F.F. Bosworth was an evangelist in the early 1900′s, with a great healing ministry attributed to him. His book Christ the Healer (more than half a million copies sold) contains excellent material on the subject of healing, but fails at chapter 13 – Why Some Fail to Receive Healing from Christ. This quote from Curry Blake is very true: “The only hindrances to healing, is believing there are hindrances to healing.”
I’d like to take F.F. Bosworth’s supposed hindrances or burdens to healing and disprove them with the Bible, to make known God’s goodness, His power and the simplicity of the Gospel.
Bosworth starts chapter 13 – Why Some Fail To Receive Healing From Christ, with the following paragraph.
It is so clearly revealed throughout the Scriptures that the Heavenly Father wills our healing.
Why do some who seek healing, fail to receive it? This question is in the minds of many honest inquirers. There are several answers to this question,which we will mention briefly. By these answers many have been helped who had previously failed to receive healing.Consequently, they have been gloriously healed.
F.F Bosworth – Christ the Healer reprint
Then, the first supposed burden, or reason for failure regarding healing, Bosworth calls “Insufficient Instruction.”
The first reason for not receiving healing is ignorance concerning the healing power of the Gospel. Paul tell us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”(Romans 10:17) Many have sought healing from Christ before they heard or knew enough of the Word of God. They have not had a steadfast faith.
He states that anyone looking to receive healing must first meditate on God’s Word to learn His will.
I want you to look at the following Bible Scripture:
Mark 16:15-18
And he said unto them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
1 Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
I’d like to point out here the commonly known fact that anyone is free to receive forgiveness and redemption through believing and confessing Jesus Christ is Lord. This is absolutely free, regardless of your knowledge of the Bible. Most scholars accept this. Why then do we have to “work” for our healing? No, healing is a gift - and gifts are free. Healing isn’t a reward, it is a gift. You don’t work for it or earn it.
Mark 16 makes no differentiation between those who can believe, and those who can heal. Neither does 1 Peter 2 separate redemption and healing. If you can receive the one, you can receive the other.
Jesus Christ even said we will will be able to do the same miracles He did, and more! Look at the following verses in John 14:
John 14:12-14
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Now, continuing to quote F.F. Bosworth on the supposed hindrance to receiving your healing:
We have seen that God’s way of producing faith for healing is the same as that of producing faith for salvation. This is the way for any other blessing. The needy one should first learn, from the Scriptures, what God’s will is in the matter. The hand of faith cannot reach out and take from God what the eye of faith does not first see to be the will of God.
While I have to agree that one should make up your mind about God’s will on healing (read the Bible – God wants everyone to be healed all the time!), I must add that one can receive healing through someone else’s faith. In fact, a Christian can pray for anybody, without their permission, for healing because the Christian is exercising his dominion over demons and principalities, not the sick person. To quote Curry Blake: ”You are God’s son, man’s servant, and the devil’s master”.
Jesus never said to anyone who was sick to first meditate on the scriptures and get to know God’s will. No, he instantly healed people on His own faith. Similarly, should someone be ill, fellow Christians should be able to heal that person if his faith is lacking. To prove this, look at James 5.
James 5:13-15
Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
You see, it would be unfair to expect of a person in need of healing to first meditate on the Word of God. What if his lack of healing costs him his faith, and he passes away of his sickness? No, God tells us clearly that if any one is sick and he can’t receive healing on his own, other Christians should be able to perform the healing.
The point that I’d like to get across with this post is this: If one needs healing and you have trouble manifesting it yourself, let someone else heal you. “Lack of instruction” is not a hindrance to healing. Remember, Jesus healed some people on his faith, not theirs.
In the same breath I’d like to remind you that Jesus said we will do the same works as He did, and even greater. So we must identify with Him (as having power over sickness), and not as the sick, un-renewed and un-born-again sick people in the Bible.
Again, to quote Curry Blake:
- “When a son of God speaks, Heaven hears and agree. Hell hears and obey.”
- “There is no reason why any person should not be healed.”
- “The Name of Jesus and what it stands for and represents is ENOUGH to get ANY job done and ANY need met.”
- “Jesus only gave 2 reasons for failure, and every failure can be traced back to one of these: Unbelief or Traditions of Man.”
- “The Bible is a receipt of what was PAID FOR by Jesus.”
- “Most people talk to God about their problems, when in reality, what you ought to do is talk to your problem about God.”
- “There is no hinderance to God except YOU!”
A: Remember, healing is warfare! Sickness enters your body ILLEGALLY. Its up to you to take authority of it. Compare it to a country’s law: it is illegal to steal, yet thieves still do. It is up to the police to enforce the law. Now enforce the healing Jesus Christ paid for! The reason why we’ll do greater works than Jesus is because we’re facing an enemy that’s already been defeated.
Q: Can it be that God doesn’t want me healed?
A: God can’t say ‘No’ to a promise He’s already said ‘Yes’ to. He said we will have dominion over every evil thing and the believers will lay hands on the sick and they will be healed. God said it. I believe it. That settles it! No need to question God on his will/goodness. No army ever won a war by showing how much it could suffer. God does NOT use the devil to spank you.
The only hindrances to healing, is believing there are hindrances to healing!
To learn more about healing, look at the Curry Blake Download page.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this subject, so please leave a comment! Do you agree? Or disagree? Know some Scriptures I should include? Let me know!