The Ohio Independent Baptist, March 1973

~aith Healing'' by George L. Norris Since I have been unable to attend ,urch for the past few months I 1 ve been 1 istening to church service 1 the radio or on televi ion. There e blessings from these services, but )thing to compare with being in 1urch. Those who are able to go and > not should think of the possibility at they may not be able to go. mong the services I have heard, how– •er, are a number who preach salva– >n by faith in Jesus C hrist and are ue to the Word. Some I have heard "ace the main burden of their minis– v on "Faith healing." Now no one doubts that God is ,le to miraculously heal any disease. e can give life when there is no >pe of life. He can work beyond edicine, beyond the doctors. He ,n work a miracle in giving health. [ost of us have either witnessed expressed some miraculous healing. As I listen to these ones who exhort eir listeners to "pray the prayer of ith' , there are questions, not doubts, 1t questions that come to my mind. 1rst there is the question of mortal– v. Do they believe that the "prayer = faith" prayed long enough will tend a man's days to ninety, a efuses To Compromise Upon learning that the National roadcasters Agency was cooperating ith Key 73, Evangelist Jack Wyrtzen ked that his name be removed from e NRB Board of Directors. ' 'I do not want to be associat~d in 1y way with this kind of comp~o– ise," the founder of Word of Life !Clared. He described the program "just more of the New-evangelical ,mpromise taking it one step further compromise than they have ever >ne before." e Humbly Apologize In our JANUARY '73 issue we n a full page article concerning the te Rev. Verne Dunham. It was en– led - "He Came, Stayed and Paid he Price." The article had to do ith the accident that resulted in his ath. Jt was called to our attention that e failed to mention that Brother unham was serving as an "Interim issionary" under the Fellowship of ptists for Home Missions. We are rry for this omission. It was in– ed an oversight on our part. Since his death, Mrs. Dunham has ntinued on officially as a part of B.H .M . and is presently working th F BHM missionaries Rev. and rs. Harold obb in Wellsville, New rk. E OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST hundred, a hundred and fift y? Why not try for two hundred? Secondl y there i the question of eJfishness. Is thi prayer for our own sakes? l s it that we are not ready yet to face the end of life? God who numbered our day from eternity made no mistake in His plans for each of us. Would it not rather be better to ay with Paul , "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I ha ll be a hamed , o now also Christ hall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. " Surely the verses following (Phil. 1:21-23) hould be the testi– mony of every Christian . Is Romans 8 :38 no longer meaningful ? "For I am persuaded , that neither death , nor life, nor angel , nor principalities, nor power , nor things present, nor thi11gs to come, nor height nor depth , nor other creatures, shall be able to separ– ate us from the Jove of God , which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ." I do not believe anyone should pray for healing until he has come to the po int tha t he is wiJJing to ac– cept the wi II of o<l for hi s own life, whether tha t will be health or dea th . I keep rcmembe ri ng the case of "Good King Hezekiah.' ' When God's prophet announced tha t he wouJ<l die, Hezeki ah prayed fo r God to extend his days. A careful reading of the ex– tended d ay of Hezeki ah revea l that whereas before he did that whi ch was right in the eyes of the Lord , after he wa given an ex tension of life, he did nothing tha t was right in the eyes of the Lord and I rael suffe red grea tly under hi s administra tion . Admi ttedl y no one wants to be " in the strai ght" between life and death , but we should not fear either consum– a ti on. If God wills tha t we live longer to serve Him, well and good , but if He wiJJ s we depart to be with Christ, th is is stil I, "far better. " In illnes we do need to pray for grace and patience to face the needs of each day with courage and calm– ness, but nothing is to be ga ined by desiring longevity for its own sake. OHIO ' BIRTHPLACE AND HOME OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF BAPTISTS FOR HOME MISSIONS Reaching America at th is Strategic Time P.O. BOX 455 ELYRIA, OHIO 44035 Phone: (216) 365-7308 DR. KENNETH A. MUCK, President MARCH, 1973 7 i •