Wretched Radio begins in 3, 2, 1. We are the crowning glory of God's creation and all of nature was made for us. Nature is more productive because of us, not less. It's time for Wretched Radio with Todd Friel. It's officially official. Redundantly, this is Wretched Radio, just in case I didn't already have suspicions as to what kind of a theological dork I am. It was confirmed on Tuesday when I visited G3 Ministries in Douglasville, Georgia. Ain't never been, I think it's... west of the cities. It's on the way from Atlanta to Birmingham, and it is the home of the G3 Conference, which is now actually held in downtown Atlanta, which, by the way, as long as I brought up the subject, if you're looking to go to the G3 Conference, ain't no better deal than the one you are now going to hear about. Go to g3min.org. Check out all of the speakers, Paul Washer, Joe Beeky, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It's magnificent. It's huge. I think they're anticipating 8,500 people attending the G3 conference. Wowza. And you can get a 30% discount. It's the best deal in town. I ain't kidding. Just simply type in promo code FORTIS. That is we. FORTIS, F-O-R-T-I-S, all caps. When you're checking out, you're going to get 30% off. And I've spent some time at their HQ, which is actually inside of Praise Mill Baptist Church, which just in case everybody at Praise Mill Baptist Church didn't know, it's probably, no, I was going to say, One of the worst church names ever. But then I started thinking about Revolution Church, Journey Church. How many times do you think that church played Don't Stop Believing? All of these current cool names that focus on It used to be about, for better or for worse, what they would call St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. Now it's Feast Church, the incomparable U Church. Okay, I'm making that one up, but I wouldn't be surprised. Praise Mill Baptist Church in Douglasville. It's a big church and it is also the home of G3 Ministries and went to spend some time with them. did a podcast with them, and then, sitting around the table, having what some would call, wrongly, God's chicken, that's Chick-fil-A for the uninitiated, all we did was geek out. That is all just talking about the dorkiest stuff. And I thought to myself, oh, with the exception of Chick-fil-A, this is a taste of heaven. Because we know that if we're going to be sitting around talking theology, eating chicken sandwiches, it's going to be Zaxby's. The point is, it was delightful. And when I was done, I felt fed, not from Chick-fil-A, but spiritual nourishment. It was genuine, in its purest sense, it was Christian fellowship. I don't think we once talked politics and didn't even bring up the ridiculous Paula White and the Office of Faith inside of the White, nothing. It was just all theology. And when I left, I was like, why do I just feel so good? It's because Christian fellowship is not getting together to watch the game. Now that's sweet and that's fine, but it ain't nothing compared to genuine fellowship where the subject matter, the center of attention is Jesus Christ. And one of the subjects that we discussed with no small interest to me, especially having just read an article from ninemarks.org about church members voting on new church members. Does your church have a polity regarding new members? It most certainly does, even if it's not codified. They've got some sort of rule book that they follow. Even if unwritten, this is how we deal with new members. And it is a fascinating subject because, in my estimation, the Bible I think it gives us everything we need to operate a church well. But it doesn't give us so much that there's no liberty amongst churches to noodle through some of these things and make different decisions based on different zip codes. It's brilliant, in my estimation, because otherwise the Christian religion would be monolithic. Every church would be exactly the same. We'd all do the exact same thing. And, well, I guess that's not necessarily bad. Different churches, because of circumstances, giftings, resources, they got to do things differently. And so I think the Bible gives that sort of latitude. One of those subjects where I don't think anybody, no matter what their polity happens to be about church members, can definitively like bang the fist. This is exactly the way it needs to go. I think you can make some strong arguments, but I don't think you can be that fierce in your conclusion because we see church membership sprinkled throughout the New Testament starting in Acts chapter 2. Peter does some preaching, people get saved. What happens to them? They get saved, they get baptized, they get added to the church. Now, what was the timeline? Here's a theological conundrum for you. What is the connection, if any, between baptism and membership? Does somebody need to be baptized to be a member? Does somebody have to be a member to be baptized? Does getting baptized make you a member of the church? Is it a separate process? Wait a second, we're in Acts chapter two, does it say that there should be a process at all? Where does it say that there should be an examination by elders, which I believe is really wise, but it doesn't. Instead, it just tells us in a historical narrative section, this is what happened. And by the way, if I could suggest this little observational critique, I think it was, wow, two, well, a week ago, We were talking about these university, these revivals that are supposedly taking place. I think another one with the football team just happened in Ohio. Nevertheless, what's happening is, the one that Dalton went to and gave us a review on from the University of Kentucky, there was worship, there was some really bad teaching and preaching, and then there was a really, really good gospel presentation, and then they got baptized. And I overlooked something, the baptisms. Should they be done in horse troughs? on a football or basketball stadium floor in the back of rider truck rentals? Or should those baptisms take place in the context of a local church? Now you say the Ethiopian eunuch. Once again, we're dealing with an historical narrative. Where was the Ethiopian eunuch headed? Back home. He may well have been the first African believer. He was headed home. and he gets baptized. What, hey, hey, tell me, what do I need to do? I want, there's some water, Philip. Dip me, dunk me, which would be more biblical. Immerse me, because I want to be obedient. And he did, but it wasn't done in the context of the church. Well, they were in the middle of nowhere. He wanted to be obedient, which is a really good reminder. If you are a born again believer and you haven't been baptized, get on it. do it. In fact, I think we're going to be adding another guarding of the table announcement before we do communion at Delphi at a Bible church. If you haven't been baptized, you probably shouldn't be partaking of this meal, because baptism is a command. And if you're not willing to submit to that command, and that could even mean, all right, having heard that, I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. I'm OK. That's fine. Then take the table. But baptism should precede Lord's Supper. Nevertheless, you see the Ethiopian eunuch getting baptized in the middle of nowhere, and then he goes back home to no church whatsoever. And so if I made a rule that said, well, he must get baptized in the context of his local church, A, he didn't have one, B, it would have meant that he had to have to go back to Jerusalem to be a part of that church. And so Philip baptized him. So I don't think that we see something that is, this is prescriptive, either way. Again, I think the brilliance of God in church polity is some of the wiggle room, but I would suggest this. The ideal place for baptism isn't a horse trough. It should be, if possible, done in the context of a local church. So if these rallies, I think, wanted to do up their game a bit, rather than preaching the gospel and doing an altar call and then doing baptisms, how's about they say, here's the gospel. You need to respond right now, lest you die and be damned. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you've done that, get ready for this. Come up to the front, not to pray, not because it does anything, but because we're going to now connect you to a local church. not going to baptize you, going to get you connected to a local church. And if you're born again, then you can be eager to get baptized in the context of your local church. Having said all of that, that brings us back to the subject du jour, which is also the subject of the day. It is delicious. I think I'll have it. Should members vote on new members? What is church polity regarding new members? How do they get added to the body? Now, it's going to depend, of course, on whether or not you are elder rule, elder led, or congregational, or a stripe in between those to determine church membership. But I'm thinking, and believe me, I'm thinking, because these are important issues for the life and health of the church. right now at Alpharetta Bible Church, but we don't have the congregation vote on members. The elders, they interview them, and then they get added, they get presented to the body where we all affirm, yep, they're welcome here, and we will go about the business of walking alongside them, doing the one and others with them, praying for them, et cetera. But maybe, just maybe, there's not a biblical mandate, but more wisdom? and having the congregation vote what is that wisdom next on Wretched Radio. What if you could strengthen your marriage in just minutes a day? Well, we're making that possible and easier than ever before because now through the end of the month, we're giving away our resource, Drive By Marriage, completely free at fortisplus.org. And also don't forget to pick up the study guide absolutely free as well. Drive by Marriage gives you 31 powerful bite-sized lessons that fit into your busy schedule. And with the study guide, you're going to get deeper insights and practical exercises to apply what you're learning. 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The academic programs are most excellent, preparing students for the future. The Washington Post just said, number six for preparing students for the real world. All that plus... The Masters University isn't woke, and it is thoroughly biblical. Would you like to learn more? I encourage you to visit the Masters University at masters.edu slash wretched, masters.edu slash wretched. Ever feel like you're watching the culture shift beneath your feet? You're not alone, and you're not without allies either. At Fortis Institute, we've assembled a powerhouse team of biblical voices to help you navigate these challenging times. From Tim Challies to Brad Bickney to Adam Tyson and Greg Gifford, our fellows deliver daily content that transforms confusion into clarity. Whether you're tackling marriage challenges, parenting questions, or personal growth, Fortis Institute is ready with biblically grounded wisdom. We're not just offering commentary, we're providing a comprehensive toolkit for living boldly in an increasingly complex world. Through our daily podcasts and video content and live events, we're equipping believers to stand firm without wavering. And if you want to be part of something bigger, join the Fortis community today. Visit fortisinstitute.org and discover why thousands are turning to Fortis Institute as their trusted source for biblical wisdom. Because when the world seems to be turning upside down, we remain steadfast. It's Fortis Institute, where we're standing firm and standing together. Important dates in Christian history. 1793. William Carey sails as a missionary to India. In the next 40 years, he would oversee more Bible translations than had previously been produced in all of Christian history. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel. How did you become a member of your church? This is Wretched Radio. You say, well, I did what they asked. Okay, fair enough. But the question is, what did they ask? and who should do the asking and who should do the affirming. Let's all make sure that we understand the subject at hand is not one that should cause division. I believe that different churches are going to have, they already do have different church polity. And what about one of the last things in the world that I would want to divide from another group of genuine believers is whether or not the congregation votes on elders, Did they get presented? Did they get affirmed? Did the elders do it? Or do you just show up a few times and you're a member? I would not break fellowship over that. Nevertheless, it is a subject worthy of our consideration because while I did not agree with everything that Jonathan Lehman wrote in his book, Don't fire your congregation. The title alone is worthy of our consideration. Don't fire your congregation. Question, who should be doing the majority of work in the local church? In the West, because of our zip code, we do it a little differently here. Kind of the assumption is, well, it's the senior pastor, or it's the pastor that we pay. And then there's the other elders too, but basically that's his job. Now that isn't everybody, of course, but that's a lot of, I would say, evangelical Christianity in the West. But that's not what the Bible says about who should be doing the heavy lifting in the church. The work of the church should be done by the church. Yes, the elders are a part of the church, most certainly, but the body, if you will, those that don't hold that office, they are the ones who are to be equipped and trained in the work of the ministry by the elders, who then can say, my job here is through, because that is the job description. Yeah, preaching, teaching, rebuking, exhorting, all of those things, of course. But when it comes to doing the work of the church, it should be the elder's job to teach how, to encourage involvement, to equip them to do the work of the church. And maybe, just maybe, and I'm not being critical of any church in the way that they do their business of adding members, et cetera, but maybe, just maybe, the way that we go about church membership is kind of firing the congregation. It doesn't seek their involvement. I think we've shared this before, for whatever it's worth, my understanding, my thinking about church polity is that the elders should lead But that does not mean that the congregation is not involved. I think that there are certain wisdom issues. One of the strongest arguments for congregational involvement in any sort of church functioning, I think is the category of wisdom, that it's just plain dumb to not involve the congregation. Why wouldn't you ask these people who actually have Bibles? In fact, if you're in a good church, they have MacArthur study Bibles. They know stuff. Why wouldn't you want to tap into that? Now, does that mean everything? No. But it does mean things that I think are very personal that affect the congregation, like finances. budgets, spending, that the elders, they don't keep the books closed. They open them up and say, please, we want you to affirm. This is how we believe the money should be spent this year. Please vote. And then they've got a little wiggle room in there. There may be some of the funds are fungible, but they can't go out and buy a new building without congregational involvement. Why? Well, because It's lacking wisdom, and it involves them. They're gonna have to go to church in that building. Their gifts are going to go to the supporting of that building. Why wouldn't you want them involved in the decision-making process? I think calling a pastor would be another, but is it possible a third? Would be voting for new members. Let me share with you from Nine Marks Ministries. This is nine, the number nine, marks.org. Based on a number of verses, we see congregational involvement when it comes to the issue of, I'll put it this way just for the context that we're currently in, terminating membership. That's church discipline. The congregation is involved in saying, we vote, this person needs to be set outside of this local body. So the question then would be, should the congregation also have the responsibility to vote on bringing them through the front door, not just kicking them out the back door, but bringing them in, should they be a part of the door? You see the church discipline, of course, Matthew 18, 15 through 20, 1 Corinthians 5. You see this issue of authority given to the congregation. The kingdom of the keys are given to you. In other words, the congregation, now it's limited, but it has some responsibility and has some authority. What are the kingdom of the keys pertaining to? What does it unlock? What are you guarding with those keys? And the answer would be theology and making sure that there's nobody inside of the body that would give a black eye to your congregation and besmirch the name of Jesus Christ. So church discipline and guarding doctrine That's every member's job. And that's based on the keys of the kingdom. I'm not sure how much evangelicals we tend to talk about that subject. Seems to have gotten buried in Protestant history. It shouldn't. The priesthood of all believers, the keys of the kingdom, those are glorious doctrines that we should be talking about. Back to 9 Marks. Voting on members protects the church's gospel witness to the world. If someone is nominated for membership by the elders, then the congregation should ordinarily trust that a thorough orientation of the church's beliefs and elder interview has happened. This, by the way, this is a tangent, related, but a tangent. How much teaching do you need to do before you allow somebody to be a new member? How much sin might you observe in their life before you would go, oh, we got a problem here? Or what is the philosophy of your church when it comes to membership? Is it, we just want people to be members, they'll be underneath the authority of the church, and we'll work with them. Or is the philosophy, no, we don't want to let scoundrels in, so we're going to be much more thorough. I think there's certainly plenty of room for varying emphases in different congregations off of the tangent back to the text of the Nine Marks article. So the elders say, hey, we've vetted these guys. We've talked to them. They understand who we are because I think any sort of interviewing process, it is a two-way street. We want to get to know you and you should get to know us because we don't want you to be just surprised when we start talking about you can't lose your salvation. Wait, well, what? You teach what here? I think we should know those things going in to avoid any problems down the road. Now, I think it's handled different subject, but I think it's wise that those things are shared. So the elders say, yep, we're good to go. Congregation, we present them to you. In general, the congregation is going to go, cool, but. What if someone in the congregation knows that person, they work with that person, and they know about some unrepentant sin? Should that be ever considered? or brought up? I know of a church where the individual who is looking to become a member of the church, I can't remember exactly, but it's X number of months they have to live amongst the body so that the body can rub shoulders with them. How often are they showing up for church? Do they serve? Are they participating? Is there anything wonky going on? Then they vote. Again, I think there's lots of room for different takes on how different churches do this, but it's for the protection of the body. That's the point in this Nine Marks article. It protects the church's gospel witness to the world. Quote, a member's authority to object to a membership candidate safeguards against bringing an unbeliever into membership who could damage the reputation of the church in Christ. that you maybe keep a wolf in sheep's clothing out of your church. Voting on members chooses who will watch over your life for gospel faithfulness. You say, I don't think that I understood that sentence. We're to be looking out for one another. Once again, the kingdom of the keys, the priesthood of all believers. We wanna make sure that everybody in the body is thinking rightly about scripture. You have that responsibility to me and I have it to you. Elder, office aside, for one another, we're to protect one another. We're to be looking out for one another, guarding one another, helping, pointing out, rebuking, exhorting. You wanna let just anybody do that? Conclusion from Nine Marks. Careful votes for new members will help preserve the gospel in your own life. When someone is voted into membership, they're receiving the authority to carry out God-given responsibilities. Would I say it's a law that you gotta do it this way or that way? I don't think that I have the authority to do that, but maybe, just maybe, we should be considering. How do we go about the business of church membership and why? That was the geeky conversation I had at G3. I won't even get into the geeky conversation we had about the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ and the mingling of the two natures, but it was totally delightful. If you plan on going to the G3 conference, visit g3min.org. Fortis, capital F, capital O, capital R, capital T-I-S, Fortis will get you 30% off. This is Wretched Radio. Books of the Bible Colossians was written by Paul to combat false teaching, which taught adherence to dietary laws and religious festivals, and claimed special knowledge received through visions. Paul argues that Christ's sacrifice and revelation are sufficient for salvation. When you are tempted to add to the gospel, remember, Jesus is sufficient, and you can trust in Him. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel. and his gay son that's pretty explanatory the young man who's writing this article which by the way it's a very well-crafted article which i actually appreciate it because so many articles oh yeah they're either sold slanted. They so miss the point and they don't deliver on the promise of the headliner. They bury the lead. Well-written article that I think can be instructive for us because the dad went from being what he calls as a Jesus freak in the 1990s, became an evangelical pastor. He believed homosexuality to be a grave sin. and had no idea what to do when his brother came out. So he and his, the pastor dad, he and his brother were estranged because the brother came out, but now his son is about to come out. And this Jesus freak is gonna go through a transformation that I believe is instructive for us. How does somebody go from saying, the Bible is quite clear this is a sin, to being not just affirming, but promoting that lifestyle? Wow, that is a journey. And I think some of this is pretty intuitive. Well, the emotions, the sentiment. Yeah, you're gonna hear that a lot, but I think there's more. I think there's more to this. I can't say definitively because I'm just working with what's given in this article here, but I think we're going to hear about a pastor where maybe there were chinks in the wall that could have been identified, that were already there before his 13-year-old son came out to him and to his wife. And I think it might be instructive for us from the article. When I came out to him and my mother, it upended their lives and the life of our neighborhood church in Southern California. It sent my father on a winding, high-stakes spiritual, emotional, and interpersonal journey that lasted years. I don't know that it did. I think that what we're gonna hear in this article is that the soil was already prepared for this. Now, he's still a pastor, but also the most impressive advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in the church I've ever met. Well, that is a journey. And we're gonna chart it because the man kept a journal. He was a journaler. And it's actually kind of cool. He wrote his journal to the Lord, telling the Lord about his day's events, how he dealt with things, how he was feeling about things. So from the journal, this is from 2013. Please note the date, 2013. The son is 13 years old. They go for a walk to Starbucks and the young man says, well, maybe a little, I'm kind of attracted to guys. And it sets dad into saying, well, you know, we can work through that, et cetera. But the dad wrote in his journal, I don't know if I've ever been part of a sadder conversation. My heart is devastated. I told my wife last night, it feels like someone crushed my sternum and was pounding on my heart. At times, I think it's an actual physical pain in my chest. It hurts so bad. You can imagine that pain, can't you? And in this journal, he reflects on the potential consequences. my congregation would have problems with me affirming my son in his lifestyle. So now it's a choice, isn't it? Do I affirm my son in his sin, or do I affirm what my Lord and Master clearly teaches as the standard for human sexuality? He wrote this, May 13, May 2013. I think deep down, I hate homosexuality. I hate it more than just about anything else in the world. Now listen to this line. This is the dad writing. I hate it because it seems sometimes to be stronger than you, God. Yes, that's what I said. It seems that way. Hmm. Not sure that that is the solid conviction for a biblicist who stands solely on the word of God. If you're feeling like something might have the ability or it just even appears to be stronger than God, let's continue. We fast forward to March, 2015. Now this is when the young man formally comes out. So two years later, the kid talked about it, suggested maybe, but now he's coming on saying mom and dad, I'm gay," he writes this in his journal. I was surprised by just how little dread Timothy was experiencing. He shared a couple of times how he's confident it's going to work out well and that he's even excited about it. Wow, that's just not what I was expecting. He was excited to show the world that you can be a Christian and be gay. My estimation, this guy's theology was established in these two years. I don't know how it worked out exactly, but in the course of these two years, he went from, quote, I hate homosexuality to, hey, How cool, my son is gonna show the world you can be Christian and be gay. Quote, he clearly said he wants his identity in God to come first, which was music to my ears. I felt hopeful for the first time that you might be working all things together for good and actually wanting to expand your kingdom through my son. He thinks so, and I feel a lot of serenity trusting that you are at work. This isn't a man who took long to work through the issue and change his mind. I haven't talked to them, but I think we can understand how a dad would feel, whoa, this is hard. But for a dad to say, this is hard, this is disappointing, this is sad, I feel like I'm having a heart attack, is radically different than, I think God is good with it now. That doesn't happen overnight. That's established. That's already there. And this is from the journal, still 2015, from the dad. I feel frustrated with you, father. The scriptures just don't seem all that clear anymore. And this is a big issue with huge stakes. So what are we to do in this case of a big issue with no clarity? All right, that is a man who is approaching scripture, trying to make it read what he wants it to read in his heart. He wants the Bible to suddenly become malleable when historically for him it was crystal clear. But now because of the influence of a loved one, the potential of a devastating loss with one's own beloved child, suddenly the Bible gets confusing. And isn't that why we see all the time in these denominations, in fact, it even happens in the context of this man's church, let's just do a study on this subject. Let's just take a look and see what the Bible says. Well, every single time historically, that means, well, we've actually already made a decision, but we got to figure out a way to get God in line with our thinking. Neither side, he wrote, seems completely satisfied or convinced. And neither is completely convincing. That's utterly ludicrous. Could you do that with murder? Could you do that with rape? And the answer is no. And the same thing is true with the sin of homosexuality. It's very clear in the Bible. Quote from July 4th, 2015. I'm sad I don't feel like I've been good enough, Father, to prevent Timothy from being gay. I'm mad about this as well, Father. I'm mad because I did everything right and you didn't come through on your end of the bargain. All right. So the premise was this is a conservative evangelical dad who worked through the issue and came out on the other side. And I would say he wasn't a conservative evangelical. A conservative evangelical simply doesn't talk like this. I'm mad at you because you didn't deliver. Hey, I was good. I was obedient. I raised my son the way you said, and it wasn't easy. It took a lot of effort, and you give me this? That's instructive. September 5th. Now, the boy's been out of the closet for what, about six months now? My theology is changing, Father. It's been a deep undercurrent for a couple of years now, but it's surfacing in new ways with real potency. I think that there are some things that are unnerving me. The first is that I no longer know how to read the scriptures. That's the issue. He's changing his hermeneutic. He's reading external sources, and it will compromise the way that you go about the business of reading what is very plain. Second, it's unnerving for me in regard to morality. If I can get to the point where homosexuality is moral, how does that change the rest of my morality? Huh, what about cussing, generosity, lying? How situational do things become? How open are the scriptures to reinterpretation on these things? And how about universalism, heaven and hell? This is a man who actually I don't think was ever tethered rightly to scripture. because somebody doesn't unravel that quickly. And it goes on. Another man is actually an advocate for trans inclusion, et cetera. What do we do with this? I think we need to be aware. First of all, just from a ministerial standpoint, which we all are for one another, if you know somebody in your congregation who has experienced this, I think we'd do well to appreciate just how hard that would be. But I think individually, whether it is this sin or any other sin, we need to recognize when a loved one cannot escape a particular sin, we might be inclined to compromise. And if we go about the business of thinking the Bible is malleable and we can reinterpret it, well then the floodgates are open, you are off to the races and you will ultimately end up affirming just about everything and anything. The Bible is the key. Question, what is your assurance? What is your confidence that that book is clear? This is Wretched Radio. Hey, thanks for listening to Wretched Radio today. You know that moment when you're scrolling through your newsfeed on social media and everything just feels upside down? Yeah, that's the culture we're living in right now. But you know what gets me excited? At Fortis Institute, we're not just watching on the sidelines. We've assembled a team of incredible voices who are diving deep into God's word every single day. I'm talking about Dr. John Kratz helping you integrate theology into real life, or Dr. Adam Tyson who is speaking truth into young men's hearts, or Pastor Brad Bigney transforming marriages from surviving to thriving. But here's the thing, while we're standing strong, that's what Fortis means by the way, we need gospel partners who'll stand with us. People who will look at the culture and say, you know what? The church needs more than just encouragement. It needs equipping. We're not starting something new at Fortis. We're strengthening something vital. And so if you're ready to join us in this mission, if you're ready to help us equip believers with truth that transforms, then head over to FortisInstitute.org right now to find out how to become an ongoing monthly gospel partner. Wretched, amazing grace, amazing gospel. the life issue, we cannot disengage from the battle. And there is a way that you can win a life and rescue a soldier who's about to be executed through abortion, preborn.org slash wretched. Ultrasounds still save lives. These pregnancy centers that progressives would love to shut down or arrest people for praying in front of abortuaries, they're still doing excellent work and babies are still being rescued. This is a tangible way to save a life. An ultrasound is $28. 80% of the time, mom chooses life. Want to engage in the battle? This ain't about politics. This is about saving those who are staggering to the slaughter. Period. Preborn.org slash wretched. Preborn.org slash wretched. For 25 years, we've watched Christianity's place in America change dramatically. This is Wretched Radio. But one thing hasn't changed. Our commitment to proclaiming God's truth without compromise. A quarter century of preaching the gospel, equipping others to preach the gospel, and strengthening the local church. 25 years of equipping pastors. 25 years of helping Christians navigate an ever-changing world with biblical wisdom. From our early days to our current home at Fortis Institute, we've had one mission, equipping believers to stand firm in their faith. Today, we're creating more content than ever before. Hundreds of hours of audio and video resources, daily biblical teaching and tools to help you thrive. Thank you for standing firm with us for a quarter century. Together, we built something extraordinary for the kingdom of God. Visit fortisinstitute.org and join us as we continue this vital work, 25 years of together, faithfully serving our King. And we're just getting started. Until tomorrow, go serve your King. Titles of Christ. In the Bible, Jesus is given many titles that teach us about who he is and what he has done. Jesus is called the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd protects, directs, provides and cares for his sheep. Jesus laid down his life for his sheep. No one can snatch them out of his hand. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Freel. What happened to him? Could happen to you? This is Wretched Radio, New York Times, presenting an article in no doubt an ongoing effort to try to persuade the world, specifically evangelicals, you don't have to affirm what the Bible clearly states about sexual mores. Look, this guy that we're featuring in an article, 21 pages worth, he was a conservative evangelical, a Jesus freak. But when his son came out, he worked through it. I don't think it took nearly as long as they would like us to believe. He worked through it and now he's LGBTQ affirming. In fact, he wrote into his journal, I thank you, God, for taking me through this journey. I've never been happier now that I'm LGBTQ affirming. That is a pastor who was influenced by the love of his son which overshadowed his love for the Son. And that needs to be noted well. You could get hit by... Now, it might not be this issue, but what if a loved one gets an illness? Will it change your theology about the doctrine of God's goodness? What if you've been doing everything right? According to this fellow, he was doing everything right as a parent, working really hard to raise his boy up to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and now this God? I think that stems from a confusion. It's a confusion that this is a quid pro quo system, that we do this stuff and God is bound to do these things for us. It doesn't work that way. In fact, I would say 2 Peter, probably chapters two and three, especially three, talk about this. These are people whose latter end becomes worse than the first because they're trying to be moral, but then things don't work out. God doesn't appear to deliver, something hard happens, and their latter end becomes worse than the first. In other words, we need to have our bibliology clear, we need to have a clear understanding of how to read the Bible, we need to settle our convictions on these subjects, and we need to remember that our feelings do not drive the interpretive process. The interpretive process is driven by God himself, who's the author of scripture, who's clearly trying to communicate something. And you can go into a bag of liberal tricks to try to figure out a way to make it say something that it doesn't, if you want to, but we need to be willing to submit to what the Bible clearly says. And most likely for you, the LGBTQ issue isn't personal. So it's pretty easy to, yeah, this is what the Bible says, but that could be challenged if a loved one like this pastor's son comes out. To say that there would be no sentiments or no like, wow, or to not feel like the wind was taken out of your sails? Come on, we can still hold to the doctrine of sovereignty and recognize that there's real human pain in stories like this. There's no pain quite like family pain. but that doesn't mean you compromise your worldview. Jimmy, during the break, you were saying some stuff about dear old dad. Yeah. I just said that, um, um, where he wrote, where you read in the article where he had written that, uh, he had never been part of a sadder conversation. Yeah. That that's accurate. I would believe. And I think that's, that's where he should have stayed. Look, I don't, I don't know the guy. And I'm pretty certain he'd go, no, that's not true. But looking from a distance, and they were the ones who put this out in the public view for perusal in the New York Times, and I'm sure dad must have been OK with what was written. I think that what we see here is a man made a choice between his son and the son. He did not want to see his son lost, separated. He knows what happens in so many families. And so what did he do? He capitulated on his theological beliefs in order to be able to affirm his son so that the relationship could be strong. And by the way, according to the article, the man is still pastoring in California and the son actually goes to the church. Now, what should that man have done? Jimmy, I agree, sadness for a season would most certainly be a part of it. But then we've got to ask ourselves the question, despite my heartbreak, what does the Lord call me to do? Affirm somebody in their sin or to help them see that despite their inclinations, that sin is exceedingly sinful. and it needs to be repented of, turned from, and God can give you a fulfilling life, even if you are single the rest of your days, because that is God's will for your life. Godliness, and it's usually connected, incidentally, not exclusively, but usually, to sexual issues, that you walk in sexual purity. Whatever your proclivity happens to be, that's where dad should have gone. Could it have jeopardized the relationship? Yep. Could it have caused a rip? Yep. Sure could have. Which would have been even more heartbreak, and you can't deny that. But that's what our Lord calls us to. He promised families are going to get divided. We don't look to do it. We don't become reckless or cavalier. Whatever. Go ahead. Don't ever call me ever again. Fine. Out of my life. I don't care. You're kind of a mess when you come over anyway. No, but it's going to happen. It might happen to you when you're invited to go to the gay wedding. It could happen. What are you going to do? I know why it is a debated issue at all inside of evangelical circles. Not because of the lack of clarity in the Bible. I think the Bible is pretty obvious that you should not go to something like that because your presence would be affirming a sinful event and activity. But it's because of the heart connection. God, family, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. And so I think we'd all do well to remember, okay, my primary family, first of all, is a Trinitarian family, then the family of God, then my biological family. I gotta set that order in place. Now, there were a couple of things that this fellow, this pastor wrote in his journal that I thought were instructive theologically. This is what he wrote now that he's out with affirming his son and the entire LGBTQ community. I read in the Bible about God granting Israel a king, even though it was an outright rebellion to God that they wanted one. And then God goes and blesses the king, including royal psalms being written and God granting a covenant with David to always have an heir on the throne. God accommodated situations that were not his original idea and even blessed people in non-ideal stations of life. Non-ideal is different than rebellious, sin, willful, wanton, disregard of a clear mandate in Scripture. Right. The best government for people is God. And the people said, no, we want a king. They chose the lesser. It's not sinful per se to live under a king. This was a heart issue. And if I can use an anthropomorphism, a way that we speak, it breaks God's heart. But God would never set somebody up to be able to sin. Did he permit, for instance, the altars in the high places to stay? Sure, he could have zapped them from heaven and obliterated all of them, but he didn't. Does that mean he affirms Baal worship? Of course not. He continues, I can't get away from how radically inclusive Jesus was of all people. and how freely he extended welcome into the kingdom of God. That is not remotely close to a fair reading of scripture, not even close. Was Jesus affirming of people how radically inclusive he was, that he extended the welcome into the kingdom of God? Hold on, that this happens all the time when it comes to argumentation and debate. This thing doesn't match this thing, but I use this thing to make this point. Did you hear the distinction here? Jesus was radically inclusive. Okay, that's something that progressive, he's radically inclusive. How he extended welcome into the kingdom of God. That's a different thing. It's not the same thing. Saying, hey, you could be welcome into the kingdom of God is not the same thing as being inclusive. Why? Because what is the entrance into the kingdom of God? We don't have to look long because if we read the gospel of Mark, we find it in the very first chapter from the mouth of our savior himself. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent. and believe the gospel that isn't inclusive he said himself he's the way the truth the light many on that day will say lord lord and how's about his treatment of the religious leaders go read from matthew chapter 22 even earlier than that 21 22 into the scathing denunciation of the religious hypocrites in Matthew 23. And what did he say every time? In the 23? Whoa. No, no, no, no. Every time that he spoke to a sinner, go and sin no more. Well, there's that. I mean, that's exclusive. Now, here comes more. And this is worth studying just so that we can be equipped to respond. He consistently affirms and blesses the outsider. No, he doesn't. The rich young ruler walked away sad. The minority and the marginalized, yes, Jesus guts churned for the lost sheep of Israel, for the poor, for the sick, but that doesn't mean he affirmed them in their sin. Jesus extended unconditional love to all. No, Jesus loved everybody, but loving somebody is not the same as saying you're affirmed in the kingdom of God. And he said that all the commands in the scriptures find their fulfillment in love. Well, that's Matthew chapter 22. Again, preaching on that this Sunday at alpharadabiblechurch.org. That is, that is, he was simply summarizing the commandments. That the command, the two tables, if you will, that God, man, love, love. But that doesn't mean all of the commandments just go away so that you affirm somebody because if you tell them that they're living in sin, they're wrong and that's not loving. These arguments, They just come from a low view and low reading of the Bible. Until tomorrow, go serve your king.