Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

Forgiveness is not the Same Thing as Fitness

By Dr. Richard P. Bucher

Over the past several weeks as controversy has swirled over the President's misdeeds, a rising chorus of media voices are chiding those who want him out of office. "Enough, already," these voices say. "What more do you want? The President has repented of his wrongdoings. Now we must forgive him, forget about this sorry chapter, and move on. What kind of person are you that you refuse to forgive?, etc."
 

Here it needs to be said clearly so that no one can misunderstand: forgiveness is not the same thing as fitness for office. Should we forgive President Clinton? Yes! Certainly as Christians we have no choice. He has repented of the sin of adultery and of attempting to cover it up. Since we don't have evidence to the contrary, we must assume that his repentance is genuine. Therefore we must forgive him.
 

But forgiveness is not the same thing as fitness for office. Why I and many other Christians want President Clinton out of office is because we no longer believe that he is fit for the office of President.
 

Here the qualifications for a pastor as laid down in Scripture come to our aid. Both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 list the necessary qualifications for an overseer. The first qualification in both lists is that the pastor must be "above reproach." In 1 Timothy 3:2 the Greek word anepilemptos occurs; in Titus 1:6,7, the Greek word anegkletos is used. These words both mean "blameless," not in the sense of "sinless" but in the sense of being free from accusations or a sordid reputation that would bring damage and disrespect to the office. 1 Timothy 3:7 echoes this again: "He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap." By the way, such lists of ethical qualifications were quite common in Greek circles for various secular occupations, for example, kings, generals, midwives, etc.
 

The point is: both Christian and non Christians understood that a person was not fit for a position of leadership unless that person was beyond reproach.
 

It is the opinion of many Christians (and also my opinion) that President Clinton is clearly no longer above reproach. His reputation is so sullied, his credibility so damaged, that he is no longer fit for the office of President of the United States. When the list of impeachable accusations is added to the mix, there is no question for us that Clinton's fitness for office is over.
 

And one final point. Yes, I am saying that fitness for office means much more than "caring" or "working hard at one's job." Fitness of office also depends, as the Biblical lists remind us, on reputation, on being free from accusations of criminal or reprehensible behavior.
 

Have we forgiven President Clinton? Yes. Do we think that he has lost his fitness for office and should either resign or be removed? Yes. Do we still care about him and pray for him? Yes. But the welfare of our nation and of the office of President is of much higher priority.

February 1999