Recent public scandals—some involving current or former politicians, international figures, and even Christian ministers—brought to mind something I should have mentioned the last time we shared this page: While there’s a need to proclaim judgment, it must always be seasoned with grace.
Each humiliation has its own heartache, but those who fall the “hardest” are often those who exhibit little grace in their own lives or in their messages. The pulpit scandals of the 1980s were made poignant not by Jimmy Swaggart’s copious tears as much as the sadness at seeing a “fire and brimstone” revivalist caught in a grievous sin.
I remain convinced of the notion that sinners (all of us) must be confronted with the need for repentance and for trusting in Christ and His righteousness for salvation. That’s nonnegotiable.
But if we stop there, we shortchange Jesus, the gospel, and our hearers, whether one person or 10,000. It’s all about grace! It’s about God’s grace in formulating a plan for our salvation “before the creation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). It’s about Christ’s grace in paying the penalty for our sins on a cross, “scorning its shame” (Heb. 12:2). It’s about God the Holy Spirit, who “has implanted the grace of Christ in the heart of the savage,” as Ellen White notes in Christ’s Object Lessons, page 385.
As we warn about judgment and forget grace, it’s more difficult to seek grace from our fellow believers should we fall. The servants who share both judgment and grace not only convey a more honest message—they also insure themselves from a measure of opprobrium if a fall occurs.
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Mark A. Kellner is news editor of the Adventist Review. This article was published July 28, 2011.
