In recent years, so-called faith healers have continued to gain popularity. This should come as no surprise because there is not a single person on earth who wants to have an incurable disease. Or spend their life with a disability such as being blind, deaf, or confined to a wheelchair. And the vast majority of people are willing to seek any means necessary to prolong their life just a little. The concept of faith healers should be even less surprising for the Bible reading Christian. But even though the idea of a faith healer should not come as a surprise does that mean it is biblically founded?
Honestly, to really answer this question you have to be very specific in what you are asking. Because according to the Bible, people can be healed by faith. We see time and time again in the New Testament Jesus and the Apostles healing people from an array of diseases and disabilities. The scripture also teaches that the prayer of a righteous person will heal the sick. So from the Biblical perspective, miraculous healing is very real and is even expected to still happen today.
Matthew 9:28-30 (ESV)
28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.”
Luke 13:12-13 (ESV)
12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.
Acts 5:16 (ESV)
16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
James 5:14-15 (ESV)
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
All that being said the water begins to get muddy when you start to look harder at the popular faith healers promoted today. First and for most, it is never a person that is able to do the healing. It is always and only God who heals the sick. Peter made this clear to the crowd that stood amazed after watching a lame man receive his healing.
Acts 3:12 (ESV)
12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
Acts 3:16 (ESV)
16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
As Peter is pointing out mankind has no way of causing someone to be miraculously healed apart from God. If someone is healed after one prays and lays hands on someone it is only by the power and grace of the Lord. Of course, we read of the gift of healing God may give to someone in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 12:28 (ESV)
28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
Yet this does not imply the person with the said gift is able to heal people without God Himself actually doing the healing. You must also understand that a gift means someone is more adapt to doing a certain thing. In this case, supplying the necessary faith that leads to a person being healed. But all people can still perform the same task as someone with that particular gifting. We know this because all Christians are instructed to pray for others to be healed. This is firmly rooted in scripture.
James 5:16 (ESV)
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Many of the faith healers make some kind of call for a financial offering to be made. In order for the healing to be performed which is something we never see take place in the scripture. In fact, money rarely comes up in Jesus’s ministry. Those who came to Jesus proved their faith to be healed simply by truly believing Jesus could make them whole.
Mark 5:34 (ESV)
34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
The Apostles did not expect a financial return for praying for an individual to be healed either. You can see this when Peter encountered the lame beggar on his way to the synagog. You see Peter did not ask the man to offer some amount of money in order to be healed. Actually Peter told the man he had no money to give him but what he did have to give him was far better than any amount of money.
Acts 3:5-7 (ESV)
5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
Money never comes up in any situation that comes with healing and for very good reason. That is not the way that Jesus taught the disciples to do it. When Jesus first sent out the disciples out on their own he first taught them how they should conduct their ministry. One of the key points made by Jesus was that they should seek payment for any form of healing. Because they did not pay to receive it from Him and since they received it for free they should be will to give it for free. This is the same way it should be today.
Matthew 10:8 (ESV)
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in the hype of today’s faith healers. Who have taken biblical truths and found a way to monetize them. Most of these people are looking for ways to trick those with no other options out of the little bit of money they may have left. Which is a great shame and goes against everything the New Testament teaches. Except for the warnings given about false teachers. In that regard, these so-called faith healers fall right in line with the teachings of the Scripture.
2 Peter 2:3 (ESV)
3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
Acts 20:30 (ESV)
30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Please understand that if you are in need of healing that it can come through your prayers and the prayers of another individual. But those prayers are not something that you should ever have to pay for. Because God offers to heal freely to those who believe. And you do not have to chase after those who call themselves faith healers and claim they can heal you. Instead, ask those in your own congregation to pray for your needs. Because as we have already explained the prayer of a righteous person has the power to heal.
Hopefully, now you are able to see that according to the Bible the common concept of a faith healer is false. Those individuals are not acting within the lines of the Bible. If you found this article helpful then please share it so we can help others not get caught in the trap set by these so-called faith healers. Thanks for your support and God Bless!
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