TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
The healing of Calvary is, first and foremost, spiritual healing
The physical aspect of salvation pertains to resurrection
The healing ministry of Christ was unique--to prove He was the Messiah
The healing ministry of the Apostles was unique--to authenticate their work
God did not always heal, even in the first century
Charismatic healers cannot heal themselves
Faith healers cannot heal others
William Branham
Aimee Semple McPherson
Smith Wigglesworth
Kathryn Kuhlman
A.A. Allen
Jack Coe
Charles Price
Oral Roberts
Kenneth Hagin, Sr.
Morris Cerullo
Foreign Healings
John Wimber
The Bible and history tell us that sign gifts passed away
Mighty saints of bygone days often were sick
The Bible speaks of two kinds of faith--overcoming and enduring
The Bible warns of false miracles in the last days
The healing movement has caused great harm
I believe in miracles

PART 1 OF 3
INTRODUCTION

"And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see; and they glorified the God of Israel." Matthew 15:30-31

"And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. ... Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one." Acts 5:12,15-16

One teaching which seems to attract many to the Charismatic movement is the idea that physical healing is promised in Christ's atonement. It is commonly taught by Pentecostal-Charismatic preachers that if a person is saved and right with God he never has to be sick. Healing is guaranteed, so to speak, for those who exercise faith. This doctrine has been closely connected with the Pentecostal movement throughout the twentieth century. The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements notes: "The formative years of development for the classical Pentecostal churches were from 1907 to 1932. As the movement aggressively grew and spread, so the doctrine and practice of divine healing was extended since it was one of the movement’s cardinal doctrines" (emphasis added) (p. 370).

Most Pentecostal historians trace their movement to the "tongues speaking" experience of students at CHARLES PARHAM’S Bethel Healing Home in Topeka, Kansas, in January 1901. Parham believed that healing is in the atonement. One of Parham’s disciples, WILLIAM SEYMOUR, founded the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles, California, in 1906. From Seymour’s Azusa Street and Parham’s Apostolic Faith movements, Pentecostalism spread and gained momentum. The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements notes that all of the Pentecostal denominations today--including the Assemblies of God (1914), the Church of God (1907), and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (1923)--find their roots in the aforementioned movements.

From its inception, then, the Pentecostal movement was affiliated with the doctrine that physical healing is in the atonement. The man called the father of healing revivalism in America was JOHN ALEXANDER DOWIE (1847-1907), who established a community in 1900 called Zion City north of Chicago. Dowie’s magazine, Leaves of Healing, had a worldwide distribution and a vast influence. He taught that healing is promised in the atonement and insisted that those who sought faith healing must give up all medical care. He viewed druggists and physicians as instruments of the devil. When his own daughter was severely burned, he banished one of his followers for trying to alleviate her pain with Vaseline. He refused to allow her any medical treatment and she died in that condition. Many others who came to his faith cure homes died of their illnesses without any medical attention. The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements notes that many of the most famous Pentecostal evangelists--including F.F. Bosworth, John Lake, Gordon Lindsay, and Raymond Richey--went out from Zion (p. 368) and dozens of Parham’s followers at Zion joined the Assemblies of God at its formation in 1914. In fact, three of the original eight members of the AOG general council were from Zion City (p. 370).

The largest Pentecostal denomination, the ASSEMBLIES OF GOD, founded in 1914, promote the doctrine that healing is in the atonement. Consider their Statement of Fundamental Truths, section 12: "Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:14-16)."

AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON (1890-1944), founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, exemplified the widespread Pentecostal view that the Gospel includes physical healing. Her autobiography of 1921 was entitled Divine Healing Sermons. McPherson taught that healing is guaranteed in the atonement. She falsely promised to the eager crowds: "Your chains will be shattered, your fetters crushed, your troubles healed, if you only believe--for where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (Epstein, Sister Aimee, p. 221). It is blessedly true, of course, that the Lord is a very present help in time of trouble and that He goes with His children through all their trials, but to promise that in this present life all problems will be removed and all sicknesses healed if one only has enough faith is a false promise. McPherson warned against saying, "If it is His will to heal me, I am willing." She said such an attitude brings no results (Epstein, p. 224). In fact, McPherson claimed that physical healing is part of the gospel. The "foursquare" gospel she promoted was Jesus Christ as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Coming King. She claimed that she had obtained this gospel through a vision in 1922, in which God showed her that the Gospel was for body and soul and spirit. It was the same "foursquare gospel" being preached by the Elim Foursquare Gospel Association in Ireland (McPherson had worked with Elim’s founder, George Jeffrys), the Assemblies of God in the States, and other Pentecostal groups.

SMITH WIGGLESWORTH (1859-1947) was a famous Pentecostal evangelist and faith healer. Many books about his life are still widely distributed in Pentecostal-Charismatic circles. Wigglesworth believed that physical healing is guaranteed in the atonement of Christ. He taught against the use of all medicine. He believed that signs and wonders should always following the preaching of the Gospel. He taught that a Christian can be justified and sanctified but still not have everything necessary from God. "People are never safe until they are baptized with the Holy Ghost" (Wigglesworth, "The Place of Power," June 1916, reprinted in The Anointing of His Spirit, p. 151). He taught that handkerchiefs which are prayed over will bring life if carried in faith to the sick (The Anointing of His Spirit, p. 231). He taught: "Jesus came to set us free from sin, to free us from sickness, so that we should go forth in the power of the Spirit and minister to the needy, sick, and afflicted" (Wigglesworth, "Divine Life Brings Divine Health," Pentecostal Evangel, Jan. 17, 1942). He claimed that the Christian has the power to speak things into existence: "God declares, ‘You have an anointing.’ Believe God and you will see this happen. What you say will come to pass. Speak the word and the bound shall be free, the sick shall be healed" (Wigglesworth, "Power from on High," Pentecostal Evangel, May 27, 1944).

The doctrine of healing in the atonement did not die out in the early part of the century. There was a revival of healing fervor in the middle of the century, led by men such as William Branham, Oral Roberts, Jack Coe, and A.A. Allen. A publication which had widespread influence in reviving the doctrine that healing guaranteed in the atonement was Atomic Power with God through Fasting and Prayer by FRANKLIN HALL. He had a "revival center" in San Diego, California, and taught that fasting and prayer were the means to the restoration of apostolic miracles for the end times. He taught that the "fire of the Holy Spirit" would eliminate the potential for sickness, tiredness, and even body odor (Dictionary of Pentecostal, p. 346). Pentecostal historian David Harrell, Jr., notes that though Hall was somewhat isolated because of his doctrine, his book on fasting had a major impact on the Pentecostal movement and most of the healing evangelists used it (Harrell, All Things Are Possible, p. 81).

One of the most influential Pentecostal publications of the century, the Voice of Healing, edited by Assemblies of God preacher GORDON LINDSAY, was established in 1948 to promote the healing ministries of these men, all of whom believed that physical healing in this life is promised in the atonement of Jesus Christ. Lindsay warned that "it is a very serious offense to deny that divine healing is in the Atonement" (David Harrell, Jr., All Things Are Possible, p. 85).

WILLIAM FREEMAN was one of the many Pentecostal evangelists who led the healing revival of the 1950s. In 1949 he began publishing The Healing Messenger. He listed "four steps to healing" -- (1) Stand on the atonement, trusting that with Jesus’ stripes we are healed. (2) Know that it is God’s perfect will to heal you. (3) Understand that sickness is the devil’s oppression. (4) Set the time of your deliverance.

ORAL ROBERTS, another of the pioneers of the "faith healing" movement, has promoted the healing in the atonement doctrine widely. His ministry was originally called Healing Waters. His first book, published in 1947, was titled If You Need Healing--Do These Things! He listed six steps to deliverance, the first being, "Know that God’s will is to heal you."

Roberts gave a classic statement of this doctrine in the September 1976, issue of Abundant Life magazine:

"For the knowledge of the truth look toward Jesus of Nazareth who himself took our infirmities and bear our sicknesses. If Jesus took our sicknesses we need not bear them any longer. Sickness is part of the curse and Jesus came to destroy the curse. He suffered in our stead because he did not want us to suffer disease. He took our specific diseases and infirmities upon his own sinless, perfect body in complete payment for the penalty of sin."

"I know it is God's highest wish for you to be in health."

"Sickness is not part of God's plan and not devised by God's will."

"One of the things I have always appreciated about physicians is that they are all against disease and they work to bring healing. You see, doctors are not hung up on theology. Yet some ministers and many Christians are not quite sure where sickness comes from. I mean they are still asking the question, Is it God's will to heal? Some ministers are still praying, Father, if it be thy will, heal. I wonder if they could be sued for theological malpractice? Well, it's a thought" (Oral Roberts, "Why I know that God wants to heal you," Abundant Life, Sept. 1976).

Pentecostal evangelist A.A. ALLEN published a book in 1953 entitled How to Renew Your Youth Without Medicines, Drugs or Surgery. He stated: "It is my firm belief that God wants everyone of us to prosper and be in health until we fulfill the number of our days." He claimed that God has promised to "restore our youth," meaning that God would "take away the sickness, the disease, the infirmity, even the deformity, that cause one to feel, act, think, and live like an old person."

JACK COE, another very influential Pentecostal leader in the mid point of the century, published Tried … But Freed in 1956. He stated that "Deliverance from physical sickness is provided for in the atonement and is the privilege of all believers" (pp. 35-40). Coe taught that "the day would come when those who consulted physicians would have to take the ‘mark of the beast’ and that men were clearly looking to the wrong source for healing when they consulted doctors" (Coe, "Doctors, Demons and Pills," Herald of Healing, Dec. 1953, pp. 2-4,6, cited by David Harrell, Jr., All Things Are Possible, p. 101).

Another famous healer was KATHRYN KUHLMAN (1907-1976). She popularized the "miracle services" concept, during which she would call out supposed disorders that were being cured in a certain area of the auditorium, and it would be received by the appropriate individual. Kuhlman taught that people could be healed and then lose their healing if they failed to come up to the stage and testify.

In the late 1940s Kuhlman began to teach that physical healing was provided in the atonement of Jesus Christ. In 1947 she preached that the miracles of Pentecost should be experienced today, claiming that Christians today are able to perform the same miracles as Jesus performed, and even greater miracles. "Every church should be experiencing the miracles of Pentecost. Every church should be seeing the healings of the Book of Acts" (Kathryn Kuhlman, cited from Jamie Buckingham, Daughter of Destiny, p. 104). She published a booklet entitled "The Lord’s Healing Touch."

Many of today’s Pentecostal-Charismatic leaders continue to promote the doctrine that healing is in the atonement. KENNETH COPELAND, popular Charismatic evangelist, states this idea in his paper:

"Sickness is of the devil ... God has never used sickness to discipline His children ... I don't care how old we are, it's His will to take us home healed, well, whole, and delivered" (Kenneth Copeland, quoted in Calvary Contender, Sept. 15, 1989).

Popular Pentecostal preacher KENNETH HAGIN, SR. (1917- ) has also taught a health-prosperity gospel. He says:

"Like salvation, healing is a gift, already paid for at Calvary. All we need to do is accept it. All we need to do is possess the promise that is ours. As children of God, we need to realize that healing belongs to us" (Hagin, Healing Belongs to Us, p. 32).

He further says: "God is glorified through healing and deliverance, not sickness and suffering" (Hagin, The Key to Scriptural Healing, p. 17).

Hagin’s influence has been phenomenal. Thousands of students have graduated from his Rhema Bible Training Center and have gone throughout the world planting churches patterned after his ministry. The stated purpose of Rhema is "to produce graduates who will carry forth the great charismatic renewal that God has sent into our time." His daily radio program is broadcast on more than 180 stations in the States and by short-wave to about 80 other countries. By the late 1980s, more than three million of his 85 books and a half million of his sermons on audio cassette were being distributed each year. His monthly Word of Faith magazine goes to 190,000 homes.

This philosophy of healing is also held by CHARLES AND FRANCIS HUNTER, who conduct healing seminars. In an article in Charisma magazine, "It's the Hour of the Believer," Francis Hunter is quoted as follows:

"The Bible does not leave any doubt. It does not say some of you, or just a few of you who believe; it simply says that all those who believe are going to be able to lay hands on the sick, and the sick are going to recover" (E.S. Caldwell, "It's the Hour of the Believer," Charisma, Oct. 1987, pp. 19-24).

Not all Pentecostal and Charismatic preachers believe exactly as Roberts or Copeland or the Hunters, and there are many variations on the healing theme. Some believe medicine should not be used; others recognize the value of medicine. It is a fact, though, that a large number of Pentecostal leaders both past and present claim that healing is in the atonement and is therefore promised by God.

Let me say up front that I do believe in divine healing. I believe in James 5:14-15:

"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."

This passage gives clear instruction for the sick in this church age. We believe in this, and we practice this, and we have seen God heal in answer to prayer. I have experienced healing in this way.

But note that these Bible instructions do not lend any support for a faith healing movement. The sick Christian is not instructed to attend a special healing meeting or to seek the services of a faith healer, but is to call for the leaders of his own church. Note, too, it is the sick person who is to take the initiative to seek the prayer of his church leaders. The emphasis is not on the gift of a faith healer, but on the prayers of humble church leaders.

I repeat, I believe in healing, but I do not believe in the Charismatic faith healing movement. It is not based on Scripture. There is no healing movement in Scripture. The Bible does not promise healing and perfect wholeness in this present time. The Bible does not instruct us to hold healing crusades.

Further, the Bible does not allow women to preach and usurp authority over men, but that is exactly what has been happening in the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement for more than a century. Women such as Phoebe Palmer, Carrie Judd Montgomery, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Aimee Semple McPherson, Maria Wing Robinson, and Kathryn Kuhlman and have played a major role in the movement. The Scriptures forbid this.

I do believe in divine healing. But I don't believe God always heals, and I don't believe that healing is in the atonement. I also believe that the Pentecostal-Charismatic healing movement has caused untold harm. Following are the reasons I say this:

Go to Part 2 of this article.