Why I Believe Healing Belongs In The Church Today
by Pastor Don Bartow
Pastor Emeritus of the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Canton, Ohio
Founder\Director of The Total Living Center Ministries, Inc.

Jesus Demonstrated a Lifestyle of Healing

I want to state emphatically that I believe healing to be the pre-eminent characteristic of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. It is consistent with His lifestyle as shown in the gospels. Now, this is not to say the other ministries in the church are invalid. I just want to say that Jesus's predominant ministry in the gospels was one of healing, and to translate it into the local church is what I want to help you do. One of my goals is to help local congregations focus upon the message of healing and wholeness. In the years past, I have spent my time in the institutional church, teaching about the healing ministry and why it belongs in the church. There are many today who have honest inquiry into the validity of healing for today. Yet, for some reason they are unable to pursue this desire.

Matthew 4:23 states, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” Jesus's public ministry was teaching, preaching and healing. His private ministry was prayer. The church today does a better job of preaching and teaching than it does of healing . Yet the emphasis in scripture showed healing to be equally important. Why are we so reluctant to believe and to practice this?

There Is A Connection Between Preaching and Healing

First, I want to point out that the early church established the norm for healing. In fact, the first recorded prayer of the early church was for the Word to be preached and spread WHILE God extended His hand to heal. “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.” (Acts 4:29,30)

Evangelism in that day certainly blended teaching, preaching, and healing. I believe the church has lost something through the years as it has stressed preaching and teaching while minimizing healing.

Jesus Sent His Disciples Out To Heal

Second, it is evident Jesus did not send His disciples out to do anything He Himself did not do. He set the pace and He expected His disciples to follow. In the scripture, Jesus specifically commissioned His disciples to preach the Good News of the Kingdom AND to heal the sick. This is found in Matthew 10:1,7,8; Mark. 3:14,15; Mark. 6:7-13; Luke. 9:1,2; and Luke. 10:1,9. The disciples had seen Jesus heal. No wonder they turned the world upside down. They did the same thing Jesus did. They demonstrated the power of the gospel in a visible and tangible way through the healing of the sick.

The Scriptural Command for Church Leadership To Heal

Third, some will say that was fine for that day, but what about now? We read in James 5:14-16 the only direct instruction we find in the New Testament to the elders of the church. It concerns the ministry of healing to the sick with the prayer of faith and the anointing of oil. “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; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” This clearly was a ministry by the local church leadership to the sick one within the local church. God ordained this ministry for the local church. There is no scripture reference to this direction ever being changed or rescinded.

Some say they don't believe this instruction is for today. Let me candidly say, if the scripture is not relevant for today, then maybe we need to delete the Lord's Supper, which was commanded for us to do also? Can we be so bold as to pick and choose from the Word of God? May it never be. Our calling is to obey the Word; not to revamp or change it.

Some pastors and lay leaders say they do not have the gift of healing. The scripture in James does not talk about the gift of healing. It talks about obedience. Though there are some who will have the spiritual gift of healing, the ministry of healing James is writing about is for the whole church. I believe with all my heart if the leadership of the church will move out of faith and simply obey this command, God will bless. Obedience doesn't require total understanding; it requires action.

The Anointing with Oil Is For The Believer

The New Testament makes no distinction between professional clergy and the laity. God has called each one as a ministers of reconciliation in Christ. The believer is both ot receive and to administer the anointing with oil. The offices of the church to equip the laity rather than bottleneck the ministry into the hands of a select few. If there is anything the professional clergy of today should be doing, they should be equipping the members of the local church to proclaim the Good News AND to minister healing in the Name of Jesus. This includes the laying on of hands and the anointing with oil.

Mark 6:12-13 “And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” Verse 7 says Jesus sent them out two by two for this purpose. These verses clearly tell us the twelve disciples were sent out in pairs preaching that men should repent AND healing the sick. Where had they seen the practice of anointing with oil? Could it be that they saw Jesus do it? Would they do something He had not modeled for them? I don't think so. I think they did exactly what they saw Him do, and that was anoint with oil and heal the sick.

The disciples were uneducated, unprofessional men, with no ecclesiastical training or authority in their day. Yet, they were the ones Christ sent out in His Name. Should we do any less? The ministry of healing as exemplified by our Master is for the believer, whether he is in the category of clergy or laity. This ministry is for all.

The Disciples Performed Acts of Healing

Jesus never said to just counsel those who were sick, or to just encourage them, or to placate them in any way possible. He said to heal them. Luke 9:2 says the disciples were to perform healings. “And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God AND to heal the sick.” They brought forth healings possible only because He had given them power and authority over demons, sickness and disease. (Matthew 10:1; Mark 3:14,15; Mark 6:7; and Luke 9:1) They had no power within themselves to do this. Some might say, “but those were the original twelve. We are no longer expected to heal in the Name of Jesus.” Not so! Look at Luke 10:1,9 “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come...and heal the sick that are therein, and say uto them, The kingdom of God is come high unto you.” In this passage, Jesus sends the seventy new disciples out to heal the sick, using that as the criteria to proclaim the coming of God's kingdom. Interesting He said to tell the healed about the kingdom, rather than the other way around. The power was the proof of His reign. The seventy were to do what He had taught the twelve to do. In Luke 10:2, Jesus instructed us to pray for more to rise up, go forth, and heal in the Name of Jesus. The harvest is ripe. The fields must be harvested. This verse is refers to workers who will reach out with the message of healing. This is not simply to reach people “spiritually”, but to reach out to the whole person. Notice what verse 2 says, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.” 

Jesus did not intend for the power to heal to remain with the twelve and diminish with their death. He expected the ministry of healing to continue at full speed and in full strength. He very simply expanded His ministry from 12 disciples, to 70, and then through the church. He wanted to bring the immediate blessing of the kingdom to the multitudes through His obedient disciples throughout the ages.

Overcome The Lack Of Ministry Models

While we do not lack the scriptural dictates for healing, we lack the models of ministry viewed by the disciples and the early church. They watched Jesus perform healing, and they saw others heal, including John (Acts 3:4), Peter (Acts 3:4, Acts 9:33-34), Paul (Acts 14:9-10, Acts 28:8-9), and Philip (Acts 8:7). When have we in recent church history seen the consistent effective healing we see in the gospels? We haven't. But if we had been there with Jesus and the early church, we would have such. Healing would be as natural to us today as it was to them. One thing we cannot escape is the fact that Jesus' main thrust was that of healing, particularly physical healing, Note also He never required proof of faith, acts of consecration, repentance of sins, or synagogue membership. He healed because His very nature was to heal. He revealed the Father's will in this. He never turned any one away. So often, we are afraid of failure that we don't even try. If Jesus healed, and we are to be like Him, then we need to get on with the show.

Learn Through Obedience

Many say they are deterred by the fact they really don't know if it is God's will to heal. The chances are they more truly afraid of failure. What if they pray for healing and no one is healed? Is God's reputation ruined or is it theirs? Jesus answers Philip's question in John 14:9 about seeing the Father that “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” If what we see in Jesus's lifestyle and ministry is an exact representation of the Father, then we can be assured it is His will to heal as visibly demonstrated by the healing ministry Jesus performed here on earth. When we can believe that, we can believe God will bless our efforts, and we can begin.

Lay a Good Foundation

Let me encourage you to lay a good foundation through teaching about a healing ministry. Learn and study together with your people. Love and minister in the Name of Jesus. Begin early to involve and allow all believers to be a part of the healing ministry. Trust God with the results. As you nurture a climate of faith, prayer, belief, and obedience, healings will come forth. You will have to make the effort to have intentional and practical ministry. It doesn't happen by chance but by design, effort, and faith.

Leaders, Set The Pace

Jesus set the pace for His Disciples. I believe the greatest thing the leaders of a church can do is set the pace for healing ministry in their local church. They can allay the fears and doubts of their people by being the ones to begin. Their presence gives credence and stability to establish healing ministry as an ongoing part of their church.

Many have spectacularized the healing ministry to the point the local pastor may want nothing to do with it. However, we in the church who are called to minister as pastors must realize we are ordinary people ministering to ordinary people. We don't have to be anything different that what we are. Nor do we have to do anything spectacular in order to have valid healing ministry in our church. In fact, the whole atmosphere of healing benefits from decency and decorum. God is not limited by us, to the contrary, we are the ones who limit Him. You will find that faithfulness will pay off over foolishness. This is a hurdle that can be overcome to the glory of God by a sane, decent approach to healing.

Learn From Others Who Have Begun

One of the most valuable things you can do to begin is to take advantage of the many resources and opportunities to learn about a local church healing ministry. A pastor and some of his people should learn together and begin together. They can benefit greatly through the shared experience of prayer and the practical application of knowledge from teachers in the area of healing. Many good books, tapes, and conferences allow for learning, modeling, experiencing, and practicing healing ministry. Whether in your denominational context or not, these opportunities can be the basis for learning which you can apply to your local setting.

Be Obedient and Begin

I encourage you to work together as pastor and people. Grow in the area of healing and begin to establish new ways of ministry. Keep it in the context of your own worship style and liturgy, and invite others to participate by joining with them for prayer and believing for God to heal. Trust God to show himself strong and don't get discouraged nothing spectacular happens. Prayer releases the power of God and brings blessing. Your people will be blessed and they will grow in their belief as God extends His hand to heal in response to your faith and obedience.

Christ Is The Head

Christ is the Head of His body and His Church. He healed and commanded His followers to heal. If the Head of the Church put so much emphasis upon healing should not His followers do the same? I firmly believe Jesus Christ convincingly conveyed through precept and action healing should be taught and practiced in His Church. Every local congregation has the responsibility to move in the privilege of His presence and power for healing. For the church is be Christ in the world, the church needs to learn how to heal the sick in His Name.

In conclusion, I present my J. D. I. concept. To me the letters stand for Jesus Did It. For you and me today, they stand for Just Do It. Amen.

© Copyright Donald W. Bartow 1995. All rights reserved.