Imagine facing a diagnosis that could change your life forever, much like a patient who discovers they have lung cancer. In this thought-provoking episode of "More Than Medicine," Dr. Robert Jackson uses this emotional story to draw compelling parallels between the pervasive nature of cancer and sin. Through a blend of medical science and spiritual reflection, Dr. Jackson explores how both cancer and sin affect us universally, manifesting in various forms and stemming from a deeper problem within. It's a unique exploration that offers not just medical insights but also profound spiritual lessons, illuminating the destructive patterns that lurk beneath the surface of our lives.
In the second part of our episode, Dr. Jackson delves into the consequences of sin, particularly focusing on the progression from lust to death as outlined in the book of James. By comparing the fear of sin to the dread patients feel when facing a possible cancer diagnosis, Dr. Jackson underscores the serious repercussions of both. As we wrap up, he promises even more valuable insights in our next episode, where he'll guide us on how to confront these life-altering challenges. Don't forget to engage with "Devotions with Dr. Papa," and connect with the Jackson Family Ministry for further support and resources.
Imagine facing a diagnosis that could change your life forever, much like a patient who discovers they have lung cancer. In this thought-provoking episode of "More Than Medicine," Dr. Robert Jackson uses this emotional story to draw compelling parallels between the pervasive nature of cancer and sin. Through a blend of medical science and spiritual reflection, Dr. Jackson explores how both cancer and sin affect us universally, manifesting in various forms and stemming from a deeper problem within. It's a unique exploration that offers not just medical insights but also profound spiritual lessons, illuminating the destructive patterns that lurk beneath the surface of our lives.
In the second part of our episode, Dr. Jackson delves into the consequences of sin, particularly focusing on the progression from lust to death as outlined in the book of James. By comparing the fear of sin to the dread patients feel when facing a possible cancer diagnosis, Dr. Jackson underscores the serious repercussions of both. As we wrap up, he promises even more valuable insights in our next episode, where he'll guide us on how to confront these life-altering challenges. Don't forget to engage with "Devotions with Dr. Papa," and connect with the Jackson Family Ministry for further support and resources.
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr Robert Jackson.
Speaker 2:
Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your Bibles and let's look into the written Word, which reveals to us the living Word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the lesson for today is entitled Doctor, is it Cancer? I shared with you that this series of lessons is biblical insights that I've gained from my medical practice. Well, let's start with a story.
Speaker 2:
Some years ago, a patient came into my office who had lost about 30 pounds. He had been a smoker since he was a teenager and he was now about 55 years of age. He had lost 30 pounds. He had a chronic cough that was unrelenting and he had recently started coughing up blood. He came to my office with his wife. I ordered a blood test and a chest x-ray. As he left the exam room to get the blood test and the x-ray, I was writing on his chart this was before electronic medical records and his wife stayed in the exam room with me as I was writing on the chart. I looked at her. She had tears in her eyes and she said to me Doctor, is it cancer? Well, of course, I was already thinking that he probably had a lung cancer and, sure enough, his chest x-ray showed a big lesion in his right upper lung. That was probably a cancer and subsequent evaluation proved that was exactly what he had. And six months later he died from a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung that was probably induced by many years of smoking.
Speaker 2:
Well, there are things that doctors do that bring us great joy, such as saying Congratulations, you're the father of a healthy 8-pound baby boy. But then there are times when we have to say things that bring us terrible sadness. Like Mr Jones, I'm sorry to bring you bad news, but our tests reveal that you have a cancer. Our patients come to us for yearly physical exams, oftentimes merely for reassurance that nothing is wrong. And whether they ask the question or not, I know that frequently there is a question in their minds Doctor, is there any sign of cancer After surgery or biopsy? The question in the back of their mind is Doctor, is it cancer? Now, cancer is a terrible affliction on mankind. The fear of cancer is a very real and legitimate concern. After heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, there are over 300,000 deaths every year in the United States from cancer. This increases every year. The older I become and the longer I am in medicine, the more I comprehend the tragedy of the plague of cancer.
Speaker 2:
Now, what I would like to do in today's lesson is to share a few insights about cancer, a topic about which I'm supposed to be somewhat of an expert, and then we're going to compare it with something else concerning which all of you are experts as well. First of all, cancer the word itself means crab, and it's called this because cancer adheres to any part of the body to which it seizes in an obstinate manner, like a crab. Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells. Cancer cells grow faster than normal cells. Their growth is uncontrolled and uncoordinated by normal body control mechanisms. The abnormal mass of cells is purposeless. It preys on the host and competes with normal cells for nutrition and energy. It is autonomous in that it may flourish while the host dies.
Speaker 2:
Now I want to make some comparisons between cancer and sin. Now, I'm supposed to be somewhat of an expert on cancer, but you, dear listener, are an expert on sin. Why is that? Well, because the Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says there's none righteous no, not one. So that includes you, that includes me, that includes everybody that you know. The Bible tells us that all of us are born spiritually dead.
Speaker 2:
Now, think about this. Cancer is universal. It affects all people, of all ages and all ethnic groups, and it's no respecter of persons, just like sin. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's none righteous no, not one. So sin and cancer are alike in that regard. More than that, there are many different kinds of cancer and there are a lot of different signs and symptoms of cancer. Well, the same thing is true about sin. Listen to this from Galatians, chapter 5, verse 19.
Speaker 2:
Now, the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, sensuality, idolatry, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, that's a long list. There are a lot of different kinds of cancer, a lot of signs and symptoms of cancer, just as there are many types of sin and immorality. Types of sin and immorality. Number three the cause of cancer is really unknown. There are a lot of textbooks and medical journal articles written about the causes of cancer. We suspect heredity and environmental stimuli, things like cigarette smoking, excessive sun exposure or radiation. We suspect viruses and autoimmune causes.
Speaker 2:
But the Bible tells us that sin of sin is a rebellious heart, that all of us have an old sin nature that we inherited from our parents. Jeremiah 17, 9 says that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Who can understand it? Who can know it? Who can understand it? Who can comprehend it? The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. There was a preacher named Beecher many years ago who had a clock on the wall in his church that was habitually either too fast or too slow. So he hung a sign above the clock on the wall and the sign said this. It said don't blame me. Well, I'm sorry. It says don't blame my hands. The problem goes much deeper and you see, the same thing is true with you and me. It may not be my lips that speak evil words or my hands that practice evil deeds. The problem is much deeper. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
Speaker 2:
Well, let's move on to number four, the causes. The cancer causes a wasting away. Like my patient in the initial illustration, he had lost 30 pounds and over the next six months he lost an additional 30 pounds before he died. He wasted away to nothing and cancer does that. And many of you have known friends or family members that had cancer and they wasted away before your very eyes.
Speaker 2:
Well, the Bible tells us in Psalms 32, verses 3 to 4, that when we are silent about our sin, we refuse to confess our sins, that it causes us a wasting away, that our vitality, our life force is drained away, as with the fever heat of summer. Well, all of us have worked outdoors during the hot summer days, in the humidity, and we've felt our vitality, our strength drained away, as with the fever heat of summer. And I submit to you that when we have sin in our lives and we refuse to deal with it, well, that sin causes a wasting away, a draining of our vitality. And all of us have known people who had a sin problem and it caused a draining of their life force, a draining of their resources and a ruination of their relationships. I knew a man one time who had a gambling problem and it drained all of his financial resources. I had a patient who was an adulterer and it ruined his relationship with his wife and children. You see, when people refuse to deal with the sin issue in their life, it drains away their life force, as with the fever heat of summer.
Speaker 2:
It causes a wasting away, just like cancer does More than that. Cancer in one individual always affects the lives of many others. It affects their spouse, their children, their friends and it affects other people around them emotionally and financially. Cancer in one person never just affects that one person. It always affects everybody around them. In the same way, sin never just affects one person. It always spills over into the life of the people around them.
Speaker 2:
For example, I had a patient who was a drug abuser and his drug abuse affected his wife and his children because he used up all of the financial resources to buy drugs and eventually his wife and children had to move in with her parents so that her husband could not confiscate her little meager paycheck every week to buy his drugs. Another patient of mine was an alcoholic and he used up every little bit of money to buy alcohol and the same scenario played out. His wife had to move away so that he could not confiscate her little paycheck every week with which he would buy alcohol. More than that, he was abusive, physically abusive, and she had to flee from him in order to avoid the physical abuse on herself and the children. You see, sin in these men's lives spilled over into the life of the wife and the children. Another patient of mine he drove drunk, he ended up in a car wreck, he killed someone in that car wreck, he ended up in prison and his wife and children ended up in poverty because their breadwinner was in prison. Their breadwinner was in prison. You see, sin in one life always affects the life of everyone around them. Well, you see, just like cancer in one family member always affects everyone around them, emotionally, financially Sin in your life or my life always affects everyone around them.
Speaker 2:
First corinthians 15 33 tells us that we should avoid people around us who who have a sinful lifestyle. It says that corrupt manners always affects the people around us. Evil company corrupts good manners. If I associate with people who are evil or corrupt in their lifestyle. It's going to affect me, it's going to rub off on me. Hebrews 12, 15 says See to it that you do not fall short of the grace of God, so that bitterness doesn't spring up among you, whereby many are defiled. You see, if I allow a root of bitterness to spring up in my heart, everybody around me will be defiled. And all of you know an older person who's bitter, and bitterness in that person's heart. Nobody wants to affiliate with them, nobody wants to be around an old, bitter person. And that's what happens to you and me if we allow the root of bitterness to spring up in our hearts and it ruins everybody around us. Well, sin in my heart or your heart always defiles the people around us. Well, sin in my heart or your heart always defiles the people around us. And then number six cancer always spreads until there's no cure. If it's not treated early, it ends up spreading until there's no cure and then there's no remedy. Ah, the same thing happens with sin. If we don't treat sin early, it ends up spreading not just to other parts of the body, but it spreads to other people around us.
Speaker 2:
In the book of Proverbs, in chapter 29, there's a verse that talks about that very thing Proverbs 29,. In verse 1, it says A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy. There's that word beyond remedy. You see, all of us have people who love us and who warn us and reprove and rebuke us. But if we harden our neck, stiffen our neck, harden our heart, and we don't listen to the people in our lives who warn us, reprove us, rebuke us, then we'll suddenly be broken beyond remedy. Be broken beyond remedy, no opportunity to be repaired. That's what happens when we allow sin in our life and allow it to find a place in our heart.
Speaker 2:
Well, there's also a verse in 2 Chronicles that talks about the whole nation of Israel, when God sent prophets to the nation of Israel to warn them and reprove them and they would not listen. And then they got to the place where there was no remedy. Listen to these verses the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by his messengers because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, until there was no remedy. Therefore, he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm. He gave them all into his hand. Now, why was that? That's because of their sin, you see. They allowed sin to find a root in their lives until there was no remedy.
Speaker 2:
Well, you see, that happens in the life of nations, but it also happens in the life of individuals. Cancer does that, but sin can do the very same thing. Now, if not stopped, cancer in its end causes death. If it's not caught early and treated, sin will cause death. Well, that's exactly what the Bible says. It says that the penalty for sin is death. The wages of sin is death. Sin will take you farther than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay and it will cost you more than you want to pay.
Speaker 2:
And I tell my patients all the time that in family medicine, my job is early detection, early detection of cancer and heart disease. And in the same way, brothers and sisters, it's your responsibility to root out sin in your heart early and deal with it early. The only sure cure for sin, well, for cancer, is early detection and a surgical removal, and that's what I tell my patients all the time. But you see, the same thing is true for sin. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them is given over fully to doing evil. You want me to say that again? Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given over fully to do an evil. And that's true in your life and my life, your children, your next door neighbor, that's true for all of us. We must execute the sentence against an evil deed quickly so that it doesn't overcome us, so that that cancer of sin does not rule over our lives.
Speaker 2:
You see, in the book of James, james says that lust, when it is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully conceived, when it is fully accomplished, it brings forth death. You see that progression, lust produces sin and sin produces death. Your and my soul should be filled with a dread of sin and its consequences, as is that of my patients who fear that they may have a cancer and whose first question always seems to be Doctor, is it cancer? Well, I'm going to wrap it up with that today, but I'm not done with this lesson, because next week we're going to talk about what do you do, what do you do when you're confronted with a cancer, and what should we do with sin in our hearts. You're listening to Devotions with Dr Papa. If you like it, then share it, follow, download it, tell your friends all about it, and may the Lord bless you. Real good.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books, or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage Atsonfamilyministrycom. This podcast is produced by Bob Sloan Audio Production at bobsloancom.
