“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” ~ James 5:14-15
Healing is promised by Jesus in the Bible when one prays to our Lord Jesus, we read he will heal people who are sick. As Christian, we presume that whenever we pray, Jesus will surely heal us. But is that really biblical or truth? That is not always the case as we read from the Bible below
“Jesus could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.” – Mark 6:5-6
Faith in Jesus is needed in order for healing to take place and here we will explore and under six different types of beliefs of healing within Christian circles.
1. Anti-Supernaturalists Believers
They do not believe that anything supernatural from the Bible is made up. God does not do miracles today. God just uses science or natural process or medicine to heal people.
2. Hardcore Cessationists Believers
They reject any supernatural manifestations, demons possession today, and don’t believe in miracles. They believe God can perform miracles but it’s very rare and all gifts of the Holy Spirit have stopped since the 1st century AD.
3. Softcore Cessationists Believers
They believe that God does allow miracles and they do not completely reject the supernatural. However, miracles are not the norm in the church or expected by the believers.
4. Believing Continuationists Believers
Believers believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are here today and miracles from the Bible are also real today as well. Usually, that is found in the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. I personal belong in the Pentecostal camp 🙂 Believing is just one side of the equation but sadly they actually do not practice them or expect them. And yet, they expect the pastors to do the praying.
5. Practicing Continuationists Believers
Believe in this camp is also where I am personally today, where we welcome all miracles and healings of the Bible. We not only believe but also we practice them in real life to see healing when people are prayed for in Jesus’ name. I would encourage you to be a practicing continuationists believer.
6. Abusing Continuationists Believers
I would highly recommend you avoid to abuse and be this type of believer. They abuse the gift of the Holy Spirit or healing and sometimes even sell it in the name of God. They elevate the experience of healing and the word of God that most times is often not right and not biblical.
You can learn more and read more at Pastor Vlad Article Here
So the thing that I want to highlight here is this, out of the 6 different types of believers which one are you? The good news regardless of which type you are, know that you are still saved by Jesus because of the faith you have in him and from your works.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – Ephesians 2:8
But my reason for highlighting the various types of believers is to encourage you as a believer to decide are you going to just stay passive all the time and do nothing or not believe in miracles of Jesus? Or are you going to decide to take that step of faith and believe in Christ today and actually do something about increasing your faith in Christ?
I pray you will have a desire to serve God and that’s what I hope you will decide to do.