Your sins or imperfect righteous actions don’t stop you from being healed. This statement needs some qualifications. For example, I hesitate to mention exceptions because people tend to fixate on them, but Paul says in 1 Corinthians that their gross disrespect for the Lord’s Supper was causing some to get sick and even death. Paul urges them to stop this and be healed. Thus, certain extreme levels of sin can bring sickness, and you need to stop sinning. However, even in this context, faith can still bring healing, even if you don’t stop sinning—but if you persist in sin, the sickness is likely to return, and the cycle repeats.

Take for example the man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus said for him to stop sinning or something worse may happen. Thus, sin was the cause of his sickness, or the reason it did not leave. However, Jesus did not ask the man to repent or ask him to stop sinning before getting healed. No. Jesus only asked, “do you want to be healed?” He healed him for only wanting to be healed. No other qualifier was needed.  For true and permanent health, you need both to stop sinning and to have faith for healing. This is what true resisting the devil means. It is both to stop sinning (if applicable) and command him to leave, or command the sickness to leave. Ta

However, this is an exception. When you read the Gospels, Jesus heals every single person who approaches Him for healing. The only ones He couldn’t heal—or rather, the only ones who could stop God from healing—were those with unbelief. Think about the hundreds, if not thousands, of people lined up for healing. We read of large crowds, and all were healed. These were everyday people with sins like adultery, greed, lust, anger, envy, murder, laziness, and more. Yet, Jesus never stopped them and said, “You must repent first,” or “You must stop this sin first, then I’ll heal you.” Jesus never made them pay or earn their healing through effort, better self-righteousness, or money. Despite their sins and wickedness, Jesus healed them all—every single one.

Healing’s not a paycheck you earn—it’s a free gift from Jesus’ atonement, no sin-slaying resume required. Sure, Paul flagged gross sin like Lord’s Supper disrespect as a sickness trigger, but faith can still zap it, though sinning again might reboot the curse. In the Gospels, Jesus healed everyone—sinners, slackers, all—without a repentance pop quiz. Unbelief’s the only kryptonite

Jesus says, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” This unqualified access to healing, without earning it through self-improvement, repentance, or greater holiness, reflects the Father’s heart. Think about this the next time you ask the Father to do something in Jesus’ Name.

Through Jesus Christ, I’ve given up on myself. My old sinful record, which the Father held against me in His mind, was removed and nailed to the cross. That’s not me anymore. In the old testament sacrifice, the priest examined the unblemished lamb, not person who did the sin. That was the whole point of an exchange. When the Father considers me, He examines the righteous Jesus Christ, and consider me in Him. The Father sees me in Jesus, as part of Jesus. Does Jesus have sin? Neither do I. Does the Father consider Jesus to have a sinful record? Neither does He consider me to have one. In the Father’s mind, Jesus is perfect righteousness, and so am I. This is my new reality—there’s no other reality for me.

Thus, I don’t need to earn more righteousness to be healed or receive a blessing from God any more than Jesus does. If you try to earn healing by your performance, you haven’t given up on yourself; you haven’t received Jesus’ righteousness. Your old man is still alive, and your new man is dead. A Christian is the opposite: the old man is dead, and we have a new man identified with Jesus. My sins, in relation to me, are as far as the east is from the west, yet many Christians speak of their sins as if they can still see them. Quit acting like they’re still photobombing your spiritual selfie. This is delusional nonsense because it’s impossible to see the east from the west.

Just as with every blessing provided by Jesus’ atonement, healing isn’t earned but freely received by grace through faith. There’s no other way. But why would you want another way? This is the good way—God’s way.