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“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
sends greetings to the twelve dispersed tribes”
(James 1:1).
The road to Glory-land is
not strewn with rose petals. It is not
always easy going. As Bunyan described
it … one day the Hill of Difficulty, another the Slough of Despond … another
the Giant’s Castle …
“No traveller ever reached that blest abode
Who found not
thorns and briars on the road …” (W. Cowper)
James, writing to dispersed Christian Jews (outside of Palestine)
examines this issue in the first chapter …
1. THE REASON
Why do we have to read a Rocky Road?
Because we live in a sinful world … and because our own hearts have that
bias toward sin.
“A man must not say when he is tempted, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, and does
not Himself tempt anyone. No, a man’s
temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which can be
enormously attractive. His own desire
takes hold of him, and that produces sin” (1:13-15).
“But what about the feuds and struggles that exist among you – where do
you suppose they come from? Can’t you
see that they arise from conflicting passions within yourselves? You crave for something and don’t get it you
are murderously jealous of what others have got and which you can’t possess
yourselves; you struggle and fight with
one another. You don’t get what you
want because you don’t ask God for it.
And when you do ask He doesn’t give it to you, for you ask in quite the
wrong spirit – you only want to satisfy your own desires” (4:1-3).
Whether on a global scale … or on a personal level … the root cause of
all our troubles and woes is sin …
Selfishness and Prayerlessness (4:2) and Covetousness (4:3), all make for trouble with a capital “T”.
2. THE REACTION
Brood over it? No! Pretend it’s not there? No!
Grin and bear it? No! Rejoice??
“When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my
brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!” (1:2).
As Paul puts it … “We GLORY in tribulation” – and GLORY does not spell
“GROWL”!
3. THE RESULT
God has a purpose in permitting us to encounter Life’s Rocky Road … two
lessons for us to learn:
(a) Stickability!
(1:3). Trials produce patient endurance … and that’s a
Christian virtue. Don’t be a “Chocolate
Soldier” who melts and runs away when the battle hots up!
(b) And “stickability”
produces “Spiritual Maturity” (1:4). Trials drive us closer to Him. We learn to rely on His strength. We realise that the “arm of flesh” will
fail. Life’s problems are not meant to
be stumbling blocks … but stepping-stones to spiritual maturity. As Warren Wiersbe puts it: “The Bumps are what you climb on!”
4. THE REWARD
Not only stickability and spiritual maturity … but a shining crown! To the one who battles on and does not give
up, there is a crown of life bye and bye (1:12) –
“The man who patiently endures the temptations and trials that come to him is the truly happy man. For once his testing is complete he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love Him.”
5. THE RE-INFORCEMENTS
… to help us along the Rocky Road :
(a) Prayer
James 1:5-8 reminds us that our God delights to hear our cry. He will give wisdom as to how to cope with
Life’s ‘bumps’.
But that “asking” must be sincere (vs. 6-7).
(b) The Lantern of God’s
Word
… helps us dodge the pit-falls (James 1:21-25; Psalm 119:105).
But if we fail to study it … or do what it says (1:22), we may not reach
the end of the Rocky Road. It is
possible to be self-deceived (1:26).
“And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to
meet any particular problem he has only to ask God – Who gives generously to all
men without making them feel foolish or guilty – and he may be quite sure that
the necessary wisdom will be given him.
But he must ask in sincere faith without secret doubts as to whether he
really wants God’s help or not. The man
who trusts God, but with inward reservations, is like a wave of the sea,
carried forward by the wind one moment and driven back the next. That sort of man cannot hope to receive
anything from the Lord, and the life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal
instability at every turn” (1:5-8).
“Don’t I beg you, only hear the message, but put it into practice; otherwise you are merely deluding
yourselves. The man who simply hears
and does nothing about it is like a man catching the reflection of his own face
in a mirror. He sees himself, it is
true, but he goes on with whatever he was doing without the slightest
recollection of what sort or person he saw in the mirror … he deceives himself
and we may be sure that his religion is useless” (1:22-26).
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In chapter 1 James warned us about the dangerous “Rocky Road” we were
travelling to Heaven.
In chapter 2 he will remind us that some folk deceive themselves (1:26),
thinking their destination is assured when the opposite is true. Not everybody
who says, “Lord! Lord!” is going to
make it, said the Lord Jesus … and James adds his inspired comments to the
subject.
There is a “Faith”, he says quite plainly, that is futile. It does not save!! “It isn’t enough just to have faith…” (2:17).
1. THE CONFUSION THAT
EXISTS
Isn’t James contradicting Paul?
Even Martin Luther rejected the teaching of this Epistle!!
Paul says that we are saved “by grace, through faith … not of works”
(Ephesians 2:8-9). It is “not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy” that we enter
into His salvation (Titus 3:5). That’s
what Paul says. But James says :
“A man is justified before God by what he does
as well as by what he believes” (v. 24).
“Yes, faith without action is as dead as a body
without a soul” (v. 26).
2. THE SOLUTION THAT
EXPLAINS
It has been well said that Paul and James are not fighting face to face,
but back to back! They have differing
enemies to combat … and even differing uses of the word ‘faith’.
(a) Paul wages war with those who think they can
save themselves by their own efforts.
“Impossible,” says Paul.
James wages war with those who consider mental assent to the Christian
faith will save … but they place no importance on holy living.
(b) When Paul speaks of ‘Faith’ he is
speaking of an active, living trust in Christ that proves its reality by the
way it is put into practice. It is “unto
good works” (Ephesians 2:10).
But James uses the word … and even calls it a ‘dead faith’ (v. 26) … a
faith that produces no outworking … in contrast to Paul’s LIVING faith. Just like our English word ‘believe’ can
mean ‘trust’ (Paul’s emphasis) or it can mean ‘mental assent’, James’ emphasis). And mere mental assent to the doctrines of
Christianity does not save.
“Now what use is it, my brothers, for a man to say he ‘has faith’ if his
actions do not correspond with it?
Could that sort of faith save anyone’s soul?” (2:14).
Note the “that sort”.
Faith (as Paul uses the word) does save. It proves its reality by works. But not so the type of which James speaks.
3. THE ILLUSTRATIONS THAT
ENLIGHTEN
It’s not what we say … but what we DO … that demonstrates the reality of
our faith. Too many believers have a
‘poor lean’ faith (2:14) instead of a Pauline faith!
James illustrates this with five folk :
(a) The Sycophant
… the fawning follower who hopes
to benefit by his showing favouritism.
“Don’t ever attempt, my brothers, to combine snobbery with faith in our
glorious Lord Jesus Christ! Suppose one
man comes into your meeting well-dressed and with a gold ring on his finger,
and another man, obviously poor, arrives in shabby clothes. If you pay special attention to the
well-dressed man by saying, ‘Please sit here – it’s an excellent seat’, and say
to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, please, or if you must sit, sit on the
floor’, doesn’t that prove that you are making class-distinctions in your mind,
and setting yourselves up to assess a man’s quality? – a very bad thing” (vs.1-4).
Jesus died for all … red and yellow, black and white … and rich and
poor. Partiality reveals a carnal
rather than a Christlike outlook.
(b) The Disobedient
Those who break “the Law of Liberty” (KJV), reveal a lack of love for,
and trust in, the One Who died to save them.
“If you obey the royal law, expressed by the scripture, ‘Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself’, all is well.
But once you allow any invidious distinctions to creep in, you are sinning,
you have broken God’s law”
(vs. 8-9).
(c) The Patriarch
“Think of Abraham, our ancestor.
Wasn’t it his action which really justified him in God’s sight when his
faith led him to offer his son Isaac on the altar? Can’t you see that his faith and his actions were, so to speak,
partners – that his faith was implemented by his deed? That is what the scripture means when it
says: And Abraham believed God, and it
was reckoned unto him for righteousness;
and he was called the friend of God” (vs. 21-23).
Abraham proved the reality of his faith by obeying God. To say, “Yes, God, I believe” would not have
brought God’s favour to him!
(d) The Innkeeper
“Rahab, who was a prostitute and a foreigner, has been quoted as an
example of faith, yet surely it was her action that pleased God, when she
welcomed Joshua’s reconnoitring party and sent them safely back by a different
route” (v. 25).
Likewise, Rahab. She believed
the spies were God’s men … and her faith was vindicated by the fact that she
hid them from the enemy. The ‘proof of the pudding is in the eating’ … and the
proof of our trusting is in our doing…
(e) The Demons
“To the man who thinks that faith by itself is enough I feel inclined to
say, ‘So you believe that there is one God?
That’s fine. So do all the
devils in hell, and shudder in terror!’ For, my dear short-sighted man, can’t
you see far enough to realise that faith without the right actions is dead and
useless?” (vs 18-20).
Even the demons could pass a Theology exam! But the faith that saves is not mere mental assent … it is a
faith that proves its genuineness by the way it behaves!
Amen!
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Studies in James –
Number 3
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… and that’s what James 3 is all about!
For that matter, every chapter of James has something to say about our
speech!! (1:19, 26; 2:2, 12, 18; 4:11, 16; 5:12.)
In chapter 2 we noted that our faith must be vindicated by what we DO …
now we see that it must be vindicated by what we SAY!!
The big problem in the church today may not be ‘Tongues’ but ‘the
tongue’!
1. SIX FIGURES OF ‘SPEECH’
(a) The Bit in the Horse’s
Mouth
That little thing in the horse’s mouth can control its direction. Unbridled, it can wreak untold damage. And an unbridled tongue can do the same.
“Men control the movements of a large animal like the horse with a tiny bit placed in its mouth” (v. 3).
No wonder David prayed as he did … Psalm 39:1.
(b) The Rudder of a Ship
“Ships too, for all their size and the momentum they have with a strong
wide behind them, are controlled by a very small rudder according to the course
chosen by the helmsman” (v. 4).
(c) A Spark in the Forest
“The human tongue is physically small, but what tremendous effects it
can boast of! A whole forest can be set
ablaze by a tiny spark of fire, and the tongue is as dangerous as any fire,
with vast potentialities for evil” (vs. 5-6).
A hasty word can cause an inferno of mental anguish.
(d) A Poison in the Body
“It can poison the whole body ...
It is an evil always liable to break out, and the poison it spreads is
deadly” (vs. 6, 8).
(e) An Animal in the Circus
“Beasts, birds, reptiles and all kinds of sea-creatures can be, and in
fact are, tamed by man, but no one can tame the human tongue” (v. 7).
Man can tame all kings of wild beasts to perform at his bidding … but no
man, without God’s help, can tame the tongue!
(f) A Spring in the Valley
“We use the tongue to bless our Father, God, and we use the same tongue
to curse our fellow-men, who are all created in God’s likeness. Blessing and curses come out of the same
mouth – surely, my brothers, this is the sort of thing that never ought to
happen! Have you even known a spring to
give sweet and bitter water simultaneously?
Have you ever seen a fig-tree with a crop of olives, or seen figs
growing on a vine? It is just as
impossible for a spring to give fresh and salt water at the same time” (vs. 9-11).
Just as the same spring does not bring forth pure and contaminated
water, neither should the tongue.
And just as the water that flows depends for its purity upon the source,
so, too, does that which we speak. A
clean heart will bring forth wholesome speech.
“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh”, said the Lord Jesus in Matthew 12:34.
The trouble with man is that he needs a “new heart” (Ezekiel 18:31), and
that will solve (or should solve) the ‘tongue’ problem!
2. SIX TYPES OF TONGUES
(a) The Critical
(Judgmental) Tongue
“Don’t make complaints against each other in the meantime, by brothers – you may be the one at fault yourself. The Judge Himself is already at the door” (5:9).
“Never pull each other to pieces, my brothers. If you do you are judging your brother and
setting yourself up in the place of God’s Law”
(4:11).
(b) The Gossiping Tongue
“Don’t criticize and SPEAK EVIL …” (4:11). The Book of Proverbs has
much to say about talebearers (26:20, 22).
(c) The Hypocritical Tongue
This speaks like a believer … but lip and life fail to agree! (James 2:15-16.)
(d) The Boastful Tongue
“Are there some wise and understanding men among you? Then your lives will be an example of the
humility that is born of true wisdom.
But if your heart is full of rivalry and bitter jealousy, then do not
boast of your wisdom” (3:13-14).
Realise any wisdom you may have is God-given, so don’t boast.
(e) The Talkative Tongue
Be “slow to speak …” (1:19).
(f) The Wise Tongue
“Utterly pure, then peace-loving, gentle, approachable, full of tolerant
thoughts and kindly actions, with no breath of favouritism or hint of
hypocrisy” (3:17).
“Show me your tongue,” says the doctor.
So does the Great Physician … your tongue is an indication of your
spiritual health … James 1:26 !! (Read it
again.)
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“Be humble then before God. But resist the devil and you’ll find he’ll run away from
you. Come close to God and He will come
close to you. Realise that you have
sinned and get your hands clean again.
Realise that you have been disloyal and get your hearts made true once
more. As you come close to God you
should be deeply sorry, you should be grieved, you should even be in
tears. Your laughter will have to
become mourning, your high spirits will have to become heartfelt
dejection. You will have to feel very
small in the sight of God before He will set you on your feet once more” (4:7-10).
“Submit yourselves … to God” is how the KJV puts it.
“Bow
down before Him, the Lord is His Name” is
how J.S.B. Monsell expressed it in his hymn.
James is speaking to
believers … but many of them have a HEAD faith instead of a HEART faith.
In chapter 1 that true Faith is proven by the way it stands up to
trials.
In chapters 2 and 3 the reality of one’s faith is shown by what it does
(chapter 2) and what is said (chapter 3).
Now James states that the reality of our faith will be seen by our
submissiveness to God. Who is on the
heart’s throne … God or Self?
Note the three sins James zeroes in on :
1. SELFISHNESS … 4:1-6
The ‘Me-first’ attitude is the root cause of troubles … when people want
their own way rather than submit to others … or to God.
“But what about the feuds and struggles that exist among you – where do you suppose they come from? Can’t you see that they arise from conflicting passions within yourselves? You crave for something and don’t get it; you are murderously jealous of what others have got and which you can’t possess yourselves; you struggle and fight with one another. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And when you do ask He doesn’t give it to you, for you ask in quite the wrong spirit – you only want to satisfy your own desires.
“You are like unfaithful wives, flirting with the glamour of this world,
and never realising that to be the world’s lover means becoming the enemy of
God!” (4:1-4)
That’s what it is all about … this matter of being a Christian … WHO
takes the pre-eminent place in my life?
Is the Lord Jesus LORD?
Or does Self still usurp His rightful throne?
2. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS …
4:11-12
“Never pull each other to pieces, my brothers. If you do you are judging your brother and
setting yourself up in the place of God’s Law;
you have become in fact a critic of the Law. Yet if you start to criticise the Law instead of obeying it you
are setting yourself up as judge, and there is only one Judge, the One Who gave
the Law, to Whom belongs absolute power of life and death. How can you then be so silly as to imagine
that you are your neighbour’s judge?”
In setting oneself up as judge, one is putting oneself in the place of
God. He alone can see the heart. There
are times when we are called upon to discern false teaching (Matthew
24:24), but we cannot judge whether an action sprung from a worthy or selfish
motive. We cannot see the heart.
Submit to Him … and leave the matter of judging in His hands. So often the tares and the wheat look the
same outwardly …
3. SELF-SUFFICIENCY … vs.
13-16
“Just a moment, now, you who say, ‘We are going to such-and-such a city today or tomorrow. We shall stay there a year doing business and making a profit’! How do you know what will happen even tomorrow? What, after all, is your life? It is like a puff of smoke visible for a little while and then dissolving into thin air. Your remarks should be prefaced with, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we shall still be alive and will do so-and-so.’ As it is, you get a certain pride in yourself in planning your future with such confidence. That sort of pride is all wrong.”
We are here reminded that there are those who leave God out of their
plans.
Like the Rich Fool who was unprepared when Death knocked on his door
(Luke 12:20).
We should recognise that :
Today is
mine … tomorrow may not come,
I may not
see the rising of the sun;
When
evening falls, my work may all be done –
Today is
mine, tomorrow may not come!
It is still true that man proposes, but God disposes.
Submission to God and His plan for one’s life is the crying need for
James’ readers … and us !
I had a little
tea-party
this afternoon at
three,
‘twas very small …
three guests in all,
just I, Myself and
Me.
Myself ate all the
sandwiches,
while I drank up the
tea;
‘twas also I
who ate the pie,
and passed the cake
to me.
Too many people conduct their lives on the cafeteria system …
self-service only!
“Be humble then before God. But
resist the devil.” (4:7).
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“Faith is the victory that overcomes the world …” sings the hymnist … basing his thoughts on I
John 5:4.
And James is about to confront us with three more sins that a real faith
will enable us to get the victory over … In verses 13-18 of chapter 5 he deals
with prayer for the sick … call, he says, for the elders (not some faith
healer!), and get them to pray :
“If any of you is in trouble
let him pray. If anyone is flourishing
let him sing praises to God. If anyone
is ill he should send for the church elders.
They should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name. Believing prayer will save the sick
man; the Lord will restore him and any
sins he has committed will be forgiven.
You should get into the habit of admitting your sins to each other, and
praying for each other, so that if sickness comes to you you may be healed.
“Tremendous power is made available through a good man’s earnest prayer. Do you remember Elijah? He was a man like us but he prayed earnestly that it should not rain. In fact, not a drop fell on the land for three and a half years. Then he prayed again, the heavens gave the rain and the earth sprouted with vegetation as usual.”
James’ words are far removed from some of the extreme teachings found in
charismatic circles today.
Of course, we should pray for the sick.
It may be that the patient here mentioned is a special case … one who
has been afflicted by God as punishment for some sin in his life (note verse
15). Nowhere does the Bible PROMISE healing for every Christian … not until we
get to Glory will we be perfectly delivered from such woe.
James introduces us to three sins …
1. SINS OF OMISSION … 4:17
“Well, remember that if a man knows what is right and
fails to do it, his failure is a real sin.”
We can sin by what we do
… chapter 2:17
We can sin by what we say
… chapter 3
We can sin by what we think … a selfish attitude … chapter 4
And we can sin by what we do not do … 4:17
Like the Priest and the Levite who ignored the plight of the Jericho
traveller (Luke 10:31-32).
Like the servant who buried his talent (Matthew 25:14-30).
Like the clan of Meroz who refused to help their brethren in the battle
aginst the Caananites (Judges 5:23)!!
Read it.
We can sin by what we do not do … and we can sin by what we do not say!
To see a soul straying from the Lord and make no effort to win that one
back to Him is sin …
“My brothers, if any of you should wander away from the truth and another should turn him back on to the right path, then the latter may be sure that in turning a man back from his wandering course he was rescued a soul from death, and his loving action will ‘cover a multitude of sins’.” (5:19-20).
One is reminded of the watchman who failed to sound the alarm when the judgment was coming upon the city. The city fell … and the watchman was held responsible. Likewise the child of God who says nothing to warn the unsaved of the doom awaiting them (Ezekiel 33:1-9). Read it.
2. SIN OF OPPRESSION …
5:1-6
“And now, you plutocrats, is
the time for you to weep and moan because of the miseries in store for
you! Your richest goods are ruined,
your hoard of clothes is moth-eaten, your gold and silver are tarnished. Yes, their very tarnish will be the evidence
of your wicked hoarding and you will shrink from them as if they were
red-hot. You have made a fine pile in
these last days, haven’t you? But look,
here is the pay of the reaper you hired and whom you cheated, and it is
shouting out against you! And the cries
of the other labourers you swindled are heard by the Lord of Hosts
Himself. Yes, you have had a
magnificent time on this earth, and have indulged yourselves to the full. You have picked out just what you wanted
like soldiers looting after battle. You
have condemned and ruined innocent men in your career, and they have been
powerless to stop you.”
The ruthless rich slave-owners come in for a blast from James’ pen. They
were probably not among the readers of this Epistle, but the Christians who did
read it, poor and oppressed, were comforted by it.
It is not that being rich is a sin … it is making a god out of riches …
letting money control you instead of you controlling it. These rich men
‘cheated’ their slaves, they were ruthless in their business deals (vs. 4,
6). But their judgment is fast
approaching!
“But be patient, my brothers, as you wait for the Lord
to come. Look at the farmer quietly
awaiting his precious harvest. See how
he has to possess his soul in patience till the land has had the early and late
rains. So must you be patient, resting
your hearts on the ultimate certainty.
The Lord’s coming is very near” (vs. 7-8). (Possibly a reference to AD 70).
“For our example of the patient endurance of suffering
we can take the prophets who have spoken in the Lord’s name. Remember that it is usually those who have
patiently endured to whom we accord the word ‘blessed’. You have heard of Job’s patient endurance
and how God dealt with him in the end, and therefore you have seen that the
Lord is merciful and full of understanding pity for us men” (vs. 10-11).
Three examples … the Farmer (v. 7), the Prophets (vs. 10-11a), and Job
(v. 11b), all remind James’ readers to ‘hang in there’ … God will ultimately
act and they will be blessed!
3. SIN OF OATH-TAKING … v.
12
The Jews of the first century had devised a system of oath-taking … if
you swore by God it was binding; but if
you swore by Jerusalem or Heaven, etc., it was not binding. A bit like the kid who makes a promise with
his fingers crossed behind his back.
James says straightforward honesty is what the Lord requires of His
followers.
“It is of the highest importance, my brothers, that you speech should be free from oaths (whether they are ‘by’ heaven or earth or anything else). Your yes should be a plain yes, and your no a plain no, and then you cannot go wrong in the matter.”
And in that he is simply echoing the words of Jesus – Matthew 5:33-37.
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Sins of omission … of oppression … and oath-taking that is intended to deceive … it is a strong faith fixed in the Lord Jesus that will give us the victory over them!
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READ James 5:14-18………….
“If any of you is in trouble let him pray. If anyone is flourishing let him sing
praises to God. If anyone is ill he
should send for the church elders. They
should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name. Believing prayer will save the sick man; the Lord will restore him and any sins he
has committed will be forgiven. You
should get into the habit of admitting your sins to each other, and praying for
each other, so that if sickness comes to you you may be healed.
Here is one of the most controversial passages of Scripture: Charismatics say one thing, Roman Catholics
another, and even Evangelicals come up with a number of differing
interpretations!
1. JAMES IS NOT SPEAKING
OF ‘EXTREME UNCTION’
Roman Catholics base their doctrine of the ‘Last Rites’ on these
verses. James is not talking about
preparing someone for death … but getting them well again!
2. JAMES IS NOT SAYING
ALL HEALING IS FROM GOD
Some is. Nobody is denying that
God can heal today. But Satan is able
to work miracles (Revelation 13:13-14).
And sicknesses caused by the mind can be healed by the mind. This is called ‘psycho-somatic’. There is
natural healing, such as when a cut finger eventually returns to normal.
3. JAMES IS NOT SAYING
IT IS WRONG TO USE MEANS
(i.e. Medicines)
See Matthew 9:12. And I Timothy
5:23.
Some scholars even consider the ‘oil’ of James 5:14 to be medicinal
treatment rather than a symbolic act.
See the Good News Bible, eg.
4. JAMES IS NOT SAYING
ALL SICKNESS IS THE IMMEDIATE
RESULT OF SOME SPECIFIC
SIN
Sometimes God may punish His erring children with sickness (I
Corinthians 11:30), but sickness may also result from other causes.
5. JAMES IS NOT SAYING
THAT HEALING DEPENDS UPON THE
FAITH OF THE SICK
PERSON
It is the faith of the elders who are praying! (5:14-15).
‘Healing’ evangelists who blame the sick for lack of faith when the
healing does not take place need to chew over this one!
6. IT IS NOT CHRISTIAN TO
TELL THE SICK THAT GOD IS
GOING TO HEAL THEM
There is nothing more pitiful to see than hope-filled wheel-chair cases
go out of these ‘Miracle Rallies’ the same as they went in! There is nothing in
the New Testament about the Apostles holding ‘healing’ services … let alone seminars on ‘How to Heal !’ !!
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(a) What to do if you are
sick
James tells us to get the church leaders to pray for us.
(b) Where to do it
Not in some emotion-packed rally, but at the bedside.
(c) How to do it
Here is the KEY to this whole matter.
It is the ‘prayer of FAITH’ that will see results. It is only possible
to pray such a prayer if we know it is God’s will to heal that person,
ref. I John 5:14. Nowhere in the New Testament does God promise unconditional
healing to all believers.
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