Objection: If We Are Subject to Death, We Are Subject to Sickness
This argument is usually stated something like this: “Death comes by sickness; therefore, since you are subject to death, you have to be subject to sickness. Otherwise, you would never die. You die from sickness. If you’re subject to dying of a sickness, you must be subject to sickness in general. Physical death came into the world by sin. Therefore, sin has made your body subject to sickness.”
Jesus did not prevent anyone from having to die eventually. He did remove sickness from people. Because He has not changed, we should expect today that He will not prevent anyone from having to die eventually, but He will remove sickness from people. In other words, you are subject to death, but you do NOT have to be subject to sickness. In fact, Jesus said quite the opposite in Luke 10:19, where He said that He gives you power over all the power of the enemy, which includes sickness. We know that sickness is part of the power of the devil, because Jesus went around healing all those who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38).
The false notion that you must die from an illness is covered in another objection answer. This objection goes a different direction. Sin is linked to death. This seems obvious because Romans 5:12 plainly states it: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” While this can be taken to mean spiritual death, spiritual death in turn produced physical death (Genesis 3:19). The problem occurs if you stop reading right there and miss the conclusion that Paul makes. Romans 5 goes on to talk about Christ giving us a free gift that is superior to this law that is in the earth. Romans 5:17: “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:21: “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Paul’s point is not that we are subject to sickness because of death passing upon sinners. Actually, Paul said the opposite – that Christ has set us free from sickness, as you could hardly “reign in life” in a sickbed. No one else would think that you were reigning in life while you’re in a sickbed.
Paul goes on to say that sin shall have no dominion over us (Romans 6:14). There is such a thing as the law of sin and death at work in the earth today, but we are free from it. Romans 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Also, notice the work of the Holy Spirit in our mortal bodies: “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Christ from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive] your mortal [subject to death] bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11).
So although we are subject to death, we are promised the Holy Spirit’s quickening power in our bodies as long as we are on this earth. Christ set us free from “the law of sin and death” that would otherwise make us subject to sickness of every kind.
We all have to die so that the mortal can put on immortality. You would not want to live forever on this earth in its current condition, anyway. There is an inward groaning in the believer, a desire to put on the new spiritual body that will not be subject to death. We are not redeemed from dying. But nowhere does God say that we must die from an illness. Go ahead and look for a Scripture that says that we must get sick before we die. There isn’t any. That is just natural human reasoning apart from the Word of God. Jesus healed every manner of disease among the people, which by necessity must include “terminal” ones that would otherwise have caused death. It is possible to “give up the ghost” when you are ready, as some people in the Bible did. I suppose that there will always be some “medical” reason why you die, even if you do just decide to go home to be with the Lord. Your heart will obviously stop beating, and that may be ruled the “cause of death.” There is probably no box on any form for the person who just decided to go home to be with Jesus and had nothing medically wrong with his body.
There is no age limitation on the health wish in 3 John 2. Peter did not say that you “were healed” until you got to a certain age, after which that doesn’t apply to you anymore. Jesus carried OUR sicknesses and OUR diseases, and OUR diseases means YOUR diseases as long as you live on this earth. God is still “The Lord who Heals You” (Exodus 15:26) and the One who “forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3) and stops any plague from coming nigh your dwelling (Psalm 91:10). God’s Word has no expiration date!
Another argument is the practical one, “We all do get sick, you know!” Well, we all sin, too, even though sin should have no dominion over us (Romans 6:14). So that argument proves nothing. For an exception to both cases, consider Jesus Christ. He was made fully human. He could have chosen to sin, but He didn’t. (There would be no point in the devil tempting Him to sin if He could not have done so.) Jesus lived His entire life as a human being without sinning. Therefore, it is possible for a human being to not sin, especially when the One who never sinned once in His life lives inside us. Jesus also lived His entire life without being physically sick (except when He carried OUR diseases at the end). Therefore, it is possible for a human being to live sickness-free in this life, especially when the One who was never sick lives inside us.
Jesus never sinned, so He lived above “the law of sin and death” until He took our sins upon Himself. He then ransomed us from that principle. Sickness and sin go together. When sin is forgiven, healing is the natural result. Our sins are forgiven, so we should walk in health.
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