Married Preacher Commits Adultery

[Jimmy West]

Between November last year and last month, I have been visiting escorts, going to strip clubs, and watching pornography. During most of this time, I was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to hundreds of people. I told my family and abandoned them when the guilt became too much to bear. My wife wants me to submit to the authority to a church up north from where I live and undergo their version of restoration, and I am very willing to do so in order to win back her trust as well as her heart. The question I am asking this forum is this: What does the Bible say of my situation? I cannot use David as an example, because his sin occurred in the Old Testament, and I want to know the New Testament answer of how to deal with this sin. Please keep in mind, I believe the Bible forbids divorce, and my wife believes the same thing, so please do not respond with scriptures about divorce. I need help, please. God is good, and he is in control, but I would like to know what the Bible tells me about when preachers commit adultery. I do not want to end up like some other preachers who lose their faith, and I don't want to dissappoint anyone ever again, nor do I want to disappoint God, either; because I do recognize that I have sinned against God when I broke my covenant with my wife (since it is a breaking of God's covenant as well).

Please help. Lord bless you all!

Your problem is that you have not fully given yourself to God. You are still carnal and your flesh is destroying you. You need to get rid of your carnality by growing and maturing spiritually. When you consecrate yourself to spiritual maturity, you will take on the character of Jesus, and that which once gave you pleasure will no longer be important to you. Why? Because there is so much more pleasure in a spiritual relationship with God. Please visit my web site and learn how to speed up your spiritual growth.
www.gth-ministries.org

 

[crazeepraze]

The Bible says ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God! Your being a Pastor or Minister doesn't exempt you from this!

What WE have to do as Christians is:

1. Understand that our Pastors/Ministers are HUMANS. They have faults, just as WE do.

2. Be connected to our leaders in the SPIRIT. Then, once we learn of their falls, it won't keep us from receiving from them. God still uses people in the midst of their MESS!

3. Be not so quick to judge or pass judgement.

I commend you on your honesty! Confession is the beginning of deliverance! Don't let anybody get you down....continue to pray, seek God's will for your life, and let him use you how HE pleases.

Praying with and for you!

 

[DIVA_for_Christ]

The Bible says ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God! Your being a Pastor or Minister doesn't exempt you from this!

What WE have to do as Christians is:

1. Understand that our Pastors/Ministers are HUMANS. They have faults, just as WE do.

2. Be connected to our leaders in the SPIRIT. Then, once we learn of their falls, it won't keep us from receiving from them. God still uses people in the midst of their MESS!

3. Be not so quick to judge or pass judgement.

I commend you on your honesty! Confession is the beginning of deliverance! Don't let anybody get you down....continue to pray, seek God's will for your life, and let him use you how HE pleases.

Praying with and for you!

AMEN!!!!!!!

 

[madison1101]

The Bible says ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God! Your being a Pastor or Minister doesn't exempt you from this!

What WE have to do as Christians is:

1. Understand that our Pastors/Ministers are HUMANS. They have faults, just as WE do.

2. Be connected to our leaders in the SPIRIT. Then, once we learn of their falls, it won't keep us from receiving from them. God still uses people in the midst of their MESS!

3. Be not so quick to judge or pass judgement.

I commend you on your honesty! Confession is the beginning of deliverance! Don't let anybody get you down....continue to pray, seek God's will for your life, and let him use you how HE pleases.

Praying with and for you!

Studying the books of 1 Timothy and Titus, there are certain standards that pastors are supposed to live up to. I would not want to have my pastor preaching in the pulpit on Sunday and then going out carousing with prostitutes that night. The Holy Spirit is not in control of such a person, and his preaching and ministry are ineffective.

 

[beloved42]

Between November last year and last month, I have been visiting escorts, going to strip clubs, and watching pornography. During most of this time, I was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to hundreds of people. I told my family and abandoned them when the guilt became too much to bear. My wife wants me to submit to the authority to a church up north from where I live and undergo their version of restoration, and I am very willing to do so in order to win back her trust as well as her heart. The question I am asking this forum is this: What does the Bible say of my situation? I cannot use David as an example, because his sin occurred in the Old Testament, and I want to know the New Testament answer of how to deal with this sin. Please keep in mind, I believe the Bible forbids divorce, and my wife believes the same thing, so please do not respond with scriptures about divorce. I need help, please. God is good, and he is in control, but I would like to know what the Bible tells me about when preachers commit adultery. I do not want to end up like some other preachers who lose their faith, and I don't want to dissappoint anyone ever again, nor do I want to disappoint God, either; because I do recognize that I have sinned against God when I broke my covenant with my wife (since it is a breaking of God's covenant as well).

Please help. Lord bless you all!

You must realize that you are at the top of the enemys list and you should have never thought that you were strong enough don't you know that the only peson that can woop him is GOd. Pray and rebuke him constantly there's no good in our flesh that's why we must fight it every day. IF you have asked God's forgiveness it's fine then get help from him and subnitt unde authority pray, fast but also step down.

 

[crazeepraze]

Studying the books of 1 Timothy and Titus, there are certain standards that pastors are supposed to live up to. I would not want to have my pastor preaching in the pulpit on Sunday and then going out carousing with prostitutes that night. The Holy Spirit is not in control of such a person, and his preaching and ministry are ineffective.

I actually would have to disagree with you.

God can use whomever and whatever HE choses, and they can STILL be very effective in ministry. Don't believe it.....check out the Story of Rahab.

As a PK...I feel at liberty to say that you really have NO idea what goes on in your Pastor's home or life outside of the church. Just know that when your Pastor reaches the pulpit.....he's operating under the anointing, and not of his humanly self!

And furthermore....if FallenPreacher has repented, and God has forgiven him (for the Bible says in the Book of Jeremiah that our sins would be forgiven, forgotten, forever) who are we hold his faults against him?

FallenPreacher....Be THANKFUL God is not like man!

 

[madison1101]

I actually would have to disagree with you.

God can use whomever and whatever HE choses, and they can STILL be very effective in ministry. Don't believe it.....check out the Story of Rahab.

As a PK...I feel at liberty to say that you really have NO idea what goes on in your Pastor's home or life outside of the church. Just know that when your Pastor reaches the pulpit.....he's operating under the anointing, and not of his humanly self!

And furthermore....if FallenPreacher has repented, and God has forgiven him (for the Bible says in the Book of Jeremiah that our sins would be forgiven, forgotten, forever) who are we hold his faults against him?

FallenPreacher....Be THANKFUL God is not like man!

I hold to what scripture says, that the leader of the church is to be above reproach. FallenPreacher needs to step down from the pulpit and get some Godly counsel for his problem. It sounds as if he has a sexual addiction, and that requires getting into recovery, and getting therapy.

If, after he has had some victory in this area, like a couple of years at least, God's call is still being heard by him, then it would be appropriate for him to reenter the ministry. At that time, he would be very effective in ministry to men with sexual addictions.

I speak from my own fallenness. I am eating disordered, a binge eater. I have struggled with my recovery for years, and asked my pastor for prayer and guidance on this matter. My pastor knows that I have a desire to lead a women's Bible study, and cautioned me about taking a role of spiritual leadership before I have had victory over my eating disorder, so that I would not be weak in the battle against the attacks of the enemy. He agrees that I need a time of abstinence from my binge eating for at least a few months before I begin my Bible study.

 

[osx]

this dont surprise me. we tend to forget that preachers are human too. they are not immune from the temptations of society

 

[Andrea77]

Between November last year and last month, I have been visiting escorts, going to strip clubs, and watching pornography. During most of this time, I was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to hundreds of people. I told my family and abandoned them when the guilt became too much to bear. My wife wants me to submit to the authority to a church up north from where I live and undergo their version of restoration, and I am very willing to do so in order to win back her trust as well as her heart. The question I am asking this forum is this: What does the Bible say of my situation? I cannot use David as an example, because his sin occurred in the Old Testament, and I want to know the New Testament answer of how to deal with this sin. Please keep in mind, I believe the Bible forbids divorce, and my wife believes the same thing, so please do not respond with scriptures about divorce. I need help, please. God is good, and he is in control, but I would like to know what the Bible tells me about when preachers commit adultery. I do not want to end up like some other preachers who lose their faith, and I don't want to dissappoint anyone ever again, nor do I want to disappoint God, either; because I do recognize that I have sinned against God when I broke my covenant with my wife (since it is a breaking of God's covenant as well).

Please help. Lord bless you all!

Repent and go sin no more, its that simple no need to complicate things with many words.

Any guilt after this is coming from Satan and not God when God forgives you he does not remember your sins anymore.

Resist the Devil and he will flee from you, remember you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Repentance means to be sorry and to stop, turn away from your sin.

 

[Andrea77]

Your problem is that you have not fully given yourself to God. You are still carnal and your flesh is destroying you. You need to get rid of your carnality by growing and maturing spiritually. When you consecrate yourself to spiritual maturity, you will take on the character of Jesus, and that which once gave you pleasure will no longer be important to you. Why? Because there is so much more pleasure in a spiritual relationship with God. Please visit my web site and learn how to speed up your spiritual growth.
www.gth-ministries.org

Oh My, what a beautiful beautifull site the internet church part is just sooo lovely it made me cry

I wish I could find a church like that.

 

[PetraFan007]

What is with you people? He sinned, made a mistake, and is forgiven. Granted he should step down until he is completely delivered from it but stop bringing him down and ESPECIALLY do NOT say he wife should be leaving him. His wife is showing him love, which is Christlike. How dare anyone insinuate otherwise?!??!

And some of the other people here have been quite ..well..jerks. What's up with that? You tell it like it is, ok. You say he's forgiven, ok. You even say he should be ashamed. Ok. But stop being hypocrites at the same time and bringing him down.

Peace out.

I hoped this thread was a joke, however i have to consider it as real. Look You have brought yourself in a serious pickle, the thing is can a wolve teach sheep how to live their lives? I am seriously having severe troubles with your case. If you stay a preacher and preach Jesus Christ to hundreds of people then you are doing a good thing, however if they find out that you have been visiting prostitutes and tons of pornoghraphy then your position has become impossible. Therefore i want you to resign ,get a normal job and serve God by loving and helping people. You cannot preach the Word of jesus while visiting prostitutes -_- sigh

However God will forgive you this, and God still loves you. Condemning you will be useless as in who is without sin will throw the first stone. You have done TOO much damage , the church already has a very 'unstable' position towards sexuality, any scandal that you make will only make you drag the church down with it, people will stop going to church when the priests are wolves in sheeps clothes (pedofiles/adulturers/thiefs) As a representative of Jesus voice it is very important to have a clean record, if you have sins they can be forgiven, but things like prostitution and sexual expressions is like a weed that is hard to exterminate, God forsake you when your next 'urge' of sexual explicit behaviour emerges again on the surface, if i where you i would say thank you and leave your church in disgrace. Stop being a priest, become a volenteer that way you may be able to restore some of your dignity, and maby 20 years from now when your sexual urges are less active you may give it another try but even then i would say WATCH out because it can still come back at any age.

God bless your wife if she wants you back, which i honestly think she shouldn't. Why wasn't your wife good enough for you in the first place? When she takes you back bow down in shame ,and pray for guidance from God.

Now keep your chin up, your sins are forgiven Go now and don't sin anymore.

 

[Anti Existance]

Well don't worry im pretty sure this fallen preacher is a fake, he hasn't showed up anymore.

 

[Andrea77]

What do mean by fake, do you mean he isn't really a preacher or even a christian just someone wanting to see how we christians will respond??

 

[9T6]

What do mean by fake, do you mean he isn't really a preacher or even a christian just someone wanting to see how we christians will respond??

It certainly looks a bit like it . The first (and only) post by FallenPreacher was on 7.10 and there has been no post since then. I would have thought that some kind of follow-up would have appeared by now considering the number of responses received.....

I was also personally surprised at the following comment by a preacher from the original post:

I would like to know what the Bible tells me about when preachers commit adultery.

Would a preacher who, in his own words has been: "preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to hundreds of people" really not know about, or be able to find, such material for himself?

But whatever.... it was an interesting thread with some interesting comments. It was a very worthwhile exercise for people to consider this issue even if the problem was only hypothetical! I sure there actually are such situations in existence somewhere! I've enjoyed following its development .... and would be even more happy to see Fallen Preacher return and show that we were wrong in our suspicions

 

[dearme]

even preachers make mistakes. they're not perfect just like we aren't perfect. God is the one and only who will never sin.

Hello, it's called our flesh that wants to do wrong. even when we're saved, we do wrong.

am i right?

 

[GQ Chris]

The Bible permits divorce in cases of sexual infidelity; which I believe you did by visiting escorts. How could you do that to your wife, was she not enough for you?

 

[soblessed53]

Publically preaching the gospel holds you to a VERY high accountabilty; believers, non-believers as well as the chruch you attend. However, your highest accountabilty is to God.

The funniest and strangest part of this post is that YOU, an educated minister of God, is asking a moron like myself about the "New Testament answer of how to deal with this sin." C'mon dude.

Hate to take this avenue, but maybe it's time to quit the day job.

I agree with this,if you were a minister you know the answer! So why are you asking us on a forum? Sounds like a phony post to just drag the church through more mud to me! Come on people wake up,this is the only post he's ever made since Oct!

 

[FallenPreacher]

I apologize for not posting earlier, since I have been busy attempting to rebuild my life. So, to answer some posts, this is a real case, and I haven't preached since early June. However, I think I wasn't clear concerning the ministry where I preach. I am an open-air preacher-evangelist, and I only had a real church for three months. After the first confession a little over a year ago, I stepped down from my position at the church, which caused teh church to close after two more services. I not nly failed in my commitments to my wife, but also to the people who came to eat from the Lord's table. However, my main ministry was preaching on the street, which is where I belong. However, I haven't preached since early June, and my wife and I are still separated. I miss her and love her so much, but I fear our relationship is beyond repair due to my sin. Also, if I do start preaching again, once other open-air preachers learn of this, they will attempt to stop me. I still hoold to my faith, but lately I have not been holy or evangelical with my faith. I believe the confession of a Christian should be published and preached, but currently my confession is onoe of failure and treachery unbecoming of a man of God. Also, I need help and am willing to look at anything in the Bible that I may have missed, because I simply do not know if I can ever preach outside again, but I cannot find a verse that either supports me preaching or prevents me from preaching. This is my dilemma. I do know the Bible, but I am willing to hear other people to determine my next course of action. So, to answer the posts concerning me asking for Scriptures yet a preacher who is supposed to know the word of God, I am seeing if there are Scriptures that have passed under my radar, so to speak, so I can make an educated decision concerning my fate. Also, thank you all for being so kind and helpful. This is a real situation, and I still need to know if and when I can at least preach on the street again. Also, I have agreed to do what I can financially to support my family during this time, and would do anything for my wife and two daughters. Thank you, and may the Lord bless us all with the grace necessary to live another day for His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

[Everglaze]

Excuse me folks, but since when was adultery a more "sinful" sin than all the other sins? Does this basically mean that all preachers/pastors must quit what they do simply because they commit a sin? What human being doesn't sin? I mean, if it's about preaching God's word, carry on. There's a difference between knowing and not knowing the destruction of sin. However, the preacher/pastor is a leader figure in the church and I can very well understand how one's action can make others stumble. Visiting strip clubs as a preacher is a very irresponsible decision, but if you repent and no longer do that, I'm sure God has plans to use you. You can still be a preacher.

 

[Everglaze]

I apologize for not posting earlier, since I have been busy attempting to rebuild my life. So, to answer some posts, this is a real case, and I haven't preached since early June. However, I think I wasn't clear concerning the ministry where I preach. I am an open-air preacher-evangelist, and I only had a real church for three months. After the first confession a little over a year ago, I stepped down from my position at the church, which caused teh church to close after two more services. I not nly failed in my commitments to my wife, but also to the people who came to eat from the Lord's table. However, my main ministry was preaching on the street, which is where I belong. However, I haven't preached since early June, and my wife and I are still separated. I miss her and love her so much, but I fear our relationship is beyond repair due to my sin. Also, if I do start preaching again, once other open-air preachers learn of this, they will attempt to stop me. I still hoold to my faith, but lately I have not been holy or evangelical with my faith. I believe the confession of a Christian should be published and preached, but currently my confession is onoe of failure and treachery unbecoming of a man of God. Also, I need help and am willing to look at anything in the Bible that I may have missed, because I simply do not know if I can ever preach outside again, but I cannot find a verse that either supports me preaching or prevents me from preaching. This is my dilemma. I do know the Bible, but I am willing to hear other people to determine my next course of action. So, to answer the posts concerning me asking for Scriptures yet a preacher who is supposed to know the word of God, I am seeing if there are Scriptures that have passed under my radar, so to speak, so I can make an educated decision concerning my fate. Also, thank you all for being so kind and helpful. This is a real situation, and I still need to know if and when I can at least preach on the street again. Also, I have agreed to do what I can financially to support my family during this time, and would do anything for my wife and two daughters. Thank you, and may the Lord bless us all with the grace necessary to live another day for His Son, Jesus Christ.

Ask for forgiveness from God and repent. Don't do what you did before again. Keep note that your action hurts God and others around you. Remember that a lot of sins are selfish. What you don't want to do is go out preaching the word, yet not putting to practice the very things that you preach, because that's hypocritical. Lend your ear to God and meditate on his word daily. If you were called to preach by God, this is your ticket. If you would do anything for your wife and daughters, notice that your unholy actions will only hurt them further. It only separates you further away from them and God. You probably already know this, but I'm reminding you. Be faithful as God is faithful and put the past behind you. Repent and continue down the path of righteousness. It's not an easy task and you feel ashamed/guilty for your actions, but this is where you can either listen to God or Satan. I say you listen to God. Read 1 John, Colossians, both Corinthians and Romans. This is just encouragement.