“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. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15).
Since the introduction of sin into this world, sickness has been a fact of life for humanity. While you may not know everything about sickness you would like, there are three truths affirmed in this passage.
Truth # 1: Being a Christian does not prevent all sickness. Believe it or not, there are some who have denied this truth. Mary Baker Eddy and other Christian Science leaders have taught that sickness—and even death—is a state of mind, not a fact of the body. (For Ms. Eddy, she has remained in this certain “state of mind” since December 3, 1910.)
On the other end of the false doctrine spectrum, peddlers of the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel imply that sickness is never a part of God’s desired plan for the godly. Like Job’s three friends—Eliaphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—these false teachers promote the erroneous belief that only the unrighteous suffer sickness and calamity. Though this belief has been around for thousands of years, it is still wrong.
The truth about sickness and disease is: 1) Some is the direct result of personal sin and/or foolishness (see Psalm 32:3-4); 2) Some is the result of other’s sinful and/or foolish decisions; and 3) Some is the result of simply living in a world of sin (see John 9:1-2).
Being a Christian will not prevent all sickness in your life.
