Roots by the River

Douglas Wilson Credenda Agenda Vol. 10 No. 2 Rumor thrives in two environments. The first is obvious. When men who love to wag the tongue are so undisciplined that they refuse to confirm what they pass on, the ninth commandment is clearly broken. The environment is that which is established by the lying tongue. The world has always contained many who have loved to live in this way—and Christians condemn all such gossip, slander, libel, and wild speculation, particularly when it has to do with a "ruler of your people" (Acts 23:5). But another breeding ground for rumor exists as well, and this is why we have seen such a remarkable explosion of astounding reports in recent years. This environment for rumor is created when the courts of justice have been hopelessly compromised and corrupted, and have been turned aside from their ordained and appointed use. When this happens, it means that those who have reasonable grounds to make an accusation are prevented from doing so b...

When we read rumors and stories on the internet, we do not know if they are true. Here are my comments. First, the Scripture: “ One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deut. 19:15). “Surely God is good to Israel,      to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;      I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant      when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles;      their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens;      they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace;      they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity;      their evil imaginations have no ...

“ In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed ” (Dan. 7:13-14). When Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man, He is referring to this person. The Jewish leaders knew what He was saying and did not like it. “ Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory ” (Matt. 24:30). “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoe...

I’d like to “read” to you the 73 rd Psalm. Surely God is good to Israel,      to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;      I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant      when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles;      their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens;      they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace;      they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity;      their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice;      with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven,      and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them    ...

We are approaching the time of year when we give special attention to the events that took place 1,970 years ago. This attention is given by Christians at this time because by these events we have received forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among the sanctified. The three events were Jesus’ crucifixion, His burial, and His resurrection. “From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’” (Matthew 16:21-22). “When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.’ And the disciples were filled with grief” (Matthew 17:22-23). Peter rebuked Him, then later...

God’s kind of righteousness is not passive. It has a positive effect on society. “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and “you are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Righteousness is not to be ineffective. Salt that is not salty is good for nothing. Light that is hidden is not light. Men do not praise God for bad deeds in the lives of Christians. These are principles which I would like to amplify further in a more radical way. There are two events in biblical history which take these truths to two opposite extremes. One is the destruction of Sodom, and the other is the minor defeat of Israel at Ai. The stories are found in Genesis 18-19 and Joshua 6-7. In the first case, God had promised the safety of a very wicked city if there were found in the city ten righteous people. In the other case, God allowed the defeat of a righteous nation by a wicked city because there was one unrighteous man in the camp. Thirty-six other men were killed because of this man’s unrighteou...

Dear Joe, Before I continue, I want you to know that I have always loved you and respected you. This love and respect have been separate from your performance; nevertheless, it is real. The following are perceptions of mine. I do not think they have been automatic causes in your slowing down in your journey toward God, but they have had some effect. ·        You are competitive. ·        You have been a perfectionist in the past. ·        You have been a subject of flattery in the past. ·        You have had a desire for wealth in the past. ·        You were not spiritually ready when you got married, nor did you catch up after you got married. If these perceptions are true, so what? You and your wife have had thousands of incidents in your life together that seem more important than these six thoughts. Whether she wanted...

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church” (Eph. 5:25-29). Note the last verse. The KJV says “nourishes and cherishes.” In Ephesians 6, Paul says that children are to be nurtured and admonished . Wives are to be nourished and cherished . Children are to be nourished and admonished. You must admonish your children. You must cherish your wife. You may not admonish your wife. If there is some moral infraction on her part, then you should handle it in the light of Galatians 6:1: “Brothers, if someone is caught in...

Some time ago, I received this question: “Why did you start your own church when you moved to Moscow? I am working in ministry in my church, but I am considering being a pastor. How do I know if I should leave this church to start my own or stay and keep trying to minister to the people here?” We came out to Idaho from Michigan to spy out the land in February 1971. In October ’72, fifteen months after we arrived, I was asked to substitute at the Grange church, which my family had been attending. In the meantime, we had been holding an afternoon house church in our home. In 1976, we shut down the afternoon house church because we did not want to compete with Community Evangelical Fellowship, the Moscow church that we started from the Grange in September 1975 because the congregation there was growing. The Grange grew and divided/planted again in 1976. I pastored both churches in Pullman for one year until another pastor was able to join us. The other church I pastored until I retir...