Eh, the Billy Graham rule is just an excuse to keep women out of the workforce, it is not wise, it springs from the same love of power and control that encourages celebrities to have affairs.
Thank you for this. I needed it. I listened to this fallen pastor for years and endorsed his books etc. My heaet is broken, and has been broken since his poor choices came to light. 😢
Without meaning to attack or defend anyone, has what this pastor done in any way changed the nature of God or the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for His people? I know that you may be hurting now and I don't want to dismiss your feelings in any way because I am sure that they are real. But please consider moving forward that if your foundation is built on Christ alone then these kinds of events will have little impact on your faith. That's not to say that I am not sorrowful for this pastor who has sinned, and I am concerned for his spiritual health as I would be for any other Christian who finds themselves in the grips of the flesh. Just keep in mind that we are saved through the shed blood of our dear Savior and that nothing can every take us from God's hand (John 10:28). My prayer for us all is that our emotions will not cloud the glory of the salvation that God has give to us through faith in Christ.
Thank you for this admonition. At Western Seminary, 50 years ago they taught us this: "There two things you must not touch, unless they are your own: Women and Money."
I’m new here, just wanted to say I feel the love of Jesus when I heard this man speak. You can feel the kindness and the gentleness while at the same time he’s being real and honest. Thank you.
Thank you Dr. Molher for your commentary regarding this great tragedy. I was brought to repentance through the preaching of this man. As I layed at home recovering from a motorcycle accident. I would like to remind us all to bear in mind Matt 7: 1-5 and Romans 3:23. We are all sinners saved by grace.
Matthew 7:5: You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the speck out of your brother's eye. So you think the other pastors are hypocrites too? Hypocrites and sinners? I would not call Lawson a house. But the American "church" may be a great house. Foolish pastors have build their house on doctrines Matthew 7:26-27: 26 And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Thank you Dr. Mohler, #Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So #flee #youthful #passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have #nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ~2 Timothy 2:21-23
Oh my, remember when when Steven laughed aloud about Allester Beggs advice to a grandmother as being stupid? My grandmother, many years ago used to say to a teenaged me, 50 years ago, to counsel me that to be careful “ no matter who you think you are, if you pursue a life of sin, your sin will find you out.” Yes, Grandma, and thank you for still reminding me that it is still true.
Amen pastor. May we not fail to remember that WE TOO are flesh and bone; capable of yielding to temptation if we take our eyes off of Christ. (Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you were called. Eph 4:1)
no one saw it coming. it came. it happens way too often. how do we keep each other accountable? do we ask one another candid questions like, how are you doing in your relationship with the Lord, with yourself, with your wife/family? one might lie when they answer, but the Spirit might convict him. I'll be praying for those God has called to minister His Word, may God hold their hearts in His hand, may God keep them, may God lead them in straight path.
Did God called anyone of them? Did God sent anyone of them? Jeremiah 14:14: Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.
@Packhorse-bh8qnno, only the celebrities we worship are allowed to be considered. The “little people” don’t matter. (Yes, this is sarcasm, but it’s exactly what the original comment is saying.)
@Packhorse-bh8qn Surely I agree that the young women and her family needs prayer, we all do. In addition, please consider this: if a christian women is talking intimately to a man who is married, she has the responsiblity before God to break off all ties to him. Also, as a christian women, she should be appalled about a man who is talking intimately with her. I pray enlightenment for all. Blessings
You should have applied 1 Timothy 5:20 and named S.L. "Those who continue in sin rebuke in the presence of all so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning."
@Packhorse-bh8qnIt is verified he had a 5 year relationship with a woman not his wife. It is not rumor, and it is not sin to expose it, and to remove an unrepentant sinner from Christ's church. Would you like to edit your comment.?
Thanks, so true. The words of Jesus that we claim for ourselves we can claim for this man and woman. Repent and sin no more. Then continue to serve the God who forgave us while we were still sinners, in the new work opened to them. May God be glorified.
Over the years, the wisdom that has been revealed to me keeps me from jumping to conclusions as well as accusations. It's not likely that the adulterous relationship started as hot & heavy as it ended, meaning that the slope is often imperceptible, and a man can find himself turning sinful after years of a relationship that was not previously sinful. It may be true and worse than I imagine, but I've been involved in too many confessions to assume that this case is just like all the rest. To all who read this - there are years worth of a mans life summed up in one sentence. Be very patient in holding your heart back from conclusions.
Hypocrisy at the highest level. I am recovering from one of those churches where members were treated horribly for their sins but the pastor and his dominions were doing the same thing and it was simply swept under the rug. That church did so much damage and I know so many people who walked away from the faith because of it.
I think what is lacking today in churches is how to talk to men (and pastors) that feel lonely, misunderstood and frustrated. Noone wants to speak about the circumstances from which these things arise, it's only about how awful some dude is somewhere.
There’s a lot of this happening because it has always happened. That the history can no longer be hidden has always damaged the teaching of the gospel, and we are called to repent of what the church has always been, not to protect what the church has always been.
God is cleaning out his pulpits in his churches from all the wolves in sheep’s clothing. He can ask for forgiveness and make himself right with God but never to get in the pulpit again.
I don't think SL is a "wolf". Like King David in his fall with Bathsheba, he's a fallen brother. Remember that God called David a "man after his own heart." Certainly not a wolf amongst the sheep.
1 John 1:9 is true for all believers. If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
A sad heart breaking situation. I venture to say that the Billy Graham rule is just only a rule, and the law doesn't keep you from sin. Had this been anyone else, but one of evangelicalism's golden boys, it would be called out as a heart issue. Give me a break! She was 20 and he in his late 60s five years. He preached all over the world for 5 years living in sin. He didn't come forward on his own. This is a Big heart issue. Please don't soften this for us because we all know if it has been one of the sheep it would be called what it is. I've been alone for a long long time and have not needed a chaperone...
As a single woman there are so many wolves in the pews and pulpits until I feel safer at my local Walmart than at a church. I’m just going to have a women’s home Bible study and leave these men with their wandering hearts and eyes to themselves at the show they call the church.
Forgive me for asking this, but why would you go out of your way to identify the individual when Mr. Mohler said that he didn't want to do that? I feel that it's quite disrespectful.
@@toddbu-WK7L Oh please. Why do people rush to defend a powerful HYPOCRITE who graveley preached the importance of a minister being a “godly man” but can’t keep his own 🍆 in his pants? All along he was no doubt lusting after the pretty girls and finally ended up *freely choosing* to cheat on his wife and dilly-dally with another woman - for who knows how long? Give me a break. If this were just some random dude in a crappy marriage with a crappy job and a generally crappy life it would be one thing; naming and shaming would just be mean-spirited and out of place. But Steve Lawson was a man with power, money, respect, and influence who *freely chose* to abuse his position, trash his marriage, flout his high-falutin’ “principles” and bring shame upon the faith that was supposed to be so important to him. Lawson fully deserves to be publicly named and shamed for his hypocrisy, his abuse, and the damage he’s done and there is nothing in the least “disrespectful” in doing so.
When you worship a man and a Denominational machine ( A revered institution) you will be disappointed, after all we are ALL the same weak flesh, Even the self righteous accusers who are in a marriage themselves unknowingly on the brink of collapse. But not with Jesus himself.
@@marlak1104 actually, I think that it is. How many UA-cam videos have popped up in my feed, all of them using the similar "tragedy" language in this video. Yet Christ is the God of the universe, and nothing this one man has done or will do ever can ever change that.
It’s like being sad when you hear someone you know is divorcing. It’s just sad. Certainly don’t worship them but as a human you feel when people get hurt/ hurt someone else.
Very true. I was very surprised to see that the church called themselves a "Bible" church. Usually, that name is only used by churches that rightly divide the two gospels. II Timothy 2:15-Ephesians 1:13-14 - I Corinthians 15:1-4.
A Statement to Southern Seminary and Boyce College, Sep 26, 2024 Response: 1. I concur with the subtext "Dr. Mohler delivers a word from the heart in chapel to Southern Seminary and Boyce College." 2. Now that it has been over a week since the "catastrophic" news came about regarding Dr. Steve Lawson, shouldn't there be some kind of scrutiny as to where he stands in relation to the form of the Gospel he preached? 3. Dr. Lawson was a staunch Calvinist, even going so far to state at the Ligonier Ministries' 2009 National Conference, The Holiness of God containing his address, 'The Legacy of John Calvin', given on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth: "Rightly has one contemporary author identified John Calvin as the man of the millennium, meaning he is the single greatest influence upon modern history over the last thousand years. I would agree with that, in fact, I would push it out further and say that Calvin is the man of the last two millennia, that you would have to go all the way back to the days of the biblical writers, to Paul and to John, in order to see one who towered above history and has left such a dominant influence." 4. Our Lord Jesus Christ states in the Gospel of Matthew, 7:2 (KJV):" For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." 5. So shouldn't it follow that Dr. Lawson's judgement upon his soul be measured by John Calvin and his tome The Institutes of the Christian Religion? After all, in his Preface To The Reader, SUBJECT OF THE PRESENT WORK, [prefixed to the french edition, published at geneva in 1545], John Calvin stated: "I EXHORT ALL, WHO REVERENCE THE WORD OF THE LORD, TO READ IT [the Institutes], AND DILIGENTLY IMPRINT IT ON THEIR MEMORY, IF THEY WOULD IN THE FIRST PLACE, HAVE A SUMMARY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, and, in the second place, an introduction to the profitable reading both of the Old and New Testament." [Beveridge translation, Page 22, Paragraph 6, ntslibrary website, Institutes of the Christian Religion, pdf page 30 of 944] 6. And didn't Dr. Steve Lawson do exactly that in his decades of preaching by expositing the Bible according to John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion? 7. Therefore, it would seem to me in light of recent events that the measure of judgement on the soul of Dr. Steve Lawson would be according to John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, Chapter 2, No. 11 which speaks of 'evanescent' i.e., temporary, 'grace': "I am aware it seems unaccountable to some how faith is attributed to the reprobate, seeing that it is declared by Paul to be one of the fruits of election; and yet the difficulty is easily solved: for though none are enlightened into faith, and truly feel the efficacy of the Gospel, with the exception of those who are fore-ordained to salvation, yet experience shows that the reprobate are sometimes affected in a way so similar to the elect, that even in their own judgment there is no difference between them. Hence it is not strange, that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them. Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, the better to convict them, and leave them without excuse, instills into their minds such a sense of his goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption. Should it be objected, that believers have no stronger testimony to assure them of their adoption, I answer, that though there is a great resemblance and affinity between the elect of God and those who are impressed for a time with a fading faith, yet the elect alone have that full assurance which is extolled by Paul, and by which they are enabled to cry, Abba, Father. Therefore, as God regenerates the elect only for ever by incorruptible seed, as the seed of life once sown in their hearts never perishes, so he effectually seals in them the grace of his adoption, that it may be sure and steadfast. BUT IN THIS THERE IS NOTHING TO PREVENT AN INFERIOR OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT FROM TAKING COURSE IN THE REPROBATE. Meanwhile, believers are taught to examine themselves carefully and humbly, lest carnal security creep in and take the place of assurance of faith. We may add, that the reprobate never have any other than a confused sense of grace, laying hold of the shadow rather than the substance, because the Spirit properly seals the forgiveness of sins in the elect only, applying it by special faith to their use. Still it is correctly said, that the reprobate believe God to be propitious to them, inasmuch as they accept the gift of reconciliation, though confusedly and without due discernment; not that they are partakers of the same faith or regeneration with the children of God; but because, under a covering of hypocrisy, they seem to have a principle of faith in common with them. Nor do I even deny that God illumines their minds to this extent, that they recognize his grace; but that conviction he distinguishes from the peculiar testimony which he gives to his elect in this respect, that the reprobate never attain to the full result or to fruition. When he shows himself propitious to them, it is not as if he had truly rescued them from death, and taken them under his protection. He only gives them a manifestation of his present mercy. In the elect alone he implants the living root of faith, so that they persevere even to the end. Thus we dispose of the objection, that if God truly displays his grace, it must endure for ever. THERE IS NOTHING INCONSISTENT IN THIS WITH THE FACE OF HIS ENLIGHTENING SOME WITH A PRESENT SENSE OF GRACE, WHICH AFTERWARDS PROVES EVANESCENT." [Beveridge translation Pages 342-343; nts library com /PDF Books/Calvin Institutes of Christian Religion.pdf 350-352 of 944] 8. However, since I myself am not a Calvinist and reject any notion of 'evanescent grace' for 'the reprobate', I pray that Dr. Steve Lawson will NOT be measured by John Calvin, but rather be given the grace from God of a true, sincere and contrite repentance. Perhaps he might even question the form of the Gospel he previously preached, now that he has been stripped of any public ministry/teaching and been declared, in effect, 'anathema'. And I reject John Calvin's statement, "BUT IN THIS THERE IS NOTHING TO PREVENT AN INFERIOR OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT FROM TAKING COURSE IN THE REPROBATE." An inferior operation of The Holy Spirit? 9. And if the King James Bible was good enough for St. Matthew ...
Speaking for 12 minutes to a room full of young people shocked by the failing of a teacher, and not a single quotation from the Bible, only a few passing references. If these words from the heart would have been opened with a quotation from say Psalm 51, Lamentations or any other fitting passage (and there are many), it would have anchored this Scripture reference in the hearers' memory for the rest of their lives. A missed opportunity!
There was no reason to keep his name from being called out. And why not also name Billy Graham who gave such great advice for all men? My husband and I have followed the "Billy Graham Rule" our entire 17 years of marriage. Neither of us spend time alone with someone of the opposite sex.
It’s a comfortable luxury of those who can pick and choose who they work with and only applicable to the wealthy and powerful. Mostly a way to ensure women can’t have jobs, which keeps them without their own resources and easily abused. This is not wisdom, this is protecting the ways of the sinful world.
Here's the thing, when is the body of Christ accountable for part of these tragedies? Why do we promote pastors to a celebrity status? Are we as the church not wrong in this. The truth is, Steve Lawson was a pastor of a local congregation and should have remained ministering to the specific congregation Christ placed him to serve. Instead, in pursuit of fame and fortune, pastors travel all over the world while neglecting the local body they were called to serve. No one in California needs a pastor from Texas, Alabama, etc flying to their church and preach a message. The need is to raise up qualified individuals within that particular zip code. Furthermore, is that not the one of an evangelist? Do they exist anymore or have they been replaced by pastors who are unwilling to maintain their actual flock? How is any of this a good stewardship of money gifted through grace giving? Finally, if pastors today were bivocational like Christ and all the apostles, they would not have time to have an affair with a female the age of their grandchildren. Too often i see these individuals worshipped as if there is an heirarchy in the body of Christ. Its disturbing to see so many expositors allow themselves to be worshipped because of their pride and selfish ambitions.
I believe you are spot on and hope there is a reform “pun intended” in there having big wig all star conference. They seem to become theological brains on a stick rather than tending to their own local flock.
I agree with you that we should not idolize them as these "celebrities" however, I do not think there is anything wrong with great theologians such as MacArthur, Begg, Sproul (when he was alive), Baucham, etc. When they go around to churches and are invited to speak, they are bringing encouragement to a body of believers, they are not abandoning their local congregation. I also disagree that it is only specific to an "evangelist" I do not believe there is a gift to evangelism, we are all called to be evangelists. That being said, the Apostle Paul would go back to the churches he helped to bring them encouragement, he longed to be with them. So I would not say that we are doing something wrong by inviting these preachers, it is the same thing as inviting a missionary who has been doing mission work in another country or part of the country. I think it is hard to pin this on a person because we do not know their intents, but the Lord does. Going back to your main point, though, I am in agreeance on the church's fault of idolizing specific individuals, but I cannot pin this on every other individual who I view as a great theologian, I do not see it as putting them up on a pedestal, but rather valuing their work for the Church.
Which is it - should we have traveling preachers (evangelists) or should they all stay in their local church all the time (no itinerants). Should pastors earn their vocation fully from local church work (staff pastors) or can they earn money and reduce the burden on their local church by using their gifts outside of the church (paid speaking and teaching). It’s not celebrity culture that causes the downfall of a man but a lack of accountability and in the end a lack of integrity.
Interesting. So Christian pastors cannot control themselves, thus they have to put a serious limitation on their ability to be a pastor to half of their flock because the women in their congregation can never speak with them privately. Just wow!
I don't get why he wouldn't name Lawson even if he's a good friend. As whole world knows who he's talking about. Nathan went to David and called him out and David went on a fast n repented publicly, didn't he.. David's sin is recorded in the Bible and the entirety of God's judgement
There is no such thing as "eternal security". The Biblical practice of forgiving sins as practiced in the Catholic Church is the right approach: 1. All Christians are saved through grace 2. All Christians endeavor to live a Gospel life 3. All Christians ask God to forgive grave sin. Trent Horn, a Protestant convert to Catholicism, addresses this specific situation. ua-cam.com/video/bJf52QrartA/v-deo.htmlsi=OmNTh1ajML-3yD0A
2 Corinthians 13:5: 5 Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are counterfeits? Are these preachers in faith? Is Jesus Christ in them? Or are these preachers counterfeits? Galatians 5:24: And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Please listen carefully to the language in this video... "this is a catastrophe", "this does damage to the Gospel", "this is a grievous sin", etc. Other than the fact that this man committed a sin (no worse in God's eyes than any other), you somehow underestimate God's sovereign power to save. It's ridiculous that the church elevates men to such high position, and then somehow believes that it's "terrible" when they sin. What did you expect to happen? Paul warns us about following after local leaders in the New Testament. We are to follow Christ alone, the head of the church (Col 1:15-20). Please stop acting as though the sin of one man is a crisis for the church. It may indeed be a crisis of faith for you, but then I would respectfully ask what you have placed you faith in - your fellow man or Christ Jesus? Contrary to popular opinion, God will do just fine without you or me or this preacher or anyone else.
Well, there are degrees of sin and they relate to rewards in heaven. And there are qualifications for elders and pastors cited in Scripture that are very specific. Does God forgive all sin? Yes, if we confess and repent. This kind of sin erodes the trust and faith of many to the point where many would abandon the faith entirely. So it is important. We must all live with the consequences of our sin.
@@ahill209 I've had other Christians tell me that there are levels of reward in Heaven yet I have yet to see any Scripture from them to support this statement. Would you happen to have something that I may look at please? Also, please consider this... Heaven is a place where we are eternally in God's presence and where sin does not exist. What kind of reward would there be that would exceed this? Being able to perfectly worship God and not having any strife with our fellow believers sounds like the ultimate goal for any Christian.
@@toddbu-WK7L Luke 19:15-19. However, I also think that ahill could have expressed himself slightly better, by referring rather to degrees of punishment in hell, for which see e.g. Luke 10:12 and 12:47-48.
Seems to me there is not much concern here regarding the damage to Lawson's victim. Further, Dr. Mohler seems to promote the idea that women by their mere presence with men become temptresses! What a low vision of women. Keep in mind that many of the fallen preachers/predators have groomed their victims.
He did not blame the woman. He warned the man to stay away from any opportunity to fall. We are warned in Proverbs against the strange woman; it is a Biblical and wise warning.
@@wolfman_jack I don't disagree with you. However, I think the central point @sharonjimmersonconners-kra124 was making is that power corrupts when used illicitly by those in authority.
@@Justanotherconsumer Of course she did. No one is accusing him of raping her. Let's not pretend that "power dynamics" remove a woman's agency. That's stupid. She is also to blame for her behavior. You know who I feel really sorry for, and who Dr Mohler didn't bother to name when he listed who we should be praying for? HIS WIFE.
I am disappointed with your statement sir. Horror is a very strong and harsh word to use. No word mentioned of forgiveness or loving your brother. Mr. Lawson is still our brother and he fell but he will get up for Lord Jesus loves him. Humble yourself and serve your brother so he has strength to get up.
@@Sonicmax8728. Thank you! That was my immediate reaction to that statement. A five-year relationship requires planning, arranging, and making specific choices repeatedly. This is chronic, habitual, ongoing sin. This is not “falling”. Maybe he fell at the beginning, but then he chose to willingly stay where he had fallen. If he had not be found out, the affair would probably still be going on.
@@Parks179-hsame basic problem. People defending the ways of the world by ensuring the powerful are not held accountable is Trump’s entire existence. Worshipping celebrities like Lawson and Trump even though it is clear that they are just sinners like us is a serious problem.
@@Justanotherconsumer Ive got 4 points and Im done, I promise. 1.) The equivocation between Trump and Lawson is unhelpful because Lawson is a pastor and Christian and Trump, despite his nominal claims, it neither. I pray he would repent, do you? Additionally, the task of presidency functionally, has many more moving components to it, espeically when considering the task of representation and seperation of powers, etc. To say that supporting Donald Trump to given his policies, would mean logically, you must say the same of Harris and Waltz. Unless you come to a better understanding of the role of government etc. We are not electing these people to be our pastors, but our presidents. If they dont meant the qualification of 1 Timothy 3:1-7, it does not necessarily disqualify them from presidency. Ideally, I will admit that I wish they were all Christian men. 2.) No one is worshiping Lawson. This kind of misrepresentation of what brothers and sisters may be feeling at the news of a pastor who has probably helped them through existential, theological crisis isn't helpful, nor is it loving for those who struggle. We ought to celebrate goldy men. and we ought to mourn them when they fall. 3.) No Christian brothers that I know are worshipping Trump. They are seriously concerned voters who seem to me, to be weighing the scales on both ends and are voting accordingly. For example, abortion is evil, and in the words of our brother, Dr. Mohler, is a one issue vote. I happen to agree with him. 4.) You said, "People defending the ways of the world by ensuring the powerful are not held accountable is Trump’s entire existence." Do you genuinely believe that this is only true of Trump in this presidential debate? I don't want to defend the evil of Donald Trump, that is not my position. For one to pretends that Trump is the only political candidate who is immoral is to me, cannon fodder. With respect, one who doesn't recognize the propaganda machine of media, which is directing all of its information and power in favor of unbiblical human anthropology and hiding what has now become more blatant lies of the democratic party (and many republican) have failed to allow the bible to form their political theory. It is one think to state that Trump isn't a good or perfect man. It is another think to pretend like he is the only one! It is one think to call Trump "unchristian", it is another think to disqualify him on from presidency on that basis only to turn and vote for another man (or woman in this case) who has similar vices, but it "respectable" about them. My hope is not in this world, friend. But as I am in this world, I have the responsibility to steward my vote the best I can for the good of my children and my children's, Children. Judging by the policies of the left, they are not it (abortion, the denial of use of our own resources for the betterment of our local economies and jobs, immigration, national inflation, socialization of housing and insurances, increased taxation, and more). Let these past 4 years be a testimony of this claim. May God Bless you and yours.
And this is why people hate politics. You can never escape them, even in a discussion that has an impact on the church. No political candidate is running to be the head of the church. Jesus locked up that position tight a few thousand years ago. 🙂May I kindly ask that if you want to talk about the evils of any particular candidate that you find a different forum. I can't make you do anything that you don't want to, but I am hoping to convince you that such comments do nothing to the benefit of our fellow believers. Grace, mercy, and peace be to you.
A catastrophe? LOL. More like a nothingburger. Our focus needs to be on Donald Trump's campaign. We are so close to being able to rule and dominate the free world to the glory of God. If we must, lets preach and get these women to cover up and stop the temptation, but touch not the anointed ones and do the prophets no harm.
Dr. Mohler's words are sobering and true. May God keep us all. 💔
Eh, the Billy Graham rule is just an excuse to keep women out of the workforce, it is not wise, it springs from the same love of power and control that encourages celebrities to have affairs.
@@Justanotherconsumer You might as well call it an excuse to keep MEN out of the workforce.
Excellent word. Praise God.
Thank you for this. I needed it. I listened to this fallen pastor for years and endorsed his books etc. My heaet is broken, and has been broken since his poor choices came to light. 😢
Without meaning to attack or defend anyone, has what this pastor done in any way changed the nature of God or the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for His people? I know that you may be hurting now and I don't want to dismiss your feelings in any way because I am sure that they are real. But please consider moving forward that if your foundation is built on Christ alone then these kinds of events will have little impact on your faith. That's not to say that I am not sorrowful for this pastor who has sinned, and I am concerned for his spiritual health as I would be for any other Christian who finds themselves in the grips of the flesh. Just keep in mind that we are saved through the shed blood of our dear Savior and that nothing can every take us from God's hand (John 10:28).
My prayer for us all is that our emotions will not cloud the glory of the salvation that God has give to us through faith in Christ.
Thank you for this admonition. At Western Seminary, 50 years ago they taught us this: "There two things you must not touch, unless they are your own: Women and Money."
Wise words. Biblically mindful words. Prayers up. Eyes open. Heart full.
Amen
Such words and advice needs to be spoken more proactively
Thank you for your approach and honesty.
I’m new here, just wanted to say I feel the love of Jesus when I heard this man speak. You can feel the kindness and the gentleness while at the same time he’s being real and honest. Thank you.
Thank you Dr. Mohler
Thank you Dr. Molher for your commentary regarding this great tragedy. I was brought to repentance through the preaching of this man. As I layed at home recovering from a motorcycle accident. I would like to remind us all to bear in mind Matt 7: 1-5 and Romans 3:23. We are all sinners saved by grace.
Be sad, but also be angry.
Christ has saved you, not Lawson.
Matthew 7:5:
You hypocrite,
first cast out the beam
out of your own eye;
and then shall you see
clearly to cast out the speck out of your brother's eye.
So you think the other pastors are hypocrites too?
Hypocrites and sinners?
I would not call Lawson a house. But the American "church" may be a great house.
Foolish pastors have build their house on doctrines
Matthew 7:26-27:
26 And every one that hears these sayings of mine,
and does them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man,
who built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended,
and the floods came,
and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house;
and it fell:
and great was the fall of it.
Thank you Dr. Mohler, #Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So #flee #youthful #passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have #nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ~2 Timothy 2:21-23
Thank you for this statement in relation to Steve Lawson.
Maybe?
There are way, way too many Steve Lawsons out there. His case is not even remotely unusual.
@@Justanotherconsumer maybe?
Oh my, remember when when Steven laughed aloud about Allester Beggs advice to a grandmother as being stupid? My grandmother, many years ago used to say to a teenaged me, 50 years ago, to counsel me that to be careful “ no matter who you think you are, if you pursue a life of sin, your sin will find you out.” Yes, Grandma, and thank you for still reminding me that it is still true.
Amen pastor. May we not fail to remember that WE TOO are flesh and bone; capable of yielding to temptation if we take our eyes off of Christ. (Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you were called. Eph 4:1)
no one saw it coming. it came. it happens way too often. how do we keep each other accountable? do we ask one another candid questions like, how are you doing in your relationship with the Lord, with yourself, with your wife/family? one might lie when they answer, but the Spirit might convict him. I'll be praying for those God has called to minister His Word, may God hold their hearts in His hand, may God keep them, may God lead them in straight path.
Did God called anyone of them?
Did God sent anyone of them?
Jeremiah 14:14:
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name:
I sent them not,
neither have I commanded them,
neither spoke unto them:
they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination,
and a worthless thing,
and the deceit of their heart.
If this painful for me, who NEVER net Steve😠😤😠
WHAT 🤔 PAIN 😢 HIS family is going through 😤😠😤
@Packhorse-bh8qn What about her? I would think you would give priority to his wife, first, surely??
@Packhorse-bh8qn
How do you know this young woman 🤔 YOU assume that she's innocent 🤔 She knew He was married.😠
@Packhorse-bh8qnno, only the celebrities we worship are allowed to be considered.
The “little people” don’t matter.
(Yes, this is sarcasm, but it’s exactly what the original comment is saying.)
@Packhorse-bh8qn Surely I agree that the young women and her family needs prayer, we all do. In addition, please consider this: if a christian women is talking intimately to a man who is married, she has the responsiblity before God to break off all ties to him. Also, as a christian women, she should be appalled about a man who is talking intimately with her. I pray enlightenment for all. Blessings
Wonder if we showed this much grace and sorrow to the folks at Hillsong who fell into this same transgression.
Great point
And what about
Robert Morris?
You should have applied 1 Timothy 5:20 and named S.L. "Those who continue in sin rebuke in the presence of all so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning."
@Packhorse-bh8qndid they succeed, though, or did they just give it a halfhearted try and then go back to their old ways.
@Packhorse-bh8qnthey fired him and are trying to hide what really happened.
Excellent advice. It is helpful. Thank you.
If the rumors are true that this has been going on for five years... wonder if SL listened to himself whenever he preached and told people to repent
@Packhorse-bh8qnIt is verified he had a 5 year relationship with a woman not his wife. It is not rumor, and it is not sin to expose it, and to remove an unrepentant sinner from Christ's church. Would you like to edit your comment.?
Apparently not because he only confessed because the girl’s(in her late 20s) father threatened to expose him.
Thanks, so true. The words of Jesus that we claim for ourselves we can claim for this man and woman. Repent and sin no more. Then continue to serve the God who forgave us while we were still sinners, in the new work opened to them. May God be glorified.
Over the years, the wisdom that has been revealed to me keeps me from jumping to conclusions as well as accusations. It's not likely that the adulterous relationship started as hot & heavy as it ended, meaning that the slope is often imperceptible, and a man can find himself turning sinful after years of a relationship that was not previously sinful. It may be true and worse than I imagine, but I've been involved in too many confessions to assume that this case is just like all the rest. To all who read this - there are years worth of a mans life summed up in one sentence. Be very patient in holding your heart back from conclusions.
I believe this is wise and in lie of "assuming the best of your brother" as seen in 1 Corinthians 13. Thank you for sharing this.
Is there any more reason to stay?
Amen
Hypocrisy at the highest level. I am recovering from one of those churches where members were treated horribly for their sins but the pastor and his dominions were doing the same thing and it was simply swept under the rug. That church did so much damage and I know so many people who walked away from the faith because of it.
I think what is lacking today in churches is how to talk to men (and pastors) that feel lonely, misunderstood and frustrated. Noone wants to speak about the circumstances from which these things arise, it's only about how awful some dude is somewhere.
There’s a lot of this happening because it has always happened.
That the history can no longer be hidden has always damaged the teaching of the gospel, and we are called to repent of what the church has always been, not to protect what the church has always been.
By not mentioning their name, I now am forced to google who he is referring to
Several mention the name of a recently fallen pastor in the comments below.
The intended audience is presumed to know
@@HeavyHeartsShow I know. He’s speaking in reference to those whom he knows will be watching at a later date.
God is cleaning out his pulpits in his churches from all the wolves in sheep’s clothing. He can ask for forgiveness and make himself right with God but never to get in the pulpit again.
I don't think SL is a "wolf". Like King David in his fall with Bathsheba, he's a fallen brother. Remember that God called David a "man after his own heart." Certainly not a wolf amongst the sheep.
@@dale5497 agree, but we won’t truly know until we die.
1 John 1:9 is true for all believers. If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
Churches?
Another victim of the rot of “purity culture”.
A sad heart breaking situation. I venture to say that the Billy Graham rule is just only a rule, and the law doesn't keep you from sin. Had this been anyone else, but one of evangelicalism's golden boys, it would be called out as a heart issue. Give me a break! She was 20 and he in his late 60s five years. He preached all over the world for 5 years living in sin. He didn't come forward on his own. This is a Big heart issue. Please don't soften this for us because we all know if it has been one of the sheep it would be called what it is. I've been alone for a long long time and have not needed a chaperone...
As a single woman there are so many wolves in the pews and pulpits until I feel safer at my local Walmart than at a church. I’m just going to have a women’s home Bible study and leave these men with their wandering hearts and eyes to themselves at the show they call the church.
How will you meet your future husband? Or have you permanently abjured the idea?
He's talking about STEVE LAWSON.
Oh Uhh! Nobody knew before you told us...
Forgive me for asking this, but why would you go out of your way to identify the individual when Mr. Mohler said that he didn't want to do that? I feel that it's quite disrespectful.
@@toddbu-WK7L Oh please. Why do people rush to defend a powerful HYPOCRITE who graveley preached the importance of a minister being a “godly man” but can’t keep his own 🍆 in his pants? All along he was no doubt lusting after the pretty girls and finally ended up *freely choosing* to cheat on his wife and dilly-dally with another woman - for who knows how long? Give me a break. If this were just some random dude in a crappy marriage with a crappy job and a generally crappy life it would be one thing; naming and shaming would just be mean-spirited and out of place. But Steve Lawson was a man with power, money, respect, and influence who *freely chose* to abuse his position, trash his marriage, flout his high-falutin’ “principles” and bring shame upon the faith that was supposed to be so important to him. Lawson fully deserves to be publicly named and shamed for his hypocrisy, his abuse, and the damage he’s done and there is nothing in the least “disrespectful” in doing so.
This is big. Devastating.
Grim but excellent
When you worship a man and a Denominational machine ( A revered institution) you will be disappointed, after all we are ALL the same weak flesh, Even the self righteous accusers who are in a marriage themselves unknowingly on the brink of collapse. But not with Jesus himself.
The pain is understandable doesn't necessarily indicate celebrity worship. Not fair to assume that's the case.
@@marlak1104 actually, I think that it is. How many UA-cam videos have popped up in my feed, all of them using the similar "tragedy" language in this video. Yet Christ is the God of the universe, and nothing this one man has done or will do ever can ever change that.
It’s like being sad when you hear someone you know is divorcing. It’s just sad. Certainly don’t worship them but as a human you feel when people get hurt/ hurt someone else.
Very true. I was very surprised to see that the church called themselves a "Bible" church. Usually, that name is only used by churches that rightly divide the two gospels. II Timothy 2:15-Ephesians 1:13-14 - I Corinthians 15:1-4.
A Statement to Southern Seminary and Boyce College, Sep 26, 2024
Response:
1. I concur with the subtext "Dr. Mohler delivers a word from the heart in chapel to Southern Seminary and Boyce College."
2. Now that it has been over a week since the "catastrophic" news came about regarding Dr. Steve Lawson, shouldn't there be some kind of scrutiny as to where he stands in relation to the form of the Gospel he preached?
3. Dr. Lawson was a staunch Calvinist, even going so far to state at the Ligonier Ministries' 2009 National Conference, The Holiness of God containing his address, 'The Legacy of John Calvin', given on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth:
"Rightly has one contemporary author identified John Calvin as the man of the millennium, meaning he is the single greatest influence upon modern history over the last thousand years. I would agree with that, in fact, I would push it out further and say that Calvin is the man of the last two millennia, that you would have to go all the way back to the days of the biblical writers, to Paul and to John, in order to see one who towered above history and has left such a dominant influence."
4. Our Lord Jesus Christ states in the Gospel of Matthew, 7:2 (KJV):" For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."
5. So shouldn't it follow that Dr. Lawson's judgement upon his soul be measured by John Calvin and his tome The Institutes of the Christian Religion? After all, in his Preface To The Reader, SUBJECT OF THE PRESENT WORK, [prefixed to the french edition, published at geneva in 1545], John Calvin stated: "I EXHORT ALL, WHO REVERENCE THE WORD OF THE LORD, TO READ IT [the Institutes], AND DILIGENTLY IMPRINT IT ON THEIR MEMORY, IF THEY WOULD IN THE FIRST PLACE, HAVE A SUMMARY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, and, in the second place, an introduction to the profitable reading both of the Old and New Testament."
[Beveridge translation, Page 22, Paragraph 6, ntslibrary website, Institutes of the Christian Religion, pdf page 30 of 944]
6. And didn't Dr. Steve Lawson do exactly that in his decades of preaching by expositing the Bible according to John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion?
7. Therefore, it would seem to me in light of recent events that the measure of judgement on the soul of Dr. Steve Lawson would be according to John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, Chapter 2, No. 11 which speaks of 'evanescent' i.e., temporary, 'grace':
"I am aware it seems unaccountable to some how faith is attributed to the reprobate, seeing that it is declared by Paul to be one of the fruits of election; and yet the difficulty is easily solved: for though none are enlightened into faith, and truly feel the efficacy of the Gospel, with the exception of those who are fore-ordained to salvation, yet experience shows that the reprobate are sometimes affected in a way so similar to the elect, that even in their own judgment there is no difference between them. Hence it is not strange, that by the Apostle a taste of heavenly gifts, and by Christ himself a temporary faith, is ascribed to them. Not that they truly perceive the power of spiritual grace and the sure light of faith; but the Lord, the better to convict them, and leave them without excuse, instills into their minds such a sense of his goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption. Should it be objected, that believers have no stronger testimony to assure them of their adoption, I answer, that though there is a great resemblance and affinity between the elect of God and those who are impressed for a time with a fading faith, yet the elect alone have that full assurance which is extolled by Paul, and by which they are enabled to cry, Abba, Father. Therefore, as God regenerates the elect only for ever by incorruptible seed, as the seed of life once sown in their hearts never perishes, so he effectually seals in them the grace of his adoption, that it may be sure and steadfast. BUT IN THIS THERE IS NOTHING TO PREVENT AN INFERIOR OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT FROM TAKING COURSE IN THE REPROBATE. Meanwhile, believers are taught to examine themselves carefully and humbly, lest carnal security creep in and take the place of assurance of faith. We may add, that the reprobate never have any other than a confused sense of grace, laying hold of the shadow rather than the substance, because the Spirit properly seals the forgiveness of sins in the elect only, applying it by special faith to their use. Still it is correctly said, that the reprobate believe God to be propitious to them, inasmuch as they accept the gift of reconciliation, though confusedly and without due discernment; not that they are partakers of the same faith or regeneration with the children of God; but because, under a covering of hypocrisy, they seem to have a principle of faith in common with them. Nor do I even deny that God illumines their minds to this extent, that they recognize his grace; but that conviction he distinguishes from the peculiar testimony which he gives to his elect in this respect, that the reprobate never attain to the full result or to fruition. When he shows himself propitious to them, it is not as if he had truly rescued them from death, and taken them under his protection. He only gives them a manifestation of his present mercy. In the elect alone he implants the living root of faith, so that they persevere even to the end. Thus we dispose of the objection, that if God truly displays his grace, it must endure for ever. THERE IS NOTHING INCONSISTENT IN THIS WITH THE FACE OF HIS ENLIGHTENING SOME WITH A PRESENT SENSE OF GRACE, WHICH AFTERWARDS PROVES EVANESCENT."
[Beveridge translation Pages 342-343; nts library com /PDF Books/Calvin Institutes of Christian Religion.pdf 350-352 of 944]
8. However, since I myself am not a Calvinist and reject any notion of 'evanescent grace' for 'the reprobate', I pray that Dr. Steve Lawson will NOT be measured by John Calvin, but rather be given the grace from God of a true, sincere and contrite repentance. Perhaps he might even question the form of the Gospel he previously preached, now that he has been stripped of any public ministry/teaching and been declared, in effect, 'anathema'. And I reject John Calvin's statement, "BUT IN THIS THERE IS NOTHING TO PREVENT AN INFERIOR OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT FROM TAKING COURSE IN THE REPROBATE." An inferior operation of The Holy Spirit?
9. And if the King James Bible was good enough for St. Matthew ...
No
@@simonbrown1486 May I presume that there are reasons for your reply, but that you have not revealed them out of a charitable discretion?
Speaking for 12 minutes to a room full of young people shocked by the failing of a teacher, and not a single quotation from the Bible, only a few passing references. If these words from the heart would have been opened with a quotation from say Psalm 51, Lamentations or any other fitting passage (and there are many), it would have anchored this Scripture reference in the hearers' memory for the rest of their lives. A missed opportunity!
I wonder how many other itinerant ministers have side chicks.
Way too many
I wonder how many went into ministry for that perk.
Why do we say a person “fell?” He didn’t fall. He chose. Very, very poorly.
There was no reason to keep his name from being called out.
And why not also name Billy Graham who gave such great advice for all men? My husband and I have followed the "Billy Graham Rule" our entire 17 years of marriage. Neither of us spend time alone with someone of the opposite sex.
It’s a comfortable luxury of those who can pick and choose who they work with and only applicable to the wealthy and powerful.
Mostly a way to ensure women can’t have jobs, which keeps them without their own resources and easily abused.
This is not wisdom, this is protecting the ways of the sinful world.
@@Justanotherconsumer Why would having a job necessitate being alone with a man?
Here's the thing, when is the body of Christ accountable for part of these tragedies? Why do we promote pastors to a celebrity status? Are we as the church not wrong in this. The truth is, Steve Lawson was a pastor of a local congregation and should have remained ministering to the specific congregation Christ placed him to serve. Instead, in pursuit of fame and fortune, pastors travel all over the world while neglecting the local body they were called to serve. No one in California needs a pastor from Texas, Alabama, etc flying to their church and preach a message. The need is to raise up qualified individuals within that particular zip code. Furthermore, is that not the one of an evangelist? Do they exist anymore or have they been replaced by pastors who are unwilling to maintain their actual flock? How is any of this a good stewardship of money gifted through grace giving? Finally, if pastors today were bivocational like Christ and all the apostles, they would not have time to have an affair with a female the age of their grandchildren. Too often i see these individuals worshipped as if there is an heirarchy in the body of Christ. Its disturbing to see so many expositors allow themselves to be worshipped because of their pride and selfish ambitions.
I believe you are spot on and hope there is a reform “pun intended” in there having big wig all star conference. They seem to become theological brains on a stick rather than tending to their own local flock.
I agree.
I agree with you that we should not idolize them as these "celebrities" however, I do not think there is anything wrong with great theologians such as MacArthur, Begg, Sproul (when he was alive), Baucham, etc. When they go around to churches and are invited to speak, they are bringing encouragement to a body of believers, they are not abandoning their local congregation. I also disagree that it is only specific to an "evangelist" I do not believe there is a gift to evangelism, we are all called to be evangelists. That being said, the Apostle Paul would go back to the churches he helped to bring them encouragement, he longed to be with them. So I would not say that we are doing something wrong by inviting these preachers, it is the same thing as inviting a missionary who has been doing mission work in another country or part of the country. I think it is hard to pin this on a person because we do not know their intents, but the Lord does. Going back to your main point, though, I am in agreeance on the church's fault of idolizing specific individuals, but I cannot pin this on every other individual who I view as a great theologian, I do not see it as putting them up on a pedestal, but rather valuing their work for the Church.
Which is it - should we have traveling preachers (evangelists) or should they all stay in their local church all the time (no itinerants). Should pastors earn their vocation fully from local church work (staff pastors) or can they earn money and reduce the burden on their local church by using their gifts outside of the church (paid speaking and teaching). It’s not celebrity culture that causes the downfall of a man but a lack of accountability and in the end a lack of integrity.
@@stephenbeck7222 this is what I agree with.
It appears my longer comment was deleted. Is censorship SOP? That’s a shame.
What bout prying for his wife and family
He traded his kingdom for a nail.😢
Interesting. So Christian pastors cannot control themselves, thus they have to put a serious limitation on their ability to be a pastor to half of their flock because the women in their congregation can never speak with them privately. Just wow!
Poignant
I don't get why he wouldn't name Lawson even if he's a good friend.
As whole world knows who he's talking about.
Nathan went to David and called him out and David went on a fast n repented publicly, didn't he..
David's sin is recorded in the Bible and the entirety of God's judgement
There is no such thing as "eternal security". The Biblical practice of forgiving sins as practiced in the Catholic Church is the right approach:
1. All Christians are saved through grace
2. All Christians endeavor to live a Gospel life
3. All Christians ask God to forgive grave sin.
Trent Horn, a Protestant convert to Catholicism, addresses this specific situation. ua-cam.com/video/bJf52QrartA/v-deo.htmlsi=OmNTh1ajML-3yD0A
2 Corinthians 13:5:
5 Examine yourselves,
whether you are in the faith; prove your own selves.
Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are counterfeits?
Are these preachers in faith?
Is Jesus Christ in them?
Or are these preachers counterfeits?
Galatians 5:24:
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
I don’t think this man , allowed temptation, whit a woman! IT WAS A a little girl, !
I believe she is in her late 20s. Not a little girl.
Please listen carefully to the language in this video... "this is a catastrophe", "this does damage to the Gospel", "this is a grievous sin", etc. Other than the fact that this man committed a sin (no worse in God's eyes than any other), you somehow underestimate God's sovereign power to save. It's ridiculous that the church elevates men to such high position, and then somehow believes that it's "terrible" when they sin. What did you expect to happen? Paul warns us about following after local leaders in the New Testament. We are to follow Christ alone, the head of the church (Col 1:15-20). Please stop acting as though the sin of one man is a crisis for the church. It may indeed be a crisis of faith for you, but then I would respectfully ask what you have placed you faith in - your fellow man or Christ Jesus? Contrary to popular opinion, God will do just fine without you or me or this preacher or anyone else.
Well, there are degrees of sin and they relate to rewards in heaven. And there are qualifications for elders and pastors cited in Scripture that are very specific. Does God forgive all sin? Yes, if we confess and repent. This kind of sin erodes the trust and faith of many to the point where many would abandon the faith entirely. So it is important. We must all live with the consequences of our sin.
@@ahill209 I've had other Christians tell me that there are levels of reward in Heaven yet I have yet to see any Scripture from them to support this statement. Would you happen to have something that I may look at please?
Also, please consider this... Heaven is a place where we are eternally in God's presence and where sin does not exist. What kind of reward would there be that would exceed this? Being able to perfectly worship God and not having any strife with our fellow believers sounds like the ultimate goal for any Christian.
@@toddbu-WK7L1 Cor 3:11-15 and 2 Cor 5:10.
@@ahill209is it an offense against the Holy Spirit?
@@toddbu-WK7L Luke 19:15-19. However, I also think that ahill could have expressed himself slightly better, by referring rather to degrees of punishment in hell, for which see e.g. Luke 10:12 and 12:47-48.
Roman Catholics have one pope, the reformed movement have many.... Look at the fruit, it wasn't good to start with...
Calvinism's teachings are false.
We can all agree with the need of repentance.
Seems to me there is not much concern here regarding the damage to Lawson's victim. Further, Dr. Mohler seems to promote the idea that women by their mere presence with men become temptresses! What a low vision of women. Keep in mind that many of the fallen preachers/predators have groomed their victims.
He did not blame the woman. He warned the man to stay away from any opportunity to fall. We are warned in Proverbs against the strange woman; it is a Biblical and wise warning.
How is she a victim? A grown woman engaging in a consensual relationship for 5 years is hardly a victim.
@@wolfman_jack I don't disagree with you. However, I think the central point
@sharonjimmersonconners-kra124 was making is that power corrupts when used illicitly by those in authority.
@@wolfman_jackhow consensual was it?
Did she really have the opportunity to say no?
@@Justanotherconsumer Of course she did. No one is accusing him of raping her. Let's not pretend that "power dynamics" remove a woman's agency. That's stupid. She is also to blame for her behavior. You know who I feel really sorry for, and who Dr Mohler didn't bother to name when he listed who we should be praying for? HIS WIFE.
I am disappointed with your statement sir. Horror is a very strong and harsh word to use. No word mentioned of forgiveness or loving your brother. Mr. Lawson is still our brother and he fell but he will get up for
Lord Jesus loves him. Humble yourself and serve your brother so he has strength to get up.
Yup, Galatians 6:1. For sure, SL is now disqualified from leadership in the church, but he is still a beloved brother.
If Dr. Mohler is referring to Lawson, then his situation is in my view is just the symptom of the problem.
A 5 year relationship with another women is not just “falling”
It’s not that the man himself is “a horror”, it’s all the collateral damage something like this causes. That’s the horror, the sun snd what it does.
@@Sonicmax8728. Thank you! That was my immediate reaction to that statement. A five-year relationship requires planning, arranging, and making specific choices repeatedly. This is chronic, habitual, ongoing sin. This is not “falling”. Maybe he fell at the beginning, but then he chose to willingly stay where he had fallen. If he had not be found out, the affair would probably still be going on.
Can't help but think as much emphasis should be given to the sin of supporting Donald Trump
Quite a faulty equivocation, friend.
@@Parks179-hsame basic problem.
People defending the ways of the world by ensuring the powerful are not held accountable is Trump’s entire existence.
Worshipping celebrities like Lawson and Trump even though it is clear that they are just sinners like us is a serious problem.
@@Justanotherconsumer Ive got 4 points and Im done, I promise.
1.) The equivocation between Trump and Lawson is unhelpful because Lawson is a pastor and Christian and Trump, despite his nominal claims, it neither. I pray he would repent, do you? Additionally, the task of presidency functionally, has many more moving components to it, espeically when considering the task of representation and seperation of powers, etc. To say that supporting Donald Trump to given his policies, would mean logically, you must say the same of Harris and Waltz. Unless you come to a better understanding of the role of government etc. We are not electing these people to be our pastors, but our presidents. If they dont meant the qualification of 1 Timothy 3:1-7, it does not necessarily disqualify them from presidency. Ideally, I will admit that I wish they were all Christian men.
2.) No one is worshiping Lawson. This kind of misrepresentation of what brothers and sisters may be feeling at the news of a pastor who has probably helped them through existential, theological crisis isn't helpful, nor is it loving for those who struggle. We ought to celebrate goldy men. and we ought to mourn them when they fall.
3.) No Christian brothers that I know are worshipping Trump. They are seriously concerned voters who seem to me, to be weighing the scales on both ends and are voting accordingly. For example, abortion is evil, and in the words of our brother, Dr. Mohler, is a one issue vote. I happen to agree with him.
4.) You said, "People defending the ways of the world by ensuring the powerful are not held accountable is Trump’s entire existence."
Do you genuinely believe that this is only true of Trump in this presidential debate?
I don't want to defend the evil of Donald Trump, that is not my position. For one to pretends that Trump is the only political candidate who is immoral is to me, cannon fodder. With respect, one who doesn't recognize the propaganda machine of media, which is directing all of its information and power in favor of unbiblical human anthropology and hiding what has now become more blatant lies of the democratic party (and many republican) have failed to allow the bible to form their political theory.
It is one think to state that Trump isn't a good or perfect man. It is another think to pretend like he is the only one! It is one think to call Trump "unchristian", it is another think to disqualify him on from presidency on that basis only to turn and vote for another man (or woman in this case) who has similar vices, but it "respectable" about them.
My hope is not in this world, friend. But as I am in this world, I have the responsibility to steward my vote the best I can for the good of my children and my children's, Children. Judging by the policies of the left, they are not it (abortion, the denial of use of our own resources for the betterment of our local economies and jobs, immigration, national inflation, socialization of housing and insurances, increased taxation, and more). Let these past 4 years be a testimony of this claim.
May God Bless you and yours.
And this is why people hate politics. You can never escape them, even in a discussion that has an impact on the church. No political candidate is running to be the head of the church. Jesus locked up that position tight a few thousand years ago. 🙂May I kindly ask that if you want to talk about the evils of any particular candidate that you find a different forum. I can't make you do anything that you don't want to, but I am hoping to convince you that such comments do nothing to the benefit of our fellow believers. Grace, mercy, and peace be to you.
As compared with supporting a candidate who mocks Christians?
A catastrophe? LOL. More like a nothingburger. Our focus needs to be on Donald Trump's campaign. We are so close to being able to rule and dominate the free world to the glory of God. If we must, lets preach and get these women to cover up and stop the temptation, but touch not the anointed ones and do the prophets no harm.
Seeking power over the kingdoms of the world is not Christ’s mission.
This is corruption, not faith, and the golden calf will only bring you ruin.
Thank you Dr Mohler