Should a Pastor Come Back After Committing Adultery?

Christian sin and fail, sometimes in horrific ways.

But if a pastor commits adultery and repents, should he be allowed to pastor his church again? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. And this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Call us right now with your question at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. And on social media, you can post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. Or email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Well, if you're a parent and you're already doing some Christmas shopping, have you considered a classic toy from your own childhood?

If so, this might interest you. The National Toy Hall of Fame in New York has just announced this year's inductees. They include the classic Baby Nancy doll, sidewalk chalk, and the game Jenga. The museum says Baby Nancy was created back in 1968. It became the best selling black doll in Los Angeles by the end of that year.

And then it became so popular it was distributed nationwide. Sidewalk chalk was chosen due to it being one of the earliest known examples of an artistic toy. And Jenga, the block stacking game, was invented by English woman Leslie Scott.

It was based on wooden block toys from her childhood growing up in Africa. You ever played Jenga, Adriel? Honestly, Bill, we just played the other day with our kids. It's a lot of fun. And our kids happen to like it. The only thing is, with our family, it's hard to like, who wins?

There's no real clear winner. I feel like just one loser. And it's usually the two year old, right? That's right. Yeah.

Well, you know, I lose sometimes as well. It did get me thinking though, Bill, what are your favorite childhood toys? Well, the little green army men were pretty popular. Oh, yeah, I definitely had my fair share of army men. GI Joes, too. I happened to love GI Joes when I was a kid. Those are, I think, my favorite. We would do complete battle scenes.

We would actually do full on wars with our GI Joes. So it got pretty violent, my brother and I. Well, let's get to our first question of the day. This one is an email from Christina, and she says, Hi, Pastor Adriel. My question is, what do you do when the truths of the gospel, the Bible, and everything we believe as Christians sometimes just doesn't feel real? What do you do when the experiences of your life seem more random than guided by a loving God? Oh, it sounds like there are really two questions there, Christina. The first one related to feelings.

And let me just say this. Sometimes in the Christian life, we're going to have to fight our feelings. I know that that sounds weird, because we live in a society today where it's all about just embracing your feelings.

You know, don't let anyone tell you how to feel. And for so many people, feelings are what determine truth. I remember some time ago talking with a friend who's not a Christian, and we were walking by this large Roman Catholic Church, and they said, Oh, when I was a kid, you know, I used to go there, but I just never felt anything.

And then I went to a Buddhist temple. And when I was there, I began to have these feelings. And so they associated that with this must be real because I'm feeling something. But the fact of the matter is, our feelings don't determine what is true or not true. The Christian faith isn't based on feelings.

It's based on real historical events on what God did, acting in history. And so sometimes you're going to really be struck by those realities, and you're going to feel it, so to speak. And other times, you know, you wake up in the morning, you just don't feel anything. And so we have to be really careful that we don't let ourselves be driven by our feelings, but by what God's Word has said, and by the faith that God has given to us. We're trusting in what God has said. Now, I don't think that you're the only one who struggles with this, Christian.

I think that we all do. And there's this psalm oftentimes that I go to. It's this prayer, and I think it can be encouraging for you.

It is certainly for me. It's in Psalm 39, beginning in verse 4. Listen to what the psalmist prayed. O Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days? Let me know how fleeting I am. Behold, you have made my days a few handbreaths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath.

Surely a man goes about as a shadow. Now, let me tell you what I find encouraging about that. If there's anything that's certain to every single person living on the planet right now, it's that one day we will die.

Nothing could be more obvious. And yet a lot of times, isn't it the case, Christina, that we don't live in light of that reality, that we don't quote-unquote feel it? You see, what the psalmist is doing here is he's saying, Lord, help me to know, to understand, to live according to that which is reality, that which is true.

He's saying, help me to live in light of the fact that life is short, it's fleeting, and so to use my life in order to honor you. But what I find encouraging about this is he recognizes that sometimes, right, some of the most obvious truths are the truths that are hard for us to live by, that we don't fully grasp. I mean, everybody in the world knows that we're going to die one day, but very few people live in light of that reality because they don't feel like it, frankly. We don't live, and we can't live on the basis of how we feel, but on the basis of what is true. And we know what is true from what God has said in his word, and so, Christina, when we feel like, ah, I don't know if this is real, I don't know if it's true, we go back to God's word and we rest in what God has said. Now, the second part of your question, man, this is so important. You know, how do we make sense of the events in our lives?

It just seems sort of random. Is God really in control? Is he really the one who's leading me, who's guiding me? It really is the why question behind the circumstances of our lives.

And with that, you're going to need patience. Sometimes we don't see how God is piecing the puzzle together, but he is. Do you remember Joseph? He has this dream that all of his brothers are going to bow before him. He thinks God is speaking to him, and God was speaking to him, but what happened?

His brothers betrayed him and left him for dead. Imagine what was going through his mind as he sat at one point in his life in a prison cell in Egypt. It all probably seemed random, hopeless even, but in the end, he saw how God used all of it, all of the random experiences that he had went through. Think of that passage in Genesis chapter 50.

I mean, it's one of those verses that I think is good for all Christians to memorize, because it's so practical for our lives and thinking about this very question that you're asking, Christina. Genesis chapter 50, in verse 20, when he's speaking with his brothers, he says, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. In other words, God used all of the circumstances in his life, the ones that seemed random and even unexplainable in light of God's promise.

He used all of it to make Joseph a blessing to his brothers. You see, you don't know why God is doing the things that he's doing right now in your life, but we have to be patient and continue to trust in the Lord and to look to him. And one day, maybe not in this lifetime, but certainly when we're in the presence of the Lord, we're going to see how it all fits together, and we're going to marvel at God's glorious plan. Christina, thank you so much for your email, and we pray that you will find that comfort in the Lord. And again, don't focus on your feelings, but focus on the truth of God's word and what he has done for us. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and if you've got a question for us, you can call us at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. Yes, good afternoon.

My name is Jose, and I'm calling from Aurora, Illinois. My question is concerning a lady that called you guys and asked you a question about preachers saying that you must say a sinner's prayer to become saved. I think your answer was out of Acts, where you have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But I was wondering why you did not include John 3, where Jesus told Nicodemus that you must be born again. I find that throughout the whole Bible that the work of salvation belongs only to God. Thank you so much. Bye.

Yeah, Jose, thank you so much. So you're referring to a caller who asked us, essentially, what do I need to do to be saved? And so I went to that passage in Acts chapter 16, where the Philippian jailer asked that same question.

Sort of funny, last night we read that story to our kids, and when we got to that point, you know, what must I do to be saved? The question of the Philippian jailer, we asked our kids, okay, what do you think? What do you think Paul said?

And it was sort of funny to hear our kids' responses. But Paul responds, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there are all sorts of things that we could say. I mean, obviously, belief, Jose, and you get this, is a work of the Holy Spirit. I mean, faith is a gift that comes from God. I really like the way that you put it there, that salvation is all of grace. It's all the Lord.

He gets all the credit. And yet, it's very clear in the Bible that you and I are the subjects of faith. That is, I believe and you believe. God isn't believing for us, but he's the one who gives the gift of faith. See, the Bible says that all of us outside of Christ are spiritually dead, and that's why we need to be born again. I mean, the passage you were referring to in John chapter 3, Paul makes it absolutely clear in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning in verse 1.

He says to the Ephesian Christians, You see what Paul is saying there? He's saying, you were dead, spiritually dead, people outside of Christ. You know, we have a lot of talk today about being spiritual but not religious.

I'm spiritual, but the reality is, Paul says there is no true spirituality outside of Christ. It's spiritual death, and so what we need is not just a little bit of religion added to our lives, a little bit of morality. What we need is resurrection from the dead, spiritual resurrection, if you will. We have to be made alive, and that is the new birth referred to by Jesus in John chapter 3.

You have to be born again. It's the work of the Holy Spirit, as you say, but when that happens, the result of that is faith. We believe in Jesus Christ.

We trust in him. We receive all the gifts that he gives to us by faith, and so it's not attention necessarily. I mean, I think of it like what Paul says to the Philippians. It's God who is at work in us both to will and to do for his good pleasure, and right before that, he said, Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. We're called to believe. We're called to repent. We're called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but guess what? It really is the work of the Lord and his Spirit in us, through us, and we do those things because God is at work, and the result of that is God gets all the glory as we marvel at his grace, as we marvel at the fact that it wasn't me. It wasn't my goodness, my righteousness that caused God to extend his grace to me.

Actually, I was dead in trespasses and sins. It was his love, his mercy, his Spirit, and so salvation is the work of the Lord, and yet we're called to believe, and that faith is something that we exercise, but it's a gift from God. Thanks, Jose. Jose, thanks so much for being one of our regular listeners.

We really do appreciate it. You're listening to CORE Christianity, where we answer your questions about the Christian faith every day. We have an amazing team of people behind us producing this show. They write the CORE articles for our website. They produce our Bible studies. These are resources that are helping you and other believers more fully understand the gospel and also to have the confidence to share your faith. Now, as you can imagine, that requires a lot of different people to come alongside us and support this work.

Yeah, we cannot do this without your prayers and your support, and that's why we're asking you to come alongside of us and become a regular supporter. With a monthly donation of $25 or more, you can join what we call the inner CORE and be a part of the team that makes this show possible. And by becoming a member of the inner CORE, we're also going to send you a signed copy of the book that started it all, CORE Christianity, Finding Yourself in God's Story, by our founder, Dr. Michael Horton, just like this program where we're trying to dive into the core truths of the Christian faith and help you better understand the teaching of the Bible.

That's what this book does. And so head over to corechristianity.com forward slash inner core to learn more, or give us a call at 833-the-core. Again, that's 833-843-2673. Well, let's get to another question that came in, Adriel. This one's all the way from Australia, from Julian. He says, Hi there.

I live in Brisbane, Australia, and I love listening to your podcast. I came to faith nine years ago after being raised in a Catholic atheistic upbringing. My atheist father asked me this question the other night. If God exists, then who created God?

I didn't know how to answer him. I'm hoping you can shed some theological insight into this. Thank you so much, Julian. Hey, Julian, God bless you, and God bless your father as you have these conversations with him. I mean, even the fact that he asked this question, I appreciate it when people who don't believe in God or maybe have different beliefs about the Christian faith than we do as Christians are willing to talk about it and ask questions.

And so I'm grateful for the opportunity that you have. And the thing is, a lot of times people today think about God in a creaturely way. You see, God is so different than we are. We assume that because we had a beginning, because we're finite and dependent upon other things that, well, God must be as well. But see, God is totally distinct from his creation.

We are the creatures. He is the creator. He's uncreated.

He never had a beginning. He's not dependent upon anything or anyone. God doesn't need oxygen to breathe. He doesn't need anything for his existence.

He is. And that's what we have a difficult time understanding. And I understand that we have a difficult time understanding it because God is totally other. I mean, that's part of what it means that he's holy.

He's not like us. And so when people ask me this question, I've heard this question many times. My kids have asked this question.

I mean, it is sort of one of the things that baffles us. Well, who created God? Well, there is no one. No one created God because God is not created. He's uncreated. He's the creator.

We're the creature, and we're dependent upon him, and he gives us life, and he gives us ultimate life through his son, Jesus Christ. And that's where you want to go when you talk to your dad, ultimately. I mean, we can get into all these sort of speculative conversations about God and his existence, and it is good, I think, to address these things and to give biblical answers. But ultimately, you know where you want to go? You want to go to the gospel.

You want to go to the grace of God in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that he extends to all of us. And so keep having conversations with your dad. Hopefully this gives you a little bit of insight as to how to approach the question, just reminding him, hey, God is different than we are. This is what the Bible teaches. God is not like us. He wasn't created. He created us, and he redeemed us when we fell away from him.

Amen. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Anthony went to our Twitter account and posted this, I saw in the news that a famous pastor was recently fired for committing adultery. I then wondered if pastors should be allowed to come back and pastor a church again after committing adultery.

I know that Christians sin and fail sometimes in horrific ways, but should they lead in the same capacity that they once did? Anthony, I think I saw the same news article or the same story that you're referring to. And there are just so many that you hear about. I'm sure it breaks your heart. It breaks my heart.

Frankly, it's absolutely terrifying. And so the first thing I think when we're confronted with this is we have to humble ourselves and say, Lord, have mercy. Have mercy upon that church. Have mercy upon all the people involved, including the pastor, but especially for the people who have been hurt. Lord, have mercy and Lord, have mercy on me. We should never hear these stories and get puffed up and think, oh gosh, I'm doing, boy, if I compare myself to that person, I'm doing pretty good.

No. Paul says in first Corinthians chapter 10 verse 12, therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. That's the attitude we need to have. Or in Galatians chapter six verse one, brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself lest you too be tempted. Temptation is very real.

There isn't any person who is immune from it. I mean, you just read the scriptures, read the Old Testament and you look at all of these even great men of God, like David, Moses, people who at one point in their lives succumbed to temptation, various temptations. And it should be a sobering reminder for each and every one of ourselves to humble ourselves, to cry out to the Lord for his mercy for ourselves and for these people. And so I just want to start with that because this is such a heavy thing, a heartbreaking thing. Now, what about restoring someone who falls into a serious temptation, in this case, adultery? Well, look, I'm of the opinion that it is possible to restore such a person to ministry, but I think a lot of times in the church today, we do it way too quickly. I think there has to be a lot of healing, years of healing.

And it has to be something I think that is worked through, not just with this individual, but with, frankly, the victims. The church is the ultimate victim in situations like this where there's this betrayal and a lot of hurt. And it makes it very difficult for people in the church who have felt betrayed, who have been hurt to even be able to listen to someone like that teach. And that's why it's absolutely devastating when something like this happens and it's not dealt with and a person continues to, quote unquote, minister, is restored to their pastorate really quickly or even to another pastorate.

That is a real, real problem. And so it could be that the best thing is for an individual to say, OK, maybe it's time for me to do something else, maybe not to lead a church, but just to humble myself and to be in the church for a long period of time and to focus on receiving the grace of God instead of trying to teach anyone anything. It is possible to restore a person, but I think, Anthony, it takes a long time to restore them back to ministry.

And it's not a sure thing. One of the reasons I think that we're so quick a lot of times to do this in the church to restore people who, frankly, I think shouldn't be restored necessarily is because we value competency over character. We really can use people, I think, for their gifts. And you have a charismatic leader who's a great teacher that people are drawn to.

They've got this attractive personality. They're able to lead the church and so on and so forth, but they're missing the character that is needed to lead the church. And at the end of the day, what ends up happening is it comes back to haunt us.

It comes back to haunt the church because of the fallout. We need to pray for churches, for the people involved, for families that are really hurting now because of these situations and ask God for his mercy. And we need to be reminded of what Paul said in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1 about the qualifications for ministry. Giftedness, competency is a part of that. A person has to be able to teach, but so much of the focus there is character. You know, Adriel, it seems like often these situations take place when you have these very powerful charismatic leaders who aren't really accountable.

Their elders or the individuals they should be accountable to are not holding them to accountability. And can you just comment briefly on why that is so critical for a pastor to have that sort of team around him? Well, you need to have that kind of accountability, one, because it's biblical. I mean, the New Testament churches were led by a plurality of elders. And so it wasn't just like one gifted leader who was the king of everything and called all the shots.

There were groups of called and qualified men who were leading these churches. And I just think it's a safeguard. I mean, in God's infinite wisdom, this is how he ordained that the church should be established. And typically when you have just one leader who's calling all the shots and he's charismatic and everybody loves this individual, it's easy for that to go to someone's head.

And it's just so easy in isolation to do things that you wouldn't do had there have been accountability. And so we need that. Now, we recognize ultimately that our Lord Jesus Christ is the chief shepherd. We as pastors and as church leaders need to put the focus on Jesus because he is the hope of humanity. And as we all together fix our eyes upon Jesus, he builds healthy churches in our midst. Fix your eyes on Jesus. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this podcast. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.