One of the most frightening statements a Christian ever makes is: “I’d never do that.” It’s foolish and violates 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
The world changed. A generation that grew up with TVs’ #1 Dad, Dr. Huxtable was horrified to learn that Bill Cosby was a moral monster. Yet, it’s not just them, it’s us, too. It’s gotten where I don’t want to read the religious news or receive an update on a colleague in ministry. Too often they’re horrifying, embarrassing and nauseating.
A few months ago news broke that a mega-church pastor that I’d long admired had been living a double-life. As the charges trickled out, at first I was skeptical. Unlike the court of public opinion often fueled by a media salivating over a whiff of scandal, Scripture teaches us that someone is “innocent until proven guilty.” We’d do well to heed that. Someday the accused might be us or someone we dearly love.
Yet, when the evidence became insurmountable because of the credibility of those bringing the charges, it was apparent it was all true. Sadly, that pastor never has come completely clean. But what’s motivated me to write this is that another scandal closer to home has taken place. A pastor of a mega-church has committed adultery, resigning in shame. This time it was encouraging there was a confession and an admission of guilt on his part.
Too often we ask the wrong question: How could he/she do that? We ask that because we don’t believe sin is potent and deceptive. We’re naïve of the depths of depravity of the heart, particularly of our own heart.
King David’s failure is a warning to us all. The Bible describes him as “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). Yet, David, the one who demonstrated great faith and love for God, committed adultery, then covered it up by assassinating an innocent man, Uriah. You’ll find the sordid account in 2 Samuel 11-12. As King, David thought he’d gotten away with it. No one gets away with anything. A holy God knows and sees everything, “No creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13).
Sometimes we foolishly rejoice when it’s another religious group that receives a public black eye. That’s a wrong, even vile, response. And we forget that unbelievers paint with a very broad brush. All that they know is that another “religious” leader was a hypocrite and morally failed. It’s a spiritual turn off and gives them fodder to justify rejecting the gospel.
In the end none of us will be able to stand before God and rationalize away our own rejection or spiritual apathy because of someone else’s moral failure, even if it was a spiritual leader. So, in this day of too frequent moral catastrophes, what are some takeaways for us?
God never sins and never fails. We must look beyond fallen humanity and the created order to our Creator. As Scripture tells us, God is unchanging. God said of Himself in Malachi 3:6, “For I the Lord do not change.” Even the best intentioned human being will fail and disappoint you. God never will. He never changes. You can trust and depend on Him.
Every spiritual leader is just a redeemed sinner. There are no great Christians. There is only a great God. Every Bible teacher, every pastor is just another fallen, sinful human being who needs Christ’s sacrificial death, and is dealing with the same temptations that we all struggle with.
Please understand, it’s not an excuse. A pastor is a spiritual leader with accountability before God (James 3:1). He’s to be held to a higher standard. Scripture outlines moral qualifications for pastoral leadership (1 Tim. 3). Yet, every minister is also sinner, in need of Christ’s work for their own forgiveness and sanctification. We need to let them direct our eyes to our wonderful God, not get in the way of seeing Him.
No spiritual leader is irreplaceable or unaccountable. A few years ago a missionary friend rationalized and covered serious sin – he felt that he was irreplaceable. God doesn’t need any of us. One of my favorite verses for ministry is 2 Corinthians 4:7. The Apostle Paul writes, “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” In other words, the tool is just a tool – God is the master craftsman. It’s His work and He must receive all of the glory.
If you see a spiritual leader doing something that dishonors Jesus’ name, you have a responsibility to hold them accountable. There are no superstars in the Kingdom. We must also rejoice over and encourage the many who are faithful. For every one who falls, there are tens of thousands who remain faithful. While it appears like an epidemic when a few high profile religious leaders blow it, in reality, sexual misconduct among evangelical pastors is far lower than most other professions. It’s that we have higher expectations of pastors (which we should), so their moral failures are magnified. I have many friends in ministry who have been unquestionably faithful to their spouses, love God genuinely, and seek to honor Him in their private lives. Thousands of airliners take off and land safely every single day, yet what makes the news are the one or two annually that crash.
It’s a horrible thing every time a minister falls and should break our hearts. It needs to remind us to faithfully pray for those in spiritual leadership, and remind us too, that Jesus is the only one we can absolutely trust and must ultimately follow. Please don’t let a human leader cause you to stumble or become discouraged. When we do, Satan wins. By God’s grace, let’s commit anew to following Jesus no matter what!
It’s a horrible thing every time a minister falls and should break our hearts. It needs to remind us to faithfully pray for those in spiritual leadership, and remind us too, that Jesus is the only one we can absolutely trust and must ultimately follow. Please don’t let a human leader cause you to stumble or become discouraged. When we do, Satan wins. By God’s grace, let’s commit anew to following Jesus no matter what!
Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.
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