CHRIST THE HEALER

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 25, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 39.

CHRIST THE HEALER.

THE great world is sick,—sick with a humanly incurable disease; sick with the malady of sin. Its manifestations, its symptoms, are multiform and manifold, but the disease is one. Every evil and grief and wo in this world is the manifestation of sin or its fruits; and the completed fruit is death; for “sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death.”

Man of himself can not cure the dread malady. No human ethical chemistry will purge sin’s crimson stain. No human serum will make or destroy the bacteria of sin, or make innocuous its virus. It is a gangrene, a leprosy, in the very heart-blood of humanity. If a breaking out is healed over in one spot, it soon breaks out in another. Men have labored and striven and fasted and prayed and tortured the flesh from the most ancient times to the present. They have many times changed sin’s form, but have never eradicated the disease. It still stalks abroad boldly in some circles, or enters the elegant parlors of the heart over the softest velvet carpets of self-complacency, under the guise of hypocritical self-righteousness. But it is the same dread disease—sin; and the end is sure to be death. All these humanly-devised remedies live but to disappoint and destroy.

Yet there is a cure; there is a Balm in Gilead; there is a Physician there. The great Creator of the revolted world has come down to be a Saviour to the rebellious kingdom. That its subjects might know and appreciate His love and sympathy, He entered sin’s strongest citadel, invested Himself with man’s nature, became partaker of flesh and blood, thereby taking upon Himself sin’s medium of operation; and by living faith He demonstrated the right to be called the Son of God, by complete triumph and victory over sin and death. He cast out the fears and doubts of humanity by living faith. He cast out sin by the indwelling righteousness of faith. He cast out self-righteousness by self-emptiness. He cast out hypocrisy by giving glory to God. He cast out the death of sin by the indwelling Spirit of life and righteousness. He died that He might give life. And from His glorious triumph He shouts back to every sin-sick soul: “I am He that liveth, and was ‘dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; ‘and have the keys of death and of hell.”

He gained not His victory to enjoy alone. Infinite love could not do this. He wishes every soul to share it. And, fellow-sinner, He invites every one of us to come and share it with Him. “And the Spirit ‘and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth ‘say, Come. And let him that is athirst come, and ‘whosoever will let him take the water of life freely.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt ‘be saved.” “Only believe.”