“Please don’t seek revenge”

“We all make mistakes”,

“But this is a man of God”

Do these statements sound familiar? In many cases of abuse by a Church leader, such responses are common, but are they the right way to respond to abuse?

Here is a scenario: 
After Church on Sunday, a Church member is seen beating up a woman in the car park, tying them up, putting them in the boot of their car before driving off. Do you:

1. Call a Church meeting to discuss how to internally deal with the issue
2. Try and reason with the victim and ensure they are not angry and forgive their kidnapper
3. Report the matter to the police because a serious crime has been committed

Most people would select option C wouldn’t they? In fact, given the opportunity, if we could prevent the atrocity from happening and save the victim in the first place before it got to this point, we would. Why? Because we instinctively recognise that this is not only wrong, wicked in fact, it is a criminal offence and should be dealt with properly by the relevant authorities. We don’t care about what people will say, we care about protecting the helpless victim and ensuring that they are safe.

Here is another scenario:
A Church leader has sexually abused women in your Church. Do you:

1. Call a Church meeting to discuss how to internally deal with the issue
2. Try and reason with the victim and ensure that they are not angry and forgive their abuser
3. Report the matter to the police because a serious crime has been committed

Why do many Churches opt for option A or B in this scenario? Is it a failure to recognise that sexual abuse is a serious criminal offence (Zambia Penal Code s132 – 138)? Sadly, it is not ignorance that is the biggest problem but the excuses, decorated in spiritual language that those that carry out the abuse use to minimise the abuse. 

So let us tackle some of these excuses.

1. What will people say?

We focus on asking what people will say, driven by the fear of man that is so prevalent in our culture, when we should be asking: what will God say?

What has God said?

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” – Micah 6:8

“For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong…” – Isaiah 61:8

“He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.” – Psalm 33:5

“…I am the Lord who practises steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 9:24

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he…” – Deuteronomy 32:4

In case the point was missed, the God of the bible cares A LOT about justice. Along  with being described as HOLY, he is described several times as a JUST God. Because of his holiness, God cares about justice and hates injustices. So don’t ask – ‘what will  people say?”  Ask what God, who sees all things, will say to those who cover up wrong and ignore injustice.

2. None of us are perfect

That is indeed true. The bible teaches that every human being is sinful by nature and that apart from the grace of God, we are wretched people. The  Bible also recognises that whilst all of us sin, some sins are more serious than others on a horizontal level, that’s why we see different punishment for different kinds of offences in places like Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The law also recognises this, which is why the penalty for murder is more serious than assault, and the penalty for rape is more serious than theft.

It is also worth highlighting the nature of sexual offences and the circumstances surrounding them. Abusers don’t merely slip and fall into abuse; there is a conscious decision made to seek opportunity for the offence,  and then covering up their tracks. Sexual abuse is the bitter fruit of patterned compromises of sin. 

3. This is a Church matter

Well, YES and NO. Church discipline is indeed something that Church leaders should do.  However, sexual abuse is not merely a Church matter, but a criminal matter, and it is the duty of the police and state prosecution to investigate and prosecute such an offence. Christians are called submit to authorities in this area (Romans 13:1, 1 Peter 2:13-14)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 1 Peter 2:13-14

If you steal, you will be prosecuted. If you kill someone you will be prosecuted. If you abuse, you should be prosecuted. Criminal matters are the jurisdiction of the God-appointed authorities, and in Zambia that is the police and the courts system. Abuse in the Church is not just a Church matter, it is a criminal matter.

4. We should forgive

First of all, forgiveness can only be granted by the one who was wronged – that is the victim and ultimately God himself (since all sin is an offence against God). Indeed forgiveness lies at the heart of the gospel message. However, when the victim is told to forgive, it is often said as an attempt to avoid facing the ugly reality of what has taken place. This is also often used by manipulative perpetrators to shame victims and escape accountability. But whether the victim chooses to forgive their abuser in time is irrelevant to the pursuit of justice. 

It is also worth pointing out that in the Christian belief system, forgiveness and justice are not opposed to each other, it’s not one or the other. In fact, both of these are inevitable outcomes of God’s character, his justice is driven by his holiness and his forgiveness is driven by his love, in perfect harmony and without contradiction. 

We see both of these at play at the cross where God did forgive sinners but not at the expense of his justice. On the cross, in love, the justice of God was satisfied, judgement was poured on Jesus (rather than us) in order to make forgiveness possible (Romans 3:25-26). God is JUST and he calls his people to pursue justice impartially, irrespective of who the perpetrator is.

Pursue truth and justice

So, what will you do, Church member, when you find out your Pastor is a sexual predator? What will you do, parent, when your Child tells you they have been abused by a Church member? What will you do, Church leader, when members of your Church report abuse by one of your leadership to you ? Will you excuse it or will you rebuke it? Will you hide it or will you speak up? Will you be like the Pharisees, white-washed tombs who care only about external reputation or will you be like Christ who cares for the least of these and pursue truth and justice?