I noticed that a woman friend (I’ll call her “Susan”) had
not taken Communion. She also looked distraught. After the service I asked her
if there was anything that she wanted to talk about.
Susan explained that she couldn’t take Communion because
there was sin in her life that she was unable to overcome and, therefore, felt
unworthy to take Communion. She was thinking about the passage:
·
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the
cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and
blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread
and drink of the cup…That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have
died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. (1 Corinthians
11:27-31)
According to Susan, she had examined herself and judged
herself “unworthy” of the Lord and of Communion.
This question of “unworthiness” is a big issue. It also
pertains to all forms of Christian service. Jesus taught that we are in no
condition to correct a brother unless we have first corrected ourselves:
·
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take
the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:4-5)
Some wrongly assume that Jesus was teaching against all
forms of judgment or correction when He stated, “Judge not that you not be
judged” (Matthew 7:1). Indeed, we will be judged by the same standard by which
we judge. Therefore, we first have to judge ourselves so that God will not
judge us. This involves examining ourselves, identifying our blind-spots – the logs
in our eyes - and confessing and repenting of them. Only then can we judge
others.
Paul had taught in a similar manner:
·
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any
transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of
gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
Whatever service we are performing, we need to continually “watch”
and judge ourselves. Why? As a skilled judo expert, sin is always at work,
drawing us one way or another. If we are not examining ourselves and confessing
our sins, we can be sure that sin will knock us off balance.
I tried to explain to Susan that sin isn’t our biggest
problem. Here’s what I meant. We all sin. I did not say this to excuse sin but
to understand it in perspective. Sin is a present reality for all of us. This
is why Jesus required repentance of all:
·
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will
all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5)
Jesus was correctly assuming that we all have sin. According
to Him, we should all regard ourselves as unworthy:
·
“So you also, when you have done all that you
were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our
duty.’” (Luke 17:10)
Consequently, none of us can stand before God in our own
merit or righteousness. Instead, we are reminded that we must always confess
our sins. This is the uniform message of Scripture. James wrote that we have to
always bridle our tongues. Why? Because they are an ever-present source of sin:
·
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone
does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his
whole body. (James 3:2)
All of us stumble into sin. Therefore, blessedness was not a
product of our sinlessness but, instead, of the mercy of God, as David had
often written:
·
Blessed is the one whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts
no iniquity… (Psalm 32:1-2)
John also wrote that we all have sin:
·
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)
I tried to explain to Susan that our main problem isn’t sin
but our unwillingness to examine ourselves and to confess our sins. Why?
Because when we do confess our sins, our Lord is “faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I therefore asked Susan if she had confessed her sins. She
answered that she had but was having trouble believing that God had truly
forgiven and cleansed her. “Why,” I asked.
She feared that she had passed the point of “no return,” the
point where God would no longer forgive her. I mentioned Paul, the worst of
sinners who God had elevated to the foremost of missionaries (1 Timothy
1:15-17), to her. I reasoned as Paul had. If God had forgiven Paul, then He was
making it plain that He was willing to forgive anyone.
However, Susan was convinced that her situation was
different. She was a child of God, and yet she continued to sin, even though it
was against her will.
Instead, Jesus counseled His disciples to always be ready to
forgive a brother if he repents:
·
And if he sins against you seven times in the
day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke
17:4)
We have no choice; we must forgive. This also says something
about our Savior. He has never required us to do more than what He would do. If
He demanded that we always be ready to forgive our brethren if they repent, how
much more will He be willing to forgive the repentant!
In fact, we find that there is one thing that induces the
angels of heaven to rejoice:
·
Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the
angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10, 7)
If they had to wait to find a sinless person, there would be absolutely no
occasion to rejoice.
Repentance had also been God’s plea to unrepentant Israel:
·
Go, and proclaim these words toward the north,
and say, “‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you
in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever. Only
acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and
scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you
have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:12-13)
Sadly, Israel would not confess, and this brought
destruction upon them. However, we see examples of God showing mercy to the
worst of the worst. King Manasseh had been the worst. He ruled for 55 years. If anyone had committed sins that made him ineligible
for forgiveness, it was he:
·
Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says
the Lord God of Israel:
“Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem
and Judah...”
(2 Kings 21:10-12).
However, the
Assyrians captured Manasseh and threw him into prison. This caused the king to humble
himself to confess his sins:
·
Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord
his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed
to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him
back to Jerusalem
into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God (2 Chron.
33:12-13).
I explained to Susan that if God had forgiven Manasseh’s
decades of the most horrible sins, He certainly would forgive hers and wipe her
totally clean from all of them.
My favorite example is Job. Even though he had been the most
righteous of men, he railed against God in the midst of his suffering. However,
God confronted Job with a long series of questions that Job was unable to
answer. He got the point – If he could not answer any of these questions, how
could he suppose that he was in any position to bring indictments against God?
He clearly was not.
After this, God confronted Job’s three friends who had
spoken incorrectly about God:
·
After the LORD had spoken these words to Job,
the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against
your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant
Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job
and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for
you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly.
For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job
42:7-8)
Something seems wrong here. After God had charged Job with distorting
His “counsel by words without knowledge” (Job 38:2), He twice proclaimed that
Job had spoken correctly about Him! This seems like a contradiction, but it is
not! Instead, it points to the profound impact of confession:
·
Then Job answered the LORD and said: “Therefore
I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I
did not know…I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees
you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6;
40:2-3)
Job’s repentance not only brought forgiveness, restoration,
and blessing. It also brought cleansing from his sins. It was as if Job had never
brought any indictments against God!
I explained to Susan that each time we confess and repent,
our slate is wiped perfectly clean! I
stand in awe before such a God. I hope that Susan also does.
***********
Let’s now deal with the problem of elders/pastors who fall
into sin. In one case, a homosexual male prostitute “outed” a famous and
popular pastor. When he could no longer hide it, he confessed his sins with
tears before his church.
However, a controversy emerged. While everyone was willing
to embrace and forgive their fallen pastor, half believed that he should resume
as their pastor; the other half did not. Sadly, this caused great dissension.
Well, doesn’t forgiveness entail restoration? Yes, but not
necessarily to leadership! Why not? First of all, there are definite
qualifications for pastors and elders:
·
Therefore an overseer must be above reproach… He
must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children
submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how
will he care for God’s church?... Moreover, he must be well thought of by
outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1
Timothy 3:2-7)
The pastor did not meet these qualifications. Therefore, restoring
him to the pastorate would surely create dissension and division and violate
Scripture. This doesn’t mean that he could never again pastor. However, it does
mean that he would first have to win the trust of his family, church, and
community.
Along with this, church leadership is to be held to a higher
standard:
·
Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of
these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least
in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19)
·
Not many of you should become teachers,
my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater
strictness. (James 3:1)
Although our God is completely forgiving, we should not be
surprised that there is a price to pay for unfaithfulness, especially if we are
in positions of leadership. While elders should receive honor (1 Timothy 5:17),
they should also be publicly rebuked if they failed in their calling:
·
As for those [elders] who persist in sin, rebuke
them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. (1 Timothy
5:20)
