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We love to hear stories of people who were lost in sin, but totally changed after they met Jesus.
We do not warm as much to the news that someone who was a follower of Jesus fell into sin.
We have definite feelings if that person once led us in the ways of Jesus.
We often feel more than disappointed. We may feel deceived.
We may wonder if anything they did or said was credible.
We may wonder if they were sinning the whole time they were leading us along good paths.
Worst of all, we may start to doubt whether The Words of God they spoke were true.
Some of the most influential Bible teachers in my life fell into publicly disclosed sin. I was shocked.
I had those doubts about our time together. I did review what they said and did. But then I prayed about what God wanted me to know.
These are the thoughts He brought to mind.
God’s Words are always solid, even when they come through an imperfect vessel. Look for The Truth you learned from The Word you received.
Realize the one who brought The Word may or may not have been committing the sin you just found out about. Whether they were or were not, the seeds of that sin were already there. Sin starts inside before it manifests outside.
Those who proclaim God’s Word publicly are a special assignment for all of satan’s demons. Satan likes nothing better than the fall of one of God’s servants.
He beams with pride when headlines identify the sin with their vocation as God’s Servant.
For satan, it is a win win situation because frequently he can take down many for the sacrifice of one. Pray for God’s Servants now, even if they appear free of sin.
Realize none of us are immune from sin. Witnessing the fall of others is not a call to the judgement seat. It should be a reminder of our own vulnerability.
It should drive us to our knees to ask God to reveal any weaknesses in us. We should then repent and be aware satan will try again. So we will need to be on guard.
And what should we do about the fallen one? Realize God is the judge, not us. We may have opinions. We may recognize right from wrong. But we are called not to judge, but to forgive.
Forgive them as God has forgiven us. And yes, Jesus forgave even those who did not know they needed forgiveness.
We should thank God that He has All Power to forgive, refine, redeem and restore all of us to be what He created us to be.
We should make every effort to see the fallen one, not as the fallen one, but as a future new creation in Christ Jesus. We should pray for it and expect it.
Will God simply hit a reset button and everything go back to the way it was? No.
Sin has consequences for the one who committed the sin and the ones who were affected. We should pray for all as they go through recovery and look toward a new and different life.
Finally, we need to talk to God about any hurts we have experienced from the fall of the one we trusted. We need to be open to God’s healing touch for us.
Know for certain He will never fail us. We can trust Him completely.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
