When scandal beats – address yourself with sin in the church

Article content

It is always serious when a Christian brother or a sister falls into an outrageous sin. All sin dirty us and can cloud our relationship with God. Every injustice must therefore be confessed to the Lord in order to gain new forgiveness. If sin affects other people, we also have to go to them and ask for their forgiveness, possibly also good or restitution for the way we wronged them. And if the wrong thing is a question of public recording when it affects an entire community or affects the Christian name in the community, it should be recognized publicly and treated in such a way that it is clear that the Church does not blind.

Article content

Article content

Recommended videos

Article content

Not too long ago, a church leader in the United States was removed from office in the United States due to alleged sexual misconduct. This is one of these tragic things that we hear in different parts of the world from time to time. In this case, a respected pastor and preacher, conference spokesman and seminar teacher were advised for his actions under church discipline. This has unsettled many of those who trust him and even benefited from his service and even saw it as a model.

I want to be in advance that I don't know all the facts in the case. The minister in question denied that it called an actual sexual contact between him (a 72-year-old married man) and the other person (a woman in late 20). It is possible that the relationship between them was mainly by phone or by e -mail because they live in different countries. It could have been an “emotional affair”, still inappropriate, but not literally adultery. Or it could have been an out -of -marital matter in the usual sense of the concept. In both cases it was not correct and created a scandal.

Article content

The word “scandal” comes from the Greek scandalon “, which means a” stumbling block “. If someone goes on a path and stumbles over a stone or another object, we call this object a stumbling block.

Some things will stumble for some people, but not everyone. Paul says in 1. Corinthians. Some simply find the idea of ​​a crossed Messiah offensive.

However, stumbling blocks are often created by Christians themselves. In Matthew 16, Peter acts as a stumbling block for Jesus when he weighed up the master. Paul warns both Romans and Corinthians to pay attention to a obstacle to the path of weak. I should avoid something that would cause my colleagues to violate his conscience.

Article content

A moral decay, which is known to the church or the broader community, is a scandal that can easily lead to ridicule and rejection of the gospel by unbelievers. The hypocrisy of the believer will deter the outsiders. It also creates a situation in which the church has to make it clear that there is no double standards, a rule for managers, another for the rest.

In some Christian bodies, the discipline seems to be easily taken. A short suspension follows the full restoration of the pulpit. It is hardly more than a blow on the wrist. Others seem too heavy. The perpetrator is completely “discovered” and the entire salary is cut off. It is “deleted” in all intentions and purposes.

The biblical approach would be the distance until the sincere repentance and then gradually restore the service. Discipline is alleviated by love. As the apostle put it: “If a man is overhauled in any transition, they are who are (should) restore one in a spirit of the gardens” (Galatian 6: 1).

John Vaudry is a retired minister.

Article content