5.7: Refusing medicine as a test of faith

From Sovereign Grace and the Scope of Election: A Comparative Examination of Attainment Theology and Grace Theology, with Particular Attention to the Question of Whether God's Elect Are Found Among All Nations and Religions

Luke was "the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14) and remained one. Paul prescribed wine for Timothy's stomach (1 Timothy 5:23) rather than commanding a healing. Paul himself was refused healing three times and told "my grace is sufficient" (2 Corinthians 12:8-9); Trophimus was left at Miletum sick (2 Timothy 4:20). God heals sovereignly, sometimes through means, sometimes without, sometimes not in this life. A doctrine that turns the refusal of medicine into proof of consecration has, in documented cases, cost lives, and finds no command in Scripture.