Taking Responsibility

There are two types of consequences that one must face when it comes to sin. These are earthly and spiritual.

Take a good, hard look back at your life. Was there a time when you did something wrong? Did you pay an earthly consequence? How about a spiritual consequence?

Second Samuel chapter 12 talks about both the spiritual and physical consequences that God rolled out and David had to deal with when it came to that roll in the hay.

Let’s see, adultery and the resulting child of said adultery, murder and trying to cover everything up – the death of that child, and having the prophet Nathan come in to turn the guilt knife a few times so that got it.

Consequences – there are always consequences to everyone’s sin.

One of the more publicized sin and resulting consequences has to be the Josh Duggar case.

He was found guilty of possessing child porn, as well as downloading it. The judge sentenced him to twelve years in a federal prison.

That’s the physical consequence.

Now this action has split the family severely. Two of the daughters have broken away and their husbands have made statements about Josh and the family that solidifies the split.

I believe that the video made by Jeremy Vuolo was quite eloquent. I know his father, Chuck, as they live in the area, and Jeremy gets his oratory skills and Bible knowledge not just from his studies under John MacArthur, but also from his dad who is also a pastor and counselor – and a fine one at that.

Given what I’ve seen in public material, Josh Duggar is doing everything to proclaim his innocence, and everything to avoid taking responsibility for his crimes – for which the evidence is overwhelming.

He was not held to account when he abused four of his sisters. He was not held to account when it came to the Ashley Madison adultery. He was able to skate by on these incidents, and he’s trying his utmost to get out of this as well.

I don’t know if it’s his father, Jim-Bob, footing his legal bills, or it’s someone or some other entity such as the IBLP pulling strings behind the scenes, but the evidence was overwhelming.

If Jim-Bob Duggar is trying to save the Duggar reputation, he needs to stop, and stop now. The damage to the Duggar name is damaged beyond all repair such that they’ll never have speaking engagements or a television show ever again.

This goes for the kids too.

On top of this, their actions make it very hard to evangelize to the lost. Josh Duggar and his unrepentant attitude makes a horrible testimony. I truly believe that he’s not saved – just by his fruit alone. He may be – I don’t know, but Jesus Himself told us that we could judge other believers or unbelievers by their fruit.

Matthew 12:33 – Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

John 15:2 – Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

These two verses speak volumes when it comes to Josh Duggar.

Matthew 12:33 applies to judging a believer or an unbeliever. On this verse, I can’t see him as a believer as there’s nothing showing except deception. Deception is unscriptural.

In John 15:2 applies to looking at the growth of a believer, or whether an unbeliever is just mouthing the words. As it comes to Josh, I truly believe that he knew just enough to get people to listen. Remember, Satan knows scripture too – and Satan can twist it to sound like whatever he wants.

Josh Duggar needs to do some serious repenting, take responsibility for his sin, just as King David did after Nathan came in and confronted him, and completely surrender himself to the Lord.

There’s a YouTube channel called Without A Crystal Ball where a lot of dirt has been dished up on the Duggars. The woman who runs this channel is clearly unsaved. It’s no wonder that she has a negative view of Christians, her entire view is Josh, the IBLP, the submissive wife Anna, and the authoritative father Jim Bob. I doubt she’d even listen to an evangelist or pastor not associated with the IBLP, and that has their head screwed on tight.

This makes me sad – that this family, yes, the entire family – could do so much damage to those who are witnessing for Christ and spreading the Gospel, and have an unrepentant son and a father (also seemingly unrepentant) getting in the way.

We have enough to deal with in trying to reap the harvest, without having these two getting in the way.

Jim Bob also needs to do some serious repenting and surrendering. He should be telling his son to take responsibility for his actions and pay his earthly consequence.

I truly believe that had Josh been forced to pay his earthly consequence early on with the abuse of his sisters, things may have turned out differently.

These sins were covered up by his parents and Josh thought daddy would be there to bail his butt out of a jam whenever he got his in a jam. Well, it looks like daddy’s still trying, but God’s not letting it happen. Jim Bob and Michelle need to step aside and let this kid serve his sentence.

He needs to be held to account.

Children need discipline, whether a young child steals a candy bar from the corner store – marching them back to return it and admit their responsibility and apologize, or serve a prison sentence if the evidence is clear and convincing (it was in Josh’s case).

It doesn’t mean that you love them any less – it’s called taking responsibility.

Who knows, Josh may get right with the Lord, work with a prison chaplain, and come out a saved individual that God can use.

As for his wife Anna, my counsel would be that she and the kids need get away from the Duggars as fast as possible. She has biblical grounds for divorce (adultery, Matthew 5:31-32) – and although I hate go to this extreme so soon – she should do so.

Why do I say this? Josh has been given chance after chance, and his behavior keeps escalating. Those children need protection, and Anna needs to be doing this.

I understand that the IBLP frowns on divorce under any circumstances, but Jesus Himself in Matthew 5, gives her the biblical grounds for severing and dissolution of the marriage. If after he serves his sentence, he can show that he’s gotten himself right with Jesus, then there might be a remarriage – after some major premarital counseling. But for now, Josh needs to be shown, that this behavior has consequences.

Jim Bob and Michelle should be working, not to get Josh released and his conviction overturned, but to make amends and fix that split in their family. That’s going to take a lot of work.

It starts by acknowledging that you were wrong and with all humility, asking for forgiveness, first from God in Jesus’ name, and then through the family and in-laws. Until you do that, there will be no trust and that fissure, that split will grow ever wider and wider.

I pray, and I’m asking my church to pray, that y’all find the humility to do this, and that Josh as well, gets this right with Jesus.