Sin, in any form, is an abomination to God. Sin stains the conscience, betrays sacred associations, ruins our moral influence in the world, and defiles all that is holy. John Bunyan rightly says, “Sin is the dare of God’s justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love.”
Whenever a leader sins, he drops a stone into the moral waters surrounding him, whose ripples go on indefinitely! Place a tarred hand on a Rembrandt then try to restore it to its original condition! Paste two pieces of paper together, let them dry, then separate them without doing damage to either. Impossible! You’re right, it is impossible with men!
That’s why God is just about to move! Only the God of the ‘impossible’ can redeem ‘impossible pasts.’
As admittedly horrifying as sin is, what’s done is done and cannot be undone! Even God can’t change your past, but that does not mean He cannot redeem it! In the final analysis with regard to restoration to ministry, there is only one formula that stands the test of time. “When God says yes, nobody can say no.”