08122023 Praying in Suffering - Sin

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our gracious God who is so patient with us! Following is the next section in my study on praying in suffering.

Category 6 Regarding possible sin

“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:15-16). I’ll try not to go beyond what I understand about these verses. Some of the confusion lies in the words “save” (v. 15) and “healed” (v. 16). Both of these words can refer either to physical healing or to spiritual healing. Both types of healing are included in these verses. There is clearly physical illness (“sick” – two different Greek words in v. 14 & v. 15) and physical healing (“raise up”). There is clearly spiritual sickness (“sins,” “faults,” & “confess”) and healing (“forgiven”). The sins are not universal for every case of sickness (“if he have committed sins”), but the verses seem to suggest a reasonable possibility that the two (sins and illness) are often linked. Prayer is the procedure in both cases.

Suffering is often linked causatively to sin. The Old Testament, (Deuteronomy 28, as an outstanding example; Proverbs; Hosea 8:7), speaks of and illustrates the cause-and-effect relationship so often that it was a major plank in the Jews’ worldview. Job’s friends assumed this was the case in his suffering. Jesus’ disciples assumed it was the case for the man born blind (John 9). Even the New Testament does not abandon this connection. (James 5:15-16; James 1:15; I Corinthians 11:30).

The Bible also makes it clear that illness (or other suffering) is not always the direct result of personal sin. It was not the case for Job. Regarding the blind man, “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him’” (John 9:3).

How often is suffering related to personal sin? Only God knows. I doubt it is 1%. I also doubt it is 99%. As humans, we can have some pretty diverse evaluations. Regarding ourselves, it is natural to want to believe that it is not sin in our own case. In fact, my personal tendency is to acknowledge that suffering can be because of sin, (since the Bible teaches this concept), but that it probably is not the case for me or for anyone I know. Others might go to the other extreme, assuming that sin is involved in most cases, maybe even having an opinion of what the sin is, or experiencing torturous guilt as they seek the sinful root in their own situations.

I think the bottom line is that we can’t make assumptions. If God says that sometimes sin is not the cause, then we can’t assume that is always us, and if He says that sometimes sin is the cause, then neither can we blindly assume that it never is. If there is a correlation 50% of the time (my made-up number), someone has to be part of the 50%.

For what it’s worth, here is some of my evaluation (opinion). I believe that God’s tendency is to use extreme measures only when they are called for. It seems that many of the severe judgments of God are for obstinate, flagrant, rebellious behavior by people who refuse to walk in His ways. He is doing what is necessary to bring them back. If this is the situation, the person suffering probably is not in the dark as to what his sin is. I doubt he has to search diligently to discover some minor issue he has overlooked.

For those who want to automatically assign sin as the reason for suffering, they are forgetting that God also uses suffering for purposes other than judgment. For people who are generally trying to follow God, His molding and guiding does sometimes involve suffering. “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2b). But in the life of such a person, God is using the suffering for good. The New Testament is filled with teaching about this process of maturing and purifying through suffering, as well as glorifying Himself.

My conclusion then is that 50% might be close to the right number, but those 50% are most likely to be found in rebellious or wayward Christians who might not even be in church. This is why it makes sense (in my opinion) when I theorize that sin is not the cause for the suffering of most people that I know, people who are actively in church and who are striving to please and follow God. Nevertheless, this concept is taught in the Bible and should be considered as we pray during suffering.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The marathon, or obstacle race, that we run is difficult enough without carrying sin that would trip us up. “Father, help me to be willing to lay aside what I know is wrong so that I can follow You effectively.”

“My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” (Hebrews 12:5b-7). The word “chasten” can mean discipline/training as well as punishment, but there is at least an implication of wrong-doing. “Father, help me to receive every bit of discipline that You deem appropriate. May I take it seriously and not give up because of it.”

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (I Peter 4:1-2). “Father, may the suffering purify me and change my priorities, so that I live from this time forward in a manner more pleasing to You.”

“For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). What a wonderful truth this is! We are not alone in our struggles. It is not just that Christ helps us to conquer temptation, but that He understands what it is like. “Father, may I lean faithfully on Your compassionate Son so that I do not fall in temptation.”

“Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. … Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3b&6). While Job’s suffering was not because of his sin, he did not live perfectly through his suffering. He admitted that his lack of understanding led him to say things he should not have said, and he repented. For many of us, this is probably the most applicable. There are sins that are such looming temptations in the midst of suffering. Our desire might be to “handle it” perfectly, but reality is so far from perfection. So as we progress through our suffering, we must be willing to say, “Father, I’ve fallen again in this situation that is too much for me. Forgive me.”

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). Because it is possible for sin to be divinely addressed through suffering, and because it is possible for us to sin while we suffer, it is necessary to ask God to reveal to us when we have sinned. Only as we acknowledge and confess can we truly see our heart’s desire of shining for God through our suffering. “Father, help me to see where I am wrong. Help me to lay my faults aside and to follow Your perfect way.”

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA