Do you really believe sin is bad? Why restoring a fallen pastor is proof you do!

There are numerous stories, seemingly every day, of pastors/ministers/clergy committing some moral failure.  That a pastor (and for this article pastor will be substituted for elder, clergy, minister, etc.) has forfeited his position when he has committed certain sins, of this I am in full agreement.  As a pastor who had to step down, I am fully aware of the need for such actions.  This article will not be about the ‘need’ for this in the church, as I believe it is.  Neither is this article about the ‘process’ by which a pastor is restored, as I think that is the church/denomination’s decision to make.  No, this article is about whether ‘restoration’ is possible or not.

Some believe that a ‘fallen’ pastor cannot be restored.

“There are some sins that irreparably shatter a man’s reputation and disqualify him from a ministry of leadership forever. Even Paul, man of God that he was, said he feared such a possibility. In 1 Corinthians 9:27 he says, “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.””[i]

Others would disagree.

“Ultimately, I think the answer is yes. A pastor who has sinned sexually can be a pastor again. And I say that just because of the grace of God and the fact that “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6–7) can be restored, probably.”[ii]

My proposal, and this idea came to me recently, is that if you believe a pastor cannot be restored, then you don’t believe what Jesus taught.  Now… before you think I am claiming Jesus taught ‘Restoration for fallen ministers 101’, I am talking about a powerful teaching that Jesus taught about sin, the heart, and how serious it all is!

 

SIN

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What is sin?  Is sin just giving into the temptation, an act. “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”[iii]  Does this verse imply that the very ‘act’ is sin, and the desire to ‘sin’ is not sin?  I don’t think so.  I think that sin is a deeper issue than what many think.  There is a mentality that unless you act upon it, it is not a sin.  I think the Bible is very clear that this is not the case, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”[iv]

The Bible seems to teach that sin is more of a heart issue than an ‘act’ issue.  Our thoughts can be sinful.  I am not saying every thought that comes into the mind is sinful, or that if you think about some sinful thing it is automatically a sin.  No, but I am saying that the thoughts, feelings, and emotions one feels and dwells on can become sinful, long before one acts.  I think Jesus’ teaching we often call the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ describes and explains this.

 

MURDER

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Jesus turns to the crowd and utters these words, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.”[v]  Kill here is murder, and the listeners must have been shocked (even for a second) that Jesus was going to say that ‘killing’ was no longer a sin, or at least it seemed.  But as He continued, His teaching becomes very succinct, “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”[vi]

Two things are described by Jesus ‘as-bad-as’ murder: anger (unfounded) and name-calling (or holding someone as less valuable as one’s self).  Unfounded anger is the idea that one is angry without just cause.  WE can have an anger that is not sinful, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”   No, Jesus is describing an anger borne in jealousy or envy.  The convicting thing here is it is a violation (in spirit)-according to Jesus- of the Law, “Thou shalt not kill.”[vii]   Not only unfounded anger, but calling your ‘brother’ stupid, worthless, or the like (which Raca seems to come from a Hebrew or Syriac word for worthless)[viii] is as bad as murder, as well.  This is astounding, as we think of the implications.

 

OATHS

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Next, we see Jesus teaching about ‘swearing’ (that is oaths), “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.”[ix]   It seems that the thought of the day (and often seems the thought even today) was that your oath was only as good as the thing you swore upon.  Jesus continues, “But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”[x]

Jesus’ teaching is simple, it seems.  One must simply be honest and sincere.  If you are asked, answer truthfully.  I have noticed that liars are typically appealing to some other source, “if you don’t believe me, ask ‘so-n-so’.”  If we are to be people of our word, people should be able to believe what we say.  A person of integrity will have no reason to ‘swear’ if they practice honest and forthright answers.  Our mother’s grave doesn’t need to be invoked, if we are true to our word.

 

REVENGE

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Jesus then turned to the idea of revenge, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”[xi] This mentality, and very rarely religiously motivated, persists today, “If you take my ‘toy’ I’ll take yours!”  The Jews of Jesus’ day had the Law to fall back to, which seem to express this type of ‘revenge’ economy;

“If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.”[xii]

Jesus turns this ‘on-its-head’, “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”[xiii]  Jesus’ words are as radical a departure from the Old Testament as any part of the ‘Sermon’.  Of course, many believe, as I do, that Jesus was NOW describing the New Covenant, or at least how it should operate.[xiv]  The New Covenant will be built on grace, mercy, and forgiveness- not hate, revenge, and punishment.

 

LOVING EVEN YOUR ENEMY

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The next one Jesus would give a ‘new’ spin to is, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.”[xv]  This particular ‘idea’ was the inference from scripture, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”[xvi] ‘Naturally’, If you love your neighbor, you will hate your enemy, the teaching was.  Centuries of Jewish thought had drilled this idea in the heads of the audience of Jesus’ day, but He would ‘flip the script’ on this notion as well.  He tells them;

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”[xvii]

If there is one quality that I think stands out above all others is the idea of God’s love, “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”[xviii]  Jesus describes as God is and how we are to respond.  God proved He loved His enemies, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”[xix]  God’s example to us teaches that loving His enemy is what God has ALWAYS done.

 

ADULTERY

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Now, if you have been following along in your Bible, or was paying attention to the verse we were observing, you noticed that verses 27-32 is absent in the above discussion.  I purposely waited till the end to discuss this as it directly relates to what this essay was intended to answer; can a pastor be restored?  Jesus words are, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”[xx]  I think that too many people don’t see the seriousness of Jesus’ statement.  Sadly, many think that because others can’t see their heart then they can excuse their sinful action.  It is not I who claims that lusting after a woman is adultery, it is Jesus.  Jesus then goes directly into hyperbole, giving us pause (or should) on the seriousness of one’s thoughts, intents, and feelings.

“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”[xxi]

I’ve talked to too many men (many who were pastors) who struggle with lust.  If we are to believe Jesus’ words, lusting is as sinful as acting: each is as much adultery as the other!  Jesus concludes this passage with even harsher warnings, “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”[xxii]

 

CONCLUSION

Let me be very clear, I am not advocating a ‘thought-police’ type ministry.  Too many ‘discernment’ ministries now try to fix all the ills in the church, bringing division themselves.  Also, I am not saying a pastor that has been caught/confessed to an indiscretion of sin of some type is not now disqualified-even if only for some period.  My contention is simply that those that think pastors can’t be restored from certain sins have a low view of sin, in my opinion.  Sin is more serious than many have thought, and those in Jesus’ day did also.  Simply, many thought if one didn’t openly break a ‘Ten Commandment’ then one had not sinned, when in reality, Jesus explains that the heart is the issue, and the actions follow suit.  I think grace is the most powerful force in the universe, as it is actionable by the love of God.  Those who have fallen are extended grace by the Lord, we in turn must do as well.

 

 

 

 

[i] MacArthur, John, ‘Should Fallen Pastors Be Restored’, <https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/political-and-social-issues/should-fallen-pastors-be-restored-11554827.html&gt;

[ii] Piper, John, ‘Is It Possible to Restore a Pastor Who Has Sinned Sexually?’, <https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/is-it-possible-to-restore-a-pastor-who-has-sinned-sexually&gt;

[iii] James 1:14-15 (CSB)

[iv] Genesis 6:5 (KJV)

[v] Matthew 5:21 (KJV)

[vi] Matthew 5:22 (KJV)

[vii] Exodus 20:13 (KJV)

[viii] Barnes, Albert, Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Database © 2014 WORDsearch (see note on Matthew 5:22)

[ix] Matthew 5:33 (KJV)

[x] Matthew 5:34-37 (KJV)

[xi] Matthew 5:38 (KJV)

[xii] Exodus 21:22-26 (KJV)

[xiii] Matthew 5:39-42 (KJV)

[xiv] See Jeremiah 31:31

[xv] Matthew 5:43 (KJV)

[xvi] Leviticus 19:18 (KJV)

[xvii] Matthew 5:44-48 (KJV)

[xviii] 1 John 4:7-8 (CSB)

[xix] Romans 5:10 (KJV)

[xx] Matthew 5:27-28 (KJV)

[xxi] Matthew 5:29-30 (KJV)

[xxii] Matthew 5:31-32 (KJV)