Watch Over Your Heart With All Diligence

On Thursday, September 19, a statement was released from Trinity Bible Church in Dallas announcing that their pastor, "Steven J. Lawson has been removed indefinitely from all ministry activities at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas. Several days ago, the elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas were informed by Steve Lawson of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman." The shocks of this earthquake were immediately felt throughout the Evangelical Christian world. How could the 73-year-old popular and influential theologically conservative pastor/preacher who had been in ministry for nearly 50 years, who preached at the biggest conferences around the world, who was "a preacher to aspiring preachers", who had written dozens of books on Christian doctrine, history, and practice, fall into this kind of disqualifying sin? Surely, the best of preachers, one who fastidiously studied and accurately preached the Word with such passion and conviction, he must surely be sanctified beyond this? Someone once said, "The best of men are men at best." Or Scripture puts it even better, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ). That means all men and women. Great preachers and you and me. We will discuss this tragic news this weekend on The Christian Worldview, not in any way to judge a man, but so that all of us would "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23