Path of Destruction

Jesus is described in 1st John chapter 2 as our "Advocate;" we are to run to Him when we sin and not
away from Him:
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

A couple of things here: for one, the Bible is given to us that we "may not sin."  Does that mean we can live a life of sinless perfection?  Well, yes and no - it's possible, but the Bible tells us that we all have fallen short of it already.  But, by appropriating God's Word and living by His Spirit, we can decrease our level of sinfulness.  And, when we do sin, we know that He is standing there, willing to receive us and to extend forgiveness and enable us to overcome the operation of sin in our lives...He desires for us to come before Him with repentance and to bring about restoration.

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In Psalm 19, the Bible speaks to the nature of sin and types of sinfulness. We can read:
12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.
13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Some other translations use the word, "willful," instead of "presumptuous" in verse 13.

Sin is a cancer - the original sin in the Garden resulted in the separation of humanity from its Creator, and damages our relationship with God.  Fortunately, we have a Savior who came to set us free from our sins, to give us victory over its power, and to provide forgiveness for our sins, when we come before Him and confess our sins.

But, sin has its consequences, and while the Bible does speak of "secret faults," even those sins that are only known to us can bring harm to relationships - with God and others.  There are the more apparent sins that bring their share of devastation.  Truth is, in so many cases, sin isn't just between you and the Lord.

Consider the path of destruction that was set out upon by one willful act - it was a decision, not just something that occurred in the moment.  A youth pastor sexual assaulted one of the students in his youth group.  This became quite a secret - you had another church staff member who attempted to cover it up.  According to the website, Facts and Trends,

Larry Cotton, director of an internship program at The Austin Stone Community Church, an influential megachurch in Austin, Texas, has resigned for failing to report sexual abuse at a church he served in the past.

While associate pastor at The Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church (now known as Stonebridge Church) in the mid-1990s, Cotton learned that a youth pastor on staff had sexual contact with high school girl named Jules Woodson.

Cotton arranged for Andy Savage, the youth pastor, to leave the church quietly. He did not report the incident to police and allegedly advised the victim to keep her accusations to herself.

According to the article, Savage has been placed on leave from a Memphis megachurch, where he had been serving - an investigation is underway.

The article states that:

Boz Tchividjian, founder of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), says churches should report alleged abuse to the police or other authorities.

Church leaders, he argues, don’t have the training needed to investigate the allegations. And they can’t be objective, says Tchividjian, a former child abuse prosecutor. They are tempted to focus on protecting the church’s reputation rather than safeguarding victims.

Meanwhile, Savage publicly confessed to a minimized version of his sin before his church after his victim called his attention to it.  Stunningly, he received a standing ovation.  The website, Christ and Pop Culture published an article by Abby Perry, in which she cried foul over the pastor's lack of repentance.  In the story, Perry compared the Savage story to that of a Hollywood writer, Dan Harmon, creator of the TV show, Community, and his assault on a lady named Megan Ganz.  She said that Savage...

...referred to his assault of Woodson as a consensual “sexual incident” rather than assault. While apologizing to Woodson for her continued pain, Savage said he wanted to “cooperate” with her, a word that sounds neutral or even good on the surface, but in the apology’s context seemed only to reinforce Savage’s belief that he doesn’t bear any more responsibility in the situation than Woodson does. Savage also stated that he believed the situation had been handled in a “biblical way” since he left the church where the “incident” occurred.

After Megan Ganz publicly told her story, Dan Harmon took to Twitter and his podcast to address the accusations. He referred to his harassment of Ganz as “creepy,” “cruel,” and “abusing his position.” He apologized to Ganz and said he wanted her to “call the shots” and determine what was “just.” Harmon stated that “I lied to myself the entire time about it, and I lost my job. I ruined my show. I betrayed the audience. I destroyed everything, and I damaged her internal compass.”

Perry writes, "Harmon’s apology on his podcast was met with a statement of public forgiveness from his victim, who told her Twitter audience, 'Please listen to it… it is a masterclass in How to Apologize.'”

Perry lamented how "men in church leadership positions advised a fellow pastor to minimize his story, ostensibly to protect Savage and their church’s image." She pointed out that a Hollywood figure could apologize and exhibit repentance in a manner that is superior to that of a Southern evangelical pastor.  She writes:

Abuse of power, refusal to admit sin in its fullness, and grasping authority with clenched fists have no place in God’s kingdom. His is an economy of intertwined justice and grace, one that looks sin in the face and is repelled by it, not minimizing its grotesque nature but covering it with true grace. True grace does not thinly veil gross moral failure and allow those who commit it to continue wielding power, but offers discipline, discipleship, care, wise counsel, and friendship as means of walking with a person who has fallen.

As Christians navigating a culture that has long repressed the stories of the abused, our primary motivation must be to “proclaim liberty to the captives” by bearing witness to their stories and holding space for their healing processes.

I think the number one takeaway from this information today is that sin is not just about you.  Your personal sin can be a component of a path of destruction that adversely affects the lives of others.  Sin corrupts and damages lives - the life of the sinner and those who are affected by it.  We have to be careful that we don't try to conceal or cover up our sins or participate in someone else trying to hide their sin.  Confession can contribute to making things right...

And that should be our desire - to set things right.  That involves personal confession and inner struggle, but could also involve going to the person who has been offended - directly - honestly.

We also recognize the cancerous nature of sins in our souls and be mindful to keep a short list of sins. We have to make sure that we recognize that Jesus, as our Advocate, invites us to come before Him and receive forgiveness, in humility and repentance.  Repentance is more than an empty confession or hitting a "reset" button - as Perry writes:

The biblical word for repentance means “to change one’s mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins.” It represents a true turning from sin, which requires knowing what the sin was in the first place and labeling it as such.

Also, remember Numbers 32:23..."be sure your sin will find you out."

God's ultimate aim is a restoration of relationship - with Himself and with others, and as Galatians 6 teaches, we can be involved in that restorative process:
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.