Healing and Forgiveness Together

 If we emphasise healing, are we thereby reducing the importance of the forgiveness of sins?
Not at all. In the Bible, they belong together.

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. Ps 103:3 NLT

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.

Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Jas 5:14–15 NLT

If we diminish the healing power of God, we are left with a reduced gospel focused only on sin and forgiveness.

Jesus died on the cross to remove our guilt because he took the punishment for our sin upon himself.

Without this forgiveness, everything is in vain. Our faith would then be a hollow self-deception. 

Without God's forgiveness, we are miserable beggars in filthy rags who can only wait for God's eternal punishment.

For centuries, the Christian religion has propagated the view that we should walk around with false humility as begging sinners, forgiven but still unworthy beggars.

When we are sick, we are allowed to ask for healing, but only as beggars who cannot be sure of receiving God's favour.

But I don't find this way of thinking in the New Testament.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Heb 4:16 NIV

We must never forget that forgiveness of sins and healing are gifts of grace that we have never earned. We must not arrogantly demand, but we should also not doubt that God wants to help and save us.

When God gives us a promise, he means well with us. He is not a dishones salesman or politician who promises something he does not want to give.

God says what he means and he means what he says.

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Nu 23:19 NASB95

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. Ps 103:3 NLT

Why can we ask for God's forgiveness with confidence?

Because Jesus died for our sins.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Co 5:21 NASB95

Jesus himself said:

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Mt 26:28 NIV

But Jesus did not only suffer to abolish our sins, but also to free us from the consequences of sin.

Before the fall into sin, there was no sickness in the world.

When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.

This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Mt 8:16–17 NIV

Here we read in plain language in Matthew that Jesus not only bore our sins and our guilt on the cross, but also our sicknesses.

Forgiveness of sins and healing of sickness belong together.

If we only celebrate signs and wonders but do not take sin seriously, our message is distorted.

But the reverse is also true. If we only focus on sin and forgiveness and not on healing, we are not following in Jesus' footsteps.