Big Healing Book - Mark 16:17-18 Can’t Mean That All Believers Can Lay Hands on the

Objection: Mark 16:17-18 Can’t Mean That All Believers Can Lay Hands on the Sick Because Not All Believers Did So in the Bible

This is a half-truth. It is certainly true that not all believers today lay hands on the sick, and it is not recorded that all believers did so in the days of the “Early Church” either. Not only that, but Jesus did not even say that ALL believers would cast out demons, speak in tongues or lay hands on the sick. That would not have been a true statement, as plenty of Christians today have never cast out a demon, spoken in tongues or laid hands on a sick person in the name of Jesus. However, there certainly would be those who would. The question is, is this by God’s choice or by man’s choice?

The problem is with the implication that some believers CANNOT lay hands on the sick and see them recover, which would make this a privilege available to some believers but not others. Jesus said that if you believe on Him, you will do the works that He did and greater (John 14:12). He laid hands on the sick and they recovered, so this privilege must be available to anyone who believes. The fact that some do not do this does not prove that it was God’s will for them not to do it.

I’ve met Christians whose love walk was a train wreck. These Christians did have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, and they did have new spirits created in God’s image, and God is love. Therefore, they were able to walk in love because they were Christians. The fact that not all Christians actually walk in love does not “prove” that “not all believers can walk in love.” So it is silly to take that same logic and apply it to laying hands on the sick.

There is a difference between “All believers CAN lay hands on the sick” and “All believers DO lay hands on the sick.” The first statement is true while the second statement is false.

Let’s consider a parallel situation. Based on the same passage in question, all believers CAN speak in tongues (after receiving the Holy Spirit). However, not all believers DO speak in tongues. The fact that not all believers DO speak in tongues does not negate the fact that speaking in tongues is AVAILABLE to all believers (Acts 2:39). It is explicitly God’s will that we ALL speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:5) even if not all believers actually do it.