1 Timothy 5:19-24 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. (20) Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. (21) I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. (22) Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure. … (24) Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.”
In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul warns believers not to be hasty in laying hands on others. That warning seems to contradict what the bible teaches us about laying on of hands, for our Lord instructed us to go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature and lay hand on those who are sick and tormented (Mark 16:15-18). As we have already discussed earlier however, in that passage of scripture our Lord was referring to His saints laying their hands on unbelievers. Whereas in the above quoted passage of scripture when the Holy Spirit warns us not to act hastily in laying hands on others; He is referring to us laying hands on fellow believers, He is not referring to unbelievers. In this passage He deals specifically with sin in believers affecting the person who is laying hands on them, for Paul warns Timothy not to share in other people’s sins but to keep himself pure. All unbelievers are full of sin, for scripture refers to them as sinners. And yet we are instructed in scripture to lay our hands on the unsaved. So if we are warned about sin affecting us when we lay hands on believers, why are we not warned about sin affecting us when we lay hands on unbelievers? The answer to that question is that sin in unbelievers cannot affect believers who lay their hands on them, because believers have been translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13), which means that in Christ, the believer has power over the kingdom of darkness. And so when the saints lay hands on unbelievers the only flow of anointing that takes place is from their hands into the bodies of the unsaved to destroy the works of the devil. There is no transference of any sin from the unbeliever to the believer. So why would sin in believers affect fellow believers that lay their hands on them? In all instances the person laying hands on an individual is effectively blessing the person being prayed for. A problem can arise however, if the person trying to bless the other through the laying on of hands is going against God’s will. So what do I mean by that statement? Let’s take healing as an example. It may be that the person being prayed for has been judged by the Lord with that sickness because of unrepentant sin in their lives. And so for a believer to lay hands on that person to bless them would bring that believer into direct opposition to the Lord, and it is possible that the Lord could therefore judge them accordingly.
Michael E.B. Maher
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