Despite the clarity of the documentation refuting him, Bob L. Ross continues to engage in the most desperate form of dishonesty even today:
The fact remains, if John MacArthur held an erroneous view in the past, and if James White defended that view as “SOLID TEACHING,” then James White was defending an erroneous view — whether he in fact held that view himself or not. Has he ever repented of the eroor [sic] of his way?
Think about the irrationality of such thinking. Let me give you another example. I actually disagree with John MacArthur on more than one issue, and no, I’m not talking about eschatology. I disagree with his understanding of Titus 1:6 and the issue of “believing children.” When his view was presented to one of our elders back in the mid to late 90s, I was asked to respond for the church, which I did. When I wrote my paper responding to his view of Titus 1:6, did I attack John as a person? Did I raise issues about his character? Did I assume that if I believe him wrong on his exegesis of Titus 1:6, that must mean he is a false teacher? No, of course not. In fact, it was my respect for him as a teacher of God’s Word that even prompted me to respond. And along with that, as soon as I wrote the paper, and before sending it to the person who had inquired, I sent it to Phil Johnson to pass on to Pastor MacArthur just as a courtesy and as a means of letting them both know that I had written the paper and did so with admiration and respect for MacArthur’s ministry. Did this somehow prove that I actually held to MacArthur’s view? Of course not. You can look at a man’s ministry and say, “God has used him mightily” without agreeing with every single word he ever utters.
The only thing I have to repent of is the error of ever having recommended Bob L. Ross to anyone in the past. I defended John MacArthur’s ministry while disagreeing with his specific viewpoint on the eternal sonship of Christ. Phil Johnson knows this, anyone with the slightest concern for honesty knows this. I have documented my consistent position on this; I can point to published writings before and after the single 1997 e-mail Ross cites clearly presenting my viewpoint on the topic; all Ross has is his addled mis-reading of otherwise obvious words.
As much as I would love to ignore Ross’ wild-eyed rants, I cannot always do so. This current claim on his part is slanderous, and it is this kind of claim that gets picked up by others who care little about truth, but much about sound-bites. Let it be known that Ross’ claims regarding my adherence to the 1689 LBCF are false and have been refuted; and let it be known that I have never held to a denial of the propriety of identifying the Lord Jesus Christ as having eternally been the Son of God and of bearing that relationship to the Father in eternity past, and Ross’ claims otherwise stand refuted. Every person who has read my works, been in my classes, etc., knows this to be true. All Ross has is an out-of-context e-mail where I rebuked him for being the immature purveyor of ad-hominem attacks that he has proven himself to be for years: he misrepresented MacArthur and made outrageously false statements concerning the conclusions of the position John once held. I simply pointed out the errors of such behavior. To assume that means I agreed with MacArthur’s position on the topic is juvenile at best, and grossly dishonest at worst.
Mr. Ross’ refusal to stand corrected is sad. I had asked Mr. Ross for the name of his church so I could bring this matter, with documentation, to the attention of his elders. He has informed me he is one of the elders. It is reprehensible for one in such a position to behave as he is behaving, and I call upon his fellow elders to seek to bring about his repentance for this public slander. Disagree with me if you will: but do yourself and everyone else the favor of actually disagreeing with what I teach. If you have to lie about me to make your points, does this not speak volumes about the bankruptcy of your crusade? But to add insult to injury, this man, with his long history of this kind of behavior, has just written to my church asking that my behavior be examined. Truly, Bob Ross is a disturber of the brethren who needs to be marked out for the dishonest man he is. Let the facts speak to the truth. God will judge.