MAX LUCADO'S SINS

The old saying is, "Confession is good for the soul." Is it? I John 1:9 commands the follower of Christ to confesses his sins for the renewal of fellowship with God (not for salvation). It's a family matter, not a salvation concern. Yes, following the Apostle John's dictum is a good thing and we should do it frequently. Confession of our sins is an acknowledgement that our heavenly Father is right and we were wrong in what we did. 

An school-boy question is, "Whose sins are we confessing?" The proper answer is right there in the verse, "If we confess OUR sins," so those are our sins we're confessing, not someone else's. 

Enter wildly popular author/preacher, Max Lucado who produces best sellers as often as he changes his socks: He has written almost 100 books with 92 million copies in print, with many of them occupying spots on every major national bestseller list.. With that hefty tome count, Lucado's name is no stranger to the New York Times Best Seller List. 

He's also a pastor in San Antonio, Texas, and a nationally recognized leader in the evangelical world. And truth be told, he's reached the rarefied air of a cleric celebrity in the evangelical niche. And, as the story is told, there are instructions in the church bulletin saying something to the effect of "Don't ask the pastor to autograph one of his books." That's a cleric celebrity with a capital "CC." 

Events are surfacing however that should give us pause, no matter his rarified status. In a public event in the Alamo City, Lucado waded neck-deep in the social justice movement raging around the country when he spoke to the assembled telling them that he's guilty of white supremacy and racism. How so? Because of what his ancestors did over 150 years ago and then he begged God to forgive him for that. (A subsidiary question is, "How does he know what his ancestors did," but that's beside the point.)

What does he think his long ago ancestors did? He said that they owned slaves. In his mind that's something he needs to confess in 2020. The he confessed his sin of forcing people to ride in the back of the bus. He was confessing all over the place, but the sins he was confessing were not sins he himself committed. 

Lucado was born on Jan 11, 1955. On December 18, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery in America. He can no more take credit for the 13th Amendment than he can take the blame for slavery. All that happened at least 90 years before he was even born. 

Let's be clear: we can take responsibility for our sins, but we can't be blamed for someone else's sins. The Bible is clear on the matter: "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (Ezekiel 18:2, 20).

Confessing what you had nothing to do with isn't good for the soul, but all these confessions we're hearing today are good for one thing--popularity--and pastors aren't immune from an approbation lust. It is just as easy for a pastor to crave approval, as it was for Pilate. 

The approbation lust is ever with us.