88 Sermon Illustrations on Restoration

Mr. Pillsbury, warden of the State Prison in Connecticut, once received into the prison a man of gigantic stature, whose crimes had for seventeen years made him the terror of the country. He told the criminal, when he came, he hoped he would not repeat the attempts to escape, which he had made elsewhere. "It will be best," said he, "that you and I should treat each other as well as we can. I will make you as comfortable as I possibly can, and I shall be anxious to be your friend; and I hope you will not get me into difficulty on your account. There is a cell intended for solitary confinement; but we have never used it, and I should be sorry ever to have to turn the key upon anybody in it. You may range the place as freely as I do: if you trust me, I will trust you." The man was sulky, and for six weeks showed only gradual symptoms of softening under the operation of Mr. Pillsbury's cheerful confidence. At length, information was brought of the man's intention to break the prison. The warden called him, and taxed him with it: the man preserved a gloomy silence. He was told it was now necessary for him to be locked in the solitary cell, and was desired to follow the warden, who went first, carrying a lamp in one hand, and a key in the other. In the narrowest part of the passage, Mr. Pillsbury, a small, light man, turned round, and looked in the face of the stout criminal. "Now," said he, "I ask whether you have treated me as I deserve? I have done every thing I could to make you happy. I have trusted you; but you have never given me the least confidence in return, and have even planned to get me into difficulty. Is this kind? And yet I cannot bear to lock you up. If I had the least sign that you cared for me"—The man burst into tears. "Sir," said he, "I have been a very demon these seventeen years; but you treat me like a man."—"Come let us go back," said the warden. The convict had free range of the prison as before; and from that hour he began to open his heart to the warden, and cheerfully fulfilled his whole term of imprisonment.

A gentleman residing in the vicinity of York once received an anonymous letter, appointing a meeting in the oat-market, when, as the letter stated, something would be communicated for his advantage. The gentleman kept the appointment, and was accosted by a respectable looking man, who proposed that they should go to an inn together. The gentleman consented; and having entered a private room, they both sat down at a table, when the stranger presented his new friend with sixty pounds, which he said was his property. The gentleman refused to take it without an explanation; but the stranger then presented him with sixty pounds more, and said that this was also due besides, as interest for the money, simple and compound, during the time he held his property. He afterwards gave the following explanation to the gentleman: "More than twenty years ago, you had an uncle, whose property you now possess: his age and infirmities rendered it expedient for him to have a housekeeper to manage his affairs. My sister was that housekeeper. Some time after his death she found sixty pounds folded up in one of her trunks, which she believed to have belonged to him at the time of his death. She sent for me, gave it into my hands, and requested that I would restore it to you, as the lawful heir of her master's property. This I promised to do, but being embarrassed in my circumstances at the time, I made use of it for my own purposes. I now make the proper restitution. I do it to the utmost, and with pleasure; and I do assure you that this transaction has taken a very heavy weight from my distressed mind." Various circumstances then occurred to the gentleman's mind, which left no doubt of the truth of the stranger's story.

Peter who had thrice denied his Lord is given three opportunities to reassert his love. Active soul winning work as a guard against sinning Backsliders—Restoration of. (Peter). Christ's intercession (Lk. 22:31, 32). Look of Christ (Lk. 22:61). Message of Christ (Mk. 16:7). Interview with Christ (Lk. 24:34). Open confession (Jn. 21:15-17). Restored to his work (Jn. 21:15-17). Back to the starting point (Jn. 21:18, 19—follow me).

The Maryland Prisoners’ Aid Association have established a woodyard and novelty manufacturing shop at No. 311 North Street, Baltimore, where steady employment is furnished those desiring to start anew after liberation from penal institutions. Like all work of this kind, the new plant is conducted with the idea of defraying its own expense, and not to realize profits.

All the machinery in the woodyard, which, in full operation, employs twenty men, is driven by electricity. The principal product is kindling, manufactured from cordwood shipped from Anne Arundel County. The wood is unloaded from cars alongside the sawmill, where it is cut, split and loaded on wagons ready for delivery.

An important feature of the plant is the shop on the second floor, where light cabinet articles of all descriptions are manufactured. Many of the men going to the Aid Society for help in obtaining employment are of a mechanical turn, and these are given positions in the shop. In charge of a skilled cabinet-maker and woodworker, John McVauley, tables, chairs, magazine racks, umbrella-stands, settees, stools, upholstered furniture and miscellaneous household articles are turned out for which the men are paid wages about equal to the rates paid by manufacturing plants.--Baltimore _Sun_.

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The blood of Christ is a symbol under which is often described the vitality of divine life restoring the image of God in the soul of the sinner. An illustration from nature of this process may be found in this extract:

A valuable discovery has been made whereby the faded ink on old parchments may be so restored as to render the writing perfectly legible. The process consists in moistening the paper with water, and then passing over the lines in writing a brush which has been wet in a solution of ammonia. The writing will immediately appear quite dark in color; and this color, in the case of parchment, it will preserve. On paper, however, the color gradually fades again; but it may be restored at pleasure by the application of the sulfid. The explanation of the action of this substance is very simple. The iron which enters into the composition of the ink is transformed by the reaction into black sulfid.--_Electrical Review._

Not long ago, a lady living in Hartford, Conn., bought at an auction in New York a painting begrimed with smoke and dirt. Her friends laughed at her for buying such a “worthless daub,” but she took the picture to a restorer of old paintings, who, after hours of patient labor in removing the dirt, brought to view a beautiful sixteenth century painting, representing a mother with her children. The painting is of almost priceless value. The penny they brought the Master was coined from base metal, but the image on it gave it value.

We are made in the image of God, and that makes us precious in His sight. The skin may be black or yellow, or brown or white--it matters not. Sin may have obscured the image, but we are Christ’s coins; He paid a great price for us, and seeks in every possible way to restore in us the image of Himself. (Text.)

The Old Testament prophet Obadiah delivered his message during a dark time in Israel’s history, most likely after the Babylonian exile. Jerusalem was in ruins, and only a handful of people remained. But the Edomites felt no remorse over the fall of Judah. The Edomites, descendants of Esau -- Jacob’s older brother -- rejoiced in Judah’s downfall. The Edomites had a perverse delight in Judah and Israel getting what was deserved.

God directly confronted Edom’s arrogance, which was at the heart of Edom’s response to Judah’s situation. The Edomites believed they were untouchable, like a soaring eagle, but their arrogance deceived them. Rather than letting the Edomites’ arrogance stand, God was personally active in cutting them down to size, causing nations to rise up and war against Edom. God was going to bring them down, and nothing could stop the downfall.

It’s hard to imagine that there’s much good news for us in an obscure book of the Bible like Obadiah. Tucked away in the Minor Prophets, it is the least read book of the Bible. But through its warnings against the arrogance of Edom and the hope of restoration present in its pages, Obadiah reminds us of an important truth: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

God inspired every page of the Bible, and every word is meant for our good and growth in godliness. That includes Obadiah, which powerfully points us to God’s compassion and mercy even as it condemns the sinful deeds of the arrogant.

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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete.]

The mightiest can fall, and the most fallen can rise again:

Many people have been deeply impressed with the writings of a man called Gordon MacDonald. Billy Graham said of one of his books: "It struck me right between the eyes with conviction and I wish that I had read it many years ago." Another prominent Christian leader described him as "one of the most Godly men I have ever met."

He was the pastor of the largest church in New England and taught at my seminary. He became the president of the InterVarsity evangelistic organization, one of the biggest in America.

Then it came out. A sin from a few years previously was exposed, and MacDonald was forced to resign. The sin was adultery. My wife Celeste was so shocked she has never trusted him since, and it's been over ten years.

He was forced to step down as president of Intervarsity. It made most pastors aware of our own spiritual frailty. If this man, with all his much vaunted spiritual discipline, could fall so hard, then no-one was immune from danger, ever.

Last week MacDonald appeared on TV with Tony Campolo, because both of them have been meeting on a weekly basis with President Clinton. Do you know how the commentator introduced him? "Gordon MacDonald, a leading pastor who was exposed after committing adultery." He will never live it down.

After his fall from grace, Gordon MacDonald recalled an encounter with a friend that had taken place some time before: "My friend asked a strange question: "If Satan were to blow you out of the water," he asked, "how do you think he would do it?" "I'm not sure I know, I answered. "All sorts of ways, I suppose; but I know there's one way he wouldn't get me." "What's that?"

"He'd never get me in the area of my personal relationships. That's one place where I have no doubt that I'm as strong as you can get." A few years after that conversation my world broke wide open. A chain of seemingly innocent choices became destructive, and it was my fault. Choice by choice by choice, each easier to make, each becoming gradually darker. And then my world broke - in the very area I had predicted I was safe - and my world had to be rebuilt.

"My perception is that broken-world people exist in large numbers, and they ask similar questions over and over again. Can my world ever be rebuilt? Do I have any value? Can I be useful again? Is there life after misbehavior?

"My answer is yes. That is what grace is all about. A marvelous, forgiving, healing grace says that all things can be new. The escape route from sin is Jesus. The wellspring of forgiveness is Jesus. The power to mend broken lives and set us on our feet again is Jesus. The one who can guard us against the devastation of sin is Jesus."

[see also #585 and #2343]

The importance of confronting Christians about sin.

I. Reasons to rebuke.

A. Preserve a saint's life. James 5:20

1) Sin can kill, literally and spiritually.

B. Preserve the church. 1 Thess 5:14

C. Protect God's reputation. 2 Samuel 12:14

1) When nonChrisitans observe the repeated sinful behavior of

of Christians, they yell, "The church is full of

hypocrites."

II. Steps to restoration.

A. Do it in private.

B. Try to win them.

1) It is our caring, our pleading, our fervency, that finally

convinces a Christian there is hope.

C. Escalate with others.

1) Disfellowship if necessary.

III. Guidelines from Paul. Galatians 6:1

A. Approach the sinner gently.

B. Take a long look at yourself.

C. Go with the purpose and expectation of restoring.

D. Recognize that you're just as susceptible to the sin as they are.

E. Offer assurance that whatever the sin, it's not unforgivable.

Examples of recent pastors who have fallen into sin. (see #587).

1. It is proper to respect and follow a good pastor.

2. Sin is to be confronted even in leaders.

3. How to confront a sinning brother.

4. The restoration process described.

5. Further accountability.

Four cautions.

Example of a fallen pastor who was restored.

Richard Grayson was robbed at Howard Johnson's restaurant in 1973. The experience haunted him. His wife later suffered from depression and ended up becoming a Christian. Richard did as well. He volunteered for work in prisons, and organized a restitution program. Since many prisoners are too poor to pay, he gave them jobs in a federally-funded program (since discontinued). Restitution is often a better alternative between the extremes of imprisonment and parole.

How the church should treat fallen leaders.

1. God is holy and loving.

2. Christians are sinners.

3. God wants to restore the fallen.

David learned from Bathsheba.

Peter gained from his denial of Christ.

4. Genuine forgiveness may not imply restoration to leadership.

Leaders have higher standards.

Procedure for restoration: [used 4/30/95]

a. Remorse for sin (not consequences).

b. True confession.

c. Accountability.

d. Fruits that befits repentance.

e. Restitution.

f. Retreat.

g. Genuine call from God.

Final sermon in John series. Peter. John 21:15-19

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SPIRITUAL SHEPHERDING

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I. Second chances.

A. Are you capable of falling?

B. Forgiveness and restoration.

C. Jesus' treatment of Peter gives us insight.

II. The Fall.

III. Christ's Question.

A. Their relationship started over from scratch.

B. Do you love me?

C. More than these. 21:15

IV. Jesus knows all things.

A. What does Jesus know about us?

B. Searching our own hearts.

C. Joy in God's knowledge.

V. Reinstated for a reason.

A. Peter is commissioned to be a shepherd.

B. Peter is commissioned to fulfill his vow - death. 21:18

VI. The road to restoration.

A. There is no virtue in falling.

B. The Biblical procedure for restoration.

C. We are restored to serve.

Adultery by pastors is a big problem and churches are vexed in how to deal with it. A typical pattern is for pastor to be found out, confess with sorrow, be counseled for several months to a year, then be restored to another church (usually in another state). Many argue that a fallen pastor is more sensitive, caring and effective after being restored. However, Jesus was tempted in all points just as we are, yet it was his testing, not any failure, that made him strong.

Genuine forgiveness does not necessarily imply restoration to leadership, according to Kenneth Kantzer. Adultery is a great sin, and pastoral adultery is an even greater sin. There IS a difference between mental adultery and the physical act, though both will send us to hell. Matt 5:27f does not reduce adultery to the level of lust, it shows lust destroys the soul as surely as adultery. Sexual sins are against our own bodies (or entire personality) and harm others.

Pastors must be blameless, which means unassailable. Sexual sin by pastors often involves an abuse of their power and an attempt to control someone. 1 Tim 3:1-7 requires bishops to be "one-woman men." Historically the church has ousted fallen pastors. Hippolytus insisted on immediate removal from office. John Chrysostom (347-407) said, "The minister's shortcomings simply cannot be concealed. Even the most trivial soon get known."

Re-ordination may be possible in some cases. The Bible tells of several prominent leaders who had significant roles after their failures. Moses murdered, but it happened 40 years before his leadership began. David should have gotten the death penalty, but his family definitely suffered and never regained its stability. And as a harem-keeping potentate he is not a role model for NT shepherds. Peter did not sin "against the body" and it was not the kind of volitional and cavalier deception that is characteristic of adultery. [But isn't denial of Christ just as serious spiritually, if not more so?]

A fallen pastor made this plea to his fellow ministers:

"The question is character and integrity. Yours are shattered. I plead with you, face the issue now! God's grace does restore. There is hope. However, that requires a process, much time, and even more grace. Confess, step down. Become accountable. See the cleansing and healing you need. Do it this day, do it now!"

[article is followed by a related one from wife's perspective.]

FULL ARTICLE:

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ARTICLE: Why Adulterous Pastors Should Not Be Restored By R. Kent Hughes and John H. Armstrong

Repentance is not enough for returning fallen ministers to the pulpit.

"Genuine forgiveness does not necessarily imply restoration to leadership," former CT editor Kenneth Kantzer once wrote after the moral failure of several prominent evangelical leaders. Yet the impulse to link forgiveness with restoration to ministry remains strong. Here two pastor-theologians argue for the importance of keeping separate the restoration to the body of Christ and restoration to pastoral leadership.

The North American church is seriously vexed by the question, "What shall we do with an adulterous pastor?" Over the past decade, the church has been repeatedly staggered by revelations of immoral conduct by some of its most respected leaders. How do we respond to those who have sexually fallen and disgraced themselves, shamed their families, and debased their office?

The typical pattern goes like this: The pastor is accused and convicted of sexual sin. He confesses his sin, often with profound sorrow. His church or denominational superiors prescribe a few months, or often one year, in which time he is encouraged to obtain professional counsel. Then he is restored to his former office, sometimes in another location. He is commonly regarded as a "wounded healer," one who now knows what it means to fall, to experience the grace of God profoundly.

While each situation must be handled with pastoral wisdom, and some fallen pastors indeed might someday be restored to leadership, we believe this increasingly common scenario is both biblically incorrect and profoundly harmful to the well-being of the fallen pastor, his marriage, and the church of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus was tempted in all points just as we are, yet it was his testing, not any failure, that made him strong. If we do not think clearly, we may be subtly encouraging people to grievous sin so they might experience more grace and thus minister more effectively. Incredibly, in the present context, some are saying things that imply just this notion.

THE FORGIVENESS APPROACH

The commonly held view reasons that a repentant and forgiven minister who was previously qualified for pastoral office remains qualified on the basis of God's forgiveness. Was he qualified previously? Has he confessed his sin? Has God forgiven him? Then we must also.

This logic rests upon the unbiblical assumption that forgiveness of sin is equivalent to the "blamelessness" (or unimpeachable character) required of pastors in 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6. If this thesis is accepted, all God requires is that a fallen pastor be forgiven.

But this confuses the basis of our fellowship with Christ with public leadership and office in church. No one argues that the fallen minister cannot be forgiven. No one should argue that he cannot be brought back into the fellowship of Christ's visible church. But to forgive a fallen pastor and to restore him to membership in the church is much different than restoring him to the pastoral office.

The "forgiveness approach" is inadequate because it does not deal realistically with two facts: First, adultery is a great sin; and second, pastoral adultery is an even greater sin.

Oft-repeated fallacies sometimes achieve the status of received truth--such as the notion that there is no essential difference between mental adultery and the actual physical act (see Matt. 5:27-28; James 2:10). To the contrary, we believe, in concert with the historic interpretation of the church, that while lust, jealousy, pride, and hatred will send a person to hell as surely as their outward manifestations (adultery, fornication, and murder), the physical manifestations are greater sins because of the damage they do to both the person who sins and the ones sinned against.

Adultery is a great sin precisely because it breaks the covenant of marriage. It violates another's body. It may prove to be grounds for divorce. Mental adultery does none of this. Jesus' intention in Matthew 5:27-28 was not to reduce adultery to the level of lust, but to show that lust would destroy the soul as surely as adultery.

Likewise, compare the mental sin of hatred with the act of murder (see Matt. 5:21-22). In one the person who hates is harmed by the hatred, but in the other a life is taken. There is a difference!

Further, the immensity of adultery is seen in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, where the apostle Paul argues that sexual sin is "against one's own body." The context of this passage reveals that sexual sin is in a category of its own. Sexual relationships violate the union that exists between a man and woman wherein they become "one flesh" (Gen. 2:24). It is the depth of this union, recognized by God with a covenant, that shows how profound its violation is in the light of eternity.

Charles Hodge wrote in the last century that 1 Corinthians 6 teaches that fornication "is altogether peculiar in its effects upon the body; not so much in its physical as in its moral and spiritual effects." Paul is telling the Corinthians that one's entire body and soul, hence all that a person is as a human personality, is involved in sexual relationship. Hence, profound damage results from such sin.

Hodge further says that adultery is a sin against one's own body because it is "incompatible...with the design of its creation, and with its immortal destiny." Contemporary New Testament scholar Gordon Fee writes in the same vein, "The unique nature of sexual sin is not so much that one sins against one's own self, but against one's own body as viewed in terms of its place in redemptive history" (emphasis ours).

Pastoral adultery, moreover, is an even greater sin. Why? Some sins are more damaging than others precisely because of who it is that commits them. As the Westminster Larger Catechism (Questions 150-51) reasons, persons who are eminent for their profession, gifts, and office are particularly serious offenders because of their influence upon others. This added seriousness is found in every case of a minister who commits adultery. Add to this James 3:1, which suggests that pastors will be held to stricter judgment, and we have a strong argument that pastoral adultery is an even graver sin than adultery in general.

The forgiveness approach, though appealed to by many today as a compassionate response to sexually fallen ministers, actually lacks compassion: it does not deal with the depth of the issue itself.

But why does adultery disqualify a minister from office?

THE BLAMELESS APPROACH

Straightforward explanations of what it is that qualifies one for pastoral ministry are given in several places in the Pastoral Epistles. 1 Timothy 4:12 provides a summary statement: "...set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." Titus 1:6 further adds, "An elder must be blameless ..." The Greek word here means "not to be laid hold of," or unassailable. William Hendriksen says of this blamelessness, "Enemies may bring all manner of accusations, but these charges are proved to be empty whenever fair methods of investigations are applied."

Adultery is not the only sin that disqualifies a minister from office, but it is one of the more visible and confusing sins plaguing the church in our time.

What is particularly troublesome about this sin today is the abuse of power that often attends it. Deep pain is brought to the sexual partner in a clergy affair, and even deeper pain to the minister's wife. The minister, given an honored office through which he is called to serve abused and vulnerable people, violates that very trust by becoming, himself, a violator.

Anglican Michael Peers, speaking at the Toronto Centre for the Family's symposium on sexual abuse by clergy, explains, "[This] is a deep-rooted and dark" problem, and it is often protected by the twin demons of "denial and control." Don Posterski writes, "When the power [of ministry] is used for sexual gratification it clearly constitutes the sexual abuse of power."

It saddens us that so few "fallen" leaders recognize the abuse of power inherent to pastoral adultery. And even fewer are willing to discuss the destruction of trust that their sins have effected. Many borrow psychotherapeutic concepts such as healing and recovery as rationales for returning to pastoral ministry, but with no genuine recognition of the pathology that manifests itself in the abuse of power.

The consensus of church history argues strongly that pastoral adultery disqualifies the minister. Lutheran historian Carl A. Volz categorically states in Pastoral Life and Practice in the Early Church that the church debarred pastors from public ministry "through moral lapse" and "heresy." He notes that ordination did not protect presbyters: what was conferred could be removed. The noted second-century presbyter, Hippolytus, powerfully assailed immorality among church leaders and insisted on their immediate removal from office. The early second-century document The Teaching of the Apostles states that the one who had been ordained but subsequently disobeyed God's Word should be disqualified, because the man had lied in taking his vows of loyalty and purity before Christ and his church. Such a violation of ordination vows was seen as an egregious breach of the third commandment.

The same views were held by the Protestant Reformers. Calvin, in The Register of the Company of Pastors, prescribes: "In order to obviate all scandals of conduct it will be needful to have a form of discipline for ministers...to which all are to submit themselves. This will help ensure that the minister is treated with respect and the Word of God is not brought into dishonor and scorn by the evil fame of ministers. Moreover, as discipline will be imposed on him who merits it, so also there will be no need to suppress slanders and false reports that may unjustly be uttered against those who are innocent."

As has been established, the office requires the minister to be "blameless." There can be no doubt that 1 Timothy 3:1-7 requires, among other qualities, that the episkopos (or overseer of the church) be a "one-woman man," that is, a man of moral purity whose wife is his only sexual partner. He is required to be a man who keeps the covenant of God and keeps his "marriage bed pure" (Heb. 13:4). Paul stressed to the church in Ephesus, where sexual sin was common among pagan unbelievers, there should not be "even a hint of sexual immorality" in the church (Eph. 5:3).

Tragically, covenant breaking of this type places a lasting reproach on the fallen minister, and this will have long-term consequences. Wise Solomon gave it wistful expression: "But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away" (Prov. 6:32-33, NIV).

One of the troubling questions often raised regarding this matter of being "blameless" is this: Is the public knowledge of the sin the issue in the minister being blameless, or is there something in the nature of the sin itself that makes blamelessness a deeper matter than public knowledge? To put it bluntly, can the man become blameless by moving to another community and church and starting over? Here, it is often argued, others will not know of his past failure.

But a change in geography will not diminish the blame, because the sin is so dynamically disintegrative. As such, it will likely come to light again, as John Chrysostom, the early church bishop (347-407) explained: "The minister's shortcomings simply cannot be concealed. Even the most trivial soon get known."

Perhaps some might eventually become qualified to return again to pastoral office, perhaps after being ordained again. And it cannot be exegetically proven that a fallen minister can never be restored to office. But this does not argue against the flow of our understanding, for the vital question the church faces in our time is not what might happen in exceptional cases, but rather, how can we protect and help the woman or women sinned against by the minister? How can we minister to the pastor's wife and children, those most sinned against in this lapse? What can be done to preserve the church spiritually and morally? What are we to do to help this minister begin the long ordeal of sorting out his devastated life?

Adultery establishes that the fallen minister is not able to serve with integrity. The issue is not usefulness to the church or giftedness in the pulpit. To have stood before the flock, leading them in holy worship week after week, preaching the Word of God as his servant, and yet to have been committing adultery reveals a massively toxic character flaw that poisons all of life. One fallen minister, many years after his own failure, writes: "In my case, moral failure was the sin which was visible to the church. There were, much to my chagrin, other issues which were perhaps more heinous to God than that which was visible to man. It takes time to root these out and replace them with godly characteristics."

Sober warning has been given in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, where the apostle Paul argues that the lack of diligent restraint of the flesh may lead one into apostasy. This danger needs to be weighed carefully in dealing with pastors who have fallen. Consider how subtly sexual sin permeates the whole human personality--whether illicit sex is used to feed a person's sense of power, need for affection, self-image, sense of desirability and attractiveness, hedonistic drive, or all of these--and you will sense the danger here. We sincerely believe that remaining in public ministry will in some cases foster deeper self-deception, leading men to eternal ruin in the final day.

WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?

The fallen minister who confesses sin, seeks God's grace, and desires to remain in fellowship with the church of Christ, must be welcomed and received as any fallen Christian. He must be forgiven as Jesus commands (Matt. 18:22). But forgiveness and restoration to the fellowship of the church does not mean the former minister now meets the qualifications for holding the office of pastor/elder.

The church is not to punish the repenting man who has fallen. But refusing to return him to the role of pastoral ministry is not punishment. To remove a fallen minister is to honor Christ's holy standards; it is to follow the wise counsel and pattern of leaders over the centuries; it is to protect the man himself and his family; and it is to guard the church body, loved so dearly by the Chief Shepherd.

The Bible tells of several prominent fallen leaders who had significant roles after their failure. Moses, David, and Peter immediately come to mind. But we must not rush to employ these three examples in discussing morally fallen pastors. Consider several important matters: (1) Moses' sin of murder came 40 years before his leadership began, and he spent a virtual lifetime in the desert following this serious fall. (2) David's sin would have brought the death penalty to anyone else. Further, he was a Middle Eastern, harem-keeping potentate, not a domestic role model for New Testament shepherds. Remember also that his kingdom and family never knew peace after his moral turpitude--his throne never regained its former stability. (3) Peter's sin was serious, but it was not "against the body" (1 Cor. 6:18), and while it was a character sin, it was not the kind of volitional and cavalier deception that is characteristic of adultery. Neither was it premeditated, prolonged, or repeated in darkness.

We conclude with the wise plea and rationale of a fallen anonymous minister to his fellow servants who have fallen: "The question is character and integrity. Yours are shattered. I plead with you, face the issue now! God's grace does restore. There is hope. However, that requires a process, much time, and even more grace. Confess, step down. Become accountable. Seek the cleansing and healing you need. Do it this day, do it now!"

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R. Kent Hughes is pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and author of numerous books, including "Are Evangelicals Born Again?" (Crossway). John H. Armstrong is director of Reformation & Revival Ministries and author of "Can Fallen Pastors Be Restored? The Church's Response to Sexual Misconduct" (Moody), which expands on the ideas in this article.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./CHRISTIANITY TODAY Magazines

Steve Arterburn is a spokesman for Minrith-Meier Clinics and is heard on national Christian radio stations. He attended Baylor University and then went on to seminary. Since he is a "personality" he was asked to speak at the Baylor University chapel. Instead of a safe and inspiring talk, he confessed his personal sin. When he had attended Baylor he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. He saw his whole future at stake, and so paid for her to have an abortion. He didn't think much about it in the coming years, but began to have stress-related illnesses which he eventually attributed to guilt over the incident.

The former girlfriend called him and told him she had heard about his chapel talk. He stressed that he had not mentioned her by name but that wasn't her concern. She said he was not being completely honest. He hadn't just paid for the abortion, but had pressured her to kill the child she wanted to have. His pressure was subtle but effective - don't expect me to be there for you if you have this child.

God is a God of second chances, of restoration. Everything that happens has its reason, and God has a plan for us. Steve got married in California only to discover that he and his wife were an infertile couple. He felt abandoned by God. Some of his Christian friends suggested that this was God's punishment for his past sin. This angered him, but he does not see God as a vindictive punisher.

Later, Steve told his publisher about his situation and this man mentioned that he knew of a 16-year-old Christian couple who had gotten pregnant out of wedlock but refused to abort it. Instead they were looking for a Christian family to adopt it. It struck Steve that this couple was far more courageous than he had been. He and his wife received the child in a hotel room. The baby was put in his arms first. She is now a beautiful young girl. God had given him what he had destroyed years ago.

Pattern Theology

There once was a fellow named Luther

Clearly a Pattern theology "abuser"

The Pope he defied

"Sola Scriptura" he cried

As he championed a faith that was purer.

Then Zwingli took up the refrain

For the swiss patterns were not a strain

That ol' organ they hid

of Icons they were rid

For freedom in Christ they were slain.

On patterns did the Anabaptists think

From Infant Baptism they started to shrink

It cost them their life,

persecution and strife

and the authorites left their bodies to stink

Calvin jumped on the pattern bandwagon

A bold fellow, his zeal was unflaggin'

Saw the Instrument with all

other shadows of the law

with Infant Baptism as burdens down draggin'

So John Wesley caught on to the Method

of patterning life after the scriptures so blessed

so in baptism he immersed

and with the instrument dispersed

To keep his society from the world unmolested.

Notice how the prophets of old

had proclaimed God's judgments so bold

on those of the "Haves"

who'd left the old paths

rejecting God's patterns to hold.

Now in the eyes of some, so it seems

Pattern theology is but smoke, stuff, and dreams

Yet some themes are consistent

(or at least they're persistent)

Among the contributors to theology's stream

Pattern Theology is just going back

to the Bible for things that we lack

If we seek to restore,

nothing less, nothing more,

It'll bring us back on to Christ's track.

Scott P. Wiley

Copyright 1998

One pastor writes of a man he had in his congregation, a Christian worker, a man used of God, but who unfortunately at an evil hour slipped badly. Oh, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. This man fell and he was serving a 7 year sentence in one of our penal institutions. Through his encounter with a Godly Barnabas- like pastor this man was led to know the recovering power of the precious blood of Christ. On the fly leaf of his bible he wrote: “The soul that comes to Jesus through failure, shame, or pain, by His wondrous love and mercy may soar as high again.” A sense of need and the spirit of repentance is a vessel into which God wills to pour himself in recovering grace.

The famous clock in Strasburg Cathedral had a mechanism so complicated that it seemed to the ignorant and superstitious almost a work of superhuman skill. The abused and offended maker, while as yet unpaid for his work, came one day and touched its secret springs, and it stopped. All the patience and ingenuity of a nation's mechanics and artisans failed to restore its disordered mechanism and set it in motion.

Afterward, when his grievances were redressed, that maker came again, touched the inner springs, and set it again in motion, and all its multiplied parts revolved again obedient to his will. When thus by a touch, he suspended and restored those marvelous movements, he gave to any doubting mind proof that he was the maker, and certainly the master, of that clock.

When Jesus of Nazareth brings to a stop the mechanism of nature, makes its mighty wheels turn back, or in any way arrests its grand movement -- more than all, when He cannot only stop, but start again, the mysterious clock of human life -- He gives to an honest mind overwhelming proof that He is God. For a malignant power might arrest or destroy, but only God could reconstruct and restore.

My Source: HURST STREET HERALD

Vol XIX, #33, 9/6/98

110 Hurst Street

Center, TX 75935

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Author: Not Known

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A CARING COWBOY

A family, all nine of them, loaded all their earthly possessions into a covered wagon pulled by a four-horse hitch and set out to join 14 other families leaving Arkansas headed for Texas and the promise of a new land. Rolling through rainstorms, hail, blistering hot days, fighting off insects at night, the wagons rolled across the plains of what is today, Oklahoma.

One afternoon a cloud of dust appeared on the horizon behind the group, and the wagon master halted the column and drew them close together into a circle. The men reached for rifles while the women gathered the children together into the center of the wagons. In a few minutes it became apparent that the dust was coming from a LONE rider, carrying a parcel across his saddle.

Slowing his horse to walking gait, the man called out that he meant no harm. The horse stopped, the man got down, reached for the bundle and unwrapped a small child no more than two years old.

A cry of recognition tore from the throat of the baby's mother when she saw her seventh child standing beside the strange man. The child had not been missed, but he had fallen from the wagon and the cowboy had found him sitting in the dirt and sifting it through his fingers... waiting for someone to come back for him.

How many of us are on life's "wagon train" headed for the promised land, and so intent on our own journey that we do not miss those of God's children who fall off along the way?

BRETHREN, IF A MAN BE OVERTAKEN IN A FAULT, YE WHICH ARE SPIRITUAL RESTORE SUCH AN ONE IN THE SPIRIT OF MEEKNESS; CONSIDERING THYSELF, LEST THOU ALSO BE TEMPTED (Galatians 6:1).

We’ve all lapsed from something, haven’t we? If we live long enough, we lapse from all sorts of promises, convictions and ideals we thought we’d never relinquish. COVID-19 has enforced collective lapses from restaurants, concerts, movies and sporting events, not to mention human interactions through hugs and handshakes, choirs and classes, sacred spaces, too.

With one in five Americans (“nones”) claiming no religious affiliation, the religiously lapsed are everywhere these days. One study conducted from 2015 to 2018 indicated that only a little more than half the youth reared in the Southern Baptist Convention now remain in the SBC. I think increases in the religiously lapsed will continue, influenced in part by the way we Christians are acting.

Merriam-Webster defines “lapse” as “a temporary deviation or fall especially from a higher to a lower state,” all the way to outright “abandonment of religious faith.” That’s nothing new; early Christians divided over responses to the lapsi, those who claimed faith, then compromised it under political pressure.

Remember Rome in 249

In October 249 Trajan Decius became Roman emperor after defeating the invading Goths along the Danube. As W.H.C. Frend wrote in his massive work, The Rise of Christianity, “Decius was inspired by the vision of the past military virtues of Rome and its emperors. He was hailed as the new Trajan, and he added the name of the ‘best of emperors’ to his own.”

Calling himself “the restorer of the sacred rites and liberty,” and rehearsing Rome’s past glories, Decius decreed that all citizens (except Jews) demonstrate their loyalty by offering a “sacrifice” (incense or libation) to the “Roman gods and the emperor’s genius.” This oblation was to be made in the presence of a Roman magistrate, who certified in a libelli that the governmentally mandated ritual had been carried out.

Christians, a flourishing community in the Empire, were compelled to offer imperial sacrifices under threat of punishment, even execution. Some refused to participate and were imprisoned, with an unknown number put to death. Others, including some bishops, chose exile or went underground.

Cyprian, the great bishop of Carthage, acknowledged the courage of those who remained faithful, noting, “the white-robed cohort of Christ’s soldiers is here, who in the fierce conflict have broken the ferocious turbulence of an urgent persecution, having been prepared for the suffering of the dungeon, armed for the endurance of death.” They rejected such imperial idolatry.

The choice was not easy. Eusebius, the church’s first historian, wrote that certain Christians, when approaching the state-mandated temples, “were pale and trembled as if they were not about to sacrifice, but to be themselves sacrifices and offerings to the idols; so that they were jeered at by the multitude who stood around, as it was plain to every one that they were afraid either to die or to sacrifice.”

These were individuals with names

The persecuted were individuals with names and histories. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, reported in that city “an old man named Metras was stoned when he refused to blaspheme. Next, a woman named Quinta was dragged through the streets and stoned when she refused to participate in pagan worship. Then, the goods of the Christians were plundered.”

Yet many did the deed, made sacrifice, securing their certificate of dedicated citizenship. Others bribed government officials to obtain documents without having to publicly deny the faith, an act that Bishop Cyprian viewed as equal to a direct lapse, writing, “Nor let those persons flatter themselves that they need repent the less, who, although they have not polluted their hands with abominable sacrifices, yet have defiled their consciences with certificates. That profession of one who denies, is the testimony of a Christian disowning what he had been.”

Eusebius observed that some of the lapsed “advanced to the altars more readily, declaring boldly that they had never been Christians. Of these the prediction of our Lord is most true that they shall ‘hardly’ be saved. Of the rest some followed the one, others the other of these classes, some fled, and some were seized.”

Cyprian was even more explicit, noting: “Immediately at the first words of the threatening foe, the greatest number of the brethren betrayed their faith, and were cast down, not by the onset of persecution, but cast themselves down by voluntary lapse. They would swear not only rashly, but even more, would swear falsely; would despise those set over them with haughty swelling, would speak evil of one another with envenomed tongue, would quarrel with one another with obstinate hatred.”

He added that not a few bishops “who ought to furnish both exhortation and example to others, despising their divine charge, became agents in secular business.” Fortunately, Decius’s reign ended after only two years, dying in another battle against the Goths. Professor Frend wrote: “Even so, the Christian church practically collapsed. In every large center for which evidence survived, the story was one of immediate obedience to the emperor’s orders. Christians joined their pagan neighbors in a rush to sacrifice.”

Afterward, what to do with the lapsed?

Afterward, the church confronted controversy and schism over whether the lapsed could be restored to faith after they transferred their loyalty from Christ to the emperor. Strict constructionists, led by a Roman priest named Novatian, denied restoration of the lapsed, asserting that they had committed an irreconcilable post-baptismal sin. Cyprian, however, insisted that the church was empowered by God to offer forgiveness to those who repented.

When Cornelius, who sided with Cyprian, was elected bishop of Rome in 251, a rigorist faction of priests revolted, electing Novatian as the bishop of Rome. Ultimately, Novatian was declared a heretic, excommunicated and later labeled an “anti-pope” by the Catholic Church, whose penitential, confessional system was developed as a spiritual response to the inevitable post-baptismal sins.

And what of us? Have American Christians lapsed into a kind of imperial idolatry that distracts, even compromises, us away from the moral, spiritual values and truths we said we never would abandon? Are we living in a country that demands imperial loyalty and punishes, or attempts to punish, those who do not conform? Have we lapsed so profoundly from the gospel we once treasured that we don’t even realize it’s gone?

Perhaps there is hope. Cyprian ended his treatise “On the Lapsed” (354) by asserting that those who “made atonement to God,” repenting of their “shame,” and renewed “both of virtue and of faith,” would, with God’s help, “make the church which (they) had lately saddened glad, and shall now deserve of the Lord not only pardon, but a crown.”

Let’s get to it.

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Bill Leonard is founding dean and the James and Marilyn Dunn professor of Baptist studies and church history emeritus at Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Church discipline is a crucial aspect of a local church body’s health and obedience to Scripture and its goal is the restoration of a wandering believer, author, speaker and professor Don Whitney said June 26 at the 26th annual Southern Baptist Founders Conference.

Citing a recent article by the Wall Street Journal on church discipline [see HolwickID #13444] that depicted it as merely a method seeking to kick people out of the church, Whitney said church discipline instead is a loving act and is demanded by Scripture in texts such as Matthew 18:15-20 and 1 Corinthians 5.

“The goal is to restore a believer to righteousness,” Whitney said. “We want to bring them back, to heal the breach, to restore them in love.

“The need for church discipline is inevitable. Don’t think your church will never need to practice discipline. Sooner or later, God will test every church, every minister in this matter of discipline. You will come up against the opportunity and go into the desert or you will follow God.”

Whitney serves as associate professor of biblical spirituality and senior associate dean at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The founder of the Center for Biblical Spirituality (www.biblicalspirituality.org), Whitney is the author of several books including “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” and “Spiritual Disciplines within the Church.” He has served in pastoral ministry for 24 years.

Matthew 18:15-20 sets forth three clear steps in the process of church discipline, Whitney said: first, confront the errant sinner in private; next, confront him again, this time taking along two or three witnesses; and finally, if those two steps do not bring him to repentance, take the matter before the entire church body.

The church should formally remove the erring person from the fellowship only after he demonstrates a persistent refusal to repent of his sins, Whitney said, adding that the first two steps might occur numerous times before the final, most drastic measure is necessary. Withdrawal of fellowship requires approval by the entire church, he said.

“We treat them as a lost person because they continually act like one,” Whitney said. “This is the ultimate effort to restore them and to bring them back. We give them every opportunity to respond to their sin in repentance as they ought to respond. We don’t have the right to treat them un-Christianly or in an uncivil way; we are to love them and seek to evangelize them.

“But the goal should be reconciliation. You cannot over-emphasize the goal of winning your brother back.”

God promises to support those churches with His presence that are obedient to the command of Christ to lovingly discipline wayward members, Whitney said.

Whitney said a local church should begin to discipline a member when:

• Christian love is violated by serious personal offenses.

• Christian unity is violated by those who form factions and destroy the peace of the church.

• Christian law is violated by those living scandalous lives.

• Christian truth is violated by those who reject essential doctrines of the faith.

There are at least three errors to avoid when practicing church discipline, Whitney said: inconsistency, severity and leniency. Whitney pointed out that Southern Baptist churches in the 19th century regularly practiced restorative church discipline, but it gradually faded in the 20th century.

“A lot of people think church discipline takes place when you make the pastor mad and then he gets you kicked out of the church,” he said. “But the Bible makes it clear that it is for the good of the individual and the spiritual health of the church body. J.L. Dagg famously wrote, ‘When discipline leaves a church, Christ goes with it.’

“Historically, the three marks of the church have been said to be the preaching of the Gospel, the ordinances and church discipline. If these historic marks of the church are indeed necessary, what do we think about the vast majority of churches today who do not have the last mark?

“This is a Christological issue, a Lordship issue. This is about Jesus Christ as Head of the church and His rule over our lives. God help us for His name’s sake.”

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #6834]

I had an 18-hour layover in Rome, a city I had never been in before. My missionary friend was willing to take me on a whirlwind tour, rainy day and all. We began at the ruins of the ancient Coliseum, a must-see for all of us Rome tourists. I left most of my luggage in an airport locker, but I was carrying my camera and my personal bag over one shoulder, an umbrella in one hand, and my camera in the other hand. Suddenly, we were surrounded by a small gang of pre-teen street kids - many of whom, as I learned later, frequent that area to hit up tourists like me. As they encircled us and started chattering and grabbing at us, I tried to make sure they didn't get any of my things. My friend got rid of them with a brandishing of his umbrella. We were about a block past the point of our encounter, when a dark-haired little girl came running after us, waving something blue in her hand. It was my passport! It had been in the vest pocket in my coat. It had somehow dropped out in all the confusion, unbeknownst to me. She handed it to me and then she ran away. God bless her.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Getting Back What You Lost.”

Imagine the mess I would have been in without the passport. And I didn't even know I had lost it. There are lots of things in life like that - valuable things that we lose without ever realizing at the time what we've lost until it's too late. Treasures like your reputation, your virginity, a clean conscience, your marriage, a valued relationship, your sense of worth, people's trust in you. We did the wrong thing because of what we thought we could gain by sinning. We never realized what we would lose.

The day I lost my passport, thank God, someone gave it back to me. And, thank God, there is someone who is an amazing restorer of what sin has cost us. In Joel 2:25, our word for today from the Word of God, the Lord makes a wonderful promise to His ancient people, one which also describes the kind of thing He's done for so many of us after we gave ourselves to Jesus. God says, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.” Those locusts were a punishment for their sins. But on the other side of their repenting and God's forgiving, He says He will restore what they lost to sin. Jesus is still doing that today. He wants to do that for you.

In describing how the devil wants to ruin us, Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal and to kill and to destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Replacing what Satan killed with His life-giving restoration. That's what Jesus does. He can do that because He gave everything on the cross to erase your sin-debt with God and to break its chokehold on your life.

Jesus is the restorer of lost marriages, of shattered relationships, of stained reputations, of lost dignity. The Inventor of sex has power to restore to those who have sinned sexually their emotional and spiritual virginity, along with much of the specialness of sex that was lost. The restoring of what was lost starts when you decide to abandon your sin and give yourself to this One who gave Himself for you on the cross. If you'd like for today to be Day One of your new beginning, your personal relationship with the Great Forgiver, the Great Restorer, tell Him, “Jesus, I'm Yours.”

You've lost some things that really matter. But Jesus comes to you and says, “I want to give back to you what sin has stolen.” Imagine - He not only forgives you, as awesome as that is. He restores you!

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #386]

The lady next to me on a recent airplane flight made me feel good about how far I had to travel that day. I only had to cross the country - she was doing that, too, but she had just connected from Europe to America. But she was still excited enough about her trip to Europe that she was happy to talk about what she had seen there. Frankly, I can only remember one thing she told me about - it was something I'd never heard about before. She had visited some of Europe's most majestic cathedrals. And she had learned that underneath the cross atop these cathedrals, the architects and builders had built in a gold ball. In that ball was a copy of the plans for the cathedral - safely hidden away in case something ever happened to that magnificent structure ... so folks would know how to rebuild it.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Where To Start Rebuilding."

Of course, it isn't just buildings that need rebuilding sometimes. It's people, too! You may have been hit by some pretty damaging blows recently - maybe you've been virtually "totaled" by what's happened. But where do you start to rebuild?

I'm hoping that our word for today from the Word of God might be the first installment of a set of plans for the rebuilding you need to do in your life. Mark 5, beginning with verse 22, tells about two people whose lives have been blown to pieces. "One of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet and pleaded earnestly with him, 'My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.' So Jesus went with him."

"A large crowd pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering." By the way, Jairus' little girl was healed just as miraculously.

Two lives, broken and in need of rebuilding, both facing situations that were beyond their ability to fix or control. Sound familiar at all? They knew where to bring the broken pieces. They brought them to Jesus. That's where the rebuilding of a life begins. In fact, let me suggest that you look for answers where they kept the rebuilding plans for those old cathedrals - beneath the cross.

We want our broken situation fixed. But God knows the rebuilding of a life begins when the broken relationship between us and Him is fixed. We're cut off from our Creator's rebuilding power until all the sins of our life are dealt with - until they're forgiven. And that's what Jesus' cross was all about.

The Bible says He "loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) Jesus loves you so much that He took your death penalty for your sin on Himself when He died on the cross - so you could finally have a personal relationship with your Creator God. Which begins the moment you come to His cross and give yourself to Him. If you're ready to begin that relationship with Him, tell Him that right now, bringing all your sin and all your broken pieces. And I'd like to send you the booklet, "Yours For Life," that I wrote about this relationship - if you'll just let me know you want it.

Could it be that God wants to use all that's broken in your life to bring you to His Son's cross - where you can get your broken relationship with God fixed? And where you can find God's plans for rebuilding the rest of your life.

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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My sister-in-law used to be involved with insurance claims. And it wasn't uncommon for her to have clients who had major messes to clean up. Imagine the damage that floodwaters can do to a home, or a major fire, or even frozen pipes that burst in the winter. That's when they called on a major company that is known for their specialty - they come in and clean those grossly soaked carpet, they restore that damaged furniture and those smoke-saturated drapes. They are known for being the ones who can clean up a mess that folks could never clean themselves.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “Amazing Cleanup.”

When you have too much to clean up, it's great to know there's someone you can call to remove and restore what you never could. Well, for twenty centuries now, men and women have been calling on Jesus Christ for that reason - and found, sometimes much to their surprise, that He is actually drawn to people who know how much they need Him.

Maybe as you look back over the last few months, maybe even over the years, you see messes you've made that seem so impossible to clean up. There are people we've hurt, things we've done we never thought we'd do, shameful memories, things that have us hooked, things we've hidden and hope no one ever finds out ... so many mistakes, so many sins, so many regrets, so many messes. Like a homeowner feeling helpless in the midst of a disaster-ravaged house, we stand overwhelmed sometimes with the guilt, the shame, the dirty, unworthy feelings inside.

We are in desperate need of someone who can clean up the messes of a lifetime, and that's what Jesus specializes in. It is, in fact, the reason He went to a cross and allowed men He had created to crucify the Son of God. He went there to pay for every sin any of us has ever committed - from the lies to the immorality, to the abuse, to the selfishness, and even the most heinous of human sins. He didn't miss any sin when He took on Himself all the guilt, all the shame, and all the hell for every act of rebellion against God.

No matter how guilty, how dirty, how unforgivable you feel, Jesus stands ready to wash it all away. In Hebrews 10:10, our word for today from the Word of God, we're told, “We have been made holy (that means totally clean before God!) through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” That's one death for all sins! Jesus is drawn to those who know they're sinners - His enemies called Him the “friend of sinners.” Jesus only resists those who are too proud, too religious to see how much they need what He did on the cross for them.

For you, this could be the day Jesus moves into every sin-mess of your life with His total forgiving and His power to restore what no man can restore. You woke up this morning dirty inside - you can go to sleep tonight totally clean for the first time in your life. But you have to reach out to the Great Forgiver with total trust that He'll be your personal Savior from your personal sin. The promise of God is that “everyone who believes in (Jesus) receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” (Acts 10:43) That could be you - today.

If you've never told Jesus that you're putting all your faith in Him to do what He died to do - to forgive you and change you - you can tell Him that right now, right where you are. Today can be what you may have thought impossible - this can be your new beginning.

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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Throughout recent military history, the Army Rangers have been there in some of the most dramatic, most heroic combat events - like scaling the cliffs at Normandy Beach on D-Day, climbing right into the face of enemy fire. It's no surprise that the Rangers played a part, along with other Special Forces, in the amazing rescue of Iraqi prisoner of war, Jessica Lynch, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. When you're fighting in the heat of battle, it is important to know that your comrades are going to look out for you, no matter what. The POW rescue was one example of a commitment that is expressed in the Army Ranger creed - a commitment that's echoed in other branches of the military, as well. Here's what the creed says: “I shall never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy.”

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Fallen Comrades.”

Fighting for the fallen ones - going after the captured ones. I wonder if that's how we operate as God's army? His army is His Church, and if you belong to Jesus, you're part of it. And on any given day, there's a fellow soldier around us who's been wounded or who's been captured by the enemy. Are we ready to say, “I shall never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy”?

There's a powerful picture of this kind of loyal commitment to one another in our word for today from the Word of God. Abram's nephew, Lot, is living in the city of Sodom when a multinational alliance attacks the city. Genesis 14, beginning with verse 12, tells us “they also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions ... When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit.” Well, Abram and company engage the enemy, and the Bible tells us, “He brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.” By the way, the odds against those 318 were overwhelming.

Abram dropped everything, risked everything, to rescue a loved one who had fallen into the hands of the enemy. That's an example for all of us. You may very well know someone who's been spiritually wounded or who's going through a deep valley right now. That's where Proverbs 17:17 kicks in - “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” In other words, when everyone else is walking out them, we should be walking in.

You may know someone who really has messed up, who's blown it, who's wandered away spiritually - maybe someone who other believers are ignoring, marginalizing, even condemning. Don't you be one of them. They've never needed you more. You need to go to them, however awkward, however difficult it may be. You need to show them the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. As God gives opportunity, remind them of how good it felt when they were close to Jesus. Right now they know how lousy it feels to be away from Him. Remind them that the issue is Jesus, not Christians, not church. It's all about Jesus. And He is all about bringing them back, forgiving them and restoring them.

God's instructions to His “Rangers” is, “If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.” Look around the battlefield and you'll probably see a comrade - maybe even a family member - whom most people think of as the “problem child” or the “problem person” or the “prodigal.” But Jesus sees, and I pray you and I see, a fallen comrade. And we shall never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy!

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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