Compounding Pharmacies (Matthew 7:13-14)

Everyone is familiar with the services that a pharmacy offers. However, if one is not involved in health care, the concept of a compounding pharmacy may be foreign. Not all pharmacies offer this service. A compounding pharmacy, at the direction of a physician, will create medicines customized to the patient, derived from FDA approved products. The issue is that compounding has not been FDA approved but do follow general guidelines as outlined by the FDA. Nonetheless, these compounds have not been rigorously tested in controlled trials like other FDA approved products. Is there a potential for harm or abuse? Many of these compounding agents may eventually become FDA approved, however, like any drug, the risks are always present and the patient must critically question and vet the compounding substance they are asked to use, even it means consulting with another physician. 

I have attended many churches that are willing to embrace unconventional means of reaching new members. They do so by tweaking conventional worship and teachings and create a hybrid that they believe will be more appealing. In some instances, I applaud these approaches. One church utilized dance, such as hula, to communicate the message of the Gospel. Another church utilized a cooking ministry to not only reach people who may not necessarily come to church, but also to provide food for those in the church who were struggling. This is spiritual compounding that works. The dark side is combining worldly values with the Gospel, attempting to reach a broader audience while diluting the Gospel Truth. This type of spiritual compounding only serves the egos of the church leaders who implement it and honors Satan and blasphemes God. During the Medieval ages, the church sold indulgences. These were actions that a person who sinned could absolve themself of the sin. Some of these indulgences took the form of prayers, pilgrimages, or good works. Over time, it evolved to payments to the church, not only to absolve current confessions of sins but also future sins. It was one of the major grievances that Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers accused the church of deviating from the true Word of God, leading to the Protestant Reformation. 

You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Matthew 7:13-14 NLT)

Today, there are some churches that still seek to do spiritual compounding with worldly values. Like a compounding pharmacy, we must all be wary when we hear of such teachings and programs and test these against God’s Word as revealed in the Bible. Only then will we be able to truly discern what may be beneficial and what may lead to the path to destruction.

Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.

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