Faith Healers and Healing
Quote:
Originally Posted by s_cianci
In general I agree with you. Jesus could heal the sick at will because he was and is God. Human "faith healers", on the other hand, are just that ; human. They do not have the divine power that Christ posessed. They are merely play-acting and constitute an example of false teachers that the scriptures warn us about.
Jesus sent out his disciples an gave them power and authority to do many things that he had done.
Matthew 10:7-8
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Similar power or authority was vested in the presbyters and elders.
James 5:14-15
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
One other thing that provides comfort and there assurance of healing through faith
James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Jesus had established his ministry as one not confined to teaching how to ensure spiritual salvation, but also one of the improvement of lives through temporal blessings, even miraculous blessings.
Beginning with the healing of the nobleman's son, he went about healing the sick for the full term of his mission, sometimes one only of a group, as the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, or one only when importuned thereto, as Peter's wife's mother; and at times, but rarely, he healed all the sick brought to him: in Gennesaret, at Decapolis, on a plain of Galilee, at Capernaum after healing Peter's wife's mother.
He healed those sick with palsy, and at another time he healed a man with dropsy.
He healed lepers and the man with the withered hand in Galilee.
He healed of unspecified illness, the centurion's servant, and the woman stricken for eighteen years.
He healed the woman with the issue of blood; restored the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest.
He healed the deaf, and the blind and dumb in Capernaum, again in Capernaum two blind men, another in Bethsaida, in Judea a man born blind, and Bartimmus near Jericho.
He raised people from the dead: the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus.
Are we to suppose that these blessing would vanish as quickly as they had come? Did God withdraw these blessings from the earth after the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ, or was this power to bless and heal transmitted to his chosen ministers?
Matthew 10:1
AND when he had called unto [him] his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Acts 3:6-8
Then Peter said [to the crippled man], Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted [him] up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Peter answered those who had seen the lame man healed, who asked among themselves, "How did this come about?"
Acts 3:12
And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
The same power to bless was exercised by Paul, a late-comer to the ministry.
Acts 28:8-9
And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
The healing performed by Jesus, his apostles, and his ministers, were not done in the glare of publicity to attract notoriety or fame, nor were they done to raise vast amounts of money so they could live in luxury.
There are certain well-known people who do not as Jesus did, but make merchandise of the sick, and these cast doubts in the minds of many who might otherwise believe.
To one Simon who had seen the mighty miracles and wanted to have that power himself and offered to buy it, Peter said, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee!
The true ministers of God do not minister for wealth or fame, but to be obedient to God, to emulate as far as possible the life of Jesus Christ, and to bless others freely.
I have no wish to be unjust or hard on the televangelists, nor to question their sincerity or effectiveness, but the Bible contains many warning to the faithful not to be deceived by false ministers, that we do well to remember.
Isaiah describes wicked ministers as "greedy dogs which can never have enough" and "shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain" (Isaiah 56:11).
Micah spoke of "prophets that make my people err. . . . The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us?"
(Micah 3:5, 11).
"Blessed is everyone," says the Psalmist, "that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be" (Psalm 128:2).
"The desire of the slothful killeth him for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day long; but the righteous giveth and spareth not"
(Proverbs 21:25).
No wiser advice can be given than that of the Apostle James, who said simply,
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
The faithful have a righteous claim to the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
MORGANITE
:)
