Will God Heal a Sinner?

Will Jesus Heal a Sinner?

I’m going to tackle another false teaching that has been propagated by fellow believers. Tell me if you have ever heard this. “God is punishing that person with that disease because of her/his sins.” Or “God will not heal you if you have unconfessed sin in your life.” Or “You have to get right with the Lord to receive your healing." Does that sound familiar? Does that line up with Scripture? Let’s see what The WORD Says.

For several days now, the Holy Spirit has been encouraging me to study the passages that talk about the woman with the issue of blood. There are many passages in the Word that illustrate Jesus’ propensity to heal without pre-qualifying those He healed, but I believe the illustration of the woman with the issue of blood best refutes the teaching that Jesus does not heal a person with unconfessed sin. The reason I believe this passage is such a clear indication of the falsehood of teaching conditional healing is because the woman with the issue of blood was actually sinning when she was healed.

Before we dive into the Word, let’s settle another issue. God does not punish with sickness and disease. He watched His Son be brutally beaten and scourged to save us from sickness and disease, both physical and mental. It is absolutely ludicrous to proclaim that God would afflict someone with the very disease His Son suffered to free us from. That would be like saying God makes men commit adultery, or murder, or steal just so He can save them from those sins. Do you see how silly that sounds? Of course He would not do that. Sickness and disease are of the devil. God does not put those things on anyone; the enemy does. The Word tells us that sickness comes from a spirit.

Luke 13:10-13; 10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him]and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

Would God put a spirit of infirmity on someone? No, of course not. Look at Jesus’ response when the disciples asked Jesus about the reason for the man born blind.

John 9:1-3;1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”

Jesus stated that the ailment was not punishment for someone’s sin. Let’s look at another example. In Luke, the story is told of Jesus healing the Gadarene demoniac who was possessed by Legion, an innumerable number of demons. Did God fill the man with the innumerable number of demons? Emphatically No! Then why would God place a spirit of infirmity on someone? He would not.

James 1:13 states, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

According to Blueletterbible.com, the Greek word for tempted here is peirazō. It means to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quality, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself; in a bad sense, to test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings or judgments; to try or test one's faith, virtue, character, by enticement to sin; to solicit to sin, to tempt; of the temptations of the devil; after the OT usage: of God: to inflict evils upon one in order to prove his character and the steadfastness of his faith.

God is fully aware of all the devil’s schemes and God sometimes allows things to happen that are tragic and devastating. However, God does not afflict anyone with disease or sickness. The credit for sickness and disease solely belongs to Satan. Now let’s get back to the story of the woman with the issue of blood. Her story follows immediately after Jesus healed the demoniac and returned to Galilee. Her story is told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke with varying details. Let’s look at Mark’s account.

Mark 5:24-34; 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. 25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." 29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" 31 But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' " 32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

Did Jesus ask the woman if she had confessed her sin before she was healed? No, He did not. Was she a sinner? Yes, she was and she received her healing while she was sinning according to the law. The law of Moses states:

Leviticus 15:19 If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.

She was forbidden from being in public while bleeding. She was considered unclean and made everyone unclean who came into contact with her. But rather than chiding her, Jesus healed her at the precise time that she was committing sin according to Jewish law.

Let’s look at another Scriptural example of the inaccuracy of teaching that Jesus will not heal a person with unconfessed sin.

Matthew 8:16-17; 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

Matthew 15:30-31; 30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Did the demon possessed that were healed confess their sins before they received healing? Admittedly I was not present, but I am fairly sure that the demons were not too eager to cooperate with Jesus and most likely were reluctant to encourage their hosts to confess sin. I encourage you to search the Scriptures and find a single instance when Jesus required sin confession prior to healing. I have not found one. I have only found verses that state that Jesus healed ALL who came to Him.

Luke 6:19; And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

So, let’s take this a step further. Did you know that Jesus spoke of “great faith” only twice in the Word when referring to people? Let’s look at these passages together:

Matthew 8:5-13; 5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." 7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 "But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

Matthew 15:21-28; 21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." 24 But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" 26 But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." 27 And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

What do these two individuals have in common? Now mind you, Jesus never once asserted that His own disciples had great faith. Do you give up? Neither was a Jew. They were Gentiles. The centurion was Roman, and the Syro-Phoenician woman was Greek. Why is that so important you ask? Because neither lived according to or under the law of Moses. Neither was sin-conscious even though undoubtedly, they were both sinners according to Jewish law. Not only did Jesus heal according to their requests, but He did so knowing neither had kept the law of Moses.

If you believe that Jesus will withhold your healing until you have confessed every sin and are found blameless, you will never be able to approach the throne of grace boldly. You will never be able to “hope in the Lord” because your focus is on you and not Him. God doesn’t bless us according to our behavior or actions. He blesses us according to Jesus’ finished work at the cross.

So, the next time you hear someone say, “God made you sick because of your sin” or “You have not received your healing because you have unconfessed sin in your life”, have that person show you in God’s Word where Jesus either afflicted a person with disease or had a person confess her/his sins prior to healing her/him. My friend, He is a gracious God and His mercies are new every morning. I love Psalm 103:

Psalm 103:1-3; 1 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases…

His love and blessings are unconditional for all believers. He forgives ALL our iniquities and heals ALL our diseases without qualification.

I hope this helps. Jesus loves you!