Christians who still insist that God chastens with sicknesses and deaths to teach us important lessons such as faith, faithfulness, long-suffering, patience and self-control should consider carefully these points:
* Faith is a grace gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). We can't "earn" it by going through sicknesses and sufferings. Faith comes by hearing repeatedly the words of Christ (Romans 10:17), not by being more and more sick.
* Faithfulness, long-suffering and patience are fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), not fruit of our sufferings and illnesses. The more we walk in the Spirit and in the revelation of God's Word -- not in sickness -- the more fruit we bear.
* If sickness is a lesson from God, then the Christian who has been sick for many years is obviously a slow learner. And instead of praying for his healing, we should be telling him: "Better buck-up bro, or you're not gonna make it!"
* And if the sick Christian dies eventually, it would mean that he failed to learn God's lesson. And what lesson was so important that it cost him his health, his savings, his marriage and, eventually, his life? What lesson was so important that it made a child fatherless, or a wife without a husband? What lesson was so important that it brought chaos, worry, fear, sorrow and mourning to his loved ones? Does God need to resort to all that?
* Many Christians who argue that it is God's will for them to be sick still see the doctor, rest and take medication, contradicting God's will for them. This is because in their heart, they actually long to be healthy. Their spirit is actually crying out for healing, because that is God's truth and will for them.
* Why pray for the sick (Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:18, James 5:14-16)? How do we know we are not contradicting God's will in each case?
* If the temple of God under the Old Covenant was not decrepit, why should His New Covenant temple, which is our bodies (1 Corinthians 3:16,17, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16), be weak and sickly?
* 1 Corinthians 3:17 says that "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are". Now, would God contradict himself by putting leprosy on you? Or a cancer that eats away your internal organs?
* If Christ is the head of the body of the church, which is us (Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18), why would He want His "arms" and "legs" or us to be diseased and ineffective?
* Jesus said that "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9-11). If we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus. Jesus never gave sickness or death to anyone. Of the 35 miracles He performed, 23 (or two-thirds) were healings and three, raising the dead. So, if God chastens with sicknesses and deaths, why is this facet of God not reflected in Jesus' earthly ministry?
* Christians are always talking about "following" Jesus or being like Him. Well, Jesus went about healing the sick (Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Acts 10:38). So, Christians ought to be out there healing the sick. But how can they have the faith to do that if they also believe that God authors sickness? There will be confusion.
* 1 John 4:17 says that "as he is [now], so are we in this world [this life]". Today, our glorified Lord is sitting at the right hand of the Father -- without sickness. So, why would God contradict His own Word by making many of us sick? How can "so are we" be true if God wants many of us sick?
* How can one of the names of God be Jehovah Rapha -- "I am the LORD that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26) -- if He is also "the Lord who makes you sick"?
* Why would God say in Proverbs 4:22 that His words are "life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh" if He wanted many of us to be sick? If this were true, then Christians who believe that God is making them sick should not read the Bible.
* Faith is a grace gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). We can't "earn" it by going through sicknesses and sufferings. Faith comes by hearing repeatedly the words of Christ (Romans 10:17), not by being more and more sick.
* Faithfulness, long-suffering and patience are fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), not fruit of our sufferings and illnesses. The more we walk in the Spirit and in the revelation of God's Word -- not in sickness -- the more fruit we bear.
* If sickness is a lesson from God, then the Christian who has been sick for many years is obviously a slow learner. And instead of praying for his healing, we should be telling him: "Better buck-up bro, or you're not gonna make it!"
* And if the sick Christian dies eventually, it would mean that he failed to learn God's lesson. And what lesson was so important that it cost him his health, his savings, his marriage and, eventually, his life? What lesson was so important that it made a child fatherless, or a wife without a husband? What lesson was so important that it brought chaos, worry, fear, sorrow and mourning to his loved ones? Does God need to resort to all that?
* Many Christians who argue that it is God's will for them to be sick still see the doctor, rest and take medication, contradicting God's will for them. This is because in their heart, they actually long to be healthy. Their spirit is actually crying out for healing, because that is God's truth and will for them.
* Why pray for the sick (Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:18, James 5:14-16)? How do we know we are not contradicting God's will in each case?
* If the temple of God under the Old Covenant was not decrepit, why should His New Covenant temple, which is our bodies (1 Corinthians 3:16,17, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16), be weak and sickly?
* 1 Corinthians 3:17 says that "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are". Now, would God contradict himself by putting leprosy on you? Or a cancer that eats away your internal organs?
* If Christ is the head of the body of the church, which is us (Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 5:23, Colossians 1:18), why would He want His "arms" and "legs" or us to be diseased and ineffective?
* Jesus said that "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9-11). If we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus. Jesus never gave sickness or death to anyone. Of the 35 miracles He performed, 23 (or two-thirds) were healings and three, raising the dead. So, if God chastens with sicknesses and deaths, why is this facet of God not reflected in Jesus' earthly ministry?
* Christians are always talking about "following" Jesus or being like Him. Well, Jesus went about healing the sick (Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Acts 10:38). So, Christians ought to be out there healing the sick. But how can they have the faith to do that if they also believe that God authors sickness? There will be confusion.
* 1 John 4:17 says that "as he is [now], so are we in this world [this life]". Today, our glorified Lord is sitting at the right hand of the Father -- without sickness. So, why would God contradict His own Word by making many of us sick? How can "so are we" be true if God wants many of us sick?
* How can one of the names of God be Jehovah Rapha -- "I am the LORD that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26) -- if He is also "the Lord who makes you sick"?
* Why would God say in Proverbs 4:22 that His words are "life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh" if He wanted many of us to be sick? If this were true, then Christians who believe that God is making them sick should not read the Bible.