"He sent his word, and healed them"

Archibald Mclellan

As Jesus was parting from his disciples he said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover," and it is recorded that "they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." In this Scriptural record there is no hint that some of our Master's followers were to preach the word, while others healed the sick and instructed the people how to conserve their health.

To Jesus and the early Christians there was no separation of the preaching and the healing,—"He sent his word, and healed them,"—and the word of God is of equal force today, although so many of Christ's professed followers largely fear to put it to the test.

That the churches of to-day are expected to do something for the health of their people as well as for their morals, is becoming more and more apparent, and we doubt their ability to withstand for any great period this growing demand. The following editorial, which we copy from the Baltimore Herald, gives proof of the urgency of this demand as well as of the admitted inadequacy of the generally accepted interpretation of Jesus' teachings,—if the "signs following" are an essential part of Christianity. The Herald says:—

"If the proposal of the Maryland Association for the Prevention and Relief of Tuberculosis finds favor with the ministers of this city and the State, a novel campaign against the dreaded "white death" will be begun in the fall. The pastors of churches have been solicited to open their pulpits to physicians deputed by the association to set forth to the congregations the causes, character, and the method of combating tuberculosis.

"It seems that in Montreal a Sunday was set aside for the presenting of this theme, and a widespread and active interest was engendered in the war in progress against civilized man's worst foe. There is no reason in the nature of the case why the pulpit should not be opened to the discussion of a subject of broadest humanity by the only class of persons who are competent to state the facts and to evoke inspiration in what has come to be a general crusade.

"As the pastor of a Baltimore church pointed out in an article in a religious paper—which has become the basis of the present appeal by the Maryland Association—clergymen are called upon constantly to visit homes and to administer consolation to families afflicted by the entrance of the dread disease. Why should they not then be glad to have that theme discussed in their pulpits in the interest of the lessening of the plague? Religion has to do with spirits corporate, and to-day there is little disposition to limit its ministrations to the strictly spiritual sphere.

"It is likely that the Baltimore pastors will take this view of the matter and the campaign of education proposed be carried out." Archibald Mclellan.

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