Not Every Affliction, But Many
"It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." — John 9:3
The Correction This Teaching Needs
Everything you have read so far is capable of doing real harm if it is not bounded properly. So spend a full lesson on the boundaries.
Not every affliction is caused by sin.
Jesus said so directly. His disciples saw a man born blind and asked whose sin caused it — his or his parents'. It was the standard assumption of their day, and it was exactly the reasoning this teaching can slide into.
"Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" (John 9:3)
He rejected the premise entirely. Not "his parents rather than him." Neither.
More Evidence for the Boundary
The New Testament is full of afflicted people whose affliction is never attributed to sin.
Paul left a co-worker sick in Miletus and offered no spiritual explanation (2 Timothy 4:20). He told Timothy to take something for his stomach and frequent ailments (1 Timothy 5:23) — practical advice, not a call to repentance. He described his own thorn in the flesh as something God declined to remove, for reasons having nothing to do with unconfessed sin (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
And the entire book of Job exists as a forty-two-chapter argument against exactly this misapplication. Job's friends built a confident theology on the principle that suffering indicates sin. God's verdict on their reasoning: "You have not spoken of me what is right" (Job 42:7).
If you take one thing from this lesson, take this: you may apply this teaching to yourself. You may not apply it to anyone else.
And Yet
Having built the fence, do not now abandon the field.
Because the other observation is equally true: when the Bible speaks about the causes of infirmity, it is almost always associated with sin.
Search both Testaments and you will find at least twenty direct references connecting sin and infirmity, and as many as thirty more indirect ones. That is not a marginal theme.
And in practice, among people who actually work through this process, a striking proportion of long-standing problems resolve. In one structured survey at an addiction recovery center — where students listed their issues, rated the intensity of each, and then prayed through the process — nearly nine out of ten saw almost all of their issues disappear completely. Chronic pain, depression, anxiety, addictions, anger. And for the few with issues remaining, intensity had dropped to about a third of its original level.
So hold both. Not everything. But far more than anyone assumes.
Point to Ponder
Apply this to yourself with rigor. Apply it to another person never.
Verse to Remember
"It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." — John 9:3
Question to Consider
Have I ever, even privately, concluded something about a suffering person's spiritual life because of their suffering?
Today's Practice
Two exercises.
First, repentance. If you have ever looked at someone's illness, poverty, disability, or misfortune and drawn a conclusion about their standing with God — repent of it today, specifically and by name. This is one of the more common sins among religious people and one of the least confessed.
Second, a rule. Write it down and keep it where you will see it:
"I will examine my own life with this teaching. I will never diagnose another person with it. If someone asks me for help, I will teach them the principle and let God do the revealing."
That rule is the difference between a tool that sets people free and a weapon that wounds them.
Then return to your own issue grid and keep working. The fence is built. Now go back to the field.
Prayer
Father, protect me from misusing what I am learning.
Forgive me for the times I have looked at another person's suffering and quietly concluded something about them. That was Job's friends, and You rebuked them for it.
Give me rigor with myself and mercy toward everyone else. Let me hold this teaching in a way that frees people rather than accusing them.
And in my own life, show me everything there is to see. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Rigor with yourself. Never with anyone else.