Healing and Evangelism
Acts 5:12-16

Many who are familiar with the teachings of John Calvin may not be aware of his physical struggles. A host of ailments plagued the Swiss Reformer throughout his life. One writer summed up Calvin's health like this: "He suffered from painful stomach cramps, intestinal influenza, and recurring migraine headaches. He was subject to a persistent onslaught of fevers that would often lay him up for weeks at a time. He experienced problems with his trachea, in addition to pleurisy, gout, and colic. He was especially susceptible to hemorrhoids, which were aggravated by an internal abscess that would not heal. He suffered from severe arthritis and acute pain in his knees, calves, and feet. Other maladies included an infection of his kidney that produced acute, chronic inflammation, gallstones, and kidney stones. He once passed a kidney stone so large that it tore the urinary canal and led to excessive bleeding."

Our Epistle lesson for this Feast of St. Bartholomew speaks to the issue of divine healing. Does Acts 5:12-16 set a permanent standard for the Church's healing ministry? We want to probe that question along with the subject of evangelism. First healing. St. Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, writes, "And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities of Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed" (Acts 5:12, 15-16).

To what extent should we expect to see church life in the first century repeated in the twenty-first century? Is everything that happened then applicable now? Should we desire mass healings on a scale that we read about here? Our passage describes an amazing scene. The early church gathered in a place called "Solomon's Porch" or Solomon's colonnade. The colonnade was a long passageway located on the East side of the Temple. This is where St. Bartholomew and the others preached, cured illnesses, and spent much time in prayer and fellowship. Yet the healing activity of the apostles was not confined to the Temple but took place here and there throughout the city. New believers brought their loved ones into the streets in the hope that Peter's shadow might fall on them and bring relief. Public interest mounted to a high pitch. People started arriving from outside of Jerusalem, bringing their friends for healing. Through the apostles God poured out abundant signs and wonders. All were healed. Is the situation of Acts 5 normative for the Church of all ages? Students of the Bible are divided on this point. Some believe that "if it was good enough for Peter, it's good enough for me!" Others insist that much of what we see in Acts was temporary and transitional; and God's purpose for the contemporary church differs from His purpose for the early church. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Let's consider the extremes. A few leaders involved in the early days of Pentecostalism opposed the use of physicians and medicine. According to them, it is never God's will for a Christian to stay sick. Besides that, to depend on doctors and medication revealed a lack of faith in the healing power of Jesus. A pastor named Hobart Freeman is a case in point. He wrote: "To claim healing for the body and then to continue to take medicine is not following our faith with corresponding actions. One should settle the matter beforehand; if we have faith that God will keep His Word and heal us, then we will not need to keep our medicines and remedies around 'just in case.'"

Freeman accused Christians who got sick and died as guilty of lack of faith. He went so far as to forbid his followers to wear eyeglasses. Some members of his Faith Assembly group threw away their glasses and claimed to still pass their driving tests. Yet outsiders noticed these same people squinting to read their Bibles. Ironically, pastor Freeman himself suffered from a withered leg. While a child a bout of polio shriveled his right leg to the point that he was forced to wear a special riser in order to walk. Yet nobody dared to suggest that Freeman might be guilty of lack of faith.

The ultimate tragedy is that by the end of 1984 the number of documented deaths at Faith Assembly had risen to 90. Most of them who died were infants and young children. Virtually all of these victims could have survived had they received medical help. Freeman himself died at the age of 64 because he refused to seek the assistance of a physician.

On the opposite end of the spectrum lies another extreme. Some churches have shunned the Bible's healing rituals altogether. In reaction to the excesses of television preachers, and combining a low view of the sacraments with an over-rationalization of the faith, they have abandoned the Church's healing practices of anointing with oil, laying on of hands in prayer, and receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. They offer prayers for the sick and dying, and that is good, but they don't see the value of the other means of grace for assisting ailing, suffering people in the local church.

We asked the question at the beginning, is the kind of healing we read about in Acts five normative for all ages? Should we expect the same frequency and magnitude of signs and wonders that the apostles performed in their time? Probably not. Verse 16 says that the apostles healed "all." They healed one and all. There were no exceptions. Every single person experienced instantaneous and complete deliverance from a grave condition. Every healing was indisputable. Can the same be said for today's healing revivals? No. The healings are uncertain and sporadic. They don't compare. Furthermore, the apostles are no longer with us, and miracles seemed to cluster around them.

Having said that, Jesus still is present by His Holy Spirit in the Church. Miraculous healings are possible, especially where an atmosphere of pervasive unbelief or false religion calls for a power encounter. As Christian missionaries break into pagan lands major confrontations with demons have erupted, and God sometimes uses spectacular healings to vindicate the Gospel. The Lord occasionally uses exorcisms and astounding healings so that the Church may conquer witchdoctors, voodoo, Hinduism and similar enemies of the Gospel. These supernatural acts have attended missionary advancement throughout Church history.

What are some other principles of healing? We should never believe that sickness is due to the sufferer's lack of faith. The book of Job pretty much debunks that myth. We only need think of the testimonies of such people as John Calvin at the Reformation, or Joni Earickson Tada in our time. God never granted them physical restoration. Did they lack faith? Of course not!

Despite his sicknesses John Calvin maintained an exhausting preaching schedule. He would often strain his voice so severely that violent fits of coughing ensued. Much of his study and writing he carried on while bedridden. In the final few years of his life he had to be carried to work. Days before his death he wrote: "I thank God that He has shown me mercy, and put up with my sins and weaknesses and given me grace to serve Him through my work." It seems that pain drove him to the comfort that only God can supply. His illness compelled him to rely on the sufficiency of divine grace in a way he otherwise never would have. God thus allows suffering to be a means of grace.

A couple more things about healing can be said. All healing comes from God. That's right. The Lord works through pills and surgeons and exercise and good diet just as much as He works through prayer. God heals in many ways and we should pursue all the paths available to us. If you are obese, healing may come from your decision to change your diet and to exercise more. It is God who gives you the strength to stay with a regimen that will restore your health. If you need surgery, your healing may come from God's gift of knowledgeable, skilled surgeons who will physically correct the problem. The nurse who comforts and cares for you, the therapist who helps you regain lost skills, and even the people who assist with your most basic needs are living out Christ's admonition to love thy neighbor as thyself. Many times healing means the acceptance of an irreversible physical condition. Sometimes healing comes through death. After death, God promises you a glorified body. Never again will sickness afflict you in your eternal relationship with the Lord.

Next, why should the ill ignore the power of the Eucharist? As Anglicans we believe that Holy Communion received in faith has a sanctifying and healing potency to it. Moreover, prayers in conjunction with the laying on of hands and anointing of oil are biblical ceremonies (1 John 5:14-16). God uses these rituals. Most importantly, ask God to heal you. Request the prayers of others. Prayer speeds healing, and shows awe for God's involvement in your life.

Active involvement in the Church is another factor. Church attendance enhances healing. Loners who isolate themselves from the church are always at greater risk of sickness. Nor do they heal as speedily as those who enjoy the group support of other believers. Something else: the kind of people you associate with affects your health. Positive, hopeful, life-giving people will encourage health in you. In the same way, angry, bitter, blaming people will create stress in your life, robbing you of health.

Let's turn to another theme in our text. The growth of the early Church stands out and calls for comment. Deacon Randy Pierpoint, Mark Talley, and I attended the Evangelism and Church Growth conference in Houston a week ago. Some very good information and ideas were presented. What does our text say about evangelism? At first glance there seems to be a contradiction. Verse 13 says, "none of the rest dared join them" Nobody wanted to join the Church. Then in verse 14 it states, "And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women." What was it? Did none join them, or did increasing multitudes get added? It appears that the first statement refers to persons who did not want to join the apostles after the Ananias and Sapphira incident. You will remember that Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). They claimed to St. Peter that they had sold their possessions and given everything to the Church when in reality they had only given a portion. Both of them died because of their deceit. This episode had just occurred, creating an atmosphere of fear that caused some people to back off from the apostles. On the other hand, "the people esteemed the apostles highly" and "believers were increasingly added to the Lord" (Acts 5:13-14). As John Stott notes, "This paradoxical situation has often recurred since then. The presence of the living God, whether manifest through preaching or miracles or both, is alarming to some and appealing to others."

So both statements are true. In the midst of people's natural fear of joining, God continued to work, and a steady stream of men and women believed the Gospel and were added. The growth of the early Church challenges us today.

Is St. Luke's thriving in this way? Do we see a steady stream of people coming to the Lord for salvation and joining the parish? By and large no. Something is wrong. The spectacular, circus-like healings of Acts 5 may not be normative for today, we can squeeze out of that demand, but it is harder to avoid the early church's evangelism. That part of our passage does continue and gives the Reformed Episcopal Church a permanent example to follow. We must learn how to do evangelism. This is Bishop Grote's desire for us and that is why he hosted the conference. Should we rely entirely on church-hoppers and disgruntled Episcopalians to give us growth? No, that is unwise.

In the upcoming days and weeks I hope to present to the Outreach Committee and everybody else some steps we can take to improve our evangelism at St. Luke's. An evangelism course called Credo was presented in Houston. Credo was developed by Bishop Lindsay Urwin. He is an Anglican bishop somewhere near London. The Credo format is similar to the Alpha course. There is a meal, followed by a video presentation, and then a small group discussion time. The theology of Credo seems to be much better than Alpha. The content of Credo is more grounded in Church history, the sacraments, and an Anglican ethos.

I'm excited about this program, and some other ideas as well. Acts 5:14 pictures the saving power of God that should take place in every parish: "And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women." By God's mercy that scene can play out at St. Luke's. Let us work for it and yearn for it. We will ratchet up the evangelistic thrust, and if the Lord is pleased, He will give the growth.

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