Sin's Contagious Consequences

Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) Then they put him in custody that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.”Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.

(Leviticus 24:10-15)

Events recorded in the Old Testament serve as examples for us and were written for our admonition. In the above-quoted passage of scripture, we see God’s judgment pronounced on an individual for the sin he had committed. Yet beyond the judgment itself, this account also presents us with a picture of contamination.

Sin, much like a virus, spreads if it is not dealt with. In this case, the individual had blasphemed, and his blasphemy was heard by others. Those who heard were thereby exposed and, in a sense, contaminated by the same sin. To cleanse Israel from this “sin virus” that had manifested among them, the carrier—the one who had committed the sin—had to be destroyed. At the same time, the Lord also made provision to decontaminate those who had been affected. He instructed them to lay their hands on the sinner, symbolically transferring the contamination back to its originator.

As we study this aspect of the laying on of hands, we see the same principle carried into the New Covenant. Sin is still to be treated as a virus that must be addressed. However, under the New Covenant, we no longer destroy the carrier of the virus. Instead, we quarantine them—separating them from the rest of the body—so that the infection cannot spread further.

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. 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. Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure…. Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.

(1 Timothy 5:19-24)

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. At first glance, this warning seems to contradict what the Bible teaches about the laying on of hands, for our Lord instructed us to go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, and lay hands on the sick and tormented (Mark 16:15–18).

As we have already noted, however, in that passage our Lord was speaking of His saints laying hands on unbelievers. In contrast, when the Holy Spirit warns us not to act hastily in laying hands on others, He is referring specifically to laying hands on fellow believers—not unbelievers. Paul makes this clear when he instructs Timothy not to share in other people’s sins but to keep himself pure.

All unbelievers are characterized by sin, for Scripture refers to them simply as sinners. Yet, we are commanded to lay hands on the unsaved. Why then are we warned about the danger of being affected by sin when laying hands on believers, but not when doing so for unbelievers? The answer lies in our position in Christ. Sin in unbelievers cannot transfer to the believer who lays hands on them, because believers have been translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13). In Christ, the believer has authority over the kingdom of darkness. Thus, when saints lay hands on unbelievers, the only spiritual flow is the anointing of God moving from the believer’s hands into the body of the unsaved, destroying the works of the devil. There is no transference of sin from the unbeliever to the believer.

But why, then, can sin in believers affect those who lay hands on them? In every case, the one laying hands is imparting a blessing to the person being prayed for. A problem arises, however, if the person doing the praying acts contrary to God’s will. For example, consider healing. It may be that the sickness afflicting a believer is the result of God’s judgment for unrepentant sin. If another believer lays hands on that individual to bless them, they may unknowingly set themselves in opposition to the Lord’s judgment. In such cases, it is possible that the Lord could hold the one who acted presumptuously accountable.

And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed." … So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

(Numbers 22:12-22)

In this section, we are considering the foolishness of saints attempting to bless those whom the Lord may have judged. The scriptural example given above illustrates this principle—though in reverse.

In the full context of the account, we see the prophet Balaam attempting to curse the children of Israel, even after the Lord had expressly forbidden him, for the Lord had already blessed them. Yet Balaam persisted in his effort to curse them because of his love for money, as those who had hired him promised a great reward if he would do so. In his stubbornness, Balaam placed himself in direct opposition to the Lord, and it nearly cost him his life. As we know, Balaam’s donkey saved him from the angel’s sword and certain death.

This account was recorded for our instruction, demonstrating the danger of opposing God by cursing those He has blessed. In the same way, it is equally unwise to oppose God by attempting to bless those whom He has judged.

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

(2 John 1:9-11)

In the passage of Scripture quoted above, the Holy Spirit, through the apostle John, warns believers not to invite certain people into their homes or even to greet them. In context, these are individuals who knowingly preach a false or distorted gospel. The Lord makes it clear that if we welcome such people or even greet them, we become partakers in their evil deeds.

To share in their evil deeds means that we will fall under the same judgment our Lord has pronounced on them. How much more serious, then, would it be for a believer to lay hands on such individuals in an attempt to bless them? Scripture is clear: we must not be naïve, but discerning, about those on whom we lay hands.

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "Put away from yourselves the evil person."

(1 Corinthians 5:6-13)

In the passage of Scripture quoted above, the Holy Spirit teaches us that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” In other words, just as leaven spreads throughout dough, so sin can spread throughout the body. In context, this warning refers specifically to sin in believers and its ability to impact the lives of other believers. The reason this can occur is that we all come from the same “lump of dough,” so to speak, for we are members of the same body of Christ. Unbelievers, however, are not part of this lump, which is why their sin cannot affect us in the same way.

Notice that in this passage the Holy Spirit counsels us to cut ties with believers who live in unrepentant sin and even instructs us not to share a meal with them. The reason is clear: sin can be likened to a virus, and unless it is quarantined, it can spread throughout the body.

I once experienced a situation that illustrated this truth. Some time ago, I attended a breakfast meeting where we gathered around the table to pray for various needs. One individual at the table, introduced to me as a brother in the Lord, was someone I had never met before. Another person asked me to pray for him, simply to bless him. I agreed without hesitation and bowed my head, but when I tried to pray, no words came out. It was as if my tongue was restrained. An awkward silence followed as everyone waited, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not speak. Finally, in order to break the silence, I prayed a brief request for the Lord to reveal His will to the man and then quickly ended my prayer.

Later, I discovered that this person was living as a homosexual. At that moment, I understood why the Holy Spirit had not allowed me to bless him in prayer. Had I done so, I would have prayed against the will of God, and it could have had a negative effect on my own spiritual life.

From this, we clearly see that we must not lay hands hastily on any believer. It is wise to first ask whether there is any unconfessed sin in their life before praying for them.

Michael E.B. Maher

Laying on of Hands

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