Why Won't God Heal Amputees?

Browsing YouTube the other day, I came across a video which challenged Christians, particularly educated Christians, to think rationally about their faith, and posed a number of questions about their beliefs. Of course, the video referred me to a website, where these challenges were dealt with at much greater depth.

As a Christian, I am up for the challenge of thinking rationally about my faith. My view is, that if Christianity is the truth, it will stand the test of rational challenge. If Christianity is not the truth, then the sooner I find out the better.

Unfortunately, at this point in my life, I am not going to be able to approach the challenges posed at the depth at which that web site deals with them. The best I can do now is jot down some quick answers, with the hope that I can come back and give a better answer over time.

The first question educated Christians are asked to consider, is "Why won't God heal amputees?" In fact, the leading banner tells us that this is the most important question we can ask about God. Personally, I would have thought there were other more pressing questions, but let us turn our mind to this one anyway.

This differs little from challenges I have used myself. In my attempt to hold to a rational, sensible belief in God (that is, the God of the Bible), I have come to consider myself as something of a "Christian skeptic". Don't get me wrong - I'm a Christian, but I think we need to be a little more skeptical about a lot that gets thrown around in Christian circles.

Firstly, I mus ask, "Who says God doesn't heal amputees?" I can say that I know of no stories of God healing amputees in recent times, but that does not mean that it cannot, and could not, happen.

Our Bible tells us that God has performed miracles. I have no problem with that. I read Genesis 1 - 3 quite literally. I believe that the infinite, almighty God can bring a universe into being with the power of His words. Having accepted that, I am not challenged by the idea that God cannot heal an amputee, or anyone else with a physical infirmity.

Further, our Bible tells us that Jesus performed many public miracles during His ministry on earth. I have no problem with that, either. After all, Jesus is the Creator.

However, I do not believe that Jesus is doing those sorts of miracles, in any numbers, today.

Firstly, the miracles of Jesus had been prophesied, and were performed to authenticate Jesus' claim to be the Jewish Messiah.

The miracles Jesus did were irrefutable. He went to a man who was locally known to have been blind from birth, and gave him back his sight. He went to a lame man who had lain in a public place seeking healing for many years, and in view of all, healed him, so that he could take up his bedroll and walk, leap, and jump.

If Jesus was doing these sorts of miracles, in public, today, the evidence would be irrefutable.

Instead, we get people doing what almost looks like a stage show, with lots of emotion, big build-up, and the pronouncement that people are being healed. In virtually every case, they are being healed of (undiagnosed) back pain, headaches, conditions they didn't even know they had, and so on. I have seen people going up onto these stages in wheelchairs, and in every case, they have come back down in their wheelchairs. I have never seen a blind person receive their sight. And yes, I have to say, I have never seen an amputee regrow a lost limb.

One hears of a Christian who knows a Christian who knows someone who was completely healed of cancer - but I have never met the healed person myself, and I have not been present at a verifiable healing of cancer.

Some "healers" go so far as to use trickery and deception to explain away the lack of verifiable healings, such as "Go to church tomorrow, and you will be healed during the Worship service". What a cop-out.

Christians, please, we've got to stop this nonsense. If Jesus is doing real miracles, then great, it will be obvious to all. But by and large, He is not. At least, not in these healing "circuses" being held by "Christian" con-men.

In fact, there are no promises that God is going to heal people anyway, and it is very wrong to hold God to promises He didn't make. Look, death is just sickness taken a step further; Jesus raised the dead while on earth - why on earth don't these faith "healers" add raising the dead to their reportoire? Everyone still dies, Christian, non-Christian, and so-called healers included.

If a preacher tells you he has the gift of healing, for goodness sake tell him to go for a walk through the local hospital and get some real healing done. If he doesn't undertake such a test, tell him to get lost. Even if he himself is genuinely misunderstanding the role of healing, he should not be a leader or a pastor.

As I said, Jesus can do miracles. During His ministry on earth, He did do miracles. The purpose was to give irrefutable evidence to the Jewish people that He was their promised Messiah. The Jews rejected Him. Now don't get me wrong, that is not an indictment or a judgement of them - in fact, it was necessary for them to reject Him, so that He would be crucified. In His death, He paid for the sins of the world. Had that not happened, there would have been salvation for no-one.

Never-the-less, Jesus said that He had come to them, performing miracles, and they rejected Him. Shortly after his resurrection He was again offered to the Jewish people as their Messiah, and once again they rejected Him.

So why is Jesus not doing miracles today? Because after the Jewish people, having witnessed all of these wonderful miracles, rejected Him, He turned away from them. The Jewish people have been set aside (not permanently), and salvation has come directly to the Gentiles (all non-Jewish peoples).

God has made the indictment of the Jews, that having seen all the signs and wonders, they did not believe, but now Gentile people who have seen no signs and wonders, will accept Him by faith. And that is exactly what is happening today.

Now, I know there are some prophecies that the disciples would show signs and wonders after Jesus had left the earth, and some texts that confirm they did, but this must be understood w ithin its dispensational context (and if you don't understand dispensationalism, then you are going to have a very mixed-up view of Christianity). I will try to approach that subject, also, at some time in the future. Suffice it to say, for now, that that stopped when God turned away from the Jewish people (for a time), and extended salvation by grace alone, received by faith alone, to the Gentiles (those accepting making up the true Christian church).

So, Christian people, please understand, God can heal. In individual cases He may heal even today. But this is not the time for signs and miracles authenticating that Jesus is the Christ or that the God of Abraham is the true God. This is the time when Gentile peoples are invited to come, believe, and receive Christ by faith.

Just another word - I remember reading Brother Andrew's book, and if my recall is correct, brother Andrew said that he was being challenged by God to serve Him by taking Bibles into lands where they were banned. Brother Andrew had a war injury, an ankle which made him partially lame. He said to God, "I cannot go, because I am restricted and cannot walk without a cane". God's answer was to the effect that it was up to Brother Andrew to be obedient to God, and it was up to God to take care of the practicalities of how Brother Andrew could be used. Brother Andrew then said "Ok God, if you want me, I will go." With that breakthrough made, Brother Andrew stood up to leave, and felt a sharp pain in his ankle. From that time on, his ankle was completely healed.

Now, stories like that I can believe. If God has a special job for a person, and it is necessary for that person to be healed in order to be able to serve, then God in His power and authority, can step in and perform a miracle. Please note, it was not in front of a crowd, it was not done by a charismatic preacher (or con-man), and the only giving required was for Brother Andrew to give himself unreservably to God.

To sum up, then, I believe God does not help amputees at this time, because this is not the era for God to be authenticating Himself through public signs and wonders, although in His sovereignty He can indeed perform such miracles as it may please Him to do. However, if amputees will come to Him in faith, He will heal their sin-sickness, and in that day when He makes all things new, the amputee's body will indeed be whole again.

I hope to be able to give a more detailed response on this question in the future, and also to look at many of the other questions with which we are being challenged.

But Christians, it harms our credibility, and therefore our witness, to be making outlandish claims about unverifiable miracles. Although a Christian, I am not interested in supposed miracles, unless they are truly irrefutable - people known to have verifiable afflictions who are completely and unarguably healed. Personally, I think it would be very unusual for such to occur in this period of God's dealings with the people of this world.

Christians who are challenged or troubled by the above, please read this.

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