Only “One Medicine”

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“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” — Acts 4:12

“I have concluded that when it comes right down to it, there is really only one thing I as a pastor have to offer my congregation—and only one thing that the church has to offer the world. In my role as a pastor people come to me with all sorts of problems, but I confess: I am a physician with but one medicine to prescribe, and that is the gospel of Christ.  It may need to be applied in various ways, various aspects of it may need to receive the right emphasis, and it may need to be administered in the right form. But only the gospel of Jesus Christ can heal the deepest wounds of the human heart and enable us to prosper according to God’s design, bringing glory to our Lord.” Dr. Bill Kynes of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church, Annandale, VA

This is a powerful quote, posted on The Gospel Coalition blog last week. Thank you, Dr. Kynes, for speaking truth to all of us.

It took me back to a worship service my husband and I attended near a military base in a remote region of Italy two years ago. The dear pastor was faithful to preach that one message, “one medicine”, to a group worshipping together but representing many national languages and backgrounds, many ages and ranks, and many needs.

At the end of the service, with one voice, we sang “In Christ Alone,” but in Italian. Knowing the words in English, it was all the more powerful to me because I could tell from the expressions of those around me–from Africa, from Europe, from the U.S.–that they knew exactly what they were singing.

These are the lyrics to what hymn writer Keith Getty says tells “the story of the whole Gospel”:

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.

So today, no matter your stage of deployment, no matter the condition of your marriage, no matter the decade of your life . . . we proclaim that you can stand on the one powerful name of Jesus Christ.

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen” — Romans 11:36

Work Cited: “In Christ Alone” Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend, Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music on www.gettymusic.com

Questions to Share:

1.  If you have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, go to 4spirituallaws.com.  Based on the truth that we are all sinners and in need of a savior, what decision did you make concerning faith in Jesus Christ?

2.  If you are saved by the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, share with each other what part of the song particularly spoke to your heart today.