James 5:14:NASB:
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

This scripture has been on my mind a lot. It is one I have heard preached a lot about but seldom practiced. And this bothers me.

Anointing with oil. Kind of humiliating is it not to ask for the elders to come and have them anoint me?! But it says that if you are sick you must call for them...it does not say you should ask everyone and their friend to pray for you BUT ask for the elders! Are we missing something by our improvision of this concept of praying for each other? I wonder...

(A relative of mine was told today she has cancer in her lymph nodes. I visited with her and encouraged her to go for anointing. She recognized the scripture but said it would be kind of humiliating to do so! My sister, her mother, said well, that is what is needed!)

I am on this journey like most people - and I have questions...Does this mean we should make prayer for our infirmities by the elders a first priority instead of running to the doctor?

I did a brief search on the web by posting this scripture and once again get more opinions then solid Biblical exegesis.

What do you all think? What has the LORD shown you concerning your obedience to this scripture?

ginnyrose

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Sandra Miller

We can see in Mark 6:13, 'And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

It said they anointed many, not all. We should be careful of using scripture as a placebo for every ailment. What I mean is, whether or not they are anointed with oil, they might or might not get healed.

In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us when we fast, to anoint our heads with oil. I've never done this. Is this disobedience, or is Jesus telling us to not have the physical appearance of fasting?

I've seen people anointed with oil, some got healed, some did not, some died.

Concerning the elders, are they men who fast as well as pray?

I say this, because it does affect our faith in God, and how seriously we view His word. We can pour on all the oil we want, it won't make any difference.

Well, this is not biblical exegesis, but I hope it's not too much opinion.

God bless.

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed." (James 5:13-16).

These scriptures are very clear that even one that has not been to seminary and been talked out of the simple truths in the Word of God can understand them.

I am not against Christians going to doctors, although men like John G. Lake taught that it was a sin to go to the arm of the flesh for healing.

The point is that most Christians go seeking the help of doctors and medicine as a first priority before going to God. If the Lord is leading us to go get medical help, then by all means get it, but at least we ought to go to God first about the matter before seeking the help of man.

Christians that have been taught that healing is not for today but has passed away are at a distinct disadvantage because the Word of God says that the prayer of faith shall heal the sick. There is no healing power in the anointing oil, but the oil symbolizes the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only one that can heal through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. If Christians would be well grounded in the scriptures on healing then there would faith to believe God to receive the healing that He has provided for them. To believe God for physical healing is no different that believing HIm for forgiveness of sins because both forgivenss and healing are provided for in the atonement according to Isaiah 53. Andrew Murray and A.B. Simpson have some excellent teachings on healing.

Mike

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Mike

Anointing with oil.

The idea of anointing anyone with oil for any reason is strange to us moderns unless you are familiar with the WORD.

It was common in the OT for men to be anointed with oil when they were commissioned to be king. Remember the time God sent Samuel on two anointing trips: the first to anoint Saul king and then later David. The anointing with oil was an act of commissioning a person to a task in the future. Is this always the case, even when a sick person is anointed?

Consider what is promised in the following verses: and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Prayer, confession of sins, and faith are all components involved in this process.

I recall when Jesus healed privately, he always said "Thy sins be forgiven thee." To Him this was more important then the healing itself, apparently.

Personally, as I look at illnesses, I know the body reacts to abuses it encounters and there is a breakdown as a result. When I asked for anointing I was very much aware of this component and sensed I must make lifestyle changes. In so doing and knowing what they are, I feel empowered to make those changes. And it is working. But this is my personal experience and that is not the proper way to interpret Scripture - through my own experience.

As we see the economies of the world crumbling I wonder how long it will be before medical help will be beyond the economic reach of most people? and if that is the case, how many people would resort to anointing and prayer for healing? Is financial affluence a hindrance in seeing the results as promised in verse 15?


QUOTE:
"Concerning the elders, are they men who fast as well as pray?"

Hmmm. Interesting question...Perhaps this is an issue that needs to be more seriously considered.


QUOTE:
"I say this, because it does affect our faith in God, and how seriously we view His word. We can pour on all the oil we want, it won't make any difference."

True.

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Sandra Miller

Ginny,

I agree with you that many times the sickness or disease that we are dealing with is the result of some area of our lifestyle that needs to be changed, and the Lord is faithful to reveal these things to us if we are seeking Him for wisdom. There are many Chritians that are sick and weak because of not discerning the Lord's Body as well as unconfessed sin. There are many Christians that are sick because of not having a proper diet,lack of exercise, or not getting enough sleep. We cannot expect God to heal us unless we are willing to do some of the basics in maintaining a healthy body. I know of several Christian men that died of lung cancer because they refused to quit smoking.

Mike

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Mike

My grandfather was very sick couple of years ago. He asked the pastor and deacons to pray for him and anoint him with oil. They did, in the church. My grandpa was healed!

Praise be to God.

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Vlad Stepanov

2Ki 1:2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.

2Ki 1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?

2Ch 16:12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.

Luk 4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

There is gift of miraculous healing for the church apart from healing through medical science if one will have trust, if one will persist in prayer, if one will preserve the biblical eldership, if one will seek after righteousness
(imparted aside from imputed), if one will take the words of James worthily.

QUOTE:
"if one will have trust, if one will persist in prayer, if one will preserve the biblical eldership, if one will seek after righteousness'

I have been thinking a lot along these lines....

Under OT law the priests were the medical experts, if you want to call them that. They were the ones who could determine whether one was unclean because of a disease or an infection and when to determine he had recovered to render him clean.

On the surface to render a body unclean sounds cruel. But we do the same when someone has a contagious disease: we limit contact with others, we use proper sanitation methods to confine it.

The priest were the ones who were taught to determine the seriousness of a disease and were to take appropriate action. God made this law to preserve his people, to prevent epidemics that kill. How wise is He! And how many years did it take modern science to catch up with this knowledge and promote this same principle?

Anyhow - back to the priests. If they were godly they enjoyed the esteem of the people because of the authority invested in them by God. I am wondering if the modern church would not have more credibility if its leadership would exercise similar wisdom in assisting their people. Just wondering....

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Sandra Miller

QUOTE:
"My grandfather was very sick couple of years ago. He asked the pastor and deacons to pray for him and anoint him with oil. They did, in the church. My grandpa was healed!"

Praise the LORD! I know this reinforced your faith!

Sunday night a lady shared how a pastors wife in FL was diagnosed with melanoma. The doctors said they could give her chemo that would take a year, leave her feeling like she had the flu all year long but could not promise her a recovery. AND it would cost $70,000.00! They opted not to go this route. Instead they decided to have an anointing and leave it in God's hands. They did and she was healed and never had a relapse since! This was six years ago and she is doing well as far as I know. (I personally know this lady, have known her since we were teens.)

God still heals. Sometimes the victims live on here in fine health and other times they get their eternal reward early! In either case God gets the glory - he will not share it with another man! Isaiah 42:8:"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another..."

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Sandra Miller

"Christians that have been taught that healing is not for today but has passed away are at a distinct disadvantage because the Word of God says that the prayer of faith shall heal the sick. There is no healing power in the anointing oil, but the oil symbolizes the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only one that can heal through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ."

Wow, I'm with Mike on this one. And I accepted that as the full truth as a child already after having been in and out of hospitals for months, and the doctors efforts got finally exposed as a complete fraud and lie. By our house doctor no less. What a helpful education that was.

It's clearly 100% a faith issue, and after I had this one settled with Jesus i live a healthy life without health insurance for several decades already. Don't want to go fully into talking about the medical profession, but let's just say that the sorcery of Babylon mentioned by the prophets is that booming prescription drugs trade that keeps the people in bondage to them.