Big Healing Book - Healing Is a Side Issue That Does Not Deserve to Be Emphasized

Objection: Healing Is a Side Issue That Does Not Deserve to Be Emphasized So Much

Every time Jesus Christ commissioned anyone to preach the gospel, He also told that person to heal the sick. Gospel preaching is to have signs and wonders following. The last verse in Mark (Mark 16:20) tells us that. The word Amen means so be it. They preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them, confirming the Word with signs following. So be it! That is how it is supposed to be!

In Acts 14:7-10, Paul preached “the gospel” (what God calls the gospel, not what most men today call the gospel, which covers only the new birth) to a man and that man received faith to be healed. He had never walked a step in his life, but by listening to the gospel, faith to be healed came. Healing was obviously part of the gospel that Paul preached. Paul, as you probably know, did mighty signs and wonders of healing. Paul himself had to be healed on numerous occasions just to be able to continue ministering after being physically mistreated in various cities.

Laying hands on the sick should be taught to everyone! You probably think I’m off the deep end for saying that, but actually, you are off the deep end if you don’t say it, because you are out of agreement with what God says the basics are:

Hebrews 6:1-2:
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

The doctrine of laying on of hands is one of the six fundamental doctrines of Christ! It’s right in there with faith and eternal judgment. I would not dare call anything that is a fundamental doctrine of Christ a side issue! Receiving healing from the laying on of hands is an easy way to get healed that should be taught to new believers. As they grow in faith, they can learn to receive healing without the laying on of hands, but they have to start somewhere. They should also be taught that THEY can be the one DOING the laying on of hands.

Miraculous healings have resulted in entire cities turning to God. It wasn’t a side issue to the people in those cities. Read about the crowds that came to Jesus, Peter and Paul because of the healings that occurred. No evangelist should be without this alleged “side-issue” working in his ministry. It will multiply his effectiveness.

The only people who think healing should be a side issue are people who don’t really think that healing should be discussed at all, or at least not preached as a covenant right. I would hate to see one of the foundations of Jesus Christ’s ministry (preaching, teaching, healing, delivering) be yanked out of our gospel preaching as a “side issue.”

The fact that so many Christians get just as sick as the heathen in the world is proof to me that we need to preach healing a lot more, not less!