Incurable diseases.
I. WHAT DISEASES ARE NATURALLY INCURABLE?
1. Sin. No man can root out his own evil nature. The wicked man, left to himself, will never grow into righteousness. Sin does not burn out; it continually finds fresh fuel and kindles a greater fire.
2. The judgment of sin. This cannot be resisted, for it comes from the hand of the Almighty. It cannot be bought off by compensating merits, for the most we can do is not to deserve more punishment in the future by new sin. When we have done our best we are "unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do."
II. HOW GOD CURES THE NATURALLY INCURABLE DISEASE. Christ is the good Physician, the great Healer. Where medicine fails miracle triumphs. She who "had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse" was made whole by a touch of the hem of the Saviour's garment. The cure may be impossible with man, but with God all things are possible.
1. The cure for sin. This is in the new birth which makes the Christian a "new creation" in Christ Jeans, and the constant aid of the Spirit of God to cleanse and purify the soul.
2. The cure for the judgment of sin. This is in the free pardon offered to the penitent who trust to Christ, and it is secured through his mediation, his one sacrifice for sin, and his perpetual intercession for sinners.