- A genuinely repentant man in such circumstances must confess everything, fully and completely, and this would include any crimes he has not been charged with. The chances are good that the authorities do not know everything he has done. He must plead guilty in court to any crimes he committed, publicly declare that he has sought God’s forgiveness, and ask for forgiveness from the families of the victims. . . A repentant man who had done these things would evidence his repentance in his whole-hearted desire to be executed. . . .
- If in substance he manifests repentance this way, that repentance should be accepted by his brothers and sisters in Christ, and he should willingly go to his death a communicant member of Christ Lutheran Church. If he does not do these things, if his declared repentance is only an emotional sorrow that does not bear the marks of true repentance, then he should be excommunicated from his church.
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1. No one has ever done anything so horrendous that God’s forgiveness in Christ cannot reach him. Salvation is according to grace, not according to works. Of course [Sitler] does not deserve to be saved. No one does.
2. [The fact that Sitler is] a member of a [pseudo-]Christian [cult has in no way diminishes his] standing obligation to repent of his grotesque sins, and believe in Christ.
3. His confessed behavior indicates that he [is and has been] in defiance of this [moral and spiritual] obligation over an extended period of time, over [a decade].
4. This does not mean that he cannot repent now, but the Bible must be the only rule for us in defining what actual repentance looks like. There is a sorrow that leads only to death, but a godly sorrow leads to repentance without regret.
5. In a situation like this one, again, assuming the confessions of guilt, what would repentance look like? In short, what sort of repentance should [an actual c]hurch accept, so that [Sitler] might [rightfully become] a member [in good standing of an actual church]?
6. A genuinely repentant man in such circumstances must confess everything, fully and completely, and this would include any crimes he has not been charged with. The chances are good that the authorities do not know everything he has done. He must plead guilty in court to any crimes he committed, publicly declare that he has sought God’s forgiveness, and ask for forgiveness from the families of the victims. So that they might know that this is not just talk, [Sitler] must [sincerely acknowledge that he is, by the nature of his heinous crimes, someone especially worthy of] the death penalty. A repentant man who had done these things would evidence his repentance in his whole-hearted desire to be executed [should the law of the land ever in the future make proper accommodation for his just execution at the hands of the state however unlikely that scenario might be] . In this, he should echo the words of the apostle Paul. “For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die” (Acts. 25:11).
7. If in substance he manifests repentance this way, that repentance should be accepted by his brothers and sisters in Christ, and he should willingly [separate himself in an unequivocal manner from the sham that is the CREC and in due course become a] member of [an actual c]hurch [that in no way, shape or form enables Doug Wilson or any other cult leader. Thus far it is clear that he has] not do[ne any of] these things, [and thus it is right to conclude that] his declared repentance is only an emotional sorrow that does not bear the marks of true repentance, [and] he should [not at any point have been falsely presented as some sort of genuinely repentant trophy of God’s grace and should] be [recognized as a dangerous and deceitful unregenerate malefactor by any and every] church.
Salvation is according to Works. No amount of Grace will save those who commit evil Works.