The Crisis of Character in the Church

I recently read an article in Christianity Today (CT), and it was a last straw of sorts. So much has been written and discussed about the failings of high-profile people in the church. However, I believe these individuals represent the tip of the iceberg. Similar behavior is evident by many below the surface of public scrutiny. But, back to the CT article.

A Public Relations (PR) professional wrote the article on preventing crises of character in the church. I would recommend reading the entire article, but I believe the following quote summarizes the author’s main ideas and recommendations:

We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; none of us is perfect, Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure….” Each of us is prone to sinful temptations in different ways. To deny this about ourselves is in itself a prideful flaw. This is exactly why evangelical ministries must do more to create systems and structures to prevent and protect our leadership from moral failure. (Heather Cirmo, How to Prevent the Next Evangelical Leadership Scandal, Christianity Today, November 10, 2020)

As you can probably surmise, especially if you’ve read my blog, I don’t wholly agree with this statement. I don’t believe the entire article is wrong; some of the recommendations could be useful. The problem is that the remedy recommended by the author does not provide a Scriptural path to righteousness. Several parts of the above quote require discussion: the reference to Romans 3:23, the deceitful heart, temptation, and accountability through systems and structures. In the next paragraph, I have just a few words for the first three parts of Ms. Cirmo’s statement because I have written about them previously. The rest of this paper will focus on the part about accountability.

“We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” “The heart is deceitful above all things. . . (Jeremiah 17:9).” Before we were born again, these things were true of us, but they do not describe the saints’ current state. Now, we are freed from sin and no longer slaves to it (Romans 6). We have a new heart, and God’s Spirit is in us (Ezekiel 36:26, John 7:38, Romans 2:29, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 1:27). We will face temptation, but God provides a way out so we can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). However, nowhere does the Bible state that the way for His children, the saints, to be holy is to create systems and structures. Nor do the apostles talk about accountability (at least the way we typically think about accountability) as the way to righteousness.

The Israelites had a very structured system called the Law. There were severe penalties for violating it, and the Israelites were accountable to one another. But the Law was not the answer:

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19-20, NASB®)

This may seem unrelated to systems and structures of accountability in the church and Christian ministries; however, the concept is the same. Accountability procedures will not prevent sin. At best, they will create a knowledge of sin in a person. Thinking that righteousness depends on systems and structures is one reason we have a crisis of sin in the church. Here is another example from Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of man? These are matters which do have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (Colossians 2:20-23, NASB®)

This is worth repeating, decrees or regulations “are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” People who want to sin will find a way, no matter the rules, systems, or structures under which they live. So, what is the remedy?

For the sake of brevity, I will paraphrase Paul’s answer in the next part of his letter (Colossians 3). We are new people, and our life is hidden with Christ in God. We must treat our bodies as dead to sin. Furthermore, we are to express goodness and holiness. Whatever we do, we are to do in the name of Jesus with thankfulness. In other words, the remedy is character. We all need to realize and live our identity in Christ to the point of maturity, knowing we are being transformed into His image.

There is a crisis of character in the church, and I believe it is because we have an identity crisis. We fail to live as saints because we don’t think we are saints. This crisis will never be solved with systems and structures. It will be solved by faith and love; faith in God and His promises for our new life, love for Jesus, and for each other. We most often think about accountability the way Ms. Cirmo defined it: a system or structure to prevent and protect each other from moral failure. There may be times when we need to confront and correct each other. Still, the Bible more often presents a different aspect of accountability:

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16, NASB®)

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13, NASB®)

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. (Ephesians 1:17-19, NASB®)

God designated the church to help each other in various ways. One of the most important ways we are accountable to one another is presented in the verses above. We are to help each other know – know God and all that He has for us!

We help each other grow in knowing, but it is up to each of us to know. Interestingly, Merriam-Webster defines accountability as “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.” Yes, we need each other as brothers and sisters, for we are all the body of Christ. But only I know what is in my mind and heart. I am responsible to God for my thoughts and the resulting actions. The fantastic thing is that we do this from a position of holiness and righteousness because of God’s work in us through Christ.

Each of us must walk in a manner worthy of God’s calling (Ephesians 4:1, Philippians 1:27, Colossians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, Titus 2:12). Please realize, we don’t walk in a way to be worthy of God’s calling. We are worthy because of God’s calling, that is our new identity. The Greek word for worthy also means “suitable because recognized as fitting (having worth that “matches” actual value),” (Bible Hub, Strong’s Greek 516. axiós). We walk worthy of the Lord because of His grace (Romans 5:17, 6:14). There isn’t a system or structure that can make or keep us holy and righteous, only the Son of Man. Our dependence is on Jesus Christ.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16, NASB®)

This subject is so near and dear to my heart because I lived it. There was a time I was continually walking in the flesh, enmeshed in sin even though I had close friends to whom I was accountable. I was able to sidestep their scrutiny. I was remorseful and even miserable at times. I lived in a constant cycle of sin, repentance, and confession; none of this provided transformation. It turned out that the problem was I didn’t understand who I was in Christ. That is until God miraculously intervened in my life (see Our Identity in Christ Part 2 My Identity Crisis).

I have the church for accountability. Specifically, several close brothers and sisters in Christ, especially my wife, who love and encourage me in the faith. I am accountable, so I write as a brother in Christ to help the saints know their identity. A life of holiness and righteousness is not only possible; it is what God provides for us here and now. Yes, I am still tempted and, yes, I sometimes sin. But that is not because I am bound to sin, and certainly not because I lack a system of accountability; it is when I lose my focus on Jesus and all that he has for me. While we can encourage each other and help each other know God and His promises, it is up to me to walk with Him.

The big question is: how do we walk in the Spirit? I will attempt to answer this question, but trying to do so in this article would make it too long. I intended to write a short rebuttal to someone’s sincere but misguided opinion of how we can prevent the next Evangelical leadership scandal. We are not to hold each other accountable; we are accountable to help each other know God and how to live by faith in Him. Still, once again, I find the subject too important for a few words. Please join me in the next post to further our understanding of how we live holy and righteous lives by walking in the Spirit. I will be spending the holidays with family, so it may be a few weeks till the next post. Merry Christmas!