Friday, December 22, 2006

Downplaying Sin

My head is still swimming in light of the recent news of Grace Chapel (our previous church in the Denver area) and its senior pastor. For those unaware of the situation, he publicly announced several days ago his struggle with homosexuality and his periodic indiscretions over the past 25 years – all of which was new information for both his family and the church which he founded. The report is, of course, in the footsteps of the latest confessions of homosexuality by Ted Haggard at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. My heart is heavy and saddened; the impact of a secret life of sin is far reaching. For the spiritually mature, the wounds will heal and a new awareness/sensitivity will arise. For the spiritually immature, they will struggle with trusting a church and its leaders for a long season. How can a pastor espouse a viewpoint that his own lifestyle contradicts?

At some point, a decision must have been made to hide the struggle. At some point, the choice was made to limit the level of openness and honesty the senior pastor, Paul Barnes, had with his wife and closest confidants. While I do not agree or condone such an action, I can understand it. A person in ministry is under tremendous pressure to perform, to be a certain kind of person that is (in all practicality) free from any significant issues of sin. The pressure is applied both internally and externally. In light of this pressure, it becomes easy to downplay sin altogether. I know (from personal experience) how easy it is to talk and teach about a host of Christian issues and topics, of Christian doctrine and practice, and yet avoid talking about sin. It may be spoken of, but only in a general sense. Confession and repentance become lost components of corporate worship and fellowship.

1 John 1:8-9 are telling, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

There is a certain pain involved in being open and honest about sin, and there is a measure of risk in “confessing to one another (James 5:16)” and to God. I have been reading in Hosea the past few weeks, and the first three verses of chapter six I keep returning to frequently. The prophet is encouraging Israel, “Come; let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has injured us, but he will bind our wounds…” Turning toward the LORD is a turning away from sin – it is bringing issues of sin to light, wrestling with them, and working through them as one seeks God. Hosea continues in verse three: “Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him.” I am convinced that the process of acknowledging God goes hand in hand with dealing with sin. It seems so simple and easy to separate the two.

For Adina and me, we have revisited the nature of our openness with each other. Can we be honest with each other about our struggles? Especially in the area of sexuality (and its many sides and angles), can we speak freely about our present condition? I have heard men make the claim that they do not want to discuss their sexual temptations or struggles with their spouse in an effort to “protect” them or to maintain their “innocence.” And I can understand the mentality and rationale. But I am convinced that such issues need to be talked about, no matter how difficult they may be. Working through them as a couple, I believe, will only make the marriage stronger and create a greater resolve to keep from sin. Paul Barnes has wrestled with homosexuality for years, and his wife never knew. May I never be in the same situation!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually believe the "pressure to perform, to be a certain kind of person that is (in all practicality) free from any significant issues of sin" IS a Biblical expectation that a congregation must have of its leadership. Not just a "nice to have." It would truly be a sad commentary on our Christian communities if we were unable to find church leaders that weren't free of significant sin. Those in a position of leadership - while certainly not free of sin - should definitely, in accordance with Scriptural mandates, be held to standards commensurate with his or her position of influence. (See all passages stating qualifications for 'Overseer.') The "pressure" should not be an expectation of perfection, but do we think the passages dictating leadership be "above reproach" allows for a life of "significant sin?" Clearly not. However, the standards are not applied condemningly, but as a barometer of the "fitness" of one's character. While church leaders are sinners like everyone else, the expectations are appropriately greater. They must be free of significant sin, or be freed of their ministry influence. Only after appropriate confession, repentance, healing, etc. can one be re-instated to a position of leadership – and even that is no guaranteed possibility. Some sin ruins forever one’s “formal” ministry potential.

I think it is also arguable that a greater expectation should be placed on each individual who calls himself or herself a Christian. We’ve so “strained” the grace of Christ such that we relish our frail character and sinful dispositions, as if we some how magnify the work of the cross to a sinful world by our personal failures. I’d rather the Church be full of redeemed sinners – progressing in salvation – NOT sinners like the rest of the world. Surely, we are at risk of trying to “make grace abound all the more” in our desire to relate to a world we hope to save.

Some thoughts about sin and confession from Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He has very practical insights into how sin rules us and how we "downgrade" it when we remove it from the communal context.

"It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners." - pg. 110.

"Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person. This can happen even in the midst of a pious community. In confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought into the light. The unexpressed must be openly acknowledged. All that is secret and hidden is made manifest. It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted." pg. 112.

"Since the confession of sin is made in the presence of a Christian brother, the last stronghold of self-justification is abandoned. The sinner surrenders; he gives up all his evil. He gives his heart to God, and he finds the forgiveness of all his sin in the fellowship of Jesus Christ and his brother. pg. 112.

“In confession occurs the break-through to the Cross. The root of all sin is pride. I want to be my own law, I have a right to my self, my hatred, and my desires, my life and my death. The mind and flesh of man are set on fire by pride. Confession in the presence of a brother is the profoundest kind of humiliation. It hurts; it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride. To stand there before a brother as a sinner is an ignominy that is almost unbearable. In the confession of concrete sins the old man dies a painful, shameful death before the eyes of a brother. Because this humiliation is so hard we continually scheme to evade confessing to a brother. Our eyes are so blinded that they no longer see the promise and the glory in such abasement….It was none other than Jesus Christ himself who suffered the scandalous, public death of a sinner in our stead. He was not ashamed to be crucified for us as an evildoer…In the deep mental and physical pain of humiliation before a brother- which means, before God – we experience the Cross of Jesus as our rescue and salvation.” pg. 113-114.

“Why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins to God than to a brother? God is holy and sinless, He is a just judge of evil and the enemy of all disobedience. But a brother is sinful as we are. He knows from his own experience the dark night of secret sin. Why should we not find it easier to go to a brother than to the holy God? But if we do, we must ask ourselves whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution.” – pg. 115-116.

Anonymous said...

Than,

You may want to consider transitioning to the new blogger (now out of Beta). I don't know if others are having any difficulties, but I'm finding I have login trouble when posting comments on your blog.

j

Than Brown said...

So...the whole "finding I have login trouble when posting comments on your blog" thing was just my experience as well. I wrote an extensive response that somehow did not post properly. I have updated to the new blogger as suggested (and given things a face lift of sorts). Here is the shortened version of my thoughts.

I certainly agree that believers are to adhere to a particular moral standard of conduct that is detailed in scripture. That moral standard is even higher for pastors and church leaders - the passages in 1 Timothy and Titus that detail the qualifications of "overseers" are certainly to be taken seriously. So there is a healthy "pressure" that is founded in the Holy Spirit and should permeate the consciences of all Christians, especially those in leadership roles within a local congregation. For Paul Barnes, I believe, that healthy pressure morphed into an unhealthy quest for perfection (or the appearance of perfection), which led him down a path that removed his "fitness" for ministry some time ago. I only pray that he is willing to walk through the steps of restoration mentioned above.

The quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together are very appropriate to the discussion as well - thanks for bringing them to light. May we each carefully and methodically weigh Romans 6:1-4. In fact, this entire passage is well worth the read; I implore my readers to wrestle through its theological concepts and implications in connection to this particular post.

txsorange said...

Now that's some face lift - looking good. Now, somehow all my previous posts are now tagged as anonymous. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. We'll see how this post goes.