Addressing Moral Failure in the Church (Episode 138)

In this episode, Frank King addresses something we seldom talk about in the church today. The Bible has much to say about it. That is the subject of moral failure. This involves an act that a person carries out when he knows he should not carry it out. For Christians, our source for knowing what we should or should not do is the Word of God.

Though Christians are born again, they can still experience moral failure. That’s because they are yet clothed in corruptible flesh.

It is important to state that no degree of moral excellence will get us into heaven. On the other hand, we are called to live our life to bring glory to the Lord. A lifestyle marked by immoral behavior cannot accomplish that end.

Frank explains that when fellow believers fail morally, we should be firm toward them when we need to be firm. For instance, when a person keeps repeating the same kind of offenses and claims to be a believer.  At other times, we should be compassionate toward those overcome by moral failure. Equally, we need wisdom to know when to do which.

Who Is Qualified to Help

A problem in today's church is that some congregants are like the scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to the temple to Jesus. They acted as if they wanted to do the right thing toward the woman. But they were just using her and her moral failure to try to entrap Jesus (John 8:6).

They didn’t care about how humiliated and demoralized the woman must have felt. It was all about exploiting her failure to do evil in the house of God.

Some people in the church today are like those religious leaders in Jesus’ day. They love exposing the failure of others to make themselves appear morally superior.

So, the all-important question is who in church is best suited for ministering to those who have failed morally. Some in the church are not qualified for this ministry.

About that, Paul writes, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” (Galatians 6:1, NASB). So, according to this verse, those who are spiritual in the church should be the ones to reach out to the person who needs to be ministered to after his or her misdeed.