“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2v17).
Sam Allberry, it turns out, is a sinner.
So am I. So are you, and so is your pastor.
It should not come as a surprise that our brothers and sisters in Christ are as weak and sinful as we are ourselves. It should never be a surprise that a person engaged in gospel ministry is a sinner ministering to other sinners. The gospel is for sinners. That is precisely who Christ came to call. And, wonderfully, sinners are the people Christ uses to build His church. Sinners are entrusted with the gospel ministries of evangelism, teaching, discipleship, pastoral care and more.
Sinners are going to sin. Sometimes in our thought and desires, sometimes by word and deed. By the grace of God and the ongoing work of the Spirit in us, we are not slaves to sin as we once were. We can struggle against our sinful nature. We can resist the temptations of the world and Satan’s schemes. But we will not always succeed, because sin is still and always crouching at the door, desiring to come in (Genesis 4v7).
The wonderful good news of the gospel is that sinners can be saved. Gloriously, in Christ, our sins are paid for and taken from us. Our part is merely to repent. This is true for the newest believer and it is still true for the most senior saints among us. Repentance is the hallmark of the true Christian. That is why it is so good to read the clear statement from Immanuel, Nashville that Sam Allberry is humbly repentant. He knows he has sinned, he is not trying to defend his actions, nor change his teaching on sexuality or sin.
'Currently disqualified from gospel ministry'
So why has he been removed from his pastoral role at church? Why will he not be speaking at this summer’s Keswick Convention? I am not part of any of these discussions and decisions, but I imagine a number of factors were considered.
People must be able to trust their pastor or preacher. Trust can be lost in a moment, but it takes a long time and a lot of work for that to be restored.
Churches need to consider their reputation amongst outsiders (1 Timothy 3v7). If a church has a pastor who is known to have engaged in a same-sex relationship but is not disciplined, people might think they endorse such relationships.
Sinners need pastoral support. Being in public ministry brings with it greater vulnerability to Satan’s attacks and greater exposure to unhelpful comment from those outside the local church. It is wise to step back from that, at least for a time.
I cannot say whether Sam Allberry will be restored to public ministry in the future or not. But there is no reason to question the writing and teaching he has done in the past. We need not doubt that he knows and believes the true gospel, and that he is still God's deeply beloved son.
But we should redouble our prayers for our own pastors. The devil would love nothing more than to see all our leaders mired in sin and scandal. Make no mistake — no one is beyond the reach of temptation. But, praise God, no one can sin beyond the reach of the gospel.
