“I have sinned!” he wailed, looking
into the assembled television cameras of the world, with tears streaming down
his cheeks. Thus began an exceedingly public and painful revelation of the
secret wickedness of one of the world’s most respected religious leaders. In
the months and years to come his secret sin would be played across the airwaves
and pages of the media in excruciatingly minute detail. Each twist and turn
down his increasingly perverted path would be recounted by journalists, eager
to be the first to ferret out another evidence of his total hypocrisy. His
willing participants would cash in on their fifteen minutes of dubious fame by
selling their side of the story. In conjunction with the equally squalid tale
of other famous televangelists, his story still reverberates decades later,
told with glee by worldlings confronted with a testimony of righteousness in a
coworker or relative. And whether it is the head of a national evangelical
organization, or a seasoned independent Baptist megachurch pastor, new stories
constantly stir up the old.
“I was almost in all evil in the
midst of the congregation and the assembly” (Proverbs 5:14) Solomon said,
in a warning to his son that he himself would not heed later in his life. Down
through history there have been countless instances of such hypocrisy. Men,
God’s men, lifted up as leaders before His people, are routinely discovered to
have been “in all evil in the midst of the congregation.”
Such was the case with Samson, a judge
in Israel in ancient times. While being used of the Lord to deliver His people
from the overbearing rule of the Philistines he slept with prostitutes and saw
the Philistine Delilah in secret.
Such was the case with David, the
second king of Israel, and arguably its greatest king. While enjoying a
sterling reputation and the affection of God’s people he committed adultery,
and then attempted to cover it up with murder and remarriage.
Such was the case with the devil
before time even started. While serving God in Heaven, on intimate terms with
all that is holy and pure, pride crept into his heart. In the home of all
righteousness, enjoying the confidence of the other angels, he fomented evil in
the midst of that heavenly congregation.
Scripture plainly teaches that, sooner
or later, every man with such secret sin hidden “in the chambers of his
imagery” (Ezekiel 8:12) will have that secret sin exposed to the harsh
light of a judgmental world. Moses instructed men in the tribes of Gad and
Reuben “be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). Christ
Himself, while discoursing with the disciples in a public manner warned them “that
which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the
housetops” (Luke 12:3). While men constantly close the door and pull the
blinds in an attempt to keep evil in the midst of the congregation hidden, or
drive to a distant city where they think they are unknown, and carefully check
that no acquaintance will see them, they proverbially fail to look UP! “Can
any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord”
(Jeremiah 23:24). God knows, and in the perfection of His timing, the whole
world knows as well.
When this private sin, done in secret
by God’s man, is discovered by the portion of God’s people following that man,
they are often completely at a loss. They are disgusted, disappointed, and
usually discouraged in their own service for Christ. Many a bitter,
disillusioned Christian sitting on the sidelines of Christianity found his
place there in reaction to the discovery of “evil in the midst of the
congregation” on the part of God’s man. The shock and dismay of good people
who were following what they sincerely believed was a good man is painful in
the extreme. The wound is not confined to the immediate family, or even the
immediate church, but spreads like a blot across all whose lives he touched in
his service for Christ. The hurt infects the hearts of congregations, friends,
and family, and often metastasizes until it swallows up the effective
Christianity of whole groups of God’s people, and brings intense reproach upon
the name of Christ.
One of the common and most oft heard
imprecations uttered in the wake of such a spiritual disaster is this: “How
could it be that God appeared to be using him so marvelously and yet he was so
thoroughly evil so long?” Christians with a unique and loyal love for the man
they feel God used in a special way in their own life will react with
incredulity and befuddlement, wondering about all they have seen God do in
their own life, and in their church’s life, with that man.
I know…because I experienced it myself
personally…twice.
When I was just a boy, one of God’s
choice servants, fresh out of Bible college, with all the zeal and enthusiasm
of youth on fire for God, moved into our area and accepted the pastorate of a
dying church not far from ours. Within the space of a few years he had built
that church from 30 to 400, with all the accompanying buildings, ministries,
plaudits, and praise that go along with it. As a teenager I got to know him
somewhat, and watched carefully, for I was already preparing to pastor myself,
and thought I might learn much from such a man. Then the day came that he
suddenly resigned the pulpit of a growing, successful work, and slowly but
surely the sordid details leaked out. The devastation that man’s life wrought
in that youth group I knew so well, in the Christian school his church
sponsored that I attended, in that church, in neighboring churches, and even
across the country in a somewhat limited national way is incalculable. While I
saw some Christians react with grace and maturity, many if not most reacted
with the sorrow and befuddlement I have already described. I spent many a hurt
and lonely hour puzzling over the how and why myself. Surely it was only by the
grace of God that I did not become another bitter and disillusioned casualty,
blaming my own Christian immaturity on another man’s sins.
Later, while in Bible college, a man
on staff at the college, greatly respected and followed for his apparent zeal
in service for Christ, left his wife and his calling after becoming “evil in
the midst of the congregation and assembly.” I had heard him preach often,
and actually shared some shifts with him at a steel mill he worked at part time
in the summers, and his private sin, publicly revealed, likewise caused pain
and puzzlement in my heart.
How is it possible, that these men,
serving God and seeming to achieve great things while doing so, are revealed to
have been hiding some terrible sin for so long?
I have pondered long and hard on that. If you will allow me to say
this humbly, I have searched the Scriptures for the answer. The pain and
puzzlement I spoke of in my own life is replicated in thousands of others on an
all too frequent basis, and perhaps the Lord will grant to them some measure of
consolation and understanding in the answers He has given me. To that end,
“that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (II Corinthians 1:4) over the
next eight weeks I am going to offer for your consideration those answers that
have most helped me. I am sure I do not have all the answers and, as always, I
welcome your comments and questions. But I hope that these next few weeks will
help God's people to understand these awful situations better, and thus be
emotionally and spiritually prepared when they happen.
Maybe you should have asked Jack Hyles, his son and many more that ran in that crowd.
ReplyDeleteThe United States of America is the only country that has ever existed in the history of mankind that has ever produced the oxymoron known as the Christian celebrity.
ReplyDeleteThe only other time in history where a believer was exalted by the people was when Jesus himself was celebrated on Palm Sunday. And that didn't last too long.
Jesus' warning in Luke 6:26 has a deeper meaning and it's not just a warning to false prophets but to any believer of standing who enjoys a good reputation. "Beware when all men speak well of you" could also say "Beware when everyone around you speaks well of you." because the Devil can do so much damage when Christians get proud.
After reading this article, Pastor, I went and looked up Jimmy Swaggart on Wikipedia and learned the tragic details of what went on with him that I didn't know before. There was a lot more wickedness than I thought. I don't know if I'm going to enjoy his program much anymore although it's his wife Frances now that has a program I still enjoy once in a while. But I'm not sure what I think about her anymore either.
Your thoughts, Pastor?
BTW, this is one reason I am reluctant and hesitant to compliment Pastors no matter how highly I esteem them. I never want to be guilty of flattery.
DeleteI think, in a sense, there have always been celebrity Christians. Having said that, I also think that our American culture has ramped up the production of said celebrity Christian. I like the term 'rock star pastor' as descriptive in this sense.
DeleteIn relation to Swaggart I've read two books on his life and spent a few hours trolling Youtube for stuff. He is a cautionary tale for sure. I know too much about him now to enjoy his preaching or teaching.