Like many Americans, I have followed the horrific story of Dr. Larry Nassar, sentenced in January to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing at least 156 young woman who gave statements during his trial. From girls as young as six to several gold medal winning Olympic gymnasts, Nassar continued his decades of abuse because colleagues and the institutions he served all looked the other way.
On Aug. 29, 2016, Rachael Denhollander, the hero of this story, filed the first police complaint against Nassar for sexually abusing her when she was 15 years old. After making her public accusation, she narrates how much the pushback crushed her. She lost her church, lost her closest friends, was called an “ambulance chaser” just “looking for a payday,” but writes:
“Yet all of it served as a reminder: These were the very cultural dynamics that had allowed Larry Nassar to remain in power.”
Fast forward to her statement at Nassar’s sentencing hearing. She was the last of the 156 young women to speak. I encourage you to read her entire statement here (as reported by CNN), but I want to highlight the portions of her statement where Rachael speaks directly to Nassar on issues of guilt, grace and redemption with unusual candor and spiritual depth.
First, sin and guilt are real.
In our early hearings. you brought your Bible into the courtroom and you have spoken of praying for forgiveness. And so it is on that basis that I appeal to you. If you have read the Bible you carry, you know the definition of sacrificial love portrayed is of God himself loving so sacrificially that he gave up everything to pay a penalty for the sin he did not commit. By his grace, I, too, choose to love this way.
You spoke of praying for forgiveness. But Larry, if you have read the Bible you carry, you know forgiveness does not come from doing good things, as if good deeds can erase what you have done. It comes from repentance which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror without mitigation, without excuse, without acting as if good deeds can erase what you have seen this courtroom today.
The Bible you carry says it is better for a stone to be thrown around your neck and you throw into a lake than for you to make even one child stumble. And you have damaged hundreds.
Rachael highlights with great clarity a foundational biblical principle—we must call out “sin” for the ugly thing it is and not erase it by “good deeds.” As Rachael so rightly proclaims, biblical repentance is the only valid response to sin and repentance “requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror without mitigation, without excuse…”
Every evangelical preacher in the land, including me, has said the same thing over and over: 1) Sin is real and horrible; 2) The only biblical response to sin is repentance; it is not assuaged by “good deeds;” 3) Repentance takes moral courage in telling the truth and admitting wrong.
Second, admitting the weight of sin opens us to the joy of the gospel.
The Bible you speak carries a final judgment where all of God’s wrath and eternal terror is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that is what makes the gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it extends grace and hope and mercy where none should be found. And it will be there for you.
I pray you experience the soul crushing weight of guilt so you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God, which you need far more than forgiveness from me — though I extend that to you as well.
Now we have arrived at the core of the gospel—our weight of guilt is indeed crushing! But there’s good news! Experiencing this weight is the only way we can ever comprehend the how precious gospel message is—we are forgiven and given a new life we do not deserve, through Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus proclaimed that only those who realized they needed healing–who did not presume they were already righteous–would seek help from him:
“When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
Our classic hymn Amazing Grace encapsulates both sides—admitting our need (“wretch like me”) and the joy of grace (“was lost, but now found, was blind but now see”)
Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound …That saved a wretch like me…I once was lost, but now am found…T’was blind but now I see…
Third, moral absolutes still exist.
Throughout this process, I have clung to a quote by C.S. Lewis, where he says, my argument against God was that the universe seems so cruel and unjust. But how did I get this idea of just, unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he first has some idea of straight. What was I comparing the universe to when I called it unjust?
Larry, I can call what you did evil and wicked because it was. And I know it was evil and wicked because the straight line exists. The straight line is not measured based on your perception or anyone else’s perception, and this means I can speak the truth about my abuse without minimization or mitigation. And I can call it evil because I know what goodness is. And this is why I pity you. Because when a person loses the ability to define good and evil, when they cannot define evil, they can no longer define and enjoy what is truly good.
Yes, Rachael, I agree. In an age where many think they can create their own truth, “a straight line still exists.” Evil still exists. When we downplay or try to excuse evil, we also lose our ability to discern what is good. Listen again to the Scripture:
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (I John 1:8-10)
So, why have so many supposed evangelical leaders silently looked the other way on Donald Trump?
I have been following this story since the presidential campaign with increasing despair. The biblical ideas I’ve given my life to defend and uphold have been repeatedly trashed, misrepresented, denied, or just ignored where Trump is concerned–all because Trump supposedly does “good deeds” like appointing conservative judges or fulfilling other political criteria.
God bless Rachael Denhollander! A young woman the age of my own daughters has done what many evangelical leaders and churchgoers have not done. She has articulated the gospel message in a highly-charged political environment AND she has done so (read her full statement) looking evil straight in the eye with both grace and forgiveness:
- Sin is sin, period. We can debate whether those who hold a high office, like the President, should be held to a higher standard of moral and ethical behavior. But could we all agree that the President should not be held to a lower standard?
- God’s grace is real but not cheap. Grace becomes real for people who get real—who sincerely repent, tell the truth and admit their wrongdoing.
- Calling evil good may be politically expedient, but it is self-deceiving, as I John 1:8-10 declares. Despite those who deny the reality of moral truth and want to make everything a matter of perception, a “straight line still exists.”
In closing, I invite you really ponder these concluding words from Rachael’s testimony to the court. For me, they are prophetic in this moment for our nation, but especially convicting for those of us who call ourselves evangelical or conservative Christians:
“Far too often, it feels easier and safer to see only what we want to see. Fear of jeopardizing some overarching political, religious, financial or other ideology — or even just losing friends or status — leads to willful ignorance of what is right in front of our own eyes…”
(To read the full text of Rachael Denhollander’s op-ed piece, click here; to read her entire testimony at the sentencing of Larry Nassar, click here. Each takes only 3-5 minutes.)
