Healing and Forgiveness
Introduction:
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16
Forgiveness and Healing
God desires to have fellowship with us. However, our sin separates us from God. This is called spiritual death. Since we have all sinned, there is no way for us to become able to have fellowship with God. Therefore, God forgave man and came to earth to pay for all of every man’s sin for all time by dying on the cross and paying the penalty for sin. There is nothing that is required of us for Him to pay for our sins. He already did it almost 2,000 year ago. Jesus said as He was crucified, “Father, forgive them,” in Luke 23:34. Those of whom He spoke included those that had not confessed or even believed. All we must do to receive His death payment is to believe that Jesus is God and that He has completely paid for our sins. He forgave us, and, therefore, He died for us. This gave those who believe the potential to have fellowship with God. However, sin still continues to break our fellowship with God. So we must confess our sins, ( I John 1:9). The above verse tells us about this continued requirement to have fellowship with God.
There are basically three types of confessions required of a believer to maintain fellowship with God and others. (There is no fellowship with God without fellowship with others, I John 1:3-7). (1) Private sins, such as evil thoughts, should be confessed to God alone. (2) Sins against others must be confessed to those against whom we sin. (3) Public sins must be confessed publicly to receive forgiveness. Confession means to name the sin by name and agree with God that it was a sin. “I’m sorry.” Or “If I offended you,” have no part of receiving forgiveness. This is what the verse means when it says to confess your faults one to another.
The second thing that is obvious from this verse is that unforgiven sin causes sickness. The most obvious result of guilt is manifested in our digestive system, but when God speaks of being healed He often uses the term “whole,” I Thessalonians 5:23. Sin causes sickness in our spirit, soul, and body. In our spirit, it separates us from God thus breaking our fellowship and hindering our prayers until we get the guilt resolved. In the soul, that speaks of our personality, our relationship with others, and our own peace of mind. We often find ourselves in a bad place emotionally, but God tells us how to get out of that place. Instead of feeling sorry for what your sin has done to you, seek forgiveness by confessing your sin. And, of course, our body will, eventually, become sick as well.
As believers, let us seek forgiveness for our sins by confessing them to the appropriate audience. Pastor Jerry
Healing
In James 5:14-16 God says:
“Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Not too awful long before Jesus was crucified, Jesus chose twelve apostles. They followed Him for three years during which time Jesus taught them many things. During that time He repeatedly explained the plan of salvation. Yet, after following Jesus for three years, one of the twelve apostles died and unbeliever. So it stands to reason that if you have more than twelve people together, I do not care how well they have been taught or by whom they have been taught there is probably a much better than 12:1 chance that at least one of the people in that group is unsaved.
How often do you think these twelve heard the plan of salvation from Jesus Himself? Yet Judas died unsaved having never trusted Jesus to save him during the three years of walking daily with the Lord.
Therefore, there is a good chance that someone who reads this booklet does not know that that they are going to heaven, so before we go on, let us read the plan of salvation one more time to make sure that we have understood exactly what it takes to get to heaven, and choose to trust Christ as our Savior if we have not done so already.
The Plan of Salvation
You see, we have all done things wrong. That is called sin. To get to heaven we cannot have any sin, because sin is what has caused all of this mess on the earth to begin with. Sin, ultimately, causes death, and, consequently, the destruction of everything that is.
God Did Not Create the Earth Sinful or Corruption
The earth was created perfect and with an eternal prospect, but, as God knew would happen from the beginning, because of His foreknowledge, sin entered. He knew of the future sin of man, and that the earth would be corrupted by sin, and the whole universe would come under the second law of thermodynamics. The nature of sin causes everything to wear out, run down, deteriorate, and die. God did not create it that way, but that is what happens, because of man’s sin. And since man is part of God’s creation, the same thing happens to us. Every one of us is going to get weak, we are going to get sick, and we are going to die, because of sin.
I am not saying that you are sick because of your sin, although that may well be, but Adam’s sin is still causing the death of mankind, and we are born with a sin nature. That is what sin does, and we are in a fix because of that.
Why Is the Wages of Sin Death?
Since sin causes death, the payment for sin is death. Why is that? It is because the only thing that is going to kill sin is death. When a person is sick, when they die, all of their sickness dies with them. We are sin sick. We are spiritually sick when we are born, and, therefore, when we die our sin also dies with us.
Sin is also a spiritual thing. Therefore, we must have a spiritual death as well as a physical death to destroy sin. We cannot pay for our sin even by death, because spiritual death is also an eternal death. The payment for sin is an eternal thing, and we cannot make an eternal payment unless we die for all eternity.
There is only one person that ever existed that is self-existent and eternal, and that is God Himself. Now when we trust Christ as our Savior, He gives His eternal life to us, but, while our existence is infinite in duration, it is not eternal.
Jesus Paid the Death Payment for Sin
What Jesus did was He took our sin onto Himself, and, being an eternal being, He made an eternal payment in one moment of time. Therefore, He not only paid the death payment for sin by dying physically, He paid for sin spiritually by being separated from God. In other words, Jesus paid for sin completely.
The Condition to Receive the Solution
Jesus is the solution to our problem, but there is a condition. You must believe it. You must trust what Jesus did. Do not trust your goodness, or your good works. Trust Jesus alone and completely, because He did everything it takes to get you to heaven. All you have to do is trust Him.
The Results of Trusting Jesus for Salvation
If you trust Jesus to get you to heaven, then you can know that you have eternal life. God says:
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life,” in I John 5:13.
So we can know we are going to heaven. We can know we have eternal life. You can know you have eternal life. That is not just an infinite existence. That means that you will never be separated from the source of spiritual life, which is God. All we have to do is trust Him for it.
If you have done that, then pay close attention to the rest of this booklet. If you have not trusted Jesus that way to get you to heaven, why don’t you do that right now?
Maybe you could pray and tell God something like this, “God, I don’t understand it all, but the best I know how, I’m trusting you to get me to heaven.” If you are doing that right now, then on the authority of God’s Word you can know that you are going to heaven. If you have trusted Jesus to take you to heaven, then you are on your way to heaven.
Foundation for Understanding the Sign Gifts
With that foundation, the gifts are explained in I Corinthians chapter twelve and the sign gifts are identified by name. The sign gifts were gifts that were given during the Apostolic Age to verify the completing of the Word of God, and would, eventually, cease after the verification of the writers by the end of the Apostolic Age. Now, let us look at I Corinthians 13.
In I Corinthians 12 we learned what the gifts were, and we found out that the primary gifts about which we studied were sign gifts. The sign gifts were gifts that would cease after the fulfilling of the purpose of the sign gifts, which was the verification of the apostles’ authority to write the Word of God. There were others who did miracles, too. There were others that penned the Word of God who were not apostles. They were the travel companions and secretaries of the apostles. Mark and Luke were companions and scribes for the apostle Paul.
Many times, as the Old Testament prophets would prophesy, they would dictate the prophecy to scribes who would write it for them. That is why Jesus, when quoting passages from the Old Testament, would often say, “As spoken by the prophet…” rather than “As written by the prophet…” as in other places. The case was the same in the New Testament. Mark and Luke were travel companions with Paul, so they got their information from Paul. However, Paul did not walk with Jesus for those three years during Jesus’ earthly ministry, so where did Paul get his information? He spent three years in the wilderness with Jesus being taught one-on-one by Him in Arabia. That was the same amount of time as the other apostles had with Jesus, so Paul knew what the Word of God was. He received it directly from Jesus as the other apostles did, then he conveyed the information to Luke and Mark. This is important, because the writings of Luke in the books of Luke and Acts comprise more of the New Testament writings than all of the other books of the New Testament combined. Paul wrote more books of the New Testament than all of the other writers combined, but Luke, one of his secretaries, wrote more words of the New Testament.
The Verification of the Writers’ Authority to Complete the Bible
The recording of the Word was confirmed by the miracles.
In I Corinthians 13:8 we read: “Charity never faileth.” Charity is the translation of the Greek word “agape” which is often translated “love.”
“Prophecies, they shall fail.” This is talking about the sign gift of prophecy. In the next chapter we will learn about the Gentile age gift of prophecy, which is very different from the apostolic age gift of prophecy.
The sign gift of prophecy ended when the Word of God was finished; because there was nothing further to add to the Bible. When Paul was rocked to sleep (stoned to death) and dragged outside the city and left on the dump, dead, he had an out of body experience where he ascended up into the third heaven, received prophecies from Jesus and saw visions, some of which God instructed him not to share. So did Peter and John, but when those visions and dreams were recorded in the Word of God, then the purpose and need for those signs were fulfilled, so they ceased. So the Bible says that prophesies were going to fail. Of course, that does not mean that they are not going to be fulfilled, it means that the miraculous gift of prophecies would stop adding to the Word of God, and, therefore, would cease.
“Whether there be tongues, they shall cease.”
We will address that in the next chapter of this writing.
“Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”
The Gift of Supernatural Knowledge
This is not speaking about simply knowing the Word of God. Anybody can study the Bible on their own and gain knowledge of God, His will, and His ways. This statement is speaking of the God-given, super-natural revelation of knowledge to be added to the Word of God.
An Example of Paul’s Supernatural Knowledge
Paul received information that way. He wrote about husband and wives in I Corinthians 7 and said that the things he was writing had not been spoken to him by Jesus, but, instead, he had received those truths after his training in Arabia. Nevertheless, he still had the mind of Christ on those revealed truths, and the truths he recorded were still inspired and instructional for all believers who find themselves in similar circumstances.
Examples of John and Peter
John and Peter experienced the same type of miraculous revelation of knowledge. So, when God says that knowledge will vanish away, God was saying that the miraculous method of receiving inspired knowledge from God would vanish, but the actual truths which were given to the apostles would remain after that knowledge had been added to the Word of God. So, the miraculous imparting of knowledge to the apostles would vanish.
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part.”
What was in part? At the point of this writing there was only a partial recording of the prophecies and doctrines of the New Testament. The Bible would not be completed by John for over thirty years.
However, Paul wrote in Colossians chapter one that he had been selected by God to finish the Word of God. But John did not write the book of Revelation until about A.D 96, and Paul was martyred before A.D 68 when Nero, the emperor who had Paul killed, died. So, the last one to write was the apostle John. While John was the last apostle inspired by God to write Scripture, Paul was the last one chosen to write. John had been chosen by Jesus before His ascension. In fact John may have written all of his inspired Scriptures after all the other apostles were dead. At least all three of his epistles were written close to A.D. 95.
God said:
“We know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”
What Was “That Which Is Perfect?”
Read that carefully. What does that mean? “Remember, the word “perfect” in the Bible does not mean flawless, although the Bible and the prophecies therein certainly are flawless, but what the word means here is “complete” or “finished.” Something had to be finished before this prophecy would be fulfilled. What God is saying is that when the completed Word of God is come, then all of the sign gifts would be done away.
Jesus had finished paying for sin when He said:
“It is finished.”
When praying to the Father He said:
“I have finished those things you had Me to do.”
However, after Jesus’ ascension, there was still something that had not yet been completed. There was more to His revelation in the Bible that needed to be recorded. That is why Paul would write in I Corinthians chapter seven that what he was writing had not been spoken by Jesus while He was on earth.
In I Corinthians 13:12 God says:
“For now we see through a glass (mirror) darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part…”
So the “dark glass” is speaking of the unfinished Bible referring back to verse ten:
“that which is in part.” “But then I shall know even as I am known.”
To verify what the glass is, we can look at James 1:23 where God says: “If you be a hearer of the Word…” The hearer of what? The Word! “And not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass.” What is the glass? It is the Word. It says so right in the verse.
So, we know what the glass is. It is the perfect Word of God.
In James 1:25 God says:
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty (the glass or Word of God) and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer in the work, this man is blessed in his work.”
What did God call the Word here? He said, “He that looketh into the perfect law of liberty.”
So, we are supposed to judge ourselves by the perfect or completed law of liberty.
Gentile Age Healing
With all that background, we finally come to the instruction concerning New Testament healing. If healing is a sign gift and the sign gifts have passed away, then does that mean we just have to be sick? Of course not, but on the other hand there are times that believers have maladies from which they will not recover. Even the apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” from which he was not delivered though he asked the Lord three times to do so. Apparently, something killed all twelve of the apostles, and all of the first century disciples and believers as well.
I, too, have had many maladies, and still have some, but I have been delivered in amazing fashion from some of them, as have many of my family and friends. However, some of my family and friends still have sickness; and some have died because of sickness. I know you can relate. We have seen amazing recoveries repeatedly at church. However, they always seem to go to the doctor or hospital to get treatment, and, occasionally, the doctors have said that their tumor, or sickness or whatever it is gone. We would say that that is miraculous, but if it were truly miraculous, there would have been no need of treatment nor would we have to go to the doctor or hospital except as a witness to them of what the Lord has done.
When Jesus healed people, there was never any doubt. However, when He touched someone, they got up and proved they had been truly healed. But many times He still sent them to the priest as a testimony to them as was required by the law and what was instructed by God in the Old testament. Why did He send them to the priests?
In Leviticus 13:1-3 God said:
“And the lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying ‘When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or a bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.’”
God goes on for the rest of the chapter about that.
In Leviticus 14:1-9 God continues:
“And the Lord said unto Moses, saying, ‘This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.’”
Then God continues the instruction throughout that chapter as well.
We see in these two passages that the priests were supposed to diagnose the illness, then he would prescribe the treatment. He would tell the patient what he needed to do.
In chapter 15:1-13 God says:
“And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness. Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.’”
Again, the Lord goes on through the chapter explaining how the priest was supposed to diagnose and treat disease.
The Lord has gone on for three chapters explaining how the priest is supposed to diagnose and treat illness.
When our surgeons go into surgery, they are careful to wear a mask so you cannot identify them, right? Well, not exactly, but they do wear a mask.
Sometimes the husband is allowed to be in the room when his wife is giving birth, but if anyone is in the room where surgery or other medical procedures are taking place, everyone must wear a mask.
Well, the very same thing is instructed in the Bible, except it was not the healthy people that were supposed to wear the mask; it was the sick people. That makes sense to me.
So the Old Testament books of law are full of how the Levites were supposed to diagnose and treat diseases.
So in James 5:14 God says:
“Is any sick among you? Let us touch him, and he’ll jump out of his seat and be healed.”
It’s Different Now
Is that right? That is the way Jesus did it, but now it is different. We have seen a lot of people recover from disease in amazing ways, but the sick people go to the doctor who will diagnose his illness and give a prognosis, prescribe medication, or recommend an operation or some other treatment. Sometimes, however, the doctors are surprised that the disease just disappeared. We have seen wonderful answers to prayer, but it usually involves some kind of medication or treatment by the doctor. Is that wrong or right?
Here in James 5:14 God says:
“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church.”
The Old Testament Solution
In the Old Testament they were supposed to get the leader of the synagogue or temple, which were the priests and Levites, to treat the disease. In the New Testament even before the Gentile Age began here is how it took place.
“Is any sick among you? 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.”
When the disciples were sent out, God tells what happened in Mark 6:13:
“And they cast out devils and they anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.”
Anointing With Oil
How did the disciples heal here? The first thing that did was they anointed the sick with oil. The Greek word that is translated anoint is the word “alepho.” The Greek word means “to rub, to cover, besmear.” It does not mean a ceremony. That Greek word that is also translated “anoint” comes from the same word from which we get the word “Christ” or “Anointed One.” That word is “chrios” in Greek. That is the ceremonial anointing.
I have anointed people with oil, but that is not how people are healed. It never has been. It is just like baptism. Water baptism never saved anybody, nor did it even help. It is a symbol of what the person believes and that he has dedicated himself to walk in newness of life.
The oil was the most advanced medicine of the day. Oil has well known medicinal value.
We read about the good Samaritan in Luke 10:34 that the Samaritan took the man that he found half dead (Don’t ask me which half), and “bound up his wounds and poured in oil and wine.” The wine was the antiseptic, and the sugar in the wine was an aid to healing. The oil itself was a medicine, they would suspend herbs and spices known to have healing properties in the oil as well. So, the anointing with oil or the medicine was used first, then God says that the prayer of faith would raise him up. We see that the anointing of oil had passed from the Levites in the Age of Law to the apostles during the beginning of Church Age. Now we see in James that the job that accompanied the anointing of oil would be passed from the apostles to the elders of the church. The elders could still be referring to the apostles here, because the book of James was written shortly after the ascension and very early in the apostolic Age. James was the first book of the New Testament to be written and according to Zane Hodges it was written within five years of the death of Christ. The most liberal commentators claim it was written around A.D. 45 and some as late as A.D. 50, but none claim a later date. At any rate, it was written very early in the Apostolic Age, and, therefore, the elders could be referring to the apostles, because they had received the authority to heal from Jesus Himself while He was still on the earth so that they could verify the inspiration from God to write the Word of God.
A Little Greek
The word for anoint in this passage includes the idea of putting on a bandage as well. Oil was a panacea for many illnesses. Especially, when open wounds and sores were involved. So, anointing in this passage is not talking about the ceremonial pouring of oil on the head, but it is talking about making a plaster or poultice, or pouring the oil into he wound, then covering the wound with a bandage so the spices and herbs would be rubbed down into the wound, so these natural medicines would be able to help the wound heal. That is what the Greek word “alepho” means. It was the most advanced form of medicine available at the time, much of which, I have read, are still used today.
The Medicinal Use of Wine
Concerning the wine, this was the medicinal use of the wine. It was rotten fermented grape juice that was, consequently, good for pouring into wounds as an antiseptic and healing emolument. This type of rotten grape juice was, as a rule, by no means to be ingested. Old wine, as it was called, was ingested after being mixed with one part wine to fifteen parts water to purify their water.
When I used to be the pastor of Community Baptist Church, we used to use that same practice to purify our well water, only we used bleach instead of wine to kill the harmful bacteria.
The sugar in the wine also aids in healing. If you ingest sugar, it retards healing as in the case of a diabetic, but if you use it topically, it aids in purification as in the case of sugar cured meat. .
So the most advanced medicine of the time was used by the Samaritan on the man that was half dead, and this practice was mentioned by Jesus Himself, as was the common practice of purifying of water with a little wine mentioned by Paul in I Timothy 5:23.
Back in James chapter 5 God says:
“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil.”
Anointing and Prayer
In the Greek the word for “anointing” is in the past tense. That would mean that a more accurate translation might be “having anointed him.” Apparently, the medication came before the prayer. I do not know if that is necessarily wise, but if God says to do it that way, I do not have a problem with it.
In the context the prayer of confession and the confession itself is to be made in public.
For the Glory of God
Understanding that the purpose of prayer is first of all to bring God glory and secondly to bring us benefit, it becomes evident that the sickness brings glory to God when the prayer of faith raises him up. Without the sickness, there is no need of public prayer, and, consequently, no glory to God by public healing.
So do not hesitate to go to the doctor when you are sick. The doctors need to receive a witness, too, and if you do not go to the doctor when you are sick, they may never receive a witness.
If I were you, I would pray on the way to the doctor, and then pray afterward as well. That way you have got it covered, but do not hesitate to use the doctor. During this Age of Grace, use your doctor.
Quote from A.T. Robertson
A.T. Robertson wrote in his book of Word Pictures in the New Testament in volume IV pp. 64-65 “The use of olive oil was one of the best remedial agencies known to the ancients. They used it internally and externally. “Some physicians prescribe it today. It is by no means certain that aleipho means “anoint in a ceremonial fashion rather aleipho means “rub” as it commonly does in medical treatises. Aleipho is the mundane and profane, (while) chriein the sacred religious word. At bottom in James we have God and medicine, God and the doctor, and that is precisely where we are today. The best physicians believe in God and want the help of prayer.”
Some Words from Wuest
Wuest in his books Word Studies in the Greek New Testament pp. 125-126 wrote, “In James 5:14 directions are given to anoint the sick person with oil. In Luke 10:34 the Samaritan treated the wounds of the man with oil and wine. Olive oil was a common remedial agent used by the ancients and was used both internally and externally. At a time when the healing art was in its infancy, and medicines were few, olive oil was a panacea for many ills. Here the disciples are directed to use it in the healing of the sick. In the case of James 5:14 it is prayer and medicine, which resulted in the healing of the sick person…up to the time of the closing of revelation with the writing of the book of Revelation, God performed miracles of healing through the apostles. This was for the purpose of attesting their message as from Him. Since then there is no need of this. Hence God heals directly in answer to prayer now, not through individuals. The normal procedure now is prayer, the doctor, the use of medicine and other means as God may direct.”
In James 5:15 God says:
“The prayer of faith shall save the sick.”
This verse is not talking about eternal life or spiritual salvation. God is talking about being saved from the sickness. Remember the word “saved” means “delivered.” So the person who follows these instructions is delivered from the sickness and the consequences of his sickness:
“and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
The Purpose of Forgiveness
Does that mean that he shall be saved from his sins? No, forgiveness was not for salvation from the Lake of Fire, but for fellowship with God and other believers. God forgave mankind before He died on the cross. As the soldiers put the nails in His hands, He said:
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Confusion of Forgiveness and Salvation
Forgiveness is for fellowship. We should not speak of forgiveness when we are talking about spiritual salvation, because that can be very confusing. Why? Jesus speaks of a master that forgave his servant, then he reversed his forgiveness. Jesus said that you must forgive others or not receive forgiveness. That work of yourself is good to do, but it is not of grace, therefore, it is not required for salvation, though it is required for forgiveness.
In I John 1:3-4 says:
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
Forgiveness Is for Fellowship
If we have fellowship one with another, then we will have full joy.
What is joy? Joy is being content in the midst of problems, while mere happiness is dependent on what “happens” to you. I guess you can say that mere happiness is contentment as long as there are no problems. Joy is a fruit of the spirit, therefore, it comes through obedience.
So what are we supposed to obey?
He says in verse six:
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
John keeps using the word “we,” so He is talking about believers, because John includes himself. So, it is possible for a believer to walk in darkness, and for a believer not to have fellowship, and for a believer not to have full joy.
Verse 7:
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
This chapter is only ten verses long and we have already seen fellowship talked about four times. He has not talked about salvation at all. Yet some people for some reason, when they get to verse nine, they want to forsake the context and jump to salvation. He is still talking about fellowship, and now He is going to tells us how to walk in light, so we can have fellowship.
Verses 8-9 say:
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Isn’t that talking about salvation?
No, he is talking about being cleansed for fellowship. God tells us four times that what He is writing is for fellowship.
Back in James 5 we see how to receive forgiveness:
“The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, “ (“if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us,”) I John 1:8. “they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another.and pray one for another.” (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,”)-I John 1:9. “They shall BE FORGIVEN HIM.“
How do we receive the forgiveness for sins?
“Confess,” but notice specificity to whom we are to confess.
“Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another.”
Confession and Forgiveness
What is God saying? The confession in I John 1 and here in James 5 God is saying, “If you have wronged somebody or if your sin has adversely affect somebody else, then you must confess your sin to them.” This not talking about confession to God. Of course, you ought to confess to God, too, but when you have wronged somebody, you must confess to them. If you do not confess to them, then you are not making a Scriptural confession. Confession to God alone will not restore fellowship with God, and, of course, will not restore fellowship with others if you only confess privately to God. You must confess to the person you have wronged, and if what you have done affects other people or other people are aware of your sin, then you must make a public confession.
There are three types of confession.
If you sin is an inward secret sin about which God alone knows, then you must make a secret confession to God alone.
If you have hurt someone else by your sin, then you must confess to them privately.
But when the sin becomes known to more than that one person, then you must make a public confession.
What is confession? Confession has nothing to do with saying “I’m sorry.” Or “I made a mistake.” Confession never begins with the word “If,” such as “If I offended you.” Confession is naming the sin, and then agreeing with God. Naming a sin by name means you say what the sin was. “I lied to (so and so) about you.” “I slandered you when I said…” “I lied to you when I said.” “I stole your pants and hid them in my suitcase.”
Next, you agree with God. You must agree with God by admitting that it was a dirty rotten sin.
Finally, no confession will end with a statement that begins with the word, “but,” or a claim of “I didn’t know…”That compounds the sin by trying to share the blame with the other person. They may in fact deserve some of the blame, but that is their responsibility to confess. It should not be part of your confession.
“I sinned by lying to you about…” Then explain about what you lied. A Biblical confession is not followed by the word, “but.”
Confession means to NAME IT BY NAME, AND AGREE WITH GOD. If you do not do that then you cannot have fellowship with other Christians, and it is impossible to have fellowship with God. Until you do that, you will never have joy or the fruit of the spirit.
So, in conclusion we must understand that confession is vital for fellowship with God and for whole person healing.
What is whole person healing?
There are three aspects of wholeness when it comes to healing. They are body, soul, and spirit.
When we sin, the first thing that happens is our spiritual fellowship with God is broken.
The second thing that happens is your fellowship with other Christians will become broken.
The third thing that happens is you begin to feel the sicknesses that is caused by the sin. The sickness will usually manifest themselves with stomach problems first. Then you begin to get chemical imbalances and nervous disorders. Eventually, you become physically sick. The final three steps in the eleven steps of sin are physical deterioration, then death, and finally judgment. Your sin will kill you, eventually, then after that is the judgment.
So to restore the whole person involves wellness of your body (physical sickness), soul (your relationship with others and your own emotional wellbeing), and your spirit (your relationship with God by which you can have joy). To obtain whole person healing you must confess your sins to God, confess them to whomever you have wronged, and if it is a public sin, you must confess it publicly.
Dr Jerry Lloyd
Memory Verse
“Is any sick among you? 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.” James 5:14
In the Old Testament it was up to the priests and Levites to diagnose and treat illness. The most common treatment was the use of oil. The oil itself has healing qualities, but in addition herbs (pronounced “erbs”) and spices were mixed with the oil. Many times they would mix them together to make a plaster to put on a wound. These practices were, actually, very effective and were considered the most advanced medicine of the day. We see an example of this use in Luke 10:34 when the good Samaritan: “Went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine.” This whole process, including the binding up of his wounds and the use of oil is part of the meaning of “anoint.” The “wine” spoken of here was old rotten grape juice that had fermented. The alcohol would be useful as an antiseptic and the sugar in the wine would aid in healing. Sugar kills germs when it is used topically, but retards healing when ingested.
The Greek word used here for “anoint” is ἀλείψαντες which means: “Having rubbed, besmeared, and covered.” It is also used in Mark 6:12 and Matthew 6:17 among many other places in contrast to the word χρῖσμα which is the verb form of the word from which we get the noun form “Christ” or anointed One.
The point is this passage is not talking about a ceremony at the front of the church, but is encouraging the use of modern medicine along with prayer.
Who is supposed to pray over the sick?
“The ________ of the church; and let them pray over him.”
Who is supposed to notify the elders?
“Is any sick among you? let _________ call for the elders.”
In addition to this, the causes and remedy for sickness many times involves sin and the proper response to it.
Pastor Jerry
Memory Verse
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16
What is the required remedy to sickness caused by sin?
“_____________ your faults one to another,
and __________ one for another, that ye may be healed.”
The person to whom you must confess depends on against whom you have sinned. If your sin has only affected one person, then you must confess your sins to that person only, but if your sin has begun to affect others, you must make a public confession.
The natural effects of sin simply cause digestive problems at the outset, but if left unresolved, they will progress into other maladies. However, do not make the mistake of judging others of sin, if they are sick, because all sickness is caused by sin, but it could be Adam’s sin.
Memory Verse
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” I John 1:3
Why did God inspire the writing of First John?
“That ye also may have _____________ with _______:
and truly our _______________ is with the __________,
and with his Son _____________ _____________.”
It is clear that our fellowship with God is inseparably connected to our fellowship with other believers. If we want our prayers answered, if we want God’s blessing on our life, if we want the fruit of the spirit, we must maintain our fellowship with other believers.
Memory Verse
“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” I John 1:4
What is the benefit of maintaining fellowship with God and other believers?
“Your _______________ may be full.”
It becomes very clear that fellowship with God and other believers is required for us to have joy, which is a fruit of the spirit. If you ever find yourself in a bad place emotionally, check your relationship to other Christians. Then do what it takes to get out of that place (obedience).
Going to heaven is a free gift received by trusting Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection as all that is required to get us to heaven. However, after we have trusted Jesus to get us to heaven, for the first time we have the potential to receive love, joy, and peace of mind. However, most Christians will never experience those fruits this side of heaven, because they will not faithfully obey God.
Memory Verse
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
I John 1:6
When a Christian is in a dark place in their life and say they are in good fellowship with God, what does God say about them?
“If we say that we have fellowship with him,
and walk in darkness,
we _____________, and do not the truth.”
It is very common for a lost person to say they are saved, yet they are still trusting their own goodness or works to get themselves to heaven. We must trust in Jesus’ payment for our sin as completely adequate to get us to heaven without any works or goodness of our own.
However, it is also possible for a Christian to lie convincingly about his fellowship with God and other Christians.