Question: Are there “methods” of working for or earning our salvation and healing? I know a preacher who preaches this way strongly.
Answer: No, there are no “methods” of working for or earning our salvation or healing. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Again, Titus 3:4-7 says, “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
These texts and many more make it clear that salvation is by grace through faith and not of works. I remember a day when God told me straight out that I would be worthy of His blessings only as long as I put my faith in the merits of the shed blood of His Son, and that only, for every favor I ever got from Him. And that as soon as I began to think that He was obligated to me or owed me anything or that I had earned or merited any blessing from Him because of any good thing I had done or any sacrifice I had made or any service I had rendered, that very moment I became unworthy of the least of His favors.
However, we must recognize that the promises of God for salvation or healing or any other favors are conditional promises; and the fulfillment of them is contingent upon our doing certain things and meeting certain conditions set forth in connection with the promises. To the sinner seeking salvation the requirements are: Confess and forsake his sins (I John 1:9, Psalm 32:5 and Proverbs 28:13), Repent (Acts 17:30, Luke 24:47, II Corinthians 7:10-11, Mark 1:14-15 and Acts 3:19), Forgiveness of those who have wronged him (Matthew 6:12, 14-15, Mark 11:25-26 and more), Restitution making his wrongs right (Ezekiel 33:15 and Luke 19:8) and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s Son and his Saviour (John 3:16, John 5:24, John 8:24, John 20:31 and Mark 16:16). If a sinner does not do all of these things and meet Bible conditions, he can never be saved. It is the same with promises for healing or any other favor from God. Possibly the minister you refer to in the question may have been dealing with this angle. To teach a doctrine of salvation by works constitutes a corruption of the pure gospel of Christ and is contrary to the doctrine which we have learned and those who teach such things are in error and should not be accepted. (Romans 16:17).
