unPHILtered: The Way I See It

by Phil Robertson

  When we’re fully clothed in God’s armor, we’re ready to go forth and do battle against the dark forces of this world. We’ll be equipped to teach others about Jesus and save those who are lost. Our cause is God’s cause. It is right, it is just, and I for one will not relent, back up, or back off. I am all in for Jesus. Even though we’re outnumbered, I like our chances. Are you with me?

  13

  SIN

  Fix No. 13: Repent and Ask God for Forgiveness

  When A&E TV executives came to West Monroe, Louisiana, about three years ago and told us they wanted to produce a reality TV show about our family, they told me they were looking to make a show about family values. Having watched some of the disgusting filth we see in reality TV these days, I kind of scratched my head and had my doubts.

  “You want to film a TV show about rednecks shooting ducks?” I asked them. “Do you actually think that will work?”

  “Oh, we think it will work,” they told me. “We’re looking for a show about family values.”

  “Well, let me guess how this thing went down and then tell me if I’m correct,” I told them. “You guys were probably sitting in your big boardroom in New York, and a bunch of you suits were tossing around ideas. A guy in the back of the room stood up and said, ‘I know this is way out there, but is it possible to make a reality show about a functional American family?’

  “ ‘Functional family’?” another guy probably said. “ ‘Now, Bob, that’s a novel idea! But where would you find one on this earth, let alone in America?’ ”

  I asked one of the A&E executives sitting in my living room, “Am I pretty close to how it went down?”

  “Mr. Robertson, you’re pretty close to how it went down,” he said.

  Well, Duck Dynasty made its debut in March 2012 and broke about every TV ratings record for reality TV over the past two years. To be honest, the show’s popularity made me feel a little bit better about where America is headed because it’s obvious that a large segment of our country was attracted to a close-knit family that loves God and loves one another. Of course, A&E’s suits were happy, happy, happy because our ratings were through the roof, and they were generating millions and millions of dollars in advertising revenue.

  Everything moved along pretty smoothly until December 2013, when GQ magazine published a cover story about Duck Dynasty. I didn’t think much about it when I was told a reporter from GQ wanted to come to my house to interview us in October 2013. I really didn’t care for it, but I agreed to do it because I was told it would be good publicity for our TV show. When the reporter showed up, I was sitting in my living room with three of my sons—Willie, Jase, and Jep—and my brother Silas, along with a public relations specialist from A&E TV.

  The reporter, Drew Magary, introduced himself to me.

  “Hey, what does GQ stand for?” I asked him.

  The reporter started laughing because he thought I was joking. I wasn’t, because I had never heard of the magazine.

  “Are you serious?” he asked me. “Gentleman’s Quarterly.”

  “Yeah, I’m serious,” I said. “Evidently, I don’t run in the circle of gentlemen who read this particular magazine.”

  After a little bit of small talk, Magary asked Jase and Jep a couple of questions. They were sitting on one of the sofas in the room, and I learned after the interviews that the first questions out of the reporter’s mouth were about my sons’ sexual history. He asked Jep when he lost his virginity, and then he asked Jase if he really expected America to believe that he didn’t have premarital sex with his wife, Missy, before they were married. I didn’t even know he’d asked my boys those questions. If I had known that’s how the interview started, I might have ended it right then. Jase was pretty upset about the guy’s question and told him he wouldn’t answer another one. So the guy made his way over to where I was sitting in my camouflage recliner.

  The first question out of his mouth to me was: “Do you think homosexual behavior is a sin?”

  Immediately, I began to question what kind of interview it was going to be. Well, he had asked a man who is a champion of family values whether he believed homosexuality is a sin, so I quoted him a list of sins from the Bible from memory. Where else would one go to learn whether or not homosexuality is a sin? A dictionary? A medical textbook? A blogger on the Internet? I don’t think so. As recently as October 4, 1982, the United States Congress proclaimed that the Bible is the Word of God, so I paraphrased scripture from Leviticus 18 and then 1 Corinthians 6, which is where Paul the Apostle spoke from God and wrote a list of sins, which includes homosexuality. When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 6, God was speaking through him, according to 2 Peter 1:20–21: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Also, 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

  The scripture I quoted to the GQ reporter was written by Paul and is what God said, so I believe it to be true. So when the reporter asked me if I believed homosexuality is a sin, I quoted Scripture, specifically, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, which says: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

  Those are the words of Paul the Apostle, who was personally chosen by Jesus Christ to write most of the New Testament. They are God’s words. In my opinion, the really sad part about the flap from the GQ interview is that most of the mainstream media in America didn’t even know I was quoting from the Bible. Apparently, they believed I was just running my mouth. Believe the Scripture or don’t believe it—it is what Paul wrote, it is what God told him to write, and it is what I quoted to the reporter. What happened next is for all of you to digest and then decide if you believe the words or not.

  Here’s my question: If you have a man who is part of a TV show about family values and who is a champion of family values, how do you expect him to respond to a question about sin? If you look at the list of sins I paraphrased for the dude, including sexual immorality, adultery, theft, greed, drunkenness, homosexuality, and swindling, what kind of values do you suppose the individuals who participate in those sins would have? Not godly ones. But when A&E asked for family values, what the executives were actually asking for was godliness, because the best family values come about when God is involved. We’re godly people with family values.

  Just after quoting the Scripture to the reporter, I gave him an opinion of mine based on my logic as a heterosexual male. I called a vagina a vagina and an anus an anus, which is how any dictionary or medical textbook refers to those particular parts of the human anatomy. I guess I might have referred to the vagina as the “canal between the vulva and the uterus” and the anus as the “opening at the end of the alimentary canal.” I’m not sure how many of GQ’s readers would have known what I was talking about, but I didn’t think the words I used were crude. I called each body part exactly what it was. Hey, news flash: I’m a heterosexual man. I prefer the vagina—get it?

  Obviously, a certain segment of the population was offended by my quotes. But you have to understand that our family values are the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is living inside us. That fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). This list of family values comes straight from the Holy Spirit of God. When people watch Duck Dynasty, they see those values among our family. Stack that list up against the other list: sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, thievery, drunkenness, and greed. It’s not a match.

  Was I mad about being put on indefinite hiatus? No, I was sad about it. I wasn’t mad then, and I’m s
till not mad today. The people who were upset about what I said blamed me, but I only quoted the Apostle Paul. If they want to be mad at someone, blame Paul, who only wrote what God told him to write. My critics would in fact be blaming God, because all scripture is God-breathed. The sins are the same today as when the scripture was written more than two thousand years ago in about 50 AD. It’s a plain, succinct Bible passage that lists a series of behaviors that are sins, with eternal judgment being the punishment for those sins. In Galatians 5:19–21, Paul wrote another list of sins: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul said the same thing to the Galatians that he said to the Corinthians, but he added a few more sins to the list for the Galatians.

  One thing to remember is that homosexuality is one of several in the list of sins. It isn’t elevated above any of the other sins. I am not a homophobe; I only fear for sinners’ souls. And those sinners include people who are greedy, who are filled with hatred or given to fits of rage, drunkenness, and the like. I love everyone even if they dislike me. I never pronounce judgment on anyone—ever. I only give them the Good News and move on down the road. I told the reporter that the Apostle Paul said sinners wouldn’t inherit the kingdom of God. On my own, I wouldn’t have told him even that because I’m not an inspired man. If the GQ reporter had asked me if I believed drunkenness was a sin, I would have read him the same scripture. If he had asked me about greed, envy, rage, self-ambition, or hatred, I would have given him the same list. I wouldn’t have even thought about homosexuality if he hadn’t asked me about it. I didn’t make homosexual behavior a target; he asked me about it. In hindsight, it’s amazing that none of the people who are fornicating and committing heterosexual immorality ever called me to complain. None of the greedy or envious people ever called me to tell me I was wrong. None of the thieves or drunkards sent me letters of complaint. As late-night TV host Jay Leno joked one night, I actually thought some politicians from Congress might call me because I talked about slanderers and swindlers. Much to my surprise, not one of them ever contacted me.

  John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Now, there is the crux of the matter. God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to save us and whoever believes in Him won’t perish. The next verse is the one too many of us forget: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). Jesus told us that He wasn’t sent to the world to condemn it. Therefore, we can’t look at any group of people and condemn them. We can only give them the Good News, love them, and pray for them. I’ll leave judgment up to the Almighty.

  What the GQ reporter left out of the story and what a lot of people seemed to gloss over was that after Paul gave the Corinthians the list of sins, he finished with the following scripture: “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Paul was trying to encourage them and described how they used to behave. But the Good News—and this is what much of America missed—is that God erased their sins and forgave them. Paul was warning them not to go back to their former lives.

  The most important thing I want everyone to realize is that the scripture in 1 Corinthians 6:11 is encouraging and is far from hateful in any way. Paul was giving the Corinthians an escape hatch to get out from under their sin. It was a great thing to tell someone. What a great thing for God to do back then and what a great thing He can do in America today. The sins in the list Paul sent to the Corinthians were common then, and they’re common in America today. They were forgiven then, and we can be forgiven now. The problem comes when we won’t acknowledge our sins and turn from them. Instead of people repenting of their sins and turning to God, they were mad at me; instead of acknowledging that they were sinners, according to what Paul the Apostle wrote in the Bible, they were angry at me. Instead, I was simply answering his question and giving him a way out of the current predicament he’s in today.

  Because I love you, I must give you some final words of advice. I understand the health risks of any immoral conduct, heterosexual or homosexual. I also talked with medical professionals after I did my research. I was stunned and saddened by the sheer volume of the various sexually transmitted diseases that accompany immoral conduct. It is far more dangerous to your physical health than I originally thought.

  Some people attacked me when I told the GQ reporter that sexual immorality of any kind is a sin. I was telling him the truth, according to the Bible! I told the truth then, and I’m telling the truth now. Look, I used to be an immoral man. I came out of the sixties. I used to stand in their shoes. I used to be on their side. I used to rail, gripe, moan, and attack what I called the “thumpers.” Most of the time, though, I only tried to stay away from the godly. I hated people like me back then, like some of the people hate me now! My defense for my sins was exactly the defense many of them are now using against me. I look back at my wild days and remember my rants, in which I called them “those goody-goody hypocrites.” How dare they try to tell me how to run my life! I hated them. I hated the sight of them, with their Bibles under their arms while they delivered hellfire-and-brimstone sermons.

  But you know something? Way down deep inside me, I knew that it wasn’t them who had a problem. It was me who had a problem—a big one—and I finally got it when I realized sin was living in me. It was the Evil One who had ensnared me and held me fast. It was not the fault of the messengers who tried to get me to change from my evil ways. My hatred was toward God Himself. He was the one I was rebelling against. My generation reached its formative years during what they called the “sexual revolution.” Simply put, it was the “sinful revolution.”

  Do you know how I knew I was the problem and not God? My conscience told me. I used to be just like many of the sinners are now—on the wrong side but too hateful and prideful to admit it. My run with the wicked lasted from high school until a few years after I finished college. I am ashamed of it now, especially all those sins. But at the time I was involved in it, I wasn’t ashamed of anything! I was the hater then! Hey, do you know why I speak out against sin? I’m saying these things because I am now a minister of reconciliation. God has sent me and others to try to reconcile the lost to Him through Jesus, and He has given us the message of reconciliation, namely, the death of Jesus, His burial, and His resurrection for any who are without Him.

  It is the truth that sets us free from the sins we have committed over the years. I’m saying these things because, along with other believers, I represent Jesus here on earth—that’s what a follower of Christ is called to. Consider me an ambassador for Jesus. He loves sinners and so do I. In this case, God is making His appeal through me, and He also makes His appeal through many others like me. We are the “repentant” ones. We’ve been there, done that, and seen the error of our ways. When we heard the message we believed it, repented, and were born again in Christ Jesus. I am a “new creation” in Christ; He did everything for me, and He has done everything for you.

  Think about it: if I did not love lost people, why would I spend the time or effort to say these things? Are they mad at me because I love them? I believe the Evil One is behind that logic. My only regret is that I did not turn to God earlier in my life. It would have saved Miss Kay a lot of pain, along with my young sons and family members back then. But you know something? It’s never too late to begin the journey with God.

  You’re not kidding this ol’ dude. I didn’t have peace of mind before I found Jesus. None! I have it now, though. Why? I was wrong back then—dead wrong—but I am right about Jesus, and if you are not re
conciled to God, I implore you to be reconciled! You will find a peace that surpasses understanding, and the blood of Jesus is more than sufficient to remove every last sin you have ever committed—sexual or otherwise. Go ahead and rip into me if you like. I will still love you in spite of it. Remember this one thing: you know the way out of your sinful dilemma because God has appointed me to tell you, and I have done so. I have done my job on your behalf, and I will continue to pray for you.

  I do not fear sinners at all. In fact, we’re all sinners. But some of us sinners have placed our faith in Christ and been saved by His blood. I love those outside of Christ, and my love is too strong for me to be afraid of them. The flap over the GQ interview didn’t bother me one bit, and I didn’t lose any sleep over it. My prayer is that everyone in America who needs to repent will turn from their sins and learn to love. All we can do is share the Good News with others, telling them Jesus came to earth more than two thousand years ago to save us from our sin. The nonbelievers count time by Jesus, just as we do. We tell them He died for our sins, which are many, and that three days after His death, He rose from the dead to guarantee that we can have our sins removed and get out from under the yoke of Satan. It is a daunting task to alert others about Jesus, but I am up to the task, even if some people hate me for it. You see, folks, my love for the ones caught up in their evil ideologies is not contingent upon how they feel about me. It is not me they have a problem with—it is Jesus—and I simply represent Him. I pray they have a change of heart and repent their sins.

  Which list are you in? Where do you stand before God? What list do you practice? You have seen the two lists. One includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; the other includes sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, thievery, greed, drunkenness, slander, and swindling. Boy, it is easy to find out who someone really is if you watch their actions. You can usually tell by what comes out of our mouths and what we do after dark. Just read the two lists and we can probably identify who we really are. One list guarantees eternal death and the other list has no laws against anything on it. I would encourage you to think about those things. I am not your judge. There is a judge, but it’s not me. I judge no person and condemn no one. I only want America’s culture to change for the better. I’m quoting you the sins and telling you what God did through Jesus to forgive you. You can take it or leave it; it’s your call. I can’t make the call for you. But remember this: whichever way you decide to go, I’ll love you anyway.