On the Fallen Christian
Posted on Tuesday, November 7th, 2006 at 11:09 am
By now there is no one who has not heard of the fall of Ted Haggard, pastor and famous evangelical leader. Many are using this as a weapon to show the shallowness of Christianity or to prove the falsehood of the gospel. I would only ask that everyone look once again at what we call ourselves. We are Christians. We are on our way to the City of God. We are not holding to the doctrine of Haggard or the doctrine of Falwell or the doctrine of Bush; we hold to the doctrine of Christ. It is in him alone that we find our hope.
People fall and leaders fail. It has happened before and it will happen again. I only pray that God will preserve me for the sake of my wonderful wife and children, for the sake of his church, and for the sake of my Lord. None of us are above falling into sin without the help of God. But to offer hope, God ought to make a difference in our lives. Outsiders ought not to be able to say, “Is that all there is?” about ministers of the gospel. Let every one of us pray, and strive to keep ourselves from the lies and deceptions that cause the sin to grow into a great dark cloud as it did in Haggard’s life.
There is a tendency for us all to be Pharisees, who gain our own self-worth by making other people lower than ourselves. Then when a well known leader comes out an proves his own sinfulness, many of us tend to rejoice (inwardly) that we really are better than he was. Let us avoid that. We live in a state of realizing that God has extended to us such amazing grace that we sympathize with those who are hurting. Haggard’s wife, his children, and his church are all hurt. Are we ready to have God remove all of the defects of character that we have? Are we ready to have our sins placed in front of a national TV audience? This is not the minimize the terrible sin that Haggard was involved in, but to remind us all of the depth of the grace of God which has extended even to Pharisees like us.
Here is a wonderful article written by Carl Trueman that should be read by every potential pastor or church member:
http://www.reformation21.org/Reformation_21_Blog/Reformation_21_Blog/58/vobId__4575/
I found out about this article from Justin Taylors blog, a wonderful resource which you can find at Theoligica Blogspot
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Comments
1Randi:Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 at 9:02 am
When I was a Christian of just a few years and attending a small, rural, fundamentalist church, our church family was called to a special meeting. There we learned that our pastor had “committed the sin of David.” While his wife was pregnant with their third, he had been having an affair with a church member whose husband was out to sea in the navy. She, too, was pregnant. We were shocked and devastated, but this painful episode taught me early on not to look to any man as the standard for my faith.
It is truly a fallen world and the war between righteousness and evil rages within every believer’s soul. When I have been praised for teaching a good Bible study or being a knowledgable Christian, I thank that individual. But I also issue a warning—you would be pretty disappointed if you followed me around for a few days. There should be no pedestals in the church.
These sad events serve as a reminder that God, in infinite mercy, has seen our sorry plight and sent a Savior. And I am prompted to say, “Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. “
2Frances:Wednesday, November 8th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Amen, Dr Lamerson. Amen.
3Ernie:Thursday, November 9th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Well said! Thanks Sam!
4Chris:Friday, November 10th, 2006 at 7:26 am
Two thoughts come to mind as I read your comments. First if you haven’t read the comments from Haggard’s wife which were read to their congregation the following Sunday, I would recommned it. In a world in which Britney Spears, a 24 year-old role model for so many young girls is flippantly filing for her second divorce and getting all kinds of publicity. If you read Mrs. Haggard’s comments, you will see the great divide that exists between the two.
Second, I couldn’t agree with you more. We as Christians are much more eager to kick each other when we are down, than to hurt with one another. As a people watch our behavior, if that is what they see our lives are like toward people who we call “family” I wouldn’t want to be a part of it either.
Thanks for thoughful comments on a sensitive subject.