suffering world this full Gospel of salvation from sin and its inevitable consequences." These conclusions were arrived at by this scholarly Commission after three years of study and research. Bishop Charles H. Brent of the Episcopal Church, who as Head of all Chaplains in France, led the religious life of our armies overseas, affirms: "He who waives away the healing power of Christ as belonging only to the New Testament times is not preaching the whole Gospel. God was, and Is, the Saviour of the body as well as the soul." James Moore Hickson pleads: "A living Church is one in which the Living Christ lives and walks, doing through its members what He did in the days of His flesh. It must, therefore, be a healing Church as well as a soul-saving Church . . Spiritual healing is sacramental. It is the extension through the members of His mystical body of His own incarnate life." The late able writers, Dr. A. B. Simpson, Andrew Murray, A. T. Pierson, Dr. A. J. Gordon, and many present writers whom we might quote, have been teachers of healing in the Atonement. An unknown writer has said: "On the cross of Calvary Jesus has nailed the proclamation, 'Deliver from going down to the pit (grave) for I have found an Atonement."" (Job 33:24) Isaiah begins the Redemption Chapter with the question "Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" And the report follows that He bore our sins and sicknesses. The answer to the question is, only those who have heard the report could believe it, because "faith cometh by hearing." Since Jesus died to save and to heal it is surely worth reporting. The purpose of this sermon is to prove that healing is provided by the Atonement and is therefore a part of the Gospel which Christ commanded to be preached To "all the world," To "all nations," With "all Power," Throughout "all the days, Even unto the end of the (present) age." IS HEALING FOR ALL? Is it still the will of God, as in the past, to heal all who have need of healing, and to fulfil the number of their days? The greatest barrier to the faith of many seeking bodily healing in our day is the uncertainty in their minds as to it being the will of God to heal all. Nearly every one knows that God does heal some, but there is much in modern theology that keeps the people from knowing what the Bible clearly teaches-that healing is provided for all. It is impossible to boldly claim by faith a blessing which we are not sure God offers, because the power of God can be claimed only where the will of God is known. It would be next to impossible to get a sinner to "believe unto righteousness" before you had fully convinced him that it was God's will to save him. Faith begins where the will of God is known. If it is God's will to heal only some of those who need healing, then none have any basis for faith, unless they have a special revelation that they are among the favored ones. Faith must rest on the will of God alone, not on our desires or wishes. Appro priating faith is not believing that God can but that God will. Because of not knowing it to be a redemptive privilege for all, most of those in our day, when seeking healing, add to their petition, "If it be Thy will." A CORRECTED THEOLOGY Among all those who sought healing from Christ during His earthly ministry, we read of only one who had this kind of theology. This was the leper, who said, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." The first thing Christ did was to correct his theology by saying, "I will, be thou clean." Christ's "I will" cancelled his "if," adding to his faith that Christ could heal him, the faith that He would. The theology of this leper, before Christ enlightened him, is almost universal today, because this part of the gospel is so seldom and so fragmentarily preached. We see, from almost every conceivable angle throughout the Scriptures, that there is no doctrine more clearly taught than that it is God's will to heal all who have need of healing, and that they may fulfil the number of their days, according to His promise. Of course, we mean all who are properly taught and who meet the conditions prescribed in the Word. Now, I hear someone say, "If healing is for all then we shall never die." Why not? Divine healing goes no further than the promise of God. He does not promise that we shall never die, but He says, "I will take sickness away from the midst of thee... the number of thy days I will fulfil." (Ex. 23:25, 26.) The days of our years are threescore years and ten. (Psa. 90:10) Take me not away in the midst of my days. (Psa. 102:24) Why shouldst thou die before thy time? (Eccl. 7:17.) Then some one may ask, Well, how is a man going to die? Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. (Psa. 104:29.) The Rev. P. Gavin Duffy writes on this point, "He has allotted to man a certain span of life, and His will is that that life shall be lived out. I want you to recall that all those He called back from the dead were young people who had not lived out their fulness of years; and in that very fact we may well see His protest against premature death. ... Of course, we must not expect that the old shall be physically young, but if the allotted span has not been spent we have a right to claim God's gift of health; and, even though it be past, if it be His Will that we should continue here for a time longer, it is equally His Will that we should do so in good health." Death comes, and then we blame our God, And weakly say, "Thy will be done;" But never underneath the sod Has God imprisoned any one. |