On scandals, the Cross, and repentance
Did you know that the word "scandal" comes from the Bible? It comes from Jesus' saying in Matt. 18:7, "Offenses must come but woe to the one through whom offenses come." That word "offenses" is a translation of the Greek word "skandalon", which means a stumbling block.
When professing Christians sin in a gross way, it creates a stumbling block for others to believe in the truth of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ changes lives by the power of the Holy Spirit.
There is only supposed to be one offense, one stumbling block, in the church - the offense of the Cross of Christ (1 Pet. 2:8; Matt. 21:42). The Cross is offensive because it shows that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), that we all might be silent before Him (v. 19).
To those who are proud, and thinks they can save themselves, the Cross will "crush them to powder" (Matt. 21:44). But to those who are humble and confess their sins - not only to God, but "one to another" (James 5:16) - the Cross will break us so that we may be healed.
Christians are called to boast only in the Cross of Christ, by which we were crucified to the desires of this world (Gal. 6:14). If we do this, we have the promise of being a "new creation" in Him (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17).
We may complain when the world is scandalized by the behavior of Christians, feeling that it is unfair given the sin of others in the world. But judgment begins at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17), for we are called to a higher standard than the world - and we have been given the Holy Spirit to renew us according to Christ's image.
If we make our boast only in Christ, then we can come out of hiding and avoid the shame that traps us in recurring sin. If we know that our only justification is Christ's justification of us, then we can give up the self-justification of trying to appear that we have things put together. We can be forgiven, and we can extend forgiveness to others. And radical forgiveness is so rare that it would be attractive to the watching world.