Romans 5:18--The Cancer Cure
A pharmaceutical company has just announced that it
has developed a cure for every type of cancer regardless how
advanced. All anyone has to do is take one dosage of the new drug
and they will become cancer free. WOW!!
Because this discovery is so revolutionary and
radical, the pharmaceutical company has decided to forego profiting
from the drug's development because it wants everyone to have access
to it. Therefore, the company has made it available to everyone by
placing it on displays in grocery stores, drug stores, convenience
stores, and department stores such as WalMart, Costco, Target, Kmart
etc. What’s the catch? It’s free. Yes, you heard (read) right, the
cost of the one-time dosage pill will ring up at the cash register
at $.00.
As shoppers walk by the display reading “Free --
Take One as Needed,” they question the truthfulness and validity of
the claim. Many think it’s a hoax, or, at the least, a marketing
scam. They scoff at the message and walk on. Many pick up the
information, peruse it and place it back on the display, and they
walk on. Others pick up the information and place it in their purse
or pocket to read later. Yet, they, too, walk on. Some call a
friend or family member and tell them about the pill and ask what
they think.
Lastly, there are those who stop, read the
information and place the packet in their grocery basket with the
intent they’ll take it themselves when they get home. Or, they plan
to pass it on to a family member or friend who has been diagnosed
with a form of cancer. Some may pop the pill in their mouth right
there on the spot without any hesitation. After all, what is there
to lose? If it doesn’t do what it says it will do, nothing is loss.
The pill doesn’t cost anything, so why not try it?
Some of those distrustful of either the “Free”
message, or that the one-time dosage of this new cure-all-cancer
drug really works, may possibly be in the throes of a cancer
diagnosis themselves. But because of their skepticism, or unbelief,
they continue on to the produce market to stock up on those fruits
and vegetables the experts tout to have nutritional health benefits.
Or, they continue on to the Pharmacy/Health department to pick up
vitamins and herbal supplements that others claim to have healing
benefits. Perhaps some walk on by those sections of the store
because they’ve already tried those methods. Now they are enduring
chemotherapy treatments because the homeopathic remedies didn’t
work.
A few of those who walk by may actually have surgery
scheduled to cut out the cancer growing in their body. Or, hospice
has been brought in for a family member who is being administered
high dosages of pain meds just to endure taking his or her next
breath. Yet, even the promise of ridding either of them of the evil
within them by taking one pill isn’t enough for them to place their
faith in the message. They’d prefer staying with what they know and
believe in rather than trusting in something different or unknown.
As days and weeks go by, those who took the drug are
being declared cancer free, and their stories and testimonies are
starting to circulate. Some who initially walked by the display are
now starting to pause and consider the drug. These news stories
cause some to follow through on taking the wonder pill, while others
put it off for another day. After all, it just can’t be as simple as
the message claims.
Those who initially continued on to the produce and
health areas of the store remain convinced they can beat the cancer
on their own, and they continue shopping in those areas. They will
only consider taking the pill if their next doctor’s visit reveals
the cancer isn’t in remission.
Even with the free cancer pill available to everyone
in the world, regardless of one’s age, gender, race or creed,
doctors and hospitals are still treating cancer patients, and
families are mourning loved ones who have died, or who are dying
from this non-discriminating disease.
This scenario is an analogy of how individuals
approach the Gospel message. The “Free -- Take One As Needed”
display represents the message as it’s presented in the Scriptures,
preached from pulpits, seen in believers’ lives or on church
billboards, or heard on the radio or TV. We live in a country in
which the message of Jesus Christ’s saving grace can be readily seen
or heard by nearly every person living within its borders. Just as
the above scenario plays out, some folks personally believe the
message and on faith accept it. Unfortunately, many more scoff at
the message, pause to consider it, or put off making a decision
until later. Unfortunately, in the end, they keep walking on. Others
continue on their quest of healing themselves through a myriad of
do-it-yourself ways to earn their salvation.
Unlike the illustration, where people can see the
proof of their cancer on x-rays, in lab results and through
experiencing actual, physical pain, the cancer of their sin and the
cancer of their lost condition can’t be x-rayed or tangibly proven
through laboratory tests. People don’t usually view their lifestyle
or their spiritual condition as a life or death situation, so they
scoff at the message. Or, they may pause to consider it, but in the
end they walk away, content with working out their own spirituality.
Even after hearing the stories and testimonies of how others have
found a spiritual “healing” through their belief in Jesus Christ,
some don’t grasp their own need for spiritual healing. Or, they may
think if they live a “good enough” lifestyle they can earn their way
into heaven.
The Bible is clear that when unbelievers reject the
One Being who can provide them eternal life, it is a death sentence.
Yet, incomprehensibly, folks continue to ignore the “one-time
dosage” of God’s forgiveness and grace. They think of themselves as
spiritually healthy and cancer free, but the Great Physician will
expose the cancer of their unforgiven sin and their rejection of His
salvation once they physically die. What they fail to realize now is
that the consequences of their real cancer, which is sin, will be
faced after their physical death when they enter a spiritual realm
of darkness and damnation.
There is no one who exists on this planet who
escapes the judgment that came upon all men once sin entered the
world through Adam and Eve (1 Corinthians 15:22). However, that’s
just part of the message we find in Romans 5:18. Through the
righteousness of Jesus Christ, and the condemnation of death He
satisfied on the cross on our behalf (Romans 6:23), we can be
justified, or declared righteous. In other words, we are declared
“cancer (sin) free” in a spiritual sense. And, it is only through
our faith in God’s free gift of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) that we can
be saved (or healed) from the consequences of our sin dilemma.
With the Cancer Cure scenario, the cure for cancer
is free and readily available to anyone who is willing to put their
trust in the product. There are no strings attached. Likewise, there
are no strings attached to the sin cure God has provided all mankind
through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is truly free and readily
available to anyone who is willing to put their trust in His saving
grace.
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