When I err, everyone can see it, but not when I lie.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Man-like it is to fall into sin,
Fiend-like it is to dwell therein;
Christ-like it is for sin to grieve,
God-like it is all sin to leave.
Friedrich Von Logau

While some mistakes have foolish or unfortunate stamped across them, others have forbidden. Showing up Thursday for Wednesday's appointment is not too swift; showing up in Switzerland with the church treasury is sin. Both are mistakes, but the difference is qualitative as well as quantitative. The added moral dimension puts sin in a completely different category from blunders.

Generally, church leaders are held in high esteem as persons who believe in something — something measured by canons of right and wrong. The general public, church members, and, for that matter, the leaders themselves, expect not only intellectual assent but behavioral adherence to the belief system. So for an acknowledged leader to make a moral error is to live a lie. When a pastor ...

You have reached the end of this Article Preview

To continue reading, subscribe to Christianity Today magazine. Subscribers have full digital access to CT Pastors articles.

Log InSubscribe

Already a CT subscriber? Log in for full digital access.