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On Healing

Forwarded to the Provincial Elders Conference (PEC): 9/97
Adopted by Northern Province PEC:_____
Adopted by Southern Province PEC:_____

A Theology of Healing

INTRODUCTION

There is a rising interest in healing in contemporary society. Medical journals and popular magazines alike report the results of scientific studies which strongly suggest that praying for the sick promotes recovery. A new phrase, "Complementary medicine," has been invented by Dr. Larry Burk of Duke University to describe the recent combination of traditional medicine and prayer. The Moravian World Mission conference in a 1994 report on "Ministries of Health and Healing," adopted goals and strategies intended to involve the church in a wider ministry of healing. Several Moravian congregations have begun monthly services of prayer and healing. Members and pastors of our congregations are asking the church for teaching and guidance on the subject of healing. That is the reason for this paper.

BASIC THEOLOGICAL POSITION

The approach of the church to healing must be grounded in the reality of Biblical theology. We believe the Bible teaches that God's desire is for healing and wholeness for all his people. However, the subject of physical healing is not simple. The book of Genesis assures us that God has created this world and all things in it. But the world we live in today is not the same world that God originally created. We are fallen creatures and we live in a fallen world. Romans 8:22-23 teaches that even nature has fallen into bondage and decay. Along with all of God's creation, we who know God personally await the day when Jesus Christ will return and recreate the physical world and our physical bodies will be restored. The apostle Paul talks about that great day in I Corinthians 15:53-53, "For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' "

However, in this present age, we only have a foretaste of that day of ultimate healing. The presence of the Holy Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit, are a kind of downpayment towards that day and a guarantee that the rest will surely come. Christians live in the kingdom of God. The king lives in the lives of those who know him as king, yet the kingdom in all its fullness and power is still to come. The Christian lives with this tension in the present world. One day this tension will be resolved. I Corinthians 13 assures us that we who now see in part and know in part will see and know fully. This explains why any attempt to simplify the theology of healing or to give a facile explanation to the question of, "Why are some healed while others are not?" is doomed to failure.

THE CAUSES OF ILLNESS

We believe that not all sickness is due to a single cause. Some of the most prevalent errors concerning healing which are found in the church today are due to single cause theories. This is not what the Bible teaches, for throughout scripture the causes of sickness vary.

The foundation for our understanding of the presence of illness in a world created by a good God is the first three chapters of Genesis. Sickness was not part of God's original creation, but it entered the world as a result of the fall. Romans chapter 8 teaches that the whole creation has fallen unto bondage and decay.

Much sickness is our own responsibility. It is caused by our neglect of the laws of good health which God has built unto the world. Proper diet, exercise and rest are all essential to good health. The Bible teaches that we sow what we reap (Galatians 6:7-8). This also applies to a healthy lifestyle. To pray for healing without altering an unhealthy lifestyle is presumptuous and is part of what Jesus means when he says we should not put God to the test.

Some sickness is sent by Satan. (ie, The book of Job, Luke 13:11-12, etc.) In the gospels we observe a close relationship between Jesus' ministry of casting out evil spirits and his healing the sick. At times the two seem to be identical.

Some sickness is directly sent by God as chastisement for sin or as an inducement to turn us back to God. (Numbers 12:9-11, I Corinthians 11:29-31, etc.) However, we must not make the error of assuming that all sickness is caused by sin. This was the false assumption of the disciples when they asked Jesus, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:3) Jesus indicated by this answer that the man's blindness was permitted by God, but was not caused by his sin.

Many times when we read of persons in the Bible who are sick, there does not seem to be any clearly indicated reason for their illness. It is not stated that Satan did it, or that God did it, but simply that "he or she was ill." This is simply a part of life in a fallen world which is subject to the law of sin, decay and death.

Since the causes of illness vary, one of the most urgent needs in prayer for healing is for wisdom and discernment. People who are sick cannot all be treated the same way. Each person is unique. As far as possible, those who pray for the sick must attempt to discern the cause of the illness and respond appropriately. Repentance and confession, forsaking unhealthy habits, or even deliverance from evil spirits, may all be indicated according to the nature of the sickness. To treat each person with the same formula is to deny the multiple causes of sickness. Yet, that is the error that some in the church perpetuate. Everyone is delivered from evil spirits, everyone is asked to confess sin, or to eschew fatty foods, etc. The church decries such simplistic attempts at healing.

THE MINISTRY OF HEALING IN SCRIPTURE

Even though there are many errors concerning healing which circulate among Christians today, we affirm that God is a healing God. We must not throw the baby out with the bathwater! God delights to heal and refers to himself as a healer in many passages of the Old Testament. (Exodus 15:26, Psalm 103:3, etc.)

The healing ministry is prominent through the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Again and again in the ministry of Jesus we see the desire and ability of the Lord to heal. About half of the earthly ministry of Jesus is devoted to physical healing and deliverance from evil spirits. His healing ministry was a sign that the kingdom of God had come among the people, a sign that Satan had met a power greater than his own, and an expression of his love and concern.

The gospel of Mark emphasizes the healing of Jesus as a sign of the Kingdom, while Luke stresses the compassion of Jesus for those who were stricken by disease and John presents Jesus' healing as a manifestation of the love of God. Throughout the gospels we see Jesus' concern for the healing of the whole person, both spirit and body. The story of the paralyzed man in Mark 2 makes plain that Jesus wants to forgive his sins and heal his physical body.

The healing of Jesus also leads to the inclusion in community of those who were outcasts because of leprosy, hemorrhages, or demonic possession. In these cases their healing includes both the healing of their bodies and restoration to the community. In addition to his own healing ministry, Jesus teaches his disciples to heal and cast out evil spirits.

Healing is part of the mission Jesus gives to his disciples. (Mark 16:1718) In the book of Acts we see the apostles exercise the same healing ministry as Jesus. Even those who are not apostles are used in the ministry of healing, examples being Phillip the deacon and Ananias in Acts chapter 9. Gifts of healing are among the spiritual gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12. James chapter 5 teaches that prayer for the healing of the sick is an expected activity of the Elders of the church.

We would encourage pastors and Elders in our congregations to pray for the healing of the sick and to make their willingness to pray known among the congregation. We also encourage special services of prayer and healing in our congregations, and we have included resources for leading such services at the end of this paper.

THE VARIETY OF HEALING METHODS

While we believe that God has the power and the desire to heal people today, we do not believe there is scriptural support for any one single method of healing. In the Old and New Testaments there are many methods of healing. In Numbers 21:7-9, anyone who looks upon the bronze serpent receives healing. In I Kings 17:21-22, Elijah brings healing to a young boy only through the strenuous effort of stretching himself out upon the boy three times. In II Kings 5:10, Naaman is restored when he dips in the Jordan river seven times. In II Kings 20:7, Isaiah directs the servants of Hezekiah to make a cake of figs and place it upon his boil and he recovers. Again in the ministry of Jesus we see a variety of methods. In Matthew 8:3, Jesus heals with a touch; in Matthew 8:8, he heals with a word; in Matthew 9:18 he heals by laying on of hands; in Matthew 9:29, he heals by saying to two blind men, "According to your faith be it done unto you"; in Matthew 14:36, even those who touch the fringe of Jesus' garment are healed. At other times, Jesus demands faith or action from those who would be healed, as when he says, "go, wash in the pool of Siloam," or "go, show yourself to the priests". Yet, at other times Jesus seems to heal every single person in large crowds without inquiring as to their situation or demanding anything at all of them. These numerous examples will suffice to establish that God's methods of healing vary enormously. It is not the method which heals, but the Lord who is the healer. Healing is of the Lord. He uses many methods.

THE NEED FOR SCRIPTURALLY BALANCED TEACHING

There are two dangers about which we want to warn the churches. The first concerns the relationship between faith and healing. While we believe that faith is necessary for healing, it does not operate mechanically. In scripture we see variety; sometimes the person who needs healing has the faith, sometimes the one making the request for another has the faith (such as the centurion in Matthew 8), sometimes the one ministering the healing has the faith (such as Peter in Acts 3), and sometimes nothing is mentioned about faith. There is a dangerous teaching concerning healing which maintains that since Jesus died for all our sins and sicknesses, we have healing in his atonement already and we simply need to claim it. According to this teaching, if we claim our healing, and we are not healed, it is because we do not have enough faith, in other words that we have not adequately claimed healing. This teaching also includes the necessity of "maintaining" our healing by denouncing the symptoms as lies of Satan if they return.

We believe this teaching promotes four serious errors. First, it removes the emphasis from God and places it upon humanity. God is no longer sovereign, he can no longer use a variety of methods to heal. Since he has already provided the means of our healing in the atonement of Jesus, all we need to do is "name it and claim it." This changes the focus from God's power and mercy to our ability to claim it, the focus shifts from God's gift to our faith. To put anything into the place of God is to commit idolatry. Second, since God's methods of healing vary, to insist that healing can only come in one way is to limit the healing power of God. It means that some whom God would heal
may remain sick because the Lord wishes to heal them in a different manner. Third, actual experience with this teaching shows that it promotes tremendous guilt and depression among those who are not healed. They blame themselves for their lack of faith. In addition to their physical illness, they are loaded with spiritual guilt. Not only are they not helped by this teaching, but they are made worse. Fourth, the teaching that God has already provided for the healing of every illness in the atonement if we will claim it, leads people to neglect sound medical care. Instead of consulting with physicians, when symptoms reappear, those who suffer are advised to "maintain their healing," and to "rebuke the devil who will try to steal their healing." There is great danger in counseling people to ignore their symptoms.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRAYER AND MEDICAL CARE

Should Christians who believe that God heals go to medical doctors? In a word, "yes!" It is God who has made the laws of healing which medical science uses. One surgeon expressed it well when he said,"I cut, but God heals." We believe that the critical issue for healing is not, "Shall we go to the doctor or shall we ask for prayer?", but rather, "To whom do we look as the source of our healing." The Bible teaches that God is the source of all healing, and humble medical professionals acknowledge this. We do not see prayer and medicine as adversaries, but as companions. God can use prayer and God can use medicine. Wise Christians make use of both and spiritual doctors also make use of both.

THE ELEMENT OF MYSTERY IN HEALING

Why then are some persons never healed? This is a perplexing question. Part of the answer is that we live in a fallen world which will only be fully redeemed in the future. We do have a foretaste of the kingdom of God, but the kingdom in all its fullness is yet to come. This message is clearly seen in Romans 8:22-23. The glorious passage in I Corinthians 15:51-55 teaches about the coming day when our perishable bodies will put on an imperishable nature and our corruptible bodies will put on incorruptibility. But until that day, physical death and decay are part of this present order. Contrary to the teaching of some, there are examples in the Bible of people who were not healed. In John chapter 5, Jesus is surrounded by sick persons, yet chooses to heal only one from among the crowd. II Corinthians 12:7-10 teaches that the apostle Paul suffered from some long-standing physical problem. I II Timothy 4:20, Paul advised Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach and his many infirmities. In other words, we advised Timothy to use medicine for a chronic problem. Paul's companions Trophimus and Epaphroditus had severe illnesses.

We need to understand that God's purpose for us is larger than our physical health. He is concerned with our spirit and soul as well as our body. Sometimes the Lord uses physical illness to work spiritual good in us. Isn't that why Paul wasn't healed even though he asked three times? His testimony is that his physical weakness was used by God to make him strong spiritually. The testimony of the Psalmist is, "It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Thy ways." (Psalm 119:7

In the matter of why some are not healed we need to understand that the real issue is our entire relationship with God and not just the limited issue of our physical health. We need to encourage those who are not healed not to lose heart. And we also need to avoid heaping guilt upon those who are not healed by suggesting that they lack the faith to claim their healing. We need to be aware that God's greater purpose for us may include enduring the refining of physical illness. Joni Eareckson Tada has given eloquent testimony to the Lord's ability to use physical illness to build trust and love in the life of one who seeks to please God. Above all, in the church we need to encourage everyone to seek the Lord, not just to seek healing.

Faith and Order Commission Adopted 9/29/97

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