Popular Christian writer Philip Yancey has confessed to “a sinful affair with a married woman” that lasted eight years.
“I have failed morally and spiritually,” Yancey said in an email to Christianity Today (CT) published on Jan. 6. “I realize that my actions will disillusion readers who have previously trusted in my writing. Worst of all, my sin has brought dishonor to God. I am filled with remorse and repentance, and I have nothing to stand on except God’s mercy and grace.”
The 76-year-old author of “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” and “Where Is God When It Hurts?” said he would not share more details about the adultery out of concern for the privacy of the other family. Yancey said his actions “caused deep pain” for his wife, the other person’s husband and both families.
Yancey did not elaborate on the other woman’s relationship to him or whether she worked with him in any capacity.
“I grieve over the devastation I have caused,” Yancey wrote. “I am now focused on rebuilding trust and restoring my marriage.”
Your tax-deductible gift supports our mission of reporting the truth and restoring the church. Donate $50 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you can elect to receive “To Heal or Harm” by Steven R. Tracy, click here.
The evangelical magazine also published a note from Yancey’s wife, Janet, provided by Yancey. The statement said she is devastated and feels deeply betrayed but is committed to maintaining their marriage.
Janet Yancey said she hoped she could forgive her husband, “despite my unfathomable trauma,” and asked for prayer.
Many of Yancey’s longtime readers reacted to the news online with horror and pain.
“This grieves my heart,” a Free Will Baptist pastor from Tennessee posted on X.
“I have no stones to throw, just a sinking sense of lament and sorrow,” a discipleship pastor at a nondenominational church in Missouri said. “The scourge of sin leaves such deep wounds. Lord have mercy.”
On Facebook, a Bible teacher in North Carolina posted a crying emoji and a broken heart emoji.
“The devil is a liar, man, and he’s coming after you,” the teacher said.
Yancey will retire
Yancey told CT, where he worked for decades as a columnist and editor at large, that he believes his sin has disqualified him from ministry. Now that he’s confessed, he will also retire.
At the time that CT published news of his confession, he was scheduled to speak at a church in California. Yancey was also working on another book — this one about writing. He has written more than 30 books, and 17 million copies of his work are currently in print.
John Armstrong, author of “Can a Fallen Pastor Be Restored?,” told The Roys Report (TRR) that Yancey’s confession and his decision to step away from ministry was admirable.
“The only thing that troubled me is he used the word ‘retired,’” Armstrong said. “Most retirees are still doing things, sometimes in the field that they worked in. I don’t think he left himself a loophole, but the word ‘retired’ was not a good choice.”
Armstrong said that after confession, it’s important that Christian leaders who have disqualified themselves from ministry take the time to address what happened, how it happened and patterns of behavior.
“I’m looking for not just honesty,” Armstrong said, “but accountability.”
Yancey told CT he is committed to professional counseling and an accountability program. He will no longer write, post on social media or speak publicly.
In 2023, Yancey announced he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He wrote that he was being forced to reckon with new limitations and think about his own mortality.
“My future is full of question marks,” he wrote at the time. “May I be a faithful steward of this latest chapter.”
Final books include memoir and work on 17th century poet
In the last few years, Yancey has published a well-regarded memoir and a book on the devotional poetry of John Donne.
Yancey said he hoped the 17th century poet, who wrote in England during a time of bubonic plague, would offer timeless wisdom on “how to live and how to die.” Donne had a conversion experience as a young man and wrote movingly about his love for God, as well as his sexual experiences.
Yancey wrote about sexual sin a few times himself. In 2016, nine years before he confessed to an extramarital affair, he published a piece on his blog about the proper Christian understanding of sex.
He said sex should point people to God and carries a “rumor of transcendence.” That spiritual potency is part of why sexual ethics are so important in Christian teaching, according to Yancey.
“This most human act hints at the nature of spiritual reality,” he wrote. “No amount of immediate pleasure can silence the nagging sense that naked intimacy should involve more than body parts.”
This article has been corrected to accurately report the date of a past writing by Yancey.
Daniel Silliman is senior reporter/editor at The Roys Report. He began his two decades in journalism covering crime in Atlanta and has since led major investigations into abuse and misconduct in Christian contexts. Daniel and his wife live in Johnson City, Tennessee.
English 
Spanish
115 Responses
All men need to take stock of our lives. Unfaithfulness can take on all kinds of forms. Women, men, hobbies, career, wealth, indifference. Take heed, lest we fall.
It’s telling that his confession focuses on the extra marital affair. However, when one thinks more deeply, the 8 years of living a lie is far more egregious. He didn’t just speak lies, his life was a lie. His every word and action was crafted to deceive his wife and deprive her of reality, as well as to deceive the community around them. It’s not difficult to imagine how conflicted she must have felt when her intuition told her one thing but the deceiver would tell her another. When there is lying, there is no relationship…this is one reason why lies are so devastating. And therefore, the marriage now exists on paper only. If Ms. Yancey decides to start over with this person, that is her choice; but how will she ever know whether or not he is speaking the truth?
Thank you for writing this comment. You have rightly divided the core issue of betrayal and sexual sin in a long term marriage.
You have to be very skilled to lie that long about something like this. 8 years of manipulation and deceit followed by a schoolboy confession and announcement of retirement. His poor wife and family….it’s the ultimate type of betrayal.
Exactly. Eight years of serving Satan i.e the father of lies (John 8:44) because every day, not only would there have been repeated lying words but his entire being and life was deceptive in its essence.
It makes one wonder about his conversion because it’s a dangerous, blasphemous lie that a truly CONVERTED (Holy Spirit-indwelling) person can serve God/serve Satan/serve God/serve Satan all depending on what day or year it is.
No! What does that suggestion say about the Holy Spirit???
“CHOOSE today whom you want to serve” (Joshua 24:15)
“You cannot have two masters” (Matthew 6:24).
CANNOT doesn’t just mean “not allowed”. It means “not possible”!
It is at the heart, a breach of their marital contract. She has a choice to accept that or to form a new contract.
I think if my husband could manage to deceive me for 1 year, never mind 8 years I will never be able to trust him again. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. But without His help? It’s over.
Such a beautiful wife. H O W IS THE QUESTION. HOW COULD HE ?
BOTTOM LINE…HE HAD A CHOICE…FREE WILL…AND HE BLEW IT. GOD WILL FORGIVE A REPENTING
PERSON…BUT NEVER STEP BEHIND A PULPIT EVER AGAIN. HOLY SPIRIT NEVER PLAYS SEE-SAW WITH NO ONE. FIND ANOTHER LINE OF WORK.
BLESSINGS AND HEALING TO HIS WIFE.
The pain, betrayal and humiliation for Janet Yancey is beyond words. I am suspicious of Phillip’s timing and “repentance “ as he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2023 and mentioned that his wife was preparing to be his caregiver. I believe he “ confessed” by means of damage control (keep Janet around to take care of him in his old age) and ease of retirement out of ministry at age 76. This was an 8 year affair! 8 years of lies, twisting truth, excuses, gaslighting and withdrawing emotionally and sexually from his wife, whilst gaslighting her when she sensed things were askew. He’s not sorry-As I said, damage control … as his sin found him out ( Numbers 32:23)
I agree with Angela. And to read it was admirable that he has now confessed. I don’t think so!! 8 years!!
Excellent observation & analysis concerning the sudden repentance & confession after 8 years! Thank you. (I couldn’t figure it out.)
I completely agree with you Angela.
My father-in-law tried to be the caregiver for his wife who had Parkinson’s disease for several years until she got worse. Could not do it. She had to be put into a care facility which was very expensive. He was so sorrowful of her demise and blamed God, then went to a Baptist church parking lot and shot himself. So…Yancy’s wife should not try to take care of him. Get a caregiver. She owes him nothing now but to care for herself and her soul.
The wife should leave is a natural reaction to a horrible betrayal. But consider her age. If she is around his age, in her 70s, who wants to live on their own? Maybe she has some health troubles of her own, or may get them. It’s not so easy to divorce in your 70s, even if Benny Hinn’s wife was able to do it.
Yancey’s age when he started the adultery seems quite unusual: around 67 years old. This is extremely rare in the American Christian community (number of published reports). King Solomon did go astray in his later years, though, so older doesn’t always mean wiser.
I don’t have a history related to Yancey such as reading many of his books. I once read a short excerpt many years ago, a chapter from a pending book. I always wondered why so many people read his books when he wasn’t a pastor.
Well, he didn’t murder anyone like King David, so he’s better than David, at least. And he’s better than Mike Bickle, who is about 70 now; he doesn’t think he’s disqualified and refuses to retire.
Yancey is also better than Marcus Lamb, who had a 7- or 8-year affair while in ministry, because he didn’t launch a vicious attack on an accuser.
But Yancey was much older when this happened, had so many more years of relationship with God, presumably, which makes it much more egregious, perplexing, and disappointing.
The closer you get to end of life, the more your focus should be on eternal values, not temporal experiences.
Who are WE to determine who is better than another?? I’m a fan of none of the people you mentioned…yet…we can take a looksie from 1000 miles away and see the real truth?
I struggle with having an inflated opinion of myself as much as anyone…but we should worry about our own closets and our own knees.
Well put, ”worry about our own closets!”
Neither King Solomon nor David were Christians by definition.
Please consider how different it was to live under the Old Covenant PRIOR to Jesus, the Cross and the Resurrection.
And prior to the Holy Spirit indwelling (John 7:38-39 & 14:16-17, Romans 8:9 etc).
And the New Testament makes it abundantly clear that we are to compare ourselves to nobody but God (Matthew 5:48).
We are to imitate nobody except Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1, for example).
God forbid that men whose regeneration I have serious doubts about become the standard for Christians!!
And by the way, Jesus during his lifetime was neither rich, well-known, popular nor a “leader”: (Matthew 20:25-28) and he never wrote best-selling books.
Uhhhh Benny Hinn and Lamb are/were Word of Faith con men, not remotely Christian in ANY doctrine…not one. Using those wolves/false teachers of another gospel as ANY example is astonishing.
I think that says more about where we’re at than the sexual sin. We can’t even discern known false teachers that harmed millions for their own personal gain. We have lost discernment in the US
” … for better or worse … in sickness and in health … as long as we both shall live …
Janet Yancey knows this. She is the intelligent one, here; she remembers her WOW (Covenant, Promise, Union with her husband) even though her spouse did not. She represents our Messiah Yahshua best, here (and Hosea, with his wayward, adulterating spouse, Gomer – Hosea being a prototype of the One Who would die for our sins and our sicknesses).
May we pray for Philip Yancey, as he finally finds the intimacy with the One Who died for his sins and diseases – he has sought/craved Him, Intimacy – Echad – Oneness – all of his life and will find Him as the wise men of old did.
Michael Card sings it so poignantly – take a listen today. and be encouraged: “We Will Find Him”
God created the covenant of marriage, and “He” says, adultery (sexual immorality) breaks that covenant and therefore is a ground for divorce.
8 years doesn’t simply break a covenant, it demolishes it., renders it null and void.
Marriage is a picture of Christ relationship to the church. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if Christ Himself was unfaithful. It is Satan who is a deceiver – not Christ.
Any inference of diminishing the severity of the damage done, or calling people “self-righteous”, is naïve, or an attempt to reduce God’s say so on the matter.
Please don’t attempt to override God. She will not “become” the sinner here, if she chooses to leave. Staying will not make her a “sanctified witness,” just someone who made a choice – for herself.
“He”, Philip Yancy, was and is, the shameful one in this situation.
Keep it straight.
Sick. He broke the covenant for 8 years.
Now that he has an end of life illness and he wife is his caregiver, he can use her one last time.
Eternity is forever. Philip will live either in the New Yerushalayim with Yahshua our Bridegroom Who forgives all of our sins and heals us of our diseases (as we ask Him to do so for both sins and sicknesses) or he will be placed into the lake of fire which burns forever.
He knows this.
So does his wife, Janet.
It is not too late for any one of us (who yet breathe because YHWH’s Spirit says so) to repent of sins and ask for restoration and healing, In Yahshua’s Name.
For what it’s worth. CT Magazine has provided a story on this and has included a quote from his wife.
“I, Janet Yancey, am speaking from a place of trauma and devastation that only people who have lived through betrayal can understand. Yet I made a sacred and binding marriage vow 55½ years ago, and I will not break that promise. I accept and understand that God through Jesus has paid for and forgiven the sins of the world, including Philip’s. God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma. Please pray for us.”
The quote and their coverage can be found here https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/01/author-philip-yancey-confesses-affair-withdraws-from-ministry/
Jesus allows divorce in the case of sexual activity outside of the marriage which is a breaking of the marriage covenant. (This shows how serious God is about sex.)
I think Yancey is an excellent cautionary tale. I want to know more about his views to see what gospel he taught. An eight year affair at his age takes a lot of energy to maintain both inwardly and outwardly. So many aspects can bear wisdom for those who want to learn and steer clear of this in their lives.
A friend of our family married Yancey’s then ghost writer over 20 years ago. Many authors use ghost writers, but few folks realize that the authors they lionize are often better at ideas and speaking than at the actual writing of their thoughts. I especially appreciate authors who acknowledge the writing help they’ve received. Ghost writers don’t seem to mind, tho. They love to write and enjoy making a living at what they do best. Yancey’s ghost writers have served him well.
It drives me crazy when people use Ghost Writers and don’t give them credit. I think having a talented writer assist you with your memoirs is perfectly fine. I’m not anyone of note that I would ever have an audience for a memoir but if I did I would definitely need assistance since I don’t have the experience or talent to effectively put it all into words. So sharing with someone else who actually does the writing sounds like a plan. Just acknowledge it! Put their name on the cover alongside yours. Indeed be explicit in the introduction that your are writing in tandem with such and such author who is helping to put your memories and ideas onto paper.
Ghost writing is simply a lie. The Devil is the Father of all Lies. When a writer, like this or Billy Graham get up on stage and states ‘I wrote this book!” when they did not, it is a lie. They both made millions off of a lie $elling a go$pel. WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO COMPREHEND! For the love of God, please stop buying these books and worshipping the celebrity conmen when you have Jesus Incarnate just waiting for you to know yourself!
Do you have external proof (Sites or forums) to prove Yancy had a ghostwriter(s)?
My understanding is that Yancy was also a journalist. And journalists have to know how to write.
Mr. Yancey broke the trust that had existed between him and his wife. She may choose to remain sharing living space with him but the trust cannot be mended. She will never know when he is telling the truth and when he is lying. Lying has become fixed in him and he doesn’t know how to tell the truth anymore.
He has an illness and now expects his wife to care for him. I advise her to get her finances in order to make sure Mr. Yancey hadn’t siphoned off money; he may have given money to his long-term lover.
She might stay with him but needs her own bedroom and money. After all he will not be around to care for her when the time comes.
VERY wise advice Phyllis! She needs to care for herself now and have money for her own retirement, housing, bills, food, medical money, etc. You KNOW Yancey used their money, or the ministry’s money to pay for his trysts in motels, hotels, resorts, you figure it out. A man’s age doesn’t always keep him from a physical relationship with a woman. There are medications to help him be a “man.”
To Phyllis Peyton Collier-Kerr; You took the works right out of my mouth. She gets to choose how to go from here and professional knowledge can help her decide.
God, grant Janet discernment and courage to listen to those who care about her mental, physical, and financial safety. Guide her to the good people and helpers in this wilderness that she was unwillingly thrust into. Amen
I find it hard to believe that someone would begin cheating at around age 67 after a lifetime of faithfulness. While it is certainly possible, I think it’s far more likely that there have been other infidelities
That was my first thought, and also 8 years of lying! By Janet saying “I made a vow and will keep it” diminishes the fact that the Bible actually offers another course of action. Seems like Yancy is not going to have to endure consequences for his actions beyond a little public shaming. Let him lose 1/2 his fortune, and pay for caregivers. Janet can live a full life without him without guilt.
BEWARE OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, Wisdom cries out from her house. LOOK IN THE MIRROR FIRST, she proclaims, before those message board typing fingers exhibit hypocrisy and arrogance.
Lord forgive me, A SINNER.
Unfortunately, it is words like this that allow abuses to go unexposed. I have reached the conclusion that because God does not punish anymore, people have no fear of God and even preachers preach that there is no more punishment from God for anything. They also preach unconditional forgiveness without repentance or restitution or justice. So everyone does what is right in his own eyes like in the Old Testament when God stopped speaking to the people.
Well said Dean, what are we all, but habitual sinners ourselves? Paul would be first to admit this. Sin is evil, because it harms other people, and it harms ourselves. Most importantly it is rebellion toward holy God himself. And if we are honest with ourselves, we all still participate in it, in one form or another. How arrogant we are to judge another’s confession, or try to put limits on God’s forgiveness. It God’s goal afterall, our confession and forgiveness! May this wife receive the healing she needs to overcome this betrayal. May this husband recieve forgiveness and repentance. May all the rest of us learn a little more about who we really are, and who God really is. We are forgiven sinners. God is one of holiness, love, and understanding.
But… should we be shocked? Aside from the natural sinful tendencies of Man, I mean. Yancey — for years — has aligned with progressive ‘Christianity’, such as questioning whether God’s revelation declares homosexuality sinful, and then endorsing civil unions, whatever that means. Does that include the Bs and Ts of LGBT, too, or just the Ls and Gs? If so, why? Scripture to support? Appealing to some mystical and non-scriptural “grace” does us (and him) no good. Just if-it-feels-good-do-it paganism with a spiritual veneer.
So, given his fluidity with alternate sexual sin, should we be shocked, or almost even expectant, that he would spend 8y in adultery with a married woman? And call it an “affair” not “adultery”? And apparently remark at his married assistant’s eulogy how she “wore stilettos” and was “beautiful”? We are reaping the whirlwind of flaccid theology.
Disappointing. Sad for wife and spouse of woman he was involved with. Always a moment to reflect on our own heart and potential in every redeemed sinner to fail miserably— regardless of age. I will still read his books. He isn’t trash to be thrown away. Let God sort it out.
I dont’ know. I don’t think there is “potential in every redeemed sinner to fail miserably”- because are they really redeemed? I’m not calvinist by any means, and don’t believe “once saved always saved” so this shows he wasn’t ever saved- but if the Gospel of Christ transforms us to look more and more like Christ- I’m wary of whatever gospel he was preaching. It clearly had enough room for him to lie to everyone in his life for EIGHT YEARS. through a pandemic. two years past an incredibly hard diagnosis. that does not seem like any sort of transformation to me.
And I really liked the guy’s writing and perspective.
But a few years ago, I decided to let go of ANY teachings from people who’s lives are revealed to be untransformed. Anyone who believes a theology that allows them to continue in horrific harm to others does not believe the Gospel that Christ taught, and I don’t know what part went wrong- so I’m letting go of the whole thing. I’m only following people with transformed lives.
I agree with you, Jen.
I live in a semi-remote community and have been without a local church for many years because of sin being tolerated, thus I am grateful that I have internet access to be able to search out those who are true to the Word. I’ve had to scrub many over the years and have a select few that I Iisten to but remind myself to be a Berean. Ultimately, only the God of the infallible Scriptures is to be trusted.
Very sincerely Mr. Campbell, if you read Yancey’s books it will be to your spiritual peril. More than 90 percent of the content within them is good, but it is the small doses of poison scattered throughout that have had me gravely concerned for more than a decade. Specifically, his grotesquely unbiblical slogan “Nothing you can do can make God love you more” has infected more preachers and churches than I can count, and I have long waged a campaign of despair trying to get even my own pastors to quote Scripture rather than Yancey on this issue. For further explanation see https://paullundquist.blogspot.com/2012/08/gods-conditional-love.html. Grace and peace to you.
I appreciate your comment. I read your article at the link, and appreciate that as well. I have never understood the celebrity pastor or Christian author fixation. We have Gods own words. His book should be our focus.
How about we follow Biblical instruction: Galatians 6:1: “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore that person gently. And watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted”. Yes, it is heart breaking, but it also serves as a warning to each of us. “Let the one who thinks he stands, pay attention lest he falls” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Sadly, that is the wrong instruction for this situation. He was not “caught” in a sin; he brazenly engaged in it for many years. How are we supposed to believe him even now? This sin is in line with what Paul said about delivering one over to Satan to save his soul.
@Carolyn Warner: Sadly, you misunderstand Paul’s instruction to “deliver someone over to save his soul.” Paul was referring to someone who continued to openly and blatantly continue in sin with no acknowledgement of sin and repentance so that individual would recognize and confess his/her sin and repent. The Galatians passage refers to someone who has acknowledged his/her sin in repentance toward God. And no, you don’t know whether Yancey’s confession and repentance is genuine or not. Matthew 7 warns against you attempting to determine whether or not his repentance is genuine because you will be judged by the same standard by which you judge others. Only time will tell whether Yancey’s repentance is genuine. It is important to understand how to apply Scripture to live.
How about we follow Biblical instruction to “not be too hasty” to elevate, and to be discerning, so we won’t “be deceived by empty words” either.
We do not know if someone knew and he lied to them that it was over, or if he said he was trying, and for them “8” years represented “patience” on their part. Maybe they didn’t feel empowered to expose or considered exposing more harmful. Maybe exposing would cause them a personal loss.
He has health issues and is at or passed retirement age. He could have kept it all private and saved his reputation, his wife’s public humiliation, his fans’ disappointment, and the damage he did to the reputation of “Christianity”.
So, it’s not a stretch to believe he was coerced into confessing. For all we “know,” without the threat of exposure, it would continue to this day.
Bless his heart. Poor baby wrote about, and preached about, God’s word without any conviction of sin against God, for nearly a decade.
Yes, there is a lot we do not know. However, there is a lot that we “do” know, so let’s delay, or cancel, the parade in his honor.
How about right now, we save our grace for the betrayed spouses, and devastated children.
100%. The comments are so disappointing and shows how much the false Word of Faith movement and so-called prosperity gospel, which is another religion entirely with its own false doctrines, has influenced millions in the US.
Yancy has a terminal disease and his wife is his caregiver so its real convenient for him to “come clean” People have become gullible simps today. We have a new “Christianity” today that isn’t biblical.
He should have just divorced.
@Debra, you have made accusations for which you have no proof “for all we know….” I’m sure you remember that “don’t bear false witness” is in the same group of Ten Commandments that state “don’t commit adultery.”
Don,
Me – “We do not know…” “Maybe…” “So, it’s not a stretch to believe…”
“Yes, there is a lot we do not know. However, there is a lot that we “do” know.’
“He” confessed to an 8-year affair. I didn’t make any accusations.
You – “Paul was referring to someone who continued to openly and blatantly continue in sin with no acknowledgement of sin and repentance”
“…you will be judged by the same standard by which you judge others.”
If “8” years” isn’t a “continuation”, then what is? It isn’t “judgement” to acknowledge what “God” has said is wrong.
Determining someone’s motives can be tricky. There is nothing ambiguous about a confession of a sexual relationship outside of your marriage. It is obviously wrong, and “he” admitted it was.
@Debra – you stated that “it is not a stretch to believe that he was coerced into confessing….” That is the accusation you have made without any proof whatsoever. You deflected in your response, yet you have “born false witness” against Yancey which is also sin against God. King David was “coerced” into confessing and yet ultimately it was a genuine confession. How about we let God be the judge in this?! You and I will have enough difficulties of our own when we stand before God to give an account.
You have a good point, which lends itself to the bigger question, why wasn’t this man in relationships that would have held him accountable, preventing a “mistake / fall” — that could have been caught early and dealt with / restored gently — from evolving into his very character?
Being in relationships with others will not prevent someone from doing what they have set his/her mind to do. It is possible that there were those who could see something was wrong and failed to confront Yancey. It is also possible that he was able deceive those around him – even closest to him. It is a good reminder to us to loving confront a Christian brother or sisters when we see something that looks off. Joanne, who do you have in your life that will confront you when something is off and who have you confronted when you saw something that was off? I know of a husband who just found out his wife was an alcoholic for years and they even had Life360 on their phones. PS. They are being restored by God’s grace.
Yancey is not just a sinner, he is a liar who has wrongly divided the truth and used it (and her) for his own ends.
This situation has so many layers of tragedy that it will take YEARS for the woman’s remaining family to undo the damage he has done.
Had he rightly controlled his own hungers and sought his own care instead of consuming the woman who was in his care, she may still be here, and he would have been a man of integrity in these final years.
Unbelievably grievous.
[Lori] “.. sought his own care instead of consuming the woman who was in his care, she may still be here..”
Are you suggesting that the woman he had the affair with, has died? Do you have some inside information on all this?
1) When our Christian teachers, Christian leaders and pastors have gone astray, what are we supposed to do?
I feel scammed and dumbfounded.
This man wrote so much about Grace and against Legalism.
Apparently he wants the same Grace to be applied to him.
2) This man was in a position of spiritual and financial power.
Don’t the same rules of analysis apply to him that were applied to others?
3) All the scandals, day after day – what does this say about the real state of their marriages?
We’ve tried “freedom” for men in ministry. They’ve been free to be alone with women that they’re not married to…and it appears that the majority of our nationally known ministers are guilty of adultery. That’s just counting the ones that have been caught.
Why don’t we try something else? Why not do what Billy Graham did? Why not try NOT being alone with women we’re not married to? It’s GOT to work better than this horrible mess!
Eric – Acknowledging that you have posted your support of the “Billy Graham rule” many times, I’m sure my posting this will not change your mind. However, those of us who don’t support your position do so because we see the potential harm separating the sexes this way. It sets men up to fear all women as seductresses, thus further objectifying women within a patriarchal subculture that already subjugates and objectifies women. An alternative might be to examine the consequences of subjugating and objectifying half of the population. If the men in the church were committed to treating women as complete people made in the image of God rather than objects to be feared or consumed, maybe the men would be less likely to dishonor women without the need for artificial rules like the “Billy Graham rule.”
He said he caused deep pain to the other person’s husband. Sounds to me like he only repented because he got caught and was forced to.
I wondered about that piece of the puzzle.
My thoughts wander … through the Scriptures … and I think of Adam, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, the women who followed the Lord. I can’t help but think of God’s kindness and the grace Philip exposed in his writing. It is real, not cheap, even for him. While this is more than devastating news, it is a reminder to follow Jesus, not man. It makes our need for a redeemer real, a need to be desired more than bread and water. The good news here is and will forever be that Christ has paid for it. Yes. Even this!
Unbelievers get Grace but believers are punished. David who was a believer was punished for his sin. Not only did the baby die, but if you do a search on “Absalom’s rebellion against David what prophecy was fulfilled?”:
“Absalom’s rebellion fulfilled Nathan the prophet’s prophecy (2 Samuel 12:10-12) that “the sword shall never depart from your house” and adversity would arise from David’s own household, directly stemming from David’s sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. The rebellion brought internal strife, family betrayal, and public disgrace, with Absalom publicly taking David’s concubines, fulfilling the prophecy that David’s wives would be taken publicly, mirroring his secret sin.
Key Prophecy & Fulfillment:
The Prophecy (2 Samuel 12:10-12): God, through Nathan, told David that because he despised God by taking Bathsheba, “the sword will never depart from your house,” and God would “raise up adversity against you from your own house”.
The Fulfillment (Absalom’s Rebellion):
Internal Strife: Absalom, David’s son, led a rebellion against his father, causing war within David’s own family and kingdom.
Public Humiliation: Absalom publicly [raped] slept with David’s concubines on the roof of the palace (2 Samuel 16:22), a direct fulfillment of God’s promise that David’s wives would be taken “in broad daylight before all Israel”.
Adversity from Within: The rebellion, orchestrated by his son, brought David to flee Jerusalem, demonstrating calamity from his own household.
In essence, Absalom’s actions were God’s chosen instrument to discipline David for his sins, bringing the consequences from within his own family as foretold. “
Thank you for your explanation of the Scriptures. I really appreciate it. There is a lot to think about. Blessings to you on this Lord’s Day.
Thank you for the kind words. The detail of Absalom’s rebellion – the credit goes to an internet search engine and I typed in the query, too lazy to read all the passages again. :)
But I forgot to mention that although David did not die, his beloved son Absalom was beheaded while hanging powerless from a tree. David cried out in agony, “Absalom, my son, my son… would that I have died in your place”.
Also, David’s life includes this which often gets missed:
” And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more.“
God speaking through Nathan to David. David did not need to sin to have satisfaction. This shows the love and nature of God. He is a loving God , and at the same time completely just. Iniquity cannot exist in His sight, even within His love.
Gary Gilley (in his review of “What’s So Amazing about Grace”, written at least 15 years ago) wrote:
“Yancey has a fundamental flaw that runs throughout all of his writings. He doesn’t always draw his thoughts and principles form Scripture. His sources are more likely to be [men and women], his own reasoning, and experience.
He surely quotes C.S. Lewis as often as the Apostle Paul or Jesus. This serious flaw of not basing his concepts squarely upon the Scriptures eventually leads Yancey astray. Yancey does not know the difference between tolerance and arrogance, between grace and license (a study of 1 Cor. 5 would be helpful to him), between boldness and harshness.
By Yancey’s definitions, John the Baptist and Elijah would be men of “ungrace”, but God did not seem to think so. Yancey also does not know the difference between ministering to sinners and condoning sinful lifestyles. Certainly Jesus loved and spent time with prostitutes, but he did so to call them to repentance, not to accept their way of living”.
…Bullseye!!! When appropriate, I am announcing to lifelong friends and associates to no longer refer to me as Christian. The word has so many meanings and usages that it is essentially meaningless. Further, I do not want to be seen in the company of many who have adopted the label. I am a follower of Jesus Christ to the extent I can discern what that means and discern what it asks of me, and those decisions will be based on my analysis, definition, and application. I’ll call that shot. I don’t need or want generic labels applied to me for which there are no commonly held definitions. I’ve just decided to be open and public about it. I find most people uncomfortable with the process. When I ask for a definition, a common answer is “Well, you know….” At times, I’ll let it drop at that point, since what they’ve really said to me is that they don’t know, and one can sense they’d rather move on and perhaps talk about the weather. But to some, I have replied that I actually don’t know, which is precisely why I posed the query in the first place…..please answer my question. Some folks appreciate being challenged on that escapist, oft used “you know” answer; others not so much, so one needs to proceed with grace.
When does this stuff start becoming simply comical? When do we stop pretending that these supposed Christian leaders are any different from anyone else, including the most militant atheist? When does this stuff start calling into question the reality of the whole ball of wax? As a former 50+ year believer, I have found great freedom is honestly admitting to myself, “This stuff just isn’t real. What calls itself Christianity has virtually nothing to do with the historical Jesus or what he was talking about. I’m through pretending.” I am by no means a non-theist, but I am through pretending there is any reality to the type of Christianity promoted by Yancey and his ilk or that he is or ever was in any sense a “Spirit-filled man of God.” He is, and always was, just another guy peddling his wares.
To all Christians: [Lance] “This stuff just isn’t real.”.
Rebuttal: A few years ago, at my former employer, a mega-corporation, a high level director made the exact same remark, that he found Christianity “isn’t real”. He said that he used to be a Lutheran pastor but felt continual guilt about something. He examined the behavior and statistics of non-Christians and concluded that they were better behaved than Christians (fewer divorce, crimes, abuses, tickets etc). So he left the pastorate and eventually ended up with a highly successful career. He said, “it isn’t real”.
This shook my faith because after that I had one of the hardest periods of my life. Among other ‘life curveballs’, I lost my job due to an abusive manager and my career hasn’t recovered. The words, “it isn’t real” kept echoing in my mind and I deeply regretted the time, energy, giving money, personal evangelism and mental focus spent in churchianity and away from my career. I firmly believe that pastors and ministry leaders should get secular jobs (1 Timothy 4:11-12).
But recently I realized that God’s hand has been on my life. Quite a few times, I was saved from physical death. He hasn’t rescued me like he promised, but when I realize that other events have happened in my life which are blessings, then I can see without a doubt, “It Is Real”. So I will say that you should examine your past life and try and see the Supernatural Hand of God at times and Providential Hand of God at other times on your life, and realize for yourself that it is real and that God is watching over you even when he doesn’t bless you with prosperity.