This article stuck me deeply.
He’s a well known writer and you probably know of him. As far as knowledge of God’s word goes, he knows more than many and writes it well. It’s not his confession of sin that bothers me, but what the rest of the article has to say, especially its warning not to think you can’t fall. How easy it is to not look at your own heart and life and yet defend the faith so well.
Does this article speak to any of you and what does it say?
Arrogance “Yes, yes: A flaw more and more common among Jedi. Too sure of themselves they are; even the older, more experienced ones!”
Yoda is wise. We can change Jedi to Saints. Teachers. Pastors, Leaders, call them what we will. But it’s not just them. Look at this warning.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8
Also here.
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” Hebrews 10:26
We all must be humble, patient, and obedient.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
Let God lift us. Let God guide us. When we start thinking, we are wise, powerful, and able to do it without God, is when the devil smiles.
Peter
Nice reply. Thank you.
It isn’t Yancey’s sin that struck me, as terrible as that is. It’s the fact that he carried it on for 8 years while continuing to minister. He lived a double standard and I wonder how many Christians do the same thing. Not necessarily as he did, but in other ways. Do we live what we say we believe?
It seems to me that those in the public eye are targeted more often and I’ve seen that in my neighborhood. One Pastor came out as transgender during covid on zoom. Another was caught in an extra-marital affair. A well known apologist for the Bible died and it was found out that he habitually visited prostitutes. In all cases the Christian faith was damaged among non-believers and believers were left with wonderment and doubt. It make sense that the devil would target these men to do the most damage.
I found the questions in this article thought provoking. “Where am I unguarded? Where have I mistaken reputation for righteousness?” Don’t we all hide behind reputation in some degree? As far as I know, Yancey wasn’t found out and then confessed. He confessed by choice and publicly because he is a public figure. I give him credit for that. It was a costly decision.
I don’t have a reputation like Yancey, but I do have a reputation among those who know me. In that sense, we all have a reputation. I’m asking myself some questions. Is my reputation in agreement with who I am? Do others know me differently that I know myself? Am I truthful in all things? What do I keep hidden and why?
Yes, it speaks, and it speaks uncomfortably. It exposes a real problem in today’s church: a soft gospel that teaches grace without repentance, belief without obedience, and assurance without holiness. Scripture never preaches that kind of gospel. When grace is separated from truth, people are comforted but not converted.
Knowing the Bible is not the same as believing the Bible. Scripture itself draws that line. James says, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” ~James 2:19. Hell is full of theology. Knowledge alone proves nothing. Faith is proven by obedience.
Jesus did not complicate this. He settled it. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” ~John 14:15. John presses it harder: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar” ~1 John 2:4. Scripture does not grade faith by how well a man can explain grace, but by whether he bows to it.
That is why an eight-year affair matters. That is not a fall. That is a walk. Scripture makes the distinction. “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not” ~1 John 3:6. A true believer may stumble, but he does not settle down in sin. Paul is blunt: “Neither fornicators, nor adulterers… shall inherit the kingdom of God” ~1 Corinthians 6:9, and then he says, “such were some of you” ~1 Corinthians 6:11. Were. Past tense. Not a lifestyle.
David fell, and when the light came on, he broke ~Psalm 51. Peter denied Christ, and before the night ended, he wept ~Luke 22:62. Eight years of secrecy, planning, and persistence is not weakness. It is defiance.
So the question is not who knows Scripture or who can write eloquently about grace. The question is who believes it enough to obey it. Jesus said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” ~Luke 6:46.
Here is the sober truth. Scripture knowledge can live comfortably beside long-term sin. New birth cannot. And grace, when preached without repentance, obedience, and holiness, does not save**. It soothes people while they remain lost.**
You’re right on the issue and the Bible is not coy about it.
Christianity is never presented in Scripture as a hobby or a business. Jesus called it a narrow gate that leads to life and not the broad way ~Matthew 7:13–14. Treating the Christian life as a game is not a game to God. Treating the Christian life as a business is not a business to God. Real Christianity is costly.
The double life issue arises. A soft gospel gives birth to false conversions. Paul said we are to believe “in vain” ~1 Corinthians 15:2. Grace that is preached without repentance results in people who live to “talk Christian, sing Christian, serve Christian, and even minister Christian, but who never die to self” The Bible gives no flexibility here. “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” ~Luke 13:3. No repentance, no salvation. Period.
The Bible also tells us why this problem is so prevalent. “They heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” ~2 Timothy 4:3. People want a god who comforts but never convicts, forgives but never forces. That god does not exist. “Our God is a consuming fire” ~Hebrews 12:29.
This is one of the first things that anyone who actually opens the Bible up for themselves realizes. God is patient, merciful, longsuffering but He is not easy on sin. Grace doesn’t lower the bar. Grace empowers us to live in obedience to it. “The grace of God… teaching us that, denying ungodliness… we should live soberly, righteously, and godly” ~Titus 2:11–12.
So yes, the questions you are asking are the right questions. This isn’t about reputation. This is about reality. This isn’t a game. Eternity is at stake. God is not mocked ~Galatians 6:7. The answer is not a softer gospel, but the whole counsel of God, preached plainly with truth that convicts and grace that actually saves.
Thanks for your reply. Sobering. I don’t know Philip Yancey, whether he was saved, still is saved, never was saved etc. Only God knows a person’s heart and only God knows who belongs to Him. I’m not sure though if I agree with your statement about the 8 years being a disqualifier. I do know how easy it can be to justify our own sin and to label some sins as big and some sins as little. We can also judge the sin in another’s life; a sin we’re not doing or even tempted to do and not see or judge the sin that we do have.
If God can forgive someone a lifetime of sin if they become a Christian later in life, then why wouldn’t he be able to forgive one of His children even though there’s been 8 years of it. Doesn’t the Bible say that ALL our sin past, present and future is forgiven. I don’t think the 8 years figures into it at all. He wasn’t found out. He confessed and left the ministry of his own accord.
I can’t speak for Yancey. None of us can. I appreciate what you’ve said and you have good points in your answer. His situation calls for grace. God and ours. We all need Jesus to save us.
Oh, I hadn’t heard about this until you posted it here. Very sad to hear this. It’s an all too common occurrence with Christian leaders. I’m glad to read that he is taking full responsibility for his actions and seems to be repenting. Praying for him and his family.
The question this brings up for me when something like this happens is, “Should we still read his books?” or “Do his books, talks, etc. still have credibility?” or something along those lines. I read The Jesus I Never Knew in high school and it was so impactful for me. I think God can still use his books because truth is truth, but it is unfortunate that actions like this do tend to lessen the credibility of Christians, especially in the eyes of unbelievers.
Very well said. That would be the Ichy ear church. Think Joel Osteen. Why? No devil? No Hell? No consequences for sin? Live as you will. Live love laugh. It’s all good. Just have love and compassion, and you will be just fine.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
And you will be just fine, for now, on this earth. God will even let you.
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
“Just love one another. Have no fear. We are all God’s children.”
“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”
“Just be you.”
“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” Romans 1:21-25
I can almost hear Preachers like Joel saying this. As you are dying and start to feel the flames, “Yes, but look at the life you had. You had a great life. It will not be so bad. God loves you.” After all, he already got your money.
Peter
Bestill, I think we’re actually closer than it may sound, so let me clarify.
I’m not saying God cannot forgive a believer who sins, even over a long period. Scripture is clear that forgiveness is real and full where there is repentance ~1 John 1:9. I’m also not assigning a verdict to anyone’s salvation. Only God knows the heart.
What I was addressing is something slightly different. Scripture repeatedly warns about false assurance. Jesus said many will say “Lord, Lord” and still be lost ~Matthew 7:21, and Paul warned that some “believed in vain” ~1 Corinthians 15:2. Those warnings exist not to limit grace, but to keep people from being comforted in a profession that isn’t matched by repentance.
Grace doesn’t lower the bar. Grace empowers obedience. “The grace of God… teaching us that, denying ungodliness… we should live soberly, righteously, and godly” ~Titus 2:11–12. So my concern isn’t whether God can forgive, but whether Scripture’s warnings are being taken seriously for the sake of souls.
I appreciate your emphasis on grace. I believe Scripture holds grace and warning together, not in competition, but in love.
Its speaks to me that we will always need to make sure that we do not allow Satan access into our lives, and that we can get blinded to our own sinfulness if we do
I think he’s a human and it’s just as easy for him to sin as the next person.
I’m rarely surprised by what people are capable of (which is kind of sad, really), even when respected faces of Christianity (or well renowned in some way).
Satan loves to have big names like him though crash and burn as it brings reproach to Christ
Agreed. Look at the conversation Peter had with Jesus.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,”
Now think about this. You have seen everything that Jesus has done, including casting out demons and raising the dead. He just told you that the king of demons, the god of this world, Satan himself, has asked to have you. I can imagine that Peter was thinking something like “Well, now, has he really? Good thing I’m with you. You told him no, right?” However? Keep reading.
“But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Wait. You said YES?!?!?!?
“Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.” Luke 22:21-34
Peter did not think he could ever fall. He had pride that he was with Jesus. Sadly, when men get enough power and glory, they forget that they are merely human and could fall at any time. Yes, the devil loves it when a pillar falls.
Peter
What I like about this passage is that Jesus knew how it would turn out. Yes, Peter would be tested and fail, but the Lord also knew that Peter would return to Him and commissioned him to strengthen his brothers. Perhaps its only someone who has been tested and failed that can strengthen others. By this Peter gained the humility necessary to relate to those who are also being tested.
With regards to Yancey, he’s a man held in high esteem by many and he has failed in a spectacular way. Nothing’s been said about him losing his faith or falling away from it. Who better than Yancey to strengthen others against such a temptation and who knows better what a disaster it will become. We’ll have to see what the future holds for him.
Jesus and John never softened truth to preserve a man’s reputation. They spoke plainly because souls were at stake.
John the Baptist did not say, “Learn from Herod’s failure.” He said, “It is not lawful for thee to have her” ~Matthew 14:4. When sin was ongoing, John called it out without delay, even when it cost him his head. He did not wait to see what the future held. He judged the matter by God’s Word in the present.
Jesus spoke the same way. When He warned Peter, He did not frame failure as a qualification. He said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” ~Matthew 26:41. Failure was not the lesson. Dependence was. And when Peter fell, it was exposed within hours, not hidden for years. The rooster crowed. The mask came off. Peter wept and turned back immediately ~Luke 22:62.
Scripture never teaches that long-term hidden sin prepares a man to strengthen others. It teaches the opposite. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper” ~Proverbs 28:13. Jesus said light exposes truth, not time ~John 3:20–21. Eight years of secrecy is not being sifted. It is walking in darkness while claiming light ~1 John 1:6.
Yes, God forgives repentant sinners. That is settled. But Jesus also said, “By their fruits ye shall know them” ~Matthew 7:20. John demanded visible repentance, not future usefulness. “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” ~Matthew 3:8. Repentance comes first. Fruit follows. Public ministry is never assumed.
The warning here is not about whether God can redeem a man. He can. The warning is whether we will let Scripture define repentance, fruit, and qualification, or whether we will replace them with sympathy and speculation. Jesus and John never did. Neither should we.
Great, then what is biblical repentance, since you seem to think exegesis is merely quoting Scripture verbatim?
How, according to the Bible, does one repent?
Maybe @KPuff can throw a flood of light here since I’m stupid, I want to know the biblical definition of μετανοέω (metanoeō) .(metamelomai) שׁוּב (shuv) נָחַם (nacham).
Thanks.
J.
Hello. Yes, this article speaks to me, but my takeaway is from a different perspective.
The question is if we as followers/believers in the Lord Jesus, know what part of man is born again. Do we know what happens? What part of man is changed? What does it mean when the Holy Spirit enters in and we become a new creation? John 3:6 says that that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
We are born again by the Spirit of God. It is the spirit of man that is born again. The soul is not born again and our body is not born again. Yet, as we live on our soul is changed and will continue until Jesus returns for us. The body will change when we are caught up and meet him in the air because the scripture tells us that we will be changed from mortal to immortal and from corruptible to incorruptible. Death is swallowed up.
When we first become a new creation, we have the same body, with the same fleshly (sinful) mind (ways). We become one that wants to be better and hopes to be changed to the best version of ourselves.
The thing about that is that we do become this, if we continue to believe, to hope in the promise of the Lord changing us in the image of Christ. For this to happen we must need to realize that we have need of change. When sin is present within us and evident, we aren’t to ignore or deny. We must confess it as sin, as wrong and not fight against the change. If we need help letting go of things that aren’t of God, we have an advocate with the Father. He will help us. The Word continues to change us, our souls, though we don’t see the whole process.
I simply wonder when I see those of the Body of Christ act as if they are surprised by the wrong done by other members of the Body. It’s as if there is an expectancy of perfection, as if others have arrived, and I am Wowed because the scripture says that the Holy Ghost will continue to perform that good work in us until Christ returns for us (Philippians 1:6), and that we are to be confident in this knowledge/truth. It does NOT say that he has performed it, but that he will continue to do so. That is not a show an inability on his part but it shows that we are in constant need of his performance. 
Our minds changes constantly. It must be rewired so that we change more than what we think but how we think, how we process. We would need to be in a place of no return where we remain, where the soul does not follow what the flesh wants but what the spirit of us wants. I would say that every believer is not perfect in every area within. That even when we think we would deal with situations or temptations one way, the outcome becomes different when the wind shifts and someone ate the last bagel, or sat in your seat at church, or the sun isn’t out. I mean there are so many things that causes us to be one on say, Sunday, and another way Monday morning, though only a few hours has transpired.
So, how is it we have little understanding when one of us has gotten caught up in sin though they know to be a better person, not understanding that they are a better person, just not a perfect one. If it is that there is a refusal to stop living in sin, and wanting to be accepted proclaiming Christ’s acceptance is different than one who is sorrowful and if they are still connected to the other person, they want to end it and come clean, not to every nosy Christian, but to those who in this case is involved in a covenant with him if they choose, their family and friends. Basically, tend to your business unless your help (not opinion) is wanted.
I find it to be awesome that he came forward with this. Though I do not know if it was truly his doing or if exposed 1st. The world sees us as a joke and mocks God and Jesus regardless, but we should pray always for one another and after one of us confess to sin and wants to change encourage them that there is One who is faithful and able to keep us from falling and present us faultless before God.
If we cry out to him for help, he will help us. But how can he help those that say they have no sin (Matthew 9:12, Luke 5:31). They must know that there is something wrong to in order to seek help.
Philip Yancey said, “I have confessed my sin before God and my wife, and have committed myself to a professional counseling and accountability program. I have failed morally and spiritually, and I grieve over the devastation I have caused. 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.”
We all must die, daily to self. Yet, it isn’t that we always do. But continue and do not let it be that we willingly yield in things thinking that it will not be so easy to let go of. Nothing good is in the fleshly desires. The end will always be death. We must choose life, being led by our spirit that is alive to God.
You’ve misunderstood me. I should have taken more time with my response. What I was trying to say is that Peter was humbled by this incident. Before, he affirmed over and over that he would die with Jesus if necessary. He was the one who pulled a sword in Gethsemane and cut off a servant’s ear. Peter was a bold and proudful man. His denial under pressure revealed his true nature and Peter was ashamed and humbled.
It was Jesus who called him back into ministry. “Feed my sheep.” Peter was repentant, but it took Jesus’ words on the shore to restore him. I was trying to point out a couple of things. One was that Jesus knew Peter would return to him after the denial. “And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren.” The second thing is that Peter’s new assessment of himself because of this humbling experience made him a better servant.
Repentance is not left undefined in Scripture, nor does it refer us to lexicons for clarity.
Repentance biblically is a turning that proves itself by the way we live. God says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD” ~Isaiah 55:7. Forsake sin. Return to God. Proverbs explains it again without debate. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” ~Proverbs 28:13. Confess and forsake. Not one or the other.
John the Baptist demanded proof of repentance, he didn’t debate a definition. “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” ~Matthew 3:8. Jesus explained repentance in the same manner. “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” ~Mark 1:15. Lives were changed when repentance was genuine. Sin was defended, covered up, or redefined when it was not.
Paul even paints the line in the broadest stroke. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation” ~2 Corinthians 7:10. Godly sorrow leads to repentance. It doesn’t allow years of hidden sin while walking around claiming the light. “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie” ~1 John 1:6.
A list of Greek and Hebrew words will never trump these clear statements. Scripture interprets Scripture. Repentance is not just feeling bad about yourself. It is not offering theological definitions of words. It is not re-framing failure. Biblical repentance is a turning from sin to God that produces fruit in our lives. If that definition upsets you, the problem is not exegesis. The problem is you’re acting like a child against what God has clearly said.
Johann, no one is calling you stupid. But Scripture does address the real issue here. The problem is not intelligence. It is authority. God did not leave His people dependent on outside sources or scholarly tools to understand repentance or obedience. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” ~2 Timothy 3:16. Scripture is sufficient because God intended it to be.
When questions are answered plainly by the Word, yet the appeal keeps shifting to lexicons, commentators, and man’s opinions, the issue is not lack of light. It is refusal to rest where God has spoken. Paul warned against this very habit when he said, “not to think of men above that which is written” ~1 Corinthians 4:6.
God knew exactly what He was doing when He gave us His Word. Repentance, fruit, obedience, and qualification are defined clearly in Scripture itself. If Scripture is not enough, no outside source will ever be enough either. The problem is not the Bible’s clarity. It is whether we will submit to it.
The clearest answer is this: a man is foolish because he rejects God’s truth. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” ~Proverbs 1:7. When a man will not fear God or submit to His Word, ignorance follows. That is not an insult. It is a diagnosis.
So Scripture is plain. A man is foolish not because he lacks information, but because he rejects God, resists correction, and trusts himself over the truth. The cure is just as plain. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” ~James 1:5.