PART 1 OF 3: THE COST OF SIN
This article is part of a three-part series on sin in the church, written in light of the Caleb Flynn case. Flynn, a worship leader in Ohio, was convicted by a jury on September 29 of murdering his wife, Ashley, while carrying on an affair, and his lawyers have said they will appeal. I am not writing to judge him, since the courts are doing that work. I am writing because this tragedy forces us in the church to look honestly at ourselves, which fits the theme of this year’s International Summit for Expository Preaching on November 4-7.
Part 1 looks at what sin destroys, part 2 at the accountability and transparency that keep sin from growing, and part 3 at the forgiveness and grace that have the last word. May we read, repent, and rejoice in the gospel.
[Picture borrowed from the internet]
A worship pastor used to stand on a stage and lead people before the throne of God. Months later, a jury found him guilty of murdering his wife. Ashley Flynn, a teacher, a volleyball coach, a born-again believer and mother of two daughters, was shot while she slept. I am not here to judge Caleb Flynn; a court has done that work.
I am writing because his story is a mirror, and every pastor and every church member should look into it.
James gives us the anatomy of this tragedy: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).
Notice the order:
- Desire,
- Conception,
- Birth,
- Growth,
- Death.
Sin never starts as a monster. It starts as a look, a message, a private conversation. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to destroy a family. Yet that is where the road ends when no one stops walking it.
The cost is staggering. A wife is gone. Two daughters lost their mother and, in a different way, their father. In the letters read in court, the pain of children is almost too heavy to carry. Ashley’s parents buried their child and feel the sting of separation. A congregation was shaken to the core, and the watching world gained another reason to mock the church. Proverbs warns that the adulterer “will find wounds and dishonor” (Proverbs 6:33). Sin always promises freedom and delivers wreckage. And the thing is that it never hurts only the sinner.
The tragedy is deeper because this man led worship and publicly confessed Christ. The church can be the easiest place to hide. We speak “Christianese”, we adopt the postures and hand gestures, we are “holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. (2 Timothy 3:5). We know the language, the posture, the songs. Jesus described such people: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).
Giftedness is not godliness. Skill on a platform can cover rot underneath.
What do we do?
First, we must resolve to hate sin again. Paul commands, “Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22), and “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:9). Many churches have learned to be tolerant of everything except being uncomfortable. We need holy discomfort with sin, beginning with our own.
Second, we must pursue purity as a daily discipline. Jesus said that if your hand or eye causes you to sin, deal with it radically (Matthew 5:27-30). That is not cruelty or self-mutilation. It is love for your own soul and for the people your sin will touch.
Third, we must choose honesty over image. “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). The cost of confessing early is small compared to the cost of being exposed late. And it is insignificant compared to the cost of being condemned to eternal punishment when standing before a holy God. Looking Christian is easy; being honest and genuine is harder. But it saves lives, starting with yours.
🖐🏽 Pastor, ask yourself today: what desire am I feeding in secret?
🖐🏽 Church member, ask: what am I covering or who am I pretending to be?
🙏🏽 Confess it now, to God and to a trusted brother or sister, while it is still small.
James told us where the path leads if we do not. And Caleb Flynn’s story proves it.
