How to connect the gospel and healthcare?
“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.” – Matthew 4:23-24
“Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'” – Luke 5:31-32
Long before the scientific revolution of the last several centuries led to ever-improving medical procedures and more potent medications, the greatest healer of human history walked the earth—our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There was nothing He couldn’t heal, effortlessly and with no medical equipment. He could reform a severed ear, heal a man born blind with mud made from spit, cleanse a leper with a simple touch, restoring his flesh so that it was like that of a young child. He could straighten a women bent over, heal a paralyzed man, even raise a dead girl. There was nothing he could not do, no healing too difficult for His power.
Jesus’ miracles validate His claim to be our Savior, and they pictured physically what He had also come to do spiritually. For Jesus compared His work of salvation from sin to His work of salvation from disease. In Luke 5:31-32, he likened sinners to sick people who need a doctor. Just as He came to restore the bodies from the ravages of sin, so Christ also came to restore the soul. In the balance of Jesus’ ministry, we see the Bible’s embrace of both kinds of healing. God created us to be both physical and spiritual. Sin has attacked and defiled both our bodies and our souls. Jesus’ saving work extends to both realms.
For this reason, Christians have led the way in medical research and ministry. Christian missionaries established healing stations (hospitals) everywhere they went, and in some countries, Christian hospitals are the oldest and most tangible evidence of the love of Christ for our sin-cursed race. An example of this is the eye hospital at Taxila, Pakistan. Surrounded by zealous Muslims, this hospital continues to care for over 100,000 patients each year, many of who would go blind if not for the ministry of these Christians. The gospel is faithfully explained to these patients, many of whom are eager to know more of a God who cares so much for both body and soul.
At my church, First Baptist Church of Durham, we minister to both bodies and souls of our needy neighbors in Durham, North Carolina, through our annual Health Fair. The Health Fair provides a tangible way for the church to express the comprehensive love of Christ to our community. One of my favorite parts of this outreach is going around to our neighborhoods to invite people to come. The obvious love our church is showing in putting on such a health fair breaks down barriers and enables us to share the gospel, even if the people that we’re talking to never come to the fair. At the fair itself, we are able to minister both the gospel and medical services to folks the Lord blesses us to reach. We do health screening (blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc.), dental work, nutrition counseling, and other forms of medical ministry. We also share the gospel with as many of the people as we can.
“Sin has attacked and defiled both our bodies and our souls. Jesus’ saving work extends to both realms.”
Please pray for our ministry as we seek to point people to the perfect healing ministry that Christ wants to have in their lives… a healing that will result in perfect souls and perfect bodies in a perfect world, worshiping forever. Please pray for ways that your church can do similarly in your context with your available resources.
