WWUTT 1745 Q&A Is Sadie Robertson Huff Biblically Sound?

Identity in Christ Versus Identity in the World

Sometimes a teacher can give you just enough Christian words to make you think you are listening to a Biblical message, but are they actually calling out sin and pointing to Jesus Christ when we understand the text?

This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible study in the Word of God that we may comprehend with all the saints how wide, how high, and how deep is the love of Christ. Tell all your friends about our ministry at www .wutt .com.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky, who is not in studio with me this week, although she is with me. We're on our way back from Alaska at the time that this podcast airs, or drops, or posts online, whatever you say.

Anyway, we're on our way back from Alaska that very day. So pray for safe travels, and we thank you so much for listening to When We Understand the Text and sharing this program with someone else. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners, and you can send those questions to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

I have one question here, because I'm only going to have time for this one question. This is from Alex, who says, Dear Pastor Gabe, have you ever listened to Sadie Robertson Huff before? I've largely ignored her.

I was never a fan of Duck Dynasty. I figured she was a part of the big evangelical machine like a young Priscilla Shire or Christine Kane. I know she's hugely popular among teenagers, which I have not been for a little while now.

But recently, John Cooper of Skillet was on her podcast. John Cooper has been popular with guys like James White and with the Just Thinking podcast. So have I misjudged Sadie Robertson Huff? I was just curious if you know much about her theology.

Thank you for the podcast. I did happen to notice that John Cooper was on Sadie Huff's podcast recently, although I did not listen to that particular episode. I've been meaning to. It's interesting, though, that you asked this question or that I got this question at this particular time.

I recently preached through Psalm 139, and in preparation for that psalm, I listened to several sermons about identity. And it didn't matter who it was I was listening to, whether they were a sound teacher or a false teacher.

I just listened to a lot of different sermons about what teachers are presently preaching or presenting about identity. And one of those preachers that I listened to was Sadie Robertson Huff. Now, she's 25 years old.

In case you don't know who this is, she's one of the daughters of the Robertsons in the program Duck Dynasty, which isn't on anymore. Is that right? It's only in syndication. She was the I think the most popular teenage face that you would see in that show.

Now, she was popular when that program was going on. She was publishing books and getting her own name out there, even while Duck Dynasty was on the air. Right now, I would say that Sadie Huff is more popular than Beth Moore.

Beth probably has the benefit of being out there for a long time. So a lot of people know her because her name has been around for a while. But Sadie Huff has more followers on social media than Beth does.

She has nearly two million on Twitter and five million on Instagram. Her books are selling better through Lifeway and some of those Christian bookstores like Mardell's. There aren't many brick and mortar Christian bookstores anymore.

But online, Sadie Robertson's Sadie Robertson Huff's stuff. That's hard to say. Sadie Robertson Huff stuff is outselling even Beth Moore. She has greater popularity through an online market. Her theology is not much better than Beth Moore's, though.

I have called Beth Moore an egalitarian mystic, meaning that Beth Moore believes women can be preachers as well as men, contrary to what First Timothy 2, 11 through 12 says. And she claims that she is getting messages from God apart from scripture.

So that's the egalitarian and the mystic aspect of it. Sadie Robertson Huff may not claim those things, but she functions that way. So she's preaching to a mixed audience, men and women together. And she'll say things you'll notice even here at the beginning of the message that I'm going to play.

She'll say things where it's like she's getting vision or guidance from the Holy Spirit that is apart from scripture. Like God is telling her he's doing certain things and she communicates that to the audience.

Now, she's very, very young. You're going to pick that up from even what you're going to hear. She's about 24, 25 years. I know she's currently 25. She may have been 24 when she taught this, but she's not a novice at this.

She's been doing it for a long time. She's been platformed way too young. She received the superstardom as a teenager and then has turned that into a teaching ministry. And if we haven't learned from Joshua Harris, you know, a teen Christian heartthrob that was platformed at too young an age, was made a pastor too young, and now he's apostate.

He's completely left the faith. And we didn't learn from that. And so now you have somebody like Sadie Robertson Huff, who even has greater popularity than Joshua Harris did. The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians in First Thessalonians, chapter five, to test everything.

Hold fast to what is good, abhor what is evil. And so we're going to test the words that Sadie Robertson is preaching here, for lack of a better term, in this message that she delivered at the Passion Conference at the beginning of this year.

Now, if memory serves, I remember reading something in the news about this. Sadie got COVID and could not be in the arena, the Mercedes-Benz arena where Passion was being held. She had to preach this at a different site, and then it was live streamed in.

So you're not going to hear any audience interaction here from her. But this is the message that everybody heard at Passion 22. So here's Sadie Robertson Huff with a message entitled, Who is God? The text that she's going to be teaching from is out of Matthew 16.

It takes her a while to get there, but that's going to be the text that she uses. And I'm going to break in periodically here and offer commentary to her teaching.

The Opening Appeal to Identity and Spiritual Urgency

And although I can't be in the Benz, I am in Atlanta, and I could not be more with you tonight. Y 'all, I know God is already moving in such absolutely incredible ways. And I know He's going to continue to move in such incredible ways.

And what I know more than anything is that the enemy does not want you to hear this message that I'm about to share. I know that the enemy does not want you to be reminded of who you are and what you're called to do.

But the enemy cannot stop the move of God. He cannot stop what God is about to do in this place. And so, y 'all, I want to remind you of who you are tonight. Yeah, I want to talk about identity, which should be a great conversation, right?

As a culture, we love to talk about identity. We're obsessed with our identity. We love to talk about the Enneagram or Myers-Briggs test. We love any kind of online quiz we could take. We even like to talk about, like, our childhood self to talk about how we, you know, became the person that we are.

We love to talk about who we are. But also, it's kind of strange because although we're kind of obsessed with talking about who we are, nobody actually really likes to be hit with the question, who are you?

I personally don't have any problem with anyone asking me, who are you? But I digress. So this is the beginning of the message. You hear her kind of drawing people in with these attention-getters like, the enemy does not want you to listen to this tonight, but he can't stop what God is going to do in this place.

And so, like I said earlier, she functions in that mystic sense, as though she's been privy to certain information about what God is doing here. You don't find it in the Bible. It's just something she senses or picks up or even God has communicated to her.

Now, what she does not do is say something like, God told me to tell you this tonight. That's what Beth Moore does. Stephen Furtick does that. A lot of these other mystic teachers. Sadie doesn't go that far, but there are still hints of what I'm telling you tonight is what God wants me to say.

So let's continue on again. She's asked this question, who are you and why people don't like to be asked that question.

Like if you've ever been in a group setting, maybe it's the first day of school or you're at a camp and you're with all these new people and someone says, all right, let's go around the room and let's tell a little bit about who we are.

That's not like the most awkward moment ever. Like all of a sudden you're hit with so much insecurity, so much awkwardness. And you're like, wait a second, who am I? What have I ever done in my life? What can I say that makes me look super cool, but not cocky?

What can I say that makes me look not too weird, but I'm kind of funny, you know? Like you're all of a sudden thinking of all of these anxious thoughts and insecurity with who am I? And that's kind of a funny moment.

And that's kind of silly insecurity and silly anxiety. But then for some of us, the reality is there is true anxiety and insecurity around the thought of who am I? Because truthfully, you're sitting here right now, and I know there are thousands of you in this room thinking the same thing.

I have no clue who I am. And not only do I have no clue who I am, I don't know what my purpose is. I don't know what I'm called to do. And that is a hard place to be friends, but you're not alone. And then there's a lot of you who are just confused as to who you are.

You identify with all types of things, but none of them are really fulfilling. And I know there are a lot of you in the room. Now, how do I know this? Well, because we've all been there. But also, a few weeks ago, I asked on my Instagram, I said, friends, what do you identify yourself with?

And I had thousands and thousands of answers. I had things like my looks, my sorority, where I go to school, my grades. I had things like my gender, my sexuality, my race, my family, my background. I had things like my disability.

A lot of them said, I identify with who other people say that I am. And then tons of people who said, I don't know.

So it's evident by a lot of the answers that Sadie received on her Instagram that many young people identify themselves by their sin. Will Sadie ever confront that? Will she ever tell her audience, this is who God says you are?

She's talking a lot about identity here. She's talked about identity or teased that out earlier in the message. So will she ever come back to saying, here is what God says about you, according to his word, according to what the Bible says?

I'm asking that question to put your antenna up. So you're listening for that as we continue in this. But then there was another group of people.

And they were definitely on my Instagram, and I know they are definitely in this room tonight at Passion 22. 2022. I know you're sitting here and you're thinking, oh, I know the answer to this question.

I know who I am. You're almost like excited that I even asked you. You don't even have to say it. You can just sing it. Yes, I am who he says I am. And you are confident to answer that question. Who are you?

I am who he says I am. And to you, I want to say that's awesome.

That's a line from a Hillsong tune, by the way. That's what she was singing there. And, of course, because she's part of that crowd. She's part of the big evangelical machine, which we refer to as Big Eva.

All the same group, doing the same conferences, boosting each other up, the same faces that you see, pushing the same kind of doctrine, which is actually pretty bad. And we get that. It's just this bubble gum doctrine that is about a mile wide and an inch deep.

There are aspects of it that are certainly true, but she's not going to want to offend anybody because she wants people flowing into her Twitter and her Instagram. She wants to continue selling books.

She wants to continue to be platformed on big stages that have thousands of people in the audience. And who is going to pay $120, which I think is what a ticket to passion is, who's going to pay that to come to a conference and hear somebody say to them, you're a sinner who's headed for hell?

So will Sadie ever confront the sin aspects so that her audience understands their need for a Savior?

Let's continue. That's awesome that you know the answer to that question, that you would want to say, I am who he says I am. But to you, I also want to ask you a follow-up question. Has that actually changed who you are?

Has who he says that you are actually changed the nature of who you are? Because we can say it all day long, and we can even say it with confidence, but that doesn't mean we're a confident person. You see, there is a time in my life where I could tell you everything about who he says that I am.

I could say he hasn't given me a spirit of fear. I could say that he's made me fearfully and wonderfully. I could say that, man, I've been set free from the bondage of sin and death. I could say all of that.

I know who he says that I am, but yet I'm still insecure. I'm still afraid. I'm still living in shame. And so what he said about me didn't actually change me. Friends, you can know everything he says about you, but what ultimately matters is who he is to you.

See, if he's not on the throne of your life, then what he says about you isn't actually going to change who you are.

Now, you may have said amen to all of that, but she did not say anything of real substance there. She said a lot of Christianese things. I have not been given a spirit of fear. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

I've been set free from the bonds of sin and death. Never explains any of that. Even that last statement she said there, if he is not on the throne of your life, then what he says about you is not going to change anything.

My friends, God is on the throne, whether you acknowledge he's there or not. You don't put him on the throne of your life. He is on his throne. Are you going to humble yourself before him and worship him, or will you continue and persist in your sin unto judgment?

Consider what the Bible says about you. Romans 3, beginning in verse 10. As it is written, None is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless.

No one does good. Not even one. Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood.

In their paths are ruin and misery. And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Consider also what Paul said about our condition before we come to Christ. Okay?

Because I'm going to assume most of the people that I'm talking to are Christians. So you can say, well, I once was that, but I'm not that anymore. Amen. But here is what Paul says about who every one of us was before we came to Jesus.

Ephesians 2, beginning in verse 1. You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. Following the course of this world. Following the prince of the power of the air. The spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

Among whom we all once lived. In the passions of our flesh. Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. And were by nature children of wrath. Like the rest of mankind. That's who we all were before coming to Christ.

Everybody who is not in Christ is in that place. We were among the sons of disobedience. We were under the wrath of God. John 3, 36. He who has the son has life. He who does not obey the son shall not see life.

But the wrath of God remains on him. That's who we are. Before we come to Christ. Ephesians 2, 4. But God, being rich in mercy. Because of the great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our trespasses.

Made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places. In Christ Jesus. So that in the coming ages. He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us.

In Christ. That's who you are now. So in Christ Jesus you have been made fellow heirs of his eternal kingdom. But before Christ you are a sinner under the judgment of God. And will be destroyed unless you repent.

And come to Jesus who died on a cross. As an atoning sacrifice for sins. He rose again from the grave. So that whoever believes in him will not perish. But will have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life with God.

You have fellowship with God now as an adopted son or daughter of God. And you have everlasting life with him as a fellow heir of his eternal kingdom. That's what the Bible says about us. Does Sadie ever say that?

To the young people she is speaking to about identity.

Who Jesus Is in Matthew 16 and Why the Church Still Matters

And so we are going to talk about identity tonight. And I do want us to be confident in being able to answer the question who are we? But there is another question that is much more important that we ask ourselves.

Because the answer to that question is actually going to tell us who we are. And what we are going to do with our life. I am going to read from Matthew chapter 16 tonight verse 13. But before I get there I just want to kind of paint a back story of where we are at tonight.

Where Jesus is having this conversation with his disciples. This is a huge conversation between Peter and Jesus. And they are having it in a really interesting place. See they are having this conversation in Caesarea Philippi.

And Caesarea Philippi was literally known as the gates of hell. That is not a joke. That is literally what it is called. The gates of hell is the place that Jesus decides to have this conversation at.

Caesarea Philippi does not literally mean gates of hell. It means Philip's Caesarea. And Caesarea is derived from Caesar. That is what the name means. It is not literally the gates of hell. There is going to be some pseudo history that is going to come up here.

Which I will attempt to correct.

And the reason why it was so bad is this place was literally the central place at the time for false worship. You say what does that even mean? Like there is a central place for false worship? Yes, if you went to Caesarea Philippi you would see temples lined up all around.

And all of these temples were to worship and to serve a different God. None of them was the same God. It was all a different God. There was a God of Pan that was birthed in Caesarea Philippi. And that was kind of like the God of all.

It was a very lustful God. There was a God, there was the fertility gods that people would go and they would pray to. There was literally dancing goats people would go worship. There was a temple for Caesar that people would go worship Caesar at.

I mean all these different gods in this place. And all of these gods being worshipped in very different ways and in different aspects. And this is where Jesus goes to ask his disciples. This super important question.

And I think Jesus went there on purpose. I don't think I know because he does everything with intention. And he's going to this place where all these other gods are. And he's forcing them to answer this question as to who he is.

Now it is true that there was a lot of idol worship that was going on there at Caesarea Philippi. But knowing that doesn't really help to understand this text. It wasn't like the main central hub of idol worship.

There was idol worship that had been going on there for a long time. Even before it was called Caesarea Philippi, the Jews who were in rebellion against God would worship the Baals there. But there's nothing significant about that particular place as it pertains to Jesus' question.

You understand what's going on according to the context. When you understand the text, not when you understand what Caesarea Philippi is. Because Jesus had just warned the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

He's about to tell them about his death and resurrection. And so in between there, he says, who do people say that the Son of Man is? And the fact that they're in the district of Caesarea Philippi, it's just following where they've been traveling over the course of chapter 16.

And now they come to the district of Caesarea Philippi. By the way, it's the district, not the city. Sadie is claiming that they're right there at this place where there's all kinds of idol worship going on.

No, they were in the district, not the actual city itself. That's what it says. Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi. So that really kind of crumbles the history that she's building up there.

And she's doing that to kind of establish a kind of authority. She may not be aware that this is the reason that she's doing that. She's just following the pattern of other teachers that she is surrounded herself by, including Priscilla Shire, someone that she will mention later on in this message.

And the other teachers that are there at Passion 22. This is her atmosphere. This is the, you know, her click or her bubble. These are the people that she is with. So the way they teach is the way she teaches.

What they teach is what she teaches, even when they have these wrong historical facts. There's nothing wrong with putting history into a sermon. I put history into my sermons all the time. Rarely do I ever do a sermon where I don't have some sort of historical context explained.

But she's doing it in such a way as though, you know, kind of to present that she has more knowledge about this than she really does. Paul warned Timothy and 1 Timothy 1 3. He says, charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God.

That is by faith. So what is she doing here? Is she promoting speculation or is she actually trying to direct her audience toward the stewardship of God, the true gospel of God that is by faith in Jesus Christ?

Let's continue.

And this is how the conversation goes. It says now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples this question. Who do people say that the son of man is? So right here where all these other gods are, who do people say that the son of man is?

And they said, well, some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. And then he said to them, he asked them the question I think is the most important question that you could be able to answer for yourself tonight.

He said, but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven.

And get this, he said, and I tell you, you are Peter. And on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Y 'all see how big of a moment this is. Here in this place where all these other gods are, the gates of hell.

This is where Jesus said, Peter, I'm going to use you as a rock. And this rock, this big rock, this rock of my church, it is gonna be so massive. This mission is gonna be so big that the gates of hell, all this darkness around us will not be able to prevail past what we are going to build.

What I'm gonna do through you, who I am in you. And so notice when Peter recognized who Jesus was, Jesus in return told Peter who he was. You see, Peter's identity was not found in who Peter found himself to be.

Peter's identity was not found in who other people told Peter that he was or what they thought of him. Peter's identity was found in who Jesus said he was after first establishing that Jesus is God.

Is that what that passage is about? Finding Peter's identity? No, that passage is about Jesus Christ building his church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. It's this little pseudo history thing going on here.

Caesarea Philippi was literally the gates of hell. No, no, it wasn't. That has nothing to do with understanding what it was that Jesus was saying. He's asking his disciples, who do you say that I am? You are the Christ, the son of the living God.

And Jesus answered him. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. Peter would not even know that answer if it had not been revealed to him by the father.

So this is not about finding out who Peter is. This is about Christ, who is going to build his church. And he has chosen these disciples to do it through, by his choosing, not because of who their identity is.

And when he says you are Peter, he's saying that Peter is going to be a rock that will be the foundation of the church. We have that stated several places in scripture. Ephesians chapter 3, in 1 Peter chapter 2, that the apostles are the foundation of the church with Christ Jesus himself, the cornerstone.

The apostles were the first that were appointed, that were to go out with the gospel of Christ. They were the first to preach it. So, therefore, they become the foundation of the church. But then we are like living stones.

That's later on in 1 Peter 2. So we have been built on this foundation. And the stones keep getting added to. Every Christian that comes into the body of Christ, into his church, is another stone that is added until we are built up as a house of worship unto the Lord.

And so Jesus says to Peter, on this rock, I will build my church. I, I will build my church. Not Peter. Christ is going to build his church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. In other words, the church is going to storm the gates of hell.

We are going to be rescuing people out of the flames when we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's in the book of Jude. Snatch them from the fire. So when we preach the gospel, we're storming the gates of hell.

We are advancing the kingdom of God and hell can't keep it back. All by God's power and his plan. Not ours. Nothing to do with our identity. That is not what this passage is about at all. It is about who Jesus is and what he is doing through his church.

Let's continue.

The Question of Who Jesus Is and the Danger of Narcissus

That's the most important question you can answer tonight, friends. Who is God to you? Who is God?

Now, see, I agree with that. I agree that it needs to be put before you. Who do you say that the son of man is? Do you understand that he is the Christ, the son of the living God? Do you know that Jesus is God?

Do you know that he is judge sitting on his throne? That he is searching minds and hearts and he will render to each person according to their works. As he says in Revelation 2. Do you know that about Christ?

But Sadie has spun that into finding out who you are and your identity. Not knowing Christ, but finding out about you. This is Narcissus. This is what Chris Roseboro has termed Narcissus. Taking the term Narcissism and Isis and putting those things together.

Reading yourself into the text where it's not about you. It's not even about finding out Peter's identity. It's knowing who Christ is and the work that he is doing to build his church. Which incidentally is still going on to this day.

So 2 ,000 years later, it is still proved that Jesus was correct. If there was not a church of Jesus Christ on the earth today, then you could say the guy was a fraud. And the gates of hell clearly prevailed against the church.

But the fact that there is still a church today on the earth. And I hope you're a part of one. A good gospel preaching church. Is further testimony to the truth of these words that Jesus proclaimed to his disciples.

And he chose these men and through them the Holy Spirit did this work. And is still doing that work to this day. And every person who comes into faith in Christ is another living stone that is added to that building.

A house of worship unto the Lord.

Let's continue on. Because whoever is on the throne of your life is going to be the one telling you who you are. So if God is God to you. And what God says about you is true. Then that will change everything about who you are.

And why it's so important that we know our identity. Is because who we believe we are will directly impact us to do the things that we choose to do in life. You see after Peter was given his identity.

He then was given his mission to build the church. So we have to understand who God is. To understand who we are. To understand what we are called to do. And what we're trying to do as a culture. Is we're wanting the world to tell us who we are.

Trying to establish ourselves in the world. And then trying to have purpose and go live with intention for the gospel of Jesus. And those two things contradict each other. Because who the world tells you you are.

And what God calls you to do. Is typically not going to be a match. They're not going to go hand in hand. You see what we're trying to do is we're trying to study the Enneagram. To tell us about who we are.

More than we're studying the word of God to find out who we are. We're trying to take all these personality tests. To lead us and guide us through our life. Instead of leaning on the Holy Spirit. We're scrolling through social media.

Trying to figure out answers to these massive questions. About who we are. Looking at TikTok. Looking at Snapchat articles. Trying to figure out who am I. Instead of really leaning into the voice of God.

Now the voice of God is in the Bible. She's never established that. Who does God say that you are? Well first of all how do you know what God has said? It's right here in the pages of scripture. But she's never directed the young people there.

So it could just be left to. Well I believe that I am this. And so that's what. That must be what God is telling me about myself. Therefore I am who God says that I am. You know she's never given an objective basis.

Through which to test any of these claims. And that objective basis is the Bible. It is the word of God. Now it's neat here that she has. Kind of dogged on all of these personality tests right. Like the Myers-Briggs.

And knowing your horoscope. Or doing the Enneagram. Yeah we should not be finding our identity in any of that stuff. So you might be hearing her say that and going. Amen sister. Thank you for warning young people about how dangerous that stuff can be.

Hold that thought. And here's the thing.

I'm a big fan of those things. I'm a six wing seven on the Enneagram. I can tell you everything there is to know about it. I am an ENFP. I know there's some proud ENFPs out there. On the Myers-Briggs.

I know my zodiac sign. I know all these things. I love social media. But none of that can tell me more about who I am. Than the one who knit me together in my mother's womb. Uh what?

So she went from saying. That all of this stuff is illegitimate to finding out who you are. To suddenly saying hey I love all of that stuff. But nothing else can tell you more. About who you are than Jesus.

So see Jesus is just one of many things. That can tell you about who you are. He needs to be the biggest one. But those other things are still pretty cool. The Enneagram which has its roots in the occult.

The Myers-Briggs. I don't even know this stuff. Right? I've never taken any of these personality tests. I don't even know what my zodiac is. What my sign is. There's a comic. I don't know if you've seen this meme before.

It's pretty good. Where there's this girl that asks this guy. What's your zodiac? And he responds dinosaur. And she says that's made up. And he said they're all made up. It's so nonsensical. It cannot tell you anything significant about who you are.

Our identity is in Christ. But knowing first of all that we have sinned. And what we deserve is the judgment of God. And it's only in Christ Jesus. That we are forgiven those sins. See we've been made in the image of God.

Every single human being is made in God's image. Genesis 127. He made man in his image. Male and female he created them. So we all have the image of God. Meaning that God's intention for us when he made us.