Thread by @jonbenz

I wrote this to our staff at @rbcgilbert.

Maybe it’ll help you as you process the @DrStevenJLawson debacle.

A 🧵

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Hey Everyone,

As many of you probably know, it came out yesterday that a very famous preacher and author within the circles our church is most aligned with

fell morally. Dr. Steven Lawson had an affair with a woman around a third his age after being married to his wife, Anne, for over four decades. He has devastated her, his kids, his grandkids (pray for them all!), and tens of thousands that looked up to him. He has disqualified

himself for ministry and brought shame on the pastorate and on the Name of Christ. In Satan’s prowling, he devoured another one who chose sin instead of Christ.

That being said, I still love Dr. Lawson, truly. Under Christ, he was a hero to many of us. We admired him for his

clarity and his boldness. For some, he was one of, if not the most influential preacher in our lives.

His fall has shocked us, depressed us, enraged us, and sobered us. We feel betrayed. We feel duped. We feel fury. I’ve needed time to think, and after doing so, I want you

to allow two texts to shape your thinking on this horrific turn of events.

The first is, 1 Timothy 5:20, “As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.”

You may have seen people rebuking Steve online, and you may

see more of it as the days go by, and I say, rightly so. What he did was egregious. It was reprehensible. It was inexcusable. It was satanic. In July of ‘18, I listened intently as he lectured on 28 Tragic Consequences of Sexual Sin in the Ministry after

another prominent pastor committed adultery. He knew better and he did it anyway. He didn’t fall into sin. This wasn’t a hiccup. He persisted in it and for a while. We’ve even been told he only confessed because it was coming out anyway. If that’s true (and I hope it’s not!),

public rebuke is right and it is good, not just for him, but for us that we may all fear God and fear sin’s consequences.

However, a second text should also shape how we think about Dr. Lawson, Galatians 6:1-3, “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. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

If he is repentant (and from

what I’ve heard that might be a big if), Dr. Lawson should never be restored to ministry, but he must be restored to fellowship in the Body of Christ. The circle our church is most aligned with is known for the Doctrines of Grace, but not for being gracious. We don’t shun the

repentant, even if their sin has deeply disappointed us. Why? Ultimately, because of what God has done for all of us in Christ. He didn’t shun us when we confessed our sin to Him. He forgave us, welcomed us, and adopted us into His family. Let’s never think of ourselves more

highly than we ought. Not one of us is immune to temptation. We are nothing. Christ is everything. Let’s rest secure in Him and let’s fight our sin ruthlessly, lest the sins of Steve Lawson (and sadly, many others!) repeat themselves in our lives.

Now, most of the Christians we

interact with on this, whether in person or online, will either be 1 Timothy 5 Christians or Galatians 6 Christians. Instead, let’s try to be both. Rebuke the sin and be gracious, remembering the grace we’ve all been shown.

Knowing that much more could be said, I’ll end with

this, when I graduated from the TMS DMin program in May of 2021, Steve Lawson looked me in my eyes and said, “Jon, God has given you an incredible ministry. Stay faithful.” I have thought of those words often the past 3 years. They were one of the highlights

of that whole night for me. From now on, I will think of those words with great sadness.

God gave Steve Lawson an incredible ministry. I wish he wanted to stay faithful as much as we all hoped he would.