We, the Church, are being outwitted by Satan.
I don’t say that lightly. And I don’t say that as an insult. But so that we would no longer be ignorant of the devil's crafty agenda against the people of God. Because, right now, we’re losing. And we can do better.
Our collective response to the public failures of others is abysmal. The moment news breaks of a Church leader caught in compromise, gossip blogs go up and their books come down. We distance ourselves from them, embarrassed even by having shared their works in the past. We throw them to the wolves, more eager to appease the angry masses than to restore the brothers and sisters involved in the incident.
Imagine if we applied our same response to the broken men and women of God in the Scriptures. King David committed several grievous sins throughout his life. Should we remove half of the Psalms because they were penned by the hands of a man stained by sin? Or dare we take the Lord at His Word when He says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”[1]
Why do we so readily forgive the egregious sins of King David and Sampson but not those of Matt Chandler or Mark Driscoll? Can we not admit that someone we love has done wrong while also investing in their restoration and assuring them of our commitment to them?
During the height of the #MeToo movement, comedian Sarah Silverman modeled this very thing for her colleague who was found guilty of sexual misconduct (watch here: viewer discretion advised). If Sarah Silverman can do this for Louis C.K. can the Church not do this for Mark Driscoll?
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.[2]
The goal of having sin brought to the attention of the Body is restoration. Not to make a public spectacle and parade their shame to a crowd of uninvolved strangers.
We’re here to bear one another’s burdens. To help shoulder the messy, weighty responsibility of restoring the person who sinned and coming alongside any other persons affected or involved. If the exposure of another person’s sin makes us feel superior because it’s not something we struggle with, we’re in deception, and we’re being of no use to the brother or sister in sin. We’re just playing into the slanderous symphony composed by the Accuser of the Brethren.
How we respond to the failures of others reveals what we truly believe about God and how He deals with us in our sin. Judging by our collective response as the Church, I’d say we have a very skewed view of Jesus’ kindness that leads to repentance.[3]
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.[4]
How would you like to be confronted when you are caught in a transgression? Who would you like to be part of your restoration process? Do you think you’d appreciate having members from outside your congregation, who don’t know you and aren’t involved in any way, commenting on your failures and dictating how they think you should be punished for what you’ve done? How would you like to see an unflattering photo of yourself under a shame-filled headline scrolling across your loved ones’ phones?
If we can’t forgive the leaders we’ve put on a pedestal when they sin, why should we be forgiven when we sin? If their sins are good enough to be broadcasted to the world, then why not ours? Let’s make no distinction. Your thought life is now available on audiobooks for anyone to peruse. Sound good to you? No, it sounds perverted.
Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.[5]
We would do well to remember our own sins and how easily we can be lured and enticed by our own desires.[6] And from that place of honesty, self-awareness, and sympathy, we are better suited to serve the one who has done wrong in our midst.
Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.[7]
In many cases, the sobriety achieved by acknowledging sin before leaders, elders, and the affected members of the congregation is more than enough to correct the behavior and lead the brother or sister to repentance and restoration. In such cases, forgive, comfort, and reaffirm your love for the person so they won’t become overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. If their godly grief leads them to repentance, there is no need to heap on worldly grief that brings forth death.[8]
Of course our response is different for those who repeatedly sin without remorse and refuse to be corrected. If there are dangerous and unrepentant people harming our communities, we certainly need to protect one another by removing them. But I don’t think this is the primary issue we’re dealing with as a Body. We’re still learning how to be kind, gentle, and long-suffering with our own spiritual family when we fail.
For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.[9]
Failing to forgive a brother for failing is the epitome of hypocrisy and a victory for Satan.
Satan’s most effective tactic at the end of the age will be to make our love grow cold. I say effective because it is. Satan will succeed in turning people away from the faith, causing brothers and sisters to betray one another, and making love grow cold. If we can resist that, we can endure to the end.
And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.[10]
It’s time for the accuser of our brethren to start taking L’s in light of the soon coming Day when the promised Son will step on that serpent’s skull.[11] The way we win, the way we are not outwitted by Satan, is through love. Aggressive, forgiving, committed, painful, vulnerable, messy, confounding-to-unbelievers (end even to believers) love.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.[12]
So you should rather turn to forgive and comfort (fill-in-the-blank pastor) or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.
Jordan Scott lives in the Muslim world with his wife and children. He is the host of THE WAY podcast and author of A Call to Compel: The Simplicity, Urgency, and Joy of Making Disciples, available now from FAI Publishing. Jordan can be reached by email at jordan@faimission.org.
[1] Isaiah 1:18
[2] Galatians 5:13-15
[3] Romans 2:4
[4] Galatians 6:1
[5] Galatians 6:1-3
[6] James 1:14
[7] 2 Corinthians 2:5-8
[8] 2 Corinthians 7:10
[9] 2 Corinthians 2:9-11
[10] Matthew 24:10-13
[11] Revelation 12:10
[12] John 13:35
