Question:   Is it correct to say that, according to Word of Faith theology, that a person could have been healed if they had more faith?  

Answer:  This question is the most asked question regarding the Word of Faith movement.   Here are a few key points which every Christian should consider in this matter: 

1)       No one is sinless

There is not a human being, other than Christ, who has not missed the mark.  Though Job was declared blameless and upright (Job 1:1), he was in no way sinless or perfect, or God would not have moved him to repent of the ignorant comments he made throughout his trial (Job 42:6).  Cornelius was also a devout man who feared God and worked righteousness (See Acts 10:2, 35), yet was not even saved yet (Acts 11:14).  Moses was called the most humble man on the earth (Num 12:3), yet his disobedience prevented his entrance into the Promised Land (Num 20).  Noah was called a “just man and perfect in his generations” (Gen 6:9), yet he got completely drunk shortly after getting off the ark (Gen 9:21). Peter, who was the leading disciple of Christ, was rebuked by Paul for his hypocrisy (Gal 2:11), and Paul himself claimed imperfection in his walk (Php 3:12).  In light of these examples, as well as a thorough examination of our own hearts, we must admit that Christians do not always appropriate the will of God in their lives, which is their sanctification (1 Thess 4:3).  Is it not possible that our imperfections can hinder answers to prayer, including healing?

2)       Sanctification and Faith Go Hand in Hand

It appalls me that most Christians will claim that everyone is imperfect until it comes to the issue of healing.  Suddenly they boastfully claim that humanity is perfect and therefore premature death must have been a result of the unconditional decree of God for some other divine purpose (e.g. “He needed them in Heaven”, “He wanted to use their death to get someone else saved”).  Can we not see that faith and sanctification go hand in hand?  Can we not see that until we reach perfect sinlessness, we have not reached perfect faith?  So the question should not be “Does John Doe have enough faith to be healed?”, but rather “Does John Doe have enough faith?”  The answer is NO!  We should all humbly realize that we have not arrived yet.  We should constantly be growing in faith; for it is by faith that sanctification occurs.  In The Scripture Way of Salvation (Sermon 43), John Wesley stated, "Exactly as we are justified by faith, so are we sanctified by faith. Faith is the condition, and the only condition, of sanctification, exactly as it is of justification."  In Abide In Christ, Andrew Murray exclaims, "Often the believer struggles hopelessly for years, until he listens to the teaching of the Spirit as He ... reveals Christ, our sanctification, to be appropriated by faith alone".  We hear evangelical preachers strongly exhorting their congregations about the sins that are still so prevalent in Christian households:  fornication, gossip, unforgiveness, lust, etc.  Parishioners are not offended at these stern sanctification-boosting sermons.  Yet, no one wants to hear that the root of a lacking sanctification is a lack in faith; for sanctification is by faith --- The more we trust God to change us, the more we will be sanctified.  No one wants to hear about how our lack in faith (and thus sanctification) can hinder our prayers and delay blessings.  John tells us, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.  And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” (1 Jn 3:22-23). John 15 echoes the same sentiments (See 15:7, 10).  How often do preachers humorously poke fun at our lack of love for one another?  They will joke about our uncontrolled anger on the highways, our difficulties with forgiveness, our relationships with our in-laws, and a host of other issues we have with demonstrating love.  All of the congregation laughs in agreement.  Yet, when someone teaches that these very imperfections can hinder our prayers (and yes, prayers for healing), the message becomes offensive.  Pride is the primary force behind this offensiveness, just as it is behind the offensiveness of the Gospel to the non-Christian. 

3)       Faith has levels

Many people defensively, or perhaps sarcastically ask, “Don’t I have enough faith to be healed?”  Maybe you do, maybe you don’t.  The mere imperative statement of Christ in Mark 11:22, exhorting us to have the faith of God, indicates the possibility of lacking it.  One must realize that scripture mentions great faith (Mt 8:10), little faith (Mt 14:31), growing faith (2 Thess 1:3), weak faith (Rom 4:19), strong faith (Rom 4:20), rich faith (Jas 2:5), “full of faith” (Acts 6:5), perfect faith (Jas 2:22), unfeigned faith (1 Tim 1:5), shipwrecked faith (1 Tim 1:19), and victorious faith (1 Jn 5:4).   It is very naive to believe that everyone has the same faith level, or the same maturity level (See 1 Cor 3:1, Heb 5:12).  Paul commended the Church of Thessalonica for its “work of faith” (1 Thess 1:3).  Yet, he told them, “Night and day [we are] praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?” (3:10). They were doing well in their Christian walk, yet were still lacking in faith.  They still were not at the level Paul wanted them to be.  Thankfully, they heeded his instruction and their “faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity … toward each other aboundeth” (2 Thess 1:3).  You would have to agree that they better positioned themselves for answered prayer, according to 1 Jn 3:22-23.

4)      To claim that faith teaching is offensive is to claim that Jesus is offensive

When His disciples feared the storm, Jesus sternly rebuked them saying, “where is your faith?” (Lk 6:2), and “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” (Mt 8:26).  When His disciples worried about having enough bread, He exhorted them, “O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves?” (Mt 16:8). Jesus told Peter, who had just walked on water and then began to sink, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Mt 14:31). When Jesus’ disciples asked him why they couldn’t cast out a demon, He told them, “Because of your unbelief” (Mt 17:20).  So if a lack of faith could prevent results in these examples, surely it could prevent someone’s healing from manifesting. 

5)       Answered prayer (including healing) is tied to faith

I have already demonstrated that faith and resultant obedience is critical for answered prayer, according to 1 John 3:22.  I must also add that specific faith is also critical for answered prayer – believing you receive what you ask for (Mk 11:22-24, Jas 1:6-7).  Let us observe a few examples:

Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. (Mt 9:28-29)

 

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel ... And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. (Mt 8:8, 10, 13)

 

And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.  But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. (Mt 9:20, 21, 22)

According to Jesus, the power of God is manifested “according to your faith”.  It is unleashed “as thou hast believed.”  God’s will is performed “even as thou wilt”.  There are numerous other accounts which prove this fact (See Mk 5:34, 10:52, Lk 7:50, 8:48, 17:19, 18:42).  God, by His own sovereign decree, has chosen to be moved by our faith.  Therefore, any failure to receive from God is a failure on the human side, not necessarily due to the fixed will of God.  John Wesley concurred,

“We do not pray to inform God of our wants. Omniscient as he is, he cannot be informed of any thing which he knew not before: and he is always willing to relieve them. The chief thing wanting [lacking] is, a fit disposition on our part to receive his grace and blessing.” – Wesley’s Notes on Matthew 6:8

Even Charles Spurgeon agreed that faith is the key to receiving from God:

Faith is the only way whereby thou canst obtain blessings. If we want blessings from God, nothing can fetch them down but faith. Prayer cannot draw down answers, from God’s throne except it be the earnest prayer of the man who believes …  Faith is the telegraphic wire which links earth and Heaven--on which God’s messages of love fly so fast, that before we call He answers, and while we are yet speaking He hears us. But if that telegraphic wire of faith be snapped, how can we receive the promise? Am I in trouble?--I can obtain help for trouble by faith. Am I beaten about by the enemy?--my soul on her dear Refuge leans by faith. But take faith away--in vain I call to God … Faith links me with divinity. Faith clothes me with the power of God. Faith engages on my side the omnipotence of Jehovah. Faith ensures every attribute of God in my defence ... But without faith how can I receive anything of the Lord? Let not him that wavereth--who is like a wave of the Sea--expect that he will receive anything of God! – Morning and Evening Devotional (March 19th AM excerpt)

Does this mean we can have faith for anything, and receive it?  No, it means we can have faith for anything that is God’s will and receive it (1 Jn 5:14).  So the primary question is, “Do the scriptures teach that healing is God’s will?”  The Bible teaches that physical health (Ex. 15:26, 23:25-26, Dt. 7:15, Psa 103:3, Jas 5:14-16) and longevity (Pr 3:2, 10:27, Psa 34:12-13, 55:23, 91:16, Eccl 7:17, Eph 6:1-3) have always been God’s will for His people; while sickness, which is enforced by Satan (Acts 10:38), is a curse and not a blessing (Dt. 28:15, 59-61).  Healing is a New Testament promise secured by the prayer of faith (Jas 5:14-15), based on the redemptive work of Christ, Who passionately cured all the sick who came to Him in faith, and subsequently bore our sicknesses (Mt. 8:16, cf. Isa. 53:4 YLT), abolishing the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13). Healing is also a sign used to confirm the Gospel (Mk. 16:18, 20), as well as a gift of the Spirit provided to edify the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:9).  Therefore, we can rest assured that we are authorized to stand in faith for healing!  Andrew Murray comments on faith healing:

Take notice first that without faith no one can be healed. When the father of the afflicted child said to Jesus, “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us,” Jesus replied: “If thou canst believe.” Jesus had the power to heal and He was ready to do it, but He casts responsibility on the man. “If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth” (R.V.). In order to obtain your healing from Jesus, it is not enough to pray. Prayer without faith is powerless. It is “the prayer of faith” which saves the sick (James 5:15). If you have already asked for healing from the Lord, or if others have asked it for you, you must, before you are conscious of any change, be able to say with faith, “On the authority of God’s Word I have the assurance that He hears me and that I shall be healed.” To have faith means in your case to surrender your body absolutely into the Lord’s hands, and to leave yourself entirely to Him. Faith receives healing as a spiritual grace which proceeds from the Lord even while there is no conscious change in the body. Faith can glorify God and say, “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul. . . which healeth all my diseases” (Ps. 103:1—3). The Lord requires this faith that He may heal. (Murray, Divine Healing, Chapter 7)

6)      Lacking faith is not necessarily a sin

In section 4, I demonstrated that Jesus dealt harshly with certain individuals who demonstrated a lack of faith.  In section 3, I showed that Paul commended the Thessalonians at the faith level they were at, though it was still lacking.  The question is -- are we all expected to be at the same faith level?  Would we be sinning if we didn’t immediately exhibit “Great faith”?  The answer is No.  Jesus dealt harshly with those who should have demonstrated more faith in light of the personal revelation they had received.  However, there were those who had gone to levels of faith that were not even expected.  There are only two instances in the Gospels where Jesus used the phrase “great faith”.

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel ... And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. (Mt 8:8, 10, 13) 

This passage describes a Centurion telling Christ to just “speak the word” for his servant’s healing.  Notice that Jesus said, “I have not found so great a faith”.  This man understood the authority of the spoken words of Christ.  Jesus was impressed that this Gentile man, who had no covenant rights, would exhibit such an expectant faith.  As a result, his servant was healed.  If the centurion had not exhibited this “Great faith”, would he have been sinning?  Likely not.  He would have just missed out on a potential miracle.   “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mk 9:23).

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Mt 15:28 – Emphasis added) 

This encounter describes a Gentile woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter.  Jesus basically told her that His primary mission was for “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”.  Jesus was obviously testing her faith.  She could have stopped there and watched her daughter continue suffering, but she was persistent, begging for the crumbs that fall from the children’s table.  Jesus honored her faith and unleashed the healing virtue for her daughter.  If she had not exhibited this “Great faith”, would she have been sinning?  Likely not.  She would have just missed out on a potential miracle.   “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mk 9:23).  And this woman didn't even have a covenant with God!  How much more should we believe who have the promises of God!

Though we may not exhibit “Great faith” at our current maturity level in Christ, we should not be overly disgusted with ourselves.  Instead, we should be faithful stewards of the faith-level we are at right now.  We should seek prayer from those with demonstrated faith for healing (and/or the gift of healing), if need be (Jas 5:14). In addition, we should go to doctors and do everything we can naturally.  Jesus was not opposed to medicine at all.  He used a physician (Luke) to write two books of the Bible. In addition, He said, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Mt 9:12).  So when someone asks, “Is going to the hospital an act of unbelief?,” my answer would be “No” (Click HERE to read a good article by Tony Cooke).  But if someone were placing their trust in man rather than God, I would say that it is an act of unbelief.  King Asa made this fatal mistake, and died unnecessarily (2 Chr 16:12).  We should all discern the level of faith we are at, and be Spirit-led when it comes to making decisions about discontinuing medicine.  Don’t try to boil the ocean unless you have ocean-boiling faith in God. 

And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. (Acts 14:8-10, Emphasis added)

After preaching the Gospel (which likely included healing), Paul could actually discern that the crippled man from Lystra had enough faith to be healed.  So we see that faith healing was not only demonstrated during the dispensation of Christ’s earthly ministry, but also during that of his apostles.  Therefore, there is no Biblical reason to believe that faith as the primary venue of healing has ceased.  If the man had not exhibited sufficient faith for healing, would he have been sinning?  Likely not.  He would have missed out on a potential miracle, though. “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mk 9:23).

We have these plumb lines set in scripture, and we have every reason to believe that we can obtain anything we need from God by expectant faith.  Church-age Christians are more accountable for trusting God for healing than the Centurion and the Gentile woman; for we have the accounts of these healings and their mechanism; we have the New Covenant; we have revelation concerning the heart of God in the matter of healing -- the promise of James 5:14-16.  So perhaps if these same situations occurred in our lives, it would be a sin to not trust God for healing.  It all depends on what light we have received in the matter, and whether we are obedient to that light.  More light equals more responsibility.

7)      Faith is also corporate

The message of faith seems to place a ton of responsibility on the individual, and sometimes people in the faith movement may react accusingly towards those who experience tragedy, which is bothersome to me.  We must not forget instances in scripture where the problems spanned far beyond the individual.  Joshua's entire army got defeated at Ai because of one man's sin (Josh 7).  We must also remember Elizabeth (Lk 1:5-7), who was "blameless" in the commandments, yet was barren for the longest time, likely not for any sin of her own, but perhaps due to the overall breach of the covenant by Israel -- a covenant which, if obeyed, guaranteed no barrenness (Ex 23:25-26).  Her barrenness was a result of the fallen condition of God’s chosen people.  

In the New Testament, Jesus taught us to pray, "Our father" -- a corporate intercession.  Though we may not be treated as a theocracy, God still sees Christians corporately as His body (1 Cor 12:14ff).  So, whenever someone dies prematurely in the body of Christ, maybe we all failed to some extent.  Perhaps the sick person was only a babe in Christ, and needed a miracle through the agency of someone else’s faith or gift of healing.  Perhaps many haven't yielded to the operation of the gift of healing in our congregations.  Perhaps intercessors haven’t risen up as they should (Ezek 22:30).  We are all to bear each other’s burdens, praying one for another (Jas 5:16).  God works through people and people must cooperate.  

Though I definitely believe that our individual "great faith" can move the hand of God in spite of the failures around us, it is a battle to achieve "great faith" in this fallen world with all of its distractions.  As we are climbing the ladder of faith, other believers around us should be bearing the burden as well.  We should therefore never point fingers when someone isn’t healed, but rather corporately seek the face of God.

8)      Sickness and healing are two different things

There is often a tendency to assume that people always get sick because of their own personal sin.  While the New Testament has specific promises of healing based on the individual and/or corporate prayer of faith (James 5:14-16), and a lack of healing may mean a lack in faith, we cannot always assume that sickness itself is invariably introduced because of personal disobedience or lacking personal faith.  Of course, the statement "why does sickness befall good people" is a misnomer because "there is none good but one, that is, God" (Mt 19:17).  There is not a human that never sins (2 Chr 6:36, Eccl 7:20, 1 Jn 1:8-10), and oftentimes our sin and negligence can open the door of sickness to the enemy (Eph 4:27) and to God's chastisement (1 Cor 11:28-32, Num 12:1-10, 2 Chr 6:28-30, 7:12-14).  Yet, John 9:1-3 makes it clear that not all sickness has been birthed through personal disobedience.  The man born blind in this passage was not the cause of his blindness; nor were his parents.  First and foremost, his sickness was the result of the generalized condition of sin.  All mankind is left under the circumstances of the fall of Adam and Eve.  What are these circumstances?  Well, the legal authority¹ over the earth was transferred from Adam (Psa 115:16) to Satan (Lk 4:5-6) when Adam and Eve transgressed the command of God.  Since then, Satan, as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2, see also Jn 12:31, 14:30), the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), has had legal (yet limited) permission to afflict humans, and he makes it his occupation to do so (1 Peter 5:8).  The book of Job makes it clear that, in the past, Satan has been permitted to afflict even those who were upright and god-fearing "withouth a cause" (Job 2:3).  Job was not shielded by any covenant of immunity from destruction (being before the Abrahamic covenant), nor did he have the authority of the name of Christ.  He was a wide-open door to the prowling adversary.  Thankfully, God put limitations on Satan (Job 1:12), even though He was under no obligation to do so!  Even though Job did not sin at the onset of his affliction (Job 1:22, 2:10), he eventually began to protest his innocence so loudly that his cry of consecration (Job 1:20-21) evolved into a self-righteous contention against God (Job 32:2, 38:2, 40:1-2), as if he assumed that his personal integrity should have exempted him from the generalized condition of sin in the human race (and Satan's resultant authority).  Without specific promises from God, no one is exempt from sickness.  Later in history, we see that the theocracy of Israel was guaranteed immunity from sickness and calamity as long as they consistently obeyed God's commandments (Deut 7:11-15, Ex 15:26, 23:25-26, Deut 28:1-61, Psalm 91:10).  However, their right to this exemption was foregone when they, as a nation, continually violated these covenants. Therefore, they were left with no special favor with regard to immunity from sickness (Click here for more discussion on this with regard to Luke 13).  Jesus arrived on the scene, witnessing a people contaminated with leprosy, paralysis, deformities, and other maladies; The man in John 9:1-3 was surely impacted by this loss of temporal protection.  But, this was all before the cross! 

The big question for the church age is, "Are we guaranteed immunity from all sickness if we consistently walk in faith and obedience?"  This is definitely a challenging question in light of the fact that the New Covenant has abolished the Law.  Obedience to the Law had guaranteed Israel temporal protection in all realms, including protection from sickness.  With the abolishment of the Law, what temporal benefits remain under the new economy of faith (Gal 3:25)?  Immunity from sickness (as Israel was promised), or just healing of sickness?  Some scholars claim that an abolishment of the Law is also an abolishment of any temporal promises attached to that Law.  This is a hyper dispensational view, and it is quite faulty.  The benefits of both the Law and the New Covenant are rooted in the Abrahamic covenant (e.g. Psalm 105 -- esp. v42, Gal 3:7, 9, 14, 29), which has not ceased (Gal 3:15-18).  To complicate things further, many temporal promises of the Old Testmant are directly quoted in the New Testament as having application to New Testament believers (e.g. Eph 6:1-3, 1 Pet 3:10-12). So there is definitely a spill-over of Old Testament promises of temporal protection into the New Testament, not to mention the general truth² revealed in the Wisdom Literature that the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer (and no reason to believe that such general truths have expired -- see Prov 1:33, 12:21, 13:21, 19:23).  With all that stated, can we definitively assert that the new moral economy denies Satan any access to the faithful?  I would answer "Yes" and "No".  Of course, Satan has the permission tempt us to sin all of the time (1 Pet 5:8).  His temptations, which can be mental or physical in nature, are common to all of mankind (1 Pet 5:9b, 1 Cor 10:13a).  Yet, we (not God) are commanded to resist them (1 Pet 5:9a), and cooperate with God's gracious opportunities of "escape" (1 Cor 10:13b).  So, even if we are not immune from all attacks, we can expect healing and deliverance when any attack occurs (See Ps 34:19).  As stated earlier, a perfect faith would yield a perfect resistance to the enemy, but none of us are there quite yet.  As we grow in this faith walk, God permits adverse circumstances (including sickness) to bring us to a place of triumph over them, and yes, even immunity (at least while we're walking in the light). 

If sickness does attempt to attach itself to us (for whatever reason -- a strategic satanic attack on the upright, or a wide open door into the disobedient), we have the promise of James 5:14-16; a promise founded upon the "the name of the Lord"³ and the "prayer of faith" in that name; a name which represents the highest authority in the universe (Mt 28:18).  This name is the basis of our authority and empowerment to resist Satan's kingdom (Lk 9:1, 10:19, Mk 16:17-18, Jas 4:7, 1 Pet 5:9a). We have been delivered from the "authority of darkness" and translated into the reign of Christ (Col 1:13, YLT).  Satan's reign over us has been legally destroyed in all realms (Heb 2:14, 1 Jn 3:8, Col 2:15). Therefore, even though Satan may attempt to bring various sicknesses on the obedient and disobedient alike, we don't have to run and hide.  Instead, we need to turn and face our adversary, quenching every fiery dart through faith in the name of Christ (Eph 6:16) -- the primary dart being that of deception (Jn 8:44); It is our responsibility (both corporately and personally) to appropriate the benefits available to us in Christ, and not let Satan deceive us into thinking these benefits are not God's will for us; We must also not let Satan deceive us into thinking that sickness is an unconditional decree of God.  We need to see if for what it is -- an oppression of the enemy (Acts 10:38).  We must see ourselves as having the same benefits as David -- the forgiveness for every sin, and healing for every disease (Psa 103:3). 

¹ Not the supreme judicial rule, which God alone holds.  The "Earth is the Lord's" in this sense (Ex 9:29, Psa 24:1); Nor do I imply ex nihilo creative ability.  Free will agents (including Satan) are only granted the permission (i.e. authority) to control, fashion, and transform the matter that God has already created or propagated (via natural law).

² A general truth, but not necessarily a universal truth. There are other general truths in the Proverbs that aren't universal.  For example, we are told to bring up a child in the way that he should go, so that when his is old he will not depart (Prov 22:6).  Obviously, our instruction will heavily persuade our children, but not necessarily invalidate their own free will.  Their future behavior (and salvation or lack thereof) is not entirely dependant on their upbringing.

³ Of course, this promise is also conditioned on confession and forsaking of known sin that may have caused the sickness. (See Jas 5:16)

Striking Similarity

Faith teachers and traditional evangelical teachers are both teaching one primary concept – Man is imperfect while God is perfect.  Man encounters sickness due to the fall of Adam (Rom 8:20-22), and the imperfections and authority shift that resulted from that fall (See #8).  A perfect creation has no sickness, as was evidenced in Eden, and will be evidenced in the New Jerusalem (Isa 33:24).  Until then, we fight the good fight of faith against all the wiles of the enemy; for we know that he is at the root of all sickness (Acts 10:38).  During this fight of faith, imperfect Christians don't always obtain perfect results.  Consider this example:

John Doe got cancer at the age of 35.  He hadn’t heard much about healing.  He had recently gotten saved and wasn’t very educated in the scriptures yet (i.e. something lacking in his walk – and understandably so because of his late conversion).  The church he was attending, which happened to be the closest one to his house, didn’t believe the gifts of the Spirit were for today, therefore no one with the gift of healing rose up in John’s congregation to (i.e. something lacking in the community).  They also taught that cancer was from God for a good reason (i.e. something lacking in their teaching).  As a result, John did not actively resist sickness or believe for healing, but rather fatalistically said, “what will be will be.”  Therefore, he died prematurely, and entered the bliss of Heaven.  It’s good in the sense that he entered glory.  It’s bad in the sense that his gifting, callings, and potential to help advance the kingdom all went to the grave prematurely. 

Of course, John lacked faith for healing because of his late conversion, insufficient knowledge of scripture, and the teaching he ignorantly placed himself under. Perhaps he could have positioned himself at a better maturity level for fighting cancer if he had accepted Christ earlier in life and grown more in the Word, which brings faith (Rom 10:17).  However, in this example, I would place more of the blame on the church he was attending for not operating in the supernatural and not teaching the fight of faith.  Regardless of whose fault it was, there is human imperfection all over this scenario!  Sometimes, God will mercifully intervene in spite of humanity’s failure to cooperate with His laws and precepts.  Sometimes He doesn’t.  Only He knows the balance of justice and mercy integral to His Being.  Could John have been healed by faith? Yes.  It would be shear presumption to claim that there could not have been a scenario where he was healed by his own faith, or that of others.  Otherwise God's promise that the "prayer of faith WILL heal the sick" is a lie (James 5:14-16).

The traditional evangelical position would likely claim that God orchestrated John’s cancer to teach somebody something or to position circumstances for someone to get saved or rededicated to the Lord.  Is this really any less offensive than saying someone is lacking in faith?  If God must use cancer to teach someone something, then He is permitting cancer because of imperfection somewhere; for if everyone were perfect, God would not need to teach anyone anything.  Therefore human imperfection is the reason Christians die prematurely, both from a traditional evangelical and Word of Faith perspective.  The main difference is that Word of Faith teachers assert that God desires our healing, and gave provision for that healing, leaving the appropriation of it up to us.  Everyone can potentially be healed, and no one dies prematurely because of God's unconditional decree.  The whole matter is conditional.  So when someone asks, could a person be healed if they had more faith, the Word of Faith (as well as Biblical) answer is “Yes.”  Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mr 9:23).  “All things” includes healing.  If we were to have a perfect faith, with a resultant perfect obedience, then every single thing we ask for would be given to us just as promised, including healing (Jn 15:7, 1 Jn 3:22).  Nevertheless, in this fallen world, it doesn’t always happen that way.  Our imperfections sometimes stifle God’s perfect will for our lives.  It is only when we have perfect faith expressed in perfect love that we will be immune to sickness.  When will this occur?  When we shall be like Him (1 Jn 3:2). In the New Jerusalem there will be no more sickness (Isa 33:24), for sin, the source of sickness, will be finally removed;  Until then we fight the “good fight of faith” (1 Tim 6:12), partnering with the Holy Spirit to appropriate the finished work of Christ, which has already legally destoyed the works of the devil (Heb 2:14, 1 Jn 3:8).

A Doctrinal Plea

When approaching the doctrine of bodily healing, it is typical for Christians to base their theology on experience.  Many claim that healing is in the atonement, yet shy away from any human responsibility when healing doesn’t manifest (as if the premature death was God’s will in these instances).  We must also realize that the potential salvation for every sinner also rests in the atonement (1 Jn 2:2), of which the majority does not appropriate, ending up in Hell.  We know such detriment is not God's will (1 Tim 2:4).  Yet reformed theologians could not accept the fact that an omnipotent God could allow things to occur against His will, or that such a determination rests in the hands of human responsibility.  So this drove them to develop a systematic theology which teaches that Christ only died for the predestined elect (i.e. Calvinism), reprobating the remainder according to His own good pleasure.  My fear is that the same theological reconstruction is occurring with the doctrine of healing in the atonement. Because we see people not getting healed, we tend to search for a fitting theology -- one which makes God the sole determining factor of those being healed or not.  This leads to Calvinism in disguise.  The bottom line is, just as salvation is synergistic, so also is any other major benefit we receive from God, including healing, as well as sanctification.  Of course any denomination that teaches holiness (e.g. Pentecostals, Wesleyan Methodists, etc.) asserts that the rebirth affords us the ability to NOT sin.  We no longer have to sin.  We, however, must appropriate that new liberty through our faith and love of God, and a desire to obey Him.  Yet, when someone backslides, these denominations don't attempt to reformulate a theology which makes backsliding (i.e. failure to appropriate our sanctification) God's will.  No, we keep the element of human responsibility in these teachings.  Why do we need to eradicate human responsibility from the doctrine of bodily healing?  Clearly, James 5:14-16 has human responsibility working with divine provision.  If someone is not healed, should we teach that the premature death was due to a lack of divine provision, or a lack in human responsibility?  I would answer with the latter, as I would answer the same question with regard to salvation, and sanctification.