I Will Never Forget Thy Precepts

Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy Word.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. 

I will never forget thy precepts; for with them thou hast quickened me. 

Psalms 119:67,71,93

There is one reason behind sickness and that is Satan, but the reasons sickness comes upon us are varied. 

If God punished sin with sickness, every sinner and sinning believer in the world would be sick. It is true that sin and sickness have a connection, but we must be careful in the way we apply this individually.  It can be used as a convenient way to neglect the sick and rationalize our own powerlessness.  

Never forget that God sent His son to save the world not kill it.  

Even in our sinful state, He thought we were to die for.

For certain there is sickness in the world; rampant diseases, killer conditions, acute and chronic ailments that we deal with or witness everyday.  But what does the word of God have to say about sickness?  After all, it is His truth that we should believe.  Here are some reasons for sickness:

Ö     Violation of spiritual laws:  

When man sinned, death began to work its corruption in the body:

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.  Romans 5:12

For the wages of sin is death. . .   Romans 6:23

Sickness is a result of sin, but a person's sickness is not necessarily caused by their own individual sin. Jesus made this clear in the example of the man blind since birth 

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.   John 9:1-3  

One of the worst misapplications of Scripture is that sickness is a result of a person's individual sin or lack of faith. It is true that if you break God's law, you will suffer the consequence of your actions which could ultimately be the start of your eternal death. This is suffering for your own sinful acts.   But even if you keep God's law, you may still suffer because you live in a sinful world. The righteous, as well as the unrighteous, suffer because of the presence of sin in the world.

Several Bible references confirm that sickness can be related to individual sin. 

         ¨     Infirmities come through uncleanness (sin):

I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  Romans 6:19 

When we violate spiritual laws, we walk under the curses described in Deuteronomy 

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:  Deuteronomy 28:19 

(See also Mark 2:1-12; John 5:1-11,14; James 5:14-16; and Psalms 38:3,7) 

         ¨     Sickness can also be related to corporate sin: 

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.  1 Corinthians 11:27-32  (Also see Acts 5:1-11)

         ¨     Healing can be lost by returning to sin: 

Afterward, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.   John 5:14

Ö     Violation of natural laws:   

Some sickness results when we violate the natural laws of God. Here are some examples:

            -     Improper diet (overweight, underweight).

            -     Too much labor intensive, feverish activity.

            -     Improper rest.

            -     Lack of self control which results in harmful emotions such as anger, bitterness, etc.

            -     Lack of positive relationships with others (bitterness, unforgiveness etc.).

            -     Exercise (too much or too little).

            -     Abuse of drugs and alcohol: Toxic chemical substances taken into the body.

            -     Violating natural laws such as law of gravity.  (For example: If you jump off a building, you may get hurt!).

            -     Deliberately placing one's self in jeopardy through dangerous activities and refusing to use safety devices (such as seat belts in a car, goggles in a workshop, a helmet at a construction site, etc.).

Ö     Satanic attacks:  

Sometimes illness comes through a direct attack of Satan. Job is one of the best examples of this (see Job 1 and 2).   Job experienced physical, mental, and emotional illness because of a Satanic attack. He did not suffer because of he was in a sinful state. God's own testimony concerning Job was that he was a righteous man.

Sin is Satan's attack on the spiritual man. Sickness is his attack on the natural man. In the New Testament, as well as modern times, the righteous suffer the majority of the Satanic attacks because we have been thrust into a war with Satan, and in any war there are casualties.

Satan attacks our body just as he does our soul and spirit. Our mind, body, and the old man of the "flesh" (the lusts of the eye and the flesh, the pride of life, the world, and our senses) are the channels of attack. Although Satan attacks us physically just as he does spiritually, he has no more right to dwell in our physical body than in our soul and spirit. The operation of Satan's forces in the believer's body can be compared to guerrilla warfare. They actually have no legal right at all in the territory but seek to operate there anyhow.

In this world there will always be sickness just as there will always be sin, but in spiritual warfare we can fight sickness just as we fight sin.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  2 Corinthians 2:3-4

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