All My Heroes Are Sinners Too

Heroes in the Bible

Make no mistake.  The Bible is a story filled with many heroes.  Just don't forget or avoid this truth:  They are all sinners as well.

Abraham was the first "Man of Faith."  His willingness to leave his home and follow God's promise is a case study in "faith counted as righteousness."  (Genesis 15:6 & Romans 4:3)  But he also betrayed his own wife, not just once but twice (Genesis 10:13 & 20:3)  Hero of the Faith?  Sure!  Sinner, as well?  Obviously.

King David had faith enough to stand against Goliath when he was only a shepherd boy.  But he also committed murder and adultery as well as let sexual abuse go unpunished in his house.  Yikes!

The pattern carries in to the New Testament.  Peter would stand up and preach the "first Christian Sermon" in Acts 2:14-41.  Tradition has it that he would be crucified upside down.  But along the way, Paul would need to challenge him publicly for not "living in line with the Gospel."  (Galatians 2:14)

Every hero in the Bible is also a sinner.  Except for one.

Heroes in History

All this is true of characters that fill the history of the world and our nation.  All my heroes in American history are heroes that are sinners as well.

George Washington led his soldiers against tyranny in the face of long odds.  Even more, he stepped down after two terms as the president when he could have been made a king.  Sacrificial leadership based on humility is an inspiration to me.  But he also kept a plantation with enslaved people.

Martin Luther King, Jr was a Baptist preacher who called every American to make good on the promises and hope of our founding.  He also had a dark side that he himself recognized and discreetly referred to.  

Robert E. Lee was a brilliant general who wrote against slavery and succession from the Union.  And yet, he led the Confederate Army in the Civil War.

Every human hero you and I will ever have will always be both hero and sinner.  Those come together in one package the Gospel tells us, because every human is an image-bearer of the Great Creator-King who is broken in some way by sin.  That means heroes are all sinners.  It also means that even sinners can sometimes in some way be heroes.

Confusing?  Not really.  It just means that we all need to be rescued from our sin.

Don't Be Fooled About Your Heroes Or Your Own Sin

I'm a history nerd, so I must confess that seeing historical monuments being pulled down is unnerving to me.

I know each person represented by a statue being pulled down is both a sinner as well as - in some way to some people - a hero.  I think it is important and honest to be clear about the sin of those persons, but I also want to learn and be inspired by their heroism when it is there.  And sometimes - as with Robert E. Lee - ponder the irony and sadness of their decisions and life.  If I can be inspired by heroics, I can also learn from the mistakes of others.

Sooner or later, if I am unwilling to deal honestly with both the hero and the sinner in each person - canceling anyone for a single expression of sin - I will have to either falsely deny my own sin, or else live under the weight of my own canceling conscience.

The Apostle Paul knew this from his own experience.  He writes in Romans 7:24, What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

This is the life-giving beauty of the Gospel of God's Grace:  though all our heroes are sinners, there is One who is both Hero and Sinless Savior: A rescuer for every image-bearer broken by sin.