Pastors all along the theological spectrum fall to sexual sin. Liberals and conservatives, Baptists and Presbyterians, Charismatics and Catholics have tarnished the name of Christ by their sexual sin. So, no single doctrinal system or error can be blamed for the problem of adultery among pastors. Nevertheless a robust doctrine of sanctification is vital for spiritual health.

 
Pastors, like all Christians, struggle with sin. And, like all Christians, pastors need grace. But when a pastor falls to those sins which disqualify him from this role of spiritual overseer he also needs the correction and accountability of the church. He needs clear speech and direction not sentimental sweets.

In recent months several high profile pastors from various denominations have acknowledged committing adultery. I had not planned on commenting on this. In fact after one such public fall I thought to myself, “Don’t touch it with a ten foot pole!” However, the problem with remaining silent is that many of the responses to these public failures have been sadly misguided and potentially dangerous. Also, some of the confessions from these pastors have been, quite frankly, wholly inadequate and even deceiving.

Adultery is the grossest violation of the marital bond. In fact the violation of adultery is so great that God, who hates divorce, nevertheless allows it in cases of adultery. Adultery fouls relationships and brings ruin to entire families. When a pastor commits adultery the consequences are exponentially more damaging. Whether he thinks it is fair or not, a pastor’s sexual sin opens the door for the mockery of the gospel. The adulterous pastor does untold damage to the public witness of the church and invoking God’s sovereignty and grace cannot soften or in any way excuse that fact.

In at least some Presbyterian denominations, pastors make public vows not only to uphold the doctrine of their church’s confession but to live exemplary lives. When those vows are flagrantly violated there must be proper acknowledgment of the sin and clear evidence of repentance. Otherwise, grace is mocked and sin is trivialized.

As I considered these heart-breaking situations and one particular public statement from a recently fallen pastor I jotted down a few thoughts…

1. Sin is grievous primarily because it is an offense against God.

Evangelicals have become so steeped in therapeutic language and categories that they seem scarcely able to see sin as anything other than a private issue of personal flourishing. In other words, contemporary evangelicals seem to no longer understand sin as an offense against God and an insult to the grace of Christ. Even in reformed-ish circles we have been told that we have “Three Free Sins.”

King David was a great sinner but he was and remains the quintessential model of proper repentance. Psalm 51 is his prayer of repentance after the prophet Nathan confronted him for his adultery and murder-by-proxy. Incidentally, Nathan did not rush to David to say, “You sinned but don’t feel bad because, you know, grace!”

When a well-known and beloved pastor falls to sexual sin it is considered bad form to actually grieve for what his sin has done to the reputation of Jesus and the witness of the church. Any public statements must be limited to expressions of cheap grace for the offending pastor whether he has repented or not.

When David repented he gave expression to that most heinous aspect of his sin.

Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.  (Ps 51:4)

We may want to quibble with David over the fact that his actions were indeed against others as well. However, the point of David’s confession is that sin is first and foremost God-ward. That is, while sin almost always has deleterious effects on other people, it is more than anything else a mutiny against God.

2. The world is a spiritual battlefield.

“…Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). Those words to Cain ought to ring in the ears of every believer and especially those who are pastors. Our enemy who is likened to a thief, a liar, a murderer, an angel of light, a deceiver, a menacing lion, and much more takes no holidays. He is fighting with all the spitting anger of a defeated tyrant. Let us not be surprised by the ferocity of the battle or the cunning of Satan.

Pastors should not only be unsurprised by the heat of the battle but they should expect it. Their position will not insulate them from the arrows of the enemy. Indeed the fact that their reputation impacts the reputation of Christ ought to cause them no small amount of trembling. Pastors are walking targets in a spiritual war.

Do not listen to those who, while holding forth the beauty of justification, say nothing of sanctification. Do not listen to those who sneer at calls to holiness as though such pleas are by very nature legalistic. I think we may reliably conclude that making too much of holiness is not the chief problem within evangelical churches.

3. We are not as strong as we think we are.

None of us have arrived. All believers, no matter how mature, will continue to battle indwelling sin until that glorious day when we see Jesus. But until that day no Christian is untouchable. Sin will still entice and promise what it cannot deliver.

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