Is Cancer Caused by Our Sin as Some Say?

First, if God uses cancer to punish sin, we would all be full of it right now, because we all sin – Romans 3! There are several reasons God might allow us to be sick.

God often uses sickness to show off His glory! He permitted Job’s sickness, not to punish, as Job was good in His eyes, but to display His amazing grace which He provided to all! “The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause’” (Job 2:3). Job’s friends wrongly told him the sickness was God’s punishment, which displeased God – a lesson on avoiding judgments about someone’s sickness.

Jesus’ disciples directly attributed sickness to God’s punishment, so they were stumped by a man born blind. Could he have sinned in the womb? Before Jesus healed this blind man, He answered, “Neither this man, nor his parents sinned; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:3).

God also used sickness as a disciplinary “wake-up call” in His dealings with Israel (Exodus 15:26). There is a similar dynamic in 1 Corinthians 11:32-33, “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” God used my battle with Stage IV metastatic melanoma to wake me up to set me free from my ego-driven path of achievement (more in my book in our free gift to cancer patients here).

In a future FAQ, we’ll share another Biblical reason God allows sickness which involves heaven. So the ultimate FAQ is, “How do we get to heaven?”, which we answer here.

*This post is part of our series, “Frequently Asked Questions About God and Cancer!” If you subscribe to our email newsletter, we’ll send a new FAQ on a regular basis. These FAQs will live here on our blog and on our FAQ page. As a miraculous survivor of Stage IV metastatic melanoma since 2003, and an 18 year pastor to cancer patients, there is still much for me to learn about understanding and sharing His Word, so feel free to give feedback or ask new questions in the comments below!