Six weeks in a cast corrected the problem and prevented the serious difficulties which could have otherwise arisen. This is no less true in the world of Christian living, than in the world of medicine. Misdiagnosis in either realms can be deadly. Problematic symptoms must be recognized and carefully analyzed. Their fruits are symptomatic of their true nature.
Bad fruit indicates a bad tree.
A bad tree is not made good simply by picking off its bad fruit. Both the physician and the pastor are involved in the work of diagnosis and prescription. On the contemporary church scene perhaps there is no greater need than proper diagnosis of some troubling symptoms. Evangelicalism is becoming increasingly enigmatic. The more evangelical churches multiply and grow, the more seemingly irrelevant they become to modern men and women.