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| Originally posted at Keturah's Korner |
I
recently came across this book titled Christ the Healer by
F. F Bosworth. It was very… interesting, I must say.
Now
I don't normally tear books apart, but this topic has been on my mind
for several months now ever since I met this guy who believed it was
his calling to preach divine healing and that, if you had enough
faith, God never said 'No'.
Don't
get me wrong, I still think God can and will do miracles. But I think
this whole belief of God healing us unconditionally has some flaws.
And I think this belief is a very dangerous belief for the Christian
person's relationship with God.
Here
is a poem from the book;
Death
comes, and then we blame our God.
And
weakly say, “Thy will be done”;
But
never underneath the sod
Has
God imprisoned any one.
God
does not send disease, or crime,
Or
carelessness, of fighting clans;
And
when we die before our time
The
fault is man's
He
is God of life, not death;
He
is one that gives us birth;
He
has not shortened by a breath
The
life of any on earth;
And
He would have us dwell within
The
world our full allotted years.
So
blame not God-for our own sin
Makes
our own tears.
Beautiful
poem, yes. But let me point out the problems.
And
weakly say, “Thy will be done - When is it ever weak
to say, “Thy will be done?” Even in the midst of facing death,
Yeshua(Jesus) did not say, “Father I demand my way!” but, “Thy
will be done.”
Submitting
to God is never NEVER weak.
But
never underneath the sod, Has God imprisoned any one. -
God has sentenced many to death – all, in fact. It was He that
said, “If you eat of the tree you will die.”
God
does not send disease, or crime, - read 2 Samuel 24 and
Exodus 7-12. When David angered God God gave him three choices, all
involving hurt, and in the end it was chosen to have a pestilence
(plague, disease…) and many died at the hand of God.
And
in Exodus when Pharaoh would not let the Israelites free, many
plagues were sent, and at the end, even the children's lives were
taken.
Of
course you could argue this last part that God only punished those
that did wrong, or were evil (which is true). Still, even the
truth of that argument contradicts the line of that poem.
And when we die before our time, The fault is man's – if the writer meant the fault being man's as in when the fruit was taken and eaten, then yes, he is correct. But if he means that we only die now because of not being holy enough then he is wrong. And before our time? I must argue that we each die in the right time that God has appointed for us to die. Job 14:5 and Psalm 31:15
He
has not shortened by a breath, The life of any on earth -
Again not true. He has shortened the breath of many. He even set the
time of our deaths.
And
He would have us dwell within, The world our full allotted
years. - But more than this He would have us to be with
Him.
So
blame not God-for our own sin, Makes our own tears. -
This is very true. WE are responsible for our own tears, our own
sin… though we are sometimes the victims of other's
consequences. But that's another topic. Despite this,
despite us being the guilty one, we can't fix our problems by trying
to force God to do our will, or refusing to say,
“Thy Will be done.” And most of all, even if we are truly
believers of God we aren't exempt us from the casualties of sin.
For this world is full of sin… it's around every corner, in every space.
Some
other things I'd like to point out with the belief of Divine Healing:
1.
We must pray more and more. Once is not enough. God hears our prayers
if they are continued, but if they stop, this is the Devil's
opportunity to do his work.
First
off, yes, we need to continue praying. But despite our prayers we
can't bribe God by making him think we are so Holy. And in the end,
whatever we pray for it is ultimately God's will. We can't even start
to understand what His perfect plan may be. Sure, to our mortal
minds, long life and abundant health seem ideal. But God's way is
utmost.
And
I'm not saying stop praying. I'm saying keep saying, “Your will be
done, Father.”
2.
If you are sick, if a loved one is dying, or if you are dying this is
a sign of lack of faith.
Not
true. Where in the Bible does it say this?
Sickness
is a part of life. Death is a part of life. They are both the results
of the original sin, but not necessarily of a sin you or someone else
has committed.
And
think about this for a second. According to this logic, I can die
because of your lack of faith. Sure, I may have perfect Faith in God,
but yours was not enough to keep the Devil from taking me.
Comforting?
Wow,
no. That does not seem like a very strong and almighty God to
me… only able to save from the Devil if enough of us send
up the correct quota of prayers and have the right amount of Faith.
3. Don't listen to the Devil. Facts are lies from him. Doubting is a lie. If you say, “God heal my cold, but your will be done.” You are giving in to the doubtful spirit of the Devil. Don't be double minded – but ask and believe that what you ask for will happen.
And
if it doesn't happen, what then? You must have not believed hard
enough.
The
book was full of “biblical examples” of all sorts of people doing
things or not doing things, using proof that I believe was totally
construed. And I'd write about each one in detail if it wouldn't make
this post too long ;b Honestly, when reading through the book I was
getting riled up.
Why?
Because
man was trying to put God into a box and control others at the same
time. As the back of the book read:
"The
truths discussed in this book, together with the “prayer of faith”
have brought healing within the grasp of many thousands of sufferes
who could not have recovered with out the direct action of the Holy
Spirit. To God be all the glory."
Yes,
to God be all the Glory, and may the Holy Spirit take action in all
of our lives with out this book, or belief. How can
a book hold truths separate from the Bible? Show true healing?
Yes,
I believe God loves us, wants us whole, and wants us to be living.
But
if He expected us to live only by faith, praying
with out a doubt that He'd grant our every plea,
then why would He have created labor, herbs, not to mention bodies?
If
we are to trust He'll do whatever we ask, never saying no then why do
we work for our money? We should just expect Him to give us our every
need and want… after all wasn't it Jesus that said do not worry for
tomorrow? (disregard the sarcasm, please.)
And
He would not have created herbs, for if He heals unconditionally, it
would be wrong to use those herbs, as they would be giving in to the
lies of the devil.
It would be wrong to try and protect our children from running into the road - “Trust God. His will is never to harm us.”
Or to wash our hands - “He cleanses us and keeps us from all disease.”
And
to try and upkeep our bodies and eat healthy? All stupidity, for God
would not make us fat for eating sugars and processed foods if we
prayed enough.
But,
besides of these sarcastic arguments, what is the real reason I
believe this belief is so dangerous?
I
believe it is dangerous for this purpose: When God does not do what
you want, when He says that dreaded word 'No', how will you react and
respond?
For
the few people I know of that have held this belief, it has torn
their families apart, caused anger and bitterness, and made many
doubt God's existence.
Believing
in God isn't about what we can get out of Him, but having a
relationship with Him, trusting Him to do what's best for you all the
while loving Him more than you would your best friends.
It's
about trusting and loving unconditionally, not getting "my way".
We
need to love God for who He is, not for what He might do for us.
