After “it was discovered” that he had committed adultery, Pastor Samuel Renihan resigned from his California church and confessed to sin that he said will have “far-reaching” consequences. Renihan, 38, had been a pastor-elder at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in La Mirada, California, since 2012. He has been married for almost 20 years and has one son.
Renihan’s publications include “Order and Honor in the Household” and “The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom.” The former pastor, who contributed to Ligonier Ministries, is the son of prominent Reformed Baptist Pastor James Renihan.
“I have sinned in an exceedingly wicked way,” Samuel Renihan began a Nov. 17 blog post. “This past week it was discovered that I have committed adultery,” he wrote. “The Lord, whose Spirit yearns jealously for his people (James 4:5), the Lord, who is an avenger in these things (1 Thess. 4:6), exposed my sin. To my great shame, I did not bring it to light.”
In “A Letter of Confession,” the former pastor offered no details about how his sin was discovered or who exposed it. ChurchLeaders reached out to Trinity Reformed Baptist Church for comment and will update this article with any reply.
Samuel Renihan Confesses to Adultery
In the letter posted to his “Petty France” blog, Samuel Renihan cited numerous scriptural warnings against sin. “As a minister,” he wrote, “I should have set an example in holiness, but by my unholiness I have made myself unfruitful and ineffective (2 Pet. 1:8), a warning, an example never to be imitated (1 Tim 5:20).”
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Renihan called himself “the greatest of fools,” noting that “teachers who sin against [God’s] church” will face “severe judgment.” He continued:
I am deeply ashamed of my sin. All sin deserves damnation, but some sins are far worse than others, and mine is exceedingly wicked. The only way that I can honor and glorify God, and the only way that I can do anything to help those whom I have hurt is through the grace of repentance.
Renihan recognized that “the eternal destiny of my very soul” is at stake. He wrote, “My one and only hope is the precious blood and perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ who loved me and gave his life for me (Gal. 2:20) and promises to forgive my iniquity and remember my transgression no more (Jer. 31:34).”
The former pastor lamented the “terrible account” he must give to Jesus of his ministry. “By my unfaithfulness I have brought dishonor and disgrace upon my Master’s name, upon my office, upon my family, upon my church, and upon others,” Renihan wrote.
He concluded, “By [God’s] grace, may my repentance be as notorious as my sin. Though I will never hear my Master say to me, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ as a minister, yet I pray that by his mercy and grace I will hear him say those words to me, as a repentant sheep.”
After “it was discovered” that he had committed adultery, Pastor Samuel Renihan resigned from his California church and confessed to sin that he said will have “far-reaching” consequences.Click to Post
