Excerpts from the novel, The Church of Jezebel, Hijacking the Gospel, chapter 17
“Before I begin with Queen Jezebel, I want to correct an erroneous and damaging teaching that circulates among many Christian cliques and that is promoted by several popular televangelists and churches. I am speaking of faith-healing, which is a misnomer, and I will back this up with Scripture.
“First, faith is not required for a miraculous healing. The Bible records that many persons that were healed by Jesus had no faith! You don’t believe me? Read Luke 7:11–15, Luke 13:11–13, and John 5:7–13.
“In Luke 7, Jesus had compassion for a widow and raised her dead son back to life. Can a dead person have faith? The widow didn’t know Jesus was in the crowd, so she had no faith. It was the compassion of Jesus that did the healing! In Luke 13, Jesus saw a woman who was bent over for eighteen years. Jesus called her to him and laid hands on her. She was healed and stood up straight. There is no indication that she knew who Jesus was or that she had any faith. In John 5, a sick man was healed by Jesus and this man didn’t even know he was talking to Jesus. Could he have had faith? The Apostle Paul couldn’t heal Trophimus in 2 Timothy 4:20, and Paul couldn’t heal Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23. Finally, in John 18:10 and Luke 22:51, can you tell me who had faith when Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant, Malchus, at Gethsemane and Jesus healed him? Was it Malchus or Peter? I submit, neither. Faith was not involved.
“Never tell a person that they aren’t healed because they lack faith or their faith is insufficient. That’s not biblical, and they are the cruelest words that could be said to a sick person. My friends, let no ‘faith-healer’ charge money or boast of their own works. That is not scriptural. In Acts 3, a lame man was begging for money and Peter and John told the man they had no money, but instead, healed him. Again, no faith on the lame man’s part and no payment for healing! In fact, the term ‘faith-healing’ is a misnomer; it should be called ‘grace-healing.’ Why is it the nonchurched can so quickly discern a phony faith-healer and we Christians cannot? Yes, my friends, we are encouraged to pray for the sick, but we are not permitted to prescribe the outcome. ‘Lord, heal me; but whether with a word or a touch, your will be done’ is an appropriate and biblical prayer."
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