Published by admin on 04 Sep 2009 at 01:26 pm
WHICH IS EASIER: SALVATION, OR HEALING?
For some reason, people seem to be able to believe God for salvation, which they cannot see, but yet stumble when trying to believe for healing, which they can see. Why is that? When I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior, there was no coupon that came in the mail afterward which says “Admit one to heaven”. Maybe it got lost in the mail. But the point is, we receive salvation by faith, it is a gift of God freely given by an act of His sovereign will. Though mankind has desperate need for salvation, that need alone does not qualify us to receive.
When a gift is offered to you, even though in the eyes of the giver the ownership of that gift has already been transferred to you, the possession of that gift is not yours until you reach out and take it from the giver. Does that make sense to you? So therefore, it’s possible to own something and still not have it, by virtue of not taking possession of it. Think of it like a present sitting under a Christmas tree with the tag saying “To Johnny from Dad”. The present has actually belonged to Johnny ever since the day Dad bought it for him. During the weeks or months the present sat on the shelf hidden in the closet waiting for Christmas to come, the present was still Johnny’s. But Johnny didn’t have it, did he? When Dad finally put the presents under the tree Johnny could pick up the box and shake it and wonder what is inside the box, after all, it was his because it has his name on it. But until he opened that present and took it out of the box and used it, the gift did him no benefit, even though it was already his from the beginning.
So it is with the gift of God. It’s ours from the beginning according to the will and purpose of God, but until we take possession of it and put it to use, there is no benefit to us. Perhaps you’ve been taught that God has your “gifts” hidden away in His closet and they’re not for you to have right now, that you can have them later, when you get to heaven. And there are things that are for later, for example, Christmas presents are for Christmas, not the middle of May. But salvation and healing are for now, and God is not hiding them from you. Why now? Because now is when you have need of them!
The devil really doesn’t care if you want to get saved, as long as he can talk you into putting it off until “later”. In the meanwhile, he’s working his plan to keep you so occupied with other “stuff” that you never get around to giving your life over to God. To those of you who are sick and need healing in your body, the devil will do all he can to convince you God has done this to you, to punish you for something. The devil will do anything to keep you from earnestly seeking God, because he knows once you taste of the goodness of God, his days with you are numbered. And every day the devil is working his plan to bring you to your demise, hoping to keep you in ignorance of what God has so freely offered you for the here and now.
Now I’m going to explain another ploy the devil uses to rob us of God’s blessings. We will use Matthew 9:1-8 for the text:
Mat 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mat 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
Mat 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
Mat 9:5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
Mat 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
Mat 9:8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
Maybe you’ve never given much thought to this passage of scripture, but there is a treasure of information here for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Let’s look again at verse 5: For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? The religious people of the day got their shorts all in a knot over Jesus telling the man sick of the palsy that his sins were forgiven. They even accused Jesus of blasphemy, which was punishable by death according to the laws of Moses. After all, how could a mere man forgive sins? That was unheard of because they thought only God could forgive sins. Perhaps they forgot if someone sinned against them, they had the power to forgive them or not to.
Which is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? The Lord Jesus made it plain to the people that were there, that healing a person’s body is just as easy as their receiving forgiveness for their sins! Now, if Jesus says it’s as easy to receive your healing as it is to receive your salvation, then why do people today have so much trouble receiving their healing, as opposed to receiving salvation? What did Jesus do to answer His own question? He told the man who was lame of the palsy Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. By doing this, the Lord Jesus made it abundantly clear the man could have both forgiveness of sins and bodily healing, not in the “hereafter”, as some would have you think, but here and now! Some believe in the “hereafter”. I do too, I’m here after all the Lord has provided for us, and I’m not going to let the devil talk me out of any of it!
The problem begins when we start looking at circumstances. We will say a man comes to church who is quadriplegic in a wheel chair, having been paralyzed for twenty years. Can he be saved? Sure, we have no problem with that. He can ask the Lord Jesus to save him, and in the blink of an eye, his sins are forgiven. Can he be healed and get up and walk away and leave the wheel chair at church? Well now, that’s another matter altogether, or so we think. Did God say one was harder to do than the other? Not that I can find in the Bible, but man does. By doing so, man puts God in a box, and a little bitty man-sized box, at that.
The means whereby the devil uses to convince people that salvation is easier to receive than healing is not the issue here, but the fact that he does it is the issue. When we read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we clearly see the Lord Jesus healed all who came to Him, right then, right there, with no “someday you will be healed” ever being so much as mentioned by Jesus or any of His disciples. Don’t take my word for it, go search the scriptures for yourself! He commanded His disciples to go forth healing the sick, giving them power over every sickness and disease, and to cast out devils. And the disciples did not stop healing the sick when the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. You can go on and read in the Epistles that Paul and the disciples healed the sick, and they continued to do and teach all that the Lord Jesus began to do and teach, according to Acts 1:1. The ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues being preached through His disciples (you and me) today, and will continue to be until the Lord Jesus comes back. And God will confirm the true Gospel being preached with signs and wonders today, even as He did then. Same Gospel, same God, just a different day.
Somewhere between Acts 1:1 and today, we’ve lost a gift that the Lord Jesus intended we have and use. Yes, the church still preaches salvation by the blood of Jesus, but some of the “benefits” have been stripped out of the Gospel by the doctrines of men. One of them I’m referring to is spoken of in Psalm 103:2-3; Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.
Are there other “benefits” the Lord would have us enjoy? He had them recorded in the Holy Bible, like precious treasures to be diligently sought out and taken possession of. They belong to those who will use them for the glory of God, and we can be sure the devil will try to conceal them from us. But God will reveal His truth to those who really seek to know it. Remember, every good gift comes from God, and He would have us enjoy and use them today, just as much as He did back then. However, as with receiving any gift, even though it’s yours by right of ownership granted you by the giver, you don’t get to use it until you reach out and take it.
So then, For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
That’s your cue……it’s time for you to make your move…God already made His!
terry on 04 Sep 2009 at 6:14 pm #
Awesome! Great Revelation hit, thanks!!!
julie on 05 Sep 2009 at 4:44 pm #
Wonderful truth!,
bless you, julie
Sharon on 07 Oct 2021 at 11:52 am #
Thank you for this message