Abusing Grace

By: Wendy Duckworth Vance

As many may know, there has been a recent scandal within the Contemporary Christian Music industry related to the former lead singer for the Newsboys - Michael Tait.  Accusations of drugging and sexual assault were covered in an article published by the Roys Report on June 4, 2025.  After the publication of this article, Michael Tait published a confession letter on Instagram on June 10, 2025.  As with past scandals within the Christian community, this current scandal has led to the emergence of two overarching/majority positions. Some voices call for the entire industry's utter and complete destruction or collapse.  This feels a bit drastic, similar to the idea of completely dismantling law enforcement or the Federal Department of Education, because there is a need for reform.  The need for reform doesn't require the entire system to be dismantled, but rather analyzed, problems identified, and solutions implemented. Complete dismantlement, however, is an excessive overcorrection that will do more harm than good. 

Then there are other voices which seem to be stating that believers have a complete inability to judge the behavior of another individual, giving classic defenses of "God can use broken or even evil individuals to accomplish his will".   While this last statement is true, God can absolutely use broken people or individuals who practice evil - look at Samson or King Nebuchadnezzar, for example, despite not being the pinnacle of perfection to say the least, both wound up serving God's purpose.  This attitude can also serve as a complete abdication of our responsibilities to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  And not only that, but such a position runs the risk of leading the outside world to accuse the institutional church of hypocrisy, as I discussed in my previous articles. As I have pointed out in these other articles, the institutional church/members of it are often quick to call out the sins of people on the outside of the church, those who have not accepted Christ, and do not carry the label of his name.  At the same time seeming to ignore/accept the very same behaviors within the body of believers or of those that claim the name of Christ.  And to the point, in some cases, of even declaring that these individuals are chosen agents of God, regardless of their behavior or how their behavior harms others, simply because God has used men of evil deeds in the past. 

Some may argue that this unwillingness to issue judgment within the church is due to a liberal bias that says that we must tolerate everything, the proliferation of the idea that there are multiple truths – your truth, my truth, etc.  Others may argue that judgment is not issued for fear that doing so would cause a reduction of attendance, and therefore the loss of revenues.   Then there are the voices that say we cannot judge/call out this behavior because we are obligated to forgive, so we just have to "let it go". Lastly, there is the possibility that some may also genuinely believe that we (followers of Christ) do not have such authority.  I am not discounting or arguing against these positions, as these viewpoints are valid to varying degrees. This is especially true related to forgiveness; yes, we must forgive; however, gaining forgiveness does not negate responsibility for one's actions or the consequences thereof, whether legal and/or financial. Instead, I would argue that other possibilities are at the root of such scandalous behavior or the leading of double lives by those who have chosen to follow Christ or who state that they follow Christ.  Specifically, there is a lack of fellow believers holding each other accountable, and there is a possible misunderstanding or misapplication of God's grace within our lives.  

For this article, we will focus on grace.  Is it possible that there is a misunderstanding of grace or possibly even systemic abuse of grace stemming from long-held errant teachings? I ask this in part because of the response/confession issued by Michael Tait and quotes provided to the Roys Report in subsequent articles related to the scandal.  Specifically, on June 19, the Roys Report published an article related to an allegation that Michael Tait had drugged a female road crew member and had then watched her being raped by another crew member.  The article details an exchange after the alleged rape in which the female crew member quotes Michael Tait as saying, "We all make mistakes, and I've prayed, and I've asked for forgiveness" as part of an apology for the incident. His June 10 confession post seems to convey this same nonchalant attitude toward his actions, as he again says, "Well, I have asked for God's forgiveness; therefore, everyone needs to ignore what I have done". No, this is not an actual quote from the confession, but that is what I gleaned from reading it. Is it possible that I am reading more into this and that he is genuinely repentant? Sure, it is possible, but it simply does not feel that way. His nonchalant response and what seems like a total lack of empathy for the ongoing suffering of the victims feels like he is shrugging his shoulders at what he has done and is saying, "I have grace, so whatever".  And is this not how we have heard others refer to grace, or have we not all at some point said something similar related to things we have done?  

But is it really that simple? Does having grace mean we are allowed to continue living in our old ways - pre-salvation, hurt whoever, etc., so long as we ask for forgiveness?

Paul answers this question in Romans 6:1 - 2 when he said, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (ESV).  He boldly declares that grace does not give us license to live in willful sin.  Yes, we will all fall short. Yes, we will all stumble.  There is, however, a distinct difference between falling to momentary temptation and committing willful, planned, and ongoing sin. 

Based on the allegations and his admission, it would appear that the transgressions of Michael Tait were not only planned but also facilitated and covered up by management/management policies for about two decades. For example, to drug someone, one has to procure the drugs, which requires planning; this isn't a spur-of-the-moment temptation. Also, to invite someone to your home with the intention of drugging them and taking advantage of them takes planning. Again, there is nothing momentary or accidental about this. This behavior is a blatant abuse of grace. To say that I have gone to God and asked for forgiveness and to continue plotting these sorts of attacks upon other people likely demonstrates an unrepentant spirit. It certainly demonstrates a disregard not only for God's laws but also for the people that are intended to be harmed.   It makes grace something that is cheap and expendable.  Grace was and is not expendable; it cost God pain and suffering - His very blood poured out for us. 

Yet, as a body, it seems that we have been taught that freedom in Christ and grace mean that we have no obligation to live transformed lives that reflect the Holy One who gave His life for us and whose Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) dwells within us.  And perhaps it is worth considering that we have come to this place because we were errantly taught that God's Law  (10 Commandments specifically but not necessarily the ceremonial laws- unless feels the calling of the spirit to interact deeply with these as well) no longer applies because of Yeshua's death on the cross and resurrection - the idea that somehow Christ's death abolished the Law that was given in His incarnation as God the Father at Sinai.  But is that what Christ taught? I would say no.  I would say that he did not abolish it but rather encouraged us to interact with it on a deeper level - the level of internalization, the level of the heart. See Matthew 5 - Yeshua (Jesus) does not remove the Law, He makes it more difficult because it is not only action or lip service that he is seeking.   He asked us to live it out, not out of obligation or as a vehicle to attain forgiveness, but as an expression of our love for God and the people He created.  In so doing, we are transformed from the ordinary to the peculiar people we are called to be as adopted sons and daughters of the King who are grafted into the tree of His chosen people, Israel (See Romans 11:17-24).  In this light, we can come to understand that living inside of God's grace is not an absence or abolishment of the Law of God, nor is grace a license to willfully sin or purposely harm others without consequence.  Rather grace should be viewed as an escape from the debt we should have paid in the death of our soul, a precious gift to be held in the highest regard, greater than most precious gem.