If You Are Sick, Does That Mean There Is Sin in Your Life?
Sorry if this bursts your bubble, but unless you are the first person since Jesus to live in sinless perfection, there is sin in your life. God will progressively deal with you in different areas so that you will get sin out of your life, but He won’t deal with you about all your sins at once. Given that there is sin in your life, the question is really, “Is your sickness a result of the sin in your life?”
Possibly, but not necessarily.
But doesn’t Acts 10:38 tell us that the devil is the source of sickness? Yes, the devil does cause sickness, but sinning on purpose opens yourself up to the devil. Also, it is hard to receive a healing from God if you refuse to receive something else (correction) from God at the same time.
If you are walking uprightly before God and you are not aware of any area where you are resisting the Holy Spirit, it is safe to assume that your sickness was not caused by sin. Of course, in a general sense, sickness is in the world because of sin. You should not go on a “witch hunt” to discover some secret sin just because you are sick. Do not let anyone condemn you into thinking something is wrong with you spiritually just because you have a cold. Many things are just part of the mess that sin made of the earth and have nothing to do with you personally. Death (and thus anything that causes death, such as sickness) came as a curse on the earth for sin (Genesis 3:19). In other words, Adam’s sin, not necessarily your sin, brought it about.
However, it may be useful to examine yourself if your walk with God has not been what it ought to be. The Bible definitely does teach that sin can make you sick, and you can’t blame the devil in such cases.
Jesus attributed the condition of the man at the pool of Bethesda to sin. The man had been there for 38 years. After healing him, Jesus said, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (John 5:14). So Jesus warned him that sin could lead to sickness.
On the other hand, the disciples asked whose sin caused the man in John 9:1-7 to be born blind, and Jesus made it clear that it wasn’t anyone’s sin in particular. The man’s blindness was just part of the fallen condition of the earth; it was not related to any particular sin that the man or his parents committed.
Foolishness
Psalm 107:17-20 – Here we are told that fools are afflicted because of their transgressions and iniquities.
There are obviously a number of ways that modern-day fools can make themselves sick. Drugs and alcohol can lead to physical afflictions for which you have only yourself to thank. Not dressing properly in cold weather or staying in the hot sun too long are other examples of foolishness that can lead to physical ailments. Praise God for His mercy, because He is still willing to heal you (Psalm 107:20). But note that this is AFTER you decide to cry out to the Lord.
Sexual Sins
It should be self-evident that sexual sins can lead to disease.
Romans 1:27: “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet [just or due].” The fact is that homosexuality is unnatural, and there is a natural price to pay for this sin.
Proverbs 5:8-11 tells you the end of getting involved in adultery (a more biblical term than “indiscretion” or “affair”): “And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed.”
The devil invented AIDS and other venereal diseases, but you can give him an obvious open door by engaging in sexual sin. These diseases are still part of the curse from which you are redeemed, but you should repent before attempting to receive healing. Sometimes, He will heal you first in His mercy, but you do not have the right to ask God to heal you while clinging deliberately to what you know to be sin, especially sin that God already told you leads to sickness.
Failure to Have a Proper Regard for the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 11:27-32 warns those with improper attitudes toward the Body of Christ that they will be judged with sickness or even death if they refuse to judge themselves. This judgment comes from God Himself, not the devil. (God has not subcontracted judgment to the devil, as is proved elsewhere in this book.) There can come a point where God will afflict you or even kill you to avoid having you become an eternally lost apostate. This “chastening” (verse 32) is not God’s normal method of dealing with Christians. It is reserved only for those who harden their hearts. No believer who hasn’t hardened his heart will be “chastened” in this manner. Also, this example was limited to the Lord’s Supper, where some people’s wrong attitude toward other believers was preventing those other believers from obeying Jesus’ command to partake of the Lord’s Supper.
Summary
Sickness can be the result of sin in your life, but it can also be part of fallen creation getting on you for no particular fault of your own. Do not assume that just because you are sick, you are in sin. If you are in sin, the real you – your spirit man – knows it anyway if you’re born again. If you don’t know of anything you’re doing wrong, you may assume that your sickness is unrelated to any specific sin. Don’t go on a “witch hunt” for secret sins if your conscience is clear.