Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
This post brings up the difficult question, "Is the character of the minister at all important, or should I ask, how important is it?" SavedByGrace's point of view is that the character of the minister is secondary, as long as he personally is helped to "enjoy the Lord" with the other saints.
Perhaps this speaks to the heart of the matter. How crucial is the moral character of our leaders/ministers? When do their personal failures become cause for alarm? How much "perfection" should the church demand from them? SavedByGrace is definitely not alone in his point of view. I'm still surprised to see certain televangelists back on TV after shameful failures.
In a recent post SavedByGrace noted the following:
These are pertinent examples. Solomon has great and wise proverbs on marriage to teach us all, yet none of us would recommend or condone 700 wives and 300 mistresses. Apostle Peter also had a few notable failures, yet none of us would recommend that his books be purged from scripture. Yet ... what do we do with all those scripture which stress the character of the Lord's servants, how they should be above reproach, so that they can be patterns to the Lord's children, and not bring shame to His name?
What saith thee?
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God can use anyone to move on earth. He used Pharaoh to bring up Moses. In Acts 5:34, God used Gamaliel to protect the lives of his disciples.
In my opinion, as long as you receive Christ through someone's ministry, you should accept Christ.
But, practically, if I begin to dislike someone or my respect for a person reduces, I may not pay attention to what he is saying, however spiritual his words are.
This is just my opinion/understanding. You are free to disagree.