There has been no shortage of scandal in the church. We have learned of decades of sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention. Toxic leadership proliferates and even thrives in mega-churches (Willow Creek and Harvest Bible Chapel). It appears that long closeted skeletons are being discovered daily.
The Apostle Peter offers inspired counsel on how Christians should respond to scandal.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:12-17).
Peter points out that there are two types of scandal in the church. First, there is the scandal associated with the faithful proclamation of the Gospel. The message that the crucified Christ has risen and is coming again is a scandal to an idolatrous and secular world. A Christian ethic of sexual morality that resists fornication, adultery, pornography, and homosexuality is a scandal to a sexually licentious society. The declaration that a human fetus reflects the image of God and is deserving the full protection of the law is scandalous in a world that gives priority to human autonomy. To offer hospitality to immigrants and refugees is a scandal in a world filled with hate and fear. Peter declares that a church that suffers because of faithfulness to Christ should rejoice and be not ashamed. In fact, to be “reviled for the name of Christ” signifies that the glorious Spirit of God “rests on you” (cf. 1 Peter 2:19; 3:17).
The second type of scandal is when church leaders are prosecuted as evildoers and troublesome meddlers. Peter warns that there is no honor “when you sin and are harshly treated” (1 Peter 2:19). In fact, he contrasts the divine grace conferred upon those who suffer for righteousness with the dishonor of those who suffer because of sin (1 Peter 2:20). Peter is suggesting that Christian leaders who scandalize the church by sinful behavior should not presume divine grace. Instead, judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). In other words, when the church suffers because of its own sinfulness, it is not being persecuted by the devil, but judged by God.
When church leaders prove to be incompetent in dealing with immorality and corruption, then state prosecutors and investigative journalists become the messengers of God’s judgment. When church leaders call for public accountability, it’s not cannibalism. Rather, it’s a call to confession, repentance, and reformation.
Judgment will come. Those who have been faithful to Christ will “receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4). Those who prove to be unfaithful will suffer “shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1 Timothy 1:19).
