The Role of Medical Practioners and Treatment
NECF Malaysia Statement to Pastors and Church Leaders
NECF Malaysia observes with increasing concern that certain quarters are counselling those who wish to seek divine healing to refrain from any form of medical treatment.
These well-meaning Christians view divine healing and medical treatment as mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed. For them, divine healing is secured through the operation of faith and Christians who seek the help of medical practitioners are considered to have denied the healing power of God. These individuals also teach that sickness is the result of evil and that medical practitioners are 'doing the work of the devil' by detracting from God's power.
While we do not want to disparage these Christians and at the same time, acknowledge their positive contribution to the growth of God's Kingdom in other ways, we nevertheless are concerned that some may be confused or dismayed by this teaching.
The nature of the problem
All Christians should have faith in God. An important facet of this is an understanding of His nature and the removal of any doubt and unbelief about His love and purposes for us. Since we do not know all the ways in which God will work, however, it is critical that we do not adopt a faith that limits the ways in which He can work.
It is equally important that faith does not cease even when He does not appear to work in the way we think or expect. Faith is more than just one's struggle to believe; it is an intimate knowledge of God and His relationship with us.
In the matter of divine healing, the consequences of adopting a teaching against medical treatment include, among other things, the fact that it:
- Pressures the sick and their loved ones to delay or reject medical The Role of Medical Practioners and Treatment treatment even when it is available and has a high curative rate;
- Creates a sense of guilt and worthlessness among sick Christians who resort to medical treatment;
- Causes those who are not healed to believe that they have no faith or have problems with sin where this is not always the case;
- Can worsen the physical condition and increase the suffering of those who are sick, even accelerating the process of death;
- Leads non-believing family members to feel angry and aggrieved, and misunderstand the teachings and stand of the evangelical Church; and
- Brings the Christian faith into disrepute by rejecting the role of modern medicine and medical doctors.
We believe that this form of teaching on divine healing is erroneous and misleading.
To state that Christians who resort to medical treatment are "weak in the faith" and "wrong in their understanding of God's wishes" is presumptuous and flawed.
NECF's Position
Our stand on the role of medical practitioners and treatment comprises the following:
- God is omnipotent. He can and does heal but whom He heals, and when and how He heals is a matter of His sovereignty.
- Divine healing is the restoration of health by the direct intervention of God. Healing can also be accomplished through human intervention. Throughout the Bible, God demonstrates that He uses man to accomplish His purposes besides His direct involvement.
- All good things come from one ultimate source: the Lord God Almighty. This includes modern medicine. If a curative treatment exists, it can be embraced, and we can rest assured that its origin is from the Supreme God who made us in His image.
- Medical practitioners should take their abilities to be instruments of healing as a God-given gift and responsibility. Our Lord Jesus himself recognises the value of doctors when He says that it is the sick who need doctors (Mark 2:17).
- Some physical illnesses can have spiritual origins. Advances in medical science today reveal that there is strong evidence of 'soul-body' relationships. It is important that as one receives medical treatment, he is also attended to through prayer and the Word of God.
- Those who refuse medical treatment for their illnesses are at liberty to do so. But ministers of the Gospel must exercise care in their counsel, i.e. the sick should have access to and must act on the best professional advice. Where the sick is unable (medically) to make sound judgments as to his own state and course of action, cognizance of the wishes of the immediate families or guardians must be taken.
- Where there is no ultimate healing, grace should be extended to the parties involved. Ministers should avoid judgmental evaluation of the decisions taken either by the sick or family members.
In the Old Testament, the life of Elisha reveals that even the man of God dies from illness (2 Kings 13:14). Jesus Himself (in John 9:1-12) does not apportion blame on 'sin' as the cause of illness.
May He grant us both wisdom and discernment as we seek to be a blessing to His Church.
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