Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 151:604 (Oct 1994)
Article: Can Fallen Leaders Be Restored to Leadership?
Author: Jay E. Smith

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BSac 151:604 (Oct 94) p. 455

Can Fallen Leaders Be Restored to Leadership?

Jay E. Smith

[Jay E. Smith is a Bible teacher in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.]

The current epidemic of sexual immorality among Christian leaders raises an unfortunate but necessary question”a question on which opinion is divided sharply.1 Can fallen leaders be restored to leadership? In other words does immorality permanently disqualify one from Christian leadership?

In this article no attempt is made to provide a precise definition of “sexual immorality” or to classify the extent and severity of sin. Nor is effort made to create a hierarchy of sins or situations that might warrant, by virtue of their seriousness, permanent disqualification.2 Rather, the article focuses on the question of permanent disqualification itself, asking whether it should be the mandatory sentence for what is unquestionably sexual immorality. Thus sexual immorality refers to sexual relations outside marriage, with the physical act of adultery serving as a prime example. Also the question of the legitimacy of divorce and remarriage and how these issues affect this topic are not considered here. The word “leadership” is used in reference to the office of elder (pastor/overseer/bishop).3

BSac 151:604 (Oct 94) p. 456

Old Testament Background

Numerous Old Testament standards and examples refer to the problem of sexual immorality in general and to the problem of sexual immorality among Israel’s leadership in particular.

Rules for Priests

In Leviticus 21:7 Moses indicated that the Levitical priests must “not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband” (NIV).4 The reason for this restriction follows in the next clause, which observes that a priest was “holy to his God.” “They must not marry [such] women…because priests are holy to their God.” Thus the past sexual activity of such women was inconsistent with the position of a priest set apart for God’s service.5

Ezekiel 44:22 echoes Leviticus 21:7: “They [the Zadokite priests] must not marry a widow or a divorced woman but shall take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.” In this instance a different reason is given for the marital restrictions: “They shal...

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