Leadership and the danger of unrepentant sin...

Spiritual leaders face many tricky circumstances, setbacks and tragedies, but the biggest threat that we leaders ever face is the failings of our own character.

The rather disconcerting thing about spiritual leadership is that every leader contains within themselves the seeds of their own destruction: "...sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you…" (Gen. 4v7).

Now, of course, a call to take on leadership has to require a level of spiritual maturity and growth, and a commitment to sanctification. But that call to ministry never assumes a sinless spiritual maturity.

In fact, spiritual maturity in this life has to mean, at its core, a lively dependence upon Christ as the only refuge for justification and the only power for sanctification.

Mature leadership is thus grounded in a deep knowledge of our sin and a deep need for ongoing grace: "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psalm 32v1).

We are all in the middle of our sanctification. So, then, sin remains in us leaders, and we must seriously reckon with it if we want to be spiritually healthy.

In fact, we are in our greatest danger when we diminish, or neglect, the presence of sin and its impact in us. We must beware a casualness with regard to our liability to walk in darkness.

Here are some spiritual pitfalls that can end up ruining us as we lead, pastor and teach others.

1 We only see ourselves as theoretical sinners

It is very possible for me to call myself a sinner without really confessing many actual sins. I don’t think this is too uncommon.

Though it goes against our theology, it is all too easy to see ourselves as basically good, whole and rather wonderful. We know that this delusion has taken hold because, when we’re criticised, or taken down a peg or two, we become defensive, insecure and hurt. We can’t believe that someone has had the temerity to name what we’re like!

Of course, regardless of what anyone has said, the truth is far worse: we’re all totally depraved (Rom. 3v9-18). Spiritual health is never greater than an honest awareness of our actual sins (Luke 18v9-14).

2 We take refuge in ministry usefulness

We all know the drill here. For some reason or other, we start to become aware of a sin in our lives. We notice a spiritual failure. It may be big, or it may be small, but we know it’s there. Yet, suddenly, we find ourselves being used by God in some way. We preach rather well. Someone becomes a Christian. Our church grows. Someone really appreciates our spiritual counsel. Maybe we have a ministry that draws crowds – or we become rather well-known in church circles. And, as a result, we unconsciously think that our ministry usefulness somehow covers over our sin. We unconsciously think, "Yes, I may be doing this thing, but just look at how I’m being used!"

Tragically, such ministry usefulness can lead us into spiritual blindness and godless amnesia. Though we might have the strength and power of Samson, we can end up in the same situation: "But he did not know that the Lord had left him" (Judges 16v20).

Let’s beware, brothers and sisters! Our ministry impact will never atone for our sins, nor replace our need for sanctification.

3 We refuse to be watched over

Paul’s counsel to Timothy is priceless: "Watch your life and doctrine closely" (1 Tim. 4v16).

We never get beyond this and need to come back to it regularly. However, we also need more than this. The truth is that we aren’t sufficient to watch over ourselves, but we need to be watched over by others. Wisdom is not, according to Proverbs, simply learnt alone during my quiet time, but in community.

"A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise" (Prov. 15v12).

Growth comes through correction from people around us, not just my own personal spirituality. It isn’t just a "good idea" to consult others, but a necessity. My wisdom and self-insight are not enough. It is a gift to have others’ input and help, and their rebukes are better than hidden love.

4 We don’t take our propensity to lie seriously

Point three, above, is important, but there is one sin that no level of accountability will ever deal with: lying.

Sin breeds in the dark, and grows in a seedbed of dishonesty. Depravity means that self-deception, and the deception of others, comes rather easily to us. Deep down, we’re all Cretans: “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Titus 1v12).

We lie because we want to look better than we are, and because we want to avoid the consequences for what we do (John 3v19). Such deception is an easy and cheap defence, and if we practise it, we will find that pulling the wool over people’s eyes is not too difficult.

Moreover, it can be seemingly effective – we can lie our ways out of many consequences and troubles. However, the burning eyes of Him who wields the double-edged sword cannot be fooled, and we will give an account.

If we take refuge in lies, we will find no refuge in Him. He is not afraid to humiliate us before the world and shout from the rooftops what we have done.

5 We don’t live in daily repentance

The seeds of the worst things are in us all, and they all have a tendency to grow. But, how do seed sins become big sins? By repetition. And those repeated, growing sins beget other even bigger sins. The snowball effect on our souls is both quieter and far more tragic than we imagine: our consciences become seared and our spiritual sensitivity is numbed (1 Tim. 4v2, Titus 1v5).

We lose any consciousness of doing real wrong and simply become used to how we’re living. Sometimes we wonder "how so-and-so could have kept going down a certain course of action?" But the answer is not difficult to see. If we do something enough times, or for long enough, our conscience stops operating normally – and the result is flagrant hypocrisy.

The only way to stop all of this is to live in ongoing, daily repentance: "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4v8).

There is no other way. We often think of temptation as Satan’s opportunity to destroy us (and of course it is that), but a lack of repentance is the really deadly moment.

"Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent" (Matt. 11v20).

Before the affair happens, there will have been plenty of smaller sins along the way. Before the leadership breakdown, there will have been signs of abusive power and broken relationships. But we didn’t listen when we could have. There was no intervention. We didn’t repent of our sins regularly, and so the snowball effect of sin then became an avalanche.

Brothers and sisters, let’s take care of our souls and lead others well by repenting quickly and regularly.

So, then, we need to remember that failings in our characters aren’t hypothetical possibilities, but actual realities. We really are sinners. Wonderfully, we have an actual, not a theoretical, Saviour too. His blood is more real than our sins and His power a greater fact than our temptations. There is sober warning for each of us in the reality of sin – but also a greater hope in the reign of our King. Let’s run to Him for everything we need.