Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 1072 | Preacher Steve Lawson Ousted for Secret Sin

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

Today we’re discussing the disheartening news of Steve Lawson, the 73-year-old lead preacher at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas and president of OnePassion Ministries, being removed from ministry after an “inappropriate relationship” with an unidentified woman. We look at what happened and what information we don’t have, and look at just how this hypocrisy might test the faiths of those who have looked up to his teaching for so long. We share what sentiments we think Lawson should make clear in the midst of this news, and give some encouragement. Get your tickets for Share the Arrows: https://www.sharethearrows.com/ Pre-order Allie's new book: https://a.co/d/4COtBxy --- Timecodes: (00:43) Intro to Steve Lawson news (05:51) Lawson's removal (11:53) Share the Arrows update (17:05) What Steve Lawson should say (23:35) More thoughts on Steve Lawson (39:23) A pastor's thoughts --- Today's Sponsors: Good Ranchers — use my code ALLIE to claim the Presidential Promo worth over $1,200 AND also claim $25 off your first box plus free express shipping and bring 100% American meat to your family meals until 2028. Seven Weeks - Experience the best coffee while supporting the pro-life movement with Seven Weeks Coffee; use code ALLIE at https://www.sevenweekscoffee.com to save up to 25% and help save lives. Pre-Born — Will you help rescue babies' lives? Donate by calling #250 & say keyword 'BABY' or go to Preborn.com/ALLIE. America's Christian Credit Union - Switch to America's Christian Credit Union today for faith-aligned banking with exceptional rates and nationwide access, plus earn up to $500 in bonuses with promo code ALLIE—visit https://www.americaschristiancu.com/allie to get started! --- Relevant Episodes: Ep 1017 | Dr. Tony Evans Steps Down Over Secret Sin https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1017-dr-tony-evans-steps-down-over-secret-sin/id1359249098?i=1000658686225 Ep 1021 | #SBCToo? Another Accused Megachurch Pastor https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1021-sbctoo-another-accused-megachurch-pastor/id1359249098?i=1000659436070 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise – use promo code 'ALLIE10' for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Prominent preacher Steve Lawson has stepped down from his position as lead preacher at Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, as well as from his position as president of one passion ministries because of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman. We are breaking all of that down today and analyzing what our response as Christians should be. This episode of Relatable is brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers. Go to Good at Good Ranchers.com. Use code Alley at checkout. That's good ranchers.com code Alley. Hey guys, welcome to relatable. Happy Tuesday. Hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far.

So first, we've got to get into some really sad news. I heard the news about Steve Lawson, which I will detail as much as I can today. Last week, when we were recording, I believe it was on Thursday. And I literally stopped recording and I looked at Bree. And I said, oh my gosh, my friend texted me the statement from Trinity Bible and I could not believe it. And that is the feeling that most people who have admired and read and listened to Stephen Lawson for years have felt. This is stunning. This is maybe one of the last people I would ever expect to.

be caught in this kind of sin and to bring his family and his church and the gospel of Jesus Christ into disrepute. So let me give you a summary and put this into context and give you whatever details I can as well as what I hope to be a biblical response. So Steve Lawson, if you don't know, He is a 73-year-old author preacher. He was the lead preacher at Trinity Bible Church in Dallas. Trinity Bible Church started in 2018. From my understanding, it was a few Baptist families, a few Presbyterian families that wanted to start a church that was based on the faithful exposition of Scripture.

Steve Lawson is one of the most famous expositors of Scripture. He has a ministry that's dedicated to training men to be expositors of the word. He is an excellent teacher. He leads one or led one passion ministries as well. He was the president of one passion ministries, the ministry that I just described. But of course he has been removed from these posts after an alleged inappropriate relationship with an unidentified woman. Now this is the third pastor from the Dallas area specifically that we have discussed over the past few months that has been caught in or has confessed to some kind of sin. In June, Tony Evans, pastor of the 11,000 member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas stepped down from his pastoral duties due to sin.

he was in ministry for decades and decades. Days later, we discussed Robert Morris, the founding pastor of Gateway Church, based in South Lake, Texas, that is a large suburb of Dallas. He resigned his lead pastor following allegations of sexual misconduct, actually child molestation, not just sexual misconduct dating back to the 1980s. And it seems like there was an extensive cover-up of those crimes committed then. Morris founded that congregation. and 2000 and it is a huge church with a huge impact. So all of these pastors, all in the Dallas area, all part of what I would probably call at least theologically conservative realms of Protestant Christianity, they have had to resign because of some kind of secret sins.

We don't know the specifics of Tony Evans' situation. We don't know that many specifics of Steve Lawson's situation, but we do know a few. But let me back up a little bit and tell you more about who Steve Lawson is to try to explain the shockwaves this has caused in the reformed world. He has been in ministry for over 40 years. He is, as I said, an extremely prominent figure in the Reformed Calvinist evangelical movement. He was a teaching fellow at Ligonier Ministries that is the ministry that was founded by R.C. Sprole. He was the dean of doctor of ministry studies at the Masters Seminary. He was often the guest speaker at MacArthur's Grace Community Church.

in California. He often spoke for their shepherds conference. And he has been married to his wife, Ann, for over 40 years. They've got four adult kids and they've got grandkids. Last Thursday, while I was recording my episode, the church released a statement that announced Lawson's removal immediately from their lead preacher position. Several days ago, the statement reads, the elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas were informed by Steve Lawson of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman. The elders have met with Steve and will continue to come alongside him and pray for him with the ultimate goal of his personal repentance. Steve will no longer be compensated by Trinity Bible Church of Dallas. And he had just preached a few days before

on Sunday about walking in excellence in our walk of sanctification with Christ. In light of this, they say, may we be reminded that we are all sinners and Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

Christ remains ahead of his church, which is bigger than any fallen man. And they go along those lines. They cite 1 Corinthians 1012. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. Lawson also resigned, as we also pointed out, from all of his duties at One Passion Ministries. One Passion Ministries also released their own statement that says the board of One Passion Ministries mournfully announces that just recently Stephen Jay Lawson

confessed to the board that he has had an inappropriate relationship with a woman, a sin that has disqualified him from ministry. Steve has resigned from all of his duties at One Passion Ministries. Steve has confessed and regrets the damage he has caused to his family, the church, the reputation of one passion ministries, and most of all, Jesus Christ. They say they are saddened for the glory of Christ in this matter. They cite 1st Peter 5.8, be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Master's Seminary, Trinity Bible. One Passion Ministries has all removed.

They've all removed Lawson from their websites. Lawson gave a final sermon titled Defining True Greatness last Sunday. And some people have pointed out on X that he seemed to be kind of getting out ahead of this news when he said this. Here's not one. And you should not judge a man by his. his one week moment. You need to look at the whole body of his work. You need to look at his whole message. You need to look at his whole ministry. And don't judge him on one hiccup that happens. Now, was he talking about himself? I'm not sure. I hope not. This would be far more than a hiccup.

That doesn't mean that we have to negate the truth of everything that he's ever said, because anything that he's ever said that has been in accordance with scripture is true and good and edifying God's word does not return void. However, if he is referring to himself, calling it a hiccup would be a great minimization of this harmful sin. On Sunday, Mark Becker, elder at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas addressed the congregation for the first time since the news broke. And he didn't say much about it. He said it's been a difficult week for all of us. I know that it's been a very emotional week and a lot of sense it's been sobering and a lot has happened. This week, he acknowledges that there are still a lot of questions that congregants have, but he doesn't go into detail.

He doesn't say his name specifically from what I heard. And he simply emphasizes the point that God is faithful that he is going to preserve his church, that Trinity Bible Church will continue on their mission to exposit the word faithfully and to serve their congregation. So I've got lots of thoughts on this myself and some of them I'm going to share and some of them I'm not going to share. I only want to share what is helpful and what I know and not speculation, even if I do think that some speculation is fair based on what's been said. I hope that I only say the things that are edifying. So we'll get to that in just a second.

Let me pause. Let me tell you about our first sponsor for the day. It's seven weeks coffee. I love seven weeks coffee. They're going to be at Share the Aeros this weekend, providing coffee to the attendees there. You will be able to taste for yourself how amazing it is, how high quality it is. And that's not even the best part. Of course, I love that it's great tasting, super high quality.

quality clean coffee. But I also love that they donate 10% of every sale to pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations across the country. They've donated to over 500,000 pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations. Those donations have resulted in saving thousands and thousands of lives of babies whose moms chose life because they were able to get the resources, the information that they needed from these pro-life pregnancy centers. It's called Seven Weeks Coffee because it's seven weeks that baby in the womb is the size of a little coffee bean. Those babies are made in the image of God and they deserve to be cared for and saved. If you go to seven weeks coffee.com and use code Alley, you can save 10% on your order when you subscribe to the Heartbeat Club.

Get that box of coffee every month to your house. You save an extra 15%. So that's 25% discount right there. seven weeks coffee.com code alley. And before we get into the rest of the story, I do want to remind you guys about share the arrows. I am so excited about it. We are praying for all of you who are coming from places like Florida.

There's apparently going to be a hurricane this weekend, y'all. And I really don't over, I'm just not an over-spiritualizer. I have to be reminded by godly friends in my life of the reality of spiritual warfare. I'm always looking for the tangible, practical reason that something is happening. I very often forget to connect it to the spiritual. And I forget that Satan hates the Share the Arrow's conference. Like he hates the message that is going to be preached there. He hates for women to be encouraged.

He hates for courage to be contagious among the body of Christ. He does not want women to hear truth. He does not want women to be challenged by the Word of God. He does not want women making these lifelong friendships with like-minded believers. He does not want believers to share the arrows with one another. He wants us to be isolated. He wants us to be afraid. He wants us to think that we are the only ones who believe a certain way.

We are the only one standing against the current of the mainstream. because he knows that when we're by ourselves, we're vulnerable and we're afraid. And it's easier for us to compromise. It's easier for us to doubt and to entertain those questions that Eve entertained, did God really say? And so, like, I'm not trying to say that everything is spiritual warfare, but I have to remember also that some things are, and we are going to have challenges this week before share the arrows. I mean, he's going to try to pull all the stops

and to throw lots of obstacles in our way, in our speaker's way, whether that's physical or mental obstacles, spiritual attacks, all kinds of things. I just have to keep that in mind and pray to that end, that God would protect us, that we would have his grace, that we would have his favor, that all of Satan's plans would be thwarted,

that every single person that God wants to be there will be there, that our speakers will be protected, that their travel would be smooth, that they would only say that which is true, that the Holy Spirit would speak through us and would change hearts and minds, that women would create friendships, that they would be encouraged and strengthened in the Lord. So if you guys could pray with me, whether you're attending or not, that would be amazing. This is going to be an amazing day. I have already seen what the speakers are going to say, and they are going to bring the heat.

And I am pumped. The worship is going to just be out of this world with thousands and thousands of Christian women there. If you haven't signed up and you want to sign up, we do still have seats left in the balcony. The balcony, it's an amazing place to sit. So don't think that you are settling for that. go to share the arrows.com. You can get your tickets there. You can use code alley 15, all caps, 15% off your general admission ticket. We do still have VIP, all access, breakfast tickets available. If you've got any questions about the event, you can go to my highlight

bubble on Instagram. I have all of the frequently asked questions there. Come by yourself. That's fine. Or come with your friends. That's great too. Bring your mother-in-law. You can bring any woman that you think would be encouraged by this, but there's a lot of people coming by themselves. It's a great place to make friends. We've got awesome merch that you guys are going to be able to purchase there with Carly Jean, Los Angeles. And so go ahead, get your tickets, if you haven't already. Candice Cameron Brewery, Rosaria Butterfield, Elisa Childers, Abby Halberstadt, of course, yours truly, Francesca Baddicelli. It's going to be amazing.

And again, whether you can be there or not, please pray for us. please pray for us this week. Please pray for us this weekend. And I know you guys well. Y'all are so faithful to do that. And I'm so thankful. And honestly, like I feel like I need this too because I am, I always get really discouraged when I hear a story like this from Steve Lawson.

It's just demoralizing to have listened to someone, be encouraged by someone, blessed by someone for so long, to believe them in their sincerity and their earnest. and preaching the word of God and wondering, like, was I duped? Was I manipulated? Was I just crazy for thinking this person actually meant what they said? And I'm not even saying that he didn't mean all the things that he said. But when something like this happens, Christians start asking those questions. And so I'm excited to just be reminded of the goodness of God, the faithfulness of God, that this is our father's world. And we all need to be encouraged by that no matter what. Here's what I would love to hear from Steve Lawson or from one of the entities that he was

helping lead that I did not read in these statements. Now, I am not a publicist anymore. I had a short stint as a publicist when I was right out of college. So I'm not saying that I am some master in PR, but I have been doing media and communications for a long time. And I know something about what goes on behind the scenes when these statements are crafted. There are a lot of people in the room, many times it's lawyers, it's a PR team, it's church and ministry leaders, it's administrative people, it's other communications experts, all coming together

and deciding on every single word that is used. I guarantee you there is not, there is not anything in these statements, not any word or punctuation mark in these statements that was accidental or placed there arbitrarily. And so I would not try to read between the lines in these statements and assume that there is a good reason why, for example, Lawson's repentance was not included.

I would not assume that because these statements say that he confessed that Steve Lawson is now repentant. I wouldn't even assume that these statements saying that he confess, confessed that that means that Steve Lawson confessed voluntarily. I just wouldn't assume that. I'm not saying you should assume the other direction either, but I'm telling you every piece of these statements is intentional. Here's what we don't read that I would like to read. That is, it's purposeful and that I hope to hear or read very soon. Genuinely, I do. One, that Lawson has repented. Two, that he regrets his sin. Three, that he is taking the proper steps of

biblical restoration with his wife and family. Now, I know people will say, well, you know, it said that he confessed. It says that he regrets the damage. It says that he regrets the damage that he has caused. I have not yet read that he regrets his sin. I hope that that is the case. maybe it was in oversight by both of these entities who released their statements, but these are very smart people who put together these statements. I'm not saying that they're being dishonest. I think that they're doing the best that they can with the information that they have to try to not breed speculation while being respectful of him,

while also being as honest as possible. That is very difficult to do. but we have not read anywhere yet that he is regretful of his sin, that he confessed by his own volition, and that he has repented of that sin. I hope and pray that he has. I really do. For his own sake, for the sake of his heart and soul,

for the sake of his sweet wife of decades, for his children and grandchildren, I hope that all those things are true. if they are not true yet, I hope that they will be soon. Remember, in the Trinity Bible Church statement, they said that they are praying for his repentance. And these ministries, they want to latch on to every positive parts of these, every positive part of these stories.

And so I think if he had repented and he was regretful of his decisions and he recognized the depth of this sin that they would have included that, but they did not. And again, I just don't think it's smart for us to say, well, it's implied in X, Y, Z. Those things are not typically implied. You want to take a win where you can if you're one of these ministries, and they just don't say that. So he was apparently from what we know publicly in an ongoing relationship with a woman.

And that's all I'm at liberty to say right now. We'll see what else comes out publicly and then maybe we'll feel comfortable in discussing it further. I don't know. It will also depend on if it's helpful at the time. but that's all I'm at liberty to say right now. So he was in an ongoing relationship with a woman while preaching to thousands and thousands of people at Trinity Bible and around the world about holiness and purity and excellency in our walk with Christ.

So for me, beyond the unfaithfulness to his wife of 40 plus years, it is the hypocrisy. It's the duplicitousness, the deceit. That is what is so incredible. incredibly demoralizing to me into thousands of Christians who have been impacted by him over the years. That hypocrisy is going to test the faith of so many. People who have learned from Lawson for decades and have been persuaded and moved by his sincerity, they will feel like they have been lied to. They will have to really, really wrestle with this. I will also say,

this is my perspective and you can tell me what you think. I am and have always been very skeptical of the structure of churches that don't have a head pastor and instead just have a preacher. He was not the lead pastor at Trinity Bible. He was just the lead preacher at Trinity Bible. I really have tried to kind of push that to the same. side about some churches because they seem to be very solid in their exposition of scripture, a lot of churches that have this structure. But it always struck me as like having a flock without a shepherd. It makes not only your congregation vulnerable, but this entire idea of

the roving preacher who is not more. moored to one congregation but is traveling the world. I'm not saying that it's always wrong in every case. I guess you could say the apostle Paul fits that bill in some way, but you could see how it could make that man vulnerable too. The persistent isolation that comes along with world travel, the lack of mooring and responsibility to a flock. It makes the flock vulnerable. I think it also can make the preacher very vulnerable. My opinion is that all of that could have played a role in how this played itself out. Let me pause and tell you about our second sponsor, and that is Good Ranchers.

Good Ranchers is All-American Meat from American Farms and Ranches. They've got really high-quality stuff. I'm super excited because they are coming out with chicken nuggets for your kids that don't have any seed oils. That is like impossible. When you're at the grocery store and you look at the ingredients and even the organic and quote unquote healthy chicken nuggets that you can buy in the freezer aisle, they always have canola oil or something.

These are going to be seed oil-free chicken nuggets from American farms and ranches. That is amazing. You should go ahead and subscribe. Get your box of meat right now. That can protect you from inflation for the next four years. You can get that price lot guarantee. Plus, when you use my code alley, you'll get $25 off your first box. GoodRanchers.com code alley.

I've been told that Steve Lawson said that he never wanted to pastor again. He pastored for, I think it was 25 years in Arkansas and Alabama, and then he's taught, he's written books, and he joined Trinity Bible. I believe it was 2018. I know that's when the church started, but sometime after that, he began. preaching regularly at Trinity Bible, but I was told by multiple members, he just said he never wanted to be a pastor again. So he travels the world giving sermons. And look, I believe that flocks need a shepherd, not just a person to preach at them, not just someone to perform, but a real shepherd, the head of the church to visit the elderly in hospitals, to mourn with the family that just

lost their baby to be in the mock in the mire, the unseen and unsung parts of serving the body of Christ, weaken and week out in addition to edifying them with the word. Now, I'm not saying that Steve Lawson never did that. I think the elders are very faithful, kind men who did that, but sheep need a shepherd, a consistent shepherd who takes responsibility for his flock. First Timothy 3, 1 through 7 describes the role of the pastor not as a preacher primarily, but as an overseer. So someone who sees over his church. The saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach. The husband of one wife, sober mind, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, not gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. And I'm not just talking about Steve Lawson here. I think that we should revisit this passage a lot when we are deciding which church to go to. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive.

For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

I think we as Christians would all do well to do a few things, to keep these things in mind. I think that this is protective not just for us, but also for very skilled preachers, for very skilled teachers. I think that we should take every single teacher, preacher, pastor, off the pedestal. I think that we can as much as, as, as much as. is we are able to stop celebritizing pastors. Don't go to church with the most famous preacher.

Go to the church with the most humble pastor. The pastor who loves Jesus, who loves His Word, who can teach it well, who loves his wife and kids, who mourns with those who mourn, rejoices with those who rejoice, who doesn't think highly of himself, but sees himself as a servant,

protector of his flock who is never even getting close to the line of compromise. Nowadays, we have access to the most dynamic speakers on the planet through our phones, through podcasts. We can listen to a sermon from a pastor who lives anywhere. And it's easy to compare our pastor at our local church to those speakers and think, well, I'm not really at a good church. or a solid church or like I don't have a strong leader at my church because my pastor doesn't speak the same way as this pastor of this 10,000 person congregation does in Idaho or wherever it is.

But that's not really a fair comparison. That is not the highest qualification for a pastor. I think communication skill is extremely important. I wish more pastors took that seriously. I think they should actively work on excelling in this area. But being the most dynamic preacher is not what makes someone a good shepherd. That's what you want. You want a good shepherd that is going to protect you from wolves.

We live in a very scary time, in a chaotic time, in a confusing time. Does your pastor bring strength to the pulpit through the Word of God? Does your pastor speak? and preach with clarity on what the Word of God says about what is going on in the world today? Is your pastor humble? Is he kind? Does he know you? I think these are some of the things that we should be looking at.

Those of us in Reformed theology and the Reformed Theology camp have a lot of head knowledge We love our ESV study Bibles, our MacArthur study Bibles, we love theology, we love right doctrine. These are all good things. We love understanding and reading about, learning about all different aspects of scripture and the character of God. We are always reforming. We are always trying to be more solid, more true in what we believe. We can identify false teaching and false teachers with the best of them. We love being as discerning and thoughtful as we can and sharing that with other people.

But I think at times there is a disconnect between our head and our heart. What we know in our minds is not always expressing itself and love and humility and obedience. That's something for us to watch out for. Revelation 2-2 through 5. We are going through Revelation in my Sunday school class. Chief Related bro is helping teach our Sunday school class and has for a while. and he did a very good job leading our class through the beginning of Revelation 2.

But we read the words of Jesus to the church at Ephesus, and it just struck me, especially about those of us in this reformed camp. And I'm sure this applies to lots of different kinds of Christians, but I think this is a good thing for us to keep in mind. A good warning for us. Starting in verse 2, I know your works, your 12. and your patient endurance and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary, but I have this

against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first. So that love. That love. could be love of Christ, love of each other. And that's something for us to all check that our head knowledge is translating into heart convictions and is working itself out in our lives. And another thought that I have, I've seen a lot of people in reaction to this news, remark on social media that if it could happen to Lawson, it can happen to anyone, it happened to David, it happened to Solomon and the Bible, other great men of the Bible also sinned sexually.

And while that's true, I'm not sure that this is the time to draw those comparisons. I'm not sure that this is the time to compare Steve Lawson and David. Those stories can be used as warnings to the rest of us, not to fall into sin. But when they're used after a public preacher falls, it kind of looks like excused. making. While it could happen to anyone, everyone sins, even David's sinned. Well, hang on. Like, let's not minimize what an utter disgrace this is. We don't even know yet if he has repented. Yes, it is true that everyone sins, that all of us have to be on guard, that the devil is prowling around like a, like a lion, looking for someone to devour. But when we immediately react with,

while everyone sins, everyone could fall short, none of us is above that vulnerability. And look, David even sinned a man after God's own heart. It looks a lot like obscuring the severity of what's occurred here, which is not just marital infidelity, but also deception and hypocrisy. James 3.1 says, Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. That's serious.

That's a big burden to carry. And I think it would be a lot easier for teachers, preachers, pastors to really soberly think through that verse if there wasn't the prospect of celebrity tied to these prominent positions. So pray for Steve Lawson, pray for his repentance. Maybe it has already happened if it has not. Pray hard for that. But pray for his wife.

Pray for her comfort. for her faith, for her strength, pray for his kids, pray for his grandkids, pray for Trinity Bible Church, pray for the ministries that he led, pray for Master's Seminary. I mean, Satan is loving this. He is loving the ripple effects that this will have for years. And I know a lot of you are thinking, like, how in the world could this have happened? He knew better. Of course he knew better.

He knows the Bible may be better than any preacher alive on earth today. And yet, sin makes you stupid. Sin makes you stupid. That's what Satan does. He exaggerates the pleasures of sin and he minimizes its consequences. That's what temptation is. That is a definition of being lured into sin. That's his strategy. It's been his strategy since the Garden of Eden. And all the head knowledge in the world, world can go by the wayside when we are led by our flesh. Remember, sin makes you stupid. May God be with his church. The gates of hell will never prevail against God's church. May God strengthen our faith. May the schemes of Satan be thwarted. May he be glorified. May God use this discipline of Steve Lawson for his glory. May Steve Lawson. May Steve Lawson. May Steve Lawson. and be closer to the Lord than he's ever been after he becomes contrite and repentant, may he bring beauty from ashes?

Because that is what God does, what Satan means for evil. God uses for good. He is in the business of redemption. And remember, his eternal plan of redemption is always going off without a hitch. He wasn't surprised by this. He wasn't thrown off by this. He's not looking down and saying, how can I clean this mess up? that's not how it works he's suspended outside of linear time and he is still working all things

together for the good of those who love him and he is still coming back at the appointed time that only he knows and he wins in the end only thing the only thing that we can do is the next right thing in faith with excellence and for the glory of god so just remember that i've got just a couple more quick comments on that, but let me go ahead and pause and tell you about our third sponsor for the day. And that is pre-born. If you want to know how to get involved in the pro-life world, if you want to know how you can save lives, then you need to check out pre-born. Pre-born is a large network of clinics throughout the country that provides free resources, free sonograms for pregnant moms in need. We know that when a mom sees that baby inside her,

womb on the sonogram screen. When she hears that beating heart, she is so much more likely to choose life. That's why at Planned Parenthood, they don't let them hear the heartbeat. They don't even allow them to look at the sonogram screen. That's not really informed consent, by the way. If you're being told that this is just a clump of cells, it's not even a baby and you're not even able to see the light that is inside you, then you can't even make an informed choice. And so pre-born wants to make sure that women have all the information. They want them to choose life. If you can donate just $28 to pre-born, you cover the cost of a free ultrasound for one of these women.

And that could be the game changer for her, that she decides to keep her baby after she sees that baby on the sonogram screen. So go to preborn.com slash alley. Make whatever donation you can. That's preborn.com slash alley. I thought that John Benzinger had a really good statement that he put out on Acts. He is the pastor at Redeemer Bible Church in Gilbert, Arizona. And he is one of the only people that I've seen, like, really sit in the seriousness of this and acknowledge how disappointing this is and how disgraceful this is while also giving

what I think is the right kind of biblical encouragement in this moment. So he posted on X, I wrote this yesterday in our staff chat at RBC Gilbert. Maybe it'll help you as you process what is going on with Dr. Stephen J. Lawson. A thread. Hey, everyone. As many of you probably know, it came out yesterday that a famous preacher and author within the circles our church is most aligned with fell morally. Dr. Stephen Lawson committed adultery after being married to his wife and for over four decades. He has devastated her, his kids, his grandkids, pray for them all, and tens of thousands.

thousands that looked up to him. He has disqualified himself for ministry and brought shame on the pastorate and on the name of Christ. In Satan's prowling, he devoured another one who chose sin instead of Christ. That being said, I still love Dr. Lawson truly. Under Christ, he was a hero to many of us. We admired him for his clarity and his boldness. For some, he was one of, if not the most influential preacher in our lives. His fall has shocked us, depressed us, enraged us, and sobered us. We feel betrayed. We feel duped. We feel fury. I've needed time to think, and after doing so, I want you to allow two texts to shape your thinking on this horrific turn of events. The first is 1 Timothy 520. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all,

so that the rest may stand in fear. You may have seen people rebuking Steve online, and you may see more of it as the days go by, and I say rightly so. What he did was egregious. It was reprehensible. It was inexcusable. It was satanic. In July of 2018, I listened intently as he lectured on 28 tragic consequences of sexual sin in the ministry after another prominent pastor committed adultery. He knew better, and he did it anyway. He didn't fall into sin. This wasn't a hiccup, and because of that, rebuke is right and it is good, not just for him,

but for us that we may all fear God and fear sin's consequences. However, a second text should also shape how we think about. Dr. Lawson, Galatians 6-1 through 3. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, for if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. If repentant, and he says, which he seems to be, and I hope, absolutely hope he's right, Dr. Lawson should never be restored to ministry, but he must be restored to fellowship in the body of Christ.

The circle our church is most aligned with is known for the doctrines of grace, but not for being gracious. Yes, that is kind of what I was saying earlier. We don't shun the repentant, even if their sin has simply has deeply disappointed us. Why? Ultimately, because of what God has done for all of us in Christ. He didn't shun us when we confessed our sin to him. He welcomed us, forgave us, and he's talking about Jesus here, capital H, him. He welcomed us, forgave us, and adopted us into his family. Let's never think of ourselves more highly than we ought. Not one of us is immune to temptation. We are nothing. Christ is everything. Let's rest the cure in him and let's fight our sin ruthlessly,

less the sins of Steve Lawson and sadly many others repeat themselves in our lives. Now, most of the Christians we interact with on this, whether in person or online, will either be 1 Timothy 5 Christians or Galatian 6 Christians. Instead, let's try to to be both. Rebuk the sin and be gracious, remembering the grace we've all been shown. Knowing that much more could be said, I'll end with this. When I graduated from the TMS D-Men program in May of 2021, Steve Lawson looked at me in the eyes and said, John, God has given you an incredible ministry. Stay faithful. I have thought of those words often the past three years. They were one of the highlights of that whole night for me. From now on, I will think of those words with great

sadness. God gave Steve Lawson an incredible ministry. I wish he wanted to stay faithful. as much as we all hoped he would. And I hope that he does. I hope he wants to remain faithful, not to ministry because I think that he's done there, but faithful to his wife, faithful to his calling, and faithful to God.

Okay, I've got one last sponsor for the day, and then I'll close us out with just a couple more thoughts. And that last sponsor is America's Christian Credit Union, None of us like to think about being debanked or being punished by our financial institutions for what we believe. And yet that is the reality for some. If you want to protect yourself against that, make sure that you are banking with a company that aligns with your values. That's America's Christian Credit Union. For over 65 years, they've been serving God-fearing Americans with integrity and faith.

This was started by pastors to serve their congregations. And now they have more than 5,000 shared branches, 30,000 ATMs, nation. nationwide. Right now you can earn $400 when you open a new checking account with qualifying activities, plus my listeners get an additional $100 bonus with the promo code Allie at checkout. Go to America's ChristianCCU.com slash Alley for complete program details. America's Christian Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA. This is commentary by Kosti Hen. He says one of the fastest ways to know if the man is not fit to be a pastor is when he claims

that all he really wants to do is preach, and he abandons the shepherding work to everyone else, refusing to get the stench of sheep on his starched shirt. Such a man is nothing more than a performer who has paraded out once a week to wax eloquent with his oratory and then relegated to his ivory tower. Fire that man and hire a real pastor. So that's quite a sharp rebuke from someone who is also a very faithful teacher and preacher of Kosti Han. We've had him on the show a couple times. I am sure he is someone who would say that he has also benefited from Steve Lawson's teachings over the years, but the anger that you're seeing from some, the sharp rebukes that you're seeing from some, as we heard by the other pastor in Arizona, I think it's justified.

It's okay to be angry. It's okay to speak about this with sharpness, of course, while also giving grace and understanding the grace that God gave us and hoping for goodness for his family, repentance for him, and being on guard ourselves. But that is not mean that in any way we should be minimizing what happened here. Gosh, Satan is a liar. He is a destroyer and he steals, kills and destroys. He loves to create chaos.

He loves to cast doubt on the faithfulness of God. But remember, God is faithful even when people are faithless. God is love. God is trustworthy. Jesus Christ, Hebrews 13, 8 says, is the same yesterday today and forever. Jesus will never fail you. He will never love. lie to you. He can never show hypocrisy. He will never be duplicitous. He will never betray you,

ever. He will be faithful to give you new mercies every morning. He is the rock on which we stand. He is our trustworthy savior. He is the author and perfector of our faith. He is our steadfast anchor. You can trust in him. He will be good. He will be loving. He will be loyal. Even when everyone, else fails us or turns their back. Let God be true even if every man were a liar. And so that's the God we serve. Remember that Satan wants to use this to spark doubt in your mind. Go to God's word, go to him in prayer, dedicate yourself even further to the understanding and study of Scripture, to working out your own salvation with fear and trembling and doing the good works. that God has prepared beforehand for you so that we may walk in them.

All right, that's all we've got time for today. We will see you back here tomorrow.