On that note… “It is incumbent upon every true believer to be pursuing holiness, and those who are not pursuing holiness are not true believers in the Lord. They may have a profession of faith, but they do not have a possession of faith. Holiness marks true believers.” -Steve Lawson
As a retired minister, I made a promise to God and my wife, to never be alone with another woman. I learned this from Billy Graham. I have kept my promise to the glory of God and for the love of my sweet wife.
@@johnjackson7464 that’s a great and wise thing to do. It’s also very respectful to your wife. Just remember lust begins in the heart, not by alone, face to face time with females necessarily. There are men who are never alone with another woman who still commit adultery in the heart. Their outside looks of fidelity mean nothing
@@gj5990 Amen Brother. I’m always torn over the back-lash from a Pastor or minister who falls due to a moral failure for the very reason you mentioned. There may be a minister (a Billy Graham i.e) who would NEVER be alone with a woman and therefore, they are above reproach in the eyes of men. But, that same person may have a secret life where they indulge without the notice of men, only the notice of God. One is justified in the eyes of men (the pastor who manages to keep himself away from public scandals yet…maintains a secret life) but the other (the one who may have a single public failure and is repentant) is justified in the eyes of God.
@@Rileyed Not true. Solomon, David and Samson were men of God and they fell into adultery. Sin is deadly. Stay away from it like Billy Graham. Pence is wise in following Graham's advice. Take heed lest you fall!
Why? What your prayer be? Since God has preordained every action, both Lawson's actions and anything that happens from now has already been determined.
I think that Dr Mohler did a very good job with this message. His gentle spirit, wise guidance, and refusal to name the involved person(s), shows a deep maturity, and reverence for the ministry of the gospel. I have deep theological issues, with the individual who “fell”, but fully expect to meet him in heaven some day. None of that gets in my way, of praying for him, his wife, kids, ministry, etc. **** Side note to the comments section: There is much wisdom in scripture, and “The Billy Graham Rule”. But, we don’t live under the constraints of “The Law”, but by the power of The Holy Spirit in our lives. HE, who lives within us, will give us the discipline, and wisdom, to avoid these situations. I say this in deep humility, as one who [ almost ] , had a similar crash! It is very humbling, to realize how susceptible we are to sin, and that it is only by the presence and power of The Holy Spirit, that we can avoid falling. Prayers for all..!
Perhaps we, the church, should stop making eloquent, skillful preachers and teachers celebrities. The simple, faithful minister of the Gospel is the staple for the local church. Should he become eloquent, the broader church should do well to not parade him around, exposing him to greater temptation: idol, hero worshipers.
@@edcaouette8749 it’s not just a celebrity issue and he didn’t sin because of other people parading him around. It’s a man with pride in his heart who isn’t running to accountability but rather hiding from it. This is also something I and others have seen increase with older men in the church, even solid churches, who seem to lose their senses after 65 and seek for that attention from younger women. One thing is for sure, it’s his own heart’s issue.
Very true! Never attend a church with more than say, 1500- 2000 members. There you find the "celebrity" preachers not accountable to the congregation they are supposed to serve.
Agreed. pastors and teachers can start by (humbling themselves by) refusing to be called by a title, for ONE is your Shepherd and One is your Teacher, in accordance with Jesus' exhortation in Mt. 23 (read all of it, but, esp. verses 8-12). That would be a great place to start!
Absolutely his rule is wise for all men, but this situation is clearly not a case of a slip up around a woman one time in the heat of a moment. It was a 5 year affair
Not only will you not act inappropriately if never alone with a member of the opposite sex, but you will avoid any appearance of impropriety, and any opportunity for malicious gossip. We cannot be casual with this issue. The world is watching, and all too ready to condemn.
Not being able to be alone with someone or you will try to have sex with them speaks to lack of self-control that should be disqualifying for ministry.
@@noelleleader6212 absolutely not what was said. The Bible clearly teaches we should avoid ANY appearance of impropriety. It also teaches that anyone can fall.
@@stubbs935 How is being in the same space with the opposite sex alone improper? Should i never have a work meeting? Take a cab? Hire a repairman? This advice also ignores the existence of same sex temptation.
noelleleader6212, The devil has long tried to set us in vulnerable places by attempting to shame our sound reasoning. We are not ignorant of his devices nor will we fall for this one.
God please bless the ears that hear this and know You Lord are a glorious Lord. We praise You for Your endless Grace and continous Mercy. Please wound all hurting today. Have mercy on those. We ask in Jesus name
The pain and the horror...I'm glad Pastor Mohler did not mince words. You can clearly see it in his eyes. Pray for your leaders because they now have to bear the heavy burden. The Church will not fall because our sovereign God has it under control. 🙏 🤲 📖
brendatajik6150, I agree that God is in control of his church. Were these actions of Steve Lawson outside of God’s control? They were indeed extremely painful.
phillipaj.5588 All who have passed through the Door, entering by the blood, are the body of Christ. I would hasten to say that sin has never been a part of his body.
ezramiller8296, I certainly agree that this was not the first time nor will it likely be the last. I noticed though that the question remains unanswered. Is it just too painful to consider?
That's what seems to get lost in all of this. I don't know her standing with God but I pray that she repents and turn to Christ if she hasn't or ask for forgiveness of this sin if she's already saved.
@@jtremaine23I hope she gets authentic counseling without shame-blaming. She is allegedly much, much younger than Steve Lawson. In today’s culture of celebrity Pastors and cult of personality I would dare say abuse of power, at the very least, may have been involved.
@@gabrielamartiniuc6322 She is young enough to be his granddaughter, allegedly. That is abuse of power, like I said at the very least. I will will reiterate I hope she is getting authentic help. It’s really tough within Churchianity where popular Pastors are still given a pass and sin is called “inappropriate relationship”. My gosh I’ve seen more “prayers for Steve”…and the proverbial “don’t make excuses for her” when just a handful of us dare to have compassion for the VERY young woman.
@@gabrielamartiniuc6322 I will again say I hope this woman gets authentic help. She is, allegedly, young enough to be *his* granddaughter. Like I have said and stand by it was an abuse of power at the minimal.
@@samuelcurrin1369 he won’t even say the name of the Pastor…….whats the big secret? Oh wait it’s his conference buddy…. Paul was never afraid to name, names nor call out sin for what it is….
@@polskigirl8547 Everyone knows that pastor's name. I think Dr. Mohler's critique was even more effective by not mentioning the pastor's name. He certainly pulled no punches in his condemnation of the affair.
He wouldn’t call out the name of the man, nor would he call it ADULTERY! It is not an impropriety, it is sin- it is adultery! Quit tiptoeing around the wickedness!
Thank you, Dr Mohler for the comfort and admonition. I am encouraged that you mentioned the donatist controversy in church history. Understanding the present catastrophe hinges on understanding the way Augustine properly proclaimed that the word of God does not fail!
Because the Bible teaches this....um, no...Ok, David...um no.... oh wait, we have a ministry of reconciliation and God is able to forgive and restore, so maybe we should too?!!!!!
@@mikecara8181 An Elder should be above reproach. Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.
So thankful for my husband who pastored for many years and had guidelines in place to guard against temptation. He was never alone with a woman in any situation. When he had a staff meeting with a woman he always had the blinds OPEN in his office. He also was accountable to 2 other pastors in our area who had NO INVOLVEMENT IN OUR CHURCH so that he could be truly accountable. May our Christian leaders accept their vulnerability and have accountability and guidelines in their lives!
Well the reasoning is that we don't exactly know the details of what kind of relationship it was. He could have just been too emotionally connected with someone, which isn't adultery at all, but is still inapproriate.
@@atgredif everything is adultery then there is no point of having terms other than adultery. Adultery is an act. Hence the illustration Jesus uses is “as though he has acted”. There is a difference in terms and it’s important to distinguish. If you say adultery then you need to add a descriptor like adultery in the mind which then becomes clumsy and doesn’t help the reader to have clarity. Words must be carefully chosen. If Steve and this women slept together - adultery. If it’s something else, I believe they owe his church a clearer word, but not the public. Our incessant need to feel included and ‘in the know’ is not helpful.
@@atgredit would also mean the qualifications of an elder would make no sense. If any elder ever had a thought sin, what you’re pushing straight into equating to the physical act of adultery, then every pastor would be disqualified within their first period of pastoring. Every man has at some point wrestled with lust, the desire of the heart. If we don’t have two categories then every pastor is instantly disqualified upon his first lustful thought. I appreciate your heart to be biblical, but I think it needs a little nuance.
@@atgred He said that you commit adultery in the heart. There is a distinct difference. The woman who was brought to Jesus that was guilty of adultery… that wasn’t adultery in the heart, that was actual adultery otherwise everyone should have been stoned right?
Grievous to the Lord, grievous to the cause of Christ, heart breaking for his family, yet a “severe mercy” for this travelling pastor… to be set free before he meets the judge of all of us, if he chooses to humble himself, repents in order to 😊be forgiven and set free.
petersebastion7596, I hold no ill will towards Steve. I have compassion toward him and have empathy with his family. Trust in God and his biblical truths still holds firm but trust in Steve lies shattered on the ground. One can offer forgiveness but trust is not a thing that you can just offer, it must be intentionally rebuilt and earned.
I left a church because the sisters in Christ dressed like they had just left a nightclub. Sometimes man don't think with the Spirit but with the flesh.
As a woman, I find it appalling how some of my sisters dress in general, not just in church. Everyone knows that men are visual. These women know what they're doing. It's an ego thing for most of them. It's shameful.
At best, such women are ignorant, at worst, purposefully dressing provocatively. I think the latter would especially be a beginning of evidence such a woman may not be a sister in Christ. Doing something to cause another to stumble, habitually, is sin.
Amen❣️ Very good and beautiful everything you said. The body of Christ suffers because of this situation and the devil rejoices, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the same and through this bad situation He will strengthen us to be careful what we think and do. 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻
Im not Reformed I m baptist, but what I,m firstable I am Christian, and I can tell you all, that we are sad with Steve's fallen. We have to remember him as a soldier. It is a sad day. 😢
1 corinthians 3-7 "for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." The church of christ is not a building or a denomination, the church of Jesus Christ are individuals united in the Holy spirit by the Word God. When we remain in christ feeding on the Word of God, growing in the knowledge of God and the love of Christ, renewing our minds, letting the Word transform us.. by ..that we may bear fruits of Holy the spirit given to us. ( 1 corinthians 10:3-4) "They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. )
@@ROGERBELLAS he can tag team preach with Mike Bickle, Robert Morris, Carl Lentz, and so many more. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
@@ROGERBELLASHe can’t preach any more because the Bible does not allow this for any disqualified elder. If he is back preaching contrary to that biblical requirement, then, he is being unrepentant.
I cried when I heard about Sir Steve I don't know why my heart aches for Him 😭 For sir RC when I heard that He died I didn't cried why maybe my spirit is in grief in what happened to sir Steve unlike sir RC my spirit knows that His going home and will see Him again... Praying for Him in Jesus name His one of my favorite Pastor... Praying for Him to come back... God is in control...God will never leave the one He will save let the body die for the soul to be save😢...By God's grace He will come back and more stronger... Just like the Prodigal Son😢😢😢😭😭😭praying always for all of us to be brave specially for the Pastors of Christ the true Pastors in Jesus Name😭😭😭my heart is Crying out...
At times we are more turned on by the articulation of theology rather than by the life it demands. Moral failures within ecclesial leadership often result when theological proficiency is preferred beyond theological practices - when knowledge supersedes practice.
That’s been my experience with most modern reformed churches. It’s all acedmic, like hillsong but the opposite version lol like no leading of the Holy Spirit just men with degrees trying to impress each other and feel better than other leaders or denominations
It hurts, Zacharias, Evans, and now Lawson for me. And I remembered Judas, my friends and family, and sadly, my deeds, too. I leaned to focus on Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, and Our Heavenly Father.
Amen and Amen and Amen... still working through the outrage because of the horrific effect on fellow true Believers but also the quenching of souls who may turn away from listening to the preaching and teaching of HIS love letter to HIS creation....
Grace and peace to the church grieved by this situation. I pray everyone is strong enough in the Lord to remain. Some do walk away during this type of trial. The couple involved have deeply grieved the Lord. That is no small matter. Comments by people elsewhere make it clear where they stand and shared scriptures to back their various views; judgements; opinions etc, which can cause division. I hope unity in the Spirit prevails. Btw. Privately, the Holy Spirit trained me up when my late husband became a gospel globe-trotter. I was forbidden to allow any man whatsoever into my home when he was away. The Lord used the verse, let there be no appearance of evil. I complied. When I was widowed, years later, my incredible pastor came to my door one morning. He looked visibly perplexed when I didn't invite him in. I didn't bat an eyelid...obedience was well established by then. Yay. I'd never heard of this Bible teacher until last week but I understand he was excellent therefore I intend to watch his videos if they are still available. Blessings abound to all of you. Greetings from Scotland.
Probably the most cogent and pastoral words shared regarding this current situation.❤ May the gospel go forward with power! May we continue to watch and pray! /on a separate note… I hope you have the opportunity to visit with Pastor MacArthur and give him a hug on behalf of all of us who have benefited from his faithful ministry all these years!
@@Jaymzdrmz Again, we don't know if the relationship was even physical or not. I'm guilty of getting too emotionally connected with someone but it wasn't a physical relationship. It was still very inappropriate
Perhaps all this travelling that these ministers do alone is not good! Shouldn't their wives be travelling with them? That would make more sense. This is why I never liked the idea of "travel work" because it can lead to this. You are alone and vulnerable and your better half is miles away.
Yes good advice brother. I would add, maybe pastors should stay in their own churches and if invited to preach elsewhere it should be a rare occasion and only with his wife and/or elders with him.
Yes a wife should always go that’s why I don’t believe that they should always be working because then they can’t really be doing ministry things together, but many churches don’t give enough offering so that they both can be fully in ministry only yet it’s still not an excuse to cheat on someone
Exactly ! You are Spot On !!! Is the Church taking some of the responsibility ? What happened in Bible times? If I'm correct ( speaking under correction ) didn't they go two by two ? It just dawned on me now !
My father was in full-time Christian ministry for almost 50 years. He traveled a fair bit, on and off over the years, and never went by himself. My mom always went with him, which was difficult when we kids were young, but they always made that a priority that he would not travel alone.
We NEVER really know someone. And frankly, too many christians are into the worship of humans (men,women) and "pastors". Our WORSHIP belongs to ONE alone, The Lord Jesus Christ. Anything else is idolatry and blasphemy.
This triggered righteous anger in me and brought back memories bc as a daughter whose father did the same, it had lasting effects on me and my family. I couldn’t help but think about his children although they’re adults now. I was a just a teenager and didn’t know how to deal with it. Some people walked away from the church bc they didn’t want to be associated with it any longer and those people fell as well. I pray everyone affected by him find wisdom and guidance from the Word of God.
I don’t know if my comment will matter in the scheme of things, but I have made some observations over the last decade that have quite frankly, devastated the way my faith operates. I am now in my sixties, radically saved almost 40 years ago, I was very active in my fellowship. But I no longer practice my faith in that way. A few years ago, my own home church’s founding pastor fell in an “inappropriate relationship” with someone not his wife. As COVID hit, and the “global” church divided over masks, gathering and other adiaphora, the layers of at least American Christianity pulled apart. I realized, as did many other christian wives, that our marriages were not as sacred to our husbands or our churches as we had been led to believe. We were not safe. Sure, a man is not likely to have sex with another woman if he is never left alone with her, but not every woman is a temptress. Some women actually need private counsel from pastoral care, and basically women are treated with suspicion rather than compassion as a norm. Your also not likely to have sex with someone not your spouse if you take heed to your own soul. Pastors who are self-aware, self-reflecting, and open, with transparency with others in genuine fellowship, will remain teachable. Celebrity Christianity has destroyed the word “honorable” in the world around us. Steven Lawson was “honorable” 10 minutes ago… quit using that word so glibly. I haven’t trusted the so-called church (buildings, meetings, sermons and songs), since my own church abandoned and betrayed me, and left me isolated with an abusive neglectful husband and without help. My husband, at the time, was an “honorable” elder. He doesn’t attend church anymore either, but not for the same reasons. All that to say… There may be a few “Jezebelian temptresses” out there. But many, dare I say most of us are tired of being blamed for a man’s behavior. We either didn’t pray enough, be seductive enough (to our own husbands only of course), in any case, we didn’t keep him happy enough to stay home and not stray. We are worn and torn… You place far too much weight on women to be enough… but not too much, lest we cause another man to stumble. And not nearly enough weight on the man you continually remind us is head and should be respected. I am literally sick to my stomach every time some “honorable” man is exposed. But it sickens me more that it seems to come as a shock to those who were supposed to be his close friends. Maybe that is the problem… no one knows each other well enough to truly be his friend. Maybe that is the shame that the world sees. We talk of loving one another, but the incongruity of what is actually true, verses what we say we believe is far too prevalent. Well, even if no one reads this, I feel better having gotten it off my chest. Just thoughts from a bruised reed brutally broken by every “honorable” man in my life. Except Jesus! Thank God I put my faith in Him.
Also… Merely abstaining from sexual sin is not the goal. Jesus taught lust is a heart issue. To look on a woman with lust is considered adultery. See to your heart. Otherwise, you could be truly guilty before God, and proud before men that you were never in a room with a woman not your wife-“See! No sin! What a good boy am I!” Never seeing yourself truly… yet God sees your inner life! And not only that, but other people in your life will never truly know you-nor you them. Intimacy requires exposed vulnerability. Secret habits of thought have a way of protecting themselves. Separating you from others. You can’t be close with someone who cloaks their inner life with “good behavior.”
As someone who struggled with pornography for years (and still has struggled today) can I say on behalf of those who hurt you, I am sorry. I am sorry you were betrayed and treated cruelly by those you trusted, and by members of the church who made themselves out to be more than they were. I do believe that the enemy is targeting men in this way more than any point in history on such a mass scale. I believe MOST of these pastors secretly struggle with hidden sins. I do think honesty and clarity and transparency is key. I've fallen so many times in my own walk that I am now of the opinion that it truly is only by God's mercy I can be saved, its nothing that I have done. And I am not worthy of it. I thank God that He does forgive, even if we fall a thousand times He can forgive. But we are also called to grow and to regularly confess our son and struggle. Whenever I see a "perfect" Christian I automatically assume he or she is trying hard to cover up some secret sin. It's those who can admit they struggle and sim I think who are able by Gods grace to begin growing and struggling. Anyway. I'm sorry for the abuse you suffered in the church. I hope one day you are able to build relationships in the church again, learn to trust again and have fellowship. Just know we all stumble and there is none who have not sinned.
@adamslaura768 Here, I thought I was alone in this issue. Our stories aren't exactly the same but close enough. I'll only share one thing. Our pastor insisted on counseling us separately so he could ask me intimate questions. Then, he told us not to share details of our sessions. We were young and stupid. This pastor had also counseled us that we were mature enough to be married at barely 18 years old. So, by the third appointment, we were terrified! We met and married in that church. Our daughter was dedicated in that church. Nobody was going to listen to us. We left that day and went to another church in the chain. About 2 weeks later, we heard he had been "called" to another church out of state. It took me years to get past that. What that man did set the entire course of my life. I know you are angry, and I'm truly sorry for that. But, we all must remember our Lord is our Sovereign God! It's about Him and His love for us that led to His shame and agony on the cross. No mere human can take that away if we don't let them. May the Lord protect and defend you, dear sister.🙏 📖 🙌
@@thesanfranciscoseahorse473 thank you. For the apology and for your honesty. The apology is healing, surprisingly, and the honesty gives me hope. Thank you for replying.
Steve Lawson, more than anyone else in the many years that I have been born again, has influenced my theology and Christian life. His series on the attributes of God exposed how I had “squeezed” God into God is love, which He is, and shortsighted myself to His other attributes, such as wrath, justice, judgment, and vengeance. His teaching on the Trinitarian Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, showed how I had also locked Him into the Godman Jesus of the gospels, ignoring the resurrected Jesus who threatened churches in Revelation with serious consequences if they didn’t repent. It showed me that the Trinitarian Jesus, God the Son, is demanding when it comes to sin in the church - and in my life. Stop sinning! Steve’s teachings unmasked the sentimentalist Jesus I had grown accustomed to who is soft on sin: the Jesus of most of the American church and in my life: not the “real” Jesus. God used Steve to instill in me that Jesus “demands” me to live a holy life. I believe when saved you are saved forever. But Jesus is also my Judge, and of all born-again believers. He died so He will see the agony of His soul and be satisfied (Isaiah 53: 11); all born-again believers are the agony of His soul. And I want Him to be fully satisfied with me because I took sin seriously beyond new birth to live a holy life. God used Steve Lawson to teach me it and to move forward to where I am today - and the knowledge of the Word to keep moving forward until I reach heaven. Never once did I think of him as a celebrity preacher, nor on a pedestal - only as a man who rightly divided the Word of God. My heart grieves.
I will pray for you, brother. This so disorienting. But we know that the Word tells us to be wise as serpents gentle as doves. Traveling alone is dangerous for anyone. He should have wanted protection.
@dennisbelkofer1311 take no notice of such as truth seeker. You found the truth, brother, but the general American opinion is shockingly anti-Calvinist. Think they are really against hyperCalvinism which is indeed error. But any man can fall and Steve Lawton’s fall is a tragedy.
@@earlydawn8183 Take a rest early dawn. Hyper Calvinism is consistent Calvinism. Steve believes his god decreed all. Very simple and plain. Reformed ridiculousness
And thus you are under works righteousness. Under Augustine’s system, one either has to have works to be saved, stay saved, or prove salvation. The biblical God doesn’t require this, but these men do. If you are trusting in Jesus (sola fide), then you are complete in Christ (Col 2:10) and have been made the righteousness of God (2Col 5:21). Study the Bible without man’s theories and systems. Take each word *to whom* it was spoken, and your understanding will increase.
Very sad - listened to Steve Lawson on Ligonier and found his teaching exemplary. Church discipline will be what it is but God and the Church is bigger than any one person and I pray God will continue to use him to His Glory even in failure. Look no further to David’s life to know that this fall has been with us from the beginning.
Lawson's sin isn't new. He shall give an account. As we will all. It seems as one grows closer to God & represent Christendom more publicly; Satan chooses them to be a great price for failure. Please pray for me.
NONE are good, no not even ONE! Let the PASTOR or ELDER who is without sin cast the first reply back to me….otherwise, humble yourselves - examine your own heart and be ye not deceived. Bless you. 🙏🏻
Chirist tells us "There are those who have made themselves eunichs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it. " (Mt 19:12). Lets live the gospels, not just talk about it!
Honestly it’s not really a famous pastor thing, or the fact his wife wasn’t with him everywhere he goes and talks, this is a heart issue and it’s an issue with the unknown men as well, who are cherished and respected leaders in the small solid church. Satan targets them, their flesh gets puffed up at times and they have to constantly be on the watch, more so than others. As a woman I’ve seen trusted leaders in solid churches, wait for their wife and fellow church leaders to turn their heads in order to give a lasting glance and wink to another woman. If that woman is not strong in her faith she can find herself flattered and even intimidated. Me and other women have spoken, very carefully, about what we’ve noticed with married men in the church. We see men seemingly faithful who refer to their wife as “my bride” than at about 65 seem to regress to a 16 year old, flirty, careless and desperate when the important people aren’t looking. We’ve noticed the older men have become more of an issue than the young in this regard. 😢. No proof can be given to leadership so it’s usually tossed aside because of how trusted they are. It’s truly sickening and we need to pray pray pray for our brothers and their wives
As a pastor, my wife has been my greatest help outside of Scripture and the Spirit of God. I am surprised at the number of Pastors who go off preaching, but their wives are not by their side. This is where the problem starts. A husband and wife are to be one flesh, together in life, together in ministry. The more blessed you are in ministry, the more known, the more you need your wife by your side, not less.
One thing that I find troubling is that many, many pastors recently starting with Carl Lentz have been guilty of these things and cut down. But it is only when it is one of your own that people call it a catastrophe. When Mr. Lentz was caught, many of these same people held that "air of superiority" and said, "Oh well that's Hillsong. They aren't a real church. They are one of those "celebrity" churches."
"INAPPROPRIATE?" Is that what it's called? Here the word "improper" was used. Shouldn't Christians, of all people, be the first to call sin by its proper name: sin? Yet I have yet to hear even one "church leader" refer to this incidence of sexual sin, sexual sin. A couple of decades ago, the social sciences, sociology especially, became obsessed with all value judgments being "value neutral." One of their techniques was to replace words like wrong, or bad, or wicked, or sinful with the value neutral word inappropriate. Now, rather than a behavior being wrong in the absolute sense, it was only inappropriate, meaning that it was not right ... given the context. Thus, we entered into decades of uttering this five syllable word as a replacement for the former one syllable word: wrong. You have to really want to get rid of the one syllable version if you're willing to do all the work of a five-banger substitute every time something is or goes "wrong." Even we Christian must really hate the word sin. This came to us through the secular world, the social sciences hellbent on erasing God from the public square. And what do we find among our Christian leaders? Not just more and more sexual sin, but an insistence on using the secular world's label for it: inappropriate. So it is that I find myself just as disgusted with our cowardly church leaders as our sexually sinful ones. For heavens sake, way back in the 1970s, even the well-known secular psychiatrist, Dr. Carl Menninger of the Menninger Clinic, wrote a book he entitled: "What Ever Became of Sin?" In it he lamented our world's loss of ability to call sin sin, and expounded on the damage to mental health this resulted in. So ... a secular psychiatrist can insist on calling sin sin, but church leaders insist on the secular, anti-God word: inappropriate. And we wonder why, not just "the world," but the church itself is in such bad shape. It makes me want to run through churches on Sunday mornings, running up and down the aisles, just shouting the word "SIN!" I think I'd do two laps around the shocked congregation and zip out the front door before the deacons caught and threw me out. "How uncouth," they'd say to one another. "How embarrassing," would think the pastor, with his mumbling of platitudes interrupted. But I think Jesus would stand up and applaud. (By the way, did Jesus say to the woman taken in adultery: "Go and conduct inappropriate behavior no more." ???
I can see you're angry and frustrated. Thank you for visiting. Wait until all the evidence is laid bare. Meanwhile heed the counsel, weep with those who weep, pray for the churches, love the brethren. Things are still developing. This was given to provide counsel for all the students in his school and we can all benefit from such counsel.
@@patricklacson I'm sorry you missed my point. My problem is not with the "evidence" of this particular case. My concern is the church's conforming to the secularization of Christianity's language. I am well aware of the proper Christian manner of responding to the person involved. I agree with all of that. It is the surrendering of our crucial vocabulary for understanding what we are dealing with ... that is my concern. Words mold our thinking; our thinking determines actions.
I heard the same words “inappropriate relationship” just a day before this news about Lawson broke out. A friend told me my former pastor’s daughter who is also an “elder” and part of the worship team was in an “inappropriate relationship” that her dad the pastor swept under the rug. She wasn’t disciplined like Lawson. It’s sad what is happening but I’m glad at least action was taken on Lawson. I will continue to pray for him and his family but I highly doubt he’ll be able to preach any time soon.
@@dccd673 The point I was trying to make is a broader one, one that moves beyond this incident itself. My concern is that by dumping biblical language (sin) and replacing it with secular language (inappropriate) the attitudes of Christians is subtly and gradually altered. In fact, I believe a major reason for the horrid increase in adulterous clergy in recent decades is precisely because we have diminished the seriousness of the problem by changing its name. How bad can "inappropriate relationship" be, after all. It is suggestive of a response something along the line of "Woops."
I Feel ya man…I just started seminary and it’s got me wondering whether it’s worth it to go thru all this. Thankfully the Word will never come back void🙏
1Tim 5:20 "... so that all would fear." When someone falls or is publicly exposed in their sin, the purpose is for you to fear. Not to fear ministry, but to fear God. What's helpful is to see that ministry is our effort to accomplish God's ends and purposes. That God takes His Word seriously, loves His church purely, and calls His ministers into accountability. God bless you brother and press on.
Albert Mohler showed much grace and wisdom, helping us to see how to concern ourselves with how sin hurts people, as well as the work of the gospel. When there is a terrible shooting, the media immediately discusses gun-control policy. The tragedy of what's happened has been hijacked for an excuse to argue about issues. People have been focusing their posts on whether Steve Lawson can be reinstated back into the ministry. This can be discussed later. It is first time to grieve, examine ourselves, and pray. Please consider I Corinthians 5:2; James 4:8-10.
You pastors (you know who you are) cannot wait to get your claws into a fallen pastor. He sinned, just like all of us, and his sin is equal to all sin in God's eyes. His error in judgment is between God, himself, and his church. I just wanted to let you know there's no need for further commentary from anyone else.
I think we need to consider that HOW WE RESPOND to these issues says more to the world than the issue itself. Do we pounce? Do we use this as an opportunity to attack what we see as inferior theology? I am heartbroken over this for everyone involved, included Steve Lawson. As a pastor myself, it fills me with humility that I too am vulnerable and must depend on the Lord every moment to keep me from falling. We need each other and the world needs to see a church united in handling the sin but in love and with a humble heart of restoration.
We are seeing, across the Christian spectrum, the truth of the following: 1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. And, for those who get in their “moral outrage” mode this shows a need to let this saint’s moral failure be a stark reminder of the words of Paul: 1 Cor. 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
These men are not "falling" into sin and a plague is not "overtaking" them. They are choosing to sin. The publication of Lawson and his adultery(s) isnt what harms the church and the gospel BUT RATHER sinning pastors!!! That's where the fault lies. If the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, should all millionaire pastors be examined for affairs, pride, bullying, extortion and all manner of cutthroat mafia excess?
I’m encouraged that he confessed and repented. God forgave David and continued to use him in a mighty way. We don’t know what God has in mind for this man. I know I don’t appreciate them removing his sermons. He always preached the truth and I appreciated his sermons.
You don,t know Billy he did have Problem not same as steve but he did have problem like empressing false teaching started to get into he,s later years. Letting false getting in your teaching worse than than steve did.
@@carolyndunegan3505 I hope we will reflect on this : that when the Word God tells us something we don't pay attention but if a celebrity preacher says something we do (?) Wouldn't it be better to pay attention to what The Lord instructs and humbly ask Him to help us do as He instructs.
When I heard about this something happened within me and I have changed….. can’t explain it or understand it but I am closer to the Lord and my joy in Him has increased. We all sin and we are all forgiven in Christ This glorifies Jesus and His work
Once again people seem to think the answer is making the opposite sex dangerous instead of taking captive our thoughts and seeing them as our family. The church seems to be agreeing with the world that everything is sexual. We as the church should instead be modeling what it means to have strong, nonsexual, relationships with our sisters and brother of the faith. We must have mothers and fathers of the faith passing down wisdom. Stop being afraid of the family of God.
Looking at everyone in the church as a father, mother, brother and sister is the way, I strongly agree with you, the opposite sex are not to be prayed upon or seen as evil.
I think you missed the point. The opposite sex is not the danger, it is putting oneself in the path of temptation. Never being alone with the opposite sex is a doable practice that is wise counsel. I love my brothers in Christ like brothers but I don't hang out with them without others present.
I desigree with Dr. Molher ...We have seen an increise in immoralaty in the the church and apostasy in the ministry resulting in this behavior ... We are living in the last days
I'm amazed that we put so much weight on mere men and women! These men of stature are no different from any one else except that they have made themselves teachers! We must be very careful about judging as we are all fallen in nature. I hope many will come out of this Calvinist or false teaching of reformed theology and twisting of the gospel! This is where Lordship salvation can take you. The gospel is the good news of what Christ did for EVERYONE This means the whole world! Let's focus on this and not men who are prone to falling.
Satan is working overtime, thinking he has succeeded when we all know that God is using the fall of this man to bring honor and glory to Himself! Its never about us, it's always about Him! This was a wonderful talk of encouragement to God's people. Let's pray for Steve Lawson that he will come to full repentance and get things right with his family and friends.
LOL, how he avoids Lawson's name. Lawson was judging others harshly and declared them as not saved. He himself lived a double life and his adultery lasted 5 years with a woman who could be his grandkid. Is Lawson saved at all? He willingly shamed the name of Christ and is still unrepentant.
@@mikecude4167 Its funny that you defend him after he revealed himself as a wolf in sheeps clothing. He shredded other pastors for adultery but he was a hypocrite after all. He insulted Christ, hurt his family and mocked the Church. Many will leave the faith after this.
how do you know he's unrepentant? And the biblical truth that only those who believe in Christ are saved remains true despite the failures of the person who proclaims it. Biblical truth doesn't cease to be true because of the sin of the person sharing it
@@barryallen119 no one is defending him. What he did was sinful to his wife, his children, his church, and most importantly to God. My hope is that he will be convicted by the Holy Spirit and receive in humility the discipline of God and come to him in repentance, for there is forgiveness in Christ.
@@kerryjamesbenge1341A weak moment, followed by confession is one thing. Ongoing adulterous sin for 5 years is a searing of the conscience and an active choice of sin over Christ.
Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law. 5You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins and there is no sin in Him. 6Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works. 9Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. 10This is how God’s children - and the Devil’s children - are made evident. Yes that's what the Bible says.
Not a would have he's on TH-cam saying exactly those things and saying that the sins that happen are good because in the end it's all decreed by god. Think about that this is why the ministry feels invalidated and this is why a lot of these Ministries pull down his stuff so fast because they're worried when people see what he has said realize his hyper strain of Calvinism and what it led to because you cannot live a life that's that focused on an ideology and not the influence with how you walk and ultimately end up sinning. And that's why if anyone thinks he stands take he lets you fall applies as much to me as it does to Lawson or anyone else
God bless Albert Mohler for these wise words. I'm sure that getting up there and speaking on this painful and extremely disappointing topic wasn't easy.
I am not a calvanist (praise God). I sincerely feel saddened for Lawsons family. Howeverbthe reality is the tulip god determined this to happen just so he can be glorified and show he is totally incharge (sovereign). Yes the true God is sovereign but this has also been tangled in the tulip god. Calvanists I sincerely pray you will examine the tulip god influence you are under and come to know the true God of the bible.
Why David, Peter, Adam and Eve and many more sin? Did they sin because God wanted to damage his reputation and record it in the Bible? Or did they sin because of their nature? -- If they sinned because of their nature even if they were with God, that means we still have sin in our bodies, but also the Spirit because is our guide that made us repent. Can someone live a perfect life? Aren’t we sinning every day? Isn’t everything because of Grace? If its because of grace, our works doesn’t matter. Our good or bad actions won’t take our salvation away; even our sins can show us we should depend on God for salvation because we cannot fulfill the law. So if we depend on God, and he is always looking at us, and providing us that freedom, that doesn’t mean it depends on us. Even good works are set by him already. He is in control of everything, but he doesn’t put us temptation to make us sin
I've served God faithfully on the foreign mission field for 35 years. When I read about this I have to say that I get very angry. I kept my pants zippered up, suffered all kinds of abuse from the nationals in the country I serve, spent nights in jail, had rocks thrown at me, etc etc. I've lived and continue to live in poverty. I'm sorry, but I have precious little sympathy for this man and his disgusting, coarse sin which hurts thousands and makes non-believers go Ewwww!.If that's Christianity I'd rather take my sin in broad daylight thank you very much. This has happened way to much of late. Ravi Zaharias, Tony Evans, men like these who were elevated to positions of great privilege and power succumbing to such a stupid, common sin. Lawson was an old man. He could have retired the minute he saw this temptation coming. My guess is this has been a cancer eating at his life for years, maybe decades. What a sorry lot these American Evangelical leaders are. They rolled over like a little of puppies for the government's COVID diktats. There are very few real men in the pulpit any more. But this is what the Lord told us, what he meant when he said that the love of many will wax cold. And yet we have to remember that there but for the grace of God.
I don't know who you are and if you preached the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) I am thankful for your service as a missionary. I am a pastor, and the news of anyone who sins saddens me greatly. I also know I am not above any sin, so I have to use caution in everything I do and everywhere I go. Women are not the problem, our own lust is the problem. We all have something in our lives we are struggling with which keeps us relying on God and it keeps us humble. The thing I want to remind you of is the fact that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. None of us are good or righteous without Jesus righteousness deposited in our account. Sir, what if your sins were made public. I know I don't want my sins displayed for all to see. We need to show grace, and the reason we can show others grace is because God gave us grace freely. We can show mercy because God shows us mercy. I have NEVER liked Pastor Steve's preaching or teaching. He has always been too arrogant and prideful in my view. I know Calvinist are wrong. They do not understand the will of God (1 Timothy 2:4) or the Mystery given to us by Paul (Ephesians 3:2-7). All I am trying to say is let us "examine ourselves" (2 Corinthians13:5) because "each one shall give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). By the way, Romans 14:12 is the verse that changed my life. I wasn't ready to give an account of my life to God. I was not ready and that verse scarred me to death. I do not have to give an account for you, I have a bigger problem; ME.
We need to pray for his family also and remember as we grieve thru the harm brought to GODS' Body... 1 Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
It seems that the Reformed Baptist camp has surpassed the Charismatics in terms of high-profile celebrity pastors. It's easy to get caught up in the money and fame and lose focus on what's important.
People are to be blamed for their sin, but God is to be praised for preserving people. This is just a reminder, to keep us humble because we have no boast over Mr Lawson, because if we’re preserved, it is God. If we stumble it is us. I wonder if Mr Lawson knew the grace of God to preserve him, rather than trying to do it himself…
There is a sin in your own life (including mine) which has been going on for ages! It is the nature of man to cover our sins… till our Lord graciously exposes and brings us to repentance. May God have mercy!
Please be mindful of Matthew 12:36-47 as you comment. Thank you.
On that note…
“It is incumbent upon every true believer to be pursuing holiness, and those who are not pursuing holiness are not true believers in the Lord. They may have a profession of faith, but they do not have a possession of faith. Holiness marks true believers.”
-Steve Lawson
@@JonathanGrandt wow. So sad.
@@JonathanGrandt Still applies, still relevant. Thank you.
@@patricklacson Sad? Why
@@JonathanGrandt - So does Holiness involve mercy, grace, understanding? Was the Samaritan woman holy in your eyes?
As a retired minister, I made a promise to God and my wife, to never be alone with another woman. I learned this from Billy Graham. I have kept my promise to the glory of God and for the love of my sweet wife.
@@johnjackson7464 that’s a great and wise thing to do. It’s also very
respectful to your wife. Just remember lust begins in the heart, not by alone, face to face time with females necessarily. There are men who are never alone with another woman who still commit adultery in the heart. Their outside looks of fidelity mean nothing
My husband and I - the same. 46 years married, and so grateful.
Saint William! 😮
I loved Dr.Grahams wisdom.
@@gj5990 Amen Brother. I’m always torn over the back-lash from a Pastor or minister who falls due to a moral failure for the very reason you mentioned. There may be a minister (a Billy Graham i.e) who would NEVER be alone with a woman and therefore, they are above reproach in the eyes of men. But, that same person may have a secret life where they indulge without the notice of men, only the notice of God. One is justified in the eyes of men (the pastor who manages to keep himself away from public scandals yet…maintains a secret life) but the other (the one who may have a single public failure and is repentant) is justified in the eyes of God.
People laughed at Mike Pence when he said he shouldn't go with a woman anywhere alone. His wife had to be there.
Better to overcome the flesh by dying. If you can’t stop from adultery you have not the Spirit of God. Or God is a liar.
@@Rileyed Not true. Solomon, David and Samson were men of God and they fell into adultery. Sin is deadly. Stay away from it like Billy Graham. Pence is wise in following Graham's advice. Take heed lest you fall!
@@Rileyed
What an immature and ignorant statement to make.
Have you even read the Bible???
The Billy Graham rule does nothing for the problem within a man’s heart. It only cages an unchanged beast.
@@Rileyed
Oh dear….
Well you’re good then, you need not worry.
So King David…..?
Why do you think the epistles warn so earnestly about sexual sin?
I am glad to be a Christian and I am sad for Pastor Steve's fall. I am keeping him and his family in my prayers.
We need to pray for his family, please.
Yes,we need to.
Why? What your prayer be? Since God has preordained every action, both Lawson's actions and anything that happens from now has already been determined.
@@mimisides I think you have almightily misunderstood the doctrine of predestination.
@@mimisides God has not preordained this sin!!!! He allowed it, but did not purposefully cause Lawson to sin.
@@mimisides Right. It has been determined that we pray for his family. Get on your knees.
I think that Dr Mohler did a very good job with this message. His gentle spirit, wise guidance, and refusal to name the involved person(s), shows a deep maturity, and reverence for the ministry of the gospel. I have deep theological issues, with the individual who “fell”, but fully expect to meet him in heaven some day. None of that gets in my way, of praying for him, his wife, kids, ministry, etc. **** Side note to the comments section: There is much wisdom in scripture, and “The Billy Graham Rule”. But, we don’t live under the constraints of “The Law”, but by the power of The Holy Spirit in our lives. HE, who lives within us, will give us the discipline, and wisdom, to avoid these situations. I say this in deep humility, as one who [ almost ] , had a similar crash! It is very humbling, to realize how susceptible we are to sin, and that it is only by the presence and power of The Holy Spirit, that we can avoid falling. Prayers for all..!
Thank you for visiting and commenting with your personal testimony.
Perhaps we, the church, should stop making eloquent, skillful preachers and teachers celebrities. The simple, faithful minister of the Gospel is the staple for the local church. Should he become eloquent, the broader church should do well to not parade him around, exposing him to greater temptation: idol, hero worshipers.
Very well said!
Amen, a future episode covering this important issue is coming. Stay tuned!
@@edcaouette8749 it’s not just a celebrity issue and he didn’t sin because of other people parading him around. It’s a man with pride in his heart who isn’t running to accountability but rather hiding from it. This is also something I and others have seen increase with older men in the church, even solid churches, who seem to lose their senses after 65 and seek for that attention from younger women. One thing is for sure, it’s his own heart’s issue.
Very true! Never attend a church with more than say, 1500- 2000 members. There you find the "celebrity" preachers not accountable to the congregation they are supposed to serve.
Agreed. pastors and teachers can start by (humbling themselves by) refusing to be called by a title, for ONE is your Shepherd and One is your Teacher, in accordance with Jesus' exhortation in Mt. 23 (read all of it, but, esp. verses 8-12). That would be a great place to start!
The Billy Graham Rule remains undefeated.
BILLY GRAHAM IS IN HELL... THE POPE LOVER THAT INVITED HINDUS TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON LARRY KING LIVE... (DONT YOU KNOW) !!
What's the Billy Graham rule?
@@thomasallie.R122 "Never be alone with a woman who is not your wife."
@@willIV9962 what does the scripture say? None are good, no not one. Verily I tell you brother… make no mistake. Bless you 🙏🏻
Absolutely his rule is wise for all men, but this situation is clearly not a case of a slip up around a woman one time in the heat of a moment. It was a 5 year affair
Not only will you not act inappropriately if never alone with a member of the opposite sex, but you will avoid any appearance of impropriety, and any opportunity for malicious gossip. We cannot be casual with this issue. The world is watching, and all too ready to condemn.
Mrs.Patriot,
So true, my friend!
I would only add that their condemnation would not be unjust.
Not being able to be alone with someone or you will try to have sex with them speaks to lack of self-control that should be disqualifying for ministry.
@@noelleleader6212 absolutely not what was said. The Bible clearly teaches we should avoid ANY appearance of impropriety. It also teaches that anyone can fall.
@@stubbs935 How is being in the same space with the opposite sex alone improper? Should i never have a work meeting? Take a cab? Hire a repairman?
This advice also ignores the existence of same sex temptation.
noelleleader6212,
The devil has long tried to set us in vulnerable places by attempting to shame our sound reasoning. We are not ignorant of his devices nor will we fall for this one.
God please bless the ears that hear this and know You Lord are a glorious Lord. We praise You for Your endless Grace and continous Mercy. Please wound all hurting today. Have mercy on those. We ask in Jesus name
I agree to pray God's grace, because "God's thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways His ways," Isaiah 55:8
I feel so sad about this. We all sin, but it hurts when a Pastor and leader falls. May God help the Church, all of God's people.
@@margcarter9244 What man or satan intends for evil, God intends for good. We're being shaken, sifted. The road is indeed narrow.
@@margcarter9244 none are good, no not one. Let the PASTOR who is without sin cast the first reply back to me….
The pain and the horror...I'm glad Pastor Mohler did not mince words. You can clearly see it in his eyes. Pray for your leaders because they now have to bear the heavy burden. The Church will not fall because our sovereign God has it under control. 🙏 🤲 📖
brendatajik6150,
I agree that God is in control of his church.
Were these actions of Steve Lawson outside of God’s control? They were indeed extremely painful.
An Innocent 5 year Inappropriate affair with no sex with a young girl. Is Lawson saying a repeat out of Clinton 's play book #5 use a cigar.
phillipaj.5588
All who have passed through the Door, entering by the blood, are the body of Christ. I would hasten to say that sin has never been a part of his body.
@@IvanEck-h8uI keep seeing this question asked, like it’s the first time this has ever happened. And it’s not.
ezramiller8296,
I certainly agree that this was not the first time nor will it likely be the last.
I noticed though that the question remains unanswered. Is it just too painful to consider?
We also need to pray for the woman involved too.
That's what seems to get lost in all of this. I don't know her standing with God but I pray that she repents and turn to Christ if she hasn't or ask for forgiveness of this sin if she's already saved.
@@jtremaine23I hope she gets authentic counseling without shame-blaming. She is allegedly much, much younger than Steve Lawson. In today’s culture of celebrity Pastors and cult of personality I would dare say abuse of power, at the very least, may have been involved.
@@SusanKennedy-v4zShe is an adult. Stop making excuses for this woman !
@@gabrielamartiniuc6322 She is young enough to be his granddaughter, allegedly. That is abuse of power, like I said at the very least. I will will reiterate I hope she is getting authentic help. It’s really tough within Churchianity where popular Pastors are still given a pass and sin is called “inappropriate relationship”. My gosh I’ve seen more “prayers for Steve”…and the proverbial “don’t make excuses for her” when just a handful of us dare to have compassion for the VERY young woman.
@@gabrielamartiniuc6322 I will again say I hope this woman gets authentic help. She is, allegedly, young enough to be *his* granddaughter. Like I have said and stand by it was an abuse of power at the minimal.
A thoughtful yet powerful response by Dr. Mohler in a difficult moment for the church.
@@samuelcurrin1369 he won’t even say the name of the Pastor…….whats the big secret? Oh wait it’s his conference buddy….
Paul was never afraid to name, names nor call out sin for what it is….
@@polskigirl8547 Everyone knows that pastor's name. I think Dr. Mohler's critique was even more effective by not mentioning the pastor's name. He certainly pulled no punches in his condemnation of the affair.
@@samuelcurrin1369 wrong……..show me in scripture where sin was not called out by name and person
He wouldn’t call out the name of the man, nor would he call it ADULTERY! It is not an impropriety, it is sin- it is adultery! Quit tiptoeing around the wickedness!
@@polskigirl8547 Titus 1:10-11
Thank you, Dr Mohler for the comfort and admonition. I am encouraged that you mentioned the donatist controversy in church history. Understanding the present catastrophe hinges on understanding the way Augustine properly proclaimed that the word of God does not fail!
I pray for all the pastors and missionaries around the world everyday .
Steve Lawson needs to repent and be restored. But, he should NEVER be restored to a position of leadership in the church.
Why?
Because the Bible teaches this....um, no...Ok, David...um no.... oh wait, we have a ministry of reconciliation and God is able to forgive and restore, so maybe we should too?!!!!!
Mas você lê os salmos de Davi, não é mesmo ?
@@mikecara8181 An Elder should be above reproach. Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.
@@mikecara8181Because he doesn't have the qualities to be in leadership.
So thankful for my husband who pastored for many years and had guidelines in place to guard against temptation. He was never alone with a woman in any situation. When he had a staff meeting with a woman he always had the blinds OPEN in his office. He also was accountable to 2 other pastors in our area who had NO INVOLVEMENT IN OUR CHURCH so that he could be truly accountable. May our Christian leaders accept their vulnerability and have accountability and guidelines in their lives!
Look! STOP calling this an inappropriate relationship! It is what God says it is...ADULTERY!
Well the reasoning is that we don't exactly know the details of what kind of relationship it was. He could have just been too emotionally connected with someone, which isn't adultery at all, but is still inapproriate.
@@waholoopesorry74Even Christ said that if you LOOK AT a woman lustfully one commits adultery. Let’s not water down what Christ has taught us.
@@atgredif everything is adultery then there is no point of having terms other than adultery. Adultery is an act. Hence the illustration Jesus uses is “as though he has acted”.
There is a difference in terms and it’s important to distinguish. If you say adultery then you need to add a descriptor like adultery in the mind which then becomes clumsy and doesn’t help the reader to have clarity. Words must be carefully chosen.
If Steve and this women slept together - adultery. If it’s something else, I believe they owe his church a clearer word, but not the public.
Our incessant need to feel included and ‘in the know’ is not helpful.
@@atgredit would also mean the qualifications of an elder would make no sense. If any elder ever had a thought sin, what you’re pushing straight into equating to the physical act of adultery, then every pastor would be disqualified within their first period of pastoring. Every man has at some point wrestled with lust, the desire of the heart.
If we don’t have two categories then every pastor is instantly disqualified upon his first lustful thought.
I appreciate your heart to be biblical, but I think it needs a little nuance.
@@atgred He said that you commit adultery in the heart. There is a distinct difference. The woman who was brought to Jesus that was guilty of adultery… that wasn’t adultery in the heart, that was actual adultery otherwise everyone should have been stoned right?
Grievous to the Lord, grievous to the cause of Christ, heart breaking for his family, yet a “severe mercy” for this travelling pastor… to be set free before he meets the judge of all of us, if he chooses to humble himself, repents in order to 😊be forgiven and set free.
We need to stop putting a buffer on the sin of adultery by words such as inappropriate relationship!
Exactly!
@@jamiebadour6555 No, we need to stop altering the Biblical definition of adultery simply because of our own cultural conditioning and traditions.
I love Steve. His teaching has helped my walk. He’s been disciplined. Forgive and pray for him.
Pray for his poor wife, kids and family!
petersebastion7596,
I hold no ill will towards Steve. I have compassion toward him and have empathy with his family.
Trust in God and his biblical truths still holds firm but trust in Steve lies shattered on the ground.
One can offer forgiveness but trust is not a thing that you can just offer, it must be intentionally rebuilt and earned.
Have not heard of his repentance as yet. Needs to be public.
He hasn't repented yet. The original statement the church put put out even says as much.
Learning that the affair went on for five years and knowing he preached all the way through it feels like a betrayal.
Thank you, it is a much needed reminded that we are all in need of the grace of God
I’m grateful that there is forgiveness for Steven Lawson even though his ministry is damaged
Thanks Patrick for sharing this most helpful, gracious response to this situation
@@elizabethkovacs7369 you are welcome. I've added my own response to the situation that I hope would be helpful.
I left a church because the sisters in Christ dressed like they had just left a nightclub. Sometimes man don't think with the Spirit but with the flesh.
Kudos to you brother. I left a church for the same reason and just blatant dishonor of God at so many levels.
As a woman, I find it appalling how some of my sisters dress in general, not just in church. Everyone knows that men are visual. These women know what they're doing. It's an ego thing for most of them. It's shameful.
At best, such women are ignorant, at worst, purposefully dressing provocatively. I think the latter would especially be a beginning of evidence such a woman may not be a sister in Christ. Doing something to cause another to stumble, habitually, is sin.
So it’s women’s fault?
@@freddywright1490 The man goes as far as the woman allows.
Elegant Pastoral Counsel from Pastor Mohler. Thank you!
Amen❣️
Very good and beautiful everything you said.
The body of Christ suffers because of this situation and the devil rejoices, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the same and through this bad situation He will strengthen us to be careful what we think and do.
🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻
Wonderful response Pastor Mohler. God bless the church. As we all are sinners, God bless and forgive us all. Always.
Im not Reformed I m baptist, but what I,m firstable I am Christian, and I can tell you all, that we are sad with Steve's fallen. We have to remember him as a soldier. It is a sad day. 😢
I'm not sure it was intended, but I like the word "firstable"!!😂😂😂
@@gwenlucas4200 It's true😅 sister, i have not realized that the keyword wrote it bad. I have should written firstly. Greetings from Madrid, Spain.!!!
@@enriquerevelo882 Greetings from Poland
Larson was a Reformed Baptist... so is Molher, McArthur, Voddie, the list goes on. Being "Reformed" has nothing to do with anything.
1 corinthians 3-7
"for you are still worldly.
For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly?
Are you not walking in the way of man?
For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
The church of christ is not a building or a denomination, the church of Jesus Christ are individuals united in the Holy spirit by the Word God.
When we remain in christ feeding on the Word of God, growing in the knowledge of God and the love of Christ, renewing our minds, letting the Word transform us.. by ..that we may bear fruits of Holy the spirit given to us.
( 1 corinthians 10:3-4)
"They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. )
I needed to hear this. Thank you
He can of course be forgiven. But he has lost his qualification to be a Pastor!
He will be back preaching somewhere in the near future because he can draw a crowd.
@@ROGERBELLAS He’s not qualified to be a Pastor Again!
@@ROGERBELLAS he can tag team preach with Mike Bickle, Robert Morris, Carl Lentz, and so many more. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
@@ROGERBELLAS I highly doubt he'll preach again. He knows he shouldn't.
@@ROGERBELLASHe can’t preach any more because the Bible does not allow this for any disqualified elder. If he is back preaching contrary to that biblical requirement, then, he is being unrepentant.
I cried when I heard about Sir Steve I don't know why my heart aches for Him 😭 For sir RC when I heard that He died I didn't cried why maybe my spirit is in grief in what happened to sir Steve unlike sir RC my spirit knows that His going home and will see Him again... Praying for Him in Jesus name His one of my favorite Pastor... Praying for Him to come back... God is in control...God will never leave the one He will save let the body die for the soul to be save😢...By God's grace He will come back and more stronger... Just like the Prodigal Son😢😢😢😭😭😭praying always for all of us to be brave specially for the Pastors of Christ the true Pastors in Jesus Name😭😭😭my heart is Crying out...
everyone is vulnerable! we need to watch our lives and our doctrine.. our adversary is working 24/7 seeking whom to devour.
And witches doing witchcraft on Christian’s
Amen…our enemy is a roaring lion!
Blaming the Devil is a cop-out. The flesh needs no help….
5 years. Nothing just happened. Deception, lies, sins.
At times we are more turned on by the articulation of theology rather than by the life it demands. Moral failures within ecclesial leadership often result when theological proficiency is preferred beyond theological practices - when knowledge supersedes practice.
Getting too big for their britches.
Amen!
@@cedricjohn6835 Well said.
Amen!
That’s been my experience with most modern reformed churches. It’s all acedmic, like hillsong but the opposite version lol like no leading of the Holy Spirit just men with degrees trying to impress each other and feel better than other leaders or denominations
It hurts, Zacharias, Evans, and now Lawson for me. And I remembered Judas, my friends and family, and sadly, my deeds, too. I leaned to focus on Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, and Our Heavenly Father.
Let’s add Alister Begg to the mix.
This is best response to this great tragedy I have Heard!! A Warning to All both Man and Woman!!
i’m reformed and protestant but i find that Trent is really fun to listen to. Thanks for all you do
Amen and Amen and Amen... still working through the outrage because of the horrific effect on fellow true Believers but also the quenching of souls who may turn away from listening to the preaching and teaching of HIS love letter to HIS creation....
Thank you brother for this reminder.
Thank you for saying that it's ok to be outraged! I am and you are the first one I've heard say that. This is catastrophic. Steve needs to talk to us!
Poignant. Thank you, brother
Grace and peace to the church grieved by this situation. I pray everyone is strong enough in the Lord to remain. Some do walk away during this type of trial. The couple involved have deeply grieved the Lord. That is no small matter.
Comments by people elsewhere make it clear where they stand and shared scriptures to back their various views; judgements; opinions etc, which can cause division. I hope unity in the Spirit prevails.
Btw. Privately, the Holy Spirit trained me up when my late husband became a gospel globe-trotter. I was forbidden to allow any man whatsoever into my home when he was away. The Lord used the verse, let there be no appearance of evil. I complied. When I was widowed, years later, my incredible pastor came to my door one morning.
He looked visibly perplexed when I didn't invite him in. I didn't bat an eyelid...obedience was well established by then. Yay.
I'd never heard of this Bible teacher until last week but I understand he was excellent therefore I intend to watch his videos if they are still available.
Blessings abound to all of you.
Greetings from Scotland.
Thank you. Our church has been deeply affected but we are healing.
It's his wife and children I am grieving for.. I have been in their position. Its devastating 😢
Probably the most cogent and pastoral words shared regarding this current situation.❤
May the gospel go forward with power!
May we continue to watch and pray!
/on a separate note… I hope you have the opportunity to visit with Pastor MacArthur and give him a hug on behalf of all of us who have benefited from his faithful ministry all these years!
Can't trust anyone except Lord Jesus
True. However we can trust others, just keep in mind not to expect perfect trustworthiness.
Thank you! Praying!!!!
Why not just call it adultery ?
Because we don't know the exact circumstances behind what happened, we only know it was an inappropriate relationship
@waholoopesorry74 Yeah, maybe he just slipped, and it went in lol!😂
@@Jaymzdrmz Again, we don't know if the relationship was even physical or not. I'm guilty of getting too emotionally connected with someone but it wasn't a physical relationship. It was still very inappropriate
@@Jaymzdrmz Also that's not an appropriate way for you to speak. I pray that you will find a place of repentance and turn to the Lord
@@waholoopesorry74true tho(I’m agreeing with u)
This whole situation makes me tremble. I truly pray that God will keep me faithful till the end of my Christian journey.
Perhaps all this travelling that these ministers do alone is not good! Shouldn't their wives be travelling with them? That would make more sense. This is why I never liked the idea of "travel work" because it can lead to this. You are alone and vulnerable and your better half is miles away.
Yes good advice brother. I would add, maybe pastors should stay in their own churches and if invited to preach elsewhere it should be a rare occasion and only with his wife and/or elders with him.
Yes a wife should always go that’s why I don’t believe that they should always be working because then they can’t really be doing ministry things together, but many churches don’t give enough offering so that they both can be fully in ministry only yet it’s still not an excuse to cheat on someone
Exactly ! You are Spot On !!! Is the Church taking some of the responsibility ? What happened in Bible times? If I'm correct ( speaking under correction ) didn't they go two by two ? It just dawned on me now !
Yeah I agree, traveling without their wives, spending so much time away from home
My father was in full-time Christian ministry for almost 50 years. He traveled a fair bit, on and off over the years, and never went by himself. My mom always went with him, which was difficult when we kids were young, but they always made that a priority that he would not travel alone.
Great, heartfelt message. Thank you for sharing. However, the ministry God did through this earthen vessel IS NOT invalidated.
We need the gift of discernment that confronts ministry friends!! Deception in the pulpit & Lord's supper & marrisge bed does not cause blindness.
😢 breaks my heart...
I pray all will pray for the repentance and protection, renewing and drawing closer to our Holy God for healing.
We NEVER really know someone. And frankly, too many christians are into the worship of humans (men,women) and "pastors". Our WORSHIP belongs to ONE alone, The Lord Jesus Christ. Anything else is idolatry and blasphemy.
Christians these days not only worship men, but also worship, worship!
This triggered righteous anger in me and brought back memories bc as a daughter whose father did the same, it had lasting effects on me and my family. I couldn’t help but think about his children although they’re adults now. I was a just a teenager and didn’t know how to deal with it. Some people walked away from the church bc they didn’t want to be associated with it any longer and those people fell as well. I pray everyone affected by him find wisdom and guidance from the Word of God.
I don’t know if my comment will matter in the scheme of things, but I have made some observations over the last decade that have quite frankly, devastated the way my faith operates. I am now in my sixties, radically saved almost 40 years ago, I was very active in my fellowship. But I no longer practice my faith in that way.
A few years ago, my own home church’s founding pastor fell in an “inappropriate relationship” with someone not his wife. As COVID hit, and the “global” church divided over masks, gathering and other adiaphora, the layers of at least American Christianity pulled apart.
I realized, as did many other christian wives, that our marriages were not as sacred to our husbands or our churches as we had been led to believe. We were not safe.
Sure, a man is not likely to have sex with another woman if he is never left alone with her, but not every woman is a temptress. Some women actually need private counsel from pastoral care, and basically women are treated with suspicion rather than compassion as a norm.
Your also not likely to have sex with someone not your spouse if you take heed to your own soul. Pastors who are self-aware, self-reflecting, and open, with transparency with others in genuine fellowship, will remain teachable.
Celebrity Christianity has destroyed the word “honorable” in the world around us.
Steven Lawson was “honorable” 10 minutes ago… quit using that word so glibly.
I haven’t trusted the so-called church (buildings, meetings, sermons and songs), since my own church abandoned and betrayed me, and left me isolated with an abusive neglectful husband and without help. My husband, at the time, was an “honorable” elder. He doesn’t attend church anymore either, but not for the same reasons.
All that to say…
There may be a few “Jezebelian temptresses” out there. But many, dare I say most of us are tired of being blamed for a man’s behavior. We either didn’t pray enough, be seductive enough (to our own husbands only of course), in any case, we didn’t keep him happy enough to stay home and not stray. We are worn and torn…
You place far too much weight on women to be enough… but not too much, lest we cause another man to stumble. And not nearly enough weight on the man you continually remind us is head and should be respected.
I am literally sick to my stomach every time some “honorable” man is exposed. But it sickens me more that it seems to come as a shock to those who were supposed to be his close friends.
Maybe that is the problem… no one knows each other well enough to truly be his friend. Maybe that is the shame that the world sees. We talk of loving one another, but the incongruity of what is actually true, verses what we say we believe is far too prevalent.
Well, even if no one reads this, I feel better having gotten it off my chest. Just thoughts from a bruised reed brutally broken by every “honorable” man in my life.
Except Jesus! Thank God I put my faith in Him.
Also…
Merely abstaining from sexual sin is not the goal. Jesus taught lust is a heart issue. To look on a woman with lust is considered adultery. See to your heart. Otherwise, you could be truly guilty before God, and proud before men that you were never in a room with a woman not your wife-“See! No sin! What a good boy am I!” Never seeing yourself truly… yet God sees your inner life! And not only that, but other people in your life will never truly know you-nor you them. Intimacy requires exposed vulnerability. Secret habits of thought have a way of protecting themselves. Separating you from others. You can’t be close with someone who cloaks their inner life with “good behavior.”
As someone who struggled with pornography for years (and still has struggled today) can I say on behalf of those who hurt you, I am sorry.
I am sorry you were betrayed and treated cruelly by those you trusted, and by members of the church who made themselves out to be more than they were.
I do believe that the enemy is targeting men in this way more than any point in history on such a mass scale. I believe MOST of these pastors secretly struggle with hidden sins. I do think honesty and clarity and transparency is key.
I've fallen so many times in my own walk that I am now of the opinion that it truly is only by God's mercy I can be saved, its nothing that I have done. And I am not worthy of it. I thank God that He does forgive, even if we fall a thousand times He can forgive. But we are also called to grow and to regularly confess our son and struggle. Whenever I see a "perfect" Christian I automatically assume he or she is trying hard to cover up some secret sin. It's those who can admit they struggle and sim I think who are able by Gods grace to begin growing and struggling.
Anyway. I'm sorry for the abuse you suffered in the church. I hope one day you are able to build relationships in the church again, learn to trust again and have fellowship. Just know we all stumble and there is none who have not sinned.
@adamslaura768
Here, I thought I was alone in this issue. Our stories aren't exactly the same but close enough. I'll only share one thing. Our pastor insisted on counseling us separately so he could ask me intimate questions. Then, he told us not to share details of our sessions. We were young and stupid. This pastor had also counseled us that we were mature enough to be married at barely 18 years old. So, by the third appointment, we were terrified! We met and married in that church. Our daughter was dedicated in that church. Nobody was going to listen to us. We left that day and went to another church in the chain. About 2 weeks later, we heard he had been "called" to another church out of state. It took me years to get past that. What that man did set the entire course of my life.
I know you are angry, and I'm truly sorry for that. But, we all must remember our Lord is our Sovereign God! It's about Him and His love for us that led to His shame and agony on the cross. No mere human can take that away if we don't let them.
May the Lord protect and defend you, dear sister.🙏 📖 🙌
@@thesanfranciscoseahorse473 thank you. For the apology and for your honesty. The apology is healing, surprisingly, and the honesty gives me hope. Thank you for replying.
@@brendatajik6150 thank you. And thank you for sharing a little of your story.
Amen. Thank you. Good words.
Steve Lawson, more than anyone else in the many years that I have been born again, has influenced my theology and Christian life. His series on the attributes of God exposed how I had “squeezed” God into God is love, which He is, and shortsighted myself to His other attributes, such as wrath, justice, judgment, and vengeance. His teaching on the Trinitarian Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, showed how I had also locked Him into the Godman Jesus of the gospels, ignoring the resurrected Jesus who threatened churches in Revelation with serious consequences if they didn’t repent. It showed me that the Trinitarian Jesus, God the Son, is demanding when it comes to sin in the church - and in my life. Stop sinning! Steve’s teachings unmasked the sentimentalist Jesus I had grown accustomed to who is soft on sin: the Jesus of most of the American church and in my life: not the “real” Jesus. God used Steve to instill in me that Jesus “demands” me to live a holy life. I believe when saved you are saved forever. But Jesus is also my Judge, and of all born-again believers. He died so He will see the agony of His soul and be satisfied (Isaiah 53: 11); all born-again believers are the agony of His soul. And I want Him to be fully satisfied with me because I took sin seriously beyond new birth to live a holy life. God used Steve Lawson to teach me it and to move forward to where I am today - and the knowledge of the Word to keep moving forward until I reach heaven. Never once did I think of him as a celebrity preacher, nor on a pedestal - only as a man who rightly divided the Word of God. My heart grieves.
Impossible for a Calvinist reformer to “ rightly divide the word.” You’re simply deceived Dennis.
I will pray for you, brother. This so disorienting. But we know that the Word tells us to be wise as serpents gentle as doves. Traveling alone is dangerous for anyone. He should have wanted protection.
@dennisbelkofer1311 take no notice of such as truth seeker. You found the truth, brother, but the general American opinion is shockingly anti-Calvinist. Think they are really against hyperCalvinism which is indeed error. But any man can fall and Steve Lawton’s fall is a tragedy.
@@earlydawn8183 Take a rest early dawn.
Hyper Calvinism is consistent Calvinism.
Steve believes his god decreed all.
Very simple and plain.
Reformed ridiculousness
And thus you are under works righteousness. Under Augustine’s system, one either has to have works to be saved, stay saved, or prove salvation. The biblical God doesn’t require this, but these men do.
If you are trusting in Jesus (sola fide), then you are complete in Christ (Col 2:10) and have been made the righteousness of God (2Col 5:21).
Study the Bible without man’s theories and systems. Take each word *to whom* it was spoken, and your understanding will increase.
Very sad - listened to Steve Lawson on Ligonier and found his teaching exemplary. Church discipline will be what it is but God and the Church is bigger than any one person and I pray God will continue to use him to His Glory even in failure. Look no further to David’s life to know that this fall has been with us from the beginning.
Lawson's sin isn't new. He shall give an account. As we will all. It seems as one grows closer to God & represent Christendom more publicly; Satan chooses them to be a great price for failure. Please pray for me.
This was helpful Al, I appreciate this
NONE are good, no not even ONE! Let the PASTOR or ELDER who is without sin cast the first reply back to me….otherwise, humble yourselves - examine your own heart and be ye not deceived. Bless you. 🙏🏻
A loving, non judgemental, but honest response. Thank you.
Chirist tells us "There are those who have made themselves eunichs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it. " (Mt 19:12). Lets live the gospels, not just talk about it!
No one is Holy than God this man is till aman of God He still called by God Holy by Grace 😢 am praying for this beloved soul and his family 🙏
Honestly it’s not really a famous pastor thing, or the fact his wife wasn’t with him everywhere he goes and talks, this is a heart issue and it’s an issue with the unknown men as well, who are cherished and respected leaders in the small solid church. Satan targets them, their flesh gets puffed up at times and they have to constantly be on the watch, more so than others. As a woman I’ve seen trusted leaders in solid churches, wait for their wife and fellow church leaders to turn their heads in order to give a lasting glance and wink to another woman. If that woman is not strong in her faith she can find herself flattered and even intimidated. Me and other women have spoken, very carefully, about what we’ve noticed with married men in the church. We see men seemingly faithful who refer to their wife as “my bride” than at about 65 seem to regress to a 16 year old, flirty, careless and desperate when the important people aren’t looking. We’ve noticed the older men have become more of an issue than the young in this regard. 😢. No proof can be given to leadership so it’s usually tossed aside because of how trusted they are. It’s truly sickening and we need to pray pray pray for our brothers and their wives
Yes pray and apply what Scripture teaches to these matters.
As a pastor, my wife has been my greatest help outside of Scripture and the Spirit of God. I am surprised at the number of Pastors who go off preaching, but their wives are not by their side. This is where the problem starts. A husband and wife are to be one flesh, together in life, together in ministry. The more blessed you are in ministry, the more known, the more you need your wife by your side, not less.
One thing that I find troubling is that many, many pastors recently starting with Carl Lentz have been guilty of these things and cut down. But it is only when it is one of your own that people call it a catastrophe. When Mr. Lentz was caught, many of these same people held that "air of superiority" and said, "Oh well that's Hillsong. They aren't a real church. They are one of those "celebrity" churches."
💯
An astute observation.
Carl Lentz was like an entertainer not a pastor... Not a comparison.
Lord deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever Amen
"INAPPROPRIATE?" Is that what it's called? Here the word "improper" was used. Shouldn't Christians, of all people, be the first to call sin by its proper name: sin? Yet I have yet to hear even one "church leader" refer to this incidence of sexual sin, sexual sin.
A couple of decades ago, the social sciences, sociology especially, became obsessed with all value judgments being "value neutral." One of their techniques was to replace words like wrong, or bad, or wicked, or sinful with the value neutral word inappropriate. Now, rather than a behavior being wrong in the absolute sense, it was only inappropriate, meaning that it was not right ... given the context. Thus, we entered into decades of uttering this five syllable word as a replacement for the former one syllable word: wrong. You have to really want to get rid of the one syllable version if you're willing to do all the work of a five-banger substitute every time something is or goes "wrong." Even we Christian must really hate the word sin.
This came to us through the secular world, the social sciences hellbent on erasing God from the public square. And what do we find among our Christian leaders? Not just more and more sexual sin, but an insistence on using the secular world's label for it: inappropriate.
So it is that I find myself just as disgusted with our cowardly church leaders as our sexually sinful ones. For heavens sake, way back in the 1970s, even the well-known secular psychiatrist, Dr. Carl Menninger of the Menninger Clinic, wrote a book he entitled: "What Ever Became of Sin?" In it he lamented our world's loss of ability to call sin sin, and expounded on the damage to mental health this resulted in. So ... a secular psychiatrist can insist on calling sin sin, but church leaders insist on the secular, anti-God word: inappropriate. And we wonder why, not just "the world," but the church itself is in such bad shape. It makes me want to run through churches on Sunday mornings, running up and down the aisles, just shouting the word "SIN!" I think I'd do two laps around the shocked congregation and zip out the front door before the deacons caught and threw me out. "How uncouth," they'd say to one another. "How embarrassing," would think the pastor, with his mumbling of platitudes interrupted. But I think Jesus would stand up and applaud. (By the way, did Jesus say to the woman taken in adultery: "Go and conduct inappropriate behavior no more." ???
I can see you're angry and frustrated. Thank you for visiting. Wait until all the evidence is laid bare. Meanwhile heed the counsel, weep with those who weep, pray for the churches, love the brethren. Things are still developing. This was given to provide counsel for all the students in his school and we can all benefit from such counsel.
@@patricklacson I'm sorry you missed my point. My problem is not with the "evidence" of this particular case. My concern is the church's conforming to the secularization of Christianity's language. I am well aware of the proper Christian manner of responding to the person involved. I agree with all of that. It is the surrendering of our crucial vocabulary for understanding what we are dealing with ... that is my concern. Words mold our thinking; our thinking determines actions.
I heard the same words “inappropriate relationship” just a day before this news about Lawson broke out. A friend told me my former pastor’s daughter who is also an “elder” and part of the worship team was in an “inappropriate relationship” that her dad the pastor swept under the rug. She wasn’t disciplined like Lawson. It’s sad what is happening but I’m glad at least action was taken on Lawson. I will continue to pray for him and his family but I highly doubt he’ll be able to preach any time soon.
@@dccd673 The point I was trying to make is a broader one, one that moves beyond this incident itself. My concern is that by dumping biblical language (sin) and replacing it with secular language (inappropriate) the attitudes of Christians is subtly and gradually altered. In fact, I believe a major reason for the horrid increase in adulterous clergy in recent decades is precisely because we have diminished the seriousness of the problem by changing its name. How bad can "inappropriate relationship" be, after all. It is suggestive of a response something along the line of "Woops."
Correct. A 5 year relationship. Many years of sin. Lies.
I was praying for pastor lawson, we need to uphold our brother in prayer.
I am from india. I gladly listened to pastor Lawson, s teachings. But now I fear , I fear doing ministry.
I Feel ya man…I just started seminary and it’s got me wondering whether it’s worth it to go thru all this. Thankfully the Word will never come back void🙏
Don't be afraid, I'm from India too, if God has called you, fight the good fight of faith.
1Tim 5:20 "... so that all would fear." When someone falls or is publicly exposed in their sin, the purpose is for you to fear. Not to fear ministry, but to fear God. What's helpful is to see that ministry is our effort to accomplish God's ends and purposes. That God takes His Word seriously, loves His church purely, and calls His ministers into accountability. God bless you brother and press on.
Fight the good fight, brother
There’s another video that says they didn’t have any physical contact
Thank you for sharing this.
1Tim 5:20 may the church be purified and sanctified.
Albert Mohler showed much grace and wisdom, helping us to see how to concern ourselves with how sin hurts people, as well as the work of the gospel. When there is a terrible shooting, the media immediately discusses gun-control policy. The tragedy of what's happened has been hijacked for an excuse to argue about issues. People have been focusing their posts on whether Steve Lawson can be reinstated back into the ministry. This can be discussed later. It is first time to grieve, examine ourselves, and pray. Please consider I Corinthians 5:2; James 4:8-10.
You pastors (you know who you are) cannot wait to get your claws into a fallen pastor. He sinned, just like all of us, and his sin is equal to all sin in God's eyes. His error in judgment is between God, himself, and his church. I just wanted to let you know there's no need for further commentary from anyone else.
I think we need to consider that HOW WE RESPOND to these issues says more to the world than the issue itself. Do we pounce? Do we use this as an opportunity to attack what we see as inferior theology? I am heartbroken over this for everyone involved, included Steve Lawson. As a pastor myself, it fills me with humility that I too am vulnerable and must depend on the Lord every moment to keep me from falling. We need each other and the world needs to see a church united in handling the sin but in love and with a humble heart of restoration.
We are seeing, across the Christian spectrum, the truth of the following: 1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. And, for those who get in their “moral outrage” mode this shows a need to let this saint’s moral failure be a stark reminder of the words of Paul: 1 Cor. 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
These men are not "falling" into sin and a plague is not "overtaking" them. They are choosing to sin. The publication of Lawson and his adultery(s) isnt what harms the church and the gospel BUT RATHER sinning pastors!!! That's where the fault lies. If the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, should all millionaire pastors be examined for affairs, pride, bullying, extortion and all manner of cutthroat mafia excess?
I’m encouraged that he confessed and repented. God forgave David and continued to use him in a mighty way. We don’t know what God has in mind for this man. I know I don’t appreciate them removing his sermons. He always preached the truth and I appreciated his sermons.
@@sarahjones-rz6vs it is difficult for sure. I think there is wisdom in the removal of his sermons.
He is just a man, that's why he falls.. forgave him in comfort him.
I’m so grieved, may Dr. Lawson repent and I pray for the church. This hurts.
Billy Graham originated that ministry (& personal) rule. 70 years of ministry with no scandal
We cannot know.. It's only to Him who has a record.. Only God knows the hearts&minds of all.
You don,t know Billy he did have Problem not same as steve but he did have problem like empressing false teaching started to get into he,s later years. Letting false getting in your teaching worse than than steve did.
@@carolyndunegan3505
I hope we will reflect on this : that when the Word God tells us something we don't pay attention but if a celebrity preacher says something we do (?)
Wouldn't it be better to pay attention to what The Lord instructs and humbly ask Him to help us do as He instructs.
When I heard about this something happened within me and I have changed….. can’t explain it or understand it but I am closer to the Lord and my joy in Him has increased.
We all sin and we are all forgiven in Christ
This glorifies Jesus and His work
Once again people seem to think the answer is making the opposite sex dangerous instead of taking captive our thoughts and seeing them as our family. The church seems to be agreeing with the world that everything is sexual. We as the church should instead be modeling what it means to have strong, nonsexual, relationships with our sisters and brother of the faith. We must have mothers and fathers of the faith passing down wisdom. Stop being afraid of the family of God.
Take advice on this from the rogue princess
Looking at everyone in the church as a father, mother, brother and sister is the way, I strongly agree with you, the opposite sex are not to be prayed upon or seen as evil.
@briancoles4249 😄 this handle is about 17 years old.
Wisdom is known by her children
I think you missed the point. The opposite sex is not the danger, it is putting oneself in the path of temptation. Never being alone with the opposite sex is a doable practice that is wise counsel. I love my brothers in Christ like brothers but I don't hang out with them without others present.
God has a purpose for us all 😢.
I desigree with Dr. Molher ...We have seen an increise in immoralaty in the the church and apostasy in the ministry resulting in this behavior ... We are living in the last days
It hurts so much. I pray for everyone affected by this 🙏
I'm amazed that we put so much weight on mere men and women! These men of stature are no different from any one else except that they have made themselves teachers! We must be very careful about judging as we are all fallen in nature. I hope many will come out of this Calvinist or false teaching of reformed theology and twisting of the gospel! This is where Lordship salvation can take you. The gospel is the good news of what Christ did for EVERYONE
This means the whole world! Let's focus on this and not men who are prone to falling.
Satan is working overtime, thinking he has succeeded when we all know that God is using the fall of this man to bring honor and glory to Himself! Its never about us, it's always about Him! This was a wonderful talk of encouragement to God's people. Let's pray for Steve Lawson that he will come to full repentance and get things right with his family and friends.
LOL, how he avoids Lawson's name. Lawson was judging others harshly and declared them as not saved. He himself lived a double life and his adultery lasted 5 years with a woman who could be his grandkid. Is Lawson saved at all? He willingly shamed the name of Christ and is still unrepentant.
This is fun and games to you?
@@mikecude4167 Its funny that you defend him after he revealed himself as a wolf in sheeps clothing. He shredded other pastors for adultery but he was a hypocrite after all. He insulted Christ, hurt his family and mocked the Church. Many will leave the faith after this.
how do you know he's unrepentant? And the biblical truth that only those who believe in Christ are saved remains true despite the failures of the person who proclaims it. Biblical truth doesn't cease to be true because of the sin of the person sharing it
@@barryallen119 no one is defending him. What he did was sinful to his wife, his children, his church, and most importantly to God. My hope is that he will be convicted by the Holy Spirit and receive in humility the discipline of God and come to him in repentance, for there is forgiveness in Christ.
@@kerryjamesbenge1341A weak moment, followed by confession is one thing. Ongoing adulterous sin for 5 years is a searing of the conscience and an active choice of sin over Christ.
Very good words spoken here. Thank you for sharing it. 🙏
Steve would have taught that someone in long term, repetative sin could not be a Christian??
Yes…
Exactly
Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law. 5You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins and there is no sin in Him. 6Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.
7Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works. 9Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. 10This is how God’s children - and the Devil’s children - are made evident.
Yes that's what the Bible says.
Not a would have he's on TH-cam saying exactly those things and saying that the sins that happen are good because in the end it's all decreed by god. Think about that this is why the ministry feels invalidated and this is why a lot of these Ministries pull down his stuff so fast because they're worried when people see what he has said realize his hyper strain of Calvinism and what it led to because you cannot live a life that's that focused on an ideology and not the influence with how you walk and ultimately end up sinning. And that's why if anyone thinks he stands take he lets you fall applies as much to me as it does to Lawson or anyone else
@@Veretaxthis is not “hyper Calvinism” if you’re going to use that term try to use it where it actually applies. Which it does not apply here.
God bless Albert Mohler for these wise words. I'm sure that getting up there and speaking on this painful and extremely disappointing topic wasn't easy.
I am not a calvanist (praise God). I sincerely feel saddened for Lawsons family. Howeverbthe reality is the tulip god determined this to happen just so he can be glorified and show he is totally incharge (sovereign). Yes the true God is sovereign but this has also been tangled in the tulip god. Calvanists I sincerely pray you will examine the tulip god influence you are under and come to know the true God of the bible.
Amen.
Amen
Amen
Amen
Why David, Peter, Adam and Eve and many more sin? Did they sin because God wanted to damage his reputation and record it in the Bible?
Or did they sin because of their nature?
--
If they sinned because of their nature even if they were with God, that means we still have sin in our bodies, but also the Spirit because is our guide that made us repent.
Can someone live a perfect life? Aren’t we sinning every day?
Isn’t everything because of Grace?
If its because of grace, our works doesn’t matter. Our good or bad actions won’t take our salvation away; even our sins can show us we should depend on God for salvation because we cannot fulfill the law.
So if we depend on God, and he is always looking at us, and providing us that freedom, that doesn’t mean it depends on us. Even good works are set by him already.
He is in control of everything, but he doesn’t put us temptation to make us sin
Just very sad,oh God have mercy upon us all.
I've served God faithfully on the foreign mission field for 35 years. When I read about this I have to say that I get very angry. I kept my pants zippered up, suffered all kinds of abuse from the nationals in the country I serve, spent nights in jail, had rocks thrown at me, etc etc. I've lived and continue to live in poverty. I'm sorry, but I have precious little sympathy for this man and his disgusting, coarse sin which hurts thousands and makes non-believers go Ewwww!.If that's Christianity I'd rather take my sin in broad daylight thank you very much.
This has happened way to much of late. Ravi Zaharias, Tony Evans, men like these who were elevated to positions of great privilege and power succumbing to such a stupid, common sin. Lawson was an old man. He could have retired the minute he saw this temptation coming. My guess is this has been a cancer eating at his life for years, maybe decades.
What a sorry lot these American Evangelical leaders are. They rolled over like a little of puppies for the government's COVID diktats. There are very few real men in the pulpit any more. But this is what the Lord told us, what he meant when he said that the love of many will wax cold. And yet we have to remember that there but for the grace of God.
I'd check my pride at the door if I were you.
I don't know who you are and if you preached the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) I am thankful for your service as a missionary. I am a pastor, and the news of anyone who sins saddens me greatly. I also know I am not above any sin, so I have to use caution in everything I do and everywhere I go. Women are not the problem, our own lust is the problem. We all have something in our lives we are struggling with which keeps us relying on God and it keeps us humble. The thing I want to remind you of is the fact that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. None of us are good or righteous without Jesus righteousness deposited in our account. Sir, what if your sins were made public. I know I don't want my sins displayed for all to see. We need to show grace, and the reason we can show others grace is because God gave us grace freely. We can show mercy because God shows us mercy. I have NEVER liked Pastor Steve's preaching or teaching. He has always been too arrogant and prideful in my view. I know Calvinist are wrong. They do not understand the will of God (1 Timothy 2:4) or the Mystery given to us by Paul (Ephesians 3:2-7). All I am trying to say is let us "examine ourselves" (2 Corinthians13:5) because "each one shall give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). By the way, Romans 14:12 is the verse that changed my life. I wasn't ready to give an account of my life to God. I was not ready and that verse scarred me to death. I do not have to give an account for you, I have a bigger problem; ME.
We need to pray for his family also and remember as we grieve thru the harm brought to GODS' Body...
1 Corinthians 10:12
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
It seems that the Reformed Baptist camp has surpassed the Charismatics in terms of high-profile celebrity pastors. It's easy to get caught up in the money and fame and lose focus on what's important.
People are to be blamed for their sin, but God is to be praised for preserving people. This is just a reminder, to keep us humble because we have no boast over Mr Lawson, because if we’re preserved, it is God. If we stumble it is us. I wonder if Mr Lawson knew the grace of God to preserve him, rather than trying to do it himself…
This just keeps getting worse. How could it have gone on for 5 years without no one knowing?
Kind of feeling like a cyb situation doesn’t it
5 years?
There is a sin in your own life (including mine) which has been going on for ages! It is the nature of man to cover our sins… till our Lord graciously exposes and brings us to repentance. May God have mercy!
@@rdcsqualus I agree
No one knows how long it's been going on. Repent of your gossip.
This is happening to more and more Pastors. God is exposing them and will continue to do so.