Page 54 - Reading Job to Know God

no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last.”

So he throws him in with the wicked. Zophar speaks again. Verse 5
“That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the
godless momentary? Complete darkness is held in reserve for his
treasures, and unfanned fire will devour him; It will consume the
survivor in his tent. The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the
earth will rise up against him. The increase of his house will depart;
His possessions will flow away in the day of His anger. This is the
wicked man’s portion from God,

even the heritage decreed to him by God.”
And he looks at old Job, and he sees him suffering, and he says it is all
because of sin. Now for a moment, let me follow that philosophy to its
logical conclusion, and then apply it to a movement that is sweeping
through the church today. I am speaking about the “healing movement”.
People are being healed they say. This healing movement, as I understand
it, is very much akin to the philosophy of these three men – Eliphaz,
Bildad and Zophar.

They teach, and I am quoting now from their own writings, “healing is in
the atonement.” That is how they state it. “By His stripes you are healed.”
That is, Christ died for our sins, and Christ died for our sicknesses as well.
And just as you can claim by faith forgiveness of your sin, you can claim
by faith healing of your diseases. Healing happened at the cross, and if
you do not claim healing the same way you claim forgiveness, then you
are in unbelief. Your lack of faith has made, and is keeping you sick. In
other words, it is a sin to be sick. That is what they are saying, almost
exactly what they were saying in Job’s day. It is a sin to be sick and the
only reason for suffering is sin. With that philosophy in your heart it is
impossible not to judge anyone who is sick or disabled as faithless or
wicked. I’d like to ask these people how many amputees grew arms and
legs when they received Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior? I haven’t
even seen bald men get hair after they got saved unless they bought a wig.
Editor’s Note: Isn’t it interesting that forgiveness of sin
which is definitely in the atonement is received by faith
but the experience of sin and the consequences of sin
remain in our lives. We can just as easily choose to sin
after receiving Christ as before. We have the Holy Spirit
to discipline us but also have the full effect of our free
wills operating. Look at Peter who walks on water and
denies Jesus three times. He is the perfect example of
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