The following is a near word-for-word transcript of the thoughts I shared on the WWUTT podcast, in the last half of episode 2250, concerning the news that Steve Lawson had been removed as a pastor over a relationship he had with a woman not his wife. That episode can be heard here. Additional words not shared in that episode have been marked by brackets.
Coming up here in a couple of weeks, I’m going to be finishing up the series that I’ve been doing in the pastoral epistles, in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, which I’ve been preaching through ever since I came on at Providence Reformed Baptist Church at the end of last year.
It seemed good to me that we would study these things together, as I was a new pastor in a new church, so that we would understand our responsibilities as the household of God. And not just our responsibilities as a church, but even as a confessional church—because Paul makes various references throughout the epistles to “a trustworthy saying,” like the passage that I’m going to be preaching on this coming Sunday out of Titus 3:8-111, where Paul says, “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.”
Those statements where Paul will make a reference to a trustworthy saying is a reference to a creed or a confession that the early church had memorized and would recite to express the basics of the faith that they believed—and not just what they believed, but how they would live it out, doctrine and life, and how those things go together. What we believe affects how we live, and the way that we live is going to affect what we believe. Another emphasis that Paul puts in these epistles is the importance of being sound in our doctrine.
I was thinking about these things yesterday as I was reviewing my notes for what I was going to be preaching on Sunday. I brought up social media, and I happened upon a post that was in reference to Steve Lawson, pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, TX, being removed because he was found disqualified as a pastor.
Now, the screenshot that was included was the statement that was made on the church’s website, but it was only the first paragraph. So I went to the website itself and pulled up the statement that had been released by the elders. Sure enough, Steve Lawson had been removed as pastor because it had been revealed that he had been in an inappropriate relationship, it was said, with another woman who was not his wife.
Addressing the Situation
Looking at questions for today, I received several emails. I received questions via text, direct message on social media, and by email asking me if I knew any more information, if I was gonna talk about it. So I’ve singled out this question from Ryan, who had sent a link to the article that was published by Not The Bee.
(If you’re familiar with Not The Bee, it is the contrast to The Babylon Bee. The Babylon Bee is a satire website. Well, Not The Bee was started to post true articles that are so outlandish, you might have been convinced that they were satire, unless they were published on Not The Bee rather than The Babylon Bee.)
Ryan said, “I’m shocked and in disbelief. I had to look at the headline again to see if it was satire. Sadly, it’s not. What are your thoughts? Will Wretched and WWUTT be addressing this situation?”
Well, first of all, let me say that it’s not even 24 hours old. At the time that I’m publishing this podcast, it’ll be after midnight on Thursday evening and all of this just came out on Thursday. It is good for people to be slow to react to these kinds of things, and I typically have been in the past. I rarely respond to something immediately, especially news that is this big.
But I did spend a lot of Thursday praying about it, reading about it, talking with people who were more closely acquainted with Steve Lawson than I have been, and even asking some questions about what was put in the statement that was released by Trinity Bible Church. So I think there’s enough information for us to be able to meditate on this, and at the same time come to a point of conviction and realization of the weakness that is within every one of us. As Jesus said to his disciples, “Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
This news has now been shared by USA Today and the Houston Chronicle, so it is a national, if not international story because of Steven Lawson’s notoriety. As reported by USA Today, Lawson and his wife Anne have four children. Lawson preached for three decades in Arkansas and in Alabama before becoming a pastor at Trinity. A pastor friend of mine attended Lawson’s church at Douphin Way.
[Lawson was pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church from 1995 to 2003 in Mobile, AL. He resigned over a controversy concerning his soteriology, as Lawson was a Calvinist. Those church members who left with him began Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, also in Mobile, which Lawson pastored for a decade before moving to Dallas, TX. He later joined Trinity Bible Church, which began in 2018.]
Many of you are likely familiar with who Steven Lawson is. In addition to being a pastor of a local church, he is an author and a seminary professor. He’s the founder of One Passion Ministries. He’s the leader of the Academy for Expository Preaching, which might be the most well-known traveling school for expository preaching to help train up pastors in exposition. I don’t know that there’s one that has a larger outreach than what Steve Lawson has been doing.
Of course, Lawson has been a well-known preacher at conferences such as the Shepherds Conference, Ligonier, and G3, just to name a few. But just yesterday, even as all of this news was breaking yesterday, he’s already been removed from the faculty page at Masters University, which is John MacArthur’s seminary, and he’s no longer listed as a teaching fellow with Ligonier.
Now, I hope that these two ministries are going to release statements explaining why Dr. Lawson has been removed. I don’t think that it’s enough to settle on the statement that had been released by Trinity Bible Church. This was something that disappointed me earlier in the year, when all that news was coming out about Alistair Begg and the bad advice that he gave to a grandmother saying that it was okay for her to attend the wedding of her gay grandson, who was also marrying a transvestite or a transgender—however, that term might be applied.
In that controversy, there were ministries that were cutting him out and not giving a statement as to why. When Alistair Begg’s radio program, Truth For Life, was removed by American Family Radio, AFR made a statement as to why, a public declaration, and even said all the steps that they went through to try to gain an understanding from Begg’s ministry. They were not satisfied with the answers that they received, and so that’s why they had his radio program removed.
Truth For Life was also removed from Ligonier, who did not release a statement. And then Alistair Begg was removed also from Shepard’s Conference, where he was listed to be a speaker earlier in 2024. A statement was made—I don’t know that one officially came out from the Shepard’s Conference, but I know that Phil Johnson did make a statement online on social media about it, and I guess that’s sufficient.
But still, there were many others who were dropping Begg and not explaining why. Just as Trinity Bible Church has released a statement saying that Lawson has been removed and is disqualified, you cannot take for granted that people who listen to Ligonier know why Steve Lawson is no longer with Ligonier. I think it’s important that they release a statement, so I hope that that’s going to be the case. I’m not making a judgment now—because like I said, it’s not even been 24 hours—but I hope that that will be the practice.
I’ve actually been through this before, and I’ve shared this before when I was teaching through 1 Corinthians 5 on the broadcast a couple of years ago. I mentioned that we had an elder at our church in Kansas who had been caught in adultery, and I don’t think that I handled that situation as well as I should have. I should have released a clearer statement than I did, and because I didn’t, that caused problems for us later on down the road.
I think the same thing is going on here with Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, very unfortunately, and let me explain why. Coming to their statement that they make on their website, you can read it for yourself going to trinitybibledallas.org.
Addressing the Statement
The first paragraph reads like this:
“The elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas regretfully announced that effective immediately, Steven J. Lawson has been removed indefinitely from all ministry activities at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas. Several days ago, the elders at Trinity Bible Church of Dallas were informed by Steve Lawson of an inappropriate relationship that he has had with a woman. The elders have met with Steve and will continue to come alongside him and pray for him with the ultimate goal of his personal repentance. Steve will no longer be compensated by Trinity Bible Church of Dallas.”
So that’s the first paragraph—I’ll get to the second here in a moment. Just from what we read here, it appears as if Steve Lawson was the one who came to the elders at Trinity Bible Church and revealed that he was in this “inappropriate relationship,” as it’s said. It doesn’t say exactly what that means, but enough so that the elders have removed him, and to the extent that it appears that he is permanently disqualified because it says that he “has been removed indefinitely.”
This is not like the situation that happened earlier this year with Tony Evans, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship also in Dallas, who resigned from his church. I think it’s been said regarding Tony Evans, I know that I read this somewhere, that it’s not a permanently disqualifying sin that he is guilty of. He’s just taking some time away, maybe a disciplinary process is going on there. And then the expectation is he’s going to be restored back to that position.
I think it’s even been clarified that sexual immorality was not the reason why Tony Evans had to step down, and it may have even been something from several years ago. My dad had called me and asked if I knew anymore about that situation with Tony Evans, and I said, regrettably, no, because the church has not been clear about whatever it is that’s going on. Apparently Dr. Evans is guilty of something significant enough that he has to step down. It’s not something that’s permanently disqualifying—but we’re not allowed to know what that is—and he will be restored.
And frankly, we won’t have learned anything from that. There’s no lesson to learn from that at all, because we don’t even know what the sin is. Unless after his restoration, Dr. Evans decides to expose what that is and talk about what he had learned in his period of having to step down from his pulpit. One of his sons has been preaching in his place, and they’ve been very praising of Dr. Evans at his church. So this is a different kind of a situation where it appears as if Dr. Lawson has been removed as a pastor and will never be a pastor again. That’s what it looks like.
But we don’t know exactly what he’s done—again, because the statement says that he’s guilty of an “inappropriate relationship.” First of all, Dr. Lawson is the one who came to the elders about this. So at least he confessed it according to what we have here. But we don’t know that it is exactly adultery.
Like, was it the sort of a thing that Matt Chandler got disciplined for a year or two ago? When he had an inappropriate texting conversation through private message on Instagram? It was later revealed that it wasn’t sexual in nature. It just wasn’t appropriate for him to have that conversation with a woman who was not his wife. So he had to step down for a time and be disciplined, and then he was restored back again. A lot of details there we don’t know either, but that was also called “inappropriate.”
So is that what this is? It would seem it’s more than that because Dr. Lawson is being removed “indefinitely.” I was able to gain or to glean from somebody closer to the situation that this is a matter of adultery. Steve Lawson was in an “inappropriate relationship.” Frankly, I think that Trinity Bible Church needs to clarify that, what he had with a woman who is not his wife.
My heart breaks for the church. My heart breaks for his wife and for his family. And I have prayed for them. This cuts deep. I mean, this hits deep with me. I’ve spent many, many hours with Dr. Lawson. Not personally. If you were to mention my name to him, he probably wouldn’t know who I am—even though I had a booth right next to his at the G3 Conference several years back. The traffic that he was getting came over to the When We Understand the Text booth. And we talked and had a conversation a little bit there.
When I say that I’ve spent many hours with him, I mean that I have listened to his preaching—hours and hours of his preaching. I don’t know that he ranks in my top five most listened to preachers necessarily, but I’ve listened to entire series from him. When I was teaching through Galatians, I was listening to his series through Galatians more than anyone else. Typically when I teach through a book, there might be one pastor that I am listening to more so than the others when I’m teaching through that book. And when it was Galatians, it was Steve Lawson that I was listening to. So, I’ve spent a lot of time with the man in that sense.
And so, this is wounding. This hurts to hear that he has fallen into this sin. And he’s over 70 years old—72 or 73. I can’t remember where he’s at in his age. And there is, you know, kind of that feeling of like, don’t men get to a certain place in their life where eventually they don’t have that temptation anymore? It’s probably naïve of me to think that way.
But obviously the answer is no. And I need to be careful there. I need to discipline myself. As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27, I discipline myself so that I will not be found disqualified. And he says also to Timothy, to watch yourself and your teaching. “Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16).
If Timothy were to fall into some kind of sin, isn’t it likely that he’s going to lead somebody in his congregation in the same way? They’re going to find an excuse: “I can do the same sin. Timothy did it. He’s fine. I can do it,” and may even end up falling to their own destruction. This is going to lead a lot of people astray. This is huge. It’s a huge gut punch.
And like I said, with regard to the news breaking, it’s now an international story, considering the news sources out there that have been sharing it. We know Dr. Lawson, who had been an understudy to RC. Sproul. He’s a close personal friend to John MacArthur, who, by the way, has had an operation this week. Surely he knows about it. I’m praying for everybody involved in this situation that they would have wisdom.
Addressing the Sin
The second paragraph in the announcement begins like this:
“In light of this, may we be reminded that we are all sinners, and Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and Christ remains head of His church, which is bigger than any fallen man.”
Now incidentally, the Houston Chronicle, when they ran this story about Dr. Lawson’s moral failing, they quoted that. They mentioned that in there. So even though, yeah, this is tragic, and I pray that there are people that will not be led astray by this, but the gospel is still being shared. In some of those sources that have quoted the statement that had been released by Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, Jesus still saves sinners. He will save Dr. Lawson.
Now, Dr. Lawson may be permanently disqualified from here on out, if adultery is indeed the sin that he is guilty of. He’s no longer above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6). A pastor and overseer must be above reproach—he must be above blame. And you won’t ever be able to trust that a pastor who is guilty of adultery, who has kept that sin secret, kept it hidden—it always starts secret. It’s never out in the open. But a pastor who has lied about that and has lied to other people and has kept that a secret and has cheated on his wife, he has committed a sin that in the Old Testament was punishable by death.
His wife now has biblical reason, she has a biblical justification, for divorcing her husband. For Jesus said that whoever divorces his wife and marries another, except for reason of sexual immorality, commits adultery. And whoever he marries, he causes to commit adultery (Matthew 5:32). So sexual immorality is the allowance that Christ gives for a biblical divorce to take place. Of a pastor who has committed adultery, his wife biblically can divorce him.
Remember that among the qualifications of an elder, he must be able to manage his own household well. If he cannot manage his own household, how will he manage the household of God? (1 Timothy 3:5) He’s supposed to be a picture of the way that Christ loves his church. And here he has whored himself out with someone else and has brought a reproach upon his witness, his marriage, his ministry in his church. So yeah, adultery is a permanently disqualifying sin. It would permanently disqualify a man from being a pastor.
Proverbs 6:32-33 says, “He who commits adultery lacks sense. He who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.” That’s what Scripture says about the one who commits adultery. Yes, you can be forgiven this sin. And Dr. Lawson should submit himself to his eldership and be repentant so that he may be restored back to this fellowship. But he won’t ever be qualified to be a pastor again.
So that statement continues on:
“In fact, Jesus Christ will continue to lead his church, including Trinity Bible Church here in Dallas, just like he has from the start of this work on January 5th, 2018. Since that time, the elders have focused on the primacy of biblical exposition knit together by various men filling the pulpit each week. The Lord was building Trinity Bible Church of Dallas well before Steve became our lead preacher, and he will continue to build this church long after Steven Lawson or any other man for that matter. We would ask for your prayers for the elders, for our body, and for Steve and his family. Let us always be mindful of the words of 1 Corinthians 10:12, ‘Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.'”
And again, that is important for every one of us to consider. Just think about the fact that in 1 Timothy chapter 5, it is said that for those who persist in sin—this is talking about elders, overseers in the church, pastors—for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear. Galatians 6.1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
So we should not ever look down our noses at someone else and think, “Oh, how terrible of you, this would never happen to me.” No, this should in fact be a reminder to us that any one of us are capable of falling. Again, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So let these who persist in sin like this, who have this kind of a platform, be rebuked in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.
As we come to understand also from James 3.1, “Not many of you should aspire to become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” That’s something that I have to remember constantly. I think about that when I examine my behavior in public.
It might be something like I’m upset over being overcharged on a water bill. And when I go down to the office to pay that bill, I’ve got to keep my composure and not get mad at somebody. Whatever witness I demonstrate there, though I’m frustrated over the manner in which this bill has come out, and I’m not being charged the right amount, I still need to keep a cool head about myself and not blow up at the person across the glass who probably has nothing to do with why my bill has been messed up in this way. So I think constantly about what kind of witness am I demonstrating in public.
To fall into this sin, my heart is broken, as I said. But I won’t deny it: I’m angry. I’m mad. This is Steve Lawson. He knows better! And the emotions that I remember going through when I had to experience this personally with the elder who was a close friend of mine, and he had lied to me and the rest of the elders and his church and even his own family. And the confusion and the sadness, the heartache, the anger, the betrayal, the sympathy for his family—all of that came flooding back again when I was reading this about Dr. Lawson.
He lied, that elder lied—he lied to everyone. And he lied to such a degree that we couldn’t believe anything that he said—even when he finally did come to a place of wanting to repent, which he didn’t stick with. He was resistant to correction. And as far as I know, he is still estranged from his family. He even at one point said to me that he would rather take his chances with God than be reconciled to his wife. It was an incredible level of hubris and anger. Sin makes you stupid, as I’ve heard it said.
In this situation, it sounds like [by the statement Trinity released] Dr. Lawson was the one to step forward and reveal his sin. And so I hope that is a sign of a heart that is grieving over what he has done, a godly grief that leads to repentance, as said in 2 Corinthians 7:10.
[OnePassion Ministries, founded by Dr. Lawson, also released a statement saying that “Steve has resigned from all his duties,” and “All scheduled events and egagements have been cancelled. Steve has confessed and regrets the damage he has caused to his family, the church, the reputation of OnePassion Ministries, and most of all Jesus Christ.”]
He may not be qualified to preach anymore. He’s no longer above reproach, according to the qualifications that are given in Scripture, but he can be forgiven this sin. And not just restored to his church, but even to his family. As said in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Psalm 51 is terribly relevant here as well. This, of course, was the Psalm that David wrote and sang after he had been caught in adultery with Bathsheba. He said:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.Do good to Zion in your good pleasure,
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Addressing the Solution
Now, there are some who are rejoicing at the fact that somebody like Steve Lawson has fallen. That is just wicked. That is evil. That’s a group of people who do not fear God. They do not love the church. They do not love those sinners who are in need of correction. They think way too highly of themselves on top of that, thinking that they won’t fall into this sin.
Did Jesus not teach us to pray in Matthew 6, “Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one”? And again, pointing to Matthew 26:41, Jesus saying to his disciples, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.”
I don’t think anyone ever really sets out to commit adultery—well, there are some. It’s something you can so easily fall into. God, have mercy on me, a sinner (Luke 18:13). As the old saying goes, “There but by the grace of God go I.” I could just as easily fall into that if I don’t discipline myself, if I don’t continue to hold fast to Christ.
As said in James 4:7-9, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep.” And so Lord, cleanse us and make us new.
I had posted this on social media yesterday. Are you tempted by sin? Flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18). Put it to death (Colossians 3:5). Resist the devil (James 4:7). Draw near to God (James 4:8). Pray that you may not fall (Matthew 26:41). And should you stumble, seek His forgiveness and be cleansed of unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Wash, rinse, repeat.
Let’s take a moment here and pray for Steven Lawson, for his family, and for his church, and that we, too, would not fall into temptation and fall into sin.
Heavenly Father, we are grateful to you for the patience and kindness that you show to us every day. As we’ve been instructed in the word, love must be patient, love must be kind (1 Corinthians 13:4). And you show that to us constantly. As said in Lamentations: 3:27, your mercies are new every morning, and great is your faithfulness.
Lord, we continue to be grieved when we hear of great men that fall into great sin. And it doesn’t just have to be as high profile as this, because I’ve also mentioned pastors of small churches—names that if they were said, people wouldn’t recognize them. But whether a person has a great platform or that they know a few people in a small town, nonetheless, that’s a man of God that should be a representative of Christ and an example of mature Christianity, so that people would look at that man and know what to believe and how that faith is supposed to be lived out in our daily lives.
With Dr. Lawson, who’s been seen by so many people around the world, having fallen into this particular sin, I pray that his conviction is genuine, that he would listen to reproof, that he would submit to his elders in guiding him in what he needs to do in order to confess this sin and express his repentance and be restored. I pray for his family that are no doubt grieving over this as well; praying for his wife that you would comfort her heart, that her reliance would not be on a perfect marriage, but that she would rely on the Savior, who is our bridegroom, whom we are waiting for to receive His church and we will be with Him forever in glory.
I pray also for Trinity Bible Church in Dallas, that you would give those elders wisdom; that congregation, that they would not be so discouraged by this that they fall away. But it would be something that would cause them to reflect in their own hearts on their own weakness, convicting them of sin if there is anybody else in that congregation that might be guilty of something that they know needs to be confessed before God. May it be something purifying for this church.
And Lord, I pray for myself, and praying for myself on behalf of any others that might join me in this prayer, that you would convict my heart of sin. As David prayed in Psalm 139, search even the deep places of myself. Are there things that I’m not aware of that need to be brought to the surface so that I might be cleansed? Convicted of this sin, confessing it before God, that I might grow in holiness and continue to be purified in sanctification, that you are doing by your love and your grace toward me.
Keep me from temptation. Help me to flee from it. Turn away from it. Draw near to Christ. Hold fast to you, never thinking that my life is incomplete unless I have this sin, unless I gratify my flesh in some way. Let me not look at the sins that are going on in the world and be envious of that, wishing that I could dabble in that, for there are people going to their destruction over that. I need to draw near to Christ. I need to want to be like Jesus.
God purify me and draw me to you. And may I be a good witness of the love of Christ that has been shown to me, to my wife, to my children, and to my church. As I often pray from Psalm 23, forgive us of our sins and lead us in paths of righteousness for your name’s sake.
It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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