The Tower of Babel failed because humanity used its God-given authority to build monuments to itself. Divine healing is available because Christ bore our sicknesses in the atonement. Both truths carry the same implication: authority entrusted to you is meant to serve God's purposes, not your own ambition. That applies to the authority you exercise over your own body as much as anywhere else.

I. Become Converted and Born-again

The gospel teaches that forgiveness of sins and healing of the body go hand in hand. If ministers would teach the whole gospel, people would have faith for both healing and forgiveness—and they'd receive both at the moment they get saved from sin.

The following Scriptures prove that both benefits were provided through the sacrifice at Calvary: "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses" Matthew 8:16-17; "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" 1 Peter 2:24.

And these passages show that forgiveness and healing should be received at the same time: "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" Psalms 103:3; "For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?" Matthew 9:5; "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" Matthew 13:15; "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" James 5:14-16.

So you can see clearly—healing is just as easy to receive from God as forgiveness of sins. Both can be received by the same simple faith in God, asking in the name of Jesus. Healing is part of your salvation, so don't let yourself be cheated out of it any more than you'd let yourself be cheated out of forgiveness.

II. Have Faith in God for Healing

If you ask God for healing and believe it's done—the same way you're taught to ask for forgiveness—it will be done. Don't doubt for one moment that God will heal you, just as you wouldn't doubt that He forgives you.

Resist every doubt that you're healed, the same way you'd resist any temptation to doubt your forgiveness. Think of it like this: when you first got saved, you were taught to accept salvation by faith and count it done whether you felt it or not. You believed God forgave you regardless of your feelings—and because you believed, you were saved.

It's the same with healing. After you've prayed and asked for healing, count it done. Believe it regardless of feelings, symptoms, or anything your body seems to be telling you.

If you'll hold firm that you're healed—just as you know you're forgiven—God will confirm the healing just as He confirms forgiveness. This cannot be overemphasized: healing depends so much on standing firm that your prayer has been heard and answered.

If you want the benefits of the gospel, do what's required to get them, and you won't fail. If you're not saved or haven't followed the instructions in the previous supplements, you'll need to do so if you want results.

We can't guarantee the gospel's benefits until you meet these conditions. Are the benefits worth the effort? If they are, do as you were instructed. If they're not worth the effort to believe God without wavering, then don't be frustrated when you don't get what you want.

You can't expect God to show favoritism and give you these benefits when you fail to do what He requires. God isn't that kind of God—He won't break His laws for anyone. He knows every person can choose to meet the conditions of unwavering faith.

Stop babying yourself or complaining that it's hard to believe. That very attitude is sinful—you should ask God to forgive you for believing lies and Satan instead of truth and God. As long as you cooperate with Satan through unbelief, you can't cooperate with God through true faith. You can't serve two masters or hold faith and unbelief at the same time.

If you've repented of your sins and your unbelief, you have a right—a perfect right according to the gospel—to receive what the gospel promises and what Christ died to give you. So it's all-important to get rid of unbelief and have simple, child-like faith in God for healing, for material prosperity, and for anything you ask of God.

Faith is required according to Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:5-8. (See Lesson Ten, Point III.) Everyone who has faith will be healed without exception.

III. Wholly Trust God in Sickness and Adversity

The Bible says, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord... he shall be like the heath in the desert... Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is... he shall be as a tree planted by the waters... and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green [shall have health]... neither shall cease from yielding fruit" Jeremiah 17:5-10.

See also Proverbs 3:5-8; 2 Chronicles 16:12-14; 2 Kings 1:1-17; Mark 5:25-34.