Thoughts on the Ravi Zacharias Scandal
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 12. 2020
- Part of my testimony is that when I was drowning in doubt, I asked God to send me a lifeboat. I've stated publicly that one of the earliest and most significant "lifeboats" was the apologetics message of Ravi Zacharias. With allegations of sexual misconduct being brought against him, I'm asking the question, what do you do when Christian leaders fail...when your "lifeboat" springs a leak?
To order Alisa’s book, “Another Gospel”: www.alisachilders.com/another...
This video is not sponsored. Product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission.
For all links to Alisa’s recommended reading, podcast studio gear and other items,
visit the Alisa Childers Amazon Store at www.amazon.com/shop/alisachil...
Since many people have pushed back on my comments regarding Ravi's repentance, allow me to clarify. Please note that I chose my words carefully. I did not say that we know for sure he did not repent...I said "as far as we know." The reason I said that is because he had publicly shamed the first woman to come out with allegations, denied his involvement, and publicly made her out to be an extortionist (also possibly breaking his NDA). In the same statement, he declared that in his 45 year marriage, he has never engaged in any inappropriate behavior of any kind. Since he had so publicly made these statements, I would expect that if his repentance had been true, he would have immediately done all he could to clarify his very public deception. Of course, we never know what happens in the last moments of someone's life. It's possible he could have truly repented, but not had the time or mental capacity to reach out and make things right. Also, I am not judging whether or not Ravi is in heaven. That's between him and God. My comments regarding his repentance were simply to point out how deep his deceptions went... I am not in any way claiming that public confessions are necessary in order to receive forgiveness for sins or that we have to be sinless at death to receive salvation.
Alisa, you are still speaking about this purported behavior as if it is fact. Neither you nor I know what he may or may not have done, and he is no longer here to defend himself.
Copy & pasted from the RZIM website:
Before he died, however, Ravi addressed allegations that he solicited inappropriate photos from Lori Anne Thompson or otherwise engaged in communications of a sexual nature with her in an 800-word public statement in December 2017. In that statement, he denied any sexually or romantically inappropriate conduct. He stood by that statement until his death. His denial is consistent with the character of the man we knew and worked alongside for years.
That couple had a history of previous lawsuit with another minister for 1000000 for wrong investment advise. All info comes out of that woman and her friends that she was sending info. I would not talk about those allegations as a fact which you do. Why is there a new attack at him after he passed? He is not here to defend himself again.
In my humble opinion when I read the life of King David he is said to be a man after God's own heart. Yet I consider his sin to be worse than the sins of King Saul. David's heart was not like God's heart, but David was in pursuit of God's heart through repentance and forgiveness. Saul refused to take responsibly for his sin and blamed other. "Great men of God can and do fall, but it is how they respond to their fall is how you know if they are after "in Pursuit" God's heart. Where is your Heart?
.
I ask Jesus into my heart when I was a young child, but over time I ended up hurting a number of people for years I was dealing with a number of addictions. I cried and repented so often I that I became embarrassed to repent because it seemed it was impossible to stop my sin before God. I continued to pursue God and pray for years for deliverance It seemed I was bound for ultimate failure when God himself stepped in to my life in a truly miraculous way and delivered me from me. I now pursue Jesus (Yeshua) With a Passion I never thought possible.
I Trust in God. I was greatly helped by the ministry of Ravi and the RZIM team. I hope and I pray that Ravi came to that true repentance and deliverance that he needed, but that is between him and God.
I found out an amazing truth in the seventh year of my deliverance as pursued and chased after the call He has on my life. I prayed and told God that I would be faithful to Him in the coming year after my deliverance I was blown away that I had been faithful for going on seven years.
Then God spoke to me that is was about His faithfulness not my faithfulness. That was Incredible! I will leave you with this IT IS ALL ABOUT THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD!
I think you handled this extremely difficult topic very well.
“I didn’t put my faith in Ravi...I put my faith in God” very well said.
The usual cop out
@@Flaytt744 What do you mean by that?
@@ben3247 we hear that when so called "Holy men" are caught with their pants down. I guarantee you the practice is rampant.
Good saying sister
It's all BS. I like how any man today who is actually having sex with a woman, or committing adultery, or fornicating is somehow automatically a "sexual predator"?? gimme a break!!
Just because a guy is having sex outside of his marriage DOES NOT make him a criminal.....a sinner, sure....but not a criminal.
The modern liberal definition of a "sex predator" - Any male who spends time thinking of ways to get laid. (basically every man who's ever lived) LOL
Notice when women do the EXACT same thing somehow they are never called "sex predators"....they are "sexually liberated females" or "cougars"..... LOL.......what a joke!!
Jesus is THE life boat, everything else is sinking sand.
Agree 101%. Trust no man but God. So it doesn’t affect me at all.
Why then do people need dodgy preachers?
Great point and also one Alisa made at 6:48 and that Truth is her lifeboat.
While if we want to stay with the analogy, people that God brings into our lives with words we need to hear at that moment are probably more like life buoys which stop us from sinking and keep us afloat as we drift towards and then climb into the lifeboat.
@@iainrae6159 If God can trick unbelievers and even demons to guide us on our paths towards Him, then surely He can use christian leaders, both righteous and crooked, as well. We don't "need" these leaders in the same way that we don't "need" our breakfast. Not every meal is perfect but it's the meal God gives us.
Amen!
We acknowledge that our spiritual mentors are just human and God can use anyone to help us. This is a HUGE lesson to put our faith ONLY in Jesus Christ.
If God could speak truth through a donkey, (Numbers 22) he can use any person.
@@jonathandoelander6130 he haw he haw he haw to know Better,
@@stevenhird1837 Hahaha!!!
@Lisa Perkett I agree that God is certainly not indwelling perverts. But He can use even evil kings, in the Bible, to do something or send a message..
@@jonathandoelander6130 Yep, He even used Caiaphas to prophecy about Christ, that "one should die for the people" though unaware of the prophetic implications of his own words.
We all have clay feet. That’s why we worship the creator and not the creation. 🙏
We aren't all systematic sexual predators. Dont lessen the weight of his evil. Yes, we are all capable of his sin, but he lived it, he actually did it and died seemingly unrepentant. We are not the same
Well said
"Some therapists also reported that Zacharias paid well or would leave large tips and gave gifts that were at times lavish, such as a Persian rug or a Louis Vuitton wallet with $500 inside"
This is why I am so hesitant to give money to a church. Maybe it's best to give money to small churches so they can grow. Money seems to corrupt
Jesus says over & over, "Trust no man." So we have to look up, not around.
Amen bro
Amen!
Which direction is up?
Amen and rebuke Satan the accuser. Nothing can separate us from the love 💕 of GOD.
Romans 8:38💞
I think that is less than an accurate brother. how is it possible to love someone without trust or receive truth, mentorship, and leadership from someone without trust. if you live life without trust you will just become cynical and it impairs our ability to receive from each other. The word of God says How can you say you love God without loving your brother. Once your love starts in Christ and not in our own righteousness then you can love and trust our brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember King David a man who deliberately tracked down and seduced another man's wife and even worse went on to murder said man. Our Lord our God Jesus the Christ sits on the throne of David forever and ever. we as believers have to learn how to deal with our selves and our brothers properly especially when we are less than perfect
When your lifeboat springs a leak.....Truth walks on water to save us.
HALLELUJAH!!!!
How beautiful! Amen! 🙏🏻
Wish i could pin this comment and give it a heart! Hope Alisa will!!
That is beautiful
This melt my heart..God bless and keep you ✨
I feel very sad for his victims, his wife, children and grandchildren. I just can't imagine how they might be hurting. I will be praying for them.
Finally, I hear some sympathy. So many make videos about this subject and it seems that no one understands about the implications of this mess and the hurt caused to victims. Thanks for your comment.
@@GuitarImpression everyone is only talking about ‘don’t lose faith cause of this’ instead of talking about the pain this caused the victims.
God bless you.. this is a true follower of christ .. even if Ravi has done wrong.. let us not judge him.. our Father God is stil on d throne.. n i wud say .. Father forgive him..
👏👏👏
@Vicky Covert...Thank you for your point on the impact on the victims and their families. This is a point often overlooked especially when the perpetrator is well spoken and well known. Please don't think that those around him didn't know, they just looked the other way. Yes he's passed, but I can guarantee you that he had an aggrogrant attitude that he was above accountability. Look at the damaged done on all levels. Like you said, sad to say the least.
Lord God, please help every person who have been so hurt by this. In Jesus's name, amen
Yes Brother. Amen!
Read the follow someone posted them to me as I asked a question why on earth he would be so stupid to pray with a woman and then say undress for sex ha ha ha. So he responded the following way with something pretty good. read it all please thank you.
Sorrowful sheep
Highlighted reply
Sorrowful sheep
13 minutes ago
@Oliver C Ms. Thompson found Ravi daughter, and
began asking her intrusive questions about, among other things, Ravi daughter was offended and considered Ms Thompson’s behavior and demeanor to be aggressive and disturbing.
Ms. Thompson repeatedly contacted Ravi. As a result of Ms. Thompson’s repeated messages, Ravi began to consider Ms. Thompson as a friend, in addition to a fan and supporter of RZIM’s mission and his work.
Ravi frequently receives death threats originating from these countries and, further, his electronic devices and online accounts have been the target of many hacking attempts. Additionally, his mobile phone has been taken and briefly held by local authorities on a few occasions when visiting Islamic
countries.
Over the course of the two years following their initial meeting Mrs Thompson attempted to escalate her relationship with Ravi through repeated and persistent BBM messages, e-mails, by sending gifts through the mail, and by traveling from Canada to Georgia on two occasions, but Ravi did not meet her in person.
In December 2015 Ms. Thompson obtained Ravi home address under the guise of sending him a Christmas gift.
On one visit to Georgia, Ms. Thompson unsuccessfully attempted to contact one of Ravi daughters.
Ms. Thompson attempted to meet Ravi on other occasions as well, but Ravi rejected all of these attempts. For example, Ms. Thompson represented that she was a physiotherapist and/or an ergonomist and volunteered to meet Ravi and treat his back pain.
Mrs Thompson attempted to coax Ravi into an inappropriate online relationship.
Ms. Thompson, at all times without Ravi solicitation, gradually introduced inappropriate topics into conversations with Ravi and then eventually introduced sexual topics. For example, she began expressing her love for Ravi, and then began making sexually suggestive statements.
At first, Ms. Thompson sent photographs of herself with her family and pet, but as time went by, she sent photographs of herself stretching and in very scanty clothing and suggestive positions under the guise that these were exercises that would help Ravi back, and then she began sending
photographs with less clothing, and ultimately in the nude. Ms. Thompson took these photographs in her office, car, and home.
In fact, Ravi asked Ms. Thompson to stop sending him inappropriate material.
Ms. Thompson agreed to stop sending Ravi such material, but then began sending photographs again and told Ravi that she could not help herself.
When Ravi blocked and/or directed Ms. Thompson’s BBM messages to his spam folder, Ms. Thompson created new BBM identification numbers and continued to send inappropriate photographs and messages. Additionally, on at least two occasions, Ravi rejected Ms. Thompson’s online request for further BBM chats.
Recognizing that they would be unable to persuade Ravi to engage in any inappropriate behavior, as part of their scheme, Mrs Thompson decided to become confrontational with Ravi to attempt to extract damaging statements that could support her extortion scheme.
Additionally, Ravi, who was worried about his physical well-being and his reputation being unfairly tarnished, pleaded with Ms. Thompson not to escalate the situation. Ms. Thompson’s tone had moved from affectionate adulation to contemptible accusation based upon groundless accusations.
Oliver C
Oliver C
33 seconds ago (edited)
@Sorrowful sheep Yes, it can be seen that there were people who were after him and the fools who falls so quickly for these accusation are just too stupid. They only hear one side of the story. Now, I am not saying he was without sexual sins but in most cases it appears that people were after him trying to bring him down. And I dare say who is without sexual sins even though most of the stuff against him as you stated are all false. But fools falls for it too quickly. Solomon Proverb: When a person make accusation he seems right untill the accused defends himself. And how true that is. But most people are like kids they will believe in anything they hear.
A woman speaking out of hurt, not truth. Scandals come so WE, examine our hearts and repent. Are you leading people to reflection and repentance or to bitterness? God has been in control. You are no better or worse sinner than RZ or Solomon were. Repent. You are causing more trouble than healing. Be biblical. Time to examine ourselves, we could be next if we don't repent.
Lord please help all the people that you knew full well all along were being hurt by this, yet you didn’t protect them by striking this false prophet down or silencing his mouth. Lord please pick up the pieces of broken lives that are left because you failed to act each time this deceiver was using his mesmer to take advantage of poor and innocent individuals. And lord please reveal similar inadequacies in other religious celebrities, especially those on CZcams, lest they force us to watch more adverts and take more of our money and time and seek to abuse us in a similar manner. All these uploaders now trying to get their heads round this ... its making a mockery of our faith. As a child I used to sing about how big and strong and mighty you were and ‘there’s nothing my god cannot do”, but dealing with this guy was beyond you? Were you busy?
@@manny3549 “God has been in control “????????? What? Was he in control when this man lured innocent trusting individuals into his room then manipulated them and beckoned them to touch his private parts? Was god holding the PlayStation controller and pressing the ‘Z’ button each time this deceiver touched up the women who were too scared to resist his advances? Is it in the master plan of this invisible entity that fragile individuals are expendable such that comfortable pew sitters can be taught to examine their hearts? Hows about thinking about the broken victims of this charlatan before you try and draw your own spiritual lesson that you can share in church on Sunday. What an unbelievable comment.
My wife and I were devastated by the news and had a long discussion about it. We came to the following conclusions:
1) God is perfect; man is not.
2) Take what you can use and leave the rest.
@randy osgood I so agree with you. What he did was wrong yet does that make his message false?
AMEN my thoughts exactly
I would just add to also: pray for those who in the wake of our failures to represent Christ properly.
God is far from perfect - that was evident from Day 8 onward.
@@shakespearegames5378 😁
Thank you so much for sharing. I was quite honestly gutted. I told my husband that the only way I could feel more shaken is if I found out my dad had done the same things. My husband echoed your same sentiments and it is true. My faith comes from God, not from Ravi or my dad or any of the great Christian leaders who have been so influential in my life.
see my stand-alone comment below Alisa's highlighted 1st comment, not as on of these many replies.
This broke my heart when I first heard it
It still breaks my heart.
You couldn't tell he looked like a pervert.? What till it comes out about the daughters involvement
@@mke1110 his daughter's involvement - what happened???
Too late to punish him in this world
“The best of men, are men at best.” -unknown
Thank you for that.
Nice quote my guy!
“The best of myths, are myths at best.” -me
Wow this is it! 👏
Thankyou for sharing
Yes, indeed.
I was disappointed but not shocked. Not an hour goes by that I don't have a thought that misses the mark with God. I screwed up royally over the last few months. The only thing I can say is that at least I'm not a teacher or public speaker. Human beings are so easily tempted - we screw up all the time. We have to cling closely to God and maintain our spiritual lives so when we stray, we come back sooner than later.
Thanks
Amen aerriakick !
we are all sinners and we fall, but Christ is always there for us:
Trust Him: He is True to His word !
Amen!
There is difference between having a thought that misses the mark and being a sexual abuser. Please don't tell me you see serial rapists or paedophiles on the news and say that they are being judged to harshly because you have bad thoughts to....
I keep thinking of the scripture that says ‘the human heart is DESPERATELY wicked. Who can know it?’
“What do you do when a spiritual leader fails you?” You regard it as an example that we all fall short of the glory of God. As you said, it doesn’t change the fact of the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve been a fan of Ravi since 2002 and have read most of his books, and taught his wisdom to others. If people lose their faith over this incident, I would say their faith is weak and misplaced. Pride always goes before the fall... and it’s what allows us to judge other’s actions while justifying our own. We all have to battle this within our own hearts.
@bereisheet b. Agreed! Thank you for your wisdom, Sister Amy!
I recently heard that one church has "accountability teams." All churches need to have this. We also need to be careful that we never put ourselves into situation where temptation or false accusations can be made against our witness.
When I went out on outreach one night, the team that showed up that night was only me (female) and a married man. I asked if he minded that we drive to every location separately. He was fine with that. We don't have to be so much like the world that we put ourselves in situations which could compromise our witness or give the enemy a foothold in our walk. Some may say it is "old fashioned." I don't care. It is more important now more than ever that we keep ourselves unspotted from the world and its ways and that we abstain from the appearance of evil.
I see where you're coming from. Back when I used to follow progressive Christianity, I was watching people like Steven Furtick and Joyce Meyers and some of the stuff that they "preached" helped me and actually brought me closer to God. But now that I've found that they're false teachers, does that make what God showed me during those times of my life irrelevant? I don't think so. I believe God can work through anything and anybody. God is still God, no matter what people do or don't do.
Glad your eyes has been opened. Continue to grow in Christ and make Him known.
Amy, have you heard of the new women’s Christian survivor’s group Snatched from the Flames? It’s just starting led by Paul and Emily Massey - formerly with Joyce Meyers. Emily also runs a fb group for this.
Jesus is our life boat. Ravi's messages were friendly a bit staticy overhead announcements coming throuh the speakers that echoed the clear loving voice of God our hearts.
Well said.
I whole heartedly agree Amy.
You hit the nail on the head, Ms Alisa: don't put your faith in man, but rather keep your faith in God alone. If you trust in man, you will be disappointed every time.
People put faith in leaders of the calvinist movment and when told to jump everyone jump.
God can use anyone - and I mean absolutely anyone - to reach His children when they need to be reached. No matter who the messenger was, the message you got in that car that day was meant for YOU. It was meant to come to you. It doesn't matter who said the words. It doesn't matter what that person did or didn't do in his life. You heard the words you needed to hear when you needed to hear them most. Thank God for His ability to reach us in truly amazing ways. ❤️
Well said Erin
We must always keep our eyes on Jesus.
Is this all true.Surely he had a team around him when he was away.Did nobody see it Why is it coming out now when his gone. Is this true or is the devil having a go at the Kingdom.
Seems strange that he can go on for so long and no one in his team confronting him.If this is true then shame on his helpers for not helping him.
@@ashleymey3144 If you have time you should watch Mike winger's video about this situation on his channel. There was evidence that surfaced of this in 2017 and if the organization had actually done an investigation like they said they did I'm sure this would be a whole different story and Ravi would be facing serious, well-deserved consequences alive
He was a very manipulative man
@Lisa Perkett Balaam would beg to differ. (Read Numbers 22-24. It's a cool story.)
Balaam was as evil and deceptive as they come and God most certainly used him - even SPOKE to him directly - to help move the Israelites into Canaan. God will use absolutely anyone to accomplish His divine will, including a pagan divination expert who was called to curse the people of Israel. Were there other people he could have used? Sure, but Balaam was perfect for the task. Evil or not, without Balaam, Israel may have never entered the promised land and we'd all be telling a much different history today.
Good evening & God bless.
Everyone needs to hear this. I’m glad you made this video ❤️ God bless you!
“If You Want to Test a Man’s Character, Give Him Power”.
True
Those were similar words that Abraham Lincoln said...it's the truth.
Or a woman’s character humans.
Titus 3:4-5
Prov 27:21 The crucible tests silver and the furnace tests gold; each person is tested by the praise given to him/her.
This is so so true! Applies fo women also!
Friends, someone made a fake account and is pretending to be me. I've blocked them and am removing their comments. Please disregard any comment that appears to be from me beginning with "God bless you beloved." And if any comment seems strange, click on the user name to see if it's a fake profile.
I knew it didn’t sound like you!
If I only listened to truth coming from perfect humans, I’d be listening to no one. I will continue listening to Ravi’s teachings as well as many other fallible Godly people so long as what they say is verified with Scripture. God bless you sister. Press on.
Yes I know. They approached me for donation. I figured it out real quick.
And I see their comment has been removed.
This has been happening to other youtube channels too. Justin Peters made a good video where he talks directly to the person who was pretending to be him.
Amen. Not putting my faith in people has been a very hard lesson for me to learn. There is such a tendency in me (and others) to put people on a pedestal. The experiences I have been through I believe are just God reinforcing in me that I was "trusting in man" (or self) and I need to trust in Him alone.
What does "putting faith in people" have to do with the whole Ravi Z thing? I don't understand it. The takeaway here is not "Don't trust in people"; the takeaway is that a world-renowned Christian leader was lying and abusing people for YEARS and no one would listen to those trying to call him out for it. The "Whew, at least I worshipped God, not Ravi" evasion is meaningless here -- and in any case, many of those who defended (and still defend) him sound like they actually DID worship him.
Thank you for this. I started listening to him by accident during Covid-19 while working from home and learned a lot from him. When he died I was so devastated. Then the information about his hidden life started to come out and my heart was mournful to his wife, family, and all his close colleagues. I prayed about it. What I learned is "Man will fail us but God will never fail us". That was what I came away with. I am grateful for all I learned from his videos. It created a deeper desire to search the scriptures.
It is tragic, but David comes to mind. Abraham comes to mind. Issac, Jacob, and so many others. They all fell short and yet are known for their walk with God. They made terrible choices while serving God, and paid the price. Should we also throw out everything we can learn from them? My husband said that maybe God allows godly men to fail so we remember not to worship them in place of God, or that perhaps it was their own ego got so big that God allowed it. Regardless, the lesson is not to put your faith in Man because they can and will fail; but Christ does not.
Let us follow Jesus, He is the standard of being a Christian not David or Jacob. Yes we can fall into sin but not in the sense of being like David or Jacob but in failing to be Christ-like
Amen
@A P David was a liar, an adulterer, a murderer, a horrible father, etc. Read your Bible.
@Abdul Ali Abraham forced his wife to lie to be with Pharaoh because he believed he would kill him to get her, he took a slave at his wife’s behest so he could have what she thought would be the promised child, David took another man’s wife. Read your Bible.
@A P no he was a murderer and and adulterer, but God said he was a man after His own heart because he admitted his sin, ask for forgiveness and repented
One thing that needs to be said, I still have a lot of respect for Ravi Zacharias. Even if this turns out to be a lie, let me say this, My career as a police officer and Life Group Leader for over 20 years in a SB Church, I can say this, enticement is everywhere. Its like walking through a mind field. But I will say this. We live in a church culture that almost worships speakers who are out there and on the stage. We put them up as celebrities. It is unfair to the person but more important it can be dangerous. Where is our allegiance? Who is on the throne? Who is worthy of worship? As a Christian, I have started telling people when ask if I am a Christian, I say I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Even hearing myself say that is convicting because I am not worthy to follow him. I have let him down so many times. And as a retired SWAT cop, I have been in many life or death situations. And God was there. But I have still let him down.
This crazy sinful human nature that we all fight with and Satan loves to use on us is no different than what Mr Zacharias fought with daily. And he was a man on the road all the time I'm sure. So this should beg the question, Who do you follow? The celebrity preacher? Not to talk down about him Im not. I'm sure he would agree. We should all do a gut check and ask ourselves, am I a believer after God's own Heart? If you think these high recognized preachers with a book out every month are worthy of following you will be disappointed and sometimes mislead. I had many of his books and have many books from other ministers. But I came to the conclusion one day, Im reading more books authored by Christian speakers and preachers than the Book Authored by God. So, I bought a couple more Bibles, Commentary, and Bible Dictionary and dug in. And God is there every time I opened His Word. I dont read the Bible anymore, I study it. And God talks.
One thing for sure to the christian brothers and sisters reading this, Pray! because you know that Satan will use this as a weapon. 2 Cor 4:4 talks about Satan veiling the minds of the unbeliever. Satan will try to weaponize all of our short comings. And if you read the last part of that verse, "lest the light of the Gospel shines on them. The most important part of our walk as Christians (followers of Christ) in this dirty world is Evangelism. Its not the ability to use sharp debate skills but to Proclaim the Gospel Message. As for me, I am praying for his family, his wife, and asking God to show me my heart for repentance lest I fall.
Thank you for the sincere comment.
That is a philosophical and encouraging position to take .....Ravi no matter how gifted a speaker hee was and truly he was ....can be respected for this I totally agree with you .....lest we not forget he was first and foremost a human with a difficult start in life ...he was first and foremost a sinner if we analyse this objectively and as men ,probably some of us suspected this ....but does that discredit his words ......I only hope he is not guilty of some misplaced perversions ,it seems that another great speaker has a tarnished reputation ..just what we need right now .........thank you for your view ,it's a non judgemental one .I personally try to encourage search for truth in this minefield called life .whilst being first and foremost a sinner and still am .......the mystery to me is why could this possibly be without a design flaw .
We still fight because we do not let Christ be Lord in us. When He becomes preeminent, His life solves our inner problems. Much of these apologists' teachings is THEIRS. It is not Christ in them imparting life through truth. Objective truth must become a subjective reality otherwise it is not true faith. The way to overcome is eating of the word and drinking of the spirit. Exterior teachings are useful but not effective. Only the Word of God has the power to transform you from within. Logic, deduction, argumentative discourses, evidence, etc. have their place but the power unto salvation is the gospel (Rom. 1.16-17). And our hope of Glory is Christ IN US (Col.1.27). 2Cor.13.14
@@adrianvarela8890 thank you Adrian .
So well said. Thank you. We are to follow Jesus and not men. I have turned away from "Christian" celebrities and their books and products. There is one book, the Bible, no need to write million books about the Bible (a few exeptions there like dictionaries or concordance can be useful). People can read themselves. It is outrageous how many "preachers" get rich from leaching the life out of the Gospel and misleading people. So many false teachers. 2020 for me was about cleaning my life from "all good and happy, decree health and properity non-sense", it is an insult to God. We serve God, not the other way.
Love and blessings to my fellow Christian brothers an sisters. Let's serve the King, not men, and let's love each other. Thank you God for leading us to clean waters and saving us from the wolves. You are the good Shepherd.
The Lord is our lifeboat. I think of the song, "On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand."
I love his apologetics, they really helped me. I'm still gonna listen to him whether he did these things or not. Solomon had all those concubines, David had Bethsheba, Abraham listened to Sarah and slept with Hagar, Rahab the prostitute was used by God. The bible has lots of sexual sinners in it.
Everyone has good and bad sides. Ravi has helped a lot, including me. But i am not suprised to learn of this, his weaknesses and indiscretions. The timing was just awful since he cannot respond to the allegations.
We may know a lot of God's precepts, but in happens that we are NOT Spirit-led all the time.
Let us then focus our eyes on Jesus. He alone is our hero. He alone is the Truth and the Way..
It‘s about repentance. We all sin continually and the only way one can approach God is to acknowledge sin and to repent. There is no shortcut to God‘s grace. To abide in hidden sin is a sign of an unregenerated mind.
I surely agree. I thank GOD always for Ravi's teachings. For me personally he belonged to God. I fully believe those who condemn the most are those that are most blind to there own sins and they secretly believe their sins aren't as condemning as others. My sins are the most condemning to me. One thing that helps me is realizing, believing what Christ said. There is none good not one! His Word says none seek Him. That EVERYONE has gone their own way. So, now I see why JESUS died for me and the whole world. Jn.3:16. I love Ravi's teachings and I'm so disappointed about his sins. But ANY ONE who hangs their faith on a man not only will be fooled but will be a fool. Jesus/God is the only, only, only faithful and true. With the recent news about Ravi everyone has come out of the wood work to gasp & judge. Have you read your Bible or read a little here and there. There is none good but one. Most of the men of the Bible. Men of faith committed worst offense than Ravi, as far as we know. Murderers, Audulters, DENIERS OF CHRIST. When we heard of Ravi's sin did we believe his sin was worst than King David? David who committed adultery then killed her husband and kept her and not to mention his concubines? There's none good but one. Jesus bought and paid for Ravi's sin. Don't dig up what Jesus bought & paid for. If Ravi was or wasn't his servant then let Jesus do the declaring.
@@gailmcfarland8140, you talk about repentance but based on the Bible teachings not everyone is in a position to repent. Please contemplate these verses: Heb. 10:26-29 "For is we sin willfully after have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sin, But a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:Of how much worse punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, with which he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done insult unto the Spirit of grace?"
Mr. Zacharias knew the Bible and I can say only 'Lord have mercy upon his soul'!
@@mirr1427 You're right, he knew the Bible ...
"Reputation is what men think we are. Character is what God knows we are." -Leonard Ravenhill.
"We are only what we are in the dark. All the rest is reputation." --- Oswald Chambers
Man judges by outward appearance but God judges the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
"We are only what we are in the dark. All the rest is reputation." --- Oswald Chambers
Man judges by outward appearance but God judges the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
@@josedopwell9645 My high school teacher once told the class, "You are what you are when no one is looking."
@@aniljacob932 wow. So true. Because that's when our loyalty to Christ is tested and our true character is revealed.
And prevalent in the Christian church
A few weeks ago, as I was having my morning devotion, a sense of grief overcame me as I thought about how easily we could slip away from the path that was set before us. I wept bitterly because knowingly or unknowingly we could fall into a deception that will lead to us spiraling downwards. I cried out to God like the psalmist, Lord see if there's any wickedness in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Bind me to your feet Lord if you have to. Tie me to the cross. Whatever it takes to keep me in your presence because apart from you I am nothing. That should be all of our prayers
I agree Ugh.... I love this prayer and everyday remind myself that without Christ, I am nothing and I can do nothing. Lead me in the path that is higher than I.
You sound like a complete narcissist. Telling everyone on line about your prayers is rather pathetic. Jesus told us not to do such things.
@@frankrandall8875 thats reading alot into it... :( bless you
"My lifeboat was truth!" Amen!! Thanks for this post!!
If this was happening over the years to “multiple women” makes me question why none of them came out while he was still a live! He should’ve been exposed and stopped right away. I am not saying Ravi is not guilty but I am saying if he was guilty, it should’ve been brought up when he was a live to stop him.
Maybe God allowed all of this to happen because so many (including myself) looked up to Ravi and to his teachings - some people even called him modern day Paul because of his Influence and intellect and maybe so many gave Ravi the glory and not God. Ravi or any other person is only a tool used by God. God is the one who gives grace and intellect and abilities. In Ravis case He even gave him life when he was trying to take his own life at 17. So ultimately our hope is in Jesus and Jesus alone. We humans are compared to grass and flowers, no matter how beautiful and good they look they eventually wither away and only Gods words stands.
They did come out while he was alive. If you research you will find that Lori Thompson came out - about her relationship with him....and also there was a massage therapist that went to the manager and told her what Ravi had done - she was immediately fired....and thus, all the other women were scared and said nothing. But the manager had admitted that she wondered why Ravi had been having sessions that were several hours long when a massage was only suppposed to be 1/2 hour to 1 hour long . It's all there - just google.
Ravi is to powerfull for all those innocent women. Because he is popular and that women not. And who gonna believe it. Common senses is not common practice 😅
Victims did come out while he was alive nobody believed them because he was a ““ man of God“. Religion is disgusting.
@kinfolk kf and stop talking about repentance as if "changing your mind" saves a man. Once you are saved, it doesn't mean you will never struggle with sin in your life. Take it down a notch - stop acting like a Pharisee claiming your sins are better
@@las6766 I read he owned a massage place
The problem is we replace Christ with men, who have a calling, and expect them to be sinless. Then we are "shocked" when a sin is exposed. The only news flash is that Ravi battled his flesh just like every other Christian on the planet. There is one and only one lifeboat, Jesus Christ. The biggest mistake is for anyone to look at another human being and see them as sinless or incapable of sin because they are called to bring Christ's message. Ravi's message wasn't his, it was Christ's message and as Christ always does, uses sinful men to spread His message. Let's stop creating idols out of sinful men who are called to spread the gospel. They are called to spread Christ's message, not be Christ.
This is well said by our Christian brother/sister, great word!
Amen!!!
Well said. God bless.
But you must understand, yes, we must have our faith in Christ alone, but you’re human and human beings have been given the propensity for idolatry from God (which is to be used for him) however we abuse God’s gift and use it for evil. No matter how much you say, “In Christ alone my hope is found”, you still look up to and revere men of God and put them on a pedestal. We look to them as leaders and arbiters of truth and morality.
How we should handle this situation should be how we handled any other men of God that has fallen (like Solomon or David), we just pray for the current leaders to stay strong in their faith and obedience to God and resist the temptations of the devil.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV
It is tragic and I feel for his family at this time. Ravi's ministry helped me too and for that I am very thankful. I learnt in former times that we must not confuse the message with the messenger and we must not exalt human beings. "We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete" Hebrews 12:2
Exactly!!! We also need to remember that we ALL have sinned and fall short of God's glory! We must FORGIVE as we have been forgiven!
Spot on. The Hebrews reference is absolutely correct. He is the author and perfecter of our salvation, not you or me or Zacharias or anyone else.
But you have no business preaching God's Word if you are deep into adultery and fornication, I don't care who you are.
@@exactly150 Deep into fornication!!??? How do you KNOW that!!??
@@believeinjesus8862 The biggest problem is that it is RZIM itself that is confirming that the allegations are true. RZIM has nothing to gain and everything to lose if these charges are true, but they are confirming them. That tells me that at the absolute bare minimum, something evil has taken place and Zacharias had sinned.
I hope we are wrong. But as one other commentator said, I'm not optimistic about the human condition. We have to be on guard.
EDIT- She was the one who said that "I'm not optimistic about the human condition." Sorry for that.
My heart goes out to his wife children and grandchildren who have to learn this news of the person they loved ..i pray they find the peace and strength to go through 🙏
It was a shame he put them through this he must of known his terrible sins would have come to surface one day and to allow his ministries to suffer along with his family ..not to mention the women he had misconduct with.i myself had learnt alot from his sermons and although we can learn we must always be aware that man can be sinful we need to relay wholeheartedly in the word of God and allow Jesus Christ to be our teacher
I honestly wish that HE would have thought of them too. That alone should have given him pause.
Lo, another deluded Christain without hearing the defence she has already believed the accusers. So here it is I will do it for you free of charge. Amen and women.
Read the follow someone posted them to me as I asked a question why on earth he would be so stupid to pray with a woman and they say undress for sex ha ha ha. So he responded the following way with something pretty good. read it all please thank you.
Sorrowful sheep
Highlighted reply
Sorrowful sheep
13 minutes ago
@Oliver C Ms. Thompson found Ravi daughter, and
began asking her intrusive questions about, among other things, Ravi daughter was offended and considered Ms Thompson’s behavior and demeanor to be aggressive and disturbing.
Ms. Thompson repeatedly contacted Ravi. As a result of Ms. Thompson’s repeated messages, Ravi began to consider Ms. Thompson as a friend, in addition to a fan and supporter of RZIM’s mission and his work.
Ravi frequently receives death threats originating from these countries and, further, his electronic devices and online accounts have been the target of many hacking attempts. Additionally, his mobile phone has been taken and briefly held by local authorities on a few occasions when visiting Islamic
countries.
Over the course of the two years following their initial meeting Mrs Thompson attempted to escalate her relationship with Ravi through repeated and persistent BBM messages, e-mails, by sending gifts through the mail, and by traveling from Canada to Georgia on two occasions, but Ravi did not meet her in person.
In December 2015 Ms. Thompson obtained Ravi home address under the guise of sending him a Christmas gift.
On one visit to Georgia, Ms. Thompson unsuccessfully attempted to contact one of Ravi daughters.
Ms. Thompson attempted to meet Ravi on other occasions as well, but Ravi rejected all of these attempts. For example, Ms. Thompson represented that she was a physiotherapist and/or an ergonomist and volunteered to meet Ravi and treat his back pain.
Mrs Thompson attempted to coax Ravi into an inappropriate online relationship.
Ms. Thompson, at all times without Ravi solicitation, gradually introduced inappropriate topics into conversations with Ravi and then eventually introduced sexual topics. For example, she began expressing her love for Ravi, and then began making sexually suggestive statements.
At first, Ms. Thompson sent photographs of herself with her family and pet, but as time went by, she sent photographs of herself stretching and in very scanty clothing and suggestive positions under the guise that these were exercises that would help Ravi back, and then she began sending
photographs with less clothing, and ultimately in the nude. Ms. Thompson took these photographs in her office, car, and home.
In fact, Ravi asked Ms. Thompson to stop sending him inappropriate material.
Ms. Thompson agreed to stop sending Ravi such material, but then began sending photographs again and told Ravi that she could not help herself.
When Ravi blocked and/or directed Ms. Thompson’s BBM messages to his spam folder, Ms. Thompson created new BBM identification numbers and continued to send inappropriate photographs and messages. Additionally, on at least two occasions, Ravi rejected Ms. Thompson’s online request for further BBM chats.
Recognizing that they would be unable to persuade Ravi to engage in any inappropriate behavior, as part of their scheme, Mrs Thompson decided to become confrontational with Ravi to attempt to extract damaging statements that could support her extortion scheme.
Additionally, Ravi, who was worried about his physical well-being and his reputation being unfairly tarnished, pleaded with Ms. Thompson not to escalate the situation. Ms. Thompson’s tone had moved from affectionate adulation to contemptible accusation based upon groundless accusations.
Oliver C
Oliver C
33 seconds ago (edited)
@Sorrowful sheep Yes, it can be seen that there were people who were after him and the fools who falls so quickly for these accusation are just too stupid. They only hear one side of the story. Now, I am not saying he was without sexual sins but in most cases it appears that people were after him trying to bring him down. And I dare say who is without sexual sins even though most of the stuff against him as you stated are all false. But fools falls for it too quickly. Solomon Proverb: When a person make accusation he seems right untill the accused defends himself. And how true that is. But most people are like kids they will believe in anything they hear.
@@democracyforall This guy is delusional and has too much time on his hands.
@@democracyforall i guess you were there side by side ravi zacharias and thompson when all what you said was happening???..theres not proof in what you say u
@david jones there is no prood for your gods existence but you believe it anyways.
I don't want to burn in HELL... I'm a sinner.. I'm bound up in sexual sin and many sins I probably can't see.. Lord have mercy on me a sinner.. Amen
Jesus wants you to be free. Trust him to free you. Will you ever be perfect as a human? No. But as a believer you’re completely forgiven by his grace through faith. God sees your grieving heart. Those who don’t love him don’t care that they sin.
@@toliveischrist950 Thanks... Salvation isn't performance based that's hard for me to grasp while in this my tabernacle. God bless you
Hope you're doing alright brother. I was struggling this week as well
You can make the decision, every single day, to stop and turn from sexual sin. Ask God to help you. 1 Corinthians 6:18, NIV: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body." Will keep you in prayer.
There is no hell. There is no Jesus and there is no heaven.
We do not idolize or worship gifted or talented human beings, we fellow Jesus Christ and worship Him because He is worthy, hallelujah, glory be to God!!!
Jesus Christ was a human being.
@@faizelnoorgat7141 Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% Human Being.
Please read John 1:1-4 and Colossians 2:9, just to give you a few examples.
@@spreadingthelightofchristj9081 How can I know that these verses are not corrupted
@@spreadingthelightofchristj9081 We already know that there are some verses that have been identified as later additions.
The fact that they have been identified should give you confidence in the rest. Textual criticism overwhelmingly supports the accurate transmission of the Bible.
"It's possible to know all about doctrine and not know Jesus" - Oswald Chambers
Believers of Christ should focus on having a personal relationship with Christ and God the Father rather than knowing what the bible teaches. Otherwise it will be a case in the afterlife of Jesus saying to them......" Get away from me you evil doers ! I never knew you. "
@@furryrupert3739 so true!
@@furryrupert3739
Are you negating the Scriptures is the inspired written Word of God?
Even the Living Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, quote the Scriptures.
Of course, I concur, vibrant personal relationship with Christ Jesus is paramount.
@@robertgabuna355 ..........What I am trying to say here is that if you have a personal relationship with Christ and God the Father, knowing the Scriptures is a given because it is the Scriptures that reveal to the believers of Christ who He is and who God the Father in heaven is. But the opposite may not be true. A person may have a head knowledge of what the Scriptures teaches and absolutely no personal relationship with Christ and God the Father which can be seen in the leaders of so many heretical churches in the world, one of which is obviously the roman catholic church.
And it is to these heretical leaders and their followers that Christ will utter his Scriptural rebuke of " Get away from me you evil doers ! I do not know you "
Being a good intellectual apologetic debater does not necessarily make you a good man!
Ravi was human, not a deity. Take the good from his life and don't allow Satan to receive the glory from his weakness. Blessings to his family and colleagues. Amen, don't let this rock your faith. Have faith in the Lord and not in man.
It does not abrogate his behaviors
"Misconduct" is too mind a term when someone's behaviour involves spiritual abuse, manipulation, grooming, guilt tripping and yes, even rape!
you have ZERO proof of any of that. If he raped some woman where's the police report from the night of the assault?? "spiritual abuse, manipulation, grooming, guilt tripping" .....those are all just cleverly-worded liberal phasing's designed to make a guy trying to get laid sound like a predator!!! Knock it off. You're acting like the women he was having sex with were eleven years old!! these were mature adult women with agency and accountability .....THEY WERE NOT VICTIMS!!! They knew EXACTLY what they were doing.....they're just as guilty and "sinful" as Ravi
@@davidlemaster2034 The God Ravi claimed to follow calls the behavior that he engaged in as sinful and Ravi knew it and yet he still continued, as per the investigation report that’s been made public.
Yes, the report does say that at least one woman was raped.
This married man who was trying to “get laid” by women not his wife was a predator because he targeted and set himself up as a benefactor to these financially needy women in exchange for sexual favors, again, as per the report.
Christians, which it would seem you’re not, are to follow the commands of their namesake, Christ.
Read the report on Ravi and compare it to the Sermon on the Mount, which is the commands for Christians and determine if his behavior is fitting for a Christian, never mind a preacher.
@@Marlaina You keep using the term "Reports".......funny, but absolutely ZERO of these "reports" you refer to were actually POLICE REPORTS?!?!? They were external reports done LONG AFTER the alleged incidents occurred. they originated from a bunch of women looking for CIVIL COURT PAYDAYS!!! Knock off the virtue signaling. I'm not pretending Ravi was sinless here....not by a long shot. But stop tryin to make every female who has sex with guy, the victim of an "evil predatory male"......LOL.....they knew what they were doing. They're NOT victims.
@@davidlemaster2034 You need to educate yourself on what it looks like when a woman is manipulated by someone in power or spiritual leader position…
Are you covering for him because you are guilty of the same practices? 🤔
@@latehowie9671 Oh god....are you done playing the victim?? Save it!! These women knew EXACTLY what they were doing. Stop damseling for them.
I am hearing this for the first time. How incredibly sad for all the people involved, his family, friends, etc.
Yeah especially those abused woman who to keep there mouths shut for fear of losing their jobs by Ravi's massage parlours.
@@dulajohnstone5704 They could have got other jobs if they'd wanted to. Seems like they didn't mind it or want to talk about it until after he was dead and couldn't defend himself.
@@dulajohnstone5704 ....why does the leader of a Christian ministry own massage parlours anyway?
the VICTIMS
@@RealityCheck6T9 RZ had back problems for many years. Massages helped soothe the back pain.
we are all hypocrites born with a sinful nature who need a savior.
Amen.
Remember the TRUTH can be carried in various vessels. God used a "donkey" to instruct a prophet. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance.
Don't kick the true teaching to the curb because the jar it came out of was unclean. Truth is truth and that never changes.
Look at king David? Are we going to stop reading the bible? Why all the noise after his death why not before? How can women testimony be trusted after all this time??? We need to wait for final report. And he is dead there is no way to get his account so this matter is dead in water.
What about trump immmoral behaviour? If ravi is to be condemned then the leaders speaking out for trump must be condemn too or it be hypocrisy.
Really breaks my heart that conservatives like to attack first rather than showing grace and mercy. Look at the women at the wheel or the women being stoned. Did the women ever say she repented no?? Did jesus start saying how she going to hell and made it public. It was gentle and garaceful.
As if we judge first then tthat is how God will judge us too. Judge first before any compassion.
All the conservative i see jump to straight stoning of ravi rather then call on Christian to show grace of a man who has fallen.
How can this be right??????😔😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😌😌😌😌😔😔😔😔😔😞😞😟
Conservative disagree they dont believe we are all hypocrites. They believe we are under Gods wrath but their solution is just more legalism very little grace. Jump all these hoops. Pass all these laws.😔
I love this message. I was wiped out when I heard the news of the things Ravi had done. I’ve known of Ravi Zacharias for 30 years and have learned a great deal on addressing the tough questions, and even the template for arriving at truth through his teachings.
My biggest struggle though wasn’t the sin that had been committed, (the Bible even warns us that the arm of man will indeed fail us), but wondering whether or not he had taken it all to his grave and not at least come clean to his family in his final days.
I can’t bring myself to discard the literature of his that I have. There’s far too much deep wisdom within its pages to simply ...throw out.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t make the task of reconciling all of Ravi’s profoundly wise teachings with this ...mess.. any easier.
Thank you for your words of affirmation!
God bless
My sister was going to throw away his books. I said, "that's dumb. Truth is still truth, regardless who delivers it"
@@TheEllaTB love this!
And absolutely. People have been far too ready to toss Ravi’s literature not taking into account the truths that he preached.
And as if that weren’t enough, Ravi offered a kinda if template for testing for truth with regard to any worldview or truth claim, that not only works for any given worldview, but can also be used to test Ravi’s teachings themselves.
Ravi’s downfall was devastating to discover, but but his literature is priceless as far as I’m concerned.
Alisa, I want to thank you for that video. Thank you. You reminded me to respond with maturity to this situation. I only learned of the sexual misconduct and internal report from RZIM last night; I became very focused with my work and grad school and had not been following regular ministry updates.
But RZIM had always been there to answer my questions and provide grounding.
In the last two years my life boat feels like it managed to spring multiple leaks. Missionaries and ministries that were pillars in my life came crashing down because of sexual misconduct and corruption. This felt like the final straw; and the short of it is, I spiralled deeper into cynicism.
But, again, you simply reminded me to respond to this with maturity and anchor myself only in Christ; and use this as an opportunity to clean my own house. That is what I should have been doing all along. Thanks for reminding me to do this.
Was made aware of this several years ago but didn’t want to believe it. He was one of our favorite apologist. We cannot set anyone on a pedestal-- only Jesus on a Throne!
Amen.
This shows that we should not idolise any men. God is true only. Thank you for your video. I have been humbled by it. Follow Jesus, not men.
“I have learned a difficult and painful lesson through this ordeal,” Zacharias said in the statement. “I failed to exercise wise caution and to protect myself from even the appearance of impropriety, and for that I am profoundly sorry. I have acknowledged this to my Lord, my wife, my children, our ministry board, and my colleagues.”
The first 100,000 Christians followed the men, the apostles and their aides who told them the good news. So follow Christ but he comes to us through good men. God uses and cooperates with men to spread the good news and to be on the frontline of his salvation plan.
@@bridgefin thank you for the thought provoking, God bless you.
God specifically tells us not to call anyone Master or Teacher apart from Jesus. We can and have to learn from each other and encourage each other as a Christian community and a structure in leadership to some degree is good if true and not religious, but we are not to follow men, we can see their examples and learn from it if they live a godly life and if in their walk their are more experienced, but it is dangerous to follow men. We are to *learn* from their examples and be encouraged, only in this sense, we are to 'follow'. Paul did not mean to encourage Christians to idolise fellow Christians, especially not false teachers, or blindly and mindlessly follow others and not having a relationship with Jesus for ourself. We need to keep an eye on our true Master, and not idolise 'Christian' celebrities. I am thankful to God for he is making the great small and the small great.
@@GraceTruth29
I agree that we should not idolize anyone and there is no room for "Christian" celebrities and their fast jets. But no one ever preached the truth to themselves. They heard the truth preached by others and they followed that truth. The issue is which preacher we listen to.
@@bridgefin i agree :-) in the huge sea of so many secular and 'Christian' "celebrities" who are being treated as modern-day (small letter) gods, anyone who appears too often on tv automatically triggers my suspicion, but there are a small number of good preachers and evangelists, yes.
It's interesting how we as Christians are so theoretically good at offering grace to those outside the church, to non-Christians, but so poor at offering grace to those within the church. Once someone is saved there seems to be this underlying assumption that suddenly they will be perfect, never make mistakes, never sin, never struggle with the same sins they struggle with before. We need to be a people that will offer grace again and again. We are not yet fully perfected, we have help for the journey, but sin will continue to knock at our door. Lord have mercy on me! We need to be open enough with each other to place accountability around the things we struggle with. I cannot be a Christian alone, I am not designed that way by God, I am designed to be in community with other believers, so that we can stand stronger together in Christ, to discipline each other, to guide each other, to support each other, and to help each other find a way back to Christ, see a better or alternate way of living, to pray for each other and particularly to pray for healing. Only God can change us and bring us through, but the support of other people is invaluable to helping keep us on the straight and narrow! I've been in sin, I've confessed and been disciplined, but without the support of Christians around me willing to say I love and support you, I'm praying for you and holding you accountable before God, slipping back into old sinful habits would have been easy! I pray to be more merciful with others and pray they will have mercy on me and on everyone else! We need to be known as a people of grace, mercy and love!
❤️ your response Kathy. You’ve outlined many of the reasons I became Orthodox after being raised in the American Baptist Church.
The Bible answers directly to you (1. Cor. 9-13) (letters in captions are MY emphasis):
"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone WHO CLAIMS TO BE A BROTHER OR SISTER IN FAITH but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked person from among you.' "
We have to forgive people who have already repented and have to not hold their sins against them. But we also have to confront people who are not repentent of their sin and don't plan to turn from their sin but instead build a lifestyle to keep on sinning. We are not supposed to "not judge" those people and just let them keep on sinning and never hold them accountable
I don't know if they really believe in Jesus' teaching which is love, forgiveness and acceptance. Or they still follow the yeast of the pharisees. Yes the bible condemns sin. But do the bible also teach us not to be hypocrite? Not to judge? Are we saved because of our own righteousness? It's very sad. God bless you!
Keeping our eyes on Jesus Christ, always!
It's unfortunate what Ravi did, but not that surprising really. Solomon, with direct revelation from the Angel of Yhwh, turned from Yhwh towards the end of his life. I mean, if Solomon, the wisest man of all time can succumb to sin, how much easier is it for us?
well Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, how wise was that?
Actually, Solomon returned to God at the end of his life. We know that from the book of Ecclesiastes. He also didn't have the complete Scriptures as we know it, so people nowadays with the ENTIRE Bible available to us (and especially those that proclaim to be Christian) are held to a higher standard 😬
I think Solomon is the perfect example of "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely". We are all simply saved by Grace alone. No one can "handle" power and influence.
Brother we life now in the new pac. The holy Spirit life in us, how can you use the Bible to lied us in a dead end road. Jesus is our standert. And yes we sin but we dont have a sinful lifestyle.I dont know way but for me i see that often christian brothers are very passiv with this issue of sexualsin....thats suspicious !
Look at king David? Are we going to stop reading the bible? Why all the noise after his death why not before? How can women testimony be trusted after all this time??? We need to wait for final report. And he is dead there is no way to get his account so this matter is dead in water.
What about trump immmoral behaviour? If ravi is to be condemned then the leaders speaking out for trump must be condemn too or it be hypocrisy.
Really breaks my heart that conservatives like to attack first rather than showing grace and mercy. Look at the women at the wheel or the women being stoned. Did the women ever say she repented no?? Did jesus start saying how she going to hell and made it public. It was gentle and garaceful.
As if we judge first then tthat is how God will judge us too. Judge first before any compassion.
All the conservative i see jump to straight stoning of ravi rather then call on Christian to show grace of a man who has fallen.
How can this be right??????😔😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😌😌😌😌😔😔😔😔😔😞😞😟
Thomas Aquinas said, "when someone tells you the truth you don't ask who said it. You ask is it true. "
@@bobloblaw4102 And he was fat.
And Jesus said anyone who is of truth hears His voice.
From ravi
"Let me state categorically that I never met this woman alone, publicly or privately. The question is not whether I solicited or sent any illicit photos or messages to another woman - I did not, and there is no evidence to the contrary - but rather, whether I should have been a willing participant in any extended communication with a woman not my wife.
"The answer, I can unequivocally say, is no, and I fully accept responsibility. In all my correspondence with thousands of people in 45 years of ministry, I have never been confronted with a situation such as this, and God and my family and close friends know how grieved I have been."
More lies from max
Max Baker Hytch has recently on twitter made lies about ravi concerning lori Thomson. Sending apologies to her when she was the offender not ravi. Someone need to speak up!!!
This is what happens to sooo many preachers who hire only “yes men” in their ministry. This should be also put on the people who worked for Ravi and knew what he was doing but was afraid to confront him.
I watched Mike Winger's video on this yesterday and literally felt sick at my stomach afterwards. I've looked up to Ravi for years, so this hit really hard. My heart breaks for the victims as well as for his family. Thanks for sharing.
Can we all please pray for the victims as well? Imagine what they must have been going through.
Yes, another sane and reasonable person in the comments 🙏
“I have learned a difficult and painful lesson through this ordeal,” Zacharias said in the statement. “I failed to exercise wise caution and to protect myself from even the appearance of impropriety, and for that I am profoundly sorry. I have acknowledged this to my Lord, my wife, my children, our ministry board, and my colleagues.”
Mrs Thomson is an extortonist and stalker she need need no pray.
@@Sherlock245 excuse me? It sounds like you’re saying we get to pick and choose which sinners we pray for?
@@technilliterate maybe this will help??
From ravi
"Let me state categorically that I never met this woman alone, publicly or privately. The question is not whether I solicited or sent any illicit photos or messages to another woman - I did not, and there is no evidence to the contrary - but rather, whether I should have been a willing participant in any extended communication with a woman not my wife.
"The answer, I can unequivocally say, is no, and I fully accept responsibility. In all my correspondence with thousands of people in 45 years of ministry, I have never been confronted with a situation such as this, and God and my family and close friends know how grieved I have been."
More lies from max
Max Baker Hytch has recently on twitter made lies about ravi concerning lori Thomson. Sending apologies to her when she was the offender not ravi. Someone need to speak up!!!
Ive learned about this confirmation yesterday and its heart breaking. This only proves how sinful we are and that we CAN'T TRUST our flesh and ourselves. I know this is going to be hard for us who in some ways have been influenced by Ravi's teachings but this is going to be even harder for his family esp his wife. Lets pray for them. And lets pray that God will cover and guard our faithful christian leaders.
This just goes to show that the Lord can use any of us with all of our imperfections and failings and still use us to do great things for Him. No man can boast. All glory belongs to God.
Lets shout out that conservative must show more grace!!
That was an honest view. Appreciate your sincerity Alisa. Thank you. It is true Christian way not to cast a stone on the sinner without examining one’s own heart condition. God bless.
Let's not pretend like we weren't lifting Ravi on a pedestal and now that he's dead we try to pretend like we viewed him just like any other human being. Let us admit we were wrong please.
So sad to live without any mercy towards a brother
@@lisedumais2030 If calling a spade a spade is merciless, then Christ is as merciless as can be.
"We" weren't putting him on a pedestal. And of course he was like any other human being! He was wrong, not people who enjoyed his sermons. "We" were only wrong if "we" actually did our him on a pedestal
So sad. Sexual sin is an incredible spiritual battle.
Amen Christ died for all sin past, present and future sin but you must be Born Again.
Ephesians 2:8-9👑
John 3:3🕊
Colossians 2:8
Sexual sin is the sin we were told to run from. I was listening to an old teaching of Dr. J.Vernon McGee, a theologian. He told a story of one of his professors that poised a hypothetical situation. Your alone in the 10th. Story of a building reading your Bible. In walks a beautiful women who is total unclothed and she locks the door behind her. His question was what do you do. Do you pray with her, witness to her. What do you do. When the question came around the room to Dr. McGee he said pull the fire alarm and jump of the window of the 10 story building. Run! Joseph did!
Unbelievable that he did these crimes.
Because Satan is against God, he can't beat up God his creator. We human are given choices to choose. Deuteronomy 30:19 God created the Heavens and the Earth, Blessings and curses. Satan chose death and now working every ways to get God mad by destroying his precious children (human being) lying to them about their choices and rights, so more people will die with him (Satan). We have to face Jesus Christ and call upon his name, give him thanks in All circumstances. To God be the Glory AMEN 🙏
And it is much more terrible when it's a who's pastor doing it to people under him.
Exactly the only one I trust after the events of the last year is God and God alone. Early morning I get alone with God and first tell how I love Him & then sit quietly with Him then read & pray this time is so precious.
We all need to follow Jesus Christ not people no matter how Good that person is & we all need to walk in the obedience of word of God.
I always enjoyed listening to Ravi. My take on this simple; when someone does a good deed, do we embrace the deed or the person? We all have sinned. Ravi will be held accountable by God. He alone will condemn or condone, not any man or woman.
Excellent analysis. It is heartbreaking, but our faith is in Christ alone. Thank you for posting this.
@@xlazergamesx Just curious about your comment, so there isn't any evidence. Why do they say that there is. I'm asking sincerely.
@@xlazergamesx Thank you for answering my comment. I'm not going to disagree with you, when you said why didn't the adult women, "not a scared child", who can be easily convinced to keep quiet, Why didn't they come forth when it was happening, that would make a lot more sense, and believability, because while he was living it would have made more sense to want vindication, After all, a dead man can't answer back. Thanks again. God bless!
@@xlazergamesx I have to respectfully disagree that there's no concrete evidence to support the allegations. RZIM, his own organization, has issued a statement regarding the investigation, indicating the allegations were true and more damaging than first reported. The investigation continues. Yes, it's a difficult situation because Ravi has passed away and is not able to defend the latest allegations. But being the Ravi was a co-owner of the spa in question, it's certainly easy to understand why the women would be hesitant to come forward before. And, if true, these women were victims of predatory behavior that must be addressed within the Church, regardless of the situation. I would encourage you to read RZIM's statement. Take care, and God bless.
www.rzim.org/read/rzim-updates/update-from-rzim-board-allegations-against-ravi-zacharias
@@xlazergamesx Again, I must respectfully disagree. The RZIM board was briefed on the investigation so far, and if they, as godly men and women and close friends and associates with Ravi, have determined from the information presented thus far that the allegations appear to be true, then that adds a lot of weight and credibility to the evidence collected to this point. And, the testimony of the alleged victims is not "hearsay" evidence, but rather direct evidence, because they were the victims and witnesses and have given sworn testimony. Granted, we have not been privy to the specifics of the testimony, but, once again, Ravi's board, friends, and co-workers (godly Christian men and women whose testimony should be considered and given a high value of trustworthiness) have, and they believe the evidence presented so far enough to have issued a statement. I, too, have been incredibly blessed by Ravi, his ministry, and his books, which goes to my initial statement of this being heartbreaking. As more information is available, I will review the evidence as well, as we all should, including the final report. I'm not sure that people are jumping to conclusions at this point. Just my opinion.
@popconeplayya they have proof from his electronic devices & phone. It’s irrefutable.
"The best of men are only men at best"
That is a very mature, thoughtful and sound reaction to this sad scandal. You brought me to tears and reminded me on what really counts. Thank you!
The Devil himself knows truth. So never put trust in a human personality. We are told many times in the scriptures not to put our trust in man, only in God. We have so many examples of humans failing us and letting us and God down, but there is never any example of God failing us.
When I first came out of new age, God used a woman "preacher" to help open the door of my heart to Him through something she taught. I didn't listen to her for long because something was off about her. But yet God used her in that moment to lead me to Him. Then just over 2 years ago, a sudden heart arrhythmia cured me instantly of the agnosticism I had fallen into 7 years before (it's been a tumultuous rocky path for me for decades now). God used Ravi Zacharias to help me out of this wilderness, and I began listening to him every Sunday night on the Christian radio station. I soon lost the desire to listen to him because he didn't preach the bible so much as quote his favorite authors. I came to his broadcasts hungry but left hungry, so I stopped listening to him. Then before he died and I sent him thanks for helping me out of the morass of agnosticism. My faith in God is NOT shaken at all by the allegations nor that these have been confirmed to be true. The bottom line is God can and will use ANYONE for His purposes, even the devil. But we can't make the mistake of assuming that that person God uses is pure and holy and on their way to heaven. I'm greatly disappointed in Ravi, but I am still grateful and always will be to a good and gracious and merciful God who used him to help me at a particular time in my life.
Very well said.
Many false prophets will come in my name.
@@jascintarebello3234 Even a broken clock is right twice a day. But it's still broken.
@Dwi Yn Tyst I think you meant to direct your comment to me, not Chrissie Partin. I guess I should not assume everyone who reads these comments knows the Bible or of the scriptures I'm referring to. God used a donkey to stop the prophet in Numbers 22:21-39. God used the devil in Job 1 and 2 and numerous other places. Plus the personal examples I gave.
@Dwi Yn Tyst Rom 9: 17. However, I still don't believe in the allegations against Ravi. It is still under investigation.
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Yea right
Exactly
Dear friend, that is the absolute best commentary I've heard on the whole situation. Be blessed.
Thank you Alisa. I am a preacher and I too was vastly helped and encouraged by Ravi's preaching. I felt the power of God at times when he spoke. I do not understand how a man can commit premeditated and repetitive sin and still be used of God. This blows my mind but my faith is not shaken. In fact it just increases my faith in Christ and is a stern reminder that we should not put our faith in things (including people) that can be corrupted.
My first husband was a preacher and he worked construction on the side. He would frequently say that God will use anyone who is available to get His work done. However, just like in a house many things are used in the building of it, some items become part of the structure while others are cast aside, once the structure is complete. A scaffold for example, a very useful tool in construction. However, when the building is completed, the scaffold is cast aside.
He would say, I'd rather be a 2x4 that becomes a part of the structure of Christ's church, than a grand scaffold that is cast away in the end.
Unfortunately we encounter a lot of scaffolds in the building of the church of God
Ever heard of David in the Bible? All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
So appreciate your perspective, Alisa. Your experience matches my own in many ways, and I’ve wrestled with this news too. Thanks be to God our Father who provided us His Word, and who knew how vital and comforting it would be in times like this.
We must, each, work our our own salvation with fear and trembling 😇 Hebrews says: It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God" 😎
Glad these weeds are getting exposed. Hope this continues so that the church can heal and thrive
Greetings Sky. You are no doubt referring to the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew Chapter 13. Mt 13:29 cautioned the servants Not to pull the Weeds ",you may pull the Wheat up with them". Let's not forget that the Angels will do the Harvesting. Anybody trying to grow a basic vegetable like, let's say Carrots, and in their eagerness uproots both the Weed and the Carrot, can testify to the truth of Mt 13:29!
As I hear you speaking of where you put your faith, I feel to relate what God used to really get my attention. The week before I became a Christian, I had an experience with an entity which was insanely life impacting. The person with me when this happened, saw the exact same thing that I saw. Later that evening at their apt in the basement of their parents house (both parents were christ followers) . My friend let me stay the night on their couch while they went into their room so freaked out by what we saw that they did not want to be in the same room as me. This was back in the mid 80's and her parents had a very top notch sat tv set up. As I was flipping through the channels, I just happened to land on a tv preacher who was most definitely not what you would call a good example of what being a Christian is. Actually this tv preacher had been caught red handed as a most notorious scammer, yet he was still on tv selling his snake oil. Well, when I stopped on that channel it was like someone had froze him mid routine and he stopped talking about his sales pitch. He then turned to the camera and said GOD JUST TOLD ME THAT THERE IS A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS JUST TUNED IN AND GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF WHAT YOU HAVE JUST ENCOUNTERED. He also said a few other things that were bang on the money about what I just went through. Then as soon as he had finished saying that, he kind of looked like he was wondering what just happened and went immediately back into his five and dime routine. I share this to bring about one thing. If God used an ass to speak to Balaam, and He used a con man tv preacher to speak directly to me, He is perfectly able to use someone who might not be above the board to speak to you. I hold the truth of Romans 10:6-13 to be very evident. Only God truly knows where someone else is, so best to keep using His Word like a mirror for ourselves rather than a magnifying glass to view others. biblehub.com/kjv/romans/10.htm
Such a helpful reminder that being benefitial in someone else's life is not a reflection of us, it is a reflection of God's grace. He uses us in spite of us, we have no reason to boast. It is all thanks to him. Praise be to God!
These types of situations are why I detest the phrase..." Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads." Its a very static idea actually. Think about how anti gospel that saying is. If I'm the only bible you read then there is no hope for you... you're already dead. If you are looking to discredit Christ's message by using my behavior you won't have to look very hard because I fall...I'm weak...I sin..I'm taken captive and struggle with temptation daily. What I choose to do does not reflect on Christ's message. It reflects on me and my giving into temptation. God will deal with him and us all when we are in God's presence ....dead men don't confess sins. Move on. Let the man rest in peace.
Good thoughts
Wise words. Thank you.
Well said 👊🏼
But we should not hide our sin either right? When we fall it’s IMPERATIVE to admit and repent BEFORE it’s found out be sure your sins will find you out.Not judging him I’m just saying we should learn from his mistakes
Yes.
Just praying that God will carry his family on eagle's wings.
This public moral postmortem of a dead man is so cruel on many accounts. 'Trial in absentia' is morally wrong, when a defendant is not present to answer the charges is a gross violation of natural justice. Having a public trial of a man who is unable to respond to the allegations is an absolute disgrace.
Since these modern Pharisees are involved in publicly shaming a dead man, let's vet the jury and get a public bio of every accuser, commenter, truth-seeker, and investigator.
Questions to all who are part of this exercise.
1. Have you ever masturbated?
2. Have you ever watched porn?
3. Have you absolutely kept your marriage bed pure?
If you answered yes to one of the questions, then have you publicly confessed your behavior to the WHOLE WORLD and got healing and forgiveness from your spouse and your fellow workers? Oh so the argument is that public figures who live to serve humanity or preach or teach have to be put under a microscope while the rest can secretly continue their so-called 'human flaws'? Pharisees!
Let's first find a clean jury before we convict the criminal. You cannot appoint a bunch of unrepentant murderers on a jury to convict another murderer, what sense is there in having a bunch of self-righteous sinners to convict a dead man.
Did RZ have a sexual struggle? Sure looks like it. The poor man fought his demons, like MOST of this perverse highly sexualized generation who has varying degrees of sexual sins, including these Pharisees who are investigating, commenting, writing articles and demonizing RZ. What did you want RZ to do? Make a public confession of his sin, for your salacious gossiping pleasure?
Every single one of them will stand before Christ. The Pharisees in John 8 are way better, they walked away. These, involved in this public RZ postmortem, better be ready to give an account.
I fully agree. This is morally reprehensible to do this to a dead man. They should be ashamed. All this virtue signaling is deplorable. Shake it up and think twice Alissa.
Thank you so much for addressing this. I'm in the middle of reading your book.
Amen. These allegations has made put my trust even more so where it truly belongs, in Christ Jesus alone. These misconducts prove that Christianity is true and that there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). God sent you that lifeboat as He did with me. I have grown closer to Jesus and learning more about truth. Noah, Moses, David, Jonah even Peter weren't perfect either, yet God used these men to build His Kingdom. I hope RZIM sees the good that Ravi has done and the impact that the ministry still brings people closer to God/Jesus. I pray God can help the victims affected by this, to the family of Ravi Zacharias and to the RZIM staff.
“My life boat is Jesus”. Yes I love that!!
It should have been G-d, not Jesus.
So well stated! Thank you! I was having a difficult time reconciling my thoughts with these allegations against him. Very disturbing and sad news.
Thanks, I needed to hear this, Ravi help me greatly, I'm sad but I continue to praise my Lord Jesus christ, Hallelujah to the Lamb.
The first think I and others may think about at this time is the Jimmy Swaggart story. Many people fell away from the faith when the truth about Jimmy came about years ago. At the time, many of us had to decide if we were followers of Jimmy or if we were followers of Jesus. I believe that sins of a sexual nature are the most dangerous, addictive, and deadly of them all. I remember the story Billy Graham shared about his rules about never being left alone with another of the opposite sex and everyone on his staff were to also comply with that rule. He knew that the sexual sin is a dangerous trap to fall into.
Jimmy Swaggart repented and he is back in the fight winning souls for Christ. He has a station called SBN - The Son Life Broadcasting Network. This is not a joke. We are in a battle for the souls of the world. Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel because he is returning to set up his kingdom on this earth and the only way you can enter in is by confessing with your mouth and believing with your heart that Jesus is Lord over satan. The only way peace will ever come to this planet is when God establishes it. Man does not have the answers or power to sustain peace. As the Word states:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV
@Dennis Yen swaggart is defrocked due to pride and greed.
@Dennis Yen says who? Jimmy?
@Dennis Yen but he was too prideful to accept discipline from the AOG leadership. Wolf in sheep's clothing.
@Dennis Yen then they can worship Jimmy. He was a member of the AOG, and therefore under the Council. He rejected them because they said he couldn't be in the pulpit for 3 years and attend counseling for his sex addiction. He said if he wasn't in the pulpit, millions of souls would be lost. He's not God, but clearly believes he is solely responsible for the saving of souls. He is wrong. Completely wrong.
I’m not sure about Ravi being “unrepentant”. He might not have made his struggles public but I can understand that. Imagine if this all came out while he is suffering from cancer. Plus the burden of being exposed is hard for a very prominent person. I’m not trying to justify what he did, I’m just imagining myself in his shoes. He might have been crying before God about it on his own for all we know.
I agree. Not sure why she said the part about being unrepentant. We cannot judge that unless we are there to see it.
I agree with you 100%. We can't make that judgment. What he did was wrong but his teachings are biblical. The report on RZIM website from the investigators said it was 10 years ago but did go on for many years. He could have been very repentant.
@@theladygunsmith If he were denying it publicly but confessing it privately, that would present a few other problems, no?
If he had apologized to his victims don’t you think we would have heard about it?
Did he ask his wife for forgiveness?
Thank you so much Alisa for posting this video. It has encouraged my heart after reading such sad news.
Ravi Zacharias had his David moments. My faith is not one bit shaken by his weakness or sin. We don’t know squat about what his conversations with God were on his death bed. I was drawn to apologetics because of Ravi Zacharias, who taught me to study the Word of God.
A "David moment" would have included publicly acknowledging his sin, publicly repenting, and publicly accepting God's discipline for it. Even writing about his confession. (Psalms 51)
No David repented and turned from his sin, Ravi, never did and propagated lies about his victims to cover his sin. We can hold onto the truth in his teachings and admit he failed, and he wasn't like David who repented.
I have a hard time understanding why any Christian would feel their faith shaken by this. It’s sad yes, it’s horrible, and it’s perverse. All of this is true! But what does the actions of a man have to do with our faith in God? Or the Gospel? Maybe too many people are actually idolaters and not true converts, if this shakes them. And maybe that’s harsh to say! But it’s the truth. I just imagine someone would have to have a very very blessed and sheltered life, for something like this to surprise them, and shake them. The world is a dirty sinful place guys, and so is the church. Unfortunately.
True
Apologists believe that what saves us is how well you understand the truth. But the fact is we are saved by how well our slate is wiped clean by Jesus. So apologists tend to think if one of them sins then what they say about truths also get corrupted.
But no... sin and truth are different. Even though we don't understand those truths clearly, if we don't have a sin problem, we will be saved.
We need people who are vehemently against sin. We don't need apologists that much.
My High School pastor pounded the pulpit in anger on people’s fleshly failures. I thought he understood my frustration over temptation so well. I remembered sitting in bed determined not to think about girls to please God. Yup, the Church found out about him. Made no difference to me. What I do is for God. He was just a messenger. Albeit a good one. I even defended him. David, the man after God’s heart killed the Hittite to cover up his affair with Bathsheba. The more you do for God, the greater the temptation.
It’s not surprising at all. It also doesn’t surprise me that a person like you - and for that matter any human being - harbors ongoing sins that few or no people know about.
We tend to repress/deny our wickedness. We tend to look at other’s wrongdoings with ease. Paul talks about this in Romans 1 and 2.
Ravi’s sins have been brought to the light in this world. But ours will be brought to the light in the next to come. So, let’s look at ourselves and strive to not only not be caught here, but also strive (obey) so that we may judged as least as possible in the afterlife.
Yes it’s all about grace but somehow we “saved ones” will be judged for every deed AND WORD and THOUGHT. It helps by not looking down on others.
I’m guilty of this myself constantly so I ain’t judging you or anything. God bless
@@chrisj9892 Maybe I didn’t communicate that very well, or maybe you misunderstood me. I’m not looking down my nose at anyone, or judging anyone. I just cannot relate at all to people who feel so shattered and shaken by this. But that’s probably related to my own background. I wasn’t raised in a church, or a Christian bubble. I grew up abused, then orphaned, then living on the streets. All I ever knew about churches was their abuse, and false doctrines that suited themselves. I came to God as an adult, and weeded through a lot of years of false doctrines, and false churches, and frankly a lot of horrible people. I’ve seen the world most of my life for how dark it truly can be. So as a Christian adult, it doesn’t surprise me at all to see abuse and horrible sin, even in church leaders. I think they should be weeded out in exactly the way God tells us to deal with them, and hey should be demoted and removed from teaching the Word. I agree with everything God tells us about how to deal with them, and think of them. I think, perhaps, many Christians have deep deep emotional ties to all the teachers have they grown up watching and learning from. Some think of them internally nearly like their family members. I understand those who feel that way. But I can’t say that I have emotional ties to any teachers. Maybe because I wasn’t raised on them? Maybe because I’m just not the emotional type? There’s lots of possible reasons for why my mind does not work that way. But there is some blessings in my mind working that way, and situations like this bring that blessing to light. And maybe I can see some things in scripture from a perspective that many emotional type people cannot. Just as they can see things in a way that I cannot. But I can take exactly what God tells us to do in this situation, and matter of factly just do it. Where as they Keegan’s may be exceptionally good at things like mercy, and compassion. So in me saying perhaps some people have been leaning a little too far into idolatry if they feel shattered by this, is me just speaking a Truth from the Word. It’s probably hurtful to some people yes, but is it True? God did not endow me with the gifts that He did to make friends, (lol clearly because it doesn’t win friends) but I’m good at the truth. Hopefully this didn’t come across like a complete jerk or anything. This is just how my mind works, and I wanted to clarify for you because I’m truly not looking down my nose at anyone. I am a sinner that sins every single day against God. And I repent every single day for it. And God has changed me from night to day on the inside, from who I once was. I used to live a life that loved my sin. Now I hate my sin, and everyone else’s. God bless Brother.
"I'm not overly optimistic about human nature"
That is why Jesus said YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN else you will not enter or even understand the Kingdom of Heaven.
WmTyndale Solomon springs to mind.
Thank Father God for Jesus.
Romans 10:9-15🙏
“My lifeboat was truth...” Well said.
Lifeboats are for pussies. I’ve got a damn 2 stroke jet ski!!
This was so well put together and expressed! Thank you for sharing 💗
Feet of clay have we all. Prayerfully he repented to God, his wife and his children before his passing. We will never know. Keep looking to JESUS who is the author and finisher of our faith. Lord have mercy!
My heartfelt prayers go to his widow and children.
Victims too?
I just recently heard about this situation and it is devastating ! Your thoughts on this matter were well expressed and I am in agreement as a fellow sister in Christ. Our faith hope and trust should be 100% on the Lord and just see people as a life boat as you put it for what God has for us in that moment. We are all broken may the Lord have mercy on him and us all!!!
In one of Ravi's sermons he says, "pleasure will always come at a cost. For the good pleasure, you pay for it before you enjoy it; for the wrong pleasure, you pay for after you enjoy it."
With the sex scandal involving Ravi, God reminds us that our Lord Jesus Christ was the only one who was able to "walk the talk." Therefore, we must not look up to any human being but to Christ. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2).
We are not condoning Ravi's misconduct but we ought to let the Lord deal with him (which He had probably already done). "He who has no sin, cast the first stone." (John 8:7). We learn from this, and move on with God's grace through HIS Son Jesus Christ and the power of HIS Holy Spirit. Amen!
Very well said! Amen
@Janaina Ribeiro amen....we are to judge those within the faith and allow God to judge those outside. 1Co 5:12 For what is it to me also to judge the ones outside? Do you not judge those inside? When faced with facts, let's not defend someone who clearly was in error. We can say his teachings helped many, but his double life has impacted many too. Let's be sensitive to those his double life impacted. Can you imagine being one of his victims who he tried to silence with a gag order, and then he turns around and violates that order and publicly sews untruths that devastate their life's and is still impacting them today. Heaven forgive us for being victim blamers when the real truth is revealed. Let's be thankful that the truth is coming out, because scripture says the truth will set us free.
Good word.
I was wondering why you didn't address it on your CZcams channel. Were you a fan of his books and lectures?
@Dustin Neely Would you mind expanding on that statement? I see faults in our way of living, so I am not disagreeing with you completely.
"Let me state categorically that I never met this woman alone, publicly or privately. The question is not whether I solicited or sent any illicit photos or messages to another woman - I did not, and there is no evidence to the contrary - but rather, whether I should have been a willing participant in any extended communication with a woman not my wife.
"The answer, I can unequivocally say, is no, and I fully accept responsibility. In all my correspondence with thousands of people in 45 years of ministry, I have never been confronted with a situation such as this, and God and my family and close friends know how grieved I have been."
Blue Jay Aves ...point being?
Whatever He (Ravi) did or did not do, the important thing to remember is that ALL have sinned and fall short...I am reminded of this verse in 1 Cor. 5:5
"deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus."
Ravi Zacharias still stands as one of the most powerful contenders for the Faith in this contemporary age! Know that there was only one man who walked upon this Earth, that was completely without Sin.. The Christ Jesus!!! Hallelujah & Amen! Worthy is the Lamb ❣️💪👆
Well handled. "Truth is truth no matter where you find it." -Dr. Rosalie de Rosset
The sin of man cannot change the truth of God.
People can't handle the truth that Jeesus/Yahweh are man made myths
Thank you, Alisa. I also felt as if the ground was pulled out from under me with the revelations. But my faith remains. Thank you for your encouraging and reassuring words of truth.
Congratulations to you and Felix. Thank you for sharing your story. May the Lord bless your relationship and journey together.
My advice for us men is to be strong against sexual urges and desires. The pastor at my church cheated on his wife with a married church member and it was painful to many lives.
Please be strong, overcome the desires of the flesh. We can do it with God's help.
Tragic reality... How the believer needs to crucify the flesh daily by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, you are right about this. If you don't mind me asking, what happened after the scandal? thanks
@@elietombo2977 the pastor was replaced by someone else. I kept up with him and his family, he went to a different city and incredibly started a new church. He learned a big lesson, he repented and is still serving God.
"He went to his death bed unrepentant?" How are you sure he didn't ask for forgiveness from God privately in his heart before his death?
Too bad you can't ask that question more than once!!!
Why are you so sure that he died without repenting.He could have done it with close associates and his family.It hurts because we thought that Ravi was innocent of any major sins,much less sexual sins.
@@walterbates3795 We cannot fool God, that Jesus didn’t die so we can keep on sinning, We are human we make mistakes but we need to repent we cannot continue to willingly sin. That if we are willingly doing what’s wrong are we even of God. That not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of God. Mathew 7:21. “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” 1 John 3:10.
@@magalydeleon557 That's how you get yourself to hell. By believing you can somehow earn your way to the heaven through works.
It is NOT BY WORKS by FAITH.
@@EmperorHero1 Matthew 17: 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
The Lord Jesus Christ used Ravi, despite of Ravi. He does the same for me, and with me. Sister you speak dressed in God's truth, do not defend or apologize. Our defense is of the Lord.
You have hit the nail on the head....we cannot make excuses for these types of people..... truth is truth - isn't that what Ravi said....how ironic.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, Alisa. I appreciate what you said and even mentioned a few similar ideas in my video response to the full report as well.