My Response To The Ravi Zacharias Situation
Apologetics is SUPER near and dear to my heart. I’m actually all set to begin my Masters of Divinity this summer with a concentration in apologetics, and I can’t wait! Dr. Ravi Zacharias was an incredible apologist in many ways, and I had followed his work for a long time and was greatly impacted by many things he said. I was saddened by his death, but even more sad to hear what was discovered about his secret life. As the news of the debased, dark and hidden activities of the late Ravi Zacharias continue to unfold and come to light, a few sobering reminders come to mind.
The fact is, we ultimately follow Christ, not men. There are many gifted men that Christians can meaningfully sit under and learn spiritual truth from, but all men are fallible, and the Holy Spirit is the one who does the work of understanding in our hearts. If a Christian leader falls, and it indeed happens often, we tend to surmise that maybe Christianity isn’t true - but sin causing harm is not a negative statement about the Word of God or the truth of Christianity, but rather confirmation of scripture that sin is dangerous and deadly no matter who tangles with it. God is still good, even when men who claim to follow him fail.
The idea that there are indeed unsaved people masquerading as Christians isn’t proof against Christianity, but rather confirmation of scripture that there will be many within the visible church who aren’t actually saved. It SAYS this will happen. As I looked up some things this morning in light of what I read last night of RZM’s shocking discoveries, I came across many verses that are just sobering, sobering, sobering for all of us. If these verses bring feelings of discomfort as they did me, we ought to thank the Lord that we still have breath to be convicted by them. I encourage you to read and dwell briefly on each one.
- - -
- Matthew 15:8 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
- Titus 1:16 “They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good.”
- 1 John 2:4 “Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.”
- Romans 16:18 “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
- - -
Scripture is clear that sin’s entire goal and purpose is to harm, divide, and destroy. As Christians, we ought to stay as far away as we possibly can, and the Holy Spirit actually empowers us to resist. Not even Christian leaders are safe from the snare of sin, and sin’s consequences favor no one. It’s a sobering reminder that nothing we do is in secret. We may feel we have gotten away with it for a season, but one day, all will be revealed.
Now, don’t get me wrong - the Bible does NOT teach sinless perfectionism. The Bible does NOT teach a works-based salvation. We WILL still struggle with sin on this side of heaven as saved believers. There shouldn’t be a lack of hope for those who profess Christ but have still sinned, or are wrestling with a repetitive sin. We ALL have. It doesn’t make it ok, but the heart posture in that struggle is what matters. Even the Apostle Paul talks about not doing the things he wants to do, and doing the things he doesn’t want to do because of the sin within him.
The wonderful news for anybody breathing is that 1st John tells us that God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we confess our sin! We all have it. The hope is that after our eyes are opened to the gospel and we are saved, a truly saved heart will continue to conform to God’s Word, learn His ways, learn what breaks His heart, learn to hate sin, and feel the sting of conviction (which is grace from the Holy Spirit) to repent and begin doing things God’s way. This should happen all throughout our lives. If it’s not, we should really look inward as 2nd Corinthians 13:5 says. “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” We ought to work out our salvation with fear and trembling as serious and eternal as it is (Philippians 2:12).
So what will Christ say to Ravi on the day of judgement? I’m really not sure. Matched up to scripture, I don’t think it will be good. Saying true things from a stage is not an escape from hell. Satan himself is a better theologian than any of us, yet his fate is sealed. Christianity is marked by the root (Christ) and then the following fruit (obedience). If the general heart to obey is missing, it’s safe assume that the root is too. But while I haven’t done what he has done, it’s still a brisk and chilling reminder that I’m still a sinner in desperate need of the everlasting grace of Christ. I’m keenly aware that I’m humanly capable of the same or even worse, as we all are, so as I’m enraged and heartbroken that he did what he did, I’m also aware of my own lurking depravity.
I think the difference is, especially with sexual sin which scripture often puts in a category all its own - are we embracing a life of sin and covering it up with a false Christianity and ultimately calling God a liar with our lives, or are we broken by our sin and daily dying to ourselves and even though we slip, we’re ultimately throwing ourselves on the mercy of Christ and striving every day to respond to our undeserved salvation in worship to Him through obedience? There is a difference.
Time will tell. Christ is the judge. May what happened with Ravi Zacharias cause us all to pause in fear, reflection, and repentance. Spurgeon once wrote this: “You remember the story of the three wonders in heaven. The first wonder was that we should see so many there we did not expect to see. The second was that we should miss so many we did expect to see there. But the third wonder would be the greatest wonder of all—to see ourselves there.”
