The Disease of the Health & Wealth Gospels by Gordon D. Fee

Author:Gordon D. Fee [Fee, Gordon D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Life, Faith, Religion
ISBN: 9781573830669
Google: zfAAAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1573830666
Barnesnoble: 1573830666
Goodreads: 127406
Publisher: Regent College Publishing
Published: 1985-01-01T22:00:00+00:00

Tied to this is the insistence on conventional wisdom as biblical. It is argued that every child of God should enjoy perfect health simply because he or she is a child of God; if they do notexperience healing, then, of course, it is due to their lack of genuine trust in God. All of this simply refuses to take the Bible, the Fall, or common grace seriously. From their perspective Christ has redeemed us from the curse, therefore these evangelists will not allow the biblical view, which sees the Fall as permeating the whole fabric of the created order.

The Bible itself is much more realistic—and much more genuinely hopeful. God is revealed to have limitless power and resources; He regularly shows Himself strong on behalf of His people. Yet His people still live out their redeemed lives in a fallen world, where the whole creation, including the human body, is in “bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21), and will continue to be so until we receive “the redemption of our bodies” (8:23).

Thus the Bible records many of Elisha’s miracles, including healings; yet quite matter-of-factly, without judgment, it also records that he “was suffering from the illness from which he died” (2 Kings 13:14). In a similar manner, it records that James was martyred and Peter delivered (Acts 12)—and Peter’s deliverance was surely no direct result of his or the church’s great faith!

Above all it is the Apostle Paul who presents problems for this point of view. On the one hand, his ministry was accompanied by “signs, wonders and miracles” (2 Corinthians 12:12; Romans 15:19); yet neither he nor his associates always experienced perfect health. And never is their sickness attributed to lack of faith, nor their recovery to great faith. Epaphroditus fell ill and nearly died, and in his case “God had mercy on him” (Philippians 2:26); yet Trophimus is left sick in Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20). For the sake of his frequent stomach disorders, Paul does not tell Timothy to pray or exercise faith for his healing. Again very matter-of-factly, he urges him to take wine for his sickness (1 Timothy 5:23). Why is it, one wonders, that the evangelists do not make this Scripture a part of their healing ministry?

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