Rise Up & Walk

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none: but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Acts 3:6

The Bible warns repeatedly of the ever-present danger of heretical false teachers. Because they claim to represent God, yet misrepresent His truth, they do great harm. Jesus described these types of preachers in Matthew 7:15 as “ravenous wolves” and warned that “many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.” (Matthew 24:11) Some will be exceedingly dangerous, showing “great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)

There is much confusion about the gift of healing. Many today claim to possess or have access to that gift. Their so-called healings often run the gamut from psychological ploys, to outright fakes, to demonic activity.

Is physical healing in the atonement? Did Christ directly die for the ills of the body as He died for the sins of the soul? While He can and does sometimes heal, the answer to this question must be “no.” This is because the body, although redeemed, remains subject to sin, the old nature, infirmity, sickness, pain, and death. These physical impediments will not be finally and fully removed until the redeemed mortal body is glorified at the resurrection or the coming of the Lord.

The church will do well to remember several points that are clear from a biblical understanding of the apostolic healing ministry.

Many alleged healings are fraudulent. Over the years, many faith healers have been exposed as charlatans. However, Jesus and the apostles healed those afflicted with physical ailments, such as blindness, deafness, and paralysis, and organic diseases, such as leprosy. The cure of those conditions, and others like them, however, is beyond the reach of today’s self-appointed “contemporary faith healers.”

We should also be aware:
Satan and demons can produce counterfeit healings. They do not only do this in false religions, but also under the guise of Christianity. “false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray.” Mark 13:22  The early church was not a “miracle-working” church.  Rather, they were a church with miracle-working apostles. In every recorded instance of the gift of healing in Acts, it is unbelievers who are healed. Acts 9:35

Does that mean God no longer heals today? Of course not! But what we see in most who promote “Healing Ministries” today is a far cry from the miraculous, supernatural healing ability given to the apostles on behalf of non-Christians.

Sharing the Gospel is the Main Thing

The Lame at the Church
Acts 3:1-2 At the front door of the church is a lame man…

Let’s not kid ourselves: we’re all lame as the result of our sin nature. All of humanity is pictured here in the beggar outside the Beautiful Gate of the temple. The truth of humanity in sin is essentially this: This man was born like that. The first great message of the Christian Gospel is each of us is born in sin.

The World Cannot Fix This
Acts 3:2 The man begs for alms, for help.

The world is unable to help us. All the world could do for the beggar was to give him alms, and no more. Too often, the church today is just an extension of the world. The world and the church are both full of activity, in every respect: political, social, educational, and entertaining. It is too often nothing but the giving of alms, and does not really touch our vital problem.

Worldly stuff can only give us temporary relief.

The Lame Often Expect the Wrong Thing from the Church

Acts 3:3 says the man wanted money. There is such a false notion about the church today: her message, function, and purpose, giving the wrong impression to the world concerning what they should expect from her. This confusion causes both the church and the world to remain lame.

The Answer for the Lame is not Silver & Gold
The business of the church is to deal with the real problem of men and women, not simply to give alms. The church offers a cure for the paralysis, not just temporary relief. The unique message of the church is that the trouble of men and women is their sinfulness. And that there is a perfect, lasting cure. However, we also know theoretically that war is madness, but that does not prevent us from fighting. Our trouble is this paralysis of the soul, that twist, the fatal thing that holds us down, sending us astray. It is our estrangement from God.

The problem of the world today is that men and women do not know God, do not know how to live and do not know how to die. The church exists to tell us that which we need to know above everything else: how our soul can be redeemed, how we can be right with God; and how the paralysis can be cured.

Jesus Can Heal
Acts 3:6-7 says that through the power in the Name of Jesus, the man is made whole.

Immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. The Gospel does not tell us, “Start doing this and that, read your Bible and pray, and come to church. Then after a while you will gradually make yourself a Christian.” No, “immediately,” now, at once, without a second’s delay, Jesus makes us whole. This is a picture of justification by faith only.