It’s a tragedy when pastors and teachers experience moral failures. The damage goes far beyond their own families, extending to the hearts and minds of everyone who has been blessed by their ministries. Worse yet, such falls from grace severely damage, if not destroy, the testimonies of those leaders.
That’s what a friend of mine told me. He had been close to some church leaders who had fallen spectacularly. There was restoration for some of them, but it took humility, repentance, reconciliation, and a lot of time. The pain of that process was unavoidable, but necessary to redeem and repair their lost testimonies.
Our testimonies are one of three components we need to overcome the assaults of our enemy. John explains it this way:
“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even in the face of death.” Revelation 12:11 TLV
These components are, or should be, the core of our identity. The Blood of the Lamb brings us into relationship with our Creator. The word of our testimony is the story of how that relationship has deepened and carried us through life – the good times as well as the evil. Our testimony is evidence of the Blood of the Lamb at work in us and for us. That’s why we have no fear of death, and therefore can face any peril in service to our King.
Our enemy understands all this. That’s why he makes it a priority to destroy our testimonies. His weapons include enticements that appeal to our pride, lust, and greed. Those work well with the slander and rumors he circulates, often by unwitting accomplices who spread false accusations in the form of gossip. Godly men and women should be aware of these weapons, and should be living righteous lives above reproach. If we are living that way, then no weapon formed against us can prosper.
Yet there is always a blind spot where our enemy can operate undetected. We might even be cooperating with him and not know it. Consider, for instance, what happens when Christians become aware that our Messiah is Jewish, that He lived according to the Torah, and that we should also honor Torah if we are to follow His example. Many of us experienced severe shock when this revelation came to us – shock that caused us to question everything we had learned in the church. Suddenly, the very things that had meant so much to our spiritual development became anathema. Sunday worship, Christmas, Easter, the teachings of the Church Fathers, even the sermons of pastors who had spoken into our lives, were all relegated to the categories of pagan influence, false teaching, and willful deception. Worse yet, we walked out of fellowship with Christian friends and family who could not understand why we suddenly rejected the truth that we had once proclaimed, and that they still held dear.
It is true that our Christian upbringing missed some very important points about our Hebraic identity in our Jewish Messiah, but does that mean everything we learned was a lie? What about the salvation we received in Jesus? What about the peace that passes understanding that accompanied us as we lived for Jesus? How do we account for the good works done in His name – works that make a difference in the lives of abandoned children, battered women, and hopeless men in prison? Do we walk away from all that because the Sunday church isn’t doing things right? And if we do, have we destroyed our testimonies as effectively as if we had followed through on a lustful enticement?
This is something to ponder prayerfully. It may require some painful rethinking, and some even more painful attempts to rebuild burned bridges.
Albert J McCarn
Executive Director
