Let’s face it; no Christian in his right mind gets up one day and says, “I just want to fail. Make a mess of my life. Bring myself to an open shame. I want to bring reproach upon the gospel.”
Yet we know moral failure happens among Christians much too often. We witness it in our respective local church. We hear about it in the news when prominent spiritual leaders fall. Just recently, two of the most prominent pastors of mega churches made the news due to moral failure. They are Dr. Tony Evans and Pastor Robert Morris.
Dr. Evans, two weeks ago, told his congregation he was stepping away from the pulpit due to undisclosed sin in the past. He is “submitting to a healing and restoration process established by the elders.” A few days later, Pastor Robert Morris resigned from Gateway Church because of an inappropriate relationship with a minor in the past. His misconduct reportedly lasted several years.
If these men, regarded as spiritual giants, can fail morally, what about the average believer?
First, let me explain what I mean by moral failure. The premise of moral failure is that, first of all, one knows what is right and what is wrong. This we know because we have the Word of God to tell us that. Moral failure occurs when we choose to do what is wrong instead of what we know to be right.
Consider this verse found in the epistle of James: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17, NASB). Here, James is not talking about sin due to ignorance but sin in spite of knowing the right thing to do. That is also what I am addressing in this post.
Add “These Things” to Your Faith
The question is why? Why does a Christian who knows right from wrong do what is wrong to his own hurt? That’s a loaded question. Suffice it to say that even though we are born again, none of us are literally perfect, and all of us are subject to moral failure.
So, what can we do to safeguard ourselves against moral failure in our Christian life? To answer that question, consider these words from Apostle Peter: “For if ye do these things, ye will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10, KJV). This is a bold claim, in light of what we have discussed heretofore.
What we need to know is what does “these things” refer to? Because according to Peter, if we do “these things,” we will never fall. Here is the list that comprises “these things,” found in verse 2 Peter 1:5-7 (KJV):
1.“Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue”
2. “And to virtue knowledge”
3. “And to knowledge temperance”
4. “And to temperance patience”
5. “And to patience godliness”
6. “And to godliness brotherly kindness”
7. “And to brotherly kindness charity [unconditional love]”
On this list, the starting point is faith. That is true for all of us. For we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. But when we have done that, we have not arrived. We have only begun. We must add to our faith virtue, which is moral excellence. Then we must proceed to growing in knowledge, and so on.
What Peter is stressing here is the need for us to be spiritually progressive in our Christian life. Once we have become born again through faith in Christ, we must not stop there. Rather, we must add to our faith the things listed above, not necessarily in the order listed.
You Have What It Takes
The bottom line is that if you are diligent and progressive in cultivating your spiritual growth, you will safeguard yourself against moral failure. It goes without saying that your failure to do so will yield a different result. The latter is one reason why moral failure is so common in Christendom. Remember what Peter said about the spiritual disciplines he presented: “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (verse 10).
Furthermore, we must not be casual in adding these things to our faith, but we must do so “giving all diligence” (verse 5).
Some Christians may feel intimidated by the message of this post, especially given the moral failure of prominent mega church leaders making the news these days. But in spite of those unfortunate occurrences, I want you to know that you have what it takes to live a victorious and godly life in Christ . According to Peter, “His divine power hath given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (verse 3). That means every genuine believer has been given everything he needs to add the spiritual qualities listed above to his faith!
Copyright © 2024 by Frank King. All rights reserved.