Dear Brethren and Friends, As I contemplate more and more about how we should fully restore Apostolic Christianity, I realize that an absolutely vital part of Jesus' example and message is virtually missing in the lives of many Church of God members!
What am I talking about?
I am referring to the fact that Jesus and His faithful apostles were constantly involved in praying for and healing the sick and the afflicted. All through the New Testament, this is evident. As Matthew describes the beginning of Jesus' ministry: "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them" (Matthew 4:23–24).
Then, right after recounting Jesus' teaching called the "Sermon on the Mount," Matthew records this incident: "When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.' Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' Immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matthew 8:1–3). Clearly, it was Jesus' practice to heal the sick—if they had faith. For, in healing the Roman centurion's servant, Jesus said, "'Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.' And his servant was healed that same hour" (v. 13).
That evening, Jesus healed many people and cast out many demons, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses'" (v. 17). So the New Testament reveals that Christ's sacrifice directly involved our physical healing—as well as our being forgiven of spiritual sin.
Soon afterward, Jesus clearly revealed that the power to heal the sick was not for Him alone, but was to be exercised by His faithful ministers. For, in sending out the twelve apostles, Jesus instructed them, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). Remember, the apostles were not even converted yet! For the Holy Spirit was not poured out until the day of Pentecost, after Jesus' crucifixion! Also, very significantly, Jesus extended the power to heal the sick and cast out demons to 70 "other" young men: "After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go" (Luke 10:1). As they went out, Jesus instructed them, "Heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you'" (v. 9). But what about their casting out demons? Luke explains, "Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.' And He said to them, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you'" (Luke 10:17–19).
So, Jesus Christ gave wonderful power over Satan and over sickness to at least 82 of His mostly young disciples. He even gave them special protection from snakes and scorpions! And we should all remember: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
Brethren, God's Church today has seen so many "splits"—and so many defections from the full Truth of God's word—that thousands have lost the zeal and the radiant faith they had in years past! Also, thousands of newer members have come into God's Church within the last 20 years. Many came into a group that was beginning to fracture and experience a lot of confusion, and came among members who were becoming "lukewarm."
In about the same period of time—in the last 20 years or so—a whole new generation of drugs has appeared, promising everything from cures for various diseases to help with sleeplessness, digestion and other common problems. In this environment, our newer members may never have experienced the spirit of zeal and the atmosphere of real faith in God that many of us experienced 30 to 50 years ago. Newer brethren were certainly not surrounded by Church members who always had their sick children anointed by the local ministers, or by people who frequently and enthusiastically described how God had healed them or their children.
Yet, when I came into God's Church in late 1949, that was the kind of spirit that prevailed! Looking to God to heal our sicknesses through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was the norm. Genuine healings certainly did occur very regularly!
What happened?
Satan has very cleverly succeeded in imbuing thousands of God's people with an attitude of cynicism and doubt. Forgetting Jesus' statement, "According to your faith let it be to you," many in God's Church even seem to take a cruel pleasure in spreading doubt. They will often recite how they have not been healed, or how something else has "gone wrong" in the Church. Little by little, their own cynicism and doubt spreads to others. They seem to ignore completely the transcendent importance of God's instruction, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Therefore, dear brethren, we all need to stir ourselves and strive to heed Jude's exhortation to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Yes, we must recapture the true faith and approach to God in general. But we must in particular fight earnestly for the personal faith to be healed, and to be delivered from the coming Great Tribulation and from every one of the devil's devices. We must all focus honestly on the fact that Jesus Christ is the only real Healer, and that God alone can truly forgive our transgressions of His physical laws and make us truly well.
Yes, doctors can often help. We definitely acknowledge this. They can frequently remove the physical symptoms of pain and suffering. They sometimes literally cut out a part of the body that is not working properly. But only God can supernaturally remove a disease, heal a cancer and make us completely well—with no side effects! And much depends on the degree of genuine faith we have in Yahweh Ropheka—the "God who heals."
As the dreaded avian flu and other modern plagues begin to strike in earnest within the next few years, we need more than ever to recapture the genuine faith that was in the original apostolic Church! We must remember that divine healing was a fundamental part of the ministry of the original apostles—and of Jesus Christ Himself. We must remember that when Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong led the Church, thousands of people were healed of all kinds of sicknesses, ailments and maladies. I know. I talked to them. I read the letters that came pouring in during those days. I was sincerely moved in meeting many of these people who were not sentimental or hysterical, but were actually healed by the great God of the Bible!
Brethren, we in the Living Church of God must truly feed on Christ's Word (John 6:57). We must cry out to God for genuine faith, so we may receive all of His blessings— and especially the "gifts of healings" (1 Corinthians 12:9).
Mr. Armstrong often quoted George Mueller's definition of faith—a definition we should all review thoughtfully. As Mr. Armstrong wrote in his booklet, What Is Faith?: "'Faith is the assurance that the things which God said in His Word are true! And that God will act according to what He has said in His word. This assurance, this reliance on God's word, this confidence, is faith!' That's George Mueller's definition. And it is a true Bible definition."
May God help all of us get back to the kind of genuine faith that was demonstrated by Christ, by the original apostles and by thousands in the early Church and—in my experience—by hundreds, at the very least, during the years when I first came into the Radio Church of God. Let us all surrender more fully to the true Christ of the Bible, and seek to emulate Him in every possible way. Let us spend much more time in prayer and in fasting. And let us then believe God, and believe in the teachings and the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
