The cross was not about making you physically healthy, materially rich, or popular. Jesus went to Calvary to reconcile us to God.

If your religion requires your good works to get you into Heaven, it is false. Only repenting and trusting in the finished work of Jesus will get you to Heaven.

I love Dr. Steve Lawson. He had an important influence in my Christian faith. I sat under him for a single seminary class at Master's Seminary, and have met him in person. So with that bias out of the way, here's my thoughts: 1. It's not a sin to write a book after you've committed grave sin. 2. Since his fall, I've only seen the fruit of real repentance in his life, for which I praise the Lord for. 3. In my opinion, this should still rightly bring about concern, because it doesn't seem wise for him to attempt to re-establish himself as a Christian figure or leader, though him writing this one book doesn't necessarily mean he's doing this. However, this sin disqualifies him from being a pastor (1 Tim. 3:1-7), not from being an author. We must be careful to not build fences where the Bible doesn't. 4. God used King David's adultery, murder, and other sins to showcase the bitterness of sin, the fallenness of even the godliest of people, and the abounding mercy of God. Psalm 51 was written by David after his fall from grace, and we're all better for it. This doesn't mean every fallen Christian leader should write a book. Most shouldn't. But it means that the Lord can still sovereignly use post-fall writings to bless the Church in real ways. It's so tricky balancing forgiveness, mercy, sin's consequences, and the very high requirements for pastors with the similarities that being a Christian "leader," "influencer," or "author" have. But ultimately, if the elders of his church weren't opposed to this, he's genuinely walking in repentance and has forsaken his past sin, and he's committed to no longer being a pastor due to his real disqualification, then it's not wrong for him to write this book, even if it may seem unwise or odd to some. May this brother in Christ continue to walk in repentance, humility, and genuine faith as we pray for him.

Believers, pursue these godly habits daily: • Read and meditate on the Scriptures • Confess your sins quickly • Pray for others • Walk humbly with your God