Pastor Steve Lawson of Trinity Bible Church, associated with John MacArthur, was removed from his pastoral and teaching duties due to having an “inappropriate relationship with a woman.”
Those of us in ministry know that this is code for committing adultery.
Sexting, touching women inappropriately (namely rape, incest, prostitution, homosexuality, adultery, fornication), looking with lust, pornography, and other sins is shadowed by using colorful words to intentionally obscure the specific sexual sins that pastors commit.
We “walk backwards” to cover the nakedness of a leader but we never discuss specifics so as to soften the blow that a preacher fell into sexual sins.
To spare the ministry, we try, in desperation, to salvage the means by which a ministry survive. Money.
Some churches and ministries will lie and deceptively conceal in order to save the reputation of the leader and its ministry because when the leader fails, people and money leaves.
It's getting to the point where sexual sins is neither here nor there. We've become indifferent. We reject the warning to abstain from fornication.
Paul warned us that people in the last days would be "lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God."
Like the world, the church knows how to protect its reputation, but we do it with selective amnesia, deliberately forgetting that God sees everything.
Ministry is a business.
Not that Trinity Bible Church conducted a conspiracy to cover it up.
In fact, Trinity simply removed Lawson from the pulpit IMMEDIATELY, but for sinning pastors and churches that conspire to cover it up….
“There’s no fear of God before their eyes.”
Therefore, Paul commanded Timothy that…..
1 Timothy 5:20
“Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.”
There’s a difference between shaming someone to make a person look bad before the public because of sexual sin and shaming someone in front of the public to underscore the fact that sin is serious before God and that His preachers must be held to account before the public.
We remember well the woman that was caught in adultery and the men wanted to stone her.
But the Lord had compassion on her and prevented the men from stoning her by making a strong statement.
"He that is without sin cast the first stone."
If sin is so serious to you, then you shouldn't sin and if anyone else sinned, where's your grace, mercy, and forgiveness?
According to Leviticus 20, both the man and the woman were to be stoned.
However, neither did the Lord condemned her and told her to “Go! And sin no more.”
Then there's the woman that came to Jacob’s well that she committed multiple adulteries that was exposed and it turned into a witnessing opportunity where the whole Samaritan city believed that Jesus is the Messiah.
That’s compassion when condemnation and judgment is justified.
Many people blame the standard and the God that instituted the standard instead of blaming the one that couldn’t keep himself within God’s standard.
We start out by saying that “we’re all humans and sinners,” which is true (see Romans 3:23-24), but God grants forgiveness because He’s full of mercy when we repent (turn) from sin and obey His Word to abstain from every appearance of evil.
It’s by God’s love, kindness, and mercy that we’re not consumed.
We offer the same grace to others, lest we fall into sin ourselves.
“Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
So we too, should be merciful.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Luke 6:36 (NKJV)
"Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."
We don’t condone or excuse sexual immorality among pastors and those in Christ.
Exposure is God’s next to last option.
Justified judgment could be instant death unless He shows mercy.
We point this out so that we would never mount our high horse and point fingers in pride at others. Never laugh at the fallen. Soon it will be our turn to ask for mercy.
Because one day, we’ll need that same grace, mercy, and forgiveness should we fall into sexual sins ourselves.
Steve isn’t the first, and he'll not be the last.
As far as restoration to ministry, there's an absolute approach and there's a merciful approach.
The absolute approach is the qualifications of Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. What I mean by absolute is that the qualifications are iron clad and dogmatic. No exceptions. Because ministry is different than your personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Could Steve be brought back to ministry?
Good question.
There's two sides. One side says that he should and others that say that he's disqualified and he shouldn't be allowed to return. If we were to apply the absolute Biblical qualifications to Steve, it's clear that he’s disqualified and he cannot return to the pulpit.
What's happened is that we've made "exceptions." And it's no wonder that the church is ineffective.
Why do we make exceptions?
Because we believe that the fallen pastor is indispensable and he's not expendable. But that's no reason to violate Scripture.
The merciful clause is about our personal relationship with the Lord that is found in Galatians 6:1 (NKJV) says "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."
This passage is not about restoring a fallen minister to the pulpit. It's about restoring a fallen believer to enjoying the joy of his salvation given to us by God's grace.
Because you can have personal relationship with God and not be allowed to be involved in pastoral ministry.
And then you have the self control clause in 1 Corinthians 9:27 (NKJV).
"But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
When believers and preachers aren't operating in self control, we're disqualified from ministry and our integrity and credibility is brought into question as true belivers before the world.
Let’s refrain from pointing out in judgment, the speck in our brother’s eye while we have a plank in our own eyes.
Let’s expose the dark places in us first by shedding the light of His Word in us to expose our sinfulness.
“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”
Let’s remember the terror of the Lord and live holy in the fear of God.
Let’s pray, preach the gospel, and live what we preach, and not bring or be a reproach (shame and contempt) to His name.
The world has once again blasphemed His name.
Anytime that true believers sexually sin against the Lord and the sin is exposed, it brings dishonor to His name.
Any sin for that matter.
Let’s expose these sins, repent of the sins committed, live clean and holy lives, be compassionate towards those that have sinned, while maintaining the infallible standard.
For “….without holiness, no man will see the Lord.”
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