.........They say, "God is a good God, and Satan is a bad devil." All good comes from God, and all evil from Satan. Therefore, God cannot be the source of it. Therefore, it is only logical that anyone sick must be outside of God's protective realm due to either unconfessed sin, or lack of faith on their part, in order for Satan to afflict them. They "proof text" all of the Scriptures such as, "Great multitudes followed him and he healed them all." (Matthew 12:15) "As many as touched him were made perfectly whole." (Matthew 14:36). "The whole multitude sought to touch him, and he healed them all." (Luke 6:19) "He healed all that were sick." (Acts 4:40)
Then, all of the writers will take those verses, and apply them to this verse: "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) In fact, at a past General Council meeting for the Assemblies of God, which was held at Anaheim Convention Center in California, and televised on three networks coast to coast, Thomas Zimmerman, the Assemblies of God General Superentendant used that very verse as his text for his key note message! The message stated, in agreement with all of the faith healing teachings that since Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, we can expect him to perform the same acts of healings and miracles for us today, as he did during his personal ministry on earth! It sounds great! It did to me also, when I was preaching it! But, when it was not working for me, I had to analyze whether it was sound Biblical doctrine or not. for me, I had to analyze whether it was sound Biblical doctrine or not.
It is a fact Christ never changes, however, His divine will and Sovereign purpose for different individuals definitely do change! I am not able to part the Red Sea with a staff like Moses was given the ability to do! I cannot do most of the things the Old Testament prophets were given the ability to do. Just because Jesus did certain things in His ministry, does not give me the same power to do them! Jesus may have healed all in some verses, but in other verses, which faith teachers do not choose to bring attention to, Jesus did not choose to heal all! There were many sick people all around, wherever Jesus went, that He did not choose to heal.
This doctrine logically follows the Armenian school of theology which states that it is God's will to save all. However, in the reformed school of theology, the teaching is that Christ came to redeem only the elect who were predestinated to be adopted by Christ! (Ephesians 1:4,5) I am in agreement with the Reformed school of thought, therefore, I cannot accept the fact that it is His will to heal all, no more than it is His will to save all!
The faith teachers use a few verses to prove believers should never be sick such as:
"Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." (Psalm 104:29). "Thou shall come to thy grave in a full age, as a shock of corn coming in his season." (Job 5:26), "with long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." (Psalms 91:16) However, the proponents of this doctrine do not take into consideration that doctrine must harmonize with scripture, and must be compatible from Genesis to Revelation, if it is true doctrine! It must teach and stabilize the same thing all the way through the Bible not leaving any questions unanswered.
If it is always God's will o heal all, and no sickness can come from Him, what can we do with verses like the following, except tear them out of the Bible if we are to hold with the faith teaching doctrine? "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the almighty. For he rnaketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole." (Job 5:17,18) So we should understand that God does sometimes use sickness for His purpose of correcting us! Right in harmony with that verse is, "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." (Proverbs 3:11,12). "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with Sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers; then are ye bastards, and not sons." (Hebrews 12:7,8)However, the faith teachers bring to our attention, concerning "chastening" that the word "chasten" comes from a Greek word meaning "to instruct, train, discipline, teach or educate. It does not mean to "make sick, smite with disease, or make infirm!"
They also bring to our attention that the word "afflictions" in the Bible does not mean sicknesses either, but means other problems or tribulations. But, regardless of the meaning of "chasten" the fact is, the Lord has on occassion actually put sickness and disease on various people to chasten them!
In an account given in the twelth chapter of Numbers, the Lord became angry with Miriam, the sister of Moses, because of her rebellion against His chosen servant, her brother Moses! He called her, Moses, and their brother Aaron together to discipline them, and the result is recorded in Numbers 12:9,10. "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous." Some look at those verses and say it does not actually say it was God who gave Miriam leprousy, so it must have been the devil who did it when God took His protection away from her. However, much later, Moses was instructing the Jews concerning domestic relations in the 24th chapter of Deuteronomy, and he brought the incident of Miriam's leprousy to them as a reminder when he said, "Remember what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam
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