Faith to be Healed – Acts 14:8-10

Let’s say that you’ve been having a certain pain for several weeks and that it has been intensifying.

So you break down and agree to go to the doctor.

He makes a quick evaluation and determines that you have an incurable and fatal disease.

There are no known cures for this disease, and no treatments that will prolong your life for very long.

We’re talking about YOU – a Christian, a servant of the Lord, a person of faith.

We’re talking about you – a parent, a spouse, a person with responsibilities and dependents.

You are quite sure that this disease is just a trial; a test of your faith in God.

And since you have no alternatives, you ask the church to join with you in unceasing prayer.

Since you have no medical alternatives, you ask the whole world to join you in prayer for your recovery.

Do you have any Biblical grounds to point to verse 9 and to say that SINCE you have faith to be healed you WILL be healed?

You believe with all your heart that the Lord is omnipotent, and that He can heal any and every disease.

You believe you have served the Lord well in the few short years since your salvation.

You believe you are relatively free from sin, and that He is not angry with as he was Ananias and Sapphira.

And you also believe that you still have many things that you’d like to do for His glory here on earth.

Why shouldn’t you believe that since you have faith to be healed, the Lord will undoubtedly heal you?

In preparation for this message, I looked up all the Biblical references to miraculous healings that I could find.

I might have missed one or two, but I assure that it was unintentional.

And I even included those references to special resurrections from the dead.

To the best of my knowledge there are just under 50 divine healings and resurrections in the Bible.

There are seven in the Old Testament, 25 in the Gospels and 15 or so in the Book of Acts.

Then there are a couple of references to healings other places in the New Testament.

Several of these are mentioned more than once, but I’m only counting them as one reference.

I think that by reviewing all those references, we can answer the question that I raised a minute ago:

“Does FAITH to be healed GUARANTEE that someone will be healed?”

I think that you’ll agree with me that faith and miraculous healings are related in three different ways.

The first is that faith is DIRECTLY RELATED to healing.

Before we go on, we need to establish at least one rule:

There should be no doubt that Paul had faith in God’s ability to heal the crippled man.

The question, however, is not about Paul’s faith, rather it’s about the man’s faith.

“And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak;

Who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that HE had faith to be healed,

Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.”

The question before us this evening is the strength and variety of the SUFFERER’S FAITH,

Or as in our hypothetical question, YOUR faith to be healed of this fatal disease.

As we come up through the Old Testament the first healing which MIGHT involve faith is that of NAAMAN.

Naaman was the Syrian general who suffered from leprosy.

He was encouraged to visit Elisha, who told him to wash himself seven times in the Jordan river.

Eventually he complied, and as promised he was healed.

I think that it’s really difficult to measure or evaluate Naaman’s faith, or to know if he had any faith at all.

Elisha certainly didn’t say, “If you believe in the God of Israel, go wash in Jordan and thou shalt be healed.”

The second Old Testament healing which might have involved faith was when the Shunammite woman told Elisha about the death of her son.

Then the third was the healing of Hezekiah.

In both these cases there is some doubt about those people’s faith,

Hezekiah’s healing was not predicated on his faith or the strength of his faith.

And the Shunammite’s son certainly didn’t have any faith in his healing, because he was dead.

But his mother might have trusted God to raise her son, even though there wasn’t a single precedent.

In the Gospels we have a number of healings linked to faith in one fashion or other.

There was a nobleman whose son was sick in Capernaum, who besought the Lord for healing.

There is no reference at all to the faith of the son, but the father appears to have had faith in the Lord.

In Luke 4 Peter and his wife besought the Lord to heal her mother, and I assume that they believed that He could.

There were lepers, and blind men, the woman with the issue of blood, and the Syrophonecian woman;

There people who brought their crippled friends, and a deaf friend, and a lunatic son.

There are at least a dozen cases in the gospels where we can see a link between someone’s faith and the Lord’s healing.

But I challenge you to find a case where the Lord Jesus said to a sick person, “If thou believest with all thine heart, then I will heal you.”

It might be argued by some Charismatics that Acts 14:9 is compelling argument for faith-healing,

But that fella will have a hard time finding any other scripture which proves that doctrine, except for one in the Book of James which we will come to in a few minutes.

Another segment of healings, have NO RELATIONSHIP to faith whatsoever.

When the Lord met MOSES at the burning bush and told him to put his leprous hand into his bosom and it came out cured, I don’t think that Moses was trusting God for that cure.

And when JEROBOAM plead with the prophet of God to restore his hand he was not a man of faith.

When woman of ZAREPHATH accused Elijah of killing her son, she didn’t have faith to believe he would raise him from the dead, but he did.

The last great miracle of Elisha was another resurrection:

In II Kings 13 a funeral was disrupted by the sudden appearance of a Moabite army,

So the body of the deceased was unceremoniously tossed into the sepulchre of Elisha.

When the body touched the bones of the prophet Elisha, the man’s life was instantly restored.

There was absolutely no faith whatsoever involved in that resurrection.

When we move into the GOSPELS we have lots of cases where there were healings without faith.

In John 5 the impotent man at the Pool of Bethesda had no faith whatsoever in the Lord Jesus.

He was waiting for the moving of the water of the pool.

In Luke 6 the Lord surprised a man in the synagogue by defying the Jews and healing his crippled arm.

Then there was the son of the WIDOW OF NAIN; there was no reference of faith in her case.

And what about the VARIOUS DEMONIACS who were healed?

Is there anyone prepared to say that it was the faith of those people which won the Lord’s affection?

In Luke 13 there was a woman with a SPIRIT OF INFIRMITY, and the Lord just stepped in and healed her.

He did the same thing to the man with DROPSY in Luke 14.

It appears to me that it is very difficult to say that faith had anything to do with about half of the healings and resurrections in the gospels.

For example, how much faith was involved in the repairing of MALCHUS’ ear?

And that brings us into the Book of Acts.

Since this is the book that we are currently studying,

And since it is closest to being an example to our ministries today,

Let’s turn to each of the scriptures to examine each of the ten healings which are mentioned here.

First there is the lame man at the BEAUTIFUL GATE of the Temple in Acts 3:1-7.

“Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the 9^th hour.

And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.”

What was the variety, strength and degree of that man’s faith?

Judging from these verses, I’m not sure that the man had any faith in the Lord whatsoever.

Turn to Acts 5:12-15.

“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.

And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.”

Of course, there is no reference to a specific healing here.

And as far as verse 15 is concerned, I’m not sure anyone was healed by the shadow of Peter at all.

This may be more of an argument against faith than for it.

It may be an argument against false faith.

The next healing is that of SAUL in Acts 9:18-19.

“And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said,

Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.”

Where do these verses talk about Saul’s faith to be healed?

The next healing is that of AENEAS in Acts 9:32-34.

“And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.

And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.

And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.”

What emphasis did the Holy Spirit lay upon that man’s faith?

Are we told that he had faith or that it was because of his faith that he was healed?

In the same chapter we have the resurrection of a TABITHA – Acts 9:36-41.

“Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.

And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.

And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.

Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.

But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.”

How much faith did Tabitha have that she would be raised from the dead?

Remember that she was dead.

Can you tell me with absolute assurance that her friends had invited Peter to come to Joppa in order to raise Tabitha from the dead?

Can anyone be sure that her friends had faith that she could be raised from the dead?

Can anyone say that it was because of their faith that she was raised?

After the healing in our text, the next reference to this subject is in Acts 14:19-20.

“And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.

Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.”

Was it dead Paul’s faith which induced the Lord to raise him from death?

Or was it that Paul was not actually dead, and his faith was used to heal him from the wounds that the stones caused?

Is there any reference to faith at all in these verses?

The next healing was that of the DEMON-POSSESSED GIRL in Philippi – Acts 16:16-18.

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned & said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

How much did the faith of that girl have to do with her exorcism?

None, as far as I can see.

Acts 19 makes a curious reference to divine healings – Acts 19:11-12.

“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”

What reference is there in this passage that if these handkerchiefs were applied with faith, there would be a miraculous healing?

I grant that only believers were likely to uses these handkerchiefs, but there is no reference or emphasis here at all to these people’s faith.

In chapter 20 Paul raised Eutychus who apparently had died of a broken neck – Acts 20:9-12.

“And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.

And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.

When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.”

The last healings in Acts were those of Paul himself, the father of government official, a bunch of unnamed people.

Acts 28:1-10 – “And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.

And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.

And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.

So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came & were healed:

Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.”

What references here do we have to any of these people’s faith?

Can we say with any assurance or authority that they were healed BECAUSE of anyone’s faith?

Clearly, there are some cases in the Bible where faith and healing are somehow connected.

But there are many more which have no connection at all between faith and people’s restored health.

Based upon this it is impossible to build the doctrine of faith-healing.

And then there are other cases where PEOPLE OF FAITH were NOT HEALED.

Paul may have been spared from the poison of asps and the stones of the mob in Lystra,

But he was nevertheless a man who was NOT IN PERFECT HEALTH.

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations,

There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

And in II Timothy Paul refers to one of his helpers whom neither the physician Luke, nor the Lord healed.

“Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.”

What was the problem with Trophimus’ faith? Or was the problem in Saul’s faith?

What are we to conclude from these things?

First, it is appointed unto men once to die.

According to CNN the oldest person in the world at that time died at the age of 122 back in 1997.

Since then, the same source has reported that a Japanese lady died at the age of 114 just about year ago.

No amount of faith will keep even the Lord’s best Christian servant from dying at some point in time.

You are either going to die, or you will join the rest of the saints in the translation at the coming of the Lord.

Get used to it.

Secondly, people of great faith have been greatly afflicted with various maladies, and it is no reflection on their faith at all.

In fact their physical sufferings may in fact, be gifts of God to increase their faith.

Nevertheless, I think that the scripture teaches that faith is an asset in the struggle against bodily disease and decay.

James 5:14-15 – “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church;

And let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.”

Are there any one prepared to say that based upon experience, or scriptures, this is an absolute, universal and eternal promise?

Has the Lord always raised the sick when the saints of God have earnestly prayed for them?

On many occasions the Lord has answered these prayers in positive ways, but not in every case.

The prayer of faith shall heal the sick only if it is the will of the Lord that he be healed.

And that takes us to the nature of faith.

Faith is not some sort of currency or money with which to buy things from the Lord.

The principle is not: “If you have enough faith, or if your faith is of the right quality,

The Lord will grant your requests.”

Rather, faith is one of the ways in which we fellowship with the Lord.

And true faith isn’t interested in something which is not the will of God, no matter how precious or important that thing might be to us.

Faith is always expressed with the caveat, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.”

In the case of the crippled man in Lystra, the Holy Spirit revealed to Paul that the man had faith.

He even believed that Jehovah could heal him.

But that healing was all of grace.

Is faith important? Absolutely!

When we get sick, is it worth our time to beseech God for the restoration of our health? Absolutely!

Should we pray in faith? We should never pray any other way.

But ultimately, its not our faith which decides the case, it is the will of the Lord.