How Biblical is the "If THAT guy can fall . . ." Response to Moral Failure Among Christian Leaders?

When yet another famous Christian leader commits sin serious enough to disqualify him from church office, it is indeed a wakeup call for leaders, and also laity, to be all the more alert to sin's presence and potential in our lives. But there’s something biblically off – several things, in fact – about the typical, well-intentioned responses that begin with, “Wow! If that guy can commit such serious sin, then I . . .” And that applies whether that guy is someone in current headlines or someone within the pages of Scripture.

Not only does such a response presume for that guy a degree of progress in sanctification that he clearly did not possess, but it also suggests that every other believer is perilously close to that kind of collapse. And while some believers might currently be that close, are all believers really just one or two steps away from catastrophic moral failure? Is this how Scripture wants all believers, regardless of personal context, to think of ourselves? What does this say about the efficacy of the Spirit’s sanctifying work within new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:16)? Depending on how we understand it, even the typical “there but for the grace of God go I” reaction can be more trite than true. And ironically, both responses can obscure the true severity of sin and just how subtly it operates.    

The “if that guy can fall …” response is meant to remind us of biblical truth: Sin’s desire is to have us (Genesis 4:7); we must always be on alert against Satan and his schemes(1 Peter 5:8), taking heed of ourselves lest we fall while we think we’re standing (1 Corinthians 10:12). Yes and amen! And that’s precisely why that response fails to be thoroughly biblical. If we really do find ourselves just one or two steps away from catastrophic sin, then that means sin has already possessed us to a far greater degree than we’ve reckoned with (Proverbs 28:14; Matthew 5:28; Ephesians 4:19). This means that there have been persistent patterns of compromise (Joshua 1:7; Galatians 5:13), accumulated instances of grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), a growing, sinful sense of entitlement and its attendant rationalizations (Genesis 3:1), and therefore an increasing level of personal comfort with sin – just so many further, heavier, more careless – indeed arrogant – steps on an apparently frozen lake whose cracks beneath our feet we keep ignoring until the collapse comes – perhaps in full view of the public.

Yes, when the collapse comes, it is a clarion wakeup call for anyone who sees it or hears of it, especially for any of us out on the lake taking those same sinful steps (Jude 23). But the call is different if we’re viewing that person’s public plunge from the shore. It’s a warning not to take even the first step on that lake of compromise (Genesis 39). This analogy falls apart, obviously. This side of the new heavens and the new earth, where righteousness dwells, there are no shores free from the danger of sin (2 Peter 3:11-13). But some sins are more heinous than others (Matthew 11:24), and therefore some shores, some paths, are safer than others. Some paths – and the day by day, behind-the-scenes, practical and prayerful decisions and commitments and accountability that blaze those paths - lead further and further away from catastrophic moral collapse. Some paths never take the first step toward it, and travel purposefully in the exact opposite direction (Proverbs 5). It is our responsibility as believers to pursue those paths and to encourage one another in that process (Psalm 23; Hebrews 10:25).

This is not a call to pave a path by way of arbitrary, externally-focused rules – Pharisaical and gnostic safeguards that never really engage the heart out of which sin proceeds (Matthew 15:8-20; Colossians 2:23; 2 Timothy 3:5). But perhaps we can do biblically better than the typical “If that guy can fall . . .” response, because it implicitly praises men for virtues not sufficiently possessed and it clearly signals how well some men hide their sin. Perhaps we can do biblically better than the “there but for the grace of God go I …” reaction as well. If not considered carefully enough, that response unintentionally obscures the vast amount of Spirit-occupied space that can exist between believers and catastrophic sin - space upon which believers are called to labor in the strength of their Savior (Philippians 2:12-16), actively rejoicing in and humbly taking to heart the gospel of his grace (Philippians 3:1; 1 John 1:6-9).

Let us indeed take news of catastrophic sin as an urgent opportunity for a Spirit-led, Scriptural audit of our souls (Psalm 139). But let’s move past those typical, well-meant but surfacey responses that might well terminate in mere sentiment, and that might well miss - and thus amplify - the actual presence and severity of sin. Let’s press forward in the positive, Christ-exalting steps of communal accountability, letting others look into potential areas of compromise in our lives (Ephesians 5:11; James 5:16); let us labor such that there is no ethical difference between who we are in public and who we are in private (John 3:20); let us be humbly open to correction, including confrontation over personal compromises we can’t currently see (Psalm 7; Psalm 141); let us honor, in word and in deed, from within our hearts outward, the promises and vows we’ve made (Psalm 116; 1 John 3:18); and let us celebrate the grace of the Triune God so powerfully operative among and within God’s people (2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). And may we be encouraged and led by the practical example of blameless (not sinless) undershepherds (1 Timothy 3) – there really are a lot of them!(Philippians 3:17) – to walk faithfully before our God.