The message of health reform has been a significant part of the present truth ever since it was introduced to those who are waiting for Jesus’ coming. Wherever the third angel’s message reached, the health reform message followed as its right hand. Many reformers study and practice different principles of health reform in following the words of God that say, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God,” “for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Corinthians 10:31; 3:17
Now, I would like to ask you a question. Among all kinds of different principles of health, what is the most important one? There are many principles, such as “Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water… nature’s remedial agencies.” –The Ministry of Healing, p. 127. Is vegetarianism the center of health reform? Or is dress reform the most characteristic? Is air the most important principle? Or is it rest? It might be water. Maybe it is exercise. What is the essence of the principles of health reform?
The Shift of the Medical Paradigm
To begin with, I would like to discuss the main focus of medical professionals. For centuries, healthcare providers have focused heavily on illness rather than the patient. For example, if someone had lung cancer, they studied how to treat it using chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But they did not care too much about what caused the disease or how the patient felt. This point of view was called a “Medical Approach” and continued until only a few decades ago.
In 1977, Marc Lalonde, the Canadian Minister of National Health and Welfare, proposed a new perspective on medicine called the “Behavioral Approach.” In his paper, which is now called the “Lalonde Report,” he suggested that the behaviours and lifestyle of individuals determine their health. For example, if someone has lung cancer, doctors will check if he or she smokes, if any of their family smokes, if they work in an environment that has many chemicals in the air, etc. However, they soon realized that this perspective was not perfect. They noticed that they kept blaming the patients for being sick. When someone has lung issues, doctors and nurses would point their fingers at the patient and say, “You are sick because you smoke. It is your fault.” In this way, they neglected compassion and empathy for patients.
To overcome this problem, experts worldwide gathered and held a meeting in Ottawa in 1986. Soon they published an international agreement called, “Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion.” They introduced a new perspective called the “Holistic Approach,” in which they focused more on patients’ lives, emotions, feelings, and experiences. For example, let us say that someone has lung cancer. Then they would say, “Why?” It is because he smokes. Here, the question continues: “Why?” It is because he is stressed. “Why?” It is because he has a family to support but does not have a good income. “Why?” He did not receive an education. “Why?” His parents could not afford his education. “Why?” and the questions continue.
At the end of these questions, they often concluded that it is the failure of society and its systems that cause stress to their lives, resulting in health damage to individuals. In this way, healthcare providers try to understand the situation and the patient’s feelings. The understanding of a patient’s emotions and experiences has developed, and indeed, it was around this time when studies on individual experiences in fields such as psychology and nursing, developed.
As they developed these new perspectives, they took pride in their achievements and knowledge. They advertised the great medical advancements that humans achieved. However, there was someone who already presented and practiced this perspective about 2000 years ago.
The Paralytic of Capernaum
“And again He entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that He was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and He preached the word unto them. And they
come unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Mark 2:1–5
Here we can see someone with palsy who was very desperate to see Jesus. He was so desperate that he even asked his friends to break the roof and lower him into the house so that he could reach Jesus. Why was he so desperate? Of course, he wanted to be healed, but he had more of a background.
“Like the leper, this paralytic had lost all hope of recovery. His disease was the result of a life of sin, and his sufferings were embittered by remorse. He had long before appealed to the Pharisees and doctors, hoping for relief from mental suffering and physical pain. But they coldly pronounced him incurable, and abandoned him to the wrath of God. The Pharisees regarded affliction as an evidence of divine displeasure, and they held themselves aloof from the sick and the needy. Yet often these very ones who exalted themselves as holy were more guilty than the sufferers they condemned.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 267
The Jews used to believe that disease was the result of a life of sin. As we will talk about later, the Bible shows us that not all diseases are due to our sins. However, in his case, they were right. He did develop palsy due to his sin.
He went to the Pharisees and the doctors with a desire to be healed and to receive a message of hope from the spiritual and anointed leaders. However, they only coldly reminded him that he was a sinner. It was then that he heard the news about Jesus. He heard about how the Man sent by God was able to heal people. New hope sprung up in his heart.
“Yet it was not physical restoration he desired so much as relief from the burden of sin. If he could see Jesus, and receive the assurance of forgiveness and peace with Heaven, he would be content to live or die, according to God’s will. The cry of the dying man was, Oh that I might come into His presence! There was no time to lose; already his wasted flesh was showing signs of decay. He besought his friends to carry him on his bed to Jesus, and this they gladly undertook to do. But so dense was the crowd that had assembled in and about the house where the Saviour was, that it was impossible for the sick man and his friends to reach Him, or even to come within hearing of His voice.
“Again and again the bearers of the paralytic tried to push their way through the crowd, but in vain. The sick man looked about him in unutterable anguish. When the longed-for help was so near, how could he relinquish hope? At his suggestion his friends bore him to the top of the house and, breaking up the roof, let him down at the feet of Jesus. The discourse was interrupted. The Saviour looked upon the mournful countenance, and saw the pleading eyes fixed upon Him. He understood the case; He had drawn to Himself that perplexed and doubting spirit. While the paralytic was yet at home, the Saviour had brought conviction to his conscience. When he repented of his sins, and believed in the power of Jesus to make him whole, the life-giving mercies of the Saviour had first blessed his longing heart. Jesus had watched the first glimmer of faith grow into a belief that He was the sinner’s only helper, and had seen it grow stronger with every effort to come into His presence.” –Ibid., p. 267–268
As the paralytic saw the face of Jesus, he saw a kind, forgiving spirit. It was not the physical healing that he was looking for. It was a cure for his heart. He wanted to be healed from his sin. His heart was broken by thoughts of hopelessness and the cold words by the Pharisees. As he saw Jesus, he immediately knew Jesus was able, and willing to, heal him.
Jesus knew his spiritual and mental struggle. Jesus knew what was going on in his heart. As the man with palsy saw forgiveness and hope in Jesus’ eyes, Jesus saw faith in his eyes. Therefore, Jesus spoke to him the following. “And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” Luke 5:20
It is such a strange thing for any doctor to say to his patient. What would you do if you went to your doctor’s office for stomach pain and the doctor did not give you any treatment but said “your sins are forgiven”? I would probably never go back to that doctor again. I would think that his advice is odd.
However, we could see that these were the very words that the man with palsy needed in order to be healed. His heart had suffered from the thought that God might not accept him. His disease was a consistent reminder of his past and mistakes. Knowing he was desperate to receive the assurance and forgiveness of God, Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven.
This is the centre of health reform. Health reform is known to be the right arm of the third angel’s message. What is the third angel’s message? To put it into very simple words, it is the gospel and the promise that we would be “perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. In other words, it is a promise that we would be free from the disease of sin in our heart.
Health reform is meant to show this message to people. When someone is sick, many thoughts go through their minds. They reflect on their life and their past. They think back to the sinful life they lived. Then, health reform is meant to show them the doctor who can heal their sins by showing them the doctor who can heal their body. Health reform is meant to go beyond just the aspect of physical healing and instead show the center of the third angel’s message as well, the gospel.
Unfortunately, many so-called health reformers follow the example of the Pharisees up to this day. When someone is sick, those who claim to be health reformers would go and tell them that it is their fault that they are sick. Let us say that someone got sick and was hospitalized. Some members would visit them and say, “What did I tell you, my brother? Didn’t I tell you that you should stop eating that? Didn’t I tell you that you need to do this regularly? You didn’t listen to me. You didn’t live the health reform. And this is why you are sick.” Then they would add: “Get well soon. God bless you.” We tell them, “God bless you.” But what kind of God are we showing to them when we say these words? We take hope away from their hearts. We remind them of their sins but do not show them Jesus, who is ready to forgive.
Jesus condemns the sins of those who discourage their brethren, rather than condemning the sick. When we condemn other people’s sins, we are committing sins that Jesus would condemn us for.
The True Doctor
The Jews had a “behavioural approach” in which they blamed the patient for being sick. Many health reformers follow this perspective. Let us remember that even worldly doctors abandoned this idea several decades ago. Now, healthcare workers focus on the experiences and feelings of patients, following the example of Jesus, 2000 years later, without realizing it. How shameful is it for those who claim to learn from our God to practice the ideas that Jesus forbade and even non-believers have forsaken?
It is amazing to see how Jesus showed us this medical paradigm 2000 years before doctors would discover it. Many people think the Bible is old knowledge that needs the help of new scientific knowledge. However, the Bible has gone ahead of the vanity of human education and shown us eternal wisdom since the beginning. Doctors and researchers tried so hard to advance and discover human knowledge, just to find out that they wasted their time and efforts as their discoveries were already taught in the Bible in simple words. That is why Solomon claimed, “I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” Ecclesiastes 1:16–18
In many churches, they promote and emphasize how many educated men, doctors, and PhD’s they have in their churches, trying to attract people to the church. However, they often forget that spirituality is the only thing that matters in the work of God. They recruit educated people over spiritual and humble people to lead the church. In this way, the church forgets the lesson that God’s business does not rely on human wisdom, knowledge, reputation, and title. Jesus recruited and called non-educated fishermen to be pillars of His church. Throughout history, God always called people who did not lose their humility.
Of course, there are certain works that God can carry out through the education and talents that people may have, such as the apostle Paul. However, is God unable to carry out the work without their education? No. He can even make “the stones . . . immediately cry out.” Luke 19:40. If Paul did not come to Jesus that day, would we have lost the majority of the New Testament? No, God would still have given us the same messages through different instruments. This points out how vain it is for many churches to emphasize human wisdom. The Bible never denies the importance of an academic education. Rather, it emphasizes our duties of developing our intelligence, knowledge, and talents. However, the Bible claims that what is more important than these is the beauty of character, which is humility. The promotion to a title leads to the promotion of pride, which is poison to God’s work.
Jesus is not the only example we can find as to how the medical knowledge of our Creator is vastly beyond the knowledge of educated creation. Through Sister White, many health messages were brought to us decades before being discovered by doctors. For example, through the testimonies, God has forbidden the use of tobacco which was advertised and promoted by doctors back in the time. They discovered its harm a century after Sister White’s writings.
The Bible also shows us the future of medicine. Already thousands of years ago, the Bible had emphasized the importance of natural remedies. The academic doctrine of natural healing is in the process of growing, and it is growing in popularity among people only in recent years. Many people are coming to
accept the idea of natural remedies, claiming that naturopathy is the future of medicine and a key to solving the limitations of current medicine. At the same time, it has been introduced to us by the Bible a long time ago.
The Bible also shows us the ultimate goal of medicine. The dream of true doctors who care about patients is to lose their own jobs. In other words, the true spirit of healthcare workers is to see the world without disease and death. Jesus, as our Saviour and as our Doctor, promised that “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4
Truth, Not Fact
The Pharisees were right when they thought that the paralytic got sick due to his own sins. It was a fact. However, we should remember that fact and truth are different. When we tell other brethren about different principles of health, it might be factual. What we say might be right. However, truth has something that fact does not have—it is love. Facts spoken without love are not the truth, no matter how correct they might be or how evidence-based they might be. The patient might indeed commit sins that made them sick. However, if we speak to them without love, the message of health reform does not have the spirit of health reform in it.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1–2
And, after all, many times people are sick, but not because of their own sins. Let us think about Job. Why was he sick? “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not Thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face. And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” Job 1:6–12
As we can see, a great controversy between God and Satan was going on. Job’s sickness was due to a spiritual battle that no one could see. But, what did his friends believe about the cause of Job’s disease?
“It is very natural for human beings to think that great calamities are a sure index of great crimes and enormous sins; but men often make a mistake in thus measuring character. We are not living in the time of retributive judgment. Good and evil are mingled, and calamities come upon all. Sometimes men do pass the boundary line beyond God’s protecting care, and then Satan exercises his power upon them, and God does not interpose. Job was sorely afflicted, and his friends sought to make him acknowledge that his suffering was the result of sin, and cause him to feel under condemnation. They represented his case as that of a great sinner; but the Lord rebuked them for their judgment of His faithful servant.” –Manuscript 56, 1894
“There is wickedness in our world, but all the suffering is not the result of a perverted course of life. Job is brought distinctly before us as a man whom the Lord allowed Satan to afflict. The enemy stripped him of all he possessed; his family ties were broken; his children were taken from him. For a time his body was covered with loathsome sores, and he suffered greatly. His friends came to comfort him, but they tried to make him see that he was responsible, by his sinful course, for his afflictions. But he defended himself, and denied the charge, declaring, Miserable comforters are ye all. By seeking to make him guilty before God, and deserving of His punishment, they brought a grievous test upon him, and represented God in a false light; but Job did not swerve from his loyalty, and God rewarded His faithful servant.” – Manuscript 22, 1898
Jesus taught us that it is a sin to blame sick people for their disease, even if it happened due to their own sins. It is a sin in His eyes to act like those Pharisees who coldly reminded the paralytic of his sins, even if it is a fact. If so, how much worse would our sins be if someone might be suffering due to the great controversy between God and Satan?
Indeed, many diseases are not due to the fault of a person. It might be genetic. It might be environmental. It might be an accident. And most of all, it might be due to God’s great plan.
We cannot see the great controversy happening behind the scenes, as in the case of Job. How much more should we be afraid to condemn others’ sicknesses? Though we might think we are keeping health reform, we are committing sins against the essence and centre of its principles and spirit.
First Things First
Many people emphasize health reform using the passage, “Health Reform is the right arm of the third angel’s message.” However, they put so much emphasis on health reform that they forget the third angel’s message, which is the message of hope. Even though health reform is meant to lead people to the third angel’s message as the right arm, they use the name “the third angel’s message” to give emphasis to health reform. Without noticing, the position of health reform and the third angel is replaced by each other.
“The health reform is as closely related to the third angel’s message as the arm to the body; but the arm cannot take the place of the body. The proclamation of the third angel’s message, the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus, is the burden of our work. The message is to be proclaimed with a loud cry, and is to go to the whole world. The presentation of health principles must be united with this message, but must not in any case be independent of it, or in any way take the place of it.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 75
The third angel’s message—showing Jesus, who can heal our sins—is the body of the present truth and the essence of health reform. However, many people emphasize health information so much that they get lost in it. This often leads them to repeat the same mistakes as the Pharisees.
I am not stating that health reform is not important. It is indeed essential. It helps us have a clear mind to understand spiritual matters, and is also one of the most important ways to reach souls. Even Jesus spent more time healing than preaching.
Let us remember. Jesus once said, “And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27. However, His words never lowered the standards of Sabbath, which we need to keep, even risking our lives for our faithfulness. Rather, He was making the standards higher. Through these words, Jesus showed the center, essence, and spirit of the Sabbath. He taught that God’s love toward mankind, and mankind’s love toward God is the center of the Sabbath.
It is the same regarding health reform. Only putting first things first and setting the right priority can make health reform a blessing. Let us remember that health reform exists for man, not man for health reform. The purpose of health reform is to save souls by introducing Jesus to those who are sick. Many people make mistakes in manifesting the idea that man exists for health reform by hurting others’ souls by misusing their knowledge about health. Let us put first things first. Health reform exists for man, not vice versa.
That Ye May Know
“But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But 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. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.” Luke 5:22–26
It is easy for Jesus to heal us from our diseases. It is not difficult for Jesus to heal us through the different principles of the health message. It is not hard for us to deliver health information about pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, and nature’s remedial agencies. What is more important is that these health messages exist so that we “may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins.”
This is the centre of the health message—Jesus, who can forgive our sins. This is the message that patients need. They are longing for the assurance of salvation. They are waiting to listen to the words of forgiveness. Yes, they might be sick due to their own fault, or it might be due to a greater reason, such as the great controversy between God and Satan, as in the case of Job. We never know. But one thing is sure, disease gives them a chance to reflect on their lives. They are thinking about their sins. They are thinking about their past. And now, they need to see the face of Jesus, full of compassion and of a forgiving spirit, full of assurance and hope.
The face that the paralytic had seen and gained faith through should be reflected on our faces through the same spirit that Jesus had. When we bring someone this message, the state of disease will be an opportunity for the person to know our forgiving Saviour and the third angel’s message. Their suffering will turn out to be a blessing. Their sickness will turn into a testimony of the power of prayer.
My dear brothers and sisters, this is the most important principle of health reform. “Ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins.” This is the essence of health reform. May we learn from our true Physician so that He can make us true health reformers who carry the hope of healing souls. Amen.
Makoto Matsumoto