Can Christians Heal Sick People? | Theocast Clips

And you call for the elders and they put oil on your head and they pray for you, you will be healed. Well, that's a massive problem because how many people haven't been healed? Justin Perdue. Because obviously what we're saying is that James 5, 13, 14, 15 should be understood in a spiritual way, that there are spiritual things going on here, and that the word rendered sick should be rendered, we think, as weakness and it would be a better representation of what's going on.

We're going to talk about that in the context of James on the whole probably here in just a second. But I think the fact that at the end of verse 15 you have the talk of forgiveness of sins is a dead giveaway that what we're talking about here is a spiritual matter.

Because if he's committed sins, he'll be forgiven. So okay, well now we're talking about the forgiveness of sins and that clearly is a spiritual matter. And lest we immediately draw straight lines from sin to sickness, because some people might say, well, yeah, because the sin in that person's life has made them sick.

It's like, well, we've got to be really careful biblically in doing that. Sometimes particular sins do lead to particular suffering and discipline in the hands of God, but not always. Because Jesus, for example, blows that notion up in Luke 13, talking about the Galileans who were slaughtered by Pilate, talking about the people on whom the Tower of Siloam fell.

He also blows it up in John 9. Why is this man blind? Who sinned? Him or his parents? Neither one actually. We just have to be thoughtful. I think the best understanding of the second part of verse 15 is that we've got spiritual matters going on here and the weakness and the healing that's in view is of a spiritual nature.

Jon Moffitt. And it's a guaranteed. So this is where we're going to reverse and go back up to the top and kind of look at the negative. Then I have got some thoughts about even the community, those of you who are weak aren't supposed to figure this out on your own.

James' conclusion is, no, your restoration happens outside of yourself. We'll get to that probably in the SR. For the next 10 minutes or so, Justin, one of the issues here is that I find great confidence in this interpretation because I can say, wow, God is the one who guarantees the salvation and restoration of his children.

That's what is meant here. But if you mean this to be physical, so those of you who are sick physically with cancer or some kind of a sickness and you call for the elders, they put oil on your head and they pray for you, you will be healed.

Well, that's a massive problem because how many people haven't been healed? Well, then whose fault is it? It's not the faith of the person sick. It's the faith of the elders. I can't tell you how many times I've heard of elders who do this and then like nothing happens.

I mean, there's a few examples of where people have seen some kind of a temporal healing, but let me ask you this, Justin. I mean, how many people have been healed in the Bible and they still died? That's not ultimate healing because James says they will be raised up on the last day.

That's a guarantee, right? Justin Perdue. Well, I was going to say, even the language of being raised up, also in verse 15, my mind immediately goes to John 6, for example, where Jesus talks about, I will raise them up on the last day.

To be raised up in the vernacular of the New Testament is also a spiritual term. It has everything to do with sometimes regeneration, but more often than not, it has to do with resurrection and final salvation.

I think even that is helpful to us as well, to say that God will raise up this person, and if he's committed sins, he'll be forgiven. Again, we're clearly talking about salvation realities and spiritual realities, forgiveness realities.

Jon Moffitt. Yeah. I have to go back and just think through the whole of the New Testament, and then we're going to go back and look at James, but as an example, Paul himself, I think Paul had enough faith and enough godly men around him, and yet God said, no, my grace is sufficient to get you through whatever it is, this trial that he endured.

Justin Perdue. Briefly, you're talking about 2 Corinthians 12. Great passage. I agree. Paul didn't lack faith, and Paul cried out multiple times that this thorn in the flesh would be removed, and the Lord said no.

Jon Moffitt. That's right. Paul left a dear brother in a city and moved on because that brother was sick, and he asked people to pray for him that he might be restored. If this is common practice and should be done, why wouldn't Paul have known to do this?

That's where things get a little complicated because you have people who are dying. Justin, think about it this way too. Just from a healing standpoint, when Jesus went to the pool of Siloam, he didn't heal everybody at the pool.

People don't stop and think about that. Well, it was only that man who had faith. That's why he only wanted to James is a great example of what life is in a broken, fallen, sinful world. James is saying you are going to suffer trial.

Trial is not a short period of time. Your trial might be your entire life. How does he start? James starts with the promise of God is not going to abandon you. He is only going to use this trial to strengthen and steady your faith.