Jeffrey C. Long

I have been reading “Responsible Grace,” about the theology of John Wesley. It was recommended to me by pastor, church consultant and friend, Doug Murren. In it the author brought up an interesting distinction between two models of looking at salvation. Traditionally the western church emphasizes the judicial model of salvation in that we are saved from God’s judgement by the price of our sin being paid by Jesus on the cross. Wesley was more influenced by the orthodox church which the healing impact of salvation. Salvation heals our sin sickness, but all at once, and over time. Both of these are true. But it is easy for us to get out of balance. We are most prone in America to overemphasize the judicial aspect.

I believe these statements need to be recovered in the church :

Jesus saves so that we can be healed.

Jesus heals us so that we can heal others.

Ephesians 4:16 says “the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.”

We are fitted and knit together so that each one of us can provide nourishment to each other. We are healed so that we can provide healing to each other.

How can we do this?

Learn to ask “How are you?” And not just the normal conversational “how are you?” To which the ordinary answer is a always blithe “fine.” What I’m talking about is looking someone in the eyes and asking “how are you, really?” This question had a profound impact on my life. Suddenly, I am free to talk about things that trouble me, but that I don’t feel safe to share with others. Learning to slow down and ask how people are, truly, can have a tremendous healing impact.

Learn to ask “How can I pray for you?” We learned this from our pastor, Rory in Ephrata. Prayer makes a difference. We often forget this. And we all need prayer. Learning to ask “How can I pray for you?” unleashes the Holy Spirit’s power into the broken parts of our lives. It is such a simple question, but it has great healing impact.

A healing church will be characterized by growth. A healthy body grows. Unless a child has a disease, they will be growing as they get older. A healthy family will grow as a married couple has children. And as a healing church becomes a healthy church it is going to grow as people are converted and added to it. Rory often says “sheep beget sheep. Shepherds don’t beget sheep. Healthy sheep beget sheep.”

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