Objection: Healing Is in the Atonement, But It Is up to God How to Dispense It

The objector has at least realized the plain fact that Isaiah DID refer to physical healing, but he is trying to reconcile that with the fact the not all receive healing in this life.  So he has invented a cute saying that makes everything up to God’s case-by-case sovereign will.  Such a statement is a convenient cop-out for churches whose written doctrine is that healing is in the atonement but whose leaders want to backpedal on that without seeming to deny it.  This gives them a way to not offend people who would be very upset if they were told that healing depended on their faith because God made it available to everyone through Christ’s atonement.  However, being saved from hell is available to people based on their faith because God made it available to everyone through Christ’s atonement, and no one seems to be upset that God put that on a faith basis.

If you just think about this for a few seconds, the idea that God controls on a case-by-case basis what Jesus died to give humanity is ridiculous.  Salvation was definitely paid for in the atonement.  So shall we conclude that when people want to be saved from hellfire, they must appeal to God, who will then decide to whom He is actually willing to dispense what Jesus provided?  If something is in the atonement, it is available to all!

This very point is underscored by Matthew when he spoke of Jesus healing the sick.  Jesus healed ALL who came to him in Matthew 8:16-17 based on His future atonement.  (This point is adequately proved elsewhere in this book.)  If Jesus healed ALL then based on His atonement, it would be senseless to assume that today, His atonement has NOT made healing available to all.  Either it has or it hasn’t!

How did JESUS decide how to dispense healing when He walked the earth?  ANYONE could get it.  He did not make case-by-case decisions about who would be able to get it and who wouldn’t.  Because He is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), we must conclude that He is not restricting healing to certain individuals today either.

I think we’ve dispensed with this objection.