A Time to Weep (RZ News)
‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.’ So writes Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:1. Right now it is ‘a time to weep’ and ‘a time to mourn’ (v4).
After the international apologist and evangelist, Ravi Zacharias, died last year, allegations against him increased in number and seriousness and were given urgent investigation. RZIM commissioned a report by law firm Miller and Martin. It uncovered adulerous relationships, spiritual abuse, rape and other sexual misdeeds with women, as well as malicious attempts to sue, deceive and discredit those who were telling - or trying to discover -the truth. Collin Hansen, the editor in chief of the Gospel Coalition, wrote that the world had never seen an “evangelical leader with such a high profile perpetuate this kind of complex, years-long pattern of abuse.” A time to weep.
Like so many others I had huge respect for Ravi Zacharias and the team of brilliant apologists he had assembled. Many times have I listened to him engaging skilfully and gently with the questions of skeptics and seekers; connecting his listeners’ soul questions to the truth of the Gospel. Our Life Group did an RZIM course together during the first lockdown and as a Church we arranged an evening with a speaker from UK RZIM at a Kingston Churches Together evening in 2019.
To think Ravi Zacharias was living a double life and causing untold suffering to so many women is heartbreaking. To think that he will now have sown intense disappointment, sorrow and even doubt into the hearts of his supposed brothers and sisters in Christ is heartbreaking. To think he will have hardened the hearts of some of those near and far from God and aided Satan’s schemes to keep people in darkness (2 Cor 4:3-4) is heartbreaking. And enraging. So what do we do? Well, let’s return to Ecclesiastes 3 for help:
1. A time to weep - v 4
Most especially for the women and their families affected. Each one is made in the image of God, bestowed with unique worth and value, and their pain is a tragedy. We ‘weep with those who weep’ (Rom 12:15) and we do so mindful that many of these women are our sisters in Christ (Matt 12:48-50). Sexual harassment and abuse is particularly dreadful because it treats as profane what God has made sacred—the human body and sexuality (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
2. A time to hate - v8
Do we really ‘abhor what is evil’ (Rom 12:9) - in particular abuse and violence towards women? Do we allow ourselves to feel it’s horror? Why should we? Well, firstly in order that we might recognise even the merest hint of sin in ourselves and act ruthlessly: come to Christ and ‘by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body’ (Rom 8:13). Secondly, in order that we might be mobilised, again by the Spirit, to ‘do justice’ (Mic 6:8) for those oppressed.
3. A time to speak - v7
When we see or suspect women are being mistreated in any way we need to find a wise way to speak out and act, especially within the Church. Speak to the person in question and if that is not appropriate or possible, come and speak to an elder, their wife or another leader in the church. Speak to Peter and Janine Willson, who are supporters of Restored and are long term campaigners to end the abuse of women in society through the church. Glen Scrivener preached a very powerful message from 2 Samuel 13 which I would certainly recommend (though be aware of it’s ‘15’ rating). We at King’s Church must be vocal in ‘exposing works of darkness’ (Eph 5:11) and speaking up to ensure that women are both honoured and protected.
4. A time to break down and to tear - v3 & 7
The UK board of RZIM has rightly separated itself from the global RZIM organisation. This is not just in response to the revelations but also due to the systemic issues at play within RZIM that led to the failure to provide accountability and challenge and to the silencing of victims. The board of RZIM is still anonymous which seems totally at odds with claims to transparency. We need to ensure that we don’t have either cultures or systems that enable leaders to be unaccountable or women to be marginalised or worse. Where we do, they need to be broken down and rebuilt.
5. A time to seek
In all of this, it is tempting to merge the messenger and the message. We must guard against that. Paul said that people would preach Christ for all kinds of sinful reasons but that he would still rejoice that ‘Christ is proclaimed’ (Phil 1:15-18). We don’t put ultimate trust in any messenger, we always test and weigh what we hear (1 John 4:1). Don’t let the realization that this particular messenger was dreadfully flawed stop you from trusting the message. Maybe you’re fed up of being let down by Christian leaders you thought you could trust. Don’t just seek a new messenger. Seek the one perfect person at the heart of the message. We need a servant of God in whose mouth is no deceit (Isaiah 53:9), in whose life there was no sin (Hebrews 4:15). Only Jesus can lay claim to such a feat. This is why it is in Jesus’ name, not Ravi’s, that we are saved (Acts 4:11-12).