Sin and Sickness

“Reaching out His hand, He touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be made clean,’ and immediately the disease left him.” “Seeing their faith He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’” (Luke 5:13, 20 CSB)

Is there a connection between sin and sickness? What does the Bible teach about this?
In a very general sense, all sickness is the result of sin. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived lives of perfection, where there was no sin and no disease of any kind. It was literally heaven on earth. There was no death. It was life at its apex. Their disobedience to the Lord’s command constituted the first sin, however, and that brought the judgment of God not only on them but on all mankind. Sin brought death, and it introduced disease. So, in a general sense all disease is the result of sin.

In a more specific sense, though, can we trace a sickness we have to sins we have committed?

The answer to that question cannot be universal. In the same chapter in Luke, Jesus healed two men. One man had a serious skin disease all over his body, but there is no indication that it came because of sin he committed. In the other case of the paralytic who was lowered through a roof so Jesus could heal him, Jesus said to him, “Friend, your sins are forgiven,” and Jesus healed him. The first case did not seem to be related to specific sin, but the second case clearly was. In another instance, the disciples asked Jesus if a man was born blind because of his own sins or the sins of his parents, and He responded that it was neither of the above. It was in order to glorify God when he was healed.

In reality, we cannot know whether another person’s sickness is the result of sin, and that is not up to us to judge. Sometimes, we do not even know whether a sickness we have comes from a sin we committed. Paul, for example, had a “thorn in the flesh,” evidently some kind of illness, but there is no indication it was because of sin. We do, however, sometimes have a fairly good idea about some illness we experience as the result of sin we have committed. For example, if two people got into a fight so that both end up in the hospital with serious injuries, you can be sure that those illnesses resulted from sin. Sometimes it is obvious, but sometimes we just do not know. If we honestly conclude that some illness we have is the result of sin, then that suggests first the need for repentance, and it suggests further that we seek the Lord’s forgiveness and then His healing. If we are not certain, then we simply need to just ask the Lord for healing and trust the matter to Him.

Father, Help us today to not set ourselves up as judge over anyone’s maladies since we do not know what You know, and even with ourselves, Lord, we turn to You seeking Your blessing. Amen.