What Is Biblical Healing?

Healing and Deliverance
What Is Biblical Healing?

I. Introduction

A. Matthew 28:19 (NAS)

B. Evangelical and Charismatic—at the same time!

II. The Traditional Charismatic/Pentecostal View of Healing

A. Healing is in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

B. There is a prominence of and formulas in healing prayers.

C. There is usually one individual healer (a great person of faith and power) over and against a healing .

1. In Kingdom language: There is an overemphasis on the “already” of the Kingdom of God to the of the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God.

III. Is Healing Guaranteed in the Atoning Work of Jesus Christ?

A. This means there is a guarantee to each Christian of physical healing in the same way as forgiveness of sins is guaranteed.

1. Matthew 8:14-17 (NAS)

2. I Peter 2:21-24 (NAS)

B. Some unfortunate results of believing that healing is guaranteed in the atoning work of Jesus Christ:

1. When someone is not healed, the  for that must rest on someone’s shoulders!

a. The person is at fault.

b. The ones for the sick person are at fault.

2. In the Vineyard, we do not believe that healing is guaranteed every time we pray for somebody to get well.

3. Our understanding is that the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God, represented by the second coming of Christ, means that we will not experience healing in this world.

4. While healing is part of the Kingdom of God introduced by the first coming of Christ, it is a guaranteed part of the Kingdom!

5. II Corinthians 5:17 (NAS)

IV. The Problem with Techniques and Formulas

A. When healing is viewed as “guaranteed,” healing practices easily become formulaic and somewhat technique-oriented.

1. “If you do this (believe, positively confess, have enough faith, rebuke the devil, fast and pray, confess all your sins, etc.), then God heal you.”

B. Two major problems with this approach:

1. We do not believe that God has promised or guaranteed perfect healing in this life. We also don’t believe that God must heal.

a. Psalm 115:3 (NAS)

b. Romans 8:28 (NAS)

c. God knows what is “good” for someone!

d. is the bottom line if you’re a Christian! (Not comfort, not happiness, not a pain-free life!)

e. The two “blades” on God’s lathe of character development are and waiting!

2. We see little support for special techniques in the practice of healing.

a. “For this physical problem, we need to do this, and for that physical problem, we need to do that.”

b. In the Gospels, there is an amazing of predictable order or technique regarding healing!

V. One Individual Healer vs. a Healing Church

A. The whole church has been commanded to do everything Jesus commanded the apostles to do.

1. Matthew 28:18-20 (NAS)

2. John 14:12 (NAS)

B. Certain people are more in ministering healing to people, just as some people are more gifted in evangelism, teaching, prophecy, hospitality, leadership, etc., than others.

1. But of us are to fill the role!

a. Role, gift, ministry

C. Continual is vital!

VI. The “Agony of Defeat”

A. The church that prays for the sick must be trained to deal with every bit as much as success.

1. Nothing will stop a person from praying for the sick more readily than having no ability to deal with the regular experience of failure.

2. Keep the “already” of the Kingdom of God in tension with the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God.

B. Remember, healing is both and temporary!

C. We don’t know all the reasons why some people are healed and some people aren’t.

1. Sometimes Jesus does not tell us in this life why somebody remains ill.

a. Deuteronomy 29:29 (NAS)

2. Praying for the sick is one of the most loving things we can do for someone.

a. As long as a person feels loved by God and by you after you’ve prayed for their healing, you’ve been “.”

VII. Conclusion