Two men go to see the doctor. The first is suffering from advanced cancer and needs immediate treatment. The second is completely healthy and is going for a routine check-up.
The doctor is a perfect physician who prescribes the appropriate treatment in each case. However, the pharmacist bungles the prescriptions and gives each man the other’s medicine.
The man with cancer is given multivitamins and told to exercise daily, while the healthy man is given an extensive course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Unsurprisingly, the sick man dies from taking the wrong pills while the healthy man suffers unnecessarily.
In this parable the perfect physician represents Jesus who knows us better than we know ourselves. Dr. Jesus always prescribes the right medicine to cure your ailments and save your life.
If you are self-righteous, the best medicine may be a judicious application of the law. The purpose of the law is to break our pride and silence our boasting. The law reveals our need for a Savior (Gal. 3:24).
But if you have been set free from sin and self-righteousness, the law is of no use at all. In fact, regular consumption of the law will only make you sick, since the law enflames and sin and ministers condemnation (Rom. 5:20, 2 Cor. 3:9).
The best medicine for the believer is a healthy dose of grace supplemented with the daily exercise of faith in Christ.
The parable explained
In the parable the confused pharmacist represents the preacher or teacher who gives grace to the self-righteous and law to saints. As a result of this bungled prescription, all are worse off.
Told that all is well, the self-righteous man is given a false sense of peace. He thinks he is right with God when he is far from God.
He does not realize that his righteous acts are as filthy rags (Is. 64:6), and he remains dead in his trespasses. Like a slumbering man, the self-righteous man needs to be roused before it is too late.
Meanwhile the saint, having been hammered with the law, is left thinking her salvation is incomplete. “I have to get right with God.” She thinks that God is mad with her when really he is mad about her.
Since the law excites the flesh, her response will be carnal and she will fall from grace. Without intending to, she will lose their freedom and forsake her first love.
The Bible is like a medicine cabinet with the right medicine for whatever ails you. The entire Bible is useful for training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). But confused preachers sometimes prescribe the wrong medicine. With the best of intentions they do more harm than good.
The remedy is to read the label.
The two medicines
The law comes clearly labelled. “The law is not for the righteous person” (1 Tim. 1:9). The law is for the ungodly. It is for those who trust in themselves and show contempt for the things of God. The law is for the proud and the rebellious, and those who need to be roused from their slumber.
If you have received the gift of Christ’s righteousness, the law is not for you. Read the label: you are not under law but grace (Rom. 6:14). So discard those pills and have nothing to do with the law.
Grace too is clearly labelled. The grace of God is for the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). It’s for sinners in need of saving and those who are honest enough to admit their need for help. Grace is for the poor and the prisoner, the lost and the weary, the frustrated and fed-up. Grace is for all of us. We all need God’s grace.
The power of grace is revealed in the ministry of Jesus. When Jesus met “sinners” and hurting people, he gave them grace and they were set free.
But to the proud and haughty Jesus typically spoke the harsher words of the law. He rebuked and condemned them and said “Woe to you.” He gave them law to expose their hypocrisy and reveal their need for grace.
The Bible as a medicine cabinet
From time to time we come to God looking for comfort and healing. Whether we are reading the Bible or hearing a sermon or watching a video, we are looking for divine medicine that makes us well.
This is a good thing to do, for God gives life! He heals, saves, and restores. No ailment is beyond his aid.
But God works through men and women who sometimes make mistakes. With the best of intentions they may prescribe the wrong medicine.
To recap:
- the law is for the proud, the ungodly and those confident of their own righteousness
- grace is for everyone else
So watch what you consume and remember – always read the label.
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