Mailbag Friday: Can Online Sermons Hurt Your Soul?

Summary

Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

Episode: Mailbag Friday: Can Online Sermons Hurt Your Soul?
Date: May 15, 2026
Host: Todd Friel (with Jimmy Hicks and others)
Podcast: Wretched Radio, Fortis Institute Production

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Overview

This Mailbag Friday episode of Wretched Radio centers on listener-submitted theological questions and church-related dilemmas. The hosts, led by Todd Friel, along with co-host Jimmy Hicks and occasional guest theologians, tackle topics like church cliques, pastoral appreciation, online sermons, the role of evangelists, women preaching, Christian liberty, and other practical Christian living matters. Their tone is lighthearted, direct, sometimes humorous, but always with a focus on biblical fidelity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Church Cliques and Coldness ([02:00]–[04:40])

• Listener Comment: Theresa shares her struggle with a church that “is very do solid but also cliquey.”
  • She overcomes her resentment by praying for the congregation and intentionally reaching out, building deeper relationships through small acts of care.
    Quote:

    “It took my mind off expecting things from them and put it towards being productive for me to care for them... It was worth the effort.” — Theresa (read by co-host Jimmy, [03:08])

• Hosts’ Reflection: Cliques may be more visible in some conservative settings, but are universally human. Warmth can exist side-by-side with strong teaching.
  • Jimmy:

    “Not every Bible teaching church is cold... But we do see it a fair amount in conservative churches.” ([02:47])

  • Advice: Initiate contact; small steps (like praying for each other’s requests) foster warmth.

2. Appreciating Pastors – Appropriate Gift Giving ([04:45]–[06:13])

• Listener Question: Is it appropriate for a woman to give her pastor a gift of thanks?
  • Hosts: Yes, but be discreet and attach a clear note to avoid misunderstandings.
    Quote:

    “Pastors need encouragement. They’re doing stuff... all day dealing with the needs of the sheep. Nobody sees it, nobody knows.” — Jimmy Hicks ([05:00])

• Don’t let cultural suspicion about gender roles prevent genuine encouragement.

3. The Nature of Heaven and the Fall of Satan ([06:20]–[07:40])

• Question: If heaven is perfect, how could Satan rebel?
  • Answer: Before final glorification, the angels had the capacity to rebel. In the eternal state, believers will not have this ability; Christ’s salvation is “efficacious enough to save you forever.” ([06:28])

4. The Office of the Evangelist ([07:43]–[11:30])

• Question: Why don't most churches have an “evangelist” (per Ephesians 4)?
  • Insight: Many overlook the evangelist office. Paul Washer asserted there are three offices (elder, deacon, evangelist). An evangelist doesn’t hold authority but equips others for outreach, especially important for multiplication of the Gospel.
  • Impact Statement:

    “Train your people how to evangelize…Multiplication.” — Jimmy Hicks ([10:23])

5. Should Online Sermons Replace Local Teaching? ([15:37]–[17:15])

• Listener Concern: Should Christians only sit under pastors who know them personally (thus never consume online teaching)?
  • Answers:
    • There is value in shepherds who know their flock—they tailor teaching.
    • Nothing in Scripture forbids learning from gifted teachers you don’t know personally (e.g., reading Paul’s letters).
    • Local pastors’ sermons “are better, they’re more pointed,” but “there’s no reason to cancel someone who’s not your pastor.” ([15:56])

6. Nicotine Pouches and Christian Liberty ([17:19]–[19:47])

• Question: Do nicotine pouches or gum fall under the sin of drunkenness?
  • Answer: No, nicotine is not biblically prohibited, though it can be misused. Using patches as a step to quit smoking may be “almost like medicine.” Commitment is needed to truly quit.

7. Women Preaching on Mother’s Day ([20:37]–[25:00])

• Question: Should one attend church if a woman is preaching?
  • Hosts: Strongly advise against it; this is “clear prohibition.” Attending could be seen as endorsing disobedience. Historically, opening pastoral roles to women is a precursor to further theological compromise.
  • Quote:

    “The entire time she’s standing there, she’s sinning there. And so would be the elders who said this is a good idea.” — Jimmy Hicks ([20:52])

8. Growing in Love for God's Word ([24:43]–[25:54])

• Question: How do you develop love for Scripture?
  • Brief Answer: Just read it. The more you read, the more you’ll love God’s Word.

9. Baptismal Regeneration and Salvation ([34:24]–[40:19], [44:00]–[49:09])

• Question: Are members of “Baptism saves Church of Christ” genuine believers?
  • Analysis: Teaching that baptism is essential for salvation is heresy (“adds to the gospel”). Individual belief must be explored—some may not truly understand the issue.
  • Advice: Don’t assume everyone in such churches is lost—discuss personally, use Galatians (especially ch. 4–5) and Acts 2 to clarify biblical doctrine.
  • Notable Quote (Guest Expert):

    “If someone believes that they’re not converted until they get to the water and they’re converted after they come out of the water, then they have an erroneous view of salvation.” ([46:23])

10. Female Bodybuilding Competitions and Modesty ([49:22]–[54:52])

• Question: Are female bodybuilding competitions compatible with Christian modesty?
  • Conclusion: Labeling attire a “uniform” doesn’t make immodest clothing acceptable; nudity outside of marriage, medical, or possibly locker room settings is biblically inappropriate.
  • Excessive muscularity in women may also blur biblical gender distinctions, though working out for fitness is fine.
  • Succinct take:

    “Your daughter says, ‘I want to become a bodybuilder and do competitions.’ Yes or no?”
    “No.” — Co-host Jimmy ([54:49])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[Cliques]...can be amazingly warm. So I don’t know that it’s predominantly that, but we do see it a fair amount in conservative churches.” — Jimmy Hicks ([02:47])
• “Pastors need encouragement. They’re doing stuff... all day dealing with the needs of the sheep. Nobody sees it, nobody knows.” — Jimmy Hicks ([05:00])
• “Multiplication. ... I can go one day, I’m gone. They’re there a ton of days and there’s more of them. Train your people how to evangelize.” — Jimmy Hicks ([10:23])
• “[There’s] no reason to cancel someone who’s not your pastor.” ([15:56])
• “You can call it a uniform, but it’s still immodest.” — Host ([49:34])

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |------------|------------------| | 02:00–04:40 | Church Cliques and Warmth | | 04:45–06:13 | Pastor Appreciation Gifts | | 06:20–07:40 | Heaven, Satan, and the Fall | | 07:43–11:30 | The Office of Evangelist | | 15:37–17:15 | Online Sermons vs. Local Shepherding | | 17:19–19:47 | Nicotine Use in Christian Life | | 20:37–25:00 | Women Preaching, Church Attending | | 24:43–25:54 | Growing in Love for God’s Word | | 34:24–40:19, 44:00–49:09 | Baptismal Regeneration & Church of Christ Discussion | | 49:22–54:52 | Female Bodybuilding & Modesty |

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Wretched Radio delivers practical, sometimes hard-hitting biblical counsel on nuanced issues facing ordinary Christians: how to love a difficult church, when to draw boundaries on teaching, how to balance encouragement with wisdom, and maintain biblical fidelity amid a shifting culture. The hosts mix humor, honesty, and encouragement, underlining the importance of loving involvement, biblical discernment, and persistent prayer in the Christian journey.

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For listener questions or feedback, contact:
[e-mail]
or text 877-282-2337

Transcript

[Todd Friel]

Wretched radio begins in 3, 2, 1.

[Guest Theologian]

I use the Complete Idiot's Guide to the Bible.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Unqualified.

[Host/Moderator]

Why can't my kids come into the service?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Because we have PG13 services. Unqualified. That has a nice ring to it.

[Host/Moderator]

Unqualified. I've always felt that way.

[Co-host Jimmy]

It wasn't a compliment.

[Guest Expert]

Junior Church has taken over. It's designed for elementary kids or junior higher.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Who doesn't feel unqualified.

[Todd Friel]

It's time for Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Let's go.

[Todd Friel]

It's the Wretched Radio Mail call, delivery bag Q and A infotainment nationwide extravaganza featuring your voice message or I'm gonna mug your voice. Communiques, dispatches, memorandums and messages.

[Host/Moderator]

Any special message for all the kids watching at home?

[Guest Expert]

What we need right now is a

[Host/Moderator]

clear message to the people of this country.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You have 1200 messages.

[Co-host Jimmy]

That is a bit above average.

[Todd Friel]

Now here's your host, Todd Freakishly Tall

[Host/Moderator]

Friel, the family's here.

[Guest Expert]

Ooh.

[Host/Moderator]

This is Russian radio. I'm kind of creeping. But wasn't that a Flintstones episode where the guy would put it like the gun or whatever? It was a stick into the back

[Jimmy Hicks]

of Fred Flintstone and he doesn't put him up probably. Oh, you don't know.

[Co-host Jimmy]

I don't remember.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Oh, you're. You had bad parents. They should have made you watch more cartoons.

[Co-host Jimmy]

I did, I did. I just don't remember.

[Host/Moderator]

Have you found anything wretched lately? We would covet it in a non sinful kind of way. If you please. Send all things wretched to [e-mail] or

[Jimmy Hicks]

please text questions, comments, conundrum, snarks to Jimmy's home phone.

[Host/Moderator]

He'll answer it 24 7.

[Jimmy Hicks]

And if he doesn't, be offended.

[Host/Moderator]

877-2822337.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Excuse me while I hide all of my things of value before you come mug me. This is from Theresa. This is a really good comment. You remember we had this conversation earlier this week about leaving your church when it's not warm and friendly and cliquey?

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah. Good teaching and all of that, but

[Jimmy Hicks]

it just feels a little brrr.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Yeah, right. So she had a really good comment. She said our church is very do solid but also cliquey.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Could you stop right there?

[Co-host Jimmy]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Hicks]

We don't have George Barn on the case.

[Co-host Jimmy]

That's true.

[Jimmy Hicks]

But do you think that the cliqueness. I know the Corinthian Church was cliquey.

[Host/Moderator]

We've got an entire book in the

[Jimmy Hicks]

Bible dedicated to cliques. So I know that it's a thing for the church, but do you think cliques are more common in conservative Bible teaching churches than in more mainline evangelical or even charismatic churches?

[Co-host Jimmy]

I just think it's human nature.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Honestly, I do. I think people don't mean to be that way. Some of them do, but I think they don't intend to do that.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Hicks]

And incidentally, not every Bible teaching church is cold. There are some. You walk in and it's like, wow, I've been missing you people and I've never met you before. It can be amazingly warm. So I don't know that it's predominantly that, but I do think we do see it a fair amount in conservative churches. I ain't got no explanation for it, Lucy.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Well, so Teresa goes on to say, it's our church is cliquey also. But my husband and I, we started to feel resentful towards the people of the church. The Lord was gracious, motivated me to take down their prayer requests during Sunday school and pray for them. And over time, I approached them one by one to check on them and see how they were doing. I also checked in on people via Facebook messenger that had Facebook. And that's been a beautiful way to build deep, meaningful relationships with people who didn't seem to care before my efforts. And it took my mind off expecting things from them and put it towards being productive for me to care for them. They're really quite wonderful Christian brothers and sisters and it was worth the effort.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Good on them.

[Host/Moderator]

Who was that, a man or a woman? Teresa, well done.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Well, somebody has to take the first step. Somebody's got to stick out the hand and start a conversation. I know we like for other people to do that, but if we all have that attitude, nobody's going to do it. And then what do you get? A cold church. And it might not be your natural inclination to be chatty and friendly, but as best you can to start those conversations and to try to engage with people, I don't think, okay, it's going to happen where somebody is like just cold no matter what you do. But I think most people open up and the idea of writing down prayer requests so that you can ask them, hey, we were supposed to pray for your aunt's ankle. How's she doing? Well, I'll tell you, that's personal interaction.

[Host/Moderator]

That's good play. Good word. Well done. 8, 7, 7, 282-2337.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Here's an interesting question from Anonymous. She texted in and said, todd, would it be appropriate to give my Pastor, a gift to convey my gratefulness for his hard work and dedication to our congregation. For reference, I'm a woman, so I'm not sure this would be seen as appropriate.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It can be very appropriate. Isn't it tragic that we live in a world where if a woman would give a gift, that the automatic insinuate or the inference is, oh, it's romantic. What a shame, what a shame. Don't let the world pressure you into that. You can be discreet about it for the sake of wisdom, how you wrap it and present it, et cetera. But I don't think that because somebody might talk that that should preclude you from giving him something to express your appreciation. I think he'll appreciate it. A great. Write an appropriate note that goes with it so it doesn't come across potentially as being something that could be misinterpreted. But he would love it. Pastors need encouragement. They really do. They just need encouragement. They're doing stuff. Well, the good ones, they're doing stuff all day dealing with the needs of the sheep. Nobody sees it, nobody knows. Nobody is aware of the tireless hours that are put in to tend to the sheep of his fold. So gifts of encouragement. Yeah, keep on keeping on.

[Co-host Jimmy]

You mean he works more than Sundays?

[Host/Moderator]

877-282-2337.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Alright, here's another text from Anonymous. Todd, if heaven is perfect and without sin, how could Satan and his angels rebel against God?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Well, because it's not glorification season. They had the ability to do that, so they did. You won't. It's a different dispensation, It's a different time, if you will. It's pre eternity and future eternity. You will not be able to fall. That would totally violate. It would totally dismantle. I'm looking for a stronger word. It would obliterate the cross that it wasn't efficacious enough to save you forever. But it is, so you don't have to worry that you're going to be one of them. I started watching. I got to go back to this video. Ken Ham made a video he was going to talk about when he thought the angels fell.

[Host/Moderator]

Ah, I started it and I didn't finish.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Maybe we'll find that and share that because I think there's worse ways to use your time than to try to sort that. And I'm not sure that there's anything like so conclusive that we know exactly the second when it happened. But I would rely and trust somebody like Ken Ham who gives things like that. A lot of thought. Do you know why? Because it's in the book of Genesis. And if it's in the book of Genesis, then Ken's all over it.

[Host/Moderator]

8, 7, 7, 2, 8, 2, 2, 3, 3, 7.

[Co-host Jimmy]

This is from Thomas. Todd, can you explain the office of evangelist in Ephesians 4? I feel like every church has a pastor teacher, but most don't have an evangelist. Not just someone who goes out and does evangelism, but also equips the saints for the work of evangelism.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah, yeah. We don't hear about it much, do we? Because we seem to have overlooked that office. The first time that it was really brought to my attention, I heard Paul Washer just kind of toss it off once in a sermon. He said, personally, I think there are three offices. Wait, what?

[Host/Moderator]

What? It's Elder Deacon Paul, don't you know?

[Jimmy Hicks]

But then when he went to that passage to say, and evangelists, they seem to be lumped together in an official capacity. If you will please note. Everybody is supposed to be a deacon, everybody is supposed to be serving. But there is an office of deacon, there's an office of elder. And I think I agree with Paul. There's an office of evangelist. Why don't we have more of those? We do an awful lot of missions work. Why not in our own neighborhood? I know a very few full time evangelists. There are some churches where you will see the pastor of evangelism and it's like you go church. All right. I'm thinking of Josh Williamson in the uk. Well, actually he's now working with a ministry. He's in a local church. He was, if I recall. Sorry if I get this wrong, Josh, he was at a church where he was the evangelism pastor and his job was to hit the streets and to share the gospel.

[Host/Moderator]

Whoa.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Don't see that too much now. Should the office of evangelist have an authority component to it? I don't think so. I don't think so. You can't have vying authorities in an organism. So I think the elder would be the one who has, if you will, rightly defined authority. Deacons are servants and evangelists are servants too. They're equipping the saints, they're helping the saints, and they're going out to do what sometimes many people can't. They work a full time job, they can't go out to the market, they can't be in the park at lunchtime. And so they go. So I don't think it has any sort of authority connected to it. But I Do think it has a strong argument for being in office.

[Host/Moderator]

What say you, Jimmy?

[Co-host Jimmy]

You know, I completely agree. I think we definitely need to have someone in the church not just doing a lot of evangelism, but equipping the people of the church to do it as well. Because we tell people all the time in church that you're responsible for evangelizing. You have a responsibility, but we don't necessarily teach them the proper way to go about it.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Guess what we're doing here at Wretched? What are we doing? We're teaching people about evangelism on campuses. Here's the word that stuck in my mind. You might be hearing about this more just in thinking about. There's 24 hours in a day. How can we maximize impact? And the word that keeps popping into my brain, no, it's not divinely inspired. It's just the word that I keep thinking about is multiplication. Multiplication. So for instance, I can go to a campus and in the course of an afternoon, witness to six, eight kids. Good, good. That's a good work. But what if we went to the campuses and we trained student leaders like we did down at Georgia Tech? So whatever it was, 30, 40, 50 kids that were assembled bright, bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning to train them to do evangelism, what would be the result? Multiplication. I go one day, I'm gone. They're there a ton of days and there's more of them. Train your people how to evangelize.

[Host/Moderator]

This is wretched radio.

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

Hey, thanks for listening to Wretched Radio today. Seriously, I mean it. Thank you so much for being a part of what we do here at Fortis Institute. Not just with Wretched radio, but with all of our other content that we're producing on a daily basis. Whatever keeps you coming back and showing up, we don't take that lightly. There is a reality about all of this, and that's that producing daily radio like Wretched takes resources. It takes studio time, equipment, staff, distribution, and it all adds up. And the reason that we are able to continue doing this at the level that we've been doing it is because of our gospel partners, men and women just like you, who have linked arms with us and give to this ministry so that we can stay on the air and reach more people in more places all over the world. And so if our ministry has ever been a source of encouragement for you, would you consider joining us as an ongoing monthly gospel partner? You can get all of the answers to all of the questions that you likely [e-mail] right now wretched Amazing Grace,

[Jimmy Hicks]

Amazing Gospel Perhaps you've been wondering, is there a Christian university that isn't woke or that hasn't compromised on important biblical doctrines like, you know, the Age of the Earth?

[Host/Moderator]

There is.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It's the Master's University in Southern California. Beautiful campus, all of the athletics and activities that you've come to expect from universities. But it's more than that. The academic programs are most excellent, preparing students for the future.

[Host/Moderator]

The Washington Post just said number six

[Jimmy Hicks]

for preparing students for the real world. All that, plus the Master's University isn't woke, and it is thoroughly biblical. Would you like to learn more? I encourage you to visit the Master's University at Masters. Edu Wretched Masters Edu Wretched

[Co-host Jimmy]

Should Christians drink?

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

What about tattoos? Is it okay to send your kids to public school? Or does homeschool make you holier? And don't even get started on worship styles? That's ended more friendships than Monopoly.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Here's the thing.

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

Christians love to argue about stuff the Bible doesn't actually command or forbid. And when we do, we fracture over things that shouldn't divide us. That's where Christian Liberty comes in. It's a teaching series with Todd Friel, Phil Johnson, and Ty Blackburn, all walking you through one of the most neglected and most misused doctrines in all of scripture. And when you actually understand Christian liberty, you stop majoring on minors. You learn to disagree without dividing. You grow in wisdom and maturity and have genuine love for other believers who see things a little bit differently than you do. Christian Liberty it's streaming right now for free on Fortis. Just download the app where you download apps on your smartphone, your smart TV, or just simply go to fortisplus.org.

[Todd Friel]

Know your Reformers John Calvin was a French pastor and author of the Institutes of the Christian Religion. His writings and ministry made Geneva, Switzerland, a hotbed of Reformed theology. His institutes are still guiding documents for Reformed churches across the globe. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

[Host/Moderator]

Flint Stone's wizard of Oz. Same thing. Is this Wretched Radio? There's still a I don't care if the cowardly lion said put him up, put him up. I'm telling you, there is a cartoon where the criminal would put like his finger in the back of the cartoon character. Put him up, put him up. And it wasn't the cowardly line. I just can't find it on the YouTube machine. But if you do, would you please send it along with all wretched things to ideaetched.org and feel free to text 877-282-2337 alright.

[Co-host Jimmy]

This is a text from David Todd. I recently learned that my wife believes Christians should only get preaching and teaching from pastors and elders who personally know them. And thus we should never listen to a sermon from MacArthur or Sproul, nor listen to Christian advice or Q&As from Todd Friel. Can you think of any biblical basis for this view?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I'm gonna get throw. Can I think of any biblical. I can think of a. I don't want to say sentiment, but I guess I'm going to a sentiment that would say that the pastor that knows you delivers a better sermon than John MacArthur. Why? Because that sermon was prepared for you. So in that sense it is a better sermon, even if it isn't as oratorically grand and soaring as some of the great guys because it was written by your shepherd for you. So I would say those sermons are better, they're more pointed. But there's nothing in the Bible that would indicate that you cannot benefit from other sermons and preaching. And I think this might be a little bit of a stretch, but I think a reasonable comparison would be, well, Paul doesn't know you. Do you read Titus and Philemon and 1 and 2 Corinthians? He didn't know you, but he wrote it and you benefit from it. So I don't think that there's any reason to cancel somebody who's not your pastor. I don't see any biblical warrant for that. Simultaneously I would say, well, I agree with the sentiment that says your pastor sermons because they know you are better, but that doesn't mean that the other ones need to be canceled.

[Host/Moderator]

877-282-2337 this is from Alex Todd.

[Co-host Jimmy]

I would like to know your thoughts on the use of nicotine pouches. As a Christian, would they be category is drunkenness.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay, the nicotine. I see I. I'm a little handcuffed on this one because I've never had a nicotine patch. I did try nicotine gum once. Remember Dr. Jason Lyle? He's one of our fellows.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Yep, I remember this.

[Host/Moderator]

He recommended for Covid that when you

[Jimmy Hicks]

lost your sense of taste, chew the nicotine gum because it can bring it back. It didn't further. Furthermore. Oy yai yai. My daughter, she got the parasmia from the COVID business, which means not only do you lose your taste, but things smell horrific. Everything smelled like rotten meat. I gave her some of that nicotine gum. She actually called me into her office could you come to my office, please, like really quick? She was lying on the ground. The nicotine gum gave her such a head spin.

[Host/Moderator]

She was just reeling and to lay

[Jimmy Hicks]

down or she was going to fall

[Host/Moderator]

off of her chair.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So I guess I did learn something about nicotine. It can give you a buzz. Is that what a nicotine patch does?

[Co-host Jimmy]

I'm sure. I'm sure it gives you nicotine like in gradual stages to keep you from feeling. So.

[Jimmy Hicks]

But it doesn't get you a drunk like feeling, does it?

[Co-host Jimmy]

No, no. I think he was just asking if it's in the same category, just using nicotine in general.

[Jimmy Hicks]

I don't. Well, I don't think it's a sin to use nicotine by inhaling that horrible smoke into your lungs. I don't think it's real bright, but I don't think it's a sin. So I don't see any reason why you couldn't use a nicotine patch if the idea is to get you off of the stuff that blackens your lungs. I can't think of any sort of biblical prohibition that would say you couldn't use that. Almost like medicine. Now, having said that, it can be probably misused in some ways if you aren't determined to stop smoking. I would think that the nicotine patch might help you get rid of the initial cravings. But if you like smoking and you desire it, I can't help but wonder how long lasting the nicotine gum effect or the nicotine patch effect is going to have on you. I think there needs to be a commitment. I'm done with this. I'm not going to do this. And here are the reasons why. And then use the nicotine patch to help you if you need to.

[Host/Moderator]

Jimmy, you're more of an expert on smoking.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Well, I did smoke for a long time, but no, I agree with you. You mean Dr. Jason Lyle was wrong about something? Is that for me?

[Jimmy Hicks]

For me?

[Host/Moderator]

He's not wrong. By the way, we got a big

[Jimmy Hicks]

announcement with Dr. Jason Lyle. You're going to flip when you hear Jimmy.

[Host/Moderator]

When do we get to make that announcement?

[News Anchor]

I don't know.

[Todd Friel]

Thank you.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Don't put it on me.

[Host/Moderator]

Well, soon I would.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You've been working on that project, so it's going to be. It's going to be coming soon. Oh, I think you're going to dig it so much. Jason Lyle, he's. He's a gem. He's a brilliant guy and, and he's way smarter than the average bear, but he's still able to bring it way down so that people like me who don't know much about nicotine patches can get it.

[Host/Moderator]

877-282-2337.

[Co-host Jimmy]

All right. This is a little bit of a dated question, but I think it still applies. It's a text sent from Anonymous. Todd, if my church is planning on having a woman preach on Mother's Day, should my family and I still attend?

[Jimmy Hicks]

No.

[Co-host Jimmy]

There we go. Next question.

[Jimmy Hicks]

No, no. Because somebody that the entire time she's standing there, she's sinning there. And so would be the elders who said this is a good idea. I'll leave aside. I'm not actually going to, but I'll just for the sake of saying it, leave aside that letting a federal holiday or a national holiday dictate the content of the service and to have it override the clear prohibition that I do not allow women to teach and have authority over men to let Hallmark dictate that. We're not going to obey that. Instead, we're going to have a woman preach. I'll just leave that aside for a moment. Instead, just focus on to go there. You're sitting there, you're downloading it, you're learning from. And I don't think you'd be sinning, but you'd be viewing a sin and your presence would give it a bit of an endorsement. And I don't think that you want to do that. All that said, I think I'd talk to your pastors about this. You might want to know where they stand on this issue, because I can almost guarantee, in fact, I would love an exception. Somebody find an exception. Somebody use the AI machine to find out if there's ever been a church who waffled on the role of elder and opened up the door for women to be preachers and teachers, that they didn't take the next step, which is almost inevitably going to be another liberal step toward progressivism, probably about sexuality and gender will be next. You name a church that didn't start by opening the door of the role of pastor. Who gets to fill that role and isn't now totally wonky? And if they're not totally wonky, they will be. They just need a little bit more time. Ask the elca. Ask the Presbyterian Church America. Ask the United Methodist Church. All of them began with the issue of women. That's why I'm telling you some prayers would be worth being offered for the Southern Baptist Convention when they meet in Orlando. They're going to have the conversation again. Let's hope that they shut the door, because if they keep it open, even this little crack, I think the majority of people, they're good guys, but there are some people that are just practicing bad discernment. I just saw Heath Lambert. Boy, that guy, I'm telling you, he's so pastoral. Just more and more every year, I see Heath, just more pastoral. He was talking to his brothers in the sbc and he said, I don't think the issue for the SBC in any of these skirmishes is about our convictions, the core convictions. We believe the Bible. We believe in the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God. We believe in the Trinity. We believe that Jesus died for sinners. He said. So I don't think the issue is faith statement as much as it is discernment and application. So he called for wisdom. Good word, Heath. And I think that we should be praying for the sbc, because if the door is left open, even with the sbc, even if they, like, keep it, well, it's mostly shut, but it's just open a little bit. It'll get open more and more and more and more until the door is kicked down. And egalitarianism will march in. Progressivism, wokeism will march in and take it over like it has to every other denomination that has allowed this name a church that didn't go woke or progressive or liberal after they caved on the issue of role of women in the role of elder. 8, 7, 7. Talk to your pastors. 2, 8, 2, 2, 3, 3, 7.

[Co-host Jimmy]

So this is from Alexandra Todd. How can I grow in love for God's Word?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Wow. You want me to tackle that in one minute? I can. I'll do it in under five seconds. Okay, Read His Word.

[Host/Moderator]

That's it.

[Jimmy Hicks]

How can you grow in love for the Word? Read it and find a way to read it where it's more practical and helpful. We've mentioned throughout the course of history here at Wretched Land that you should read your Bible so that it actually feeds you. And we've listed a number of the different ways you can do that. Try those different ways. The way to love your Bible more is to read your Bible more. And you say, well, I'm not wanting to read my Bible because I'm just not digging it right now. Well, the answer is, read your Bible and you'll start digging it. Okay, that was 30 seconds. But in brief, read your Bible and you will love your Bible. And even when you don't feel like reading your Bible, read your Bible. Nobody has ever read the Bible when they didn't want to and finished and

[Host/Moderator]

went, wish I hadn't done that.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You'll always be glad that you you did. If you're not loving it at the time, read it and read it so that it feeds you and grows you in your love for King Jesus.

[Host/Moderator]

This is Wretched Radio.

[News Anchor]

And it's now time for your daily Fortis News Breaker production of Fortis Institute.

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

A Mexican national living in the country

[News Anchor]

illegally is heading for federal prison for 10 years after destroying child pornography. On Facebook messenger, the man who lives in South Haven, Mississippi, got 121 months, a $14,000 penalty and deportation when he's done. On that note, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyon says investigators have flagged more than 10,000 cases of suspected fraud in the optional Practical training program. That's the visa pipeline that lets foreign students work in the US for up to two years after graduation, often as a backdoor into H1B. Critics have warned for years it lets companies bypass American grads for cheaper foreign hires. Washington just confirmed the abuse is massive. And in Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp has called a special session for June 17 to redraw congressional maps after the Supreme Court's ruling against race based gerrymandering. New lines could net Republicans two more House seats. Senator Raphael Warnock calls it an attempt to strip minorities of representation, which is what Democrats say whenever the rules suddenly apply to them. The resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Macary opens the door to undo one of the Biden administration's deadliest regulatory moves, the mail order distribution of chemical abortion drugs. The Susan B. Anthony Pro Life America foundation says this policy is why abortions actually went up after Dobbs and not down. The FDA's own label admits 1 in 25 women who take these drugs end up in the emergency room. Recorders of those visits are severe or critical. 71% of Americans want the in person doctor requirement back. The first Trump administration had that rule. Writer Brooke Brandigian recently wrote an essay about watching her high school friends disappear into transgenderism during COVID lockdowns. She described teenagers taking testosterone, getting double mastectomies and celebrating at every step, but also cycling through antidepressants and weekly therapy. Depression rates among transgender identifying youth runs at 63% compared to 13% for everyone else. Finally, Utah real estate agent Curry Richins, who wrote a children's book about helping kids process grief after losing a father, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole parole for being the very cause of that grief in her own family. A jury found that she laced her husband Eric's drink with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl. She'd taken out millions in secret life insurance policies and was deep in debt. At the sentencing, she launched into a 40 minute monologue insisting she was innocent. The judge gave her the maximum sentence possible. That wraps up today's Fortis News break. I'm Jimmy Hicks.

[Co-host Jimmy]

If you want more, you can download

[News Anchor]

Fortis plus or sign up to become a Fortis Insider for exclusive daily content. Both of those things can be [e-mail] and don't forget, you can subscribe to Fortis News on your favorite podcast app in order to get these updates daily.

[Co-host Jimmy]

And until tomorrow, go serve your king.

[Todd Friel]

Important Dates in Christian history 70 AD Titus destroys Jerusalem and the Temple. The separation between Christianity and Judaism deepens and Christians spread throughout the Roman Empire, spreading the gospel as they go. God uses tragedy to forward his great commission. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Put him up put him up Standing

[Host/Moderator]

boy he gonna put him up Put him up. That's all I can find. Put him up put em up. This is Wretched Radio. It's driving me bonkers. I can't find the put him up cartoon. There was a if you know it

[Jimmy Hicks]

would you please spare me.

[Host/Moderator]

I will be twisting until that I

[Jimmy Hicks]

discover who is the cartoon character. Who would. Who would. Who would burgle people? I guess you don't burgle people, you burgle a home. You hold him up and he would

[Host/Moderator]

say put him up. Who was that cartoon character?

[Co-host Jimmy]

I don't know.

[Host/Moderator]

877-282-2337 that is the toll free number here at.

[Jimmy Hicks]

If you find something on the Internet that you could forward to us would be mooi Grateful. Super grateful. So many things are discovered when you send them that I would never find by myself. Internet's kind of a big place, so if you find something wretched please email

[Host/Moderator]

it to ideaetched.org alright this is from Ryan Todd.

[Co-host Jimmy]

I greatly appreciate how you carefully answered questions from church members or congregation members who wonder about leaving the church. But what about pastors? Is there a time and a proper way in which a pastor should consider leaving a church? I know many leave churches for want of a better term for an upward career move, leaving a smaller work for a larger one. But what if a pastor truly feels led? Not a fan of that word, but it's what we say to leave their current ministry. Or what if they feel the church is no longer really behind them? I've known a couple of pastors who have left because they Felt if they stayed, it would cause disunity in the body.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah, that dynamic can certainly happen. I have to ask myself a question. Is there a Bible verse that says when a pastor takes a call, whether it's an internal call from the church because he grew up in that church, or it was an external call and they came to that church, is there a Bible verse that says that that is for life? And I haven't heard one yet. Now, I think some people have tried to, like, hey, it seems to be pointing in that direction. Okay. But I don't see a definitive verse, an explicit text that says a pastor must stay in the same pastorate for forever. Furthermore, that could be violating some wisdom, because there are some times when, unfortunately, a pastor in a congregation. Here's a very common scenario. For instance, the pastor gets called. They did the candidating and they spent time together, but he gets there and either the pastor ain't what they thought they were getting, or the congregation isn't the way that they represented themselves and it's just a mess and it just doesn't work. Now should the guy say, well, too

[Host/Moderator]

bad, everybody just buckle in because I'm going to be here for the next 50 years?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I don't think that that's wisdom. There can be times for a pastor to go when a church situation can be deleterious for him to stay there. That should, of course, be done with a lot of wisdom. It should be done with consultation with other pastors, the people that disciple you even as a pastor, because you want to be wise about it. Because leaving a church, it always causes pain on some level. I'm thinking about Paul when he said goodbye to the elders of Ephesus on the dock. They wept together, wept because their pastor was leaving. So anytime a pastor goes, there's going to be some pain. It should be done carefully and thoughtfully. I do believe that it can be done. And that even goes for taking, if you will, an upward call where it's a bigger church. I think that there are so many dynamics that need to be considered that could actually change a man's decision. For instance, what is going on currently in the life of his church? What's happening? What's the trajectory of that church from the standpoint? I'm talking numerical growth, more people coming. What about the souls that are there that are so currently reliant on his care? If he leaves, what's going to happen to them? Furthermore, how many years has he been there already when a pastor has been someplace, like 20 years, 30 years, I just Think that that weighs heavier? I didn't say it's conclusive. I didn't say it's definitive. But I do say that it weighs more than a guy who's been there for three years. There's just a difference. So all of those things need to be considered. And without a Bible verse that explicitly says you can never leave the church, I say you can just be slow, just be wise. And remember, even if you leave on the best of terms, it's painful. And that should be weighed, too.

[Host/Moderator]

You got anything else, Jimmy?

[Co-host Jimmy]

No. No.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So I was thorough. Perfect answer. Wonderful.

[Host/Moderator]

8 7, 7, 2, 8, 22337.

[Co-host Jimmy]

This is a text from Anonymous. Todd. Are Baptism saves Church of Christ members believers?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Say. Wait, what? Say that again.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Are Baptism saves Church of Christ members believers? So, baptismal regeneration. My parents believed this way. And I don't know whether or not to pray for their salvation or to pray that they'll simply see the gospel differently.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Look, that theology is heretical, okay? That we can all affirm, correct? Because it's adding to salvation. Now, here's where it gets a little bit tricky, is in the application what the individual knows and how they understand it. And there are some people that have just persuaded themselves, and it could be just a literal self deception. In this case, they don't think it's a work. I think that you got to talk to the individual to understand what they believe about this. Furthermore, there can be a lot of people in churches that believe that baptism saves. They don't. They don't think about it. They don't consider it. They're not paying attention. They just don't care. They're genuine believers, but they just don't think it through. So all that being said, the doctrine itself, anything that adds to salvation, if we can't call that heresy, then heresy should be torn out of the Christian dictionary. Because if it doesn't qualify, if not believing in grace alone doesn't qualify for heresy, then nothing does. But as far as labeling a church member pastor would be a different conversation. I presume he studied it more. But an individual in a congregation who believes it, I'd want to know why they believe it, what their understanding of it is. Do they think that it's a work? Do they think that it's just something that somehow they persuaded themselves it doesn't contribute to salvation? I think you need to do some digging, Jimmy.

[Host/Moderator]

I'm thinking about the time that it

[Jimmy Hicks]

was the Duck Dynasty, when they were breaking big.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Yep, yep. They're Church of Christ.

[Guest Theologian]

Yep.

[Jimmy Hicks]

And wanted to find out what the Robinson family, or at least the ones that were on the tv, taught about it. So I called the pastor and I spent. It was 35 minutes on the phone with the pastor and I was trying to get it, hey, do you believe that you have to be baptized in order to be saved? And it was chin boogie for 30 minutes. It was finally when I said, all right, let's try this. That's where I.

[Host/Moderator]

That's where I was at. All right, how's about this scenario?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I get saved. Better yet, I repent and put my trust in Jesus Christ, I'm on my way to your church to get baptized, but I get T boned and killed on my way there. Am I going to heaven? And his answer was, well, we'd leave that up to God. You just answered my question. You just answered my question. So before you say that your folks are condemned or saved for that matter, spend some time talking to them. And if you would. If you want to go to the Bible with them, I think the best place to go would probably be Galatians 4, Galatians 5. Just the second half of Galatians where Paul really gets into circumcision. And that it is damning. It's another gospel. And that is why baptism, you can just take out the word circumcision and put in baptism. Now you're probably going to have to wrangle through the Bible verses, probably Acts chapter two, that deal with the subject of baptism, which you can explain. But I think showing them. We got to get this right, mom and dad. Because if you're thinking that baptism saves, Paul says right here, you're damned.

[Co-host Jimmy]

I think the entire book of Galatians would be a good place to walk through. I mean, Galatians 2, not justified by works of the law.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Oh, true.

[Co-host Jimmy]

Yeah. So I think the entire book is good.

[Jimmy Hicks]

I agree. There's just a lot you have to kind of slot. You have to kind of go through. I think he really picks it up. Second half of the book of Galatians, but fair enough. The entire book will do. It's not that long anyway.

[Co-host Jimmy]

But your point also as well, in Acts study EIS E I s that word is big.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Here it is big. But also word order is really big. And what Paul was saying. So you've gotta dig into the Greek grammar in Acts chapter two, where it talks about baptism. Now saves. I think it's really clear. You get saved, then you get baptized. I think it's. Unfortunately, it's a translation issue. I think the same thing is true with speaking in tongues. If we had stopped using the word tongues and simply said languages, I think a lot of the confusion would just evaporate because it just allows you to go, well, it's tongues, it's something different. It's like a different form of speech. No Pentecost, they were speaking languages. In fact, it even lists, it catalogs the languages. So I think you got to deal with those texts. You're going to have to go through them. But I think personally the starting place is anything that adds to works. It is outside of grace alone. There's other issues though too, that if you're dealing with your mom and dad, and it's my understanding the churches of Christ, they vary in their dogmatic approach to works and that there are some that are very works based and that you have to do works in order to be saved. You'll want to talk to them about that too, because they might be thinking that their salvation, or at least maintaining their salvation is incumbent upon them. It is not. Jesus maintains our salvation so that he gets all of the credit. So I might suggest if you're going to sit down with your mom and dad, get your book, your Bible mark marked up, get your Bible verses ready to go, be ready to explain them and let the Word do the heavy lifting.

[Host/Moderator]

This is wretched radio

[Co-host Jimmy]

conflict.

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

That's not an if in your life, that's a win. You will most definitely disagree with your spouse, your kids, your co workers, your

[Co-host Jimmy]

in laws, maybe all of them in the same week. The question is whether those disagreements turn your home into a war zone for

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

something you can actually resolve. That's what our resource Conflict is all about. Todd Friel, who admits he's an expert in conflict mostly because he's caused so much of it, and Dr. John street will both challenge you to respond in ways so radically biblical that even the people you've been fighting with will take notice. They'll walk you through biblical reconciliation step by step so you can actually heal what's been broken. If you're. If you're exhausted from the same arguments on repeat, if your home feels more like a battlefield than a refuge, there is a better way. And it's not another self help technique. It is Scripture. Conflict is streaming right now on Fortis for free. Just download the app on your smartphone, on your smart TV or simply go to fortisplus.org Most men don't make one big decision that takes them off course. No, it happens gradually and eventually you look up and you realize you I've

[Co-host Jimmy]

been Coasting for years.

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

Well, Dr. Adam Tyson has created Walk Like a Man. It's available now on Fortis Plus. Dr. Tyson knows that's the story for way too many guys right now. And so he gets into God's word and he lays out what it actually looks like to walk with wisdom and live with real conviction. And the way he teaches it, you'll walk away from every episode knowing exactly what to do and why it matters. This is biblical teaching that puts solid ground under your feet and gives you

[News Anchor]

a clear path forward.

[Fortis Institute Announcer]

It's streaming right now, with new episodes dropping every Monday on Fortis plus for free. Download the Fortis app right now. Wherever you download apps on your smartphone, your smart TV, or just go to fortisplus.org and walk like a Man. No retreat. That's the name of Fortis Institute's Spring Match campaign. And and here's why. The culture we live in right now has made it pretty clear it has very little interest in the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're being told to keep our faith

[Co-host Jimmy]

quiet in public or to soften what

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we believe so it goes down easier. Fortis Institute has no intention of doing either one. We exist to advance the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this spring, we're doing it as loudly and as bold boldly as we know how. Your gift will help launch two new podcasts. It puts Todd Frill's new book, Go Serve your King into print through HarperCollins, and it puts the gospel back onto college campuses where it's least welcome and most needed. Our goal is $250,000, and we're asking if you would prayerfully consider helping us get there. You can find out more right [e-mail].

[Todd Friel]

Books of the Bible Luke was a physician and companion of Paul who wrote an orderly account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He meticulously details names, places and events. Luke shows great concern for people of every class, especially overlooked or undesirable people. We are all from various places and classes, but Jesus Christ is the Savior for all mankind. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

[Jimmy Hicks]

speaking of Duck Dynasty. Look what I found.

[Host/Moderator]

This is Wretched Radio. This was episode wow. This was episode 1343.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It was 12 years ago. Oofta sat down. I was moderating a panel discussion and it had Mark Dever. I see Mark Dever.

[Host/Moderator]

I see Al Mohler and John MacArthur responding to my questions about what do

[Jimmy Hicks]

we do with the influence of Duck dynasty?

[Guest Theologian]

Issue number one. You may recall Dr. MacArthur from the Strange Fire Conference I encouraged you to host next. The Strange Water Conference.

[Host/Moderator]

Right.

[Guest Theologian]

I trust you're still trying to work out the dates with RC Sproul to get that figured out, but in the meantime,

[Host/Moderator]

There's a video to that one

[Guest Theologian]

I want to talk about. Duck Dynasty. If you haven't seen them, by the way, Duck Dynasty. I was in Walmart and they actually have Duck Dynasty bath towels. They put somebody's big bearded face on a bath towel. Whose idea was that? Would anybody want to dry off with the Duck Dynasty?

[Host/Moderator]

Okay.

[Guest Theologian]

Duck Dynasty. They are a member of the restoration movement, the Church of Christ in Louisiana, about a 13,000 church fellowship, which historically has taught different churches to varying degrees that baptism is required for salvation. Now, it is unclear if that is the theology of the Duck Dynasty fellows. I have seen, seen their sermons where they've said, you need to repent, you need to believe, you need to confess, and you need to get into the water and then your sins are forgiven. I've spoken to their fellow elder, Mike Kellett, who's a very nice guy, and I asked him the question, if I repented and put my trust in Jesus and I was driving to your church to get baptized and I died in a car accident, would I go to heaven? And he said, I leave that up to God. At the same time, he said, I don't believe that baptism is a work. So I think, as best I can tell, it's a little confused right now, but it seems to be pointing toward they believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. Considering how popular they are, is this an issue that a local pastor, a local church needs to be addressing, dealing with in any way, shape or form?

[Guest Expert]

Let me just say. Let me just say, to start with, that all things being considered, there would be a better place to get your theology than Duck Dynasty, just as a general principle. But if you are in the least unclear as to whether baptism is a necessary component of salvation, that's bad theology. The lack of clarity is bad theology. That is crystal clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and there is no work at all. Baptism is subsequent, subsequent to salvation as a public declaration and confession. And I know this, I've heard this, I've read this, and I know their denomination. You know, on the one hand, you're glad they talk about Christ, you're glad they pray and do those things. But this is a very serious problem. If someone believes that they're not converted until they get to the water and they're converted after they come out of the Water, then they have an erroneous view of salvation. Amen.

[Guest Theologian]

Is this a subject, though, that the local pastor needs to address in any way, shape or form, particularly from the pulpit. Is it that big of a deal?

[Guest Expert]

Well, I don't want to monopolize, but I would just say this. You need to tell your people you can't get yourself theology from Duck Dynasty. You know, whatever you're getting is some kind of isolated, marginal, limited view of anything. You know, they talk about Jesus, but where's the Christology? They talk about salvation, but where's the soteriology? You don't even know. Now, the connection tells you something. So I. I just think you need to warn your people not to celebrate too much and not to draw their theology from that.

[Guest Theologian]

Is this an issue that puts them outside of orthodox Christianity?

[Guest Expert]

Well, it is. If they have a wrong view of

[I]

salvation, it's the Galatian heresy. I mean, in the end, it's nothing. It's no different than. It's no different than what was going on in the churches in Galatia in the sense that you're adding something, even something God commanded to how. How a person is made right with God. And when you make that addition, you've crossed the line from orthodoxy into Paul's strong statements there in Galatians 1.

[Jimmy Hicks]

That would be Tom Pennington.

[Host/Moderator]

That would be from episode 1343 of Wretched TV.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Long time ago.

[Host/Moderator]

That was a bit ago. At least 12 years ago. What's on your mind? Would you kindly send it to ideaetched.org

[Jimmy Hicks]

if you'd prefer to use your thumbs,

[Host/Moderator]

you may do so at 877-282-2337.

[Co-host Jimmy]

This is from Laurie Tod. Should the Christian viewpoint be on female bodybuilding competitions? People involved with it say that the bikinis are not immodest, they're just a uniform.

[Host/Moderator]

Don't think that's an either or. You can call it a uniform, but it's still immodest. Somehow labeling it a uniform, it's not technically a uniform, it's still immodest. And therefore you can't erase the immodesty

[Jimmy Hicks]

because you put a different title on what you are calling those strings that basically they're wearing. What is the Christian view and understanding of that? Well, I think that we need to go back to the garden and understand what nudity is all about. It is a uniquely human experience that we feel shame when we're naked. Why? Because it is one of the, if not the first effect, one of the first effects that is articulated in the Fall, they were naked and ashamed. They were walking around naked. Before the fall, there was no shame. It was sin that entered the world and brings shame to nudity. Because we can't trust one another. It's all been destroyed. It's one of the effects of the fall. And so when an individual goes about the business of not covering themselves, boy, that was grammatically awful. When a person doesn't cover him or herself, what is that person saying? Theologically, I don't think there was a fall. There is no effect of sin. There is no shame. Therefore, I'm going to show off my body because I don't believe those things. Second, what does the Bible say about nudity? Well, first of all, God covered them. We know that. But furthermore, it's a little bit of an obscure verse. I'm pretty certain it's in Exodus where the priest is described. He's doing his work work. He would wear a robe, and if he went up the steps and he was doing his activities, you could see the back side of the priest.

[Host/Moderator]

Cover it up. Cover it up.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Why? Why that prohibition if there's nothing wrong with nudity? That wouldn't have been necessary. But there is something wrong with nudity in the incorrect context. Nudity can be okay, I think, in two contexts, maybe three contexts. One, obviously, husband and wife. Second, medical issues. Third, more debatably, a locker room situation. So it doesn't have to be completely. You always gotta have clothing on, even when you're alone. No, it can be fine in the correct context, but on tv, in front of an audience of strangers, that doesn't seem to be a permissible context for that. So. So you've got the theological implications of showing one's body too much. And then you've got the prohibitions against nudity that I think are super clear. And then you've got the issue of lust, that you could be doing things that lead individuals to look at your body and desire it. There's one last consideration in all of this, and it doesn't have anything to do with the clothing. It has everything to do with muscles. And I grant you this could be more debatable, but I don't think we can overlook it when you consider what makes a man a man and a woman a woman. I think that there are five categories. We just talked about this last week at Alpharetta Bible Church, midweek. The attributes that make a man a man, in no particular order. Obviously, the Bible determines what a man is. Culture, to a degree, determines what a man is.

[Host/Moderator]

Performance.

[Jimmy Hicks]

What we do Emotions. And then finally physical. Hormonally, we're different. Chromosomally, we're different, I think to a degree. Emotionally, because of the hormones, we are different. But just the same, keeping it in the physical realm. And then I think that there are certain expressions of the body that are masculine and female. Yes. Reproductive organs. That's the obvious one. But I think that there are other markers that make a man a man and a woman a woman. How's about a beard? Dudes grow beards. Dudettes don't. What about muscles? This one's a little trickier because you can't say that only men have muscles, because clearly women have muscles. But muscles are more of a masculine expression of masculinity, of maleness. It doesn't mean that obviously women don't have bodies because otherwise they'd be like jellyfish. But the more muscles you have, historically that's considered to be more masculine.

[Host/Moderator]

You're a tough. You're more of a man because you got a thick beard and because you got more muscles.

[Jimmy Hicks]

And I think that that's because muscles are a masculine expression more than a female expression. They're more performative for women. I think for men, because we're built differently physically, we're more inclined to put on muscles. Therefore, it is a more unique masculine expression than feminine. Now, now, having said that, would that then be a consideration for a woman to add heaps of muscles? Not to work out. I'm not talking about working out. I'm not talking about staying in shape, but to basically stack muscles. That looks way more masculine. Should that not also be considered?

[Host/Moderator]

Jimmy, you got five seconds. Your daughter says, I want to become a body bodybuilder and do competitions. Yes or no?

[Co-host Jimmy]

No.

[Host/Moderator]

Asked and answered.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So send your emails to Jimmy, and

[Host/Moderator]

until tomorrow, go serve your king.