Letters Found Right Where They Should Have Been

Let’s say a father with children in the home has a major failing as a parent. He becomes aware of this sin and fully and completely repents. Still some children abandon the faith in adulthood. Is such a person necessarily disqualified from being an elder?

Anon P

Recently I watched an old “Ask Doug” about the “descent into hell” part of the Apostles Creed. I found it helpful and scriptural. More recently I listened to a Lutheran take on the same thing. He pointed out that because of the different Christologies between the Reformed and Lutherans, the Reformed must believe that Christ’s body remained in the ground even as He descended into Hades, while the Lutherans, because of their views on the communication of attributes between the human and divine natures of Christ, can believe the whole person of Christ was present to preach to the dead, not just his divine nature. Thoughts?

CC

As a former Baptist who is now CREC, I’m trying to come to Biblical convictions about dancing—especially social dancing. Unfortunately, I’m struggling to find good resources. It seems like half the blog posts I’ve found about this use segregated Jewish worship dancing to “prove” that paired swing dancing for high school proms is in the Bible. The other half arbitrarily condemn all father/daughter dances as overtly sexual. In other words, most of the arguments both for and against dancing seem really . . . fallacious. I feel lost.
Do you know of any well-reasoned, biblical, and nuanced books that can help me think through this? Examinations of historical theology of dancing might also help. Thanks!

John

Indeed we have an infinite number of dodges which Satan will offer for escaping sin. But confession and repentance is the only way out on offer.
Implied in there but not stated were tricks like renaming sins as virtues—rebelling against the Word of God becomes “humility” and when we embrace sins the culture wants to praise we “repent” of our previous Biblical convictions. Sad and twisty and all it does is kill our souls and spirits.

Roger

In regards to How to lose your Joy.
A wonderful and pertinent encouragement. I would like to underline your point that so many today try to minimize their sin. I am so disgusted with people calling sin a mistake. I even have heard that said in baptism testimonies and I seriously want to stand up and shout that my Savior didn’t die for mistakes but sin, and when you call your sin a mistake that is not confession or repentance!
In Christ,

Pilgrim Dave

Thank you so much for your hard hard labor over many years to be consistent and faithful. You’ve been a light to me and my family!
Background:
My pastor is a faithful teacher of the word, he believes in the 1689LBC, as does our church. He goes verse by verse, he preaches Christ first.
Our church is ‘reformed baptist’ pre millenneal; I lean Presbyterian, and post mill (thanks to you and James White), but it’s not a game changer.
Our church is rather small—(<50 on a Sunday), with half of those members being from one large family. We have two elders: pastor, and the family patriarch.
My Background: I’m a redneck from the South that grew up in a baptist church and was saved in my teens—I’m now in my 30s. We were taught to
say “ma’am”, help our neighbors, work hard, and lots and lots of guns.
Prelude to the questions:
One day I discovered that my pastor leaves all of his doors unlocked and doesn’t own a gun for ‘self defense’ . . . hunting rifles only..
I then asked, “So . . . if a few men broke into your house and said they’re taking your wife away to use as a prostitute (we just went through Judges), would you try and defend her by shooting them?”
He said, “I’d trust God to protect her.”, then, “I don’t think I could kill anyone..”
I immediately got very mad and said that he’s ignoring large parts of the Old Testament about self defense and protecting his family. He responded with Matthew 6:27, as if that scenario could never happen.
I responded, “I’m not worried at all, I can shoot straight.” and stormed off.
Questions:
Does my pastor’s decision to NOT defend his family:
1) Prove apostasy, meaning we call him out to the other elder, then the church?
2) Disqualify him from ministry? (same as 1?)
3) Necessitate we switch churches?
4) I’m wrong, and should go be a Mennonite?
5) I’m really really wrong and should turn in all my guns and trust God…

Brady

I’ve written a couple times but just wanted to express how thankful I am for your ministry.
I am so encouraged to trust God in these crazy town times and to do it with a joyful heart, instead of coming apart like a jenga tower as it seems a lot of folks are.
Thank you for speaking specifically to the pandemonium around us. Often times I hear, in general, general exhortations: “Worship God,” “Be a soldier for Christ,” etc. and those are well and good, but those general statements (when you make them) come with such force because you define what that means and you set them in context of what really is going on around us. I just listened to the talk you gave at the Believers Summit. Thank you again.
As an aside, I went to public schools and I am incredibly ignorant when it comes to history. What books would you recommend to someone with novice historical knowledge? I know very little about the various wars in America and the founding of America. Thanks for speaking against public school by the way. Grace and peace. I hope to visit Moscow soon as I have some family there.

Will

Thank you for your continued work and ministries; they are a blessing to me and so many others.
I am in a Christian community where it is becoming increasingly popular to say “I’m sorry” as a way to express sympathy, empathy, or regrets for another person’s difficult circumstances. I grew up in a church that taught Matthew 18 and biblical reconciliation, and that an apology (“I’m sorry”) is the beginning of repentance, as in “I’m sorry for [actual sin]. Will you please forgive me?” As such, I have a hard time saying “I’m sorry” when I have not been confronted with or convicted of personal sin against an individual or, in a lot of cases, when I am not even being accused of anything. Often, folks just want to hear me express “empathy,” which they also seem to not understand from a biblical perspective.
Do you believe the phrase “I’m sorry” is a perfectly legitimate phrase to be used regularly to express sympathy, regret for a tough situation, or empathy (sparingly)? Or is it a weighty phrase to be used only in repentance/reconciliation?

GW

Is it a sin to sell weed in a state where weed is illegal? If yes, why?

Jake

Hey Douglas, as my son said to me when I became a great grandfather. You always were a great grandfather, except now it’s “OFFICIAL” and I say that to you Douglas—now that you technically fill the bill. All the best,

Sam

I appreciated the tone and message of your TPUSA speech/sermon. It was a needed voice of hope and triumph in what feels like dark days. However, in our current political situation, it feels rather hopeless in terms of our options. We either have a man who has bragged about womanizing and taking advantage of women, or we have a woman who is as coherent and intelligent as a senile old man who can’t string a sentence together.
While I intend to vote my conscience this election cycle, all political situations in this country just feel hopeless. While I’m postmill to the core, and lean on that heavily to carry me through all this, I feel like I can’t discern what is right and what is wrong. I always feel like I’m being lied to, and feel as if I have to do a deep dive on every single political talking head’s life, history, and philosophy in order to find out the truth about them and what they stand for.
And that’s something I simply don’t have time or energy for. Do you have any advice for a young man like myself, who wants to be able to navigate political discourse, but struggles with trust issues with anyone outside his own family and church circle? God bless you and increase you in grace, faith, and repentance.

Kenneth

Do you have some good advice on what I could say to a fellow Believer (an Elder in my church.. mature, sober, and sincere) who bemoans that he is at a loss to vote for because of the evident shortcomings of both candidates?
I need to ask him specifically, but I’m guessing he doesn’t like Trump for the obvious reasons of his brashness, “meanness”, indecorous mouth, etc. and Kamala also for obvious reasons (but I plan to respectfully ask him specifically what he has against both of them).
He complained that he might have to grudgingly try to pick the lesser of two evils (yet he seemed to leave doubt about either not voting at all, or voting for a 3rd party, etc.)
He lamented and questioned, why wasn’t there a clearly Christian candidate for Christians to vote for.
As background, this godly man… as long as I have known him, in his mind and thinking and evaluations, etc. . . . this solid brother and gifted teacher . . . appears to still be living in the America from 50+ years ago. Like a godly man, he truly mourns over our plunge downward . . . And whereas I have become “jaded”, in a bad way, hardly surprised at anything, this brother seems to be constantly “shocked” at our current state, and at each and every outrage and foolish decision in the news.
You have probably already covered this . . . but could you please give me a good answer/questions, etc. for my Elder . . . and/or point me to something you’ve already done whereby I could try to convince him that there is only one clear choice for Christians to vote for this election? . . . and that (humanly speaking) we must vote for?
Thank you,

Robert

Thank you for your ongoing ministry and may the Lord continue to bless it in the years to come.
In one of your previous blog posts you mentioned that you planned to perhaps write a piece commenting on the FV statement and working through the headings one by one. Have you perhaps done this in the meantime or can I find something similar in some of your other writings? One of the points causing confusion is that union with Christ seems to be used in one place as that which all baptised Christians have, but later on it states that it is through this union that we are buried in Christ’s death, forgiven and raised to new life. Would you say there is a qualitative difference between these two types of union or how would you describe it, as the latter is clearly to be had by faith only?
Best regards,

Willem

It is worth asking who occupying or currently entering political office, when speaking of the COVID madness, or other leadership failures committed by authorities, would espouse such “regrets” about the recent past. And who in the next generation of leaders will have the character to resist this temptation, and by deed (and possibly by word) live as those who do not so build the tombs of their domineering forebears, and who’d not have done what they did.
Thank you; this was good, and I hope to revisit it.

Al

First, let me start with the requisite thanks for your ministry and continued faithfulness. Now onto the disagreement . . .
I believe that you are misreading the current moment when it comes the Trump and the Republican Party. It is obvious that the Democratic Party is completely given to ungodliness. No Christian can support their candidates or party platform. However, the recent change to the Republican party platform where abortion should be left to the states is its own type of ungodliness. Candidates who were reliably pro-life have kow-towed to this new thinking and it is truly hypocritical and wicked (looking at your Marco Rubio, JD Vance, and a host of others).
When you addressed this, you said something to the affect, “the R party platform states that abortion is up to the states and this is wrong. But if we elect the R’s, the federal government will be filled R’s who actually will govern in a ways that they believe abortion is wrong in all cases. If the R’s get elected, we will continue to get R judges that believe abortion is wrong in all cases. Trump and the R’s are communicating in a leftward direction compared to previous statements, but they will govern to the right” (Correct me if you disagree with that short summarization)
First, I think this is an awfully big assumption to make. Does anything about the way the RNC is communicating at the moment make you believe this will actually happen? You could point to Trump’s previous appointments, but even tho that got Roe overturned, it’s not like every Supreme Court appointee has been stellar (i.e. Neil Gorsuch on transgender rights was a whopper that seems to have been swept under the rug).
Second, I think your approach is incredibly short-sighted. Imagine a scenario with me. The Republican party announced their platform change on July 8. Imagine if on July 9 every pastor that was previously supporting Trump stood up and said, “this will not stand. We will abstain from casting a ballot for any Republican (and of course Democrat) until this policy is reversed. We will encourage our congregation and all evangelicals across this nation to do the same.” Let’s say just 10% of the evangelical vote shifted as a result. This would mean most certain loss for Trump and the R’s in November. Alarm bells would fly off at the RNC. They would have to switch back. There is no way they wouldn’t. This would lock the Republican party down as completely pro-life for generations.
The evangelical vote is completely taken for granted. And until we grow a backbone and say, “no, you may not allow for the killing of the unborn in word or deed” we will continue to be taken advantage of. I believe we must completely denounce the Republican Party until they repent of their own wickedness. Even if they don’t repent, they can be drug kicking and screaming. We have the power to do it, we just need the fortitude.
Tell me what you disagree about this analysis.
Thanks,

Roger

I read your blogs and letters every week to keep sanity in this crazy world! I thank God for your teaching, preaching, and leadership. Got a couple questions for you. But first, context. Our Priest-in-training this past Sunday gave a homily (Anglican Parish) to us on Luke 18:9-14. He explained to us that “Justification” essentially means : God declares you a member of his covenant family when you trust in Christ. Coming from a Presbyterian background (WCF), that definition of justification doesn’t sound correct. Should a red-light be going off in my head? He said nothing about God imputing the righteousness of Christ to the believer the moment you trust in Him. I think what he’s saying is coming from the NPP (i.e., N.T. Wright, etc). Would you recommend any books or articles to read that touch on this subject? I know Dr. Charles Hill doesn’t agree fully with N.T. Wright on the subject of justification. Would you have any other advice on this? Thank you again.

Michael

I’ve seen a trend in many churches in my denomination (PCA), even in the most conservative ones, that doesn’t quite sit well with me. I believe that women should not serve in any pastoral position or officer position in the church on biblical grounds, and I believe that includes any non-ordained staff position (except for “office secretary” and things like that). However, it seems that every PCA church that is hiring has men and women on the search committee. I’m having hard time seeing how a church that is committed to biblical gender roles could justify having multiple women on a search committee for a pastoral position. What are your thoughts on this?

Joe

Our denomination, along with the rest of the world, is seeing an increased number of singles. With that, there has been feedback from singles that they don’t feel as included or as central within the church body as married families. This feedback has driven an edit to our doctrinal statement that says that “we affirm that remaining single is equal to being married.” It’s a bit vague, but I believe the intent is to make singles not feel like they are subpar when it comes to living out a faithful Christian life. I’m also observing several resources being published and groups being formed to help singles feel like they are being recognized within the life of the church. Could you comment on how you would guide others think about these trends and responses regarding singleness?

ACQ

It’s become apparent to me as a former member of the CREC that the “familial” attitude that it takes toward church discipline—which you yourself advocate in Mother Kirk—can only lead to a lack of process for those involved; why need process when it’s just “mom and dad.” Why, then, should anyone trust that “theocratic libertarianism” wouldn’t devolve into the same sort of tyrannical governance system? You cannot separate ethics by institution; if those who run the church tolerate this sort of injustice, if they were to run the state, why should anyone assume it would be different? You can point to A Justice Primer all you like; but institutions should be judged by their fruit, not by theory. It’s clear that the CREC has no interest in reforming itself in this way; in light of that, there’s no reason to trust that its political program would run any differently.

K

I’ve been living with a sense of unease for some time now, as though a series of terrible events is about to unfold. As I’ve mentioned to a couple of acquaintances of mine recently, I can’t quite put my finger on it or articulate what it is that I sense, but whatever it is, it’s bad, and it’s big.
No doubt some of this feeling is linked to the recent assassination attempt and the upcoming election, but it seems like more than that.
Your post about spiritual prepping makes me think you may feel the same way.
Is the Spirit preparing us for something, and, if so, what is that something?

Seth

Re: Your response to Brian’s letter re: Ortlund & Basham (hopefully that’s clear!)
Pastor Wilson—
Thanks for engaging with the fallout from the Ortlund/Basham dustup. I must admit that I am disappointed in where you landed on the subject, but of particular irksomeness is the below argumentation that I’ve been seeing quite a bit and which is represented well by your quote:
“When [Ortlund] issued his protest, look at all the forces that rallied behind him.”
Pardon my impertinence, but this is fairly rich considering the kinds of folks who, on any given subject, might try to worm their way onto your “side”.
This is not a “sides” issue; it’s an issue between two people. The only thing that matters is the truth. I pray that the truth would be made clear. I’ll echo Brian’s sentiment—the most expedient way of uncovering the whole truth is for someone to facilitate a face-to-face conversation between Basham and Ortlund.
Thanks for all you do for the Kingdom.
In Christ,

John

A few weeks back I attended the Thank God for Bitcoin conference in Nashville.

I sensed a sizable CREC presence at the event (and in fact I met a few young fellows from Trinity Pres in Birmingham, where I live).

I just wanted to recommend to you the book of the same name. Very well written, about a 4 hour read, and extremely important in my opinion.

Hope you can check it out.

Grace and peace,

Dan

Regarding Creeds. Why would the church take down a visible creed acknowledging that our Triune God rules over all? And that in His Son Christ Jesus all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form being the head over all rule and authority and yet submits Himself to the Godhead. Acknowledging also that man must submit to Christ’s authority and take true responsibility-leadership for the three earthly spheres of sovereignty created by God. And that women have the honor of visibly proclaiming all of this in worship at His throne and before the angels, as she also submits to man as her head in these spheres. Why has the modern church taken this down? Thank you.

Steve