When Doing Good Is Not Good Enough
Scripture commands the Church to fight for social justice and give people a ‘glass of cold water’: feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, clothing the poor, and caring for the sick — often providing basic necessities for life. When we do these things for the least of us, we do them for Jesus. But, the truth is other organizations besides the Church can do these things as well. Secular foundations, NGOs, and even some governments have the resources and expertise to provide food, housing, and medical care at scales the Church cannot match. That does not mean the Church should not engage in these activities as well – we should. Jesus commands us.
But Jesus also makes it very clear that these needs are not most fundamental for human beings. The deepest parts of our lives are rooted in the supernatural. It is here, in the supernatural realm that the war over each person’s heart is being fought. The real, most fundamental need of every person is to be set free from darkness and a life in bondage to satan. Paul describes it as “being rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Paul also calls the Kingdom of the Son the “Kingdom of light”. This freedom – life in the Kingdom of the Son, the Kingdom of light, redemption and the forgiveness of sins – is the essence of life. It is this life within us – the life in our spirits, hearts, and souls – that makes us fully human. Throughout human history men and women have been willing to sacrifice comfort and basic necessities for freedom.
Human beings can withstand great privations if the light of the Son is growing within their hearts. Joy is more than happiness, it can coexist with sadness. Peace is not the absence of crisis, but the presence of Christ. Hope springs from the Good News, not from something the world gives us. And the life of Jesus in us is eternal life, so much more than the fleeting time we have in this earthly realm. Not that the earth, the natural world is not important — it is. Ultimately heaven will be inaugurated here on earth with the New Jerusalem. The earth is important to God. But that is after the battle against satan is finally over. Until then the Church must wage war for life, both in the natural and supernatural realms. Only the Church, operating in the power and presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, holds the keys to this life. Only the Church has been given divine power and authority to do this work. This work includes spiritual, emotional, and physical healing in Jesus’ name.
Why are so many churches, especially in the developed nations of the world, focusing on meeting the physical needs of human begins like feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, clothing the poor, providing medical care for the sick, and fighting for social justice but not setting people free from “the dominion of darkness” through supernatural healing of spirit, soul, and body and ushering people into the Kingdom of God by calling for real faith and repentance?
Good question. First, probably many churches would deny that they have this problem. Ok, is your church setting people free from demonic oppression? I am not just talking about ‘The Exorcist’ type of possession. Depression, repeating nightmares, a low-level sense of worthlessness and hopelessness, lack of joy or anxiety, and suicidal thoughts are often manifestations of demonic activity in a person’s life. Is your church addressing the trauma associated with childhood memories of abuse leaving a person permanently wounded and unable to cope with all of life’s challenges? How many church members have given up battling the voices in their heads telling them, “you are not good enough”, or “you are powerless”, and “your situation is hopeless” and just decided that this is my life? When I get to heaven I’ll be free”. How many Christians daily battle with shame and guilt from things they did decades before, but find no healing in their church? Every day demonic powers try to ‘take Christians out’ by attacking them with lies, accusations, and fear. Is your church capable of protecting them?
What about the people in the churches who endured real trauma when they were children? And now, as adults you tell them, “Jesus loves you.” Their logical response is, apart from healing, “if Jesus loves me so much, where was He when I was being repeatedly physically abused when I was 5-years old? I hear what you say, but in my heart I will never believe you.” Without healing, that person will never have true faith.
Jesus heals us physically. He has made it clear, at least to me, that physical healing is part of what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. Should the Church not press forward to claim that gift, even though not everyone gets healed?
Most churches, if they are honest, are not places where the needs of people with these types of trauma, pain, and disease can be met – and these types of pain and trauma describe most people. Until Jesus heals them, most of these people will not enter into and live with Jesus in the Kingdom of God – they are too busy trying to medicate and heal themselves with the things of the kingdom of the world because they see no other options.
I believe that the Church in the developed world is generally really good at providing material support for human beings but generally really bad at spiritual, emotional, and physical healing. Why is that?
First, we don’t need the Holy Spirit to plan and execute a clothing drive or deliver food to the hungry. We can do all of these things in our own power. But without the Holy Spirit there can be no real healing, and certainly no deliverance.
Perhaps they don’t want to be accused of being Gnostics. Gnostics ignored, even demeaned, the physical life. They elevated the spiritual life, at the expense of everything else. But Jesus makes it clear. It is not one or the other, it is both integrated into one, whole life — spirit, soul, and body.
To be fair, most churches have no idea how to heal emotionally or deliver people from ‘evil spirits’. We have lost our understanding of the methods to do these things. But they are not hard to learn and to do. I think that what often is lacking is the will to learn, openness to spiritual things and life of the Spirit, and trust.
A lot of Christians or supposed Christians get really nervous when someone mentions the Holy Spirit. For many, the Holy Spirit is too weird, too far out of their comfort zone. The Church in parts of the world has lost touch with the power and presence of God – the deep presence of God in the human heart that is imparted by the indwelling Holy Spirit in the Kingdom man or woman.
‘Easy believeism’ and a prosperity gospel have invaded the Church. It is what people want to hear. Who wants to enter the narrow gate when the broad gate is right next door? Many churches today promote a type of faith without repentance, worship without denying self, Jesus without ‘picking up my cross’, and the ‘Good News’ without obedience. This worldly theology is devoid of the Holy Spirit. As a result, ministry in these churches offers temporary solace at best, but no long-term transformation. And without the Holy Spirit there can be no healing and no Kingdom life, which is salvation.
So without miracles and signs and wonders that are the fruit of the Holy Spirit, especially deliverance and emotional and physical healing, what is the church to do if it does not want to sink to the level of a social club? The only things it can do without the power and presence of God: feed the hungry, clothe the poor, shelter the homeless, fight for social justice, and provide medical care for the sick.
These efforts are not wasted. Jesus tells us to do these things. They are necessary, but they are not sufficient. By themselves, they will not generally get people into the Kingdom of God. Broken hearts need to be healed. People need to be set free from darkness and bondage. Hatred, anger, and unforgiveness need to be supernaturally released. People need to renounce their participation in the occult and the worship of other gods. The outward man needs to be broken so that the Holy Spirit can enter into and activate the life of the inner man, where man’s spirit and God’s Spirit unite to form a permanent connection.
Jesus heals. He has given us power and authority to be the conduits through which His healing flows. And if we don’t participate and take the lead in healing, much of the healing that Jesus wants to accomplish in this world will not take place. We are called rulers and priests. Like Adam, we have been given responsibility for the health and well being of this world. Not that we do it on our own. We do it in partnership with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But we must do it. And ‘it’ is more than feeding, sheltering, and clothing. These are necessary, but they are temporary, transient. They do not address the real, deepest needs of human beings, which are both in this world and the ‘other’, the ‘unseen real’. Our deepest needs are for freedom from darkness, despair, and fear; for joy and hope in the midst of difficulties, for peace, for love – real love – not the world’s version of contract love, and to be valued for the unique person God created each of us to be. To be forgiven. And to find our purpose as human beings in partnering with God to release His Kingdom into the world around us, each using the unique gifts we have been given.
I believe that none of these needs can be met apart from real, deep, spiritual deliverance, emotional healing at a supernatural level, and the power of God healing our bodies. And only the Church can do these, because only the Church has been given divine power and authority to defeat the power of evil. Only the Church can win the supernatural battle being waged in the heavenlies right now for the spirit, soul, and body of every person on the earth. In addition to good works, the Church should do what only the Church can do.
In my opinion, when the Church relinquishes this responsibility and retreats into exclusively doing ‘good works’ in the natural realm, it is no longer the Church that Jesus died to bring into existence. It is not even the ‘lukewarm’ Church. It is a powerless organization connected with Jesus in name only.
The vital, living Church is a place filled with signs and wonders, a place of joy and peace, a place in which lives are being obviously and permanently transformed. It is a place where darkness in peoples’ lives is being replaced by light, where fear is banished, and where real faith is growing. It is a community of love marked by the power and presence of God. It is a place of healing and wholeness where people are not just baptized by water, but baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Baptized by the Holy Spirit? A lot of churches say, “Over my dead body.” Why so much fear? Is it because people know that when the Holy Spirit shows up they will have to change? Is it because when the Holy Spirit shows up they will no longer be in control? All I know is that without spiritual deliverance and supernatural emotional and physical healing, the Church will fade away. And without the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing, if not impossible, is at least much more difficult. This is because healing requires faith – the faith of Jesus in me, not just my faith in Jesus. The faith of Jesus in me? That is the indwelling Holy Spirit.
I have previously referenced a good book I am reading – ‘Return To The Upper Room’, by Charles Irish, who is an Episcopal Priest (or at least was when he wrote the book). Here is a quote from that book under the section heading, “Now I Have Something to Offer”, referring to his baptism in the Holy Spirit”:
“Now that my life and ministry were changed by my Pentecost experience, people are being drawn to the risen and ascended Christ. Before this experience, my words were empty of power, no life changed, no one won to Christ. Before God’s intervention in my life, I had nothing to offer but myself. At best, I could merely rearrange their problems and encourage them to huddle together for mutual support. I felt that I was living a lie. But now my message goes forth with the power to change lives and win people to Christ” (pg. 100).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is available for every believer!
The Church must meet the material and physical needs of people. At the same time we must be conduits for God’s power and presence to heal spirit, soul, and body, to transform lives from the inside out, and to usher people into the Kingdom of God, where there is eternal life, and a real, intimate life with Jesus. These require the indwelling Holy Spirit within us and living in the Body we call the Church. Let us not just do the good; God is also calling us to do His Best.
Grateful,
John