By Jesus Stripes You Were Healed!

Pastor Robert L. Taylor
Sep 3
2 min read

When being informed they've acquired some sickness or disease, many sincere believers respond, “I reject this sickness” or “I refuse to accept that!” Their belief is that if they simply don't accept or acknowledge the sickness or disease then they will not be sick. Many Christians believe and practice this method. The questions are: Is this biblical? Is this practice found anywhere in the Bible? Are we given in the Scriptures any person rejecting or refusing to acknowledge sickness or disease and then being healed from it? We need to examine the Bible and see what it teaches regarding this practice. The Bible is full of testimonies of the healing power of God through Christ, His apostles, and many others. In many of these situations, the person became sick; HE OR SHE ACKNOWLEDGED THE SICKNESS; he or she called out to Jesus; he or she believed Christ would heal them; and they were healed! Some of those who were sick never called out for healing but had relatives and friends call out for them. So where does this unscriptural practice come from? It comes from faulty and unsound teaching concerning the atonement of Jesus Christ. The belief is that Christ died for the healing of our physical bodies, and because of this, the believer should not suffer sickness or disease in this life, but the healing of our physical bodies comes in eternity when we’re glorified by God. In this life, we experience the healing of our sick and diseased souls (to cleanse us of our sins). Listen to Peter's words. He says, “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). This is the passage that's very misunderstood by those who "reject" sickness. Does Peter teach that Christ followers are healed from sickness and disease of their bodies? No, he does not! Peter is quoting a passage from Isaiah 53:4, 5, 11. The phrase "by His wounds you were healed" teaches that through the wounds of Jesus at the cross, believers are healed spiritually from the disease of sin. Peter says that Christ died that "we might die to sin" not that we'd never get sick anymore! If believers are to "reject" sickness, why are we given the teaching in James 5:14-15? The Apostle Paul performed healings, such as the lame man in Lystra (Acts 14:8-10) and Eutychus (Acts 20:9-10). However, Paul could not heal some of his companions, like Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23), and Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20). This suggests that the gift of healing, while exercised by Paul at times, was not a guaranteed, always-available power but rather a sovereign gift of God, given at His discretion for specific situations. Why didn’t these companions of Paul “reject” their sicknesses? Because it’s not Scriptural! Be encouraged!