“So…was Ravi Zacharias really a Christian?” The young staff member and I sat at a table filled with boneless wings, wedge salads, and leaders of our church. Her eyes were wide with saddened incredulity. Could it be possible that one of the most famed Christian apologists of the last century was, in fact, not a true recipient of the Christ he championed?
For me, this was a gut punch. Not the question from my friend, but the basis for the question. Ravi Zacharias, one of the men I had looked up to most over my two decades of ministry, had been a monster – guilty (as admitted by his own ministry) of sexting, sexual abuse, and rape. When the news broke I couldn’t come to grips with the truth. It felt so heart-shatteringly surreal. And now, the first of many questions about Ravi came – and by far the most important: was Ravi truly a Christian?
The small part of me not shocked by the breaking news shuddered at the thought of how this would bring fresh ridicule and blanket shame to the Gospel of Jesus. Ravi’s treason would deepen the belief and escalate the refrain that Christianity is bogus.
I was also sickened by the emboldened, unfeeling declarations of judgment from the “do-no-wrong” Pharisees within modern Christianity. It would be easy to once more shift the spotlight from their own sin – which they pretend doesn’t exist (at least not tangibly) – by conjuring their best prophetic voice in denouncing Ravi vehemently to the tune of 18 Facebook likes. The self-righteousness of those individuals repulses me as much as does the hypocrisy and abuse of Ravi. Perhaps humility (for without the grace of God could we not fall just as he did?) and prayer for Ravi’s widow and children is what is most needed in these moments.
Everyone knows that what Ravi did is reprehensible; and it is reprehensible. Using a Gospel platform to justify and demand sexual favors is wicked. Using ministry resources for little more than prostitution payments is evil. Abuse – true abuse – is vile. I will offer no excuse for the man I long admired.
I mourn for his victims. I mourn for his family. I mourn that he has given the enemies of God a reason to further blaspheme.
And in the end I am left asking myself the same question our young staffer posited before me: Could he be forgiven? Could Ravi Zacharias – the hypocrite, the narcissist, the swindler, the abuser – possibly be clothed in the holiness of Jesus? Could he be counted among the redeemed?
The answer, if you know your Bible, is unequivocally, yes. That’s the radicality of the grace of God. He takes the despicable and declares them pure.
Now, was Ravi a Christian? That is a different question. We know God can and does forgive the vilest of sinners; but we also know that his grace convicts, draws to repentance, and transforms. If the fruit of repentance does not grow it can only be because the root of grace is absent. Did Ravi ever repent? Did he struggle? Did he mourn his sin and wrestle with it? It would seem not, but I cannot know these things with certainty.
In moments like these, shrouded with angst, anger, disappointment, grief, and questions without an answer, the true Christ-follower must trust the sovereign goodness of God, pray that the kingdom of light will continue to pierce the darkness, and continually give thanks for amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. This is the way of Jesus. It is the way forward through the darkness.
Semper Reformanda
Why the need to pray for his widow now?
Do u honestly believe she didn’t know about his evil-doing all those years, and yet she kept quiet?
We wives can pick up the changes (subtle or othersise) in our husbands’ actions, behaviours, speeches, etc and this monster’s evil behaviour & actions were years in the making.
I will really appreciate she coming forward to apologise to those victims instead of RZIM board issuing the apologies.
I was married to a pastor and fell, no crashed from grace. I don’t know when it started, how long it was going on, but he began to use drugs and then, when I thought he was at a Pastor’s conference, he dove headlong into destruction with drugs and prostitutes. He endangered my son, borrowed money under false pretenses from church members, and ultimately robbed a bank (after I was able to stop him from draining our family of everything we had). The church said the same thing that you just said “do you really believe she didn’t know?” Myself and my children were ostracized and put to shame as the local newspaper printed my husband’s mugshot on the front page and seemed to delight in reporting what he had done. When the dust settled, I had $13,000 in extra debt due to the credit card advances and church members that were owed money. I dissolved our “estate” as best I could and paid the church members back and resolved the credit card advances to avoid the unbelievable interest rates, packed up and left town. We were not welcome at the church because the gossip and slander was running rampent. I had only a part time job (the rest of my time was spent serving the church) and I had to figure out where we would live and what we would live on. It has been seven years now and my children were never the same. Not only did their beloved father and pastor do the unthinkable, but the church threw us out like trash. If you ever hear the interviews of wives of serial killers, they had no idea what their husbands were doing. Evil finds it own little compartment and that door is closed when the carrier is around other people. I don’t know if his wife knew or not and I say with all due respect, neither do you. I want to say this as gently and with as much love as possible “have you removed the plank from your own eye”? For the good of your own soul, do not sit in judgement of this woman and her family.
The important reminder here is our faith is in Jesus Christ. Not in his followers. All his followers are sinners.
We can’t know what his wife knew, or his colleagues. Praying that they turn to Jesus for forgiveness, comfort, and grace.
One never knows the roof is leaking until inside the house. We never quite know how to handle these things, thankfully God does the judging. I’ve known marriages where men (sometimes women) were driven to utter despair by wives who ‘showed no interest’ anymore, not fulfilling their marital duty to their husbands. One only knows that frustration if they’ve been there. The stress of meeting the expectations of thirsty faith members who expect 100% every time! is enormous. Ravi isn’t the first to go down, and won’t be the last (see Carl Lentz, Hillsong). Power, adoration, fame can truly be evil’s entry door.
I was very sad for Ravi, and his family and the victims.we really don’t know the whole truth , only Our Wonderful Redeemer knows.And I’ll still think of him as not a monster,let’s not forget all of us who were blessed by his teachings.