A Friendly Response to Doug Wilson

Why We Need Both Courage and Carefulness

In recent years, a claim about manhood by Douglas Wilson has gone viral. I’ll cite the short form of it, and then give the longer form for clarity. The short form: “Desperate times call for faithful men, and not for the careful men. The careful men come later, and write the biographies of the faithful men, lauding them for their courage.”

Here as well is the longer form from Wilson’s “A Sermon to the Governor and Legislature of Idaho” (Sunday, July 8, 2012):

…history is filled with restorations and reformations that seemed impossible at the time. That is why we remember them. No grateful descendants are going to build a monument for us because we called for, and got, “mild improvements.” Nothing worthwhile was ever accomplished by men who were prepared to be reasonable. The voices of prudence and caution have always whispered to the reformers that their cause was hopeless. And, of course, this was plausible, because it always was hopeless. But the precondition for reformation is deformation. It has to be a tangled mess in order for reformation courage to manifest itself. Desperate times call for faithful men, and not for the careful men. The careful men come later, and write the biographies of the faithful men, lauding them for their courage.

Before I engage this framing, let me note the state of things. Of late, conservative evangelicalism has witnessed a lively discussion over Wilson’s ideas and the broader “Moscow Mood.” My purpose in writing is not to engage this matter; here’s a thoughtful and wise piece from Kevin DeYoung to consider, as well as a temperate response to DeYoung that raises the salient point of woke encroachment in Reformed circles in past days.

The broader discussion among these respected voices, one hopes, will lead to edification and sharpening. For my humble part, I addressed several positive dimensions of Wilson’s influence in my G3 pre-conference message a few months back. As I said then, various elements of Wilson’s program—including his desire to celebrate God’s gifts and to prioritize good cheer—have had a positive effect on me. So too was I seriously helped (as many were) by Wilson’s truly courageous and exegetically sound handling of lockdown policies.

In speaking up about governmental overreach, Wilson—like John MacArthur, as I wrote over a year ago—worked the graveyard shift. Few voices spoke up to provide courageous clarity on these matters, but Wilson and MacArthur very much did. I honor Wilson for his brave leadership in that respect, as I do in the area of childhood education, to give yet another area of appreciation.

Having noted this genuine appreciation, I hasten to add that I am not attempting a referendum on Wilson’s ministry. Were I to do so, mine would not be a partisan contribution. (Team A versus Team B Christian partisanship is truly wearisome, in particular because of how complex people and movements often are.) In terms of one area of vital concern, Wilson’s connection with Federal Vision theology troubles me, even as I have difficulty pinning down exactly where the mark lies with Wilson vis a vis Pauline justification.

That, however, is a subject for a different day. In what follows, I consider a different issue: Wilson’s claim, surfaced above, that our “desperate times” necessitate “faithful men” (or men of courage), not “careful men.” As will become clear, though I understand the burden of Wilson’s statement, I think this particular framing is problematic.

Though Wilson has himself handled different matters with real biblical care, the “courageous men, not careful men” approach needs greater conformity to Scripture.

The Real Need for Courage

From the outset, we must confess this: courage is essential to manhood. Wilson is quite right about that. I recently published a book on manhood titled The War on Men, and in it, I call in no uncertain terms for men to find courage in God. I thus register my agreement with Wilson, an estimable thinker and writer, on the non-negotiable imperative of masculine courage.

This is not a glancing matter; to the contrary, manly courage grounded in God’s grace is very close to the core of manhood, and the heart of Christ himself. Pastor Josh Buice and I recently discussed this truth on my Salem podcast, Grace & Truth; check out the YouTube link for more (here’s the Spotify link as well—be sure to subscribe to the podcast if you can).

We could state the point this way: courage is so close to the burning center of manhood that when Paul tells the Corinthians to “act like men,” andrizesthe in the Greek, he is essentially telling them to act courageously (1 Cor. 16:13). You cannot separate biblical manhood and courage. If you do not have courage, you will not be a biblical man as Scripture sketches. This is who God makes us; indeed, biblical men are weak men made strong by the power of Christ’s cross.

But the call to manly courage is not merely found in the New Testament. In Joshua 1:7, for example, Yahweh says this to Joshua as Joshua inherits Moses’ mantle:

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

This text shows us that it is of crucial importance that Joshua show courage. In fact, God calls Joshua to be חֲזַ֨ק, “strong,” and וֶֽאֱמַ֜ץ מְאֹ֗ד, “very courageous,” no glancing charge. (Men are regularly commanded to be “strong” in the Bible, turns out.) If the people of God are to take the promised land, they must show God-centered bravery, and men must lead in acting boldly to rout pagan tribes and claim their inheritance.

Yet this is actually only part of Joshua’s charge. Joshua must be fearless, yes, but he must also לִשְׁמֹ֤ר, “be careful.” Specifically, he must apply himself “to do according to all the law” of Moses. He must neither outrun God’s law nor underplay it. If he wants to have “good success,” he must be courageous, but he must in equal measure be careful to know God’s truth and apply it with discernment.

We see that the Bible addresses a man in a very urgent situation, but Joshua does not hear a one-sided call. Joshua hears a two-sided call. Though God’s people face a difficult and even monumental task, Joshua’s responsibility is not only to show martial fearlessness, but to be scrupulously careful. He must study—and minister—the Word of God with exquisite care.

Let’s draw a distinction at this point, though: there is a form of “carefulness” that is not ideal. This Wilson disavows, and so would I. By this I mean a fearfulness that cloaks itself in the garb of “carefulness,” but is in truth shameful timidity. This is no virtue whatsoever. To be sure, there is plenty of so-called “carefulness” going around today that is not scripturally sound. Not for nothing are the “cowardly” barred from the New Jerusalem; quite a warning, that (Rev. 21:8).

But with this important caveat stated, we cannot miss that the Bible has a great deal to say about godly carefulness. In what follows, let me list a number of verses and passages from both the Old and New Testaments that unfold the need for care in all believers do.

Deuteronomy 12:32

“Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Joshua 22:1–5

[1] At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, [2] and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. [3] You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the LORD your God. [4] And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. [5] Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

1 Chronicles 22:12–13

[12] Only, may the LORD grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the LORD your God. [13] Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

Ezekiel 20:19–20

[19] I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, [20] and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

Ezekiel 36:27

[27] And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Luke 11:35

[35] Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.

Luke 12:15

[15] And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Acts 20:28–31

[28] Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. [29] I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; [30] and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. [31] Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

1 Corinthians 3:10

[10] According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

Ephesians 5:15–16

[15] Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, [16] making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

1 Timothy 4:16

[16] Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Titus 3:8

[8] The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

Hebrews 3:12

[12] Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

1 Peter 1:10–11

[10] Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, [11] inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

2 Peter 3:17

[17] You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

There is such power in simply laying out what the Word of God teaches on a given subject. As this little survey shows, there are all kinds of carefulness mapped out in Scripture. We must be exegetically careful, handling the Word of God with a jeweler’s precision; we must be spiritually careful, watching our life closely; we must be doctrinally careful, watching our theology for any sign of slippage; we must be pastorally careful, watching out for evildoers who would attack the sheep; we must be comprehensively careful in everything we do, studying God’s Word with great devotion and attention that we might honor God and live for his glory.

I don’t mean by all this that we should live in a straitjacket of fear. That’s not what the Bible teaches us. We should live in Christian freedom, the freedom for which Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1); furthermore, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). Sweeter words than these one can scarcely find. But with this noted, a careful study of Scripture yields one iron conclusion: if we are not careful, we will not honor God.

There Is No Choice Between Courage and Carefulness

Here is the essential truth, then: Christian men in leadership do not choose between courage and carefulness. Nor do we rank one above the other. The courageous man must in truth be a careful man; the careful man must be a courageous man. This is what Joshua heard in ancient days (Joshua 1:7); this is what we hear afresh: be courageous to strike out in the mission of God, but as you strike out, be careful.

In fact, before we go, we must plan well. Without good planning, courage is often in vain. Even the most rudimentary study of military history shows us this truth in spades. The commander bristling in courage who launches out without exquisitely detailed plans is asking for trouble. On the battlefield, courage must be profoundly informed by carefulness. So too in the greater battle, the conflict for souls.

Wilson is right: it does indeed feel like we are in “desperate times,” as he wrote over a decade ago. He penned that phrase in the days when the sorry statutes of “Obamacare” dripped wet ink in the legislative text, and the cultural struggle has only waxed hotter since then. But here is the truth: if we are in “desperate times,” it is in such straits that we most need the scriptural marriage of courage and carefulness.

In very difficult circumstances, we must not lose our nerve. We must not flinch. We must face the world. But at the same time, we must not act rashly. We must not exhibit an unsteady disposition, and embrace a ready-fire-aim approach that the devil urges us to adopt. Instead, we must keep our head; we must stay in the map-room, and hold the councils of war at their regularly scheduled time; we must pray to be “stable and steadfast” when we are tempted to lose our mind under the pressure and chaos of it all (Colossians 1:23).

All this will prove very hard to do. It will take the power of the Spirit for such meticulous self-discipline and self-regulation. It will take confession of sin, repentance for either cowardice or brashness, and the lavish forgiveness of God on a regular basis. It will take much patience, perhaps the single hardest fruit of the Spirit to bear. After all, red-blooded men regularly feel the pull to operate in our flesh, and to do anything but pray at great length, take counsel from wise saints, and plot out a rigorous course of action.

Such patient planning is very hard for some of us to do. Wisdom is hard for warrior types; warrior types by definition tend toward brashness. For such men, wisdom can sound like effeminacy and compromise. I think of the example of Joab in the Old Testament. He had ferocious martial courage that God used for real good, but he also struggled to know when to lay down his fearsome axe, and stop chopping heads off.

But men must indeed lay down the axe. Warriors need balance greatly; warriors need wisdom greatly. In fact, warriors may well need wisdom the most of anyone, because of the God-given capacity for aggression, warfare, and conflict that they possess. Today, as I argue in this longer work, we need men who are strong in God, but we equally need these men to walk in wisdom, welcome correction, avoid quarrelsomeness, and embrace humility by the power of the Spirit.

Conclusion

In closing this essay, one can comment on many different respects of the work in Moscow, Idaho. I make no attempt at a broader referendum. My focus in this essay has been to register real respect for Wilson, but also to challenge—in good cheer—the idea that we Christian men should pursue courage but not pursue carefulness.

My own guess is this: Douglas Wilson, established for decades in ministry, knows the importance of carefulness. But in terms of the charge we offer the rising generation, we simply cannot allow men to think that they have a choice between courage or carefulness. Instead, we must summon men to embrace both of these virtues.

This is no easy feat for sinners like us, to be sure. But the gospel is sufficient to grow us, with all our standing imbalances and dispositional weaknesses, in courageous carefulness. The gospel is sufficient to make us bold men, not brash men. So we hear God charge us, clearly and unwaveringly, in his holy Scriptures. Be very courageous, God commands us from ancient days.

But so too does he say this: be careful.