WHY IT IS CRITICAL TO CHECK THINGS OUT

I normally don’t rant and rave too much about anything.  However, I came across an article regarding health and the Gospel that just ticked me off.  You can read it for yourselves at:  www.icr.org/article/gospel-health.

Anyhow, the article talks about Jesus and the people He healed.  The article goes on to indicate that Jesus’ healing was an “initial ministry” and that it was a sign of things to come. Furthermore, the article seems to indicate that Jesus and the apostles could not heal anyone after a certain point.  The scriptures that the article uses to backup its claim are:  Mark 6:5; Matthew 17: 14-16, and 2 Timothy 4:20.  I want to take a look at these!

Mark 6:5 says:

Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. (NKJV)

UHHH…. What am I missing?  The article uses this scripture to imply that Jesus stopped healing.  However, we read in that same scripture that He DID heal people.

Matthew 17:14-16 says:

And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” (NKJV)

Okay, I get this.  The article is focusing on the last statement.  However, if we continue to read, we find the reason why the disciples could not heal that person.  Jesus tells His disciples that they could not heal because of THEIR OWN unbelief.  So the article is not accurate in its claim that the disciples stopped healing. They still had the power to heal!

2 Timothy 4:20

Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick. (NKJV)

At first I didn’t see the connection, but the Holy Ghost pointed it out to me.  The article is implying that Paul left someone behind and that person was sick.  So that would mean that Paul could not heal anyone anymore.

Hmmmm…..  Since the Bible is silent regarding what happened between Paul and Trophimus, it’s unfair to conclude that Paul could not heal anymore.  For all we know, Trophimus may not have believed that he could be healed.  (Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 9:28-30??)  

Even though this article was written by a Ph.D., it does not mean that we should take what is written at face value. (By the way, I have no problems with the website.  It is actually quite informative in a lot of ways.)

The reason I am writing this is because ultimately, when we hear or read anything concerning God, we are supposed to check it out against the Bible.  Acts 17:11 says:

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (NKJV) (Emphasis added.)

This is so we make certain that we ourselves are not operating outside of God’s word.  Be Blessed!