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Felt the Fire
- 10/23/10
- 20
Daniel Doriani's commentary on James is one of the relatively few commentaries I’ve read cover-to-cover. It’s one I enjoyed a lot. In his discussion of the final portion of James 5, I found an interesting story that I thought I’d share with you. As I read it, I though of my continuationist (charismatic) friends. It is my experience that these people often typify cessationists like myself as those who do not believe in supernatural or miraculous healings. But this just isn’t the case. The disagreement really arises over whether or not the spiritual gift of healing is operative in the church today. I believe in heailngs, not in healers, so to speak.
This quote describes something that happened in a conservative, Reformed, Presbyterian context and something that I think is consistent with cessationist theology (even though cessationists may have some disagreement about what James refers to by anointing a person with oil). Doriani is not the only Reformed Presbyterian who has experienced this kind of blessing.
During the autumn when I first studied James in earnest, a friend suffered a viral infection of the heart. While it was not a heart attack, it mimicked many of the symptoms of one. My friend felt listless; he looked gray and lifeless. One day at church, I told him that James 5 instructs elders to lay hands on the sick and to pray for their healing; I suggested that he call the elders for that very purpose. Two weeks later, he told me he wanted to proceed. No one in our church had done this before, so we did something very Presbyterian: we studied the matter another six weeks and hoped he didn't die in the meantime.At last, we appointed a night for prayer and the elders gathered. Our church's pastor (I was a college professor at the time) summoned the elders. Before we prayed, he told us not to expect a dramatic physical healing, since God heals in many ways. I appreciated his motive, but there was no need to restrain my enthusiasm; my doubting heart was already skeptical enough...
...My friend knelt down in the middle of a circle of elders. We anointed him with oil, laid lands on him, and began to pray. Since I had started the process, I was appointed to offer the closing prayer.
As soon as we began to pray, I had an overwhelming sense that God was, at the moment, healing my friend. My arms felt what I can only describe as bolts of fire pushing through them. As I grasped my friend's shoulder, heat and energy burned my hand. I felt that my one hand could lift all of his 230 pounds to the ceiling or push him through the floor if I wished.
I knew God was healing him. I wanted to shout, "We must stop praying that God will heal John and start praising God that he has healed him." But I was too astonished, too ensure of my sensations, to say a word to anyone that night. For four days, I kept my experience to myself.
Four days later, after church, my friend beckoned me with a wild grin, "Dan, watch this." At once, he dashed up a flight of steps. I dashed after him and met him at the top. He smiled, "And I'm not even breathing hard."
"I knew it," I exclaimed, and told him what I had felt a few nights earlier. And he told me, "I knew it too."
Since that day, I have joined elders to lay hands on the sick and pray for them. I have never again felt the fire. And while I occasionally feel a flood of warmth and emotion, I have learned that my feelings and God's healings have no connections. A small number have experienced immediately healing from serious illness. More have recovered gradually and under the care of physicians. Many have found spiritual healing--great peace and spiritual renewal in times of crisis and suffering, whether they recovered physically or not. And some have apparently gained no physical or spiritual benefit at all.
A page later he provides an interesting and important clarification about what James says about healing and something that is consistent with cessationist beliefs.
Sick men and women call the elders as a group. They do not call those with a gift for healing; rather they call all to pray for healing. James says the prayers of a righteous man are effective. Since the first qualification for an elder is holiness--not social standing or theological acumen--the prayers of elders are effective. The elders pray for healing, not for miracles. It doesn't matter if a healing is quiet or splashy, True healings garner all the attention they need.
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Comments (20)
So glad that God has pursued you and led you to write about all the things that you learn/read/experience. You are impacting the Kingdom.
Very interesting. I just finished a series in James and referred to this commentary more than once.
I’m not sure how you can separate a healing from a miracle, in particular, in this setting and circumstance. I think I understand the “righteous man” reasoning…maybe.
In any event, it’s good to see that God doesn’t really have to explain Himself doctrinally, he just moves in a godly way to accomplish the things He ordains for his glory.
Thank you Tim. I am always greatly blessed by your posts! I agree, there is much misunderstanding on the topic of healing. You state, “I believe in healngs, not in healers, so to speak.” I would say I believe in both. I would add that God often heals through medicine/doctors. It seems the scriptures teach both and I see no warrant from them that one continues and other does not. I have seen each as well. Let me quick to say, that I am not saying I believe in the “healers” one sees so often on TV, e.g.prosperity preacher types.Some years ago I came back from India with amoebic dysentery. The elders faithfully prayed over me and the dysentery remained. Later a brother, who was a new believer, said he felt compelled to lays his hands on my stomach and pray for me. Like your story, his hands felt like hot irons as he prayed. After his prayer the dysentery was gone. The physical touch was immediate. Now I cannot say definitely my healing was because of the “gift of healing” but it sure seems likely.Thank you for faithful service in the Body of Christ!
One reason the healing doctrine has gotten so confused lately is not because of cessationist doctrine, as not to many churches even believe in pure cessaionist doctrine any more. But confusion has come in through the Word of Faith teaching on healing. Actually, much of this teaching is very scriptural and Christ-centered (at least from the early WOF’ers, not necessarily many today). But some of their teaching has brought confusion into this vital subject. I am very glad to see a church that simply read a passage of scripture, decided to believe it and then act on it instead of allowing confusing teaching and doctrines to influence them. The sick people in that church are very fotunate indeed.
I believe! Thank you for the post! Sometime I’d like to see you discuss the topic of annointing, as it relates to healing… as well as in a more general, God glorifying means of faith accompanied by prayer.
“even though cessationists may have some disagreement about what James refers to by anointing a person with oil”
Please explain what hese diagreements are.
The author says that the prayer of a righteous man saves … but goes on to say that somehow this is exclusive to elders. Are not all believers righteous because of the great imputation? And are not all Christian called to be righteous?
KMS
I have discussed this matter with a few Reformed Cessationists and found that some believe that although on the surface the passage looks to be talking about physical healing, in actuality it it talking about “spiritual healing”. Unfortunately, they didn’t give proof that it was talking about spiritual healing and to be quite frank I am having a hard time seeing how the context is talking about spiritual healing. But I thought I would let you know what one of the disagreements is.
Tom - firstly thanks. I thought Tim was referring to the nuances of anointing with oil. I would agree having come from Presbyterian background I have heard of the spiritualization of these verses vs the very clear physical meaning behind what James is saying.
I’m at a Christian and Missionary Alliance seminary. I’m taking a class called “Divine Healing.” I was reared a cessationist, more or less. Without getting preachy and annoying, I’ve seen the Lord work through this class.
Check out some A.B. Simpson - he was seeing healings and other “continuationalist” type things even before Azusa Street happened. My paradigm is being shifted, just by being around people who know and trust Jesus as their healer….and guess what, they see Jesus heal quite a bit.
We’re wrestling with the theology of healing. It’s messy. It’s certainly been abused. But it’s gotta be reclaimed.
Check out “Healing” by Francis MacNutt (he’s a Catholic, but don’t be scared!). Wonderfully balanced and pastoral. I never thought of divine healing as connected to missions or social justice until now. But MacNutt is getting to me.
Sean
Like Tim I believe it is possible to be a Cessationist and still believe in healing. I was a Pentecostal and Word of Faith in my earlier days as a Christian, so I understand what you are saying about abuse of this topic. What Tim described in his blog I think is a great example of the difference between the gift of healing and healing.
We should not be afraid of this topic simply because of the abuse of many Continuists. I think we err and miss out on some of God’s blessing when we go too far the other way.
Having recently left an Alliance Church because of their getting into some Emergent Church teaching (that is another matter) I know a little bit about AB Simpson.
I am not certain that what AB Simpson was experiencing is the same thing as what supposedly happened on Azusa Street. Perhaps you can give more information concerning AB Simpson to give a little more info on what happened with AB Simpson.
Not that this is the topic to say this, I believe that what is happening in many Alliance Churches these days would make AB Simpson roll over in his grave. I can’t speak for all Alliance Churches, but many have left their Reformed roots far behind.
I have discussed my concerns with a few pastors in the Alliance Church and they see Emergent Church thought as something to be embraced, rather than avoided.I am saddened at this because there is a lot of good happening in the Alliance Church.Not to mention the fact that I have a lot of friends there.
Sean
I thought I would also caution about using Catholic writing for this matter. I am not saying that what MacNutt has to say has no value; it is just that Catholics have a whole different paradigm than Protestants do. Without understanding this, we can misunderstand just where the person is coming from.
Surely, there is a better example of what you are talking about than MacNutt.
If the gift of healing was in effect at the time of James (his letter probably was one of the firstof the New Testament) why he do not say “call those who had the gift of healing in the church when someone was sick”?
Rafael
I guess the take home message in all of this is that God is a God of power who works through means - in this case athe means of elders acting as men of faith and he answers prayer in His own time for His purpose, for His glory - despite of whether we call oursleves cessasionists or continuists… He calls us all to be men and women of faith… Not men and women of a theological system.
I have seen healing and no healing . Although as a reformed minded believer I do not believe in a person with the gift of healing , I still hold that elders should pray for healing , trusting God for the outcome. Disease , suffering and death are a part of a fallen world and God does intervene but we most always speak of God’s sovereign rule over all things and never make one who is not healed ,that it is his or her fault for not having enough faith. I have seen that as well , and that sickens me .
Reg - don’t get me wrong - “He calls us all to be men and women of faith…” - means we trust Him to rule sovereignly because He is our Father. What ere our God does is good. I was not refering to that system of theology which says that we need more faith and then He will heal … Quite the opposite. He is pleased sometimes to heal - sometimes not to heal - blessed be the name of our Lord.
Tom Hardy: It’s been decades since I read MacNutt’s book “Healing,” but my recollection is that his theology was much more charismatic than Roman Catholic. I think he eventually became Episcopalian. I’m not endorsing all MacNutt wrote, but he was pastoral and could see that there was something wrong with the TV healers.
When someone is healed miraculously, I think cessationists will be quick to say that the person praying didn’t have a gift of healing, and continuationists will be quick to say that the one praying did have a gift of healing. Sound theology definitely matters, but maybe it’s more important for us to be very sure that the Lord gets the glory, than to be sure that we interpreted the gifting or lack of gifting correctly.
I thank the Lord for his healings. They are his, not mine nor ours, except in the sense that we receive the blessings.
Jim
I can definitely agree that the Lord should get the glory regardless.
However, I must say that the Word of God must be the final authority in all matters. Yes we must do our best to rightly divide the Word (2 Tim.2:15), but experience should never dictate how we interpret Scripture. I am not taking away from experience, but experience can be subjective; but the Word of God is never subjective. (2 Tim.3:15-17). Regardless of whether or not one considers themselves a continuist a partial cessationist o a cessationist or just plain don’t know. We must not let experience dictate what we believe. This is very hard at times to do; however it is not an excuse for not checking all things out with Scripture.
As we grow in our faith, and learn the Scriptures better, the Holy Spirit will shine more and more light on His Word. Our understanding of Scripture will change, but it is us that does the changing not the objective Word of God. Unfortunately I have been running into a lot of people lately that believe that nobody should ever become dogmatic about doctrine, seeing we are only human.
Some go so far as to say that the traditional way of looking at doctrine is flawed and should be done away with; in favor of a more authentic Christianity that is not concerned with “being right”. This sounds spiritual on the surface, but isn’t the whole truth. Being authentic is important, but one can be an authentic Mormon, J.W. etc…yet that will not get them too far when it comes to truth.
As I say that, I am not saying that I believe that we shouldn’t always remain teachable and humble. But learning how to rightly divide the Word of God is imperative to all Christians. As Paul instructed Timothy, he instructs us also.
So what’;s your point simpy Tom?
Tom, I’d agree with virtually everything you said in this particular comment. Whenever our experience and the scripture seem to disagree, it must mean that we’re misinterpreting our experience or misinterpreting scripture. We must not assume that our interpretations of our own experiences are always correct. When we don’t see how experience and scripture fit together, our first inclination should be to suspect that we’re misinterpreting our experiences. Good, solid theology has a way of calling us to a higher level of experience (not necessarily more exciting or more “spiritual,” but more humbly holy).
KMS
Jim’s reply back to me, indicates that he understood the point of what I was saying.