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Do you have a question that you’d like to ask Pastor Wilson? If so, we’d love to hear it. While we don’t anticipate being able to get to them all, we’ll grab selected questions each week and see what he has to say. The more your question asks for principals (rather than situation specific advice), the more helpful it will be to a broad audience and therefore the more likely we are to throw it at Doug. So go ahead, ask by submitting a comment to this post (and feel free to leave the contact info blank – it is not required)…
760 Comments
Is it ok to work for the federal government?
Doug, How does an adult child honor his father and mother who are not Christians (but think they are) while at the same time faithfully presenting the gospel, which exposes their sin and leaves them angry?
sorry, put that in the wrong spot..feel slightly foolish.
Should Christians fast?
I have been studying Deuteronomy for a few months now, and am having a difficult time understanding the NT use of the OT laws. Sometimes the NT speaks very positively of the law (Rom. 7.12, 22), and sometimes very negatively (Gal. 2.19), yet the OT law has good purposes (Gal. 3.24, 1 Tim. 1.8). Additionally, in the Reformed tradition there is even disagreement (Willem Vangemerren – Reformed/non-theonomic cf. Greg Bahnsen – Reformed/theonomic).
What is your take on the NT use of the OT law and its application today? Am I opening up too big a can of worms without an undergrad, much less seminary degree?
Do you believe in the eternal subordination of the Son? Do you consider this a vital doctrine? If you do believe it, how do you deal with passages like Hebrews 1:5, when God seems to speak of a point in time when Jesus took the role of Son, given him by the Father? If this isn’t referring to a time when Jesus was given that role, wouldn’t it lead to Arianism?
I’ve been watching an old Perry Mason movie. Noted that the star, Raymond Burr, looks much like Doug.
Doug,
I have a lot of friends who talk bad about the idea of religion but say that they love Jesus. There is a viral video titled “jesus>Religion”, it says that Jesus came to abolish religion. What is a good response to these people to show them the error of this belief and how dangerous it is?
Would you say there is a right place for guilt and shame? I heard a pastor recently tell his congregation, “Guilt and shame are not tools of the Father. Why should you feel guilt or shame for something that Christ payed for?” He never qualified it. He did not point out that if there was any sitting there who did not know Christ, they are guilty sinners. Also, shouldn’t believers feel guilty when we sin? Isn’t this closely tied to the godly sorrow that Paul says leads to repentance?
Shouldn’t the spouse who claims to be a Christian feel guilt for cheating? Shouldn’t a child feel guilt for dishonoring his parent? Shouldn’t a thief feel guilty for stealing?
Could a reformed baptist hold to federal vision theology?
You might find this helpful: http://www.federal-vision.com/?p=10
A Reformed Baptist overall could not submit to most of the Federal Vision theology because of the core issue of covenant (working within the Presbyterian anti-dispensationalist form– Hence Isreal was cut off and the New Covenant people are those of the fulfilled Covenantal Israel; The Church is the New Israel; Supercessionism). The Federal Vision is a renewed focus on covenant including what it means for a child who is in covenant; as the covenant in Christ is new in the sense that the ceremonial law was fulfilled and that there is a fuller revelation and fuller pouring out of the Holy Spirit. This means that according to most FVers, this necessarily requires one to adhere to child/infant communion–communion paedocommunion– with infant baptism (paedobaptism). Where the FV would agree with Reformed Baptist is that there are no Half-Covenant or Partial Covenant members. If one is part of the covenant one has full priveledged of the covenant (unless under church discipline). However, the writings of Norman Shepherd being an influence upon the Federal Vision (not the false views of his teachings as described by most of Norman’s critics) are open to adoption by Reformed Baptists in the sense of a rejection of there ever being any sense of meriting salvation (earning salvation) and an emphasis on being justified because of Christ’s faithful obedience unto death upon a cross for our sakes– fulling the proper role of the 2nd Adam as Federal Head of his people– and him being raised for our Justification as Christ was deemed righteous/not guilty so we united in Him likewise have such a declaration upon us as united to Him and redeemed by his propitiating blood. Norman Shepherd rejects the active obedience by denying that merit ever was part of God’s dealings with His creation. Man never earned God’s favor, but was to live in faith with God which faith is living and active, true faith works, those who love the Lord (implying that you can only truly love the Lord by trusting in Him) obey his commandments (to not obey would be to not have faith… Hath God Said?). Hence Christ was the faithful-obedient one for his chosen people. This can be affirmed by Reformed Baptists, but might really lead you by later understood implications to a Reformed paedobaptist position.
Here is attempt number 2.
Doug, How does an adult child honor his father and mother who are not Christians (but think they are) while at the same time faithfully presenting the gospel, which exposes their sin and leaves them angry?
Good question!
We will soon be doing a series on “Fatherhood” which will address these kinds of questions in detail.
Thanks,
Daniel, Producer
Pls discuss the issue of big government. Thanks.
What is your position on Mixed Martial Acts? Is this a “christian liberty” issue?
How should a Christian family deal with having other Christian families into their home who do not share the same “house rules”? For example: their children climb/jump on the furniture, consistently destroy or break toys, or explore items and rooms without invitation.
Dear Pastor Doug,
Since your vision is to build a community that seeks “all of Christ for all of life,” do you hope to expand NSA to offer undergraduate degree programs in fields of study such as the sciences, engineering, nursing, architecture, music, modern languages, and so on?
Sincerely,
Y. A.
Doug, should Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday (ash and all)?
Hey Doug,
I heard a professor say that your view of the covenant seems to reduce to this: by baptism one enters the NC (and has the Spirit), then if that person is not elect, they fall away and break the covenant and lose the Spirit. Is this correct (primarily in reference to the Spirit), and if so what is the justification for it?
My father was for all intents and purposes a minister, and has abandoned the faith for a life of homosexuality. What principals dictate a christian’s contact with those who have entered into a life of sin, and how would those be different if that person is your father? DO the commands to not share meals or socailize with those who have abandoned the faith include family members? Are these principals applied differently because I am a minister? I would be greatful for your help.
p.s. I desperately want to follow what the Lord has commanded of us. I know that His commands do not contradict one another, but the command to honor my father and the command to discontinue fellowship seem at the surface level to conflict with one another. Could you clear up this picture and thicken my window? Thanks again.
Caring about your father out of love and respect for his function as your father should continue (he does not stop being your father, just because he’s an unrepentant sinner). Continuing to honor your father by loving him and caring for him, overtures should be made to him to repent and believe in the Lord’s satisfaction of justice and the requirements of living in light of this (Those who love Me, obey My commandments… etc). Due to his turning away from Christ, He currently is under a much heavier curse than those who never embraced Christ. I would beware of how you socialize with your father, given his changed lifestyle (Do not act like all is well, and that you approve of your father’s state and his apostasy). I would suggest that you let your time spent with your father be one that does not seek “neutral ground”, but be one in which you act blamelessly in honoring and loving your father, but gives the proper honor to your True Father in Heaven by promoting a Godly environment-household-family-attitude which sets forth the reality of the Biblical Worldview and by addressing your father according to that worldview. I hope this helps, this is as far as I am able to think the biblical position, any faults here are my own. Another way to look at is to understand that a wife does not have grounds to divorce her husband just because he does not adhere to the Christian faith or has walked away from the Christian faith, the Christian wife must still interact with her husband lovingly, hoping her witness to Christ by her deeds are noticed and he is won over or he repents of his apostasy.
My church is a Reformed Episcopal Church and we are happy there though our leanings are pretty CREC-ish. We have only been in a liturgical church for a few years and are little puzzled about the practice of observing Lent. We want to fast corporately but are not convinced about the benefit of this particularly prescriptive measure. What is your take on the value (or lack of value) of observing Lent?
Should pastors tithe? In other words, should I tithe back to the church that supports me? Paul seems to take some cue from the law when talking about minister’s compensation. What is the correlation between the levitical priests and modern vocational pastors in terms of compensation?
I’m a Bible teacher at a Christian High School.
One comment, subtly or outrightly, I’ve heard students made has been: “I’m afraid that God is mad at me. That’s why I don’t pray or read my Bible like I ought to.”
How would you answer or counsel a teen in this matter?
Doug,
Now that Jesus is sitting on the throne at the right hand of God, is His relationship to the father still a submissive one?
Thanks
Nathan Foy
In your intro to this “ask Doug” thing, you use the word “principal.” Should that be “principle?”
I’ll try again since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday: any thoughts on whether or not Ash Wednesday is ok or not? Many conservative reformed congregations practise this (Ash and all). Is is simply a leftover resedue from Rome or is there a richer church history behind this tradition?
Marcus, I won’t be able to get that in before tomorrow, but this may answer you question: http://www.dougwils.com/Church-Year/a-lenten-meditation-for-meat-lovers.html
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