Wilson does lean towards Orthodoxy on several particular topics, namely infant communion and aspects of his understanding of salvation and grace. But that’s not necessarily a good thing. Taking bits of Orthodoxy into a Protestant framework can cause lots of issues.

An example of this is Bill Gothard, who defined grace as “the power that God gives us to do his will”. That’s closer to the Orthodox understanding than most Protestants are. But he keeps that understanding of grace within a typical Protestant Penal Substitution Atonement model where salvation is getting God to be not mad at you anymore. Take that definition of Grace and put it into Eph. 2:8, and salvation (from the wrath of God) becomes a matter of doing enough good works. In addition, this is within a sort of prosperity gospel framework where bad things that happen to you are always your fault for stepping outside of God’s will or having insufficient good works etc etc.

Wilson does something very similar to Gothard but of course couches it in much more rhetorical sophistication. Ultimately it is a theological system that is designed for cult-like control. Those within the system can never be sure if they are under wrath or under grace (it’s a total binary) because a state of grace is demonstrated by showing sufficient works and obedience to those in authority. I grew up in a Wilson/Gothard influenced household and I always believed (until my mid teens) that God was mad at me and I was “unsaved” and heading for Hell because of some deficiency of my faith as expressed by my works/obedience. It was only as a teenager that I got a sense of peace that God loved me and was unconditionally for me that I was finally able to experience and grow in the spiritual walk (not coincidentally, Wilson’s influence in our family diminished at that time).

In summary, if your going to be Orthodox be Orthodox, and if your going to be Reformed be Reformed. Don’t mix and match between theological systems. No good can come of it.

https://fountain.fm/episode/Hl4xTFcFd1ck7JamhqKM

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