"His [Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction" ~2Peter 3:16 (NIV).
I was thinking about this quite a bit this morning, as it is the foundation verse for the study I have been following the questions of healing. I find myself reflected in this verse. I have been around plenty of Scriptural distortion in my life. It's called liberal arts education. It's called living in the PNW. Combine some of the faithless teaching I had growing up, mixed with the lifeless religion I was surrounded with in college (and the horrors of "Medieval Christianity") and you get a young person who is ready to throw-in the towel. What is the root cause of this confusion? Ignorance.
People twist the Scriptures to say what they want it to say, so that it will line-up with whatever religious notions they have. A classic example that I won't go into right now is Paul's "thorn in the flesh" (2Corinthians 12:6). Many modern translations read that it was a painful ailment of some kind. The Bible does not say that. Paul said it was a "messenger of Satan." Who said he was sick? He didn't say that. God didn't say that. People made it up. Stop doing that.
Jesus instructed us to pray that God's Will be done on the earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). That informs me that that is currently not happening. For those out there who believe that God's Sovereignty means that everything that happens on this earth is a result of His Plan, do us a favor: don't talk. If God's Will were actually being done right now, the end result would be... HEAVEN! What does Heaven look like? Nobody is sick in Heaven. There is no poverty anywhere. Jewelry is construction equipment. There is nothing but peace, joy and prosperity. There is no confusion. There is no strife. There are no wars, genocides, racist divisions or democrats (too far??). Do you see that in the earth? Then God's Will is clearly not being done.
God never said His Sovereignty extended to the extent that everything He wants done happens? God is Sovereign outside of His Word. However, in His goodness and righteousness, He has actually limited Himself within the earthly realm. This is not to mention the fact that, through their sin, Adam and Eve relinquished control of this earth to the devil. God cannot waltz in and do whatever He wants - that is what Satan does. God's Will is that all people be saved (John 3:17; 2Peter 3:9). That is not happening. It is God's Will that all people live healthy, long lives. That's rarely even happening in the Church. It is obvious that this "Sovereignty" is not what we have made it out to be. What did God actually say about these issues?
Ephesians 5:17 instructs us to know what the Will of the Lord is. We find that through time in His Word, fellowshipping with it and the Holy Spirit. While it is good and wonderful to look up to various men and women for guidance, it is important not to read the "Gospel of Piper" or the "Scriptures According to Driscoll" or what-not. I have heard too many sermons where an author was quoted more than Scripture. I have heard teaching that was based more in doctrinal book than The Book. That is why there is so much confusion regarding what God has said regarding His people. He calls this foolishness. I have heard it said in every church I have attended in my life "Lord, we do not understand why You do these things." Well, you are officially no longer living Biblically - and you are a fool. The Bible says we all have an unction of the Holy Spirit and we know all things (1John 2:20). That is what God says about you. If you say otherwise, you are calling Him a liar.
The Bible says that Jesus' stripes bought healing. Yet many people are sick. Many people are living life bound by a disease that God never intended. I have done this as many times as other people, I know what it is like: they pray for God to intervene, yet through in a "If it be Your Will." We pray more as a "let's see what God wants to do" inquiry, than we do effectual prayer. Without faith in what God actually said, nothing can be accomplished. James said it is the prayer of faith that heals (James 5:15). No faith, no results. No Word, no faith (Romans 10:17).
God expects you to understand and believe what He said, not what some other person thinks He meant. Do not prayer "if it be Your Will," when the Scriptures already say what His Will is. Do not assume that just because something happened in your life it was the Will of God. Tragedy befalls this entire world; none of it is His Will. Jesus informed us that we will deal with persecutions (John 16:33), but not because He wanted them. He knows how our world is, and how messed up it will become before His return. He promised that the world is robbed of its power to harm us. Do not give that power back through ignorance and religious correctness. Take God at His Word - all of it. We never doubt it is God's Will to save someone, but we frequently doubt it is God's Will to heal or abundantly provide - but Jesus died for all three...
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