QUESTION:
Why dont we practice anointing with oil today?
ANSWER:
Anointing with oil in order to heal the sick is a common practice among many Pentecostal groups as well as the Mormons and some others. It is not uncommon for television preachers to offer "prayer cloths" that have been dipped in olive oil to viewers that are to be placed on their bodies while prayer is offered in their behalf. This is supposed to result in miraculous healing. Oil, however, was not always used in healing situations in Bible times. Jesus, for example healed people on numerous occasions without the use of oil (Mark 8.5; Mark 5:35-43; Luke 9:38-43; John 4:47-54). Oil in the Bible was used for both medical and symbolic purposes. Prophets, priests and kings were often anointed with oil which symbolized their acceptance and divine approval (I Sam. 10: 19). In Luke 1 0:34 the therapeutic value of oil is seen when it was poured into the wounds of the man who fell among thieves. In James 5:14-15 the use of oil was obviously symbolic and served as a token of the fact that the healing noted there was by the power of God. The elders in this passage evidently possessed a spiritual gift, given them by the laying on of the apostle’s hands, which allowed them to heal the individual who was sick. The blessing or healing came through the "prayer of faith" and by the authority of the Lord. The anointing of oil was symbolic of the power that the Lord would exercise in the healing and raising up of the afflicted man. This event was for a limited time and purpose. It was not widely followed or intended to be a universal practice even in the age of miraculous gifts, since there were a number of saints who were sick and often died from their illnesses (Acts 9:32-43; Phil. 2:19-30; 1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim. 4). In this case, however, those involved received the promise blessing without exception when the inspired instructions were followed. If these instructions were for today, and the sick called for the elders as here directed, and if the elders did their duty, no one in the church would ever die. Yet we are told that "It is appointed unto men once to die ..." Heb. 9:27. Since the passage in James involves a miraculous situation belonging to that time frame, we cannot use it as authority for such a practice today. While there might be some situations in which oil has medicinal value, as a general rule such is not the case. If such a benefit could be claimed there would be nothing wrong with using oil. However, to claim that using oil will miraculously heal someone of an illness today is neither taught nor exemplified in the scripture.