The following question has been posted ... Any thoughts?
The Bible says "...by His stripes we are healed." I have always taken that to mean that we are healed from our sins. I recently had someone pray for my health and claim that verse as a promise that Jesus' stripes healed all our sickness. If that's so, why do so many Christians die from cancer, heart disease, etc.?
posted by Dr James D Harless @ 7:48 AM
5 Comments:
Sadly ... the person praying for your health has missed what "His stripes" means! You were right ... it does have to do with your sins. The text comes from Isaiah 53:5-6. When it is read in it's context it is clear! "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." The "Health & Wealth" Christianity that is being taught is causing much confusion and is very misleading! The diseases you mentioned are a result of the 'fall' and becuase we live in a fallen world and a fallen humanity ... we have to suffer the consequences of such. Some day it will all be restored and death and disease will no longer be a problem.
Sorry about the misspelled word! I really do know how to spell "becasue".
James 5:15 - "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick.." Should we pray for "healing" from our sickness? The woman who just touched Jesus' cloak was healed because of her faith. Mark 28-29 "For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague." I have strong faith, yet I'm not healed. The same person who prayed for me that "by His stripes" I would be healed of illness, also claims to have been healed by a tv evangelist. This person is a "showy" prayer person ... believes in speaking in tongues... her faith is very different from mine. Yet she is claiming healing, and I am still sick. What am I doing wrong?
I in no way wanted to indicate that God does not heal today! My comment was that the passage that your friend used was taken out of context and deals with forgiveness of sin and salvation. Yes, we should pray for healing from God. We should also use the resources that He has provided! ... Doctors, medicine, and certainly prayer. James tells us to have the elders come and anoint us and pray for us when we are sick! God blesses when we follow His word. Your friend was not healed by a TV Evangelist. She was healed by God. Her glory is being given to the wrong 'person.' Please remember this though ... God may not choose to heal you yet. He may have a purpose for your sickness that will eventually bring Him glory and bring you or someone else closer to Christ. Jesus did not heal all the sick people He met while He was here on earth. His focus was delivering salvation ... not a health program. Can He heal ... Yes! Does He heal ... Yes! Does He always heal the way or when we think He should ... no. You might look for lessons in the midst of this that God might be teaching. AND keep on praying! He has a plan for you!
There are many kinds of sicknesses-physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. For some reason, we humans always focus on the physical healing. While Jesus did some of that, His focus was really on spiritual healing. He provided THE way to have a "healed" relationship with God. There are probably a lot of physically healthy people who are doomed to hell, and a lot of physically challenged people who are going to be with God. Even when we die, we are "healed" from anything this world do to us.
The Bible tells us that we will suffer, be sick, go through trials. It also tells us that God is with us and see us through it. The outcome may not be what we want, but be assured that the outcome is what God wills. Even Paul had a "thorn" that God didn't remove. God's grace was sufficient for Paul. When Jesus was in the Garden, He asked that His trial of suffering to be removed. The Father chose not to. Do we think that we are more privileged than them? Instead of asking God for healing, maybe we should ask God for endurance and the grace to accept His plan no matter what is going on.
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