Josh Harris announced recently that he is no longer a Christian, and he and his wife are divorcing.

The fall of prominent pastors should not surprise us; there have been many such falls over the last few decades. But unlike many of the others, Josh Harris was not a health, wealth, and prosperity preacher. He had not raised suspicions by amassing a personal fortune. He gave every appearance of teaching God’s Word faithfully.

How should we react?

• Certainly with sadness and prayer – as do four friends who used to meet regularly with Josh.
• Certainly with biblical clarity about the eternal security of those whom God has saved. See my pamphlet on security and assurance.

In addition, let us remember two biblical truths, and then ask a question:

First biblical truth:  We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the “spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). And the chief of these spiritual forces “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Second biblical truth: We do not have the power in ourselves to fight this lion. If we gallantly go out to take him on in single combat, we will be overcome and devoured. Instead, the Apostle exhorts us, “Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:9, emphasis added).  As the Lord God says, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (Isaiah 7:9).

This leads to the question, however: Faith in what?

We all know the right answer: Faith in God. Faith in Jesus.

Many will go deeper in their answer: Faith in the penalty paid by Jesus’ death on the cross. Faith that God is for His people, for their joy. Faith that He is working all things together for His glory and the good of those people.

Yes, in the American evangelical church we know the right answer. But I fear that we quite often grasp for something else to hold on to. Something else to believe in. Something else to trust.

What is this “something else”? Gimmicks. Tools. Techniques. Ways of doing church. Methods of presenting the Gospel.

And most of all: Heroes. Idols. Prominent people we admire.

The early prominence of Josh Harris after writing a book in which he gave advice which he had not yet lived out is symptomatic of this problem. Rather than rightly seeing that book as having value to the extent that it pointed us to scriptural truth, many latched on to I Kissed Dating Goodbye as the answer, as the solution to a sex-crazed, hookup youth culture.

And so we in the evangelical church lunge from fad to fad: “Here’s the answer!” “There’s the answer!” The latest movement, the latest evangelistic technique, the latest denominational program; the latest book, the latest music, the next great film, the next great preacher, the methods of the latest megachurch: This will be the key! This will open people’s hearts! This will lead to thousands coming to faith!

Get this: No pastor, no evangelist, no tract, no movie, no gospel presentation, no great argument, no new way of “doing church”, no outreach method, has ever brought anyone to Christ. For, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (1 Corinthians 5:17). No person can do that. Only God creates. “I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Only God can perform such a transplant. You and I cannot.

Now, God may well use a pastor, an evangelist, a tract, a movie, or a particular Gospel presentation as the occasion for performing that miracle.

But the power is not in the method. The power is in the Spirit working through His Word.

Remember, as John the Baptist said to those impressed by their ancestry, “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9). He doesn’t need our techniques. He doesn’t need our gimmicks. He certainly doesn’t need our celebrities.

The point is not to throw out all the books and films, the tracts and techniques; neither is the point to ignore prominent Christian teachers. On the margin some of these are useful tools. Check them out biblically; search the Scriptures to see if they accurately communicate truth. They may help in some circumstances.

But the power is in the Word. The power is in the Spirit. The power is in God. He will complete His plan. He will fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea.

So rather than jumping from fad to fad, from technique to technique, from the newest greatest book to the next newest greatest book, look to that Word! Obey its commands; cultivate its mindset.

And then, friends, the Christian life is not faddish, and really is not complicated: Believe in God. Believe also in Jesus (John 14:1). Delight in Him. Depend on Him. Love Him. Love your brothers and sisters in Christ deeply from the heart. Love your neighbor. Love and be faithful to your spouse. Raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Do not neglect meeting together. Sit under the faithful preaching of the Word. Let the Word dwell in you richly. Pray without ceasing. Speak the Gospel. Make disciples of all nations. Spur one another on to love and good works. Give cheerfully. Put on the full armor of God.

Yes, we have no strength in ourselves to resist Satan, our enemy. But by God’s grace we can be firm in the faith, not seeking something to hold on to other than Him, but holding firmly to Him and His Word.

Our Lord promises, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). And we can endure, for He also says, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

So take this occasion of the fall of a prominent man to commit yourself to enduring in faith to the end. And so endure, according to His Word, by God’s grace, as given through His people.