The following quotes from Lead, by Paul David Tripp, seem all too apropos considering some of the recent news coming from Christian ministries.
“I have seen that when it comes to leaders’ struggle
with sin, we tend to make unbiblical assumptions that cause us to be naïve and
unprepared for battles that we will face in the life and ministry of leaders in
our communities. It is not safe to assume that a seminary graduate is
spiritually okay. It’s not safe to conclude that a very gifted leader is where
he needs to be in his relationship with Jesus. It’s not necessarily true that a
theologically insightful leader is spiritually mature. Ministry effectiveness
is not to be confused with cleanness of heart. What you know about the public
persona of a leader does not mean you do not need to be concerned about his
private life” (181).
“Every leadership community should be clear that
giftedness is not the same as spiritual maturity. Biblical literacy is not the
same as spiritual maturity. We need to be clear that theological acumen is not
the same as spiritual maturity. Ministry success is not the same as spiritual
maturity. Popularity is not the same as spiritual maturity. Strategic insight
is not the same as spiritual maturity” (196).
Revelations of ongoing,
unrepentant sin make you wonder if a celebrity really was a Christian. (God
alone knows.) The trust of the church has been betrayed on many occasions by
many people.
None of us are completely free
from temptation and sin. Jesus was the only person to live a perfect, sinless
life. But by the grace of God we should be growing in obedience, humility, and
integrity. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray He included, “Forgive us our
debts… and lead us not into temptation” (Matt. 6:12-13).
Why would He urge such prayers if in fact we are able by our own strength to
avoid temptation and live free from sin? We are weak and fallible creatures,
constantly in need of God’s power to sanctify us and conform us to the image of
His Son.
Martin Luther, in the first
sentence of his 95 Theses wrote, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ
said, ‘Repent,’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be
one of repentance.” Yet how many of us live that out day by day? How often are
we blissfully unaware of, or hardened to, our sin?
King David, the “man after
God’s own heart,” wrote in several of his psalms:
“Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let
them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of
great transgression” (Psalm 19:13).
“Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to
shame, for I take refuge in You” (Psalm 25:20).
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose
sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted
away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy
upon me” (Psalm 32:1-4a).
“There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your
indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my
iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for
me” (Psalm 38:3-4).
May God, by His grace, reveal
our sins and bring conviction and repentance before those sins bury us too
deeply in the mire. May our pride be broken before it becomes presumption. May
we be quick to turn to Him for the mercy of forgiveness and the cleansing we
need.
“Who shall ascend the hill
of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and
a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear
deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the
God of his salvation” (Psalm 24:3-5).
© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free
from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of
my church or employer.
