Regulative Principle – Michelle Lesley

Welcome to another “potpourri” edition of The Mailbag, where I give short(er) answers to several questions rather than a long answer to one question.

I like to take the opportunity in these potpourri editions to let new readers know about my comments/e-mail/messages policy. I’m not able to respond individually to most e-mails and messages, so here are some helpful hints for getting your questions answered more quickly. Remember, the search bar (at the very bottom of each page) can be a helpful tool!

Or maybe I answered your question already? Check out my article The Mailbag: Top 10 FAQs to see if your question has been answered and to get some helpful resources.

Did Judas go to Hell when he died?

Although there is no Bible verse that says verbatim, “Judas died and went to Hell,” and we always have to be very careful with speculating, I believe we can safely infer from two passages (and their surrounding contexts) that Judas is, indeed in Hell.

The first passage is Matthew 26:20-25. This is the scene at the Last Supper when Jesus has just told the disciples that one of them (Judas) will betray Him. He says about His betrayer in verse 24, “woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” “Woe,” and “better if he had not been born,” are not phraseology anyone, let alone omniscient Jesus, would use to describe someone who would be entering Heaven mere hours later.

The second passage is John 17, Jesus’ high priestly prayer for His disciples just prior to His crucifixion. In verse 12, Jesus says, “not one of them perished but the son of perdition,” referring to Judas. Again, Jesus knows Judas’ death is only hours away. He also knows whether Judas will be in Heaven or Hell afterward. If Jesus knew Judas would be in Heaven, why would He call him “the son of perdition”? Furthermore, the Greek word translated “perdition” or in other Bible translations, “destruction,” is apoleia. This word can carry the connotation, “damnable,” and “the destruction which consists of eternal misery in Hell” (Strongs, G684).

So, yes, Scripture indicates that Judas is spending eternity in hell.

Additional Resources:

Was Judas Iscariot forgiven / saved? at Got Questions?

Did Judas repent? by John MacArthur

This question was submitted in response to my article The Mailbag: What Is Submission?

My cousin’s (a professing Christian) husband has Alzheimer’s, and his mental state has gone downhill very quickly (she is 59 and he is 77.) At one point in the conversation, she mentioned all the responsibilities she’s taken on that he used to handle, and said that she was now the head of the household. I’m wondering if any Biblical texts address a wife’s role in that situation.

My heart goes out to your cousin. Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia are such cruel conditions, both for the patient and his or her loved ones.

There is nothing in the Bible that specifically addresses caring for a spouse with dementia or any other mental incapacitation, or what a wife’s submission to her husband might look like in that situation.

I think what your cousin probably meant by her remark about being “head of the household” is that she now has to take over all of the family “business” responsibilities her husband used to handle: paying the bills, getting things around the house fixed, handling legal paperwork and taxes, making decisions, and so on. And, sadly, her husband is also not able to lead her in Bible study, prayer, and spiritual matters, so she’s having to handle that as well.

These are all things she would immediately have to take over and handle if her husband suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack, and we wouldn’t think a thing of it.

What’s happening to your cousin’s husband is a slow death. His body isn’t dying all at once, but day by day, bit by bit. So, she’s gradually taking over the things his body has died to and is unable to handle any more. And, biblically, that’s not just OK, that is being a faithful, godly helper.

If she came to me for counsel, I’d advise her to keep doing what she’s doing. If her husband has moments of lucidity in which she can tell he’s making a reasonable decision or request, she should certainly submit to that. If her husband made non-sinful decisions before he became ill, she should continue to submit to and carry out those decisions*. But otherwise, she should continue to love and serve him the best she can, and that includes gradually taking over what he can no longer do.

*(Thank you to “hiltonjp5c174e0fe6” for her comment below on 10/8/25, which reminded me of this.)

Are Christian Americans ALWAYS supposed to back Israel? The people of Israel now may not even be Jesus believing Christians or even God believing Jews. Should we support everything they say and do, just because they live in the country? I’m not implying anything, one way or another, but it seems a lot of Christians say, “we back Israel so we will be blessed” and it sometimes seems like a blind backing.

Much has been written and said in the last hundred years or so about Israel, eschatology, end times prophecy, and so on, but sometimes it gets a little complicated and convoluted. I think there might be a simpler way to look at things.

First, I would have to ask: What does it mean for a Christian individual in 2025, who’s not a politician or a pastor, to “back Israel”? What does that look like in your daily life? Posting supportive things about Israel on social media? Voting for politicians who promise to create legislation and policies that are favorable to Israel? Those are really the only things I can think of. You and I have no power to do anything substantive to “back Israel” in our day to day lives, so this question is mostly moot for the majority of us as individuals.

Second, Christians handle and evaluate situations according to Scripture as they come up. If an issue comes up with Israel, we look at it biblically:

Did Israel’s government make a decision that the Bible clearly says is sin? Christians can’t support that. God certainly has never supported Israel’s sin just because they’re Israel. Just take a gander at how He responded to Israel’s sin in the Old Testament. He sent diseases, natural disasters, the armies of pagan nations to attack them, and finally exiled them for 70 years. In Jeremiah 7, God essentially tells them they can’t go out and commit a bunch of abominations and then expect Him to deliver them.

Did Israel’s government make a decision that doesn’t conflict with God’s commands or biblical principles? Then we evaluate the wisdom of it according to Scripture, and we have the freedom in Christ to support or not support that decision (whatever that might mean) accordingly.

I’m curious if replacing the preaching of God’s Word on the Lord’s Day during the morning worship service with a gospel music concert or a VBS commencement is biblically appropriate and/or considered to be our worship of Him? I am seeing a doctrinal shift toward the progressive left in some areas of my local church, and I’m burdened and heartbroken as I pray for God to make clear what I perceive as concerns and how I can glorify Him in this matter.

I’m so sorry. I know firsthand what it’s like to be in a good church that goes bad. It is heartbreaking and stressful.

Scripture doesn’t give us a line by line order of service to follow for the worship service, but that doesn’t mean anything goes, either. Typically, churches follow either the regulative principle of worship (RPW) or the normative principle of worship (NPW). The NPW is the idea that we can do anything in the worship service that isn’t prohibited in Scripture. The RPW basically says that we are only to do things in the worship service that are prescribed in Scripture: preaching the Word, worshiping God through song, praying, giving offerings, and so on.

Now, you’ll notice that God commands both the preaching of the Word and singing in His church, but He doesn’t specify how much time we’re to devote to each. However, when we look at the overall picture of the church that the New Testament presents, it’s easy to see that the preaching and teaching of the Word should be central as a general rule.

That being said, it is my opinion that it’s perfectly OK for a doctrinally sound church to occasionally (maybe a couple of times a year) have a service in which the music portion of the worship service is longer than the preaching portion, as long as the Word is being proclaimed through the music.

For example, my church usually holds a worship service a couple of weeks before Christmas called “Lessons and Carols”. Scriptures pertaining to Christ’s incarnation are alternated with Christmas carols and hymns that echo those Scriptures. That takes up most of the service. At the end, my pastor gives a briefer than normal gospel presentation / sermon.

I think something like that or a Christmas or Easter cantata is fine.

I would not agree that it would be appropriate to replace the sermon with a “gospel music concert” (if, by that, you mean a singer/group comes in and gives a performance) or a VBS commencement, to the exclusion of the sermon. Neither a concert-style performance nor a commencement program are elements of worship prescribed in Scripture. And if you’re seeing other doctrinal problems alongside these things, it’s probably indicative of the overall declining spiritual health of your church. Time to make an appointment with the pastor, and kindly and lovingly express your concerns.

I pray your pastor will listen, and I hope you won’t need this, but just in case you do, you can always find the Searching for a new church? tab in the blue menu bar at the top of this page.

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 29 ~ July 13-19
2 Chronicles 27-31, Isaiah 9-27, Micah, 2 Kings 16-18:8, Psalm 48
Israel is Exiled

2 Kings 17:1-20
Second Kings 17 is sort of the “Cliff Notes” version of Israel’s era of the kings. We have read about each king of Israel, all of whom “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Second Kings 17 sums up the effect these evil kings had on Israel’s relationship with God and the consequences for their idolatry.

Israel’s Sin
The sin that brought God’s judgment upon Israel was idolatry. Israel participated in idolatry in two different ways, usually at the same time:

They worshiped false gods instead of the true God. (12,16-17)
As Israel got to know her pagan neighbors, she began to worship some of their false gods such as Ashera, Baal, Molech, and the stars and planets. This was expressly forbidden by God in the 10 Commandments and throughout the Old Testament. While other nations often worshiped many gods, Israel was to be holy and set apart to the one true God and serve only Him.

They worshiped the true God in false ways. (16, 1 Corinthians 14:40, 2 Corinthians 9:7, 1 Corinthians 5, 1 Timothy 2:12-14, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, 1 Corinthians 11:17-33)
You will recall the two golden calves Jeroboam had set up in the north and south for the people to worship. He wanted to keep the Israelites from traveling out of Israel into Judah to worship at the temple because he did not want the people to turn their loyalty back to the throne of David. So he took the worship and festivals God had set up for Himself and transferred them to these two calves. The calves were basically a stand in for God.

God was very specific about how, when, and where He was to be worshiped. When we studied Exodus and Leviticus, we saw hundreds of instructions about God’s house, the utensils, the men who served as priests and Levites, the offerings and sacrifices, cleansing rituals, and on and on. God requires that He be worshiped in certain ways. His ways. He did not leave it up to His people to worship Him freestyle.

Even today, God has given us specific instructions about worship that we are to obey. For example, He tells us that, in the church, all things are to be done decently and in order (1 Cor. 14), that we are to give our offerings cheerfully and not reluctantly or under compulsion (2 Cor. 9), that we are to discipline, not tolerate, unrepentant sin in the church (1 Cor. 5), that women are not to instruct or hold authority over men in the church (1 Tim. 2), the qualifications for pastors and elders (1 Tim. 3, Tit. 1), instructions about the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11), and so many more things. Although God has given us freedom in some areas of worship, as long as they do not violate any specific instructions He has given us (music style, order of service, what we wear to church, etc.), He has not turned us loose to worship Him in any way we please. We must be careful not to do this as the Israelites did.

God’s Patience (1 Peter 3:20, 2 Timothy 4:1, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 2:4, 2 Corinthians 6:2)
After Solomon died, Israel and Judah split into two separate kingdoms. In the 209 years between Solomon and the exile (931-722 B.C.), Israel had twenty kings, all of whom participated in and promoted idol worship among the people of Israel. During that time period, God sent at least seven prophets (Ahijah, Jehu, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea) to warn Israel to turn back from her idolatry and the consequences if she would not. Two hundred and nine years. That’s a lot of chances God gave His people to repent and turn back to Him.

God has a track record of patience. First Peter 3:20 tells us “God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared.” God stayed His hand of judgment for 120 years while Noah was building the ark, preaching repentance with every swing of the hammer. In His mercy, God was giving the people of Noah’s day a chance to repent and turn to Him before the flood, but none did, except Noah’s family.

In the same way, God has been patient with mankind for the last 2000+ years since He provided the way of salvation for us through Jesus.

Second Timothy 4:1 tells us that Christ will return to judge the living and the dead, but what’s taking Him so long?

Second Peter 3:9 says: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

He wants everyone to turn to Him in repentance, but we are not to take advantage of His patience and continue in sin. Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”

“For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2). In the same way that Israel should have repented immediately because they didn’t know how long God’s patience with them would last, we must turn to Him now instead of later because we do not know when He is coming back. And once He does, it will be too late for those who have not put their trust in Christ.

God’s Judgment (18-20)
God’s time of patience with the ungodly always comes to an end. It happened with Noah, and here we see it happening with Israel. God’s judgment fell upon Israel. He allowed them to be torn apart by enemy nations, and, finally, exiled from the Promised Land to Assyria. Judah held out for a while with a few good kings, but eventually, she followed in Israel’s footsteps and was exiled to Babylon in 605 B.C.

But even in exile, there were those few faithful Israelites and Judahites whom God saved: Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther, Ezra, and many others whose names we don’t know. Today, despite persecution and rampant sin in the visible church, God is still preserving a remnant of Christians who are faithful, whom He will preserve when He brings the final judgment upon the earth. Until that time, the words of Jesus are just as relevant today as when He said them 2000 years ago: