So those who seek Him to heal them are the ones who realize they are sinners as is written;
[12] But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
[13] But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 9:12, 13.
[13] But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 9:12, 13.
If sinners are the ones Christ came to heal, that means sin is a disease of the soul so to speak. Since it is a disease, it has symptoms like a physical disease. So, what are the symptoms of the sin disease?
[1] Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.
[2] And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
[3] For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
[4] And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
[5] Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?...
[2] And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
[3] For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.
[4] And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
[5] Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?...
[14] And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
[15] There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
[16] If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
[17] And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
[18] And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
[19] Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
[20] And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
[21] For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
[22] Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
[23] All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
[15] There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
[16] If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
[17] And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
[18] And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
[19] Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
[20] And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
[21] For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
[22] Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
[23] All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
These are the symptoms of sin. They manifest our sinful nature. When we see ourselves doing these things, they show that we are sick with the disease of sin. These are the symptoms of our sinful nature.
[20] ...by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3;20
The Law, the 10 commandments, show us what love is. Breaking the law is sin and so breaking the law is not love for love is the fulfilling of the law.
[36] Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.
[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.
[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
All the commandments hang on these 2 because the first 4 are love for God and the last 6 love for man. But by the commandments or the Law we know what is sin. The law is a reminder as to how we are supposed to relate to God and to our neighbour.
[10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13;10.
So when we do not the symptoms of sin, we are not working ill to our neighbour and so we are fulfilling the Law. The symptoms of sin are a manifestation of our sinful nature which shows how we do not relate to God as we should or to others as He would have us to as we see in the following passages:
[29] Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
[30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
[31] Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
[32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:29-32.
[30] Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
[31] Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
[32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:29-32.
[19] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
[20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
[21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21.
[20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
[21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21.
[1] This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
[5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
[5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
Doing all these things is sin because all these things work ill towards another and so is not fulfilling the Law which tells us to love our neighbour.
Christ came for those who are sinners, for those who are sick with the sin disease. He came for those who do the above things and acknowledge that they do these things. Those are the ones He came to heal. In the verse we saw earlier, we saw that Christ came for those who are sinners and not the righteous implying that there are some who are righteous who might not need Him to heal them. But:
[10] ... it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Romans 3:10
Being the True Physician, He is the only one who can diagnose us and thus treat us. He is the only one who can diagnose us because He can see our hearts and so He is the one who is also worthy to judge us. We judge a book by its cover but He judges based on what he sees in the heart not the outside, as is written;
[7] ...Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7.
I don't know about you but I would like to go to a physician who can help me with a problem provided he/she can figure out what my problem is in the first place. If they can diagnose my problem, then they know exactly what to do to solve the problem. To further illustrate how Christ diagnoses us, let's see the following passage:
[9] And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
[10] Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
[11] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
[12] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
[13] And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
[14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:9-14.
[10] Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
[11] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
[12] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
[13] And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
[14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:9-14.
The irony in this parable is interesting. There are two extremes. One is a pharisee and the other a publican (sinner). One is a professor of religion and the other not. One is self righteous and the other realizes that he is far from being righteous. The self righteous puts his trust in his works and thinks that those works will commend him in God's sight. The one who acknowledges his unrighteousness realizes that he is nothing and has nothing to commend him to God, and sees himself unworthy to even ask for forgiveness. The self righteous one because of his works which he thinks can commend him to God sees himself as better than the publican or more worthy than he. And yet the publican was justified and not the pharisee. The publican realized how sick he was with the disease of sin and asked to be healed and he was. The other, because he was self righteous and trusted in his works and even compared himself to the publican being better in his own eyes, did not acknowledge that he was sick. His prayer was all about how better he was than others and how much good he does but nothing about he needs to be healed, and yet his prayer was more than enough evidence to God who reads hearts that he was just as in need of healing as the publican. He did not ask for healing and so his sickness, sin remained. The publican asked to be healed and it was granted him because he went home justified.
If there is none righteous, no not one, that means Christ came for all of us. So when He says He came for the sinners not the righteous, He means that though we are all sinners, there are some who might not acknowledge that they are sinners or that they are sick with the disease of sin but it is written;
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10.
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10.
Just as for one to be healed from a physical illness, they have to acknowledge that they are sick to begin with. If we are in denial that we have a problem, we will not go to the physician because we think we do not need to. Not going to the physician means no healing and so the disease remains. Denial that we are sick with this disease of sin means that the sickness remains.
The problem is that not being healed from the sin disease means death because;
[23] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23.
So all humanity has this disease because:
[12] Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:17.
By Adam's offence, sin came upon all of us and death with it because we have all sinned.
[19] For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Romans 5:19.
If by Adam's disobedience we inherited the sinful nature and are sinners as a result, by Christ's obedience we will be made righteous.
We will see at another time how the healing takes place and how Christ's obedience we can also become righteous.
So we are all sick with this disease. We all need to be healed. Christ can not heal us unless we realize our true condition and seek Him to heal us. Without acknowledgement on our part, he can not force us to be healed. Only when we realize that we are sick, and feel the need to be healed can he heal us.
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