On Wednesday, Steve Lawson issued a public statement for the first time since it was announced that he had an adulterous relationship with a much younger woman. This was back in September. So for the past five and a half months, Lawson has maintained a radio silence while his scandal was shrouded in mysteries.
Putting an end to the story, Steve Lawson announced:
It is with a shattered heart that I write this letter. I have sinned grievously against the Lord, against my wife, my family, and against countless numbers of you by having a sinful relationship with a woman not my wife. I am deeply broken that I have betrayed and deceived my wife, devastated my children, brought shame to the name of Christ, reproach upon His church, and harm to many ministries.
You may wonder why I have been silent and largely invisible since the news of my sin became known. I have needed the time to search my own soul to determine that my repentance is real.
I alone am responsible for my sin. I have confessed my sin to the Lord, to my wife, and my family, and have repented of it. I have spent the past months searching my heart to discover the roots of my sin and mortifying them by the grace of God. I hate my sin, weep over my sin, and have turned from it.
My sin carries enormous consequences, and I will be living with those for the rest of my life. Over the years, many have looked to me for spiritual guidance, and I have failed you. I beg for your forgiveness.
I have been undergoing extensive counseling for the last five months to face the hard questions I need to address. I have dealt with sin issues that have been painfully exposed in my heart. I have submitted myself in weekly accountability to two pastors and to the elders of a local congregation, who have shepherded my soul. I am also under the oversight of an accountability team who monitor my progress and give me wise counsel in the decisions I have to make.
I am growing in grace, reading and absorbing the Word of God, putting it into practice, praying, and meeting with other believers. I am involved in the life of the church, attending and participating in prayer meetings, Sunday school, the worship service, and taking communion weekly. I am being fed the Word in the mid-week Bible study. Please pray for my spiritual growth into Christlikeness as I follow Him moment by moment during this recovery season.
I am grateful for the unmerited grace of God in the gospel to extend His full forgiveness to me. Again, I ask for your forgiveness as well.
While I continue to do the hard work of soul-searching repentance, I do not intend to make further public comments for the foreseeable future.
Please pray for the Lord’s mercy and grace as I seek to make right the deeply wrong sins I have committed against my wife and family, and that in His time and way He will bring about redemption and restoration in our marriage, for His glory.
Steven Lawson
Praise God for our ability to repent.
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3 Responses
Hopefully he is now “being fed the word” in a church that teaches that God did not predestine “all things whatsoever comes to pass” since that false doctrine made him commit adultery by believing it was predestined by God for him so to do.
Dave S (or Dave Hunt?), when did Lawson blame God for his committing adultery? He said he takes full responsibility for his sin. Don’t use this as an opportunity to grind your axe against the doctrine of divine sovereignty.
Having spent my childhood and much of my adulthood belonging to SBC churches, it appears to me that these highly-visible church leaders commit some pretty big sins because they KNOW they just ask God for forgiveness and beg their followers and families to forgive, then all is well. The hypocrisy goes on and on.