IS ILLNESS ALWAYS A RESULT OF SIN?
I recieved an email a few weeks ago in which a person asked, " Do I teach that illness is always the result of sin?" My answer to him was, "No". Certainly, sin can be a cause resulting in illness. King Uzziah, King Hezekiah, Miriam, Gehazi, to name just a few were all stricken with illness due to their sin. Alchohol and drug abuse, promiscuous sex, gluttonous eating, unsanitary conditions, etc. weaken the immune system, leaving us open to bacteria, virus, and disease. Unbelief causes the same problems. Fear, doubt, laboring on dark depressive thoughts, low self image, anxiety, worry, mismanagement of stress, failure to properly rest, etc., etc. all disturb, and distort glanduar secretions, and so forth. The result is a chemical imbalance that over time becomes toxic to the body, and can manifest in a great variety of maladies, and even death. (1 Cor. 11:30) So, yes, sin is one cause of illness, and the Bible is quite clear on this subject. When the root of the illness, which, in this case, is their sin, is cut by repentance, wellness is released to return.
However, there are many examples in Scripture of men with great faith, righteous men, who had illness. Three times God himself declares Job to be "perfect and upright, and one that feared God". Yet, he was stricken with an illness that left him miserably covered with boils. His comforters all accused him of being in his dilemma, because of unbelief, lack of faith, and sin. His response was to say this is not true, but that he would hold to his integrity( righteousness). We know this was a supernatural, demonic attack upon him from Satan, of whom he was unaware.
In 2 Kings 13:14, Elisha, the great prophet of the double portion, ". . .was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died." I do not believe he was ill because of sin, unbelief, nor lack of faith, but quite the contrary.
In Phil. 2:25-30, Epaphroditus was "sick nigh unto death", again not due to sin, unbelief, nor lack of faith, but "for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death."
In 1 Tim. 5:23, Timothy is told by Paul to ". . .drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake, and for thine oft infirmities." Certainly, no cause of illness can be attributed to sin, unbelief, nor lack of faith in his case.
In 2 Tim. 4:20, Of Trophimus, Paul's co-worker, Paul writes,". . .but Trophimus have I left in Miletus sick."
Again, no apparent sin, etc.
Again, no apparent sin, etc.
For believers who, at times, find themself in such situations as the foregoing, we go to war for the appropriation of the healing promised in the atonement; we examine ourselves; we speak forth, and hold to the word of faith no matter what; we pray personally; we call for the elders of the church to pray over us, laying hands on us, anointing us with oil in the name of the Lord, and the Lord shall raise us up. Mk. 16 says,"they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Recovery is not,necessarily, instantaneous, it is a process, sometimes a long one, if the Holy Spirit does not sovereignly release the gift of miracles on the scene.
In 2 Cor. 12:7, Paul gives us a clue as to a likely cause of sickness and infirmity. He says there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, for the purpose of buffeting him, by a messenger of Satan (demonic attack). Neither sin, unbelief, nor lack of faith was the cause of this affliction. But, twice, Paul says the reason for these chronic attacks on his flesh was, because of the abundance of the revelation. We do not know what this thorn in the flesh was, but we do know that Paul had a serious, unsightly, chronic eye ailment. (Gal. 4:13-15) Whatever it, it was a Satanic weapon formed against him to shut him up, to beat him down, to silence his voice, to get him to deny the goodness of God, and quit, because too many people's lives were being changed, as they were being brought into the Kingdom through his ministry. No weapon formed against us shall prosper.
Weapons of illness may be formed against us, but they shall not accomplish the Satanic purposes for which they are sent upon the believer. The origin, the root, the source of Paul's infirmity was, like Job's, . . .Satanic. " For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph. 6:12) So, like Paul, we put on the whole armour of God. And if we pray thrice that the thorn be removed, and it is not, then we recieve the same word that God had for Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee." Satan so hates God, anything that is God's property, especially mankind, he will attack with illness, maim with deformity, even kill innocent babies, who have not yet sinned, nor yet had the capacity to walk in unbelief, or lack of faith. The enemy comes but for to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan tricked man into a fallen state, and to believe in states of illness, and takes advantage of the universal race, or Adamic, or carnal mindset to inflict his sordid diseases on the lot of humanity with terroristic impunity. Those of us who walk in the light of the Word, know that we can stand against his lies to walk in the Divine flow of God's goodness. Of course, the ultimate fulfillment of the healing of the body that is promised in the atonement is at the resurrection. But in the meantime, we have the armour of the Word, and the gifts of the Spirit, especially the gifts of faith, healings, and miracles, to keep this temporal body strong, and functioning, until His purposes are accomplished in, and through us. Many times a person succumbs, no matter how much faith and prayer is released, for many reasons, which can be the subject of another article.
As an added word, I am for whatever is for life. When we have done all, and the healing for whatever reason, does not manifest instanly, I am grateful for the doctor. When the headache just won't leave, thank you, Jesus, for the Tylenol. Thank you, for the pain management, Thank you, for the sulpher drugs, the anti-biotics, the penicillin, the placebo, the setting of the bone. Thank you, for medical professionals, who have given their lives to study how to co-operate with the healing laws that God has built into the body, and to be an extension of the laying on of hands, while we recover. And when my time comes to depart this world, I will trust a loving God to hold me safely in His arms.
Excellent reiteration of truth. God's will for us is success, fulfillment in him, right relationships, right thinking..... Choose you this day blessing, or curse.
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Joe Bob, I long to spend some time with you and Brenda (hopefully this summer)and share with you some of God's work in my life. I have struggled greatly with anxiety,fear and different health issues. This is partly the reason we are not still serving in Alaska. This article touched me deeply. I read it to my husband and he said, "Wow...I need to meet that man." He has heard lots of "Joe Bob and Brenda" stories through the years and I would love for you to meet him as well. Thank you for continuing to be a blessing in my life. (Right now I feel like crying!)
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