Dealing with sexual sin: Unforgivable or witness to saving grace?
An account of Ranchland Heights Baptist Church, Midland, Texas, being disfellowshipped by the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention appeared in the Feb. 27 issue of The Alabama Baptist. Such an action is of grave concern to me.
First, if the paragraph that reads, “Church officials have reportedly explained their decision as one of [Phillip] Rutledge being a changed man and Rutledge not allowed to be alone with children” is true, why should the EC overrule the local autonomy of the members of Ranchland Heights Baptist Church?
Second, will the church of the Lord Jesus Christ let the world define who God can forgive and whether a “registered” sex offender is beyond the pale of God’s grace?
Finally, what message is being sent to a sinful world concerning the welcoming arms of God for sinners who repent of their sin and start over by faith to serve God as He leads, despite past sin?
At the outset, I acknowledge that I have no personal knowledge of Phillip Rutledge, Ranchland Heights Baptist Church nor the circumstances that led to Rutledge being declared a registered sex offender in 2003. Everything related to this situation that I know has come from the account referenced above in The Alabama Baptist. I acknowledge that I am not all knowing as God is.
I know from the Bible that God hates sin so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for man’s sinfulness by shedding His atoning blood on Calvary’s cross. I also know that Jesus forgave sin that the religious community deemed “unforgivable” — for instance, the woman involved in adultery. Likewise, I know that Jesus appointed leaders in His church who had committed “grievous sin” — for instance, Peter denying Jesus thrice on the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion and Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of His church, and an accomplice to murder in the stoning of Stephen. Both Peter and Paul were forgiven by God’s grace and commissioned to serve God in establishing churches, nurturing believers as they lived and given the privilege of writing letters that He preserved to edify His church centuries later.
In a world that is desperately in need of salvation, how will such action be perceived by unsaved persons, to whom we witness about God’s saving grace, as one among many sins of this generation that cannot be forgiven by God or His church?
Finally, after the accusers of the adulterous woman left, Jesus instructed her to “Go and sin no more.” Jesus sought Peter and told him to “Feed my sheep.” Paul was commissioned by Jesus to become an apostle to the Gentiles. Additionally, Peter’s and Paul’s letters continue to be used of God to edify His church. Instead of letting the world define who can be forgiven or not by God, we need to applaud God’s grace which is greater that any singular sin or all the sin of the entire world.
I personally would like to see the EC restore fellowship to Ranchland Baptist Church because repentance and willingness to serve God is implied by the church as reported in the article. Additionally, I would ask the EC to encourage all the leaders of all SBC churches to be vigilant to prevent any sex offenses by leaders or members so these are not conversations needed going forward.
Let’s encourage all sinners to experience the grace of God by repenting of sin, regardless of how “mild” or how “heinous” the sin might be — and to believe in Jesus Christ by faith.
William D. Jones
Owens Cross Roads, Ala.
Counterpoint:
By Diane Langberg
Christian psychologist, trauma counselor, author
When churches have asked what I recommend when dealing with someone who has sexually abused children, my response is — do not allow him/her to attend church.
There is always pushback. The word grace is tossed about. But someone with such an infrastructure of deceit, feeding off the vulnerable and looking for ways to do it again, has been committing spiritual suicide. Because of that deadness, they cannot be trusted. It is foolish to think otherwise.
God says we do not even know our own deceitful hearts. Do we really think that if we permit an abuser of children into the sanctuary that we can guarantee the safety of the vulnerable? And do we not understand that even if nothing overt occurs, that deceptive heart and mind is feeding off the little ones sitting in the pews, strengthening his/her own sin patterns while looking good?
We have not only failed the vulnerable, we have also failed victims of abuse by another who now feel vigilant and fearful in God’s sanctuary. And we have failed the abuser, for we have left him/her in their prison, practicing that which is strangling their soul. There is no grace in leaving another in the prison of practiced sin, justified by deceptions. We become complicit in their spiritual suicide.
So what are we to do? Do we leave the abuser in their sin and keep them away from the church? No, to the first question. Yes, to the second. Bring the church to the abuser. I have worked with churches who have done this. A group of committed and mature adults meet once a week with the abuser and listen to the sermon, discuss it, check in, not only about actions and choices but also about thoughts and impulses.
Repentance is hard. It is not simply stopping a behavior. It is not words and tears. It is a slow undoing of deceptions — deceptions that allow us to feel okay about ourselves. It is however the path that follows Christ, whose central focus and motive was to always please the Father — no matter the cost. He invites us to come.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Adapted with permission. Read the full blog post at www.dianelangberg.com/2020/01/how-should-the-church-respond-to-abusers.
I found no words
My thoughts have been consumed with the plight of my brothers and sisters of color and the excruciating pain they experience ongoing by things infinitely worse than insensitive comments.
I found no words to adequately express the deep sorrow of my heart. I did, however, resolve I would work harder to banish the unfathomable sin of racism. Every human is imago Dei, made in the image of God. Each life is both sacred and precious, a gift from God. All are image bearers of our Creator.
We start this journey of racial reconciliation by recognizing the depth of our own depravity and brokenness before God. Let’s get on our knees and ask the Father to examine our hearts. Does mine beat in sync with His? Not if I engage in racism, including subtle and/or silent. Study the Word.
Do my actions line up with His commands? Not if I am an idle bystander letting injustice prevail.
Do I truly love my neighbor as myself?
Let’s confess our brokenness, ask forgiveness and honestly seek to understand the hurt and pain of others.
Let’s lean into gospel proclamation because only the hope found in Christ has the power to radically transform hearts.
—Sandy Wisdom-Martin
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Go forward, personally engaging people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jeff Iorg
President, Gateway Seminary
Words matter. They are incendiary or consolatory. They give, or they take away. They calm, or they stir. They encourage, or they discourage. They uplift, or they oppress. They heal, or they hurt. In light of teasing and bullying, we may like to say “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but it’s just not true. Words are powerful, and they can hurt. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue …” (Prov. 18:21).
Todd E. Brady
VP for university ministries, Union University
The gospel demands that we act in both loving compassion for the hurting through gospel witness as well as seeking justice in our legal and political systems. To work for gospel advance and then never speak against the injustice in our culture isn’t Christlikeness. And to work for social reform without gospel-centered evangelism is a temporary fix at best.
So, let’s be peacemakers of the highest kind. Let’s seek peace with God and peace with men. As we toil in the strength of God’s might for this, the lost world will know Whose we are. They will see that we are true, genuine sons and daughters of God.
James Hammack
Prattville, Ala.
Life is a series of transitions in which we decide to either loathe the change or learn to love yourself more and serve others willingly. Helping another person get through his or her struggles is the best way to get through yours.
Author Michael Alan Tate
“Roll Up Your Sleeves”
Christians, our allegiance is not to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, not even primarily to the United States, but to Christ alone. … May I encourage you to … simply, lovingly, be the body of Christ, whether gathered or dispersed, and tend to the needs of your community in this global pandemic. It is not the first that has affected the Church of Jesus Christ, and it will not be the last.
Nick Hamilton
Retired military
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From the Twitterverse
@drtonyevans
This is a defining moment for us as churches and citizens to decide whether we want to be one nation under God or a divided nation apart from God. If we don’t answer that question right and if we don’t
answer it quickly, we won’t be much of a nation at all.
@costiwhinn
Reminded (and convicted) this morning of how important “the way” we talk to other believers is. The Apostle John, addressing Christians who are confused about truth (including the gospel and genuine salvation), uses terms like “my dear children” (1 John 2:1) and “beloved” (2:7).
@DustinBenge
What are Christians to do during this time?
- Love the Lord your God (Matt. 22:37).
- Love your neighbor (Matt. 22:39).
- Give justice to the weak (Ps. 82:3).
- Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17).
- Be at peace with everyone (Rom. 12:18).
@marcusdh3
Unseen. Unnoticed. Seemingly uninvolved. But rest assured … He is “God with us!”
@MattMason3
Ray Ortlund: The hope of the gospel makes us cheerfully defiant toward every disappointment that we endure in this broken world.
@revandyfrazier
“It is hypocritical to pray for victory over our sins yet be careless in our intake of the word of God.”
— Jerry Bridges
@brandon_d_smith
The foundation of biblical-theological exegesis affirms that the unity of the Godhead (3-in-1) necessarily entails the unity of Scripture (66-in-1).
@DrABVines
Newsflash — there will be no chanting “USA, USA” in heaven. The only chanting will be “Holy, Holy is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of this world.” Let’s not forget we are not of this world. Heaven is our home.
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