My mother recently sent me a terrific sermon by Chuck Swindoll titled, “A Better Way to Look at God’s Will.” My mom’s timing, as usual, was perfect. I had just read an article in The Christian Post about Kathryn Krick, a “self-proclaimed ‘apostle’ and faith healer.”
I listened to Krick’s Easter message titled, “The Full Gospel.” She proudly proclaimed, “It is quite rare in the body of Christ that the full Gospel is preached. It is more common that part of the Gospel is preached. Today you shall hear the full Gospel.”
Krick affirmed that Jesus is fully God and fully man. She said, “When we believe that Jesus has died for our sins, when we believe that He is the only Lord and Savior … we get this precious gift of all of our sins being removed … when we die, we don’t go to Hell because this is part of what Jesus saved us from on the cross, eternity in Hell. We know where we are going, Heaven, eternally … what I just shared is Part 1 of the Gospel.”
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Actually, what Krick shared up to that point was in fact the entire Gospel. She proceeded to say, “The devil has tried so hard to keep people blinded to the rest of the Gospel.” The fact of the matter is that Jesus gave us the entire Gospel in John 3:16.
The term “full Gospel” is associated with Pentecostalism, and Romans 15:18-19 is often referenced. Paul wrote, “So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the Gospel of Christ.” Paul simply meant that he had filled up that region with the good news of the Gospel. Examine the 13 or 14 epistles written by the Apostle Paul. He never even hinted at a so-called “full Gospel” that is more comprehensive than what he presented in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
And Paul never once instructed Christians to focus more on physical healing than on spiritual health and spiritual growth. Paul was a true apostle appointed by the Lord, who like Chuck Swindoll 20 centuries later, was deeply grounded in biblical theology. Paul fed God’s sheep true doctrine enabling them to grow strong in faith, patience and obedience.
Like other flamboyant faith healers, Kathryn Krick attributes a person’s lack of physical healing to a lack of faith. She said, “It’s not a matter of, ‘Does God want to heal me or not?’ It’s yours.” “It is not OK for us as children of God, believers, and leaders in the church to be withholding this important part of the Gospel anymore … we’re not preaching the full Gospel.”
But if that were true, why then didn’t the 21 New Testament epistles contain “the rest of the Gospel”? And why didn’t Jesus present the so-called “full Gospel” in His 7 letters to the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation? (see Revelation 2:1-29; 3:1-22).
Kathryn Krick often gets animated while on stage, but emotional pitches about physical healing do not develop believers into mature followers of Christ. Peter, Paul, James and John, on the other hand, were inspired by the Holy Spirit to author deep theological truth (see 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Does God want believers to pray for physical healing? Of course. After all, many miraculous healings are recorded in the four Gospels and in the Book of Acts. One of the rare references in the 21 epistles to praying for physical healing is found in James 5:14-15: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.”
The proper focus stays on Christ when the congregation’s elders have a group prayer with a sick person, as compared to a lone wolf faith healer who craves the limelight and longs to become a popular entertainer capable of working up a crowd into a frenzy. (See Mike Winger’s 4-hour expose, “The Victims of Benny Hinn: 30 Years of Spiritual Deception.”)
Sam Storms penned an insightful piece in 2021 titled, “Does Matthew 8 Teach Physical Healing in the Atonement?” Sam wisely wrote, “The question is not whether our bodies receive healing because of the atonement of Christ, but when.” “To whatever degree we experience healing in this life, it is the fruit of Christ’s atoning death. But it doesn’t necessarily follow that where there is atonement there is immediate healing.” We simply do not know why some believers are healed physically, while others are not.
Sam Storms and Chuck Swindoll are two pastors who for decades have helped followers of Christ grow into spiritual maturity. During my college career 40 years ago, I listened to many of Swindoll’s excellent messages, which often had an emphasis on the sovereignty of God and the importance of trusting the Lord when things don’t seem to make sense. The teaching was full of rich insights about prayerfully waiting upon God, especially in times of heartache, disease and strenuous trials.
Mature believers learn to trust God to accomplish His purposes in His perfect time, rather than demanding immediate answers to our pressing problems. Sometimes the abundant life Jesus promised His followers (see John 10:10) is only achieved through long periods of testing, hardships and waiting upon our Savior who will bring us to Heaven one day, where we will enjoy a perfect physical body throughout eternity.
In addition to the four Gospels and the Book of Acts, Kathryn Krick should immerse herself in the 21 New Testament epistles and the Book of Revelation. In this way, she may come to understand why her current approach is incapable of making disciples who are grounded in biblical truth. Apart from sound doctrine, spiritual growth never occurs (see 1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). But by the grace of God, mature Christians fully trust and love the Lord with their heart, soul, and mind even when physical healing does not materialize.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
