God Said Man Said

Sin and Sickness Connected at the Hip

Today’s science confirms the inerrancy of the beautiful book. The precepts laid down in God’s Word thousands of years ago are still the truth. That is in fact the nature of truth. Just as sin and sickness are connected at the hip, so are forgiveness and healing. How do I know? The Bible tells me so.
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Sin and Sickness Connected at the Hip

Article#: 1522

It’s what we do between the dust that counts.  Genesis 3:19:

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

One day (and it’s always very soon) all of us will stand before God, our maker, at the final great white throne judgment.  Revelation 20:11-15:

11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Is your name written in the Lamb’s book of life?  The Lamb’s book of life is a book of birth certificates, and you must be born again to be recorded there.  Are you born again?  Will today be your day of salvation?  Will today be the day all your sin and shame and life’s bondages are washed away?  The decision is yours.  It’s what we do between the dust.  Today is your day of salvation.  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY'S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Isaiah 26:3:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

GOD SAID, Matthew 5:44:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

GOD SAID, Mark 11:22-25:

22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

25  And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

GOD SAID, Matthew 18:35:

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

MAN SAID: Vengeance is mine.  I’ll do unto others before they do unto me.

Now THE RECORD:  God Said Man Said has published a host of powerful past features similar to today’s subject, and it’s back in the news again.  God’s Word, written thousands of years before science began to understand, has staked out its explicit Holy Ghost position and ultimate truth concerning the matter.  It’s important to take time with this feature.

Sin and sickness are connected at the hip.  They are the Satanic weavings of the spider’s web, capturing man from conception.  When Adam and Eve walked with faith in God’s Word they were immortal, eternally young, waking every morning to a beautiful postcard sky.  When unbelief, and consequently disobedience, gripped the heart of grandmother Eve who believed Satan’s word versus God’s, with grandfather Adam following her lead, they died spiritually that very day, even the second death in that very day, and they were booted out of Paradise.  At that moment the law of sin and death began to reign (Romans 8:2).

There was no sickness or death until sin.  All sickness is a result of sin – ALL!  It might not be the sick person’s particular sin, but the hedge of protection against sin was broken down from the beginning.  The Bible speaks about the sins of the father being visited upon his children to the third and fourth generation, but when you consider Romans 14:23 which reads:

And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

…then we become more complicit than we ever dreamed.  You should note that sickness goes away when sin ends.  Revelation 21:4:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Jesus connects forgiveness of sin with healing.  Matthew 9:2-6:

2  And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

3  And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

4  And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

5  For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

James 5:14-16:

14  Is any sick among you? 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:

15  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.

16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Note the connection between healing and forgiveness of sin.

Salvation and healing require the atoning blood of Christ, and as a result we receive God’s forgiveness.  In order to be healed I must demonstrate God’s forgiveness to those who have offended me whether they ask for it or not.  This is not optional.  Again, consider the magnificence of Mark 11:22-25 and the believer’s responsibility:

22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

25  And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Matthew 18:35:

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

In the Lord’s Prayer we find the following.  Matthew 6:12-15:

12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If you want to be saved and healed you must forgive.  If you want to be sick and damned, don’t forgive.  It’s just that simple.

Is sin and the particular sin of unforgiveness related to physical illness?  The latest scientific research says yes.  A headline from youngliving.com reads, “Forgive if You Want to Stay Healthy.”  Excerpts follow:

People who tend to forgive may have lower blood pressure than those who don’t, according to a study.  Researchers found that a forgiving nature was directly related to blood pressure – those who were less forgiving had higher blood pressure levels, even while at rest.  The study may indicate that people who hold on to stressful events for long periods may be at an increased risk for a variety of disease, including cancer and heart disease, than people who easily forgive and forget.

Dr. Mercola’s comment: “Anyone who has done the emotional work I recommend will know that forgiving others authentically is one the major keys to optimum health.” 

Forgiving is no longer holding another accountable.

A few years ago I heard a truth spoken by Nelson Mandela that is appropriate to repeat here:  Not forgiving someone is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die.  The only person you are hurting is yourself.  Unfortunately, many of us have serious blocks that limit our ability to forgive at the deeper subconscious, authentic levels.  In my experience, bioenergetics techniques are the only ones that effectively address this.  Prayer and journaling are two effective examples of bioenergetics techniques.  [End of quote]

As an aside, you may want to visit the God Said Man Said feature “You Can Be a Brain Surgeon.”

Dr. Mercola continues:

Along with not forgiving, feelings like anger and stress can also devastate your health.  If you are struggling with emotions like these, it is imperative that you seek help, as over time, and sometimes even in the short term, these negative feelings can lead to:

  1. Headaches
  2. Problems with digestion
  3. Insomnia
  4. Increased anxiety
  5. Depression
  6. High blood pressure
  7. Skin problems, such as eczema
  8. Heart attack
  9. Stroke
  10. Cancer  [End of quote]

The sub-headline in the August 2015 feature of Psychology Today reads, “Forgiveness is not something we should do to be ‘good,’ but a crucial skill in pursuit of a healthy, fulfilling life.”  Several paragraphs follow:

Over the past 25 years, researchers have pulled forgiveness from the realm of preaching and prophesy into the more critical light of academic study.  The change began in the 1980s when a handful of Christian psychologists wondered if clinical studies would bear out the Bible’s teachings on the virtue of forgiveness.  This school of thought grew to encompass a larger, more diverse group of social scientists, cardiologists, neuroscientists, and molecular biologists.

Two bodies of research seemed particularly relevant: The first examines the detrimental physical and psychological effects of stress and anger; there seems to be truth in Nelson Mandela’s observation that “resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die.”  The second explores the effects of forgiveness-including relief from high blood pressure, heart problems, and mood disorders.

In the late 1970s, Dr. Dabney Ewin began using hypnosis on burn victims.  He had learned the practice from an uncle who used it to manage pain during surgery decades earlier, before anesthesia was widely available.  Ewin would instruct a patient to relax, breath deeply, and close his or her eyes.  He would then have the patient imagine that the burned area felt cool and comfortable.  The patients he hypnotized healed faster, recounted Ewin, now in his eighties and retired from the Tulane University School of Medicine.

Ewin later added another unorthodox practice: He talked to his patients about anger and forgiveness.  As they described the accident that left them burned, their words were tinged with angry guilt or blame.  The doctor concluded that their anger may have been interfering with their ability to heal.  “Their attitudes affected the healing of their burns,” he said, and this was particularly true of skin graft patients.  “With someone who’s real angry, we’d put three or four skin grafts on, but the body would reject them.”  Using hypnosis, Ewin helped the patients forgive themselves or the person who hurt them.

He would then tell the patient to raise her hand when she felt herself letting the anger go.  When the hand went up, Ewin told me, “I’d know that skin graft was gonna take.”  Ewin taught other burn doctors these techniques, and has received letters from colleagues around the world thanking him for helping them achieve faster recovery times.

Between 1998 and 2005, billionaire investor and philanthropist John Templeton used some of his fortune to launch the Campaign for Forgiveness Research, a funding initiative for scientists exploring the effects of forgiveness on the body and mind.  Templeton’s foundation and a consortium of partners committed $9.4 million to 43 studies on forgiveness and health, jumpstarting the field.

One researcher the campaign supported was Robert Enright, a developmental psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He devised therapies to help elderly women forgive those who had wronged them in the past, and to help victims of abuse understand their tormenters-without justifying the abusers’ actions.  His first study compared women undergoing forgiveness therapy with a control group who underwent therapy without a forgiveness focus.  In findings he published in 1993, Enright reported that the experimental group showed more improvement than the controls, in both emotional and psychological health measures.

The most telling study on the casual relationship between forgiveness and physical health that Enright conducted involved cardiac patients.  Published in 2009, the analysis concluded that blood flow to the heart of patients with coronary disease increased after they underwent forgiveness therapy-more than in a control group that received only standard treatment and counseling about diet and exercise.  “It wasn’t that they were cured-these patients with serious heart problems,” Enright says.  “But they were at less risk of pain and sudden death.”

Ultimately, forgiveness is about freedom-the freedom to be as happy and as healthy as we can possibly be, no matter what anyone may have done to us or how we let ourselves down.  [End of quotes]

Today’s science confirms the inerrancy of the beautiful book.  The precepts laid down in God’s Word thousands of years ago are still the truth.  That is in fact the nature of truth.  Just as sin and sickness are connected at the hip, so are forgiveness and healing.  How do I know?  The Bible tells me so.

GOD SAID, Isaiah 26:3:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

GOD SAID, Matthew 5:44:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

GOD SAID, Mark 11:22-25:

22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

25  And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

GOD SAID, Matthew 18:35:

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

MAN SAID: Vengeance is mine.  I’ll do unto others before they do unto me.

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

Bettencourt, M. F., “Triumph of the Heart,” Psychology Today, August 2015, pp86-87

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