A Doctrine of Health?

The Scriptures present health of body, mind, and soul as a doctrine on a level with other basic truths.

J. Wayne McFarland, M.D., until his recent retirement, was associate secretary of the Health Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Should physical health be a concern of the clergy? Does it have theological importance? Is it an issue the ministry can take or leave according to individual inclination, or is it a basic truth that has concern both for here and the hereafter? Can it be doctrine?

A doctrine, in the ecclesiastical sense, means a teaching that is to be believed and implemented by appropriate action on the part of the hearer. In Mark 4:2 the Greek word translated doctrine literally means "teaching"—"And [Jesus] said unto them in his doctrine [teaching] ..."

Often Christ's teaching took the form of a question. In such a setting (Luke 10:25-37), He enunciated the great doctrine of physical health and its importance in man's destiny. A certain lawyer asked the question, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (verse 25). Jesus asked the lawyer a forthright question in return. "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" (verse 26). Since the lawyer was a student of the law (Torah) he had no trouble, so he thought, in answering Christ. He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself" (Luke 10:27).

Christ commended the lawyer. "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shall live" (verse 28).

Jesus plainly affirms that man's supreme love for God—the love that results in eternal life—involves all of his strength (body); all of his soul (spiritual); all of his mind (mental faculties); and his fellow men (social outreach).

Now the discussion focused on the question Who is my neighbor? The law yer asked for clarification, for this question was a source of endless debate among the clergy of Christ's day. Samaritans and non-Jews were obviously outside the pale of consideration. But where did one draw the line between priest and peasant—ruler and layman?

In answer, Jesus told of the man who was beset by robbers on his trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, beaten, robbed, and left for dead. He told of the priest and Levite who passed by, ignoring his need. And He told of the Samaritan who stopped because of his compassion and cared for the man's physical needs.

"Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?" asked our Lord (verse 36). There was no evading the answer. The one who stopped to render first aid, medical care, and hospitalization was the neighbor, not the priest and the Levite, who passed by. An unnamed layman, a Samaritan, was the benefactor.

Forever the question was settled—we all belong to one great family, and the saving of human life, the alleviating of human suffering, is a part of Heaven's teaching. It goes beyond caste, custom, dogma, or creed. Whatever we know that will help reduce pain, hurts, grief, and extend the life of the humblest of men, it is our duty to gladly perform. Then Jesus summarized His story: "Go, and do thou likewise" (verse 37).

Christ not only taught the truth, He was the truth. He lived the truth. He fulfilled the mission of Heaven in showing that saving truth always frees man from the effects of evil, whether it be a disease-racked body; an anxious, troubled mind; or a soul bowed down with guilt. His program of saving man was set forth at His inaugural address in the synagogue in Nazareth. It was an emancipation proclamation from sickness and disease, and from all the effects of evil on poor, frail human mortals. Listen to the words ring out as Christ reads from the great Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 61. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the accept able year of the Lord. . . . This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (chap. 4:18-21).

Christ's healing ministry, His care for the body, took a great share of His time—in fact, more than He spent in preaching. This becomes very clear as one goes through the Gospels. Jesus was the embodiment of the good Samaritan. There were whole villages where not a sick person could be found. "He laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them" (verse 40).

This healing ministry was to continue through the disciples, for it was Heaven ordained. "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick" (chap. 9:1, 2).

When the working force for the carrying of the good news was enlarged, the marching orders were the same. "The Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two" to the towns and villages to "heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (chap. 10:1, 9).

Nothing can open hearts and reveal love and compassion and the character of God's kingdom so clearly as the relief of suffering. Here is a lesson for the ministry of today. Note the sequence of instructions in this commission: "Heal the sick," then let the listeners know that Heaven is nearby, saying to them, "The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."

For many years the truth of complete salvation for the entire man has been obscured, buried beneath the theological clutter of lesser issues. We have at times majored in minors, and minored in majors.

This vital truth was not vague or hazy in the early Christian church. It stood out as a clear, distinct doctrine. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Rom. 12:1). No doubt Paul had in mind the ancient sacrificial system that did not permit an animal that was sick, crippled, or blemished to be used as an offering to God (Lev. 1:3, 10; 3:1; 22:20; Deut. 15:21). The old sacrificial system has lost its significance, but now the human being is to present to God his own body as a living, dedicated offering for God's use. Paul assures us such an offering "is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1).

But what are some placing before God? An abused stomach; a burned out pair of lungs; jagged irritable nerves, due to lack of rest, sleep, or recreation. There is nothing reasonable about giving such blemished offerings to God.

Paul adds, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (verse 2). Our mental abilities, our thoughts, are to be renewed until we are transformed into a new creature. A healthy mind in a healthy body is what Paul is talking about. Why? "That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (verse 2). Knowing God's will depends on straight thinking by a healthy mind in a healthy body. Physical, mental, and moral health are inseparably bound together. Whatever affects one will affect the others. This is the way we are made. This is the true nature and relationship of mind, body, and spirit.

Nor did Paul simply hold forth the idea to church members in Rome without setting the example. Paul practiced what he preached. "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Cor. 9:27). "Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things" (verse 25).

The apostle Peter supports Paul, giving the same emphasis to temperance when enumerating those graces that cause us to "be partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). After knowledge he adds "temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness" (verse 6). Obviously, a person without self-control, or an intemperate person, has grave problems being patient and considerate. Thus physical considerations are vital to developing a Christlike character.

John the Beloved also preaches a message of saving health. In fact, he places the saving of the body and the saving of the soul side by side in his letter to the "well-beloved Gaius." "Be loved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2).

This relationship of obedience to God and buoyant health is also taught in Old Testament scriptures. "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee" (Ex. 15:26). "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones" (Prov. 17:22).

James, who may have been the presiding voice at the early church councils (see Acts 15:13), gave explicit instruction on prayer for the sick. We are familiar with these verses, but we tend to overlook an important part of his instructions—the prayer for the sick must be a "prayer of faith" (James 5:15), and James has already stated that "faith without works is dead" (chap. 2:26). To know what to do in order to have health and then to do it—that is a working faith. James says, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, . . . and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven" (chap. 5:15). Will a person who has been healed as a result of the prayer of faith then go right back to his old style of living that produced his illness? No, in deed! He gratefully follows the laws of health; he carefully husbands his strength in gratitude for what Heaven has done for him.

It is high time for more pulpits to proclaim 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

The call of the angels found in the book of Revelation includes an appeal to glorify God: "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come" (chap. 14:7). Giving glory to God, of course, is manifest by reverence, worship, song, prayer, and offering; but we must also recall, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).

To some of the saints, sitting comfortably in their pews, it could be a new experience to learn that proper eating and drinking can be a means of glorifying God, and that the care of the body temple for the indwelling of God's presence is not something to pass over lightly. It is not an optional doctrine that we may accept or reject as we please. "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy" (chap. 3:17).

As ministers, we need to reemphasize with Paul that physical fitness—a vibrant, healthy body—is good religion and that God's plan for man includes the gospel of health. The totality of the good news places the question of health on a sound theological basis. Christ paid the price necessary for complete restoration. "Ye are bought with a price: there fore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

This grand truth needs to be dusted off and placed in its proper setting of salvation for the whole man. Christ taught it and lived it; the disciples preached it and lived it. We, as Christ's ministers, can do no less.


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J. Wayne McFarland, M.D., until his recent retirement, was associate secretary of the Health Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

July 1980

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