Now Ravi, too?

This one caught me totally by surprise—and it did most people I know.

It doesn’t seem right to make accusations about someone after they die, but in this case, the evidence is overwhelming. I am talking about the ministry abuses and immorality of famed Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. There is no point in going into the details here. Christianity Today already did that here.  The board of directors of RZIM also did an investigation and released a statement here.

It’s heart-breaking. It really is. The damage done to the cause of Christ will be immense, and yet Jesus is still on the throne. I am not speaking as a biblical fundamentalist in criticism of someone with whom I disagree. For the most part, I found Zacharias’ work theologically sound and helpful. Fundamentalist Baptists have had plenty of their own high profile ministry failures of a very similar nature (see the stories regarding David Hyles and Jack Schaap). This is not a positional issue. It is a personal sin issue and it can happen in any theological camp.

How could this happen? How can someone lead such a double life?

It is not a new phenomenon. Hophni and Phineas were involved in similar activities in ancient Israel (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22). They took advantage of the people financially and used their ministry as an occasion for sinful sexual gratification. I am not claiming I know who is a believer and who is not. Certainly, news like this makes you wonder, but even believers can sin horrendously. They are not exempt from sin and they are not excused from it either. Sin dwells in us.

I was sitting with a group of pastors as a young minister listening to Richard Rupp preach on the subject of moral failure among pastors. He asked us what heart sin most often leads to such failure. I raised my hand and timidly said, “lust?”

“No.” He said. “It is arrogance.”

Pride leads to destruction and the foolishness of it is that the pride springs from a lie. Paul told us to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think (Romans 12:3).  It reminds me of what I heard an old southern preacher once say,

“I’d like t’buy some Christians for what they’re worth and sell ‘em for what they think they’re worth.”

That can easily be applied to preachers too.

God’s great gift to His servants is often a thorn in the flesh ever there to remind us of how weak we are and how strong He is. When we start to believe our own press clippings or all the well-intended compliments of kindly church members, we are in danger. That church member who questions everything we do might be strategically placed in our lives by God to remind us that we are not “all that.”

It takes time.

Sin on the level that Christianity Today describes does not happen all at once. It grows gradually over a long period of time as sinful behavior builds layer upon layer. It starts by justifying small indiscretions and then multiplies until we find ourselves surrounded by a wall of hypocrisy. As I read the Zacharias story it prompts me to examine my own life for the “little” sins that I am excusing.

Money and success are not always a blessing.

 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—(Revelation 3:17).

Money, popularity, giftedness—all of these things are the way that we often define success.  Such success can be absolutely corrupting. Bank accounts, copies sold, shares, and likes, are not the biblical standard.

All that should matter to us is the smile of our Savior.

It sure is a lot easier to accomplish what we want to accomplish in ministry when I have lots of money to spend, but I have to remember that financial limitations are often the way that God keeps me looking to Him, and financial abundance is often a stumbling block.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).

And then there are wolves.

Of course, there are also wolves among the sheep. Some wear sheep’s clothing and some a shepherd’s garb. In this case, I do not know the heart—I cannot know it—but I do know that false teachers deceive people in many different ways. Some do it with a false message. Most teach mostly the truth. Some teach truth almost exclusively but destroy the message with a false life.

Let God be true but every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)

There is a temptation to throw out everything a man has said because of his hypocrisy and moral failure. Don’t do that. A man’s sinful choices do not mean that everything he said was a lie. The truth is still the truth even if wicked people speak it. In scripture, even demons speak the truth. King David was an adulterer and murderer and yet—humanly speaking—he penned many of our most beloved Psalms. David was not always what he was in 2 Samuel 11 and he did not remain what he was in that chapter either.

As shocked believers work their way through the disappointment of human sin and failure—once again—please remember that God is on the throne and the Bible is true.

Accountability is for everyone.

No pastor or Christian leader should be considered so gifted or important that he is exempt from accountability. Churches that refuse normal accountability practices are not obedient New Testament churches. Even the Apostle Paul practiced personal accountability. As Paul prepared to send a large offering from the churches of Macedonia to the Church at Jerusalem, he took great pains to make sure that there was not only accountability before God but also visible accountability before the world. The churches chose Titus to travel for the specific purpose of oversight.

. . . and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men (2 Corinthians 8:19-21).

Put on the shelf.

Ravi Zacharias’ books will fall to the wayside. He is no longer on earth, but what Paul feared will be his ultimate legacy.

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Disqualified means to take out of service and put on the shelf. If the Apostle Paul was deeply concerned about this possibility for himself, every believer should also take heed.  Certainly, I should.