Faith in the Clouds - James and Miraculous Healing

The student leader of a University Christian Union was having lunch with my wife and myself. He was involved in a lively Pentecostal church. During the conversation he informed us that the Lord had told him that everyone in his university hall of residence was going to be converted to Christ during the following year. My eyebrows went up. He then went on to say that we have got to learn to expect great miracles when we pray. He justified this by saying that this is what the Bible teaches,

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

To illustrate his point he said that in his church there are miracles all the time - the dead are raised, the blind see and the lame walk. When asked if he had seen these for himself he was at least honest enough to say that he had not, but he had it on good authority from his church leaders that this is what is happening.

Dick Lucas, a leading Bible teacher was taking a church seminar and he drew a horizontal line across the blackboard.

“This represents the Biblical standard of faith. Most of my life I have been trying to lift people up to this level, but today we also need to bring some people down to this level!”

Such ‘Extraordinary Christianity’ seems to be in the ascendancy. More and more people are saying openly that God has told them that he is about to do something truly extraordinary. People with advanced malignancies are told they are going to be healed. Why are they so sure? Very often it is because this idea came to them as they were praying and as they have been taught that this is how God speaks to people, so they assume this is the ‘word of God’.

When I was a student, David Watson, who was then a curate at the Round Church in Cambridge, took me under his wing. He later developed bowel cancer with liver secondaries. John Wimber, an American church leader, told him that he would be healed. In David Watson’s last book, ‘Fear No Evil’, he said that there were several church leaders that had predicted his recovery. One pastor had declared,

“I don’t accept this cancer and I believe that God wants to heal you.”

A similar announcement that this cancer would not lead to David’s death was made by a Roman Catholic charismatic priest.

David Watson himself contributed to an article in ‘The Times’ which had the heading,

““God healing my cancer” Canon says.”

His obituary followed soon afterwards in that same newspaper.

The following year the Rev. H.M.Carson made the following comment in the ‘Evangelical Times’,

“To assure a dying man that he has been healed is to leave him in a turmoil of self scrutiny and doubt.”

In the Old Testament, such false prophecies were severely dealt with. It was a very serious matter for someone to claim to speak the words of God.

“The Lord said to me . . . “But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” Deut 18:20-22

Equally serious is the teaching that ‘God will do anything you want if only you have enough faith’. The result is that church worshippers are seeking ways to develop their faith. Some can be seen clutching in the air above them as if to catch the Holy Spirit and draw him into themselves. They want more faith so that they can experience more.

The teaching of the book of James in the New Testament is often used to defend such a position, quoting such verses as,

“The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up”.

The difficulty with this view is twofold,

1. To interpret this passage as an assured mandate for spiritual healing goes against the teaching in the rest of the book of James

2. God is not healing all or even many of those who are seriously ill and who ask for the church elders for their prayer and anointing with oil.

The Message of James

James emphasises that faith is not primarily about how we live but about the reliability of the object of that faith, the Lord himself.

When I was a boy I attended a preparatory school in Sussex called Great Walstead. This school had extensive wooded grounds with a large lake in the centre. When this lake was iced over in winter, the headmaster, Mr. R.J.Mowll would take the boys down to the lake. First he would test the strength of the ice himself, then he would allow a few senior boys to skate and slide on the ice, and finally he would allow the rest of us on. Some of us were timid and stepped out gingerly. Others had little fear and boldly struck out. Our safety, however, depended not on the level of faith we each had but on the strength of the ice. So it is with faith in the Lord God. It matters much less how we feel than how dependable the Lord and his promises are.

James stresses that the Lord is eminently reliable, whatever problems we are facing. This emphasis on dogged perseverance when under pressure continues throughout the book.

The book begins,

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” 1:2-4

It continues,

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life.” 1:12

This book is certainly not teaching a triumphalism for the now but a continued perseverance under pressure because our Lord is faithful and will fulfil his promises to his people when he returns. The following list of verses demonstrates that James’ focus is on the Lord God,

1:5 God gives generously to those lacking wisdom

1:12 God promises to those facing trials

1:17 God gives gifts, especially rebirth and his true word

1:18 God chose to give us birth

1:18 God gave us his ‘true word’

1:27 God’s caring standards

2:5 God’s values

2:19 God’s uniqueness

4:6 God’s enemies – pride and friendship with the world

4:15 The Lord’s will is sovereign

5:4 The Lord listens to prayer

5:7 The Lord is coming back

5:9 The Lord will judge us

Today there has been a tendency for preachers to emphasise the here and now. The feeling of joy, excitement, peace and success now, are all important in some churches. They would stress that God wants to give us pleasurable experiences of his power now. James has a different view. He is critical of such thinking and explains that this is one reason why God does not answer people’s prayers.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3

In contrast to these modern emphases James reminds us of what God wants to see in his people. God’s people should be humble and behave in a godly way. We should not be ‘friends of the world’ (4:4), living as others in the world live, because to do so is to be antagonistic to God. In contrast we should set ourselves to live as God teaches us in Scripture. He recognises that this won’t be easy, and can even lead to unhappiness in the short term, but if we obey God and live humbly before him, we cab be assured of his promise that he will ‘lift us up’.

James longs that God’s people should behave in this life in an honest, God-fearing manner. This will involve being fair to those who work for us, paying fair wages promptly. James recognised that there were some Christians who failed in this regard.

“The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves . . .” 5:4-5

Such Biblical thinking will stop there being favouritism in our churches. It is not acceptable for us to pay special attention to the rich (2:1-7). To do so is contrary to the standards God has given us in “the royal law of Scripture” (2:8) We will also need to keep a careful watch over how we speak (3:1-12). Christians should never slander others or brag about our plans (4:11-17) How different all this is to the hype seen in some Christian circles – James talks much more about our future hope as a basis for godly living.

Patience in suffering

James then returns to theme he started with. What God longs for is for us is to be patient, godly men and women who are looking forward to the day their Lord returns to this earth.

“Be patient then brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” 5:7-8

This is the repeated vision given in the Old Testament – a united people from all nations who are living in harmony under the authority of God’s word. This picture is so solid and real. It is a central theme of the whole Bible. The prophet Micah wrote,

“Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Micah 4:2

This is also the picture given in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. When the new Jerusalem comes down to earth God will again live with his people. It will be the ultimate ‘garden city’. I live in Letchworth, the first Garden city, but the new Jerusalem will be so much better. A real community that reflects what God intended in the Garden of Eden.

It is because of this guaranteed future, God’s people are to put up with present suffering. We are not to pretend it will be magically overcome in this world. James goes on,

“Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” 5:10-11

Pray in all circumstances

With the prospect of this glorious long-term future, how should we behave? James answer is to trust in the sovereignty of God and involve him, by prayer, in every situation whatever it is.

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray . . . ” 5:13-14

Now we come to some verses that are so often taken out of the context of the book. What should we expect from God when we are sick, and how should we respond? The context here is clearly someone who is seriously ill. They are bed-bound. We must remember that there was no established local healthcare system. Most towns and villages would not have access to a reliable physician. The natural thing to do is to call on the church leaders and ask them to pray for you. This brings out two points. It recognises that when people are ill, prayer can be difficult. Yet we are to behave as members of God’s community and depend on each other. It was not those with the gift of healing that were to be called, but those responsible to teach the local church the word of God and to care for God’s people.

There is some debate as to whether the anointing with oil is meant to represent basic medical care or the symbolic reminder that the Spirit of God cares and is involved. I think the latter is more likely to be the original meaning.

James then states,

“The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well, the Lord will raise him up.” 5:15

Some have claimed that this as a guarantee of God for physical healing if the correct procedures are used with real faith. The patient must call for the elders, who come and pray over the patient, in faith claim a healing, anoint him with oil and he will be healed as God has promised. Such an interpretation cannot be true. Many faithful church leaders have performed this rite, yet many patients have continued to go downhill and die. It seems to depend to a considerable extent on what the diagnosis is. As a surgical oncologist, I have seen many Christian patients with advanced cancers that have not responded to orthodox treatments who have been prayed for by their elders in this way. It certainly can help the way they face their illness but it must be very rare for the prognosis to be altered. It is striking that those who say they hold to a literal interpretation of James words rarely extend their interpretation to the terminally ill in geriatric wards or to amputees! The Greek word for ‘make well’ used here is ‘sozo’ which often means ‘to save’. It is used to mean deliverance from danger or suffering as well as to mean eternal and spiritual salvation. Jesus used this word when he said,

“All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved (sozo).” Matthew 10:22

What is awful is to infer that people are not healed because of their lack of faith. We all die because of some disease process. We age. These processes are seldom because of lack of faith and to infer they are, is to recklessly harm their relationship with the Lord.

The alternative view is much more in accord with the rest of the book of James. Pray to our Lord and trust him that he knows best and that he will look after us for eternity. He will raise us up, either in this life in the next, but we can trust him.

Test the Spirit

It is disastrous when Christians do not honestly ‘test the spirits’ and check claims of physical healing. When Jesus healed ten lepers, he told them to go to the priest to have the genuine healings confirmed (Luke 17:12—14) There are many who claim that God is miraculously healing today just as Jesus did in the gospels. Symptoms such as pain and weakness may well improve but the evidence for organic healings today is in very short supply. People with amputated limbs are not being healed. Eyes that have been removed are not replaced as a result of ‘believing prayer’.

I well remember a winsome young Pentecostal minister who had had ulcerative colitis since his teens. After a healing service he had been told that he had been healed and, since he thought this was God’s word to him, he believed it. Unfortunately he then stopped his treatment and refused regular colonoscopies. Wouldn’t this demonstrate he did not have faith? However his symptoms continued! He eventually developed an aggressive colonic cancer that killed him.

Surely what James wants to teach us is to trust our loving heavenly Father that all will work out in the long run – and his long run includes the eternal garden city. He is certainly not saying that we should avoid normal means of help.

Christians die at the same rate as non Christians, but a big difference can be seen in the way we die. I well remember a ward round when a large team of doctors nurses and students came to a lady called Alice. She had an advanced malignancy and was in for terminal care. After a short conversation she turned to me and said,

“Mr. Palmer, when will I be going home?”

She was much too incapacitated to cope on her own so I explained this to her. Her response set us all thinking,

“No, I mean going home to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven.”

Surely this is the confidence James wants us all to experience.

Christians are called on to remain confident in our Lord’s care of us. This is not to deny that God is able to do today the same things that he did through Moses, Elijah, Jesus and his apostles but the evidence is that he is choosing not to do so on the scale that some are teaching.

What should we make of the claims of men such as Oral Roberts who said,

“I can’t tell you about the dead people I’ve raised. I’ve had to stop a sermon, go back and raise a dead person.”

Yet not one ‘raising of the dead’ has been confirmed. If it really happened the world would soon know. Oral Roberts was challenged to give the names of those he had raised from the dead. He was not able to do so, though later he did recall one incident when he claimed he had raised a dead child to life in front of ten thousand witnesses.

“During a healing service, he recalled, a mother in the audience jumped up and shouted, my baby’s dead.”

Roberts said he prayed over the child and “it jerked, it jerked in my hand.” . . . Roberts conceded that neither that child nor others he said he had brought to life had been pronounced clinically dead.i

There are some who claim that all Christians could perform similar miracles to Jesus and his apostles if only they had enough faith. This is to misunderstand Scripture. God authenticated Jesus and his apostles by these supernatural gifts. They were real gifts and the results could be independently checked. Victor Budgeon is a minister in an evangelical church in Lancashire, England who has made an extensive study of modern charismatic claims. He wrote,

“How often people speak carelessly of the church in Acts as a wonder working church! Yet it would be more accurate to speak of a church with wonder working apostles. It is the apostles who are prominent in the initial outburst of speaking in other languages. It is their spokesman who explains this to the crowd. And preaches a mighty sermon. At the close of the Pentecost account, we are told that “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:43).

Other scriptures confirm this:

“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people” (Acts 5:12).

“The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabus and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them” (Acts 15:12) . .

“The things that mark an apostle – signs, wonders and miracles – were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Cor. 12:12).”ii

When Jesus and his apostles healed supernaturally the results were obvious for all to see. The healings were complete and immediate. The miracles helped to authenticate who they claimed to be. Partial healings and relief of symptoms are not the characteristics of Jesus’ healings. Many different so-called spiritual healers from every religion and philosophy offer much, but on investigation what they deliver is nothing like what Jesus achieved.

The God, who created us, gave us minds so that we can distinguish truth from non-truth. It is a dangerous tendency today for people to suspend the intellect and allow mysticism to replace it. Such gullibility is not what Jesus and his apostles wanted when they taught us to live by faith.

A group of five Christian doctors attended a healing mission of John Wimber in Sydney, Australia in order to establish the truth about his claims to be healing people. This report was later published.

“The fact that John Wimber knew we were present and observing may have served to ‘tone down’ the claims which we understand were made at previous conferences. . . . Mr Wimber himself referred to bad backs and indicated that people could expect pain relief, but no change which could be documented by a doctor. He admitted that he had never seen a degenerated vertebra restored to normal shape. . . .”

As I suspected, most of the conditions which were prayed over were in the psychosomatic, trivial, or medically difficult to document categories:

Problem with left great toe

Nervous disorders

Breathing problems

Barrenness

Unequal leg lengths (my favourite – I can’t measure legs properly)

Bad backs and neck, etc”

The doctor concluded,

“At this stage, we were unaware of any organic healings which could be proven.”iii

It is interesting that James does not dwell on the question of physical healing but quickly moves on to the question of sin. Clearly sin that is man’s real problem. It is sin that prevents us from enjoying God’s presence now and in eternity. This is hardly surprising as sin is the main emphasis of the whole of the Bible. It could be that sin has contributed to the illness. However it is more likely that this is just another separate heading illustrating the need to pray in all situations. This paragraph is reminding readers that whatever situation they are in, they should involve the Lord. If in trouble - pray, if happy – sing, if sick – call the elders to pray, if sinned – he will be forgiven. Care must be taken not to read too much into this paragraph. At the end of the previous chapter James reminded us that our confidence can be misplaced.

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”” 4:14-15

It would therefore be very strange if he were now saying that God will do whatever we ask him to do. Experience teaches us that this is not happening.

Yet the Bible teaches that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. We should pray about all situations and work out with the Lord how he wants us to live. James then gives us the example of Elijah who, James says, “was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain . . .” Clearly we are expected to remember that story from the Old Testament. When we look up this story there is a repeated emphasis on ‘the word of the Lord came to Elijah’. Presumably this word from God came through prayer but this is not mentioned explicitly.

“Now Elijah, the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor reign in the next few years except at my word. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah . . .”

It was only after God had made his will clear some years later that Elijah returned to Ahab.

“After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to the Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” So Elijah went . . .”

It is clear that Elijah was a man steeped in prayer and on these two occasions the Lord made his will clear. It was not Elijah manipulating God, but a man who was open to the will of God through prayer.

False Prophets

The test of a true prophet is that what he foretells does happen. It is very serious to claim to be a prophet of God. The result will be seen. Moses frequently warned about false prophets.

“The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other Gods, must be put to death.” Deut 18:17-20

We are facing a very serious situation today when people are prophesying that miracles are about to happen when they don’t. Ezekiel spoke strongly about this problem that has clearly been around for a long time.

“The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: 'Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the LORD. Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, "The LORD declares," when the LORD has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled. Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, "The LORD declares," though I have not spoken?” Ezekiel 13:1-7

It is disturbing when people only believe the words that they want to hear. To warn people that God is not doing what they want will be unpopular. The prophet Micah warned us not to believe prophets because they say what we want.

“Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.” Micah 3:4

Motives for making false prophecies can be various. In some churches it pays well. It can make a person stand out and become popular with a reputation for being spiritual. Micah also recognised this problem in his time – perhaps people haven’t changed that much!

“ . . . her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.”” Micah 3:11

How wrong they were. The answer to the present epidemic of false prophecies, particularly about healing, is for each church to record the pronouncements made and the names of those who made them. If they all come true then there is a true prophet in our midst. If they don’t all come true, their role should be rejected and they should be asked not to speak openly again. There is so much harm caused by false teaching. The great need of the church is not yet further quests for experiences of the supernatural but a longing to obey God in all of our lives. Churches again need good Bible exposition to counter these Corinthian trends. The mark of the Holy Spirit in us is holiness – an obedience to God. There is no other substitute. Micah stressed this as well,

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Jesus stressed the same. God’s Spirit is a Spirit of truth and he leads us to obey God. That is the essence of the gospel. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin, and he puts His Spirit in those who put their trust in him to help us live for his reputation and glory. We will enjoy his presence and power to persevere now, but the full satisfaction will only be experienced in the world to come.

i Woodward and Gibney, ‘Saving Souls’ 52

ii Victor Budgeon, ‘The Charismatics and the Word of God’ Durham, England; Evangelical Press, 1989, 99

iii Philip Seldon, “Spiritual Warfare: Medical Reflections,” The Briefing April 24, 1990, 19

Recommended further reading

Victor Budgeon, ‘The Charismatics and the Word of God’ Durham, England; Evangelical Press, 1989

John F. MacArthur Jr., Charismatic Chaos Zondervan Publishing House 1992

BVP

Sept 2009