God Is Not Fecetious

Greetings beloved,

Couldn't sleep, its 2:48 am so I thought I'd blog. I was watching ABC Nightline news on Wednesday evening when I happened to see an expose' of the controversial preacher Todd Bentley who is currently operating so-called tent revivals in Lakeland Florida. While sitting in my easy chair holding my 8 week old daughter, I began to sob as I saw a 2 year old girl in a stroller who had been born with her bladder and colon outside of her body as her father wheeled her towards the stage to try and receive a healing. The doctors had given up on her, and in desperation her father brought her to Mr. Bentley's revival. Unfortunately, the little girl wasn't healed (I believe her name is Kaylyn Wise, please keep her and her family in your prayers). As the program continued, tears streamed down my face when a 15 year old boy who's body was wracked with Spina-Biffida was fooled by Mr. Bentley into casting aside his crutches, believing he was healed, only to find himself struggling to get up off of the floor after falling down several times prior. Mr. Bentley claims to have given sight to the blind, opened deaf ears, and further stated that he could provide documentation of thousands of confirmed healings. However, when asked to provide only three he could not. Mr. Bentley is a charlatan and his ministry is a scam. He has no formal training in theology or ministry, and he refuses to align himself with any organized denomination or chain of accountability. He's even conceited enough to believe that the world needs "about another thousand Todd Bentleys." My heart breaks for this man and especially for all those whom he is manipulating. Please pray that he would come to know God in a real way, and repent of what he's doing.

Furthermore, to all those who are confused about God's healing and would like to know the truth, I offer this article that was written by the late Dr. Walter Martin:

First Peter 2:24 says of Christ, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
One of the primary rules of biblical interpretation which must never be violated is context. What is the context in 1 Peter 2? Answer: salvation. There is no way to interpret it in any other sense. The verse is talking about Jesus on the cross dying for us, enduring punishment and bearing our sins, thereby providing salvation for us.

When certain people get hold of this passage, however, they change the context from salvation to physical healing. Every time such people see the word "heal" in the Bible they assume it refers to the miracle of divine healing for the physical body, regardless of whether the context indicates otherwise.

A number of times in Scripture the word healing has specific reference to spiritual healing. There are diseases of the soul that have to be healed -- and the primary disease of the soul is man's unregenerate state, which is rooted in sin. The good news is that God has provided healing for this disease of the soul. And that is what Peter is talking about in 1 Peter 2:24. He is not saying that physical healing of the body is guaranteed to every believer.

Certainly, healing for the body is a benefit of Christ's death on the cross, a benefit for the church as a result of His atoning sacrifice. However, it is not -- it has never been in the history of the church -- a guarantee that God has to heal your body; He doesn't have to!

God does say He will graciously entertain our prayers. He says that if we exercise faith, and if our request is in accordance with His will, He will hear us. But He never said that the mark of true spirituality is that you would never sneeze.

Some within the church will try to tell you, "God's perfect will is that you are never going to be sick." Well, I'll tell you something: there are certain lessons -- if you are honest -- that you'll admit you never would have learned unless the Lord flattened you out long enough to get your attention. Sometimes God teaches us things through our suffering.

Moreover, I must say that sometimes a person, after praying for a healing, may receive a no from God -- a benevolent no, a kindly no, a protective no maybe, but no nevertheless. Tragically, however, there are teachers -- in the Faith movement, for example -- who have the colossal gall to tell people that if they were more spiritual, if they had more faith, if they believed like they believed, they would be well. Such faulty teaching can crush whatever faith these poor people have.

Now, I believe you should go to the Lord and believe Him for healing, and trust Him for healing, and pursue Him for healing. And I believe you should search your soul to make certain there is nothing in your life standing in the way of healing. But you must come to Him and lay yourself out on His conditions. The Scripture says,

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).

If perhaps God intends to teach you something through an illness, He might not heal you immediately. So don't think you are being neglected by the Holy Spirit if you don't get healed. Don't assume that the Lord is against you. Don't conclude that you necessarily have an absence of faith or secret sin.

Take a good look at 1 Peter 2:21:

"Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

Circle the word example in this verse. Here we are told that Jesus suffered. And He left us an example. We are to follow in His steps.

And what is the meaning of Philippians 3:10, which refers to "the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings"? Let us be clear on this: suffering is an integral part of the fact of life, and is often used by God in the development and maturation of the Christian.

The apostle Paul had a greater standing with the Lord in terms of his ministry than I have or anybody else has ever had. According to 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Paul requested healing from the Lord three times. And three times he got an answer back: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Translation: God said no to Paul's request for healing. And God had a purpose in saying no.

Did Paul have lack of faith? Rubbish! Was Paul suffering from some secret sin that he was carrying around? Do you see how utterly absurd this is? Do you see how it plays on people's emotions and lives? Do you see how it undermines faith in the absolute authority of Scripture and transfers it to a human being whose experience becomes the criteria?

This type of teaching eats like a cancer in the body of Christ and it must be resisted and opposed at every opportunity so that Christians will not have a cloud hanging over their heads all the time. Instead, they will realize that Jesus really does love them (despite their illness) and that any healing that may come is in His sovereign hands, not ours.

Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.

Friends, God is a God of love, He's not facetious or cruel, teasing young children with semi-healings, while leaving their bodies misshapen, week and bound to their crutches or wheelchairs. Whether we understand Him or not, we need to realize that God loves us and thinks of us unceasingly. "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10). "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1). We need to trust that God knows what He's doing and that He has our best interest in mind, knowing that there is a reason for everything under heaven. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3).

God's blessings to you all,
+Ernest