instead it is possible the Lord would lead you to confess this to an elder, to return the item to the elder along with additional payment to make restitution. Then the elder goes to the person and lets them know that this was returned, as someone felt guilty and returned this to the elder for them to give to the person.
1Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
Fourth, "pray for one another" may not refer to sins or trespasses. Perhaps the real issue is that you need wisdom. James begins this book saying that if you need wisdom ask God who gives liberally. In the world they give you drugs instead of wisdom. Suppose my child is doing poorly in school. What we really need is wisdom, but what they give you is Adderall.
Is there any mention of doctors or medicine? No.
Exodus 23:25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
According to the Bible if the land is full of sickness it is because they have stopped serving the Lord and thus they have cut off the blessing. For example, we don't think of relating these verses in James about anyone being sick to marriage. But the bible says "it is not good for man to be alone" indicating that a lot of mental illness can be caused by loneliness. What is the cure? The world will give you antidepressants, but the Lord would advise you to serve the Lord. I remember as a young person I loved to serve the Lord because there were a lot of other young people there too.
Deuteronomy 7:15 And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
This does not mean that sickness is not real. What it does mean is that if you are right with the Lord then all these sicknesses should be taken away from you. I am in my sixties and doctors are surprised when they learn I don't take any medication and never have taken any prescription medicine since getting saved. So then, if you are sick know that the Lord wants to talk to you about it. That is the bottom line. Maybe you need an adjustment in your diet, or exercise, or perhaps you need to get involved in a ministry, perhaps the problem is the TV, maybe it is sins, or trespasses.
2 Samuel 12:15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
In this case the child was sick but it had not committed sins, it was David and Bathsheba that had sinned and trespassed. Here we learn a lot, the child was sick because God wanted to talk to David. In the end David confessed, repented and was forgiven. But he was not forgiven by Ahithophel and so this led to his son committing insurrection against David, his concubines being abused, and his son dying. There are consequences to sin. Another time David numbered the children of Israel but not in accordance to the law and it resulted in a plague.
1Kings 8:37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; 38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: 39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men
40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.This is a promise to us, it is part of our covenant with God. Yet do you know what many Christians say, they think that first you go to the doctor, and then by all means you can pray also. This is not an expression of fear of God. That advices is completely contrary to both the Old Testament and New Testament. If you are sick or suffering from a plague on your family or business you first go to the Lord. If you can't get through you call the elders and they can fellowship with you and try to figure out the issue. It is possible that the elders will advise some remedy like Paul advising Timothy to take a little wine. Also it is possible that God will not heal you, just as He told Paul "my grace is sufficient for thee". Sometimes the illness is to keep us humble, which is what Paul learned by going to the Lord.
Hezekiah was sick and the prophet told him he would die. He prayed, and God gave him another 15 years of life. But, during those years he revealed all the treasure in his kingdom to Babylonian spies and it led to Israel being carried off captive. So then, make sure you are praying that God's will be done. When Jesus was going to the cross He could have prayed for deliverance, but He said "not my will but thine be done".
Isaiah 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Why all the mental illness in the US? It is because they have rebelled against the Lord.
Studies show a notable rise in the number of people reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression. A report by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health indicated a significant increase in the number of U.S. adults reporting poor mental health between 2011 and 2022.
Why is the church sick? It is because they have stretched out their hands with scorners.
Hosea 7:5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.