Proverbs 1:19 Amplified says, “So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; such (greed for plunder) takes away the lives of its possessors.” Our sin against another, or another’s sin against us is rooted in greed. It is self-gratification. How did the serpent tempt Eve? Genesis 3:6 says, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took…”

I want to go to the account of the man at the pool called Bethesda. John 5:3 stated the scene very clearly. It says, “In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed…” They all had one thing in common: they were waiting for an angel to come and stir up the water. Only one person could be healed at that time.

Jesus approached the scene and centered on one man. He had been bound by his infirmity 38 years! Jesus asked him a question in verse 6, “…Do you want to be made well?” Hmm. After all, the man was hoping he could get healed wasn’t he? Let me put a disclaimer: not all sickness is sin related. However in this case his infirmity was linked to sin. 

I want you to read verse 7 with a whinny voice. It says, “…I have no man to put me into the pool…while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus did not address his attitude. Verse 8 says, “…Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Verse 9 says, “And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked…” Verse 14 says, “…See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

Verse 5 in the Amplified defined his infirmity. It says, “There was a certain man there who had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder…” As I read this I immediately thought about buried emotional pain. Though Scripture does not say what his sin was, it does say that his condition was the result of sin.

Here is an interesting aspect of his healing. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that we are given a sound mind. Neuroscientists say that the brain gets stressed when we think of two opposing things at once. Such as: I want, but I can’t have. If only, no it’s impossible. Consider your own thoughts. James 1:8 says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. The Strong’s defines a sound mind as: good judgment, disciplined thought patterns, and the ability to understand and make right decisions.

James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” We are commanded to forgive AS we are forgiven. To hide our sin sets up an inner stronghold that continually opposes God’s way. If you have any disordered thoughts, I encourage you to go before the Holy Spirit and ask Him to reveal what their source is. Healing from something in the past can take place in the present when we confess our hidden sin.