Have you ever wondered if there is a link between sin and sickness?
By reading today’s post, I hope you’ll gain some insight into the relationship between sin and sickness, and that your mind will be put at rest.
Depending on your church background, you may find yourself going through every sin in the book, repenting and asking for forgiveness for any sin you could think of.
There is something in our brains that needs some kind of explanation.
Does this resonate with you.
Perhaps you’re wondering if you opened the door to Satan?
SIN AND SICKNESS
Perhaps you’re even repenting for things I hadn’t done, just in case to ensure you’re completely covered.
Have you repented again and again, thinking that somehow sin is stopping God from blessing you?
Do people tell you that God is waiting for you to ‘sort something out’ before healing you?
I’ve researched, studied, prayed and read to see what the Bible says about the relationship between sin and sickness. Here’s what I found:
God blesses us even when we fail.
YOU ARE THE SEED OF ABRAHAM SO YOU GET BLESSINGS
To illustrate this, let’s first of all take a look at the one of the blessings promised to Abraham’s seed:
God made a grace covenant with Abraham which meant Abraham could believe him for all the promised blessings to come to pass in his life.
Since you and I are the seed of Abraham, we too can expect to receive these same blessings.
For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. Romans 4:13
You and I are living under grace. We may make mistakes or sin, but we’re not punished because of them.
This is very similar to Abraham’s grace covenant with God where we see the Israelites sinning by murmuring and complaining between Egypt and Sinai.
In fact God continued to bless them in spite of their murmuring.
I hope this encourages you to believe that your sin and sickness are not related. Remember the guy born blind. Jesus says “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” John 9:3
Does Abraham’s grace covenant include healing?
- There were no records of sickness or disease amongst a couple of million people which suggests that the Israelites’ sin didn’t cause sickness and disease.
- There is no evidence of Abraham being sick and he lived until 175
GOD IS BOUND BY COVENANT SO HEALING IS YOURS.
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Deut 7:9
A covenant is a legal contract which we can’t break. Your healing is a guaranteed promise from God, and he is in a covenant of love with you, just as he was with Abraham.
This gives us confidence that our healing will come to pass.
And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness Gen 15:6
God made a grace covenant with Abraham and declared him righteous. Just like you and I, God pronounced Abraham a righteous man.
This means that God blesses him according to God’s own faithfulness and not his own. (We know he lied right…twice?!) yet God blesses abundantly.
WHERE IS THE HEALING?
Likewise, God has made a grace covenant with us based on the Cross. Like Abraham, we can trust in the promises, not because of our goodness, but because of Jesus.
We trust in his faithfulness, not ours.
If this is true, then why are we not seeing more healing? Are the blessings automatically ours? Or does sin stop the blessings of Abraham after all?
For if they who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect. Romans 4:14
This verse says that we hinder the fulfilment of the promise when we’re legalistic instead of being the righteousness of God by faith; This is our true authentic self.
God is the same. He blesses us despite failings. However, there are instances in the Bible where sin and sickness were clearly related.
If you continue to read on I make suggestions as to some of the things that are hindering healing in your life.
SIN DILUTES FAITH
Jesus tells the man at the pool of Bethesda ‘Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you‘ John 5:14
This does suggest that sin may have contributed to this man’s health condition. Jesus didn’t say what the sin was. (I think the man himself knew).
For us, I don’t feel we need to sit and analyse ourselves or play ‘hunt the sin’. I think you’ll know in your heart if there is a sin issue.
Jesus heals a woman bowed over from a spirit of infirmity.
The well-known healing verses found in James 5, talks of confessing our faults one to another. If we look at this in context, the preceding chapters refer to strife within the church.
James is addressing the quarrels, judgements and slandering amongst believers. Here’s the thing, whilst sin doesn’t stop God. It does dilute our faith which impacts our receiving.
If you’re responsible for judging, slandering others etc, then there is something going on in your heart that God wants to heal.
It could be that you’re legalistic and that you see the world through superiority.
Or, there could be a forgiveness issue.
TRAUMA CAUSES DISEASE
Hebrews 2:15 talks of Jesus freeing us from the fear of death.
One thing I know from counselling, and from my own journey, is that any kind of fear, as well as strife with others, keeps our nervous system in a state of fight/flight.(
(Image: Rebekah Ballagh Journey to Wellness)
This releases cortisol into the body, causing dis-ease. Jesus may have freed us from this, but we still have to walk this out as part of our daily walk.
If you’re prone to worrying, (like me!), it could be a result of past trauma or even the environment you grew up in.
There is now evidence of childhood trauma and chronic stress causing chronic illness in adulthood. It causes our nervous systems to be dysregulated. (I will write on this soon!).
I don’t think it’s fair to say this is personal sin per se. But we live in a fallen world where we are bombarded by trauma and stress, often not of our own making.
Jesus is so kind. In my experience, He leads us on this healing journey one tolerable step at a time.
If any of these issues are relevant to your situation, my suggestion is for you to receive some prayer ministry from your local church.
YOU ARE NOT GUILTY
The real you is the forgiven you, the child of God, the person God saw at the creation of the World
The children of Israel clearly sinned before the 10 commandments; and there is no mention of sin and sickness.
They had no revelation of sin and so had no guilt and condemnation.
Image. Rebekah Ballagh Journey to Wellness
In my experience it is listening to this voice that can cause us to live in a place of conflict, or dis-ease which manifests in our bodies in the form of sickness.
I think that’s worth repeating. It is not sin and sickness that causes disease but the guilt and condemnation we can feel as a result of sin*.
Take a look at IS SIN CONSCIOUSNESS HINDERING YOUR HEALING?
(* We can have a legalistic mindset or have a root cause of shame caused by our environment, not just due to personal sin)
Combine this with the impact of past trauma and you have a ‘perfect storm’
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Cor 3:6
Condemnation or shame just didn’t exist between the time of Abraham and Mount Sinai.
The Israelites were free from feeling bad about themselves. The same is true for you and I under the covenant of grace.
See WHY FEELING UNWORTHY OF GOD’S LOVE HINDERS HEALING
NEW CREATION IN CHRIST
When we mess up, the Holy Spirit reminds us of who we are in Christ. He points us to our forgiveness. Shame or condemnation are not in our language.
We can’t be judged for something that Jesus has been punished for. This would make God unjust.
All we can do therefore is receive our forgiveness and move forward, rather than get trapped in the legalistic cycle of ‘I need to do better, be better, try harder’ or feel bad thinking it proves to God how sorry we are.
I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
Romans 7:9
Knowing the love and forgiveness of God has to be our starting point when believing God for a healing. It’s our empowerment to live authentically free. You are fine, just as you are.
It equips us to overcome any strife or bitterness and strengthens us to embark on his amazing journey of healing.
Jesus declared forgiveness over the paralysed man lowered through the roof. I don’t believe this was because the man had sin.
I believe He needed to be assured of God’s forgiveness to open the door for his miracle.
Can you imagine the difference it would make if the world embraced the truth that God heals and blesses us because of who he is, not because of our own perfection.
It is 100% grace. To rest in His complete forgiveness and the love he has for his children.
To allow ourselves to live in the freedom of the grace of God with nothing to prove, strive or perform for.
Did you think sin caused sickness? How can you live more authentically today?
Much love
Lorna
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