Last night, I had an odd dream. I was standing in a field with a group of pastors. One of the pastors, a prominent leader in the Church, walked away in disgust when I mentioned the word “morality”. He said that teaching morality was a mistake as he walked away from us in disgust and vanished from our view.

To have someone leading God’s people who is not motivated by a sense of spiritual morality will lead the Church astray from the truth into deception. The Bible addresses morality in its teachings, commandments, and narratives that guide our ethical behavior and decision-making. The Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and what has been called The Golden Rule are some of the parameters that define what a true faith looks like.

Paul’s letters to the Church reveal a moral behavior in his epistles. In Galatians, Paul urged believers to live according to the Spirit and avoid sinful behaviors motivated by the flesh. After listing a long list of immoral behaviors, Paul wrote, “Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:21-23).

As the pastor walked away from our conversation, I tried to imagine what it was that produced his response. Was it the result of a lack of self-control, or bad teaching, some kind of cultural influence, or the fact that there was some kind of hidden immorality in his life that he was keeping hidden?

The morality of the Church must first and foremost be motivated by God’s love and grace. It’s a filter through which we examine our lives and come to God with humble hearts when we fail its requirements.

In the dream, I sensed that a fear of exposure was what caused the pastor to walk away from our conversation. His disgust was a mask that he used to avoid the issue. In doing so, he was avoiding a restoration in his personal life and in the lives of those he had been called to lead, but had led astray.

Compromising morality in the Church will cause us to live a compromised life. It will also cause those we have been called to teach to model a compromised life. As a result of that choice, those who follow its path will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Morals matter.