Thoughts for Life: #50 What Saith the Scripture?

Samuel Chadwick: The teaching of the Scriptures is the final authority on this subject, as on every other question of faith and life. The teaching of the Bible is for me the last word.

I accept it whether I understand it or not. Faith can wait. It is humbling to have to bear the reproachful pity of those who speak with the confident authority of science and philosophy, learning and psychology, but the yoke of Christ is easy when faith is assured and meekness is content to wait God's time. (Google image, Open Bible)

When evolution and revelation seem to be at variance, faith banks with revelation. The difficulty is not, however, with the hostility of science and learning, but with the contradictions among those who believe.

There are differences of interpretation, but we may leave the disputants to their contentions and seek to know the truth for ourselves as far as we can.

There is no doubt that the Scriptures teach that the Lord is our Healer. That is one of the names by which He is revealed. It is also beyond dispute that our Lord and Saviour regarded healing as an integral part of His ministry.

He was as Physician who healed without medicine all kinds of diseases. He commissioned His apostles to heal the sick. The gift of healing was, and is, among the gifts of the Spirit. Healing was part of the apostolic ministry. The gift has never been withdrawn from the Church.

Through all the ages there have been witnesses to its power. The promise in the Epistle of James is for all time: "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

The Bible associates sickness with Satan. God did not make man to be sick. Sickness came with sin. Jesus attributed some sicknesses to the devil. He said of one woman that Satan had bound her eighteen years (Luke 13:16).

In Acts 10 :38 we read that "Jesus went about doing good and healing the diseases of all who were oppressed of the devil." At the same time, He rebuked those who traced sickness and calamity to personal sinfulness. "Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents, that he should be born blind."

Sickness and sin are associated in redemption and healing. St. Matthew sees in the healing ministry of our Lord the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. "He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases" (Matt. 7:16-17).

He bore our sicknesses as He bore our sins, for they were part of the same burden. It cannot mean that they were transferred to Him, for, so far as we know, He was never sick, but in sympathy and at great cost in physical and mental virtue He lifted their burden and bore it away.

The sickless Christ bore our sickness, as the sinless Christ bore our sins. When He healed the palsied man who was let down through the roof, He began with his sin. Others whom He healed He commanded to sin no more, and the passage in James links healing with forgiveness. There is a passage of St. Paul's (1 Cor. 11:27-30) that traces sickness and even death to spiritual dishonor.

There is sickness in which there is no sin. It may be true theologically
that all sickness came from sin, but experientially there is a sickness that is of grace. Scripture must interpret scripture. The affliction of Job was of grace. It was to the glory of God.

Paul's thorn in the flesh was not of sin. Satan took advantage of it, but God gave it for the glory of His grace. Paul healed others, but he accepted his own sufferings as part of the afflictions of Christ.

Epaphroditus was healed by the Lord (Phil. 2:27). Trophimus he had to leave at Miletus sick (2 Tim. 4:20); for Timothy's stomach he recommended a moderate use of wine (1 Tim. 5:23), and on his travels there went with him Luke, the beloved physician. (pp. 121-123)

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THE PATH OF PRAYER
By Samuel Chadwick
(Click on the title to buy)

Used by the permission of

www.cliffcollege.ac.uk
(Italics added)

Let's pray-

Father, we believe too, that the Scriptures are the final authority on questions of faith and life. It is the last word whether we understand it or not. We find that the yoke of Christ is easy when faith is assured and meekness is content to wait on You to show us in time what it is You mean by some Scriptures we read.

When there are differences of interpretation, we leave the disputants to their contentions and seek to know truth for ourselves the best we can. We know for sure that the Lord Jesus is our Healer, as it's beyond dispute that He regarded healing as an integral part of His ministry.

Starting with the apostles, the gift of healing was, and is, among the gifts of the Spirit, and has never been withdrawn from the Church. Jesus bore our sicknesses as He bore our sins, for they were part of the same burden given Him. At great cost in physical and mental anguish, He lifted our burden and bore it away.

Father, we're forever thankful for Christ's willingness to be the Sacrifice for our sins on the Cross, and we thank You that we can receive the forgiveness of our sins and to look to Him for our healing. It's in His name we pray, amen.

Today's Bible verses-

Ps. 118:29 (NIV) "Give thanks to the LORD,
for he is good; his love endures forever."

Ps. 89:1 (KJV) "I will sing of the mercies of

the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make

known thy faithfulness to all generations."

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV) "Let us hear the

conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,

and keep his commandments; for this is the

whole duty of man.

Isaiah 55:9 (KJV) "For as the heavens are

higher than the earth, so are my ways higher

than your ways and my thoughts than your

thoughts."

Today's quote-

~ Billy Graham- "There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All truth is from God, whether it be scientific, psychological, philosophic, or religious. The truth in the Bible points us all to the Cross of Jesus Christ. It is there that we find forgiveness of sins and the solution to the dilemmas and problems that face us both corporately and individually." (p. 67 of Till Armageddon)

Words of wisdom-

~ We tend to have our own image of God. We're to recognize Him as being God. We need to let Him define Himself, and to show Himself to us however He deems best. God is really God. We are not. Get over it!

~ We have the capacity to love God. Our problem is we tend to replace that with what we love. The first commandment of God to love Him first and foremost is fixed. All other commandments are difficult to obey without it.

(These words of wisdom are from old sermon notes)

Upcoming posts-

Thanks. A Lot
29th- Saturday's post by Ron Hutchcraft

#51 I Believe in Divine Healing
7/2- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick

#52 The Problem with Unanswered Prayer
4th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick