“Jehoshaphat reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years…he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” – 2 Chronicles 20:31-32
Christian, are you a child of God or a sinner?
Celebrity preacher Matt Chandler is the senior pastor of The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, a title he has held since 2002. He has a reputation both in and out of his church as being a solid man of God, committed to loving his people well, exhibiting a high degree of humility in the public eye, and a voracious dedication to preaching the Word responsibly.
But in 2022, Chandler took a temporary leave of absence from his position due to some direct messages sent between him and another woman in the church. While they were deemed not to be “romantic or sexual” in nature, the exchange prompted both an internal investigation followed by a period of discipline and restoration. Today, Chandler has resumed preaching and pastoral responsibilities after being restored by church leadership.
We live in a time when a public figure (such as a celebrity pastor) undergoes intense scrutiny not just from within his or her community, but from the general public. This precedent happens, perhaps, as a response to many decades where such scrutiny didn’t exist. Controversy and scandal were swept under many carpets and victims were pressured to keep things quiet.
For Christians, these issues are only magnified by the reality that we claim to live by a higher standard. While it might be a small thing for a man to cheat on his wife and eventually get divorced and start over, Christians (at least in principle) see it as something much larger. So, when a moral failure occurs, the reaction of the people within that sphere can be severe. People who experience such failure often are never able to keep face within their own communities. And when they are famous outside of their communities, the scrutiny is such that the whole community suffers, even after the person who committed such acts steps away from that community altogether.
But what is the right penalty of moral failure? What should correction and restoration look like? Should a leader who commits sin and then repents be restored to leadership?
I think about King Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles tells us in multiple locations that he was a king who did right in the eyes of the Lord. And it’s true; he sought to teach the people the book of the law and he tore down idols in the streets that his predecessors had built.
But on two occasions, Jehoshaphat lost his way. We are told that he struck an inappropriate agreement with two kings of Israel. The first was with King Ahaz, who wanted to attack Ramoth-Gilead and needed an ally in the war. Jehoshaphat did not want to proceed until a prophet of the Lord confirmed that such an attack was the will of God. Micaiah then came forth and after being coy at the beginning, told Ahaz and Jehoshaphat that such a plan would end in Ahaz’s death.
Ahaz steamed forward anyway, and Jehoshaphat—in spite of Micaiah’s warning, proceeded to side with his partner.
The second king of Israel was Ahaziah. Jehoshaphat agreed (against the Lord’s wishes) to build a fleet of trading ships with the neighbouring king. The judgment for doing so was that Jehoshaphat died young and the ships they built were destroyed.
So, we have an example of a man who at least on two occasions committed sin. Or to use the term aforementioned, he experienced “moral failure.”
Yet, the Bible still refers to him as one who did right in the eyes of the Lord. Why is that?
It would seem in both examples, Jehoshaphat acknowledged his failure and submitted himself for discipline. He was repentant for what he did. And even though it cost him with an earlier death, his legacy of being a god-fearing king lives forever in the Bible.
So, I guess, all I am trying to say is that the part God is most interested in from you is not how well you can live a perfect life, but rather how quickly can you acknowledge when you fall and repent before the Lord for doing so. Jeremiah 15:19 says, “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.”
The repentant person is the one who does right in the eyes of the Lord. That person demonstrates what moral success looks like even though they fell.
To conclude: "Seven times a righteous person falls, and still they rise again" (Proverbs 24:16). It would seem that extending grace to people who look to repent and make things right is always the best way forward.