Most people will say that those who are in habitual sin should step down, while those who are going through the long process of being sanctified – which includes many instances of giving in to temptation and falling into sin – should stay on as a leader.

Here’s how I would define habitual sin: Sinning continually in a particular area, and being indifferent to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and a desire to change. Someone who is in habitual sin has quenched the Spirit on multiple occasions to the point that their conscience is seared.

Therefore, if a leader is stuck in habitual sin, they should step down from leadership as they will lead many under them to turn astray and towards indifference for what’s on the Lord’s heart.

For me the defining factor that determines which category you fall under is: Do you have a desire to love God above your sin?

If one has a desire to love God above the sin, that person will inevitably go through the spiritual tension of giving in to the flesh or yielding to the Spirit as described by the Apostle Paul (Romans 8:5-8). This means we will fall into sin, more so than we like to admit to ourselves.

Struggling gets us to recognise that the power to obey God doesn’t come from within us; it comes from our dependence on a Saviour called Jesus Christ who perfectly obeyed God.

The process of struggling with sin highlights our frail humanity, and our pitiful lack of ability to uphold our own and God’s standard for righteousness. We are righteous only because Jesus’ righteousness completely covers our lack of righteousness.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

As a leader, I make it a point to share about my weaknesses because our awareness of weakness crushes an even more dangerous sin lurking in our pharisaical hearts: self-sufficiency and pride.

The Gospel was always meant to bring us to the end of ourselves, when we realise how helpless we are in saving ourselves. The end of ourselves is the beginning of God’s power manifesting itself in our lives. The Gospel always forces us to look outwards towards a Saviour and not at our own morality.

We need God’s grace to be able to lead, and lead well. We will soon realise that as we lead from a point of brokenness, the glory and the power of God comes flooding into our lives, changing us into becoming more like the Son of Man. 

When we truly grasp the honour and the opportunity that we have in serving our King and His people, we will come to realise that continuous disobedience towards our King is no longer an option. 

To all the other leaders out there who truly deeply desire to serve and love God and His people, lead on. 

This article was adapted from a post on Dominick’s blog and is republished with permission.