Sanctification, Sin, and Sickness, Part 1

by Nicholas A. Catania

November 2004

Go to the previous issue.

In this month's issue, I'd like to present the relationship between sanctification, sin, and sickness.

Let me start by saying this teaching does not hold all the answers to sickness, however, I believe it holds many. I view sickness as a puzzle and my goal is to try to equip you with as many pieces of the puzzle as I can.

Perhaps this may be the piece you are missing, and if so, it may bring you to the point that you will finally get your healing.

If not, we stay faithful, for God is faithful who has promised us health. If this teaching does not apply to you, don't try to force this piece into your picture, because it won't fit and you will wind up discouraged, confused, and frustrated.

The more I study the field of healing, the more I see the relationship between sin and sickness. To begin our study, let's look at the book of Genesis.

Genesis 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Our word sanctified, according toStrongs, means "to set apart as sacred, consecrate, dedicate, hallow."

Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Exodus 33:16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all, the people that are upon the face of the earth.

So, in Genesis 2, we see God set apart a day from the rest of the days for himself. In Exodus 31, we see that this day was to be a sign to the believer and that they were to worship and honor God for he set them apart for this reason. And in Exodus 33, we see that the believers were to separated from the non-believers.

Here we see the standard for sanctification is the Word. Jesus said he sanctified himself. So, we see that sanctification has a least two aspects.

1. God set us apart spiritually and legally.
2. We must appropriate our sanctification by our obedience to his Word.

Leviticus 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Unless we choose to live sanctified, we cannot receive the abundance of blessings that follow obedience.

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 ¹And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: ²And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

Please note that when God's people lived sanctified that blessings came on them and overtook them. They did not pray to God to bless them; the blessings came as a by-product of their obedience! The blessings were result of their believing. Please note some of the blessings of obedience recorded here in Deuteronomy 28.

Deuteronomy 28:3-4 ³Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. ⁴Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.

The list goes on and on, however, I'd like you to note that God promised health and prosperity to his sanctified people who harkened and observed to do his Word. The New Testament teaches the same truths.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

When we live sanctified, we have every right to expect blessing to come on us and overtake us.

This brings us to our next word in our topic, and that is sin. Sin is missing the mark. It's not living sanctified and obedient.

Isaiah 59:1-2 ¹Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Here we see that sin separated the people from God and disaster followed. Look at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good things from you.

So, when we sin, when we disobey God, we hurt ourselves.

Deuteronomy 28:14-15 ¹⁴And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. ¹⁵But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Here we see that disobedience is sin and one of the results of sin is sickness.

Deuteronomy 28:58-61 ⁵⁸If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; ⁵⁹Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. ⁶⁰Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. ⁶¹Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

Please note verse 15b: "all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." The way blessings would come upon and overtake the doer of the Word; God now instructs us that curses will do the same for the disobedient.

What people have failed to realize is that Christ never redeemed us from the curse of disobedience. Nowhere in the Word does God or Jesus redeem us from being doers of the Word.

This is what some have missed for years. They figure because Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law that we can live any way we want and the result of disobedience can't touch us. I just showed you that we are still required to be doers of the Word in our administration.

So, we see that obedience to God and living sanctified produces health. And disobedience and living unsanctified produces sickness.

Psalm 103:1-3 ¹Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: ³Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Here we see forgiveness of sin and healing together in one verse.

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Here we see the connection between sin and sickness. In this case it would be safe to say that sin would cause this man to relapse into a worse state.

Luke 5:20-25 ²⁰And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. ²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? ²²But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? ²³Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? ²⁴But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. ²⁵And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

James 5:14-16 ¹⁴Is 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: ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶Confess 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.

In these three verses we see the connection between sin and sickness. But, I'd like to say it another way. In these three verses here, we see the connection between sin and healing.

To be continued … ÿ

Go to the next issue.

Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NLT indicates the New Living Translation, NAS indicates the New American Standard version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, NJB means the New Jerusalem Bible, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation,  NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.