Whether the message comes from sidewalk philosophers, educators (public and private) the latest TV shows with a moral theme, religious programing over TV and radio, books by the millions
or from the pulpits, all offer the similar line, “You’ve just got to have faith.” Let me make a bold assertion. I say this message, standing alone, is
deadly! Consider this. Everyone in the world, no matter their age or culture, already has faith. Faith alone is not the bottom line. The vital question is, “In what or whom do you put your faith.”
True, God says in the Bible in Hebrews chapter 11 that “without faith it is impossible to please Him,” but the Bible also outlines specifically in what and whom to trust!
For centuries the nomadic Masai herdsman of Africa have put their faith in the rules of their ancestral god. His narrow requirements for life require the drinking of cows
blood and milk as the main diet of the people. Almost every kind of fruit, vegetable and meat are forbidden. Until the middle of the 20th Century, the whole tribe was dying off because by faith they rigidly
adhered to this and other harmful laws of their god.
Placing faith in the wrong information is not reserved for people in remote regions. In developed countries,
individuals high on mind altering drugs jump off tall buildings having full faith that they can fly... but they die because they had a misplaced faith.
This week a dear friend of
mine, who has for years been a strong advocate of the “faith” movement, shared her doubts with me. Before I tell you her dilemma, let me say that she gave up a highly successful, lucrative medical practice to
become a medical missionary. In this new capacity she traveled to some of the most dangerous areas on the globe. She worked behind the Iron Curtain long before the Berlin Wall came down, and numerous times
has trekked though the jungles of New Guinea and Central America. She treats bodies with healing medicine and also delivers the eternal medicine of the Gospel to those to whom she ministers.
For the last year and a half she has suffered with painful, debilitating medical problems. She has “prayed through,” “sought God,” “claimed her healing,” and yet is still not
well. She has had the faith, but alas, her body is still sick. In her phone call to me she shared that she was beginning to see that this automatic guarantee of healing, if we only have faith, is not faith
in the specific message of God’s Word, but more of a faith in what she had been told.
She had placed her faith in a system that puts us in total control...not God. In the
process of reexamining the healing/faith passages, in light of the rest of the truth in the Bible, she is beginning to understand that she must let God work in her life as He chooses. She is beginning to put
her faith in promises such as are found in Psalm 138:8. “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me.”
A favorite passage used by some to guarantee healing is in
Psalm 103:1&3. “Bless the Lord O my soul...Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.” Some teach that according to this verse, if you have faith you are guaranteed a
healing. God must heal your disease! Interestingly, the teachers of this doctrine fail to explain how it is that all faith healers and adherents to this view eventually die of something. The proponents
of “God must heal you” also fail to look back at the previous chapter and read such lines such as... Psalm 102:3-5,11 “For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. My heart is smitten, and
withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. Sounds to me like the writer had physical problems!)
Moving on look at verses 11 & 12 and you will see the contrast that we must understand to have our faith grounded in truth. “My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered
like grass. But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.” The Bible shows us here that God endures forever but our bodies are temporary, fragile and not made for
permeant dwelling.
Can God heal? Yes!! Does God heal? Yes!! Does God heal only on the basis of our faith and must He always heal just
because we ask him? No!!
So whether we are discussing healing, salvation or any matter of life, let’s not just tell people to “have faith.” Tell them specifically
in what and whom to place their faith. Use the whole counsel of God. Truly it is time each of us who claim to have faith reexamine our own faith to make sure it is placed on the God of the Bible and in
truths that are found consistently throughout that His Word...
Beliefs Have Consequences!
