enough for salvation, if indeed, he lacks the faith necessary to physical healing. In other words, if God has provided for physical healing in the atonement, as many claim, then if a person prays for physical healing and his prayer is not answered by restoration to health, he be gins to doubt whether or not his prayer for salvation from sin has been heard. Do you not see where this line of reason ing leads? Not long since I received a letter from a groping soul, whose loved one had gone through such a bitter experience. And the result had been a nervous, miserable state of mind and body, doubt filling the whole being concerning the welfare of the soul. I aln glad the Word of God is not as cruel as is the shallow student of the eternal Word who says that suffering is the result of lack of faith. The fallacy of these two arguments is seen in the very fact that hundreds and thousands of God’s dear saints have died —because of disease. Moreover, His own signal blessing upon the service of Chris tian doctors and nurses who have gone into the world with the Gospel speaks for itself. The medical missionary tells us that over and over again the successful treatment of physical pain has given him entrance into the heart of the pagan, and has opened the way for the soul-saving message of the Great Physician. No, my dear Christian sufferers, God is giving you an opportunity to bear testimony to Him, for His glory, as we shall see in our further examination of the Scriptures. He has committed unto you a special trust. Let us see this from His own infallible Word. (Continued next month)
mercy, Epaphroditus “was sick nigh unto death” (Phil. 2:26-30). Why? Because of lack of faith on his part? The Word of God says plainly: “For the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life” (Phil. 2:30). And at the hand of this man of faith Paul sent his priceless letter to the Philippian Church. “ For the work of Christ” Epaphroditus was sick; “but God had mercy on him” and raised him up in answer to prayer. To say that he was sick because of lack of faith, is to contradict the Word of God. 2. Trophimus. Again the Apostle Paul wrote of another -of his fellow-laborers saying, “ Trophimus have I left at Mile- turn sick” (II Tim. 4:20). Here was a faithful servant whom God did not see fit to heal. 3. Timothy. To his “son in the faith” Paul wrote, saying, “ Use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infir mities” (1 Tim. 5:23). The great apostle did not prescribe more faith, but a medic inal treatment for Timothy’s “ often in firmities.” Bear in mind, my friend, that I am not saying God does not hear the prayer of faith on behalf of the sick. I believe He does often raise up the sick in an swer to prayer, but according to His own, perfect will, and often by the means of medical science. Sometimes, however, it is not His all-wise plan to relieve the suffering saint; and to say that those who are not healed lack faith to be healed is both contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures and unfair to the suf ferer. It makes the one being tested and tried wonder if, after all, he has faith
did Job’s “miserable comforters,” that suffering is the result of sin in the life, or that it is the result of lack of faith. Let us consider these two arguments separately. Of course, we know that all tears and sorrows came into the world as the result of sin. In Adam the human race in herited “ the wages of sin”—death, with all that this involves. But those who say that the child of God who seeks to do His will suffers because of definite acts of sin and disobedience—those who argue along this line pervert the Scriptures and bring grief to the stricken heart. Stephen and Paul and the Christian martyrs were heroes and heroines of faith. Their lives were above reproach because they were redeemed by the blood of Christ and were utterly consecrated to His service and will. Their sufferings were for a testimony before a godless, Christ-rejecting world. And who would dare say that unconfessed sin in these godly lives brought them physical suf fering and death? The Lord Jesus answered this false argument finally and completely in con nection with the healing of the man born blind. His disciples had asked Him, say ing, “ Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Then “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made mani fest in him” (John 9:2, 3). In order that the Lord from heaven might perform a great miracle, this man had spent years in blindness. His suffering was for the glory of God! No, my Christian friend, do not let any man trouble you with this false, unjust, unkind argu ment. Many dear saints have endured long‘ years of pain and sorrow—for the glory of God, that the miracle of His grace might be made manifest before an unbelieving world. The second of these is like unto the first. Those who hold it say that if only the suffering saint had more faiths he could be cured of his illness—that sor-; row comes from lack of faith' Again, we call to witness such stalwart heroes of the faith as Stephen and Paul. Could any human being have more faith than they had? But there are at least three other New Testament Christians whom we would con sider as examples of faith, yet who were sick and in physical need. 1. Epaphroditus. Paul was a prisoner in Rome, and the Church at Philippi had sent him a gift by one of their members, Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25; 4:18). While in Rome-on this errand of M A R C H , I 9 5 0
The Church of the Nativity in Jerusalem which Dr. Talbot visited Christmas Day 1949 in his missionary journey around the world from which he recently returned. Page Seven
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs