CLEETUS KOSHY
I’m bringing this topic up because a lot of believers are being deceived by the false teachings and doctrines of the Prosperity gospel aka Satanic gospel which says that Salvation of mankind comes as a package and includes a healthy and abundant christian living in this earth.
Before I begin, let me underline the fact that I am a big believer in the doctrine of healing. I have experienced God’s healing in my own life, and I have witnessed God healing myriads of people. I do believe that God heals, but I also believe that healing is not always the only path that He chooses for us.
Sometimes His perfect plan for our lives is to allow us to suffer and experience disease, illness, and hardship. The reason for this is that He can often teach us things through suffering that we would never be able to learn through a book or seminar, or through comfort and prosperity.
Whats the proof?
The Holy Bible contains the answer to the above question. Since every single verse is God breathed, we look upto the word of God for proof not logic nor human understanding.
Usually when I speak to proponents of the aforementioned deceptive gospel, they do have a lot of verses to back up their claims and beliefs. But it doesn’t take long to realize how ignorant they are and how they sideline or undermine many of the scriptural passages and examples. Here I would like to emphasize only on the healing part.
1.Life of Job
When we study the life of Job, it was God who permitted the devil to inflict him with the illness and destruction. But Prosperity Believers claim that Job’s fear was the cause for all those calamities.( Job 3:25)
However, Chapter 1 of the book of Job mentions that God testifies before the devil about the qualities of Job- that he was blameless, God fearing and righteous. Even after all the infliction upon him, he did not sin with his lips(2:10). Even Apostle James reminds us of the endurance and patience of job despite of affliction.(James 5:11) which altogether indicates that God chooses his people to suffer for his glory.
2.Paul instructs Timothy to drink little wine for his infirmities
Timothy had sicknesses often and Paul asks him to drink a little wine in 1 Tim 5:23.
To counter this, prosperity believers say, “Oh well, maybe Timothy didn’t have faith, who knows?”. Ya right. If he didn’t have faith, why wasn’t Paul rebuking him for his lack of faith. After all, Paul was giving instructions to the young minister on how to lead the church and deal with life. Neither did he pray for his healing.
3.Paul himself gloried in his infirmities
‘The thorn of the flesh’ according to prosperity believers refer to the persecution faced by Paul especially at the hands of the Jewish people. But if we study the passages of 2 Cor 12, we see that Paul took pleasure in his infirmities. Infirmity in Greek refer to disease, sickness, disability, ailment etc. Also from the account of Tertullian, one of the Early church fathers, it is obvious that Paul was suffering from some sort of sickness/disability which he asked to be ridden from him.
Another passage in Galatians 4:13- Paul preached the gospel when he was sick.
4. Trophimus and Epaproditus
Paul left the former character sick at Miletus.(2Tim 4:20). Ask any prosperity believer regarding this man, and they would say that they don’t know his level of faith. What an easy way to avoid clear scriptural understanding and use the passages to suit their own doctrines.
In Phil 2;25-30, we see Epaproditus a fellow soldier with Paul who didn’t consider his life because of the work of Christ, sick and nigh unto death. Paul exhorts the believers to receive him not rebuke him because of lack of faith.
5.The blind man and Jesus
In Gospel of John chapter 9, we see Jesus healing a blind man. The disciples asked him whose sin was it that made him blind. Jesus said he was blind so that the glory of God might be revealed and not because of anyone’s sin.
6.Jesus died for all our sicknesses and diseases?
Prosperity believers quote the verse ‘ by his stripes we are healed’( Isa 53:5) to affirm that Jesus died for our physical sickness too. If so the question arises, why do Christians get sick, if Jesus took away all our sicknesses?
The correct answer is if we read the entire chapter of Isa 53, it talks about our spiritual sickness. Our iniquities and transgressions prevented us access to God, but by the stripes of Jesus, we are now healed from it. Amen!! Praise the Lord.
I can go on quoting scripture after scripture. But none of this would matter to the deceiver as he or she has already made up their mind. Let us try to understand the scriptures just as they are, trying to be perfect and holy before God.
There is not a single verse or in other words a correct study of scripture that would show that all righteous people were to be sick free in this earth by their faith. Yes all who came to Jesus were healed, but healing was not his priority nor was feeding the people but repentance and salvation of humanity. He just used healing and food as side dishes for his ministry. But he emphasized that christian life meant self denial, taking up the cross and walking like Jesus walked on earth. Amen!?
To conclude with, I would like to reiterate that God can allow sicknesses and other calamities into our lives not to break us but to build us up.
Let me close with a few verses
It is good that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statues. ( Psa 119:71)
Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. ( Heb 13:9)
For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.( 1 Pet 3:17)
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.(1 peter 5:10)
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.(Heb 12;10,11)
