The Danger of a Wrong Diagnosis

Many of us have had the frustrating experience of being repeatedly told that the result of a medical investigation is that there is nothing wrong, or to put it in simpler terms “the blood tests are normal.” Our plea which seems to fall on deaf ears, “But Doctor, I just don’t feel right!”

The weekend before last, I went walking with some friends. A few steps (literally) up the first hill and I was gasping for breath, wheezing, and with serious chest pain. Berating myself for being unfit which seemed to be the only possible explanation, I forced myself to continue at a slower pace and finished the walk in the pouring rain several hours later. Seemingly, no harm done, apart from my wounded pride.

At church the following day, a friend suggested that this was not normal, even for an unfit person, I had already been walking regularly so was not that unfit, she then told me of someone that had had a heart attack in similar circumstances at 40. I felt afraid, but not very afraid.

The following day, I woke up with slight chest pain and, my friend's words ringing in my ears, decided to go to A and E. To their credit, they took the situation more seriously than I had been taking it up to this point and arranged all manner of tests. After several false alarms, a few days later I was diagnosed with severe iron deficiency anaemia and told not to do any further exercise, until I could have the first of several iron infusions.

Suddenly, a lot of symptoms I’d been struggling with on and off for years made sense. Why had this not been picked up earlier, you might be wondering?

Basically, because I have an under-active thyroid which involves similar symptoms, every-time I tried to get to the root of the problem, I would end up in a circular conversation like the one above. I’d grown so tired of fighting a losing battle with medical professionals that I’d given up and convinced myself that it was my thyroid issues that were the problem.

What’s my point? I think that sometimes we do the same thing in evangelism.

We might meet someone in the street and be so determined to communicate our message, or reach as many people as possible, that we don’t really listen to the person in front of us. We provide a solution without really hearing the problem. The person is left feeling like a number in a doctor’s waiting room, or worse, telling us that they still don’t feel right (understand the Gospel) by which point we’ve already finished our script, given them a book that doesn’t answer their questions, and moved on to the next person.

We can also make assumptions about what someone believes and end up in long discussions that don't deal with their real problem. I covered this last time in the difference between red herrings and real hindrances. But we can also do it when we assume that because someone is a Muslim, they won't believe that Jesus died on the cross, or because someone is a Catholic, they are relying on good deeds to get to Heaven. Sometimes, this happens because we sub-consciously like to show off our knowledge, or conversely it may happen because we are ignorant about something the person has mentioned, and we don't want to admit this. I've even ended up in a long discussion about Creation vs Evolution with someone who also believed in Creation because I wasn't listening properly to what he had said. Whatever the case, we haven't gathered the correct information which will inevitably lead to a wrong diagnosis.

Perhaps, more worryingly, we can make assumptions about what people need without reference to the Bible, or God. We might decide that they need food, a place to stay, help getting a job, a reference, a loan, friends, a social life, a holiday, time off etc. Yet, when someone is sick, they need a doctor not a well-intentioned stranger to make a diagnosis. We can be impulsive and jump in with a wrong diagnosis. The sin-doctor is Jesus, and we must refer to Him first if we are to really help anyone.

Another tendency is to determine that we can save the person either through our exhaustive efforts, or through money, or practical help. We give 24/7 to a person for weeks, months, years. We have everyone praying for them. We raise their plight at every opportunity. We create dependence, then resentment. We are left broken when the person isn’t saved and finally walks away from God for good. We can’t redeem or pay a ransom for someone else (Psalm 49). This is another form of wrong diagnosis as we have wrongly, (and usually subconsciously), determined that the person needs us rather than God.

I’m sure we can all see the danger of giving someone false assurance of salvation, yet we do it often. John MacArthur said once that if someone came to his office with doubts as to whether or not they were saved. He would say to them, “You’re probably not saved”, and explain again the way of salvation, rather than offer false assurance. Each time a member of another religion tries to tell us that we are all on the same path, or a cult member says that they are a Christian, or someone says that they were born a Christian, or that they are sure they are going to Heaven because of good works, and we fail to challenge it…we are potentially giving the person false assurance that they are saved. In this case, if we don’t pluck up the courage to tell the person we don’t agree with their statements, we may be contributing to their own wrong self-diagnosis!

A less likely issue in street evangelism, but something that is occasionally possible would be making a real Christian doubt their salvation. We might wrongly decide that the person isn't a Christian based on something they say or do, or we might be, usually unintentionally, adding church culture or our traditions as necessary for salvation. We have again made a wrong diagnosis which could be extremely damaging.

How can we make sure we are not causing, or contributing to people being wrongly diagnosed?

It’s true that the Bible holds the solution to our greatest need, forgiveness of sin and peace with God. But people are individuals and can’t be treated en masse with the same medicine delivered in the same way.

We need to really listen to a person’s heart when we are speaking one to one with them and not be rushing to solutions or looking around for our next contact.

We all know that there’s nothing more annoying than someone coming up to you at church and asking how you are. Then, as you begin to reply, you notice that the person has gone, or turned their back on you to talk to someone else, or interrupts with an “I’m fine too”, before you can say anything! Or the person who is looking over your shoulder for someone more interesting to talk to, or who seems easily distracted by anything and everything going on around them whilst you are pouring out your heart. It’s just another way of looking at a watch which we would all say is extremely rude!

People are in different circumstances and often we have no idea what they are going through when we talk to them. We need to be sensitive to God’s leading and aware of issues that may crop up in discussions.

It’s obvious, with hindsight, that a wrong medical diagnosis could have led to my collapse halfway up a mountain. Yet, a wrong spiritual diagnosis could have a far more deadly consequence.

Let’s make sure we are not getting in the way of what God is doing by offering people a wrong diagnosis without reference to Him.

Easy Believism--The Broad Road?

I have been going through my journals and reflecting on the things that took place whilst I was on Logos Hope and later in the Philippines. This was when my eyes were opened to the dangers of ‘Easy Believism’ or ‘Decisionism.’ These titles are attributed to methods of conversion which encourage an instant, on the spot decision in order to become a Christian. They usually use forms of commitment like an ‘Altar call’ and ‘The Sinner’s Prayer’ in order to lead someone to ‘accept Christ.’ They are not always a bad thing but we need to be aware of the dangers. 

Thinking back, I realise that these methods were around when I was a teenager. I would often re-commit my life to God during an emotional moment at a worship service or large Christian event. I did this every time I fell into sin, promising God that this time I would really change my life and make a new start. But this only lasted until the next sin and recommitment at the next event. What was this? It was a failure to understand that Jesus’ death had already paid the price for my sin; past, present and future. It was a belief that somehow if I had had a ‘good’ day and my good behaviour outweighed my bad, God was more pleased with me and that therefore I was more acceptable to Him. The root of this is a subtle belief in salvation by works or good deeds. If I live a good enough life, I will be saved. But if I don't I need to keep starting the Christian life again in order to reset the balance to zero. I had no assurance of salvation.

There is a tendency for us all to think like this. It's human nature to want to do something to earn our place with God. But the reality is that we can never do enough good things to get right with God. All of the things that we consider righteous God sees as filthy rags. That’s why Jesus had to die. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sin and His gift is free. My frequent re-commitments were the result of a lack of depth in my Christian understanding and a lack of understanding of God. The right response would have been to confess my sin every time I messed up and seek not to repeat the sin (repentance.)  This, not for fear of losing my faith and being condemned to hell, but out of thankfulness to God for sending Jesus, knowing that I could not measure up without Him.

Responding to ‘Altar calls’ and frequent recitations of the ‘Sinner’s prayer’ acted as a method of getting right with God for me but they didn’t change my behaviour or my heart. I hear many stories of teens, and even older people, that go through this process, especially those who have been brought up in the church. They are sometimes responding to an awareness of God ingrained in them from a young age. It can be hard for them to separate their own beliefs from those of their parents or other adults in the church. They may not yet be truly born again. 

Maybe you are thinking, so far so good; that it will take time for a person to mature in the faith and to find their feet spiritually. Maybe you're thinking that ‘Altar calls’ and the ‘Sinner’s prayer’ can be part of this process, reminding people and convicting them of their sin and the need to get right with God. Certainly this can be the case, which is why I hesitate to dismiss them completely. I know people that are clearly saved that trace their moment of new birth back to a decision made at a rally or church where these methods are frequently used. There is no doubt that an ‘Altar call’ can be used to prompt someone to make a decision that they have been hesitant to make, that it can cause them to take their commitment more seriously as they are making it public by walking to the front. The ‘Sinner’s prayer’ could be offered to someone as a guide for how they could pray to become a Christian. But why do that when we already have Jesus’ example in the Lord’s Prayer? Surely that is more significant. Why give someone words at all when God is examining the heart?

Now let’s look at the dangers. Statistics in the West show that 83% of Americans and 53% of Brits still describe themselves as Christians (despite only 10% of Brits attending church.) We can explain those statistics in terms of culture; I was born in England/America therefore I’m a Christian. But an incredible 27% of Americans actually identify as Evangelical. The numbers are lower in Britain but it’s still larger than you might think. But how many of these are actually following Christ? How many counted the cost and gave up everything to follow Him, having turned their back on their past life? How many are really trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection for their salvation?

The Bible tells us that the way to hell is broad and many are on that road. But the way to heaven is narrow and there are few who will find it. It tells us that the Christian life is hard and that when we decide to follow Jesus we will face trials, persecution and struggle as we fight spiritual battles and encounter the results of the curse of original sin. How many are really experiencing this in their day to day lives? Are we telling people to expect this when we lead them to Jesus so that they are properly prepared for the Christian life? Maybe you think that’s too gloomy, but is it really fair to give a one-sided picture of what following Jesus is all about? We should obviously highlight the hope, joy and peace that are found in Jesus but what about the other things that the Bible says?

‘Easy Believism’ and ‘Decisionism’ are likely responsible for those earlier statistics. There are millions of people who believe they are Christians and are heading for heaven because they signed a card, put their hand up in a meeting, said the ‘Sinner’s prayer’ with someone, or answered an ‘Altar call.’ They were probably prayed for and sent on their way in most cases never to be heard from again and with no resultant change in their life or behaviour. Some people have done all of these things and yet are still not saved. What is going wrong?

The main problem I have witnessed is the lack of follow up by churches and those that are using these methods. They proudly announce that 17 people ‘accepted Christ’ in a meeting and then move on to preparing for the next meeting with little concern about those people that they have apparently just helped to the start of the Christian journey. There is no checking a person’s understanding and little discipleship. We don’t want to embarrass someone or make them uncomfortable by asking clarification questions so we settle for a superficial understanding. We even tell them what to say to God or sometimes say it for them by using the ‘Sinner’s prayer.’ Not all churches and ministries are like this and many have good follow up programmes but there are a lot that don’t. The emphasis has become so much on soul counting and in some tragic cases competing with other churches for numbers or an over-emphasis on church growth that the individual is lost in the confusion. They have become part of another statistic of people who have been given a false assurance that they are going to heaven. That is the greatest danger.

How do we know that this is happening? I have witnessed it particularly in Asia where in some places a foreigner is seen almost as royalty. Asian culture dictates that you must agree with everything that is said to you to avoid conflict due to the potential shame. No wonder there are overstated and inaccurate conversion rates. But ask some of these people even basic questions about the Christian faith; What do they believe about Jesus? What did Jesus do for them? Who is Jesus? And they don’t know! The person who has just walked away happily adding that ‘new covert’s’ soul to their piece of paper has done serious damage to this person by telling them they are now a Christian. They have no idea what it means to be a Christian or where they can go to find out. They have been led astray. Sadly, I saw this happen far too many times in Asia and mostly it was done by Pastors and church leaders who had obviously been taught this themselves. When I asked what they had been talking to the person about I would receive a casual ‘Oh they just accepted Christ.’ This was even in reference to multiple persons, as if this was an everyday event. There was no joy or excitement or interest in the person as an individual. It was a duty well performed and then they turned their attention back to their Smartphone. This is happening everywhere.

So what should we do? We all know it’s easy to criticise. But how can we make sure that we don’t give people false assurance and that those who profess Christianity are truly following Jesus? Of course we need to examine the Bible. We need to look at God’s methods and not our own. What happened when God had already prepared someone’s heart in the Bible? They cried out ‘What must I do to be saved?’ These people were ready; they knew that they were sinners before a Holy God and that they couldn’t rest until they found peace with Him. What was the answer to their question? It was simply “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16 vs 31). And again in Romans 10 vs 9 the clear answer is, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

They were not told to recite a special prayer or sign a card or anything else. They were told to confess and believe. It was primarily a matter of the heart. If someone is ready, we can tell them that they need to get right with God by themselves through prayer. We can help them understand how to talk to God if they have never prayed before and we can explain what a Christian is and what we believe. But we really shouldn’t be putting words in their mouth or asking them to ‘repeat after me’ parrot fashion. We can also give them this free booklet ‘Ultimate Questions’ which explains the basics of Christianity, and of course we must regularly pray for them. 

http://ygod.info/ultimate-questions.pdf

We need to be involved in this person’s life ensuring that they understand the commitment they are making and that they have counted the cost. This is not about making salvation complicated. We know that the Bible teaches that children can understand. It is about being clear, both about our message and about the demands that being a Christian makes on a heart and life. Jesus Himself was clear whilst He was on earth that those who wished to follow Him must be willing to give up everything. Some who understood this rejected Him because they were unwilling. He didn’t soften His message, He let them go. They had heard the truth; the seed had been planted. God would give the increase in those He had chosen.

The Gospel is urgent and it is true that we do not know how long a person has left but God knows. Demanding or putting pressure on someone to make an instant decision without them really understanding that it will change their life will not help them persevere when trials come. They may even blame you if you didn’t explain the Gospel message properly. But most likely they will not do that. They will just quietly slip away never to be seen in church again. Another lost soul, what a waste.

Let’s be sincere and genuine telling people that the Christian life is difficult but that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life. They must find Him in order to be free from their sin and to live a new life with God. It is good news!