The Wages of Sin is Death, Believing God's word!

Something that's been weighing on my heart as I grow in my relationship with the LORD, and my understanding of who God is, of His character, and ours (mine).  I've grew up in a Southern Baptist Church, believing the word of God is completely inerrant (without error), and totally true.

But the LORD has shown me some inconsistencies that we who call on His name have, at least here in the western world.  Many who claim the name of Christ and say we believe His word is true, but then we do not act on it, or live as if we believe it.  I think this might be what Jacob ('James' in most Bibles) was referring to when he said "if a man says he has faith, but he has no works, how can such faith save him (Jas. 2:14)?"

Proverbs tells us that if we keep God's word, that is, we obey it and keep His commands, it will result in health to our life. 

Proverbs 4:20-22

²⁰ My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. ²¹ Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. ²² For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body.

 

As of 2008, one in four American teenage girls has contracted an STD.  My wife pointed out that most people don't realize the amount of sexual diseases would be prevented, if we kept just one of God's laws, "You shall not commit adultery"  Dt. 5:18. 

 

Today, through numerous scientific studies, the medical communities are finding out what the Bible told us two-three thousands of years ago.  Stress, fear, anxiety, bitterness, unforgiveness... all these are detrimental to you health.  If you want to be healthy, you have to get rid of stress/anxiety/fear either through exercise, training or ("preferrably" according to them) through prescription drugs.  They say you have to let go of past wrongs and forgive, don't become bitter!

 

God told us about that long ago.  Human health and prosperity are ALWAYS tied to enjoying God and joyfully living in obeidence to Him.

Philippians 4:4-7 ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:7 ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of timidity [i.e. fear], but of power and love and discipline.

For those of you who didn't catch, 'spirit' is another word for 'demon,' or 'unclean spirit'!

Isaiah 26:3 ³ "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.

We sing hymns, "Faith is the victory, faith is the victory, O glorious victory, that overcomes the world!"  If we are so victorious, why are we still getting the same diseases as the world?  God has told us why in His Word.  It's because we claim the faith, but we still live like the world!

Deuteronomy 28:58-61 ⁵⁸ "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, ⁵⁹ then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. ⁶⁰ "He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹ "Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring on you until you are destroyed.

Every incident in Biblical history, where man thought he knew better than God, always resulted in a lot of trouble being made, and often ended in death.  In fact, scripture tells us:
 Proverbs 14:12 ¹² There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 

Many American believers will say, "The sickness is to God's glory!"  According to Deut. 28:58-61, the only thing sickness does is point out that there is unconfessed/unrepented sin in your life. 

"But if God wanted this for us, He would talk about it in the New Testament," you will say.  He does, the brother of our Lord Yeshua, Jacob, tells us in the book of James
James 5:16 ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
It is God's will that you be healed, not to be sick!  Sickness is death, the wages of sin! (Rom 6:23).

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

3 John 1:2 ² Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

Amen.  So there you have it.  It is God's will for you to be in health.  We are tri-une beings, created in the image of God, body, soul, spirit.  It's all connected.  If something is coming between you and your Maker in your spirit, causing death to your spirit, it causes an imbalance or deficiency of hormones in your body, which manifests as tumors, cancers, pains, shingles, or other diseases. 

There is a huge industry out there which studies to find cures for these diseases, but the best they can do is to remove the disease, 'manage' it, or set it in regression for a little while.  But only God's word has the spiritual diagnosis to address the cause of the sickness.  If we really want to save the Taa-Taas, cure cancer or whatever else, let's start praying and looking to the Word of Yahweh!

Saving the Taa-taas!

Many fo you have seen this humorous message placarded on a t-shirt or bumper sticker, that has quite a serious message behind it.  Fund research for finding a cure for breast cancer.  To be sure, in our modern ( or some would argue, post-modern) scientifically, medically advanced age, diseases seem to be on the rise.  And as we develop cures, new strains seem to mutate (not benefically)!

But all this overlooks the true cause of breast cancer.  Modern science can tell us how breast cancer occurs, and the stages that it goes through in its development, and how to treat it, or cut it, or radiate it out.  But not to heal it, or prevent it.

During the life of Messiah Jesus and the apostles, the newly formed church had a significant healing ministry.  A woman was cured of hemorraging for the previour 12 years (Luke 8:43).  A child who had seizures, and was thrown into fire and water by an evil spirit was excorcised (Lk 9:38-39) by a word from the Master.  A paralytic was brought to Jesus in a house and let down through the ceiling because of the lack of room to hear the teacher.  When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralytic, your sins are forgiven.  Then, when some of the religous teachers thought he was blasphemeing, he told the man to get up, pick up his mat and go home.  This the paralytic did, and all the witnesses gave glory to God, who had given such authority to men (Mt. 9:2-8)!

In this last example we see this most clearly, the real problem with the paralytic was not a severed nerve, or a missing disc, but it was spiritual.  And Jesus dealt first with his spiritual need, he forgave his sins, healing him spiritually, and restoring him to his Maker.  We understand this better if we go back to the Torah, when Moses was explaining the consequences of living in obedience to God's ways (synonymous with His character), or living in rejection/rebellion to His character:

Deuteronomy 28:58-62 ⁵⁸ "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, ⁵⁹ then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. ⁶⁰ "He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹ "Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring on you until you are destroyed. ⁶² "Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God.

Many modern Americans are offended when you suggest that physical sickness is caused by sin.  But, is this not what the Bible teaches?  Is this not why we are seeing more diseases and sicknesses that require more medications, and when things like fear, or stress become things of personality, gender or culture instead of sin.  James tells us  in 5:16,

James 5:16 ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Is not God the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8)?  Does God not reveal himself to us as the one who forgives our sins, and heals our diseases?

Psalm 103:2-3 ² Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; ³ Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;

And here in Psalm 103, it associates the forgiveness of sin with the healing of diseases (dis-ease).  But you may say, "That's the Old Covenant!  We live under the New Covenant!"  Really?  I agree that we are saved under the New Covenant, but our Messiah also said,
Matthew 5:17 ¹⁷ "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

So Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, which were promising a redeemer, a Messiah to take the sins of the world and justify many (Gen 3:15; Ps. 22; Is. 53; Micah 5:2); but the blessings and curses for obedience to God's commands endure forever, for God does not change (Heb. 13:8, Jas. 1:17), his character does not change, for without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hb. 12:14; 1 Ths. 3:13).

If the Bible teaches this is so, how do we cure breast cancer?  Once a young man had a mother dying of breast cancer.  She spent lots of money going to different doctors to be cured of her cancer.  It was all to no avail.  Then his mother went to a prayer meeting when she was in the last stages of cancer.  Death was imminent.   At the end of the meeting, she went forward for prayer, and was completely healed of her breast cancer!  He dedicated the rest  of his life to finding out how this happened.

Now Henry Wright is a pastor and has a health ministry he has carried out for years where he teaches about the spiritual causes ('roots') of diseease and sickness.  Many thousands have come to health through his ministry today.  He also has written a book about many of these spiritual roots, and living in holiness (health) called A More Excellent Way.

In this book, he shows where the spiritual roots of women who have breast cancer are rooted in bitterness and hatred (a fruit of bitternes) with her mother, sisters or a close female relative.  And it makes sense, the breasts are what engenders a woman's nurturing aspects... but when bitterness gets rooted in their lives spiritually, this effects the 'nurturing hormones' secreted in her body.  But when women realize the sin in their lives, and they make those relationships right, and repent before God, the cancer is healed!  It disappears!  Just like God's word teaches (Jas 5:16)!  Repenting of sin, and restoring relationships, is a lot easier (at least in the long run), and less painful, physically and emotionally, than going through months of chemotherapy and losing hair!  Let us identify the sin in our lives, repent of it, and obey God's word!  Amen.

For more info on Wright, and if you know of someone with breast cancer, go to: http://www.beinhealth.com/public/.