He went on to say that the Church in that Middle Eastern nation is growing. But the congregations there, the underground Church, require that their pastors be grounded in God’s Word and in a very robust theological and Biblical program of three year study before they are ordained (in secret) and begin to serve (bi-vocationally) as the pastor of a congregation

What is remarkable is that with Ross Douthat being who he is and having the prominence that he does, there are a great many people who will take the time to take this in when they otherwise would not come near these ideas with a ten foot pole. Douthat is an accepted member of the American elite, and they will listen to him more so than they would from others hailing from ‘flyover country.’

We deny that this atonement results in salvation without a person’s free response of repentance and faith. We deny that God imposes or withholds this atonement without respect to an act of the person’s free will. We deny that Christ died only for the sins of those who will be saved… We deny that any person is regenerated prior to or apart from hearing and responding to the Gospel.

One assistant pastor…noticed a contrast between the RUF’s and the other campus ministries…. His observation, which I wholeheartedly agree with, is that a “subculture of license” seems to accompany RUF. This especially manifests itself in the topics of conversation and language used. Students in RUF do not give a second thought to using crude language and crude jokes.

Thus, the regulative principle as such may not be invoked to determine whether contemporary or traditional songs are employed, whether three verses or three chapters of Scripture are read, whether one long prayer or several short prayers are made, or whether a single cup or individual cups with real wine or grape juice are utilized at the Lord’s Supper. To all of these issues, the principle “all things should be done decently and in order

“God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Our sanctuaries should reflect this, even as we look forward to the day when we will not need windows or light fixtures: “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23).

"I can't follow a church that is going to take scripture and adapt it to the way of the world," said 71-year-old church member Carolyn Swayze.

"They did not find that nonreligious people were more generous overall, just that they needed emotional responses to be generous more than religious people do,” he said. “So all those TV ads of starving children are important for the nonreligious to give money, but not so much for the religious."

“Holding the view of beginnings expressed in ‘theistic evolution’ is contrary to the fundamentals of our system of doctrine taught in the Word of God and our standards. Such a view destroys the basis of such doctrines as the doctrines of sin, of marriage, of salvation, of covenants, and others. Therefore such a view cannot be allowed as an exception. Anyone holding such a view must be disqualified from teaching and/or ordination in the church.” --Decision of New River Presbytery upheld by the SJC.

Newton’s pastoral heart comes out in this letter. He is straightforward, blunt, and biblical. At the same time, it is very evident that he simply wants his parishioners to hear the sermons for their own Christian good and growth in godliness. Newton certainly wasn’t a legalist looking to make people proud of their church attendance.