Justin Peters CORRECTED Me About John MacArthur’s Watch!

Introduction and the Purpose of the Channel

Hey guys, Colin here, and welcome back to the channel where the Bible and critical thinking meet to give you real Christian commentary about the things that matter. Thanks so much for watching, let's get into the video.

So for those of you who don't know, Justin Peters is a Christian minister and YouTuber who puts out some great content. If you haven't been watching his stuff, I highly recommend that you do. I will link his channel in the description.

In addition to Justin Peters, please check out Polite Leader's content on YouTube, also linked in the description, as he too was instrumental in helping me realize my error in this situation. In any case, I recently made a video about John MacArthur's expensive watch, which was a gift to him from his staff for 50 years of ministry.

Correcting the Earlier Claim About 1 Timothy 2:9

In that video, I suggested that John MacArthur was sinning in wearing this watch on the basis of 1 Timothy 2 .9, which says, quote, "...women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire.".

Because this passage seemed to me at the time to condemn all costly attire for all Christians, I made the point that John MacArthur was disobeying Scripture by wearing a costly $5 ,000 watch. Unfortunately, as Justin Peters and Polite Leader pointed out to me, my exegesis of that text was done altogether improperly, and for that, I must apologize to John MacArthur.

I originally thought the passage's principle was that Christians should never wear costly attire. This was simply not accurate. The true principle of the passage is that Christians should not dress ostentatiously or in costly attire for the purpose of showing off or aligning themselves with sinful culture.

But as I was reminded, it does not seem that John MacArthur was doing anything ostentatious or arrogant. He actually seems to have acted humbly and has never made any attempt to show off this watch, to my knowledge, at the very least.

And therefore, he did not contradict the command of Scripture here or sin, and I was wrong to suggest that he did. And for that, I sincerely apologize, and I ask the forgiveness of John and all of those who watched the video.

No one is perfect, and that's true, but this is something that I take seriously. Because the difference between a true teacher and a false teacher is that a true teacher will repent and align themselves with Scripture, no matter what the cost is to their ego.

Responding to Objections and Reaffirming the Apology

And that is what I must do in this video. Now let me deal with a few objections to my apology here. Objection number one. Colin, the passage says that Christians should not wear costly attire, and you're just walking back your statements here, not because you think they're inaccurate, but because you don't want to take the heat for questioning John MacArthur.

Let me assure you that that is not what happened. No amount of silly arguments rooted in emotions about John MacArthur, of which there were many, could have gotten me to delete that video. In the end, the reason I deleted it was that my exegesis of 1 Timothy 2 .9 was done incorrectly.

Justin Peters and Polite Leader rightly pointed out that in Proverbs 31, a righteous woman of God is described. In Proverbs 31 .22, it says that, quote,. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. This righteous woman is wearing expensive clothing, and it doesn't seem to be a problem in the text at all.

Indeed, if it was unrighteous for her to wear these expensive clothes, then it would not have been included in the text altogether, because the text is describing a righteous woman. So you see, the truth is that 1 Timothy 2 .9 is not banning all expensive items.

It is not condemning all expensive things. But it is condemning all displays of ostentatious or self-seeking arrogance with expensive things. And by the way, I will be taking down all videos wherein I misused 1 Timothy 2 .9, regardless of who the teacher I called out was, so that I can prevent others from falling into the same trap that I did.

Christian Liberty and the Difference Between Sin and Preference

Objection number two. So Colin, you really think it's a good idea for John to have this $5 ,000 watch? No. Actually, I don't think it's a good idea, but that doesn't mean it's a sin. The flaw in my argument was that I suggested it was a sin based off of an improper reading of the text.

However, I will never tell you that I think it was a good idea for him to receive or wear this watch. That is my own personal contention and preference, though, and I will readily acknowledge that. The fact is, there is no Scripture that would condemn John for wearing this watch, and therefore I will not condemn it as sin.

This is a matter of Christian liberty, in my view. In the early Church, many members were split on whether or not they should eat meat sacrificed to pagan idols. In response to this dilemma, Paul suggests that it is not sin for them to eat this meat, so long as they do not sin in any other way related to it.

And with regards to the Church's conflict on this issue, their disagreement on it, Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 6 .12,. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. In other words, there are many things that Christians are allowed to do.

But these things can still be viewed as unhelpful by other Christians without being condemned altogether as sin. And we can still live peaceably amongst each other while disagreeing on these tertiary issues.

That is how I now view this situation. I do not think it is wise for pastors to own extremely expensive items, but it would be unfair and unbiblical for me to push my personal preference on all other Christians across the board by suggesting that it is sinful for pastors to own these items.

That is fundamentally my mistake. Objection number three. Colin, now you're just like Stephen Furtick. So you should step down from your YouTube channel. Stephen Furtick makes mistakes, and apparently so do you.

So why is he a false teacher while you are not? This is an inconsistent standard, and you now are a false teacher. Again, I must highlight an important biblical distinction here. There is a difference between mishandling God's Word and then repenting and correcting yourself versus constantly mishandling God's Word without any remorse or repentance at all.

Every time I have been convinced that I've made a mistake on this channel, I have repented and corrected my mistake immediately. And I will continue to do that. Can the same be said for Stephen Furtick?

I don't think so. He has been corrected time and time again and has never repented or corrected his false teaching publicly, to my knowledge. In Acts 18, a man named Apollos is teaching the Gospel of Jesus in a way that is less than accurate.

In response, a couple named Priscilla and Achilla correct him and show him a better way. In Galatians 2, Paul has to correct his fellow apostle Peter because, quote, his conduct was not in step with the truth of the Gospel.

Peter repented and changed his ways. What's my point here? My point is this. There is no one who is perfect in all of their teaching. There is no one who can say they have never mishandled God's Word.

This is a grievous sin that cannot be excused or taken lightly. Yet, God is gracious to forgive us when we repent and fall on His mercy. First John 1 .9 says, quote, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So no, I will not be shutting down my channel anytime soon, but I will always come out and correct myself when I am wrong and I will ask for forgiveness. That's the way these things ought to be done. Second Timothy 2 .15 says this, quote, do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth.

So please pray for me, that the Lord would guide me, that He would look after my exegesis and help me to handle His Word rightly as He commands. Thank you so much for watching. If you liked that video, please like, comment, share, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so that you never miss another one.

If you didn't like that video for any reason, then I invite you to watch my Frequently Asked Questions video, link in description, where I deal with common objections and define the purpose and goal of my channel using Scripture.

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