Pharisee Alert: Should Christians Give Grace to Fallen Pastors?
We, the church, are in great crisis.
Now is the hour to begin a difficult conversation, to tip over the “sacred cows” of religious preconception. We must stop fearing the voice of the modern day Pharisee whose religious rhetoric sounds so ‘right’ yet leaves God’s called in pain and destruction, sacrificed across the sacred alters of salvation.
It’s the task of our generation; to stop, seek His face, and take a second glance at what the previous generations have left us. Guarding the authenticity of the gospel, we must ask ourselves, “How many of these teachings are not based upon the principles of New Testament restorative grace?”
For instance, in the 1980s, we began the precedent of how to handle ministers who fail morally. Instead of using the principles of the New Testament, we used the philosophies of ancient Greece and the teaching of Aristotle who stated, “If you fail once, your whole life has been a fraud.” This teaching is in direct opposition to the finished work of Calvary.
As a result, when soldiers of the cross failed morally, they were systematically exposed, humiliated and cast upon the dung heaps of degradation and solitude. We reveal that we are unspiritual because we respond in a worldly way to those in need instead of embracing the power of the Gospel and applying it to these very public opportunities to model the gospel.
Because of our faithless responses, these men, called and chosen of God are now in the dry places working menial jobs to make ends meet. Many of them have been so shamed that their humiliation drives them deeper into sin, as far from the things of God as possible.
The religious scoff and point their accusatory fingers and call them anathema. Yet, how does God’s word refer to these fallen men?
Romans 11:29 says, “His gifts and callings are irrevocable”.
If we truly are “the body” of Christ and part of our body is wounded, it’s expedient that we rush to protect and heal those very parts, which are sickly. It is our responsibility get them healed, restored and back to where God called them to be.
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