February 9, 2018 Show with Todd Friel on “Concerns About the Charismatic Movement Within Reformed Christian Churches & Fellowships” PLUS “John MacArthur: A Faithful Shepherd Enters Into His 50th Year of Gospel Ministry”

Live from the historic parsonage of 19th century gospel minister George Norcross in downtown

Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

It's iron sharpens iron a radio platform on which pastors Christian

scholars and theologians Address the burning issues facing the church and the world

today.

Proverbs 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron so one

man sharpens another.

Matthew Henry said that in this passage quote we are cautioned to take heed whom we

converse with and Directed to have in view in conversation to make one another

wiser and better.

It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next hour.

And we hope to hear from you the listener with your own questions.

Now here's our host Chris.

Good afternoon, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

Lake City, Florida and the rest of humanity living on the planet Earth who are listening via live streaming at iron

sharpens iron radio .com.

This is Chris Arnz and your host of iron sharpens iron radio wishing you all a happy Friday on this ninth day of

February 2018 and I'm so delighted today to have two guests on who were both at.

And both on the roster at the recent g3 conference in Atlanta, Georgia and first

my guest.

For the initial part of the program.

I'm delighted to have back on the program Todd Friel who is an author.

He's a conference speaker and he's the host of wretched TV and wretched radio and we're gonna be discussing

concerns about the charismatic movement within Reformed Christian churches and fellowships and it's my

honor and privilege to welcome you back to iron sharpens iron radio Todd Friel.

I.

Think you're the first person that actually did that intentionally.

I'm doing great.

It was so good to see you At the g3 conference again, and it was my honor and

privilege for the very first time to be interviewed by you.

And I believe that the the Segment with me and my promotion of iron sharpens iron radio

has probably already aired on wretched television.

I.

Think so.

Yes, and Adrian rink sent me a link of the entire program

that that was featured on and so did Al Yerkes for that matter.

So tell our listeners, I mean there may be some listeners in my audience who are

unfamiliar with you.

Although that's doubtful, but I do have new listeners joining the iron sharpens iron audience.

Nearly every day it seems and they're not all evangelical Christians.

Some are Roman Catholics some are Muslims some are

Searching agnostics and Other things.

Tell us about wretched TV and radio.

Well, if you've

got a

man.

Well, that was the most important thing you could have said.

Well, it

is

the

most

important

thing and

I think maybe

the

reason

can find out or

if I him up.

Hey, man.

I thank you very much for that as well.

So, how can people actually watch and or listen to you on wretched TV and radio?

Yeah, visit Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints.

I.

Mormon TV shows

they don't identify.

Oh, man.

I I

busted a gut.

I think I was on the border of having a coronary arrest laughing at a at a

very unfortunately a very cleverly and

Masterfully created YouTube that the Mormons did a self -parody using the Adele song.

Did you see that YouTube?

I.

Think so.

Yeah.

And it's it's a shame that more Christians don't produce things of that quality because it could not have been

done better and unfortunately, obviously it was promoting a Damning religion, but

it was just hysterically funny.

If so, where exactly do you stand on Mormonism?

I wasn't clear with.

Oh.

Well as I have interviewed a number of people who were or are former Mormons

I and I've heard a lot of the details about that religion.

I really don't think that you could be farther away from biblical Christianity than Mormonism,

even though the average naive individual who is not a Christian or not

a Student of the Scriptures might think well, it's the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints, isn't it?

It's got to be just the same kind of a religion there.

They're typically pro -life.

They're wholesome.

They're friendly.

They say they love the Bible.

They say a little of Jesus, but it's really closer and I'm not even exaggerating I'm sure you would agree with this.

It's closer to the pagan idolatry of Greek

mythology Nordic mythology and also Roman Mythology

it's it's really much closer to that than it is to Christianity.

Well, it's.

Yeah, that's

that's

an

understatement.

Of course.

So they many of them are wonderful people when you're talking about your neighbors and so forth they and

and we have to admit as Christians that sometimes our Unbelieving neighbors or neighbors and false religions.

They can outdo us as being better husbands better parents better siblings better

children better Employees better citizens better neighbors.

It's it's an unfortunate thing that we have not lived up.

What's

that?

I don't doubt

that

either.

Yes, and

actually

I've

heard

from

a former.

BYU faculty member professor tenured professor who is now a Christian

she has said that there's an alarmingly high rate of child molestation within

LDS households.

But perhaps that's a subject for another time.

And before we get into the meat of what we actually Intended to discuss today.

I want you to tell our listeners about this booklet that you've been promoting about.

Don't stub your toe.

And how on earth that title relates to the gospel?

I have no idea, but we'll find out.

Okay.

And I

hope it

has nothing to do

with

something we

discussed

in a previous

broadcast.

Well,

thank

thank

goodness.

They're not doing the visual graphics with preparation H yet, but anyway.

But I was going to say I hope it's not about a previous conversation.

We had about youth leaders putting peanut butter on their feet.

Of course.

Well, I am glad as I told you before the program I'm so happy that one of my largest

sponsors of iron trip inside radio Linbrook Baptist Church in Nassau County, Long Island, New York.

They are ordering 8200 copies of your booklet to give to every household to

mail out to every household in the Village or the town of Linbrook Long Island.

I'm just blown away by that.

I mean I

am too and I'll tell

you it's a glossy.

Amen.

Well, I know that your website is Richard org.

So I'm assuming they could get the booklet through Richard org.

Yep.

Yeah.

Okay.

All right.

Well, let's get into the very controversial Meet of the program today.

You have concerns about the charismatic movement not only in general, but

especially because of its rise amongst Reformed Christians and I can

tell you that I have been saved since the mid 1980s.

When I was a new believer in the 1980s, although I'm sure.

Reformed.

Calvinists existed.

I'm sure I'm sorry reformed charismatics.

I should have said I'm sure reformed charismatics existed.

But I didn't know any.

And now it's very common to meet People who are both theologically reformed in

regard to their soteriology and charismatic in their pneumatology their views of the sign gifts and

I don't know about you Todd, but I view there are different ways to view this.

I am very encouraged when I know of previously Arminian

charismatic or Pentecostal pastors or church members or entire congregations who

discovered deeper biblical truth i .e The reformed faith and they adopted embraced it

embrace it and become very vocal about it but I think that that is different from a church that is already a

reformed or Calvinistic cessationist church denomination fellowship

Parachurch organization that becomes charismatic and is going in the opposite direction.

I don't know.

Do you have any comments about what I just said?

Yeah, I can't speak about the 1980s.

I was.

So, I don't know about the 80s, but I do know that.

Don't anybody think that.

I'm not.

I'm not trying to defame anybody.

But men like John Piper and wasn't

open to Matt Chandler probably leading the way

now

these men in particular many people who follow them whether it's

gospel coalition or the x29 network

to be open then to to even be

open to signs and wonders and I think CERN

is.

I don't think that John Piper and I don't think that Chandler or Wayne Grudem is gonna start having angel

feathers.

Wow,

can

you

connect.

Kirk

Kennedy

goes well?

Balaam's

ass any months

or you.

By the way,

I think David Berkowitz already

experienced his dog speaking to him.

Anyway this I know that there are a lot of people who are

Very very reserved in their charismatic experience or profession

they might even just be Continuationist in theory,

but they are not involved in extravagant and bizarre and laughably heretical and

seriously blasphemous Practices in their church and

You know this this is something that we are talking about today.

That may be offensive to them.

But I'm

not I'm not

I'm not

suggesting

that everybody's looking so

my concern

follow you.

So basically you're to summarize what you're saying is that when you become a

Continuationist or a continuous or a non cessationist you are really basing a lot of what

you believe and do by or on subjective.

Truth

rather

than

objective

truth.

Well

Sam

storm

out of

Tom

Nettles.

I think how

you

can

even call

your

yeah.

I thought I do.

Thank God that I Have friends like one in particular who's in heaven right now

Al Stein.

Al Stein was the pastor of the neighborhood Assembly of God in Belmore, Long Island, New York.

When I first met Al he was an Arminian and more open

about charismatic phenomenon and by the time I Don't know eight to ten

years later before he went home to be with the Lord after a car accident Al was a full -blown

five -point Calvinist while still remaining a bishop an overseer in the Assembly of God and

and his.

The anything charismatic about his belief system was was so minuscule it had

almost evaporated.

It almost really became a theory rather than anything that he was regularly participating in or

teaching.

And I have another friend who is still with us Jim Capo of The Massapequa Church of God who is

basically very close in his journey as Al Stein he really calls himself a

reformed Baptist who is a continuationist with a very small C.

But but the men that I know that I am excited about who began as Arminian Pentecostals who have become

reformed or Calvinist.

They seem to have gradually shed and almost completely shed all of that.

In fact Believe it or not both those men. I mentioned Al Stein and Jim Capo.

Both said that they loved nearly every single word that was uttered at the strange fire conference that

John MacArthur conducted and said that there was only about maybe 1 of what was said

that they had a little bit of a problem with but I think that that's pretty remarkable.

Well, I.

Don't think anybody has heard me call anybody a

hair buddy the issue well and

understand your heritage.

Why your forefather.

What.

John Calvin.

And I

don't

think

three of

these never go.

You can't

you can't.

You can't

do that one.

No one can.

Continuationist.

The big question.

Yes, and

I'm assuming

even having said

all that

that you are

not

opposed to

the idea

of.

Someone being Burdened with a specific thought or action that

they believe the Holy Spirit is leading them to do.

Like for instance you may be out of nowhere think about a dear friend of yours that you haven't spoken

to in years and and.

It may be the the spirits leading for you to contact that person not that it's a new revelation or anything like that.

Do you are you open to that kind of language or idea?

They would say it does.

Yeah.

Okay, so now I

Get that.

Amen, I agree with every word.

You just said well I would love to have more time with you and hopefully in the future We will have at least an hour

to discuss these very meaty deep matters very timely matters important matters and

for those of you who are wondering about the NAR or new Apostolic Reformation movement a very

dangerous movement.

I've conducted several Interviews exposing the heresies of these of this movement.

If you want to just look it up on the iron sharpens iron website in the archive just type in new Apostolic Reformation and

those interviews will come up, but I thank you so much Todd for being on the show any final words you care to leave

with our listeners.

Yeah, two things number one.

I hope you did not hear that.

Well, thank you so much Todd and to repeat your website.

It's wretched org wretched org and I hope that you return soon and very often.

The iron sharpens iron radio.

Very grateful for you, sir.

Okay, I will god bless you brother and Coming up as Todd

Friel mentioned.

We have Phil Johnson joining us after this station break and he is going to be paying tribute to John

MacArthur.

Who is just today?

Entered his 50th year of Gospel ministry.

Today is his 49th anniversary Since his inauguration as pastor of Grace Community

Church in Sun Valley, California.

So don't go away.

God willing. We're gonna be right back after these messages from our sponsors.

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Hi, I'm Chris

Arnzen host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

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Welcome back.

This is Chris Arnzen if you just tuned in to our program today for the following 90 minutes.

Our guest is Phil Johnson the executive director of grace to you the

world -renowned media ministry of John MacArthur and today we are going to be

celebrating the Entrance into John MacArthur's

50th year as a faithful shepherd of Jesus Christ.

Today is the 49th anniversary of his inauguration Into the

pastorate at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.

And it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to iron sharpens.

Iron radio Phil Johnson.

Thanks for having me Chris.

Yeah.

Very providential that it was just today that I called you to be on the program and you were gracious enough.

With very little notice to come on and it happens to be the 49th anniversary of John's.

First sermon, I believe it is.

Yeah, that's the first sermon as pastor of Grace Community Church.

He had been a.

He was an extension speaker for Talbot Seminary and he'd spoken I think for some of the youth group functions

At Grace Church, and when they were looking for a pastor, they had him candidate.

Candidate and they appointed him pastor and his first Sunday as pastor was February

9th of 1969.

Wow, well, I was seven years old.

No, you're younger than I am.

I was 14.

And I actually remember that era fairly well.

That was just like three weeks after the inauguration of Richard Nixon his first term

as president.

I was in Washington DC for that because I played in a band that marched in the

inaugural parade and so having come back from Washington DC I was trying to

catch up with my schoolwork and all that.

And I remember the era on that Sunday.

There was a massive snowstorm that crippled the entire eastern seaboard at 20 inches of

snow in New York City and and At the same time on the west

coast here in California.

It was so balmy that The newspapers were reporting how many people went to the beach.

Yeah, and that was also just an interesting curiosity about that day.

That day was the first test flight of Boeing 747 in Everett, Washington.

Wow.

Yeah, I have more vivid memories of watching Richard Nixon's Resignation

speech on television.

Okay.

I remember that too.

I can still remember I was in a cabin At Lake Warramogue and

in Connecticut.

I was there with my family on Vacation.

I can remember us all sitting around watching on the black and white TV Richard Nixon resigning.

But anyway, that's not what we're here to talk about today.

We're here to pay tribute to John MacArthur.

What can you tell us about John MacArthur's?

The religion of his youth.

What how was he raised.

And This providential circumstances that led him to the Lord to begin with.

John is I believe the fifth generation in his family that produced a pastor.

So he comes from a line of pastors his father and his paternal Grandfather were.

But I just edited a book that John's doing on his philosophy of

ministry and he starts by Recalling the fact that his grandfather

Who died when John was just a youth?

I think I he was nine years old or so when his grandfather died of cancer he says

that is and Then became too sick to

to deliver it and his is what

because they had this sermon inside him and John says his father

Took the the sermon that his grant at the funeral

and so reached on heaven from heaven.

Wow, so his grandfather was a faithful pastor who?

Died while three and John's father Died in

2013 years ago.

He was 91 and he was active in ministry Right up

until and.

Upbringing to know what's involved in.

Do you know anything about the denominational affiliation or the ecclesiology and

soteriology of this.

Background that John was raised in.

I don't know about his grandfather.

His father was Baptistic, but I think an independent.

Who had ties early to the fundamentalist movement?

But he moved away a little bit from the maybe

a little bit over John's father.

Well, I think John's father if I

recall.

Or Moody Bible Institute.

Wow.

So that that pretty much shows you where his doctrine was.

Moody is of course it.

Independent non -denominational scribe.

I graduated from there

meant to any denomination for more than a hundred years.

Oh Well, it may be generic

evangelicalism.

So I'm assuming that John himself was from that background when he entered into the ministry,

right?

Yeah, he went to a Talbot Theological Seminary, which was.

Talbot had been founded in the wake of Dio Moody's, you know influence

and one of the

early presidents of

we minded then now

a one thing that.

That may surprise a lot of Iron sharpens iron radio listeners, especially

our younger listeners who are Absolutely in love with the preaching and teaching ministry

of John MacArthur.

Many of them may be this may be surprised that he has not been a five -point Calvinist very

long.

Relatively speaking.

I mean this is a fairly recent phenomenon in his history, isn't it?

Well, not as recent maybe not as recent as it feels because time speeds up the older you get.

I remember actually the the Sunday when I realized John

had John's views on on the extent of the atonement that was the

one point of Calvinism that May be undecided

on is the right in it was 1995 in

February on the Sunday of the Shepherds Conference that he preached.

He was preaching from 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 which you know has verses in there like Christ

if Christ died for all then we're all dead.

And I think in studying that passage in its context John came to the

realization that look if we're gonna affirm substitutionary atonement if Christ is the

substitute for those who are saved in there there must be some sense and in fact

It's necessary that you have to say there is there is some sense in which Christ was

Stood in Peter's place and bore his punishment In a way that he didn't for Judas.

I said to him that it would be better for him if he'd never been born.

The assumption is Judas is in hell right now paying the price of his own sins.

So Christ was not his substitute in the same way that he was Peter's

substitute.

I think I think the weight of the evidence in

favor of substitutionary atonement.

And and the idea that Christ in a in a special way that

he doesn't

Understand that there is

you just cannot say and so

since 1995 He's been My I think he had to think he's been more

free to identify himself as a Calvinist if you'd asked him before that he would Have said yeah, I'm Calvinistic, but you

know like a four point seven five Calvinist or so.

Yeah, I guess time does fly by faster than I than I realized, but I didn't

know that it was not.

When I had first discovered.

In fact, I first discovered John MacArthur's preaching and teaching ministry really

nearly immediately after becoming a born -again believer myself in the mid 80s and at

that time it seemed that he he was

More publicly aligned with Arminian dispensationalist it seemed anyway, but then of course

the.

The shot that was heard around the world Was fired through the

publishing of the gospel according to Jesus which lost John a lot of friends.

Tell us about right.

Well.

Yeah, that was definitely a.

Shot at.

Classic sort of Scofield Ian.

The classic Scofield Ian view of Soteriology and and and.

I think his chief opponents in that debate were Dallas Seminary style.

Interestingly to that book if you read the opening pages starts with a very strong declaration

of the sovereignty of God.

It sounds it reads like a Calvinist manifesto and of course that's that was written in the

80s, so it shows you that John's It.

John's heart and convictions his understanding of soteriology were already dominated by

the his conviction that God is sovereign in the process of.

Salvation amen and He very quickly after that book was published

became more known to be publicly sharing podiums with

folks like RC Sproul and a lot of folks from within the Reformed movement and speaking at conferences

That reformed Christians were conducting and of course right reformed Christian bookstores like bookstores

within Very confessionally reformed churches were selling that book like hotcakes this that

was a very popular book amongst Calvinist Christians.

Yeah, that's right.

It had two prefaces and one was written by a J. I Packer who of course well known as a Calvinist and the other was

James Montgomery Boyce perhaps one of

the most of the 20th century and.

So.

Yeah, it was that book was definitely a turning point not necessarily

in John's own thinking because the interesting thing is if you go back to that first Sunday in

February of 1969 The sermon John preached which we still have on tape you can download

it and listen to it on the grace to you website Gty org look for the sermon titled

how to play church.

That was the very first sermon John preached as Pastor of Grace Community Church, and and

it sounds like a chapter taken out of the gospel according to Jesus.

It's all about you know how Jesus preached the gospel what it means to believe.

It's a warning against false conversion.

It's pretty much every theme that you find in the gospel according to Jesus you will find in that very

first message that John preached.

It's a long message to in those days.

He maybe didn't watch the clock.

As closely as he does today.

It's a it's a great sermon, and we still occasionally broadcast it on the radio, which is amazing.

I don't know that there's any other pastor in America who's been in the pulpit for 50 years.

Broadcast worthy you have that with John and in the same themes that

Dominated that first sermon have pretty much dominated the entirety of John's ministry.

And that is the substance of what he was saying in the gospel according to Jesus.

But the book was a turning point because prior to that the books John had written were

topical.

Not entirely topical he'd done one on the Lord's prayer and He'd done one on the

beatitude.

But the editors who in the compilation of that material and and editing

it I think actually Edited too much of the depth out or in

making it readable and and Entertaining.

I don't know in speed read the gospel according to

Jesus was a serious footnotes

and documentation that.

It's not the sort of light reading that you do.

You know in two evenings it's it's a book that challenges how you

think and how you understand theology and.

From that point on John has always written two kinds of books.

One is for the you know young Christian or new layman

who a book you get from John is a

Critique or an analysis of some dangerous trend in the church.

And that's what the gospel according to Jesus was.

John looked at how the gospel was being.

He proclaimed in the evangelical movement sound like the message Jesus

preached and in fact My relationship with John goes all the way back to the

late 70s when I first met him I was working at Moody Press and The first time I

met him I was like the first sentence I said to him after introducing myself was I I've been

listening to your preaching on First John and you need to do a book on the Lordship.

Once was immediately he clearly fought this through and he intended to do it.

He said I'm planning a book like that He said I even have a title in mind the gospel according to Jesus because he said

I want to demonstrate How Jesus preached the gospel

more than a decade before it ever came out and we'll pick

right up where we left off there.

When we return from our station break, this is our midway break, which is longer than our normal break.

So, please be patient with us because grace life radio in Lake City, Florida requires a

12 -minute break between our 54 To 54 minute segments.

So write your questions now and send them to Chris Ornson at gmail .com.

If you have a question for Phil Johnson about John MacArthur, don't go away.

God willing.

We'll be right back after these messages from our sponsors.

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Hi, I'm pastor Bill Shishko inviting you to tune in to a visit to the pastor's study every Saturday

from 12 noon to 1 p .m Eastern Time on WL ie radio

www .wl ie 540 a .m.

Dot -com.

We bring biblically faithful pastoral ministry to you and we invite you to visit the pastor's study by calling in

with your questions.

Our time will be lively useful and I assure you never dull.

Join us this Saturday at 12 noon Eastern Time for a visit to the pastor's study because everyone needs

a pass.

Welcome back.

This is Chris Arnzen.

If you just tuned in to iron Sherpins iron radio, our guest today is Phil Johnson the executive

director of grace to you the media ministry of world -renowned Bible teacher

and author and conference speaker and pastor John MacArthur.

We are celebrating John's entrance into his 50th year of Ministry

as a faithful shepherd of the gospel today happens to be Providentially his

49th anniversary of his inaugural a sermon at grace Community Church in Sun Valley

California.

If you'd like to join us on the air with a question of your own our email address is Chris Arnzen at gmail .com.

Chr is a RN Z and a gmail .com.

And please give us at least your first name your city and state in your country of residence.

If you live outside of the USA Please only remain anonymous.

If your question involves a personal and private matter we can understand that if you

have something that perhaps you Agree with John MacArthur on but disagree with your own

pastor on or perhaps it's something the reverse and you'd rather not.

Draw attention to yourself.

We can understand that and We will grant your request

to remain anonymous but other than that please give us your first name your city

and state and your country of residence if you live outside the USA and

Also, we have coming up.

I just want to give a couple of announcements about special events.

The spirit of the age and the age of the spirit is the theme of the Philadelphia conference on reform

theology coming up April 13th through the 15th.

At the first Christian Reform Church of Byron Center in Byron Center, Michigan.

And then also it's going to be held the 27th through the 28th of April at the Proclamation

Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

The plenary speakers include Daniel Aiken Richard Gaffin Daniel Hyde Conrad M And

Richard Phillips and workshop speakers include Jonathan master David Murray and Scott

Oliphant.

And if you would like to register for this conference whether For

the Byron Center, Michigan conference or the Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania conference or both go to Alliance net

org Alliance net org and.

Please.

Tell them that you heard about the conferences from Chris Arnzen and iron sharpens iron radio.

Oh and also by the way, click on events when you go to Alliance net org and you'll be given a list of all

the events that the Alliance of confessing evangelicals is sponsoring in

2018.

Also just a quick quick plug.

That I hate doing.

But it's something that needs to be done.

I guess it's not a plug really.

It's me begging for money.

The advertisers who Spend hard -earned money to keep iron sharpens iron radio on the air.

Have pled with me for years to make public appeals for donations and I resisted for years and

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Please never ever ever Siphon money out of your regular giving to your local church where you are a member and

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unless you are perfectly seeking for one.

So, please rectify that situation if you are not a member of a local church.

But never siphon money away from your giving to that church and never put your family in financial

jeopardy By giving to iron sharpens iron radio that those two things are commands of God providing

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Providing for my radio program is not a command of God but if you are financially blessed above

and beyond your ability to obey those two commands and you're looking for a way to Benevolently spend

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If you would like to advertise with us, just send us an email to Chris Arnson at gmail .com and put advertising

in the subject line and As long as whatever it is your church your parachurch ministry your business

your professional practice or your special event if As long as whatever it is.

Your advertising is compatible with the theology.

We express an iron sharpens iron radio.

We would love to launch an ad campaign with you.

You don't have to believe exactly identically with me but you do need to

be promoting something that is at least compatible with the theology that we Defend and proclaim on

this program.

So we look forward to hearing from you if indeed you want to advertise now we are back with our guest Phil Johnson

executive director of grace to you ministries the Ministry the media ministry

of world -renowned Bible teacher Author conference speaker and pastor John MacArthur.

We are celebrating today his entrance into his half century of Of

Bible preaching and gospel ministry.

Today is his 49th anniversary of the inauguration of his entrance

into the pastorate at grace Gospel Church in Sun Valley, California.

If you'd like to join us on the air Our email address is Chris Arnson at gmail .com and before I go to any of our listener

questions Phil I'd like you to just pick up where you left off there.

You were talking about how you initially began to correspond with John MacArthur and he was

appreciative of your literary gifts I believe and if you could pick it up from there.

Yeah, actually, I met him face -to -face at a meeting at Moody Press.

And it was the it was the first meeting with the editors who Moody was planning to have work on the

MacArthur New Testament commentary series that series of commentaries on each book of the

New Testament.

That's now complete.

Originally that was planned to be about a 10 -year project and they were going to use multiple editors to

Compile that material from John's sermon transcripts and what nobody really considered in the early days was that?

Although the edited material then has to go through John.

He's the funnel through which everything needed to go plus at the rate He was preaching there was no way for him to finish the

New Testament in 10 years.

So the project turned into a 35 year long project which was good good for the commentaries good for Grace

Church good for John but I happen to meet him at that first meeting when he came to Moody Press to

to be with us as editors and I had listened to him on the radio since the beginning

the opening week of grace to you when it premiered on the radio in 1978 or

1979 I guess it was and I lived in Tampa, Florida.

Which was one of the three cities that began carrying

grace to you from the very beginning.

So I must have been one of the earliest people on the on the radio.

I and I very quickly sorted to John I guess you would say just addicted to his

teaching.

It was the the best spiritual food.

I would get all week just listening to him.

Usually through headphones.

Well, what are my responsibilities?

I was an assistant pastor and youth pastor and one of my responsibilities was mowing the the church

lawn there in Florida and I'd write around as writing lawnmower with headphones on listening to John

MacArthur teach in the book of Acts and first John and it just revolutionized

my view of doctrine and what the depth of preaching ought to be

and and The way I thought about the gospel

and I realized if somebody asked me to

write out a succinct account of the gospel not sure I could

do it well and From listening to John and the pieces began to sort of fall into place.

And I remember thinking every time I would hear him I I would love my background was editing and I've

been a book editor.

And and I still did some of that as freelance editor.

I used to think I would love to edit his material.

And and help get it in print.

And so when Moody proposed this commentary series I was thrilled to to actually be

considered to be part of it in the end I went back to work at Moody Press full

-time because they were beginning to do John MacArthur's work and I thought I Would love

to work with John on some of this stuff.

So in 1981 I went back to Moody Press for my second tour of duty there and one of the

first things I did was write John a contract for the gospel according to

Jesus interesting story how that because that's not a Moody Press book Moody ultimately gave up on the

project and.

Oh, yeah, definitely.

I guess I'm dying to hear that how they dropped the ball on that one.

But in the meantime, I began I began editing a couple of other books.

That Moody had when I came back to work there.

They were halfway through the editorial work on him.

But and I helped to finish that and then sort of took over projects at Moody and the first,

you know single -handedly from sermon transcripts to help John get this into a book

on a series he had done and

when I finished that one day John said to me you should you should just quit your job at Moody

Press and come to work for me.

And I said, okay, and he said no, I'm serious.

You need to pray about this and talk it over with your wife and I said, you know I've already done all

that on staff

here that

Moody

had the

contract on.

They had done a book about three years prior to that by James Boyce called

Christ's call to discipleship and in the opening chapter of that

book Boyce Touches on the Lordship and he

had a footnote where he disagreed with something Charles Ryrie had said Ryrie was Moody's number

one author in those days they had the Ryrie study Bible and all of Ryrie's books had been Moody Press books

off and someone in the Administration at

Moody Boyce had actually disagreed with Charles

Ryrie in a Moody Press book.

They they happen again

disagrees with Charles Ryrie and So at that time the head head person at

Moody Press was Jerry Jenkins.

Who helped write, you know, the behind series, right?

And Jerry called me up.

I was already in California working for John MacArthur and and in my spirit.

We had a deadline that was

still I

Said well, yeah, I you know, that's kind of the whole thrust of the book.

Is there any way to do without mentioning Ryrie's name?

And I said no I mean we were three -quarters of the way through the book at that point.

It was full of footnotes and query really not to

be honest with you that afternoon when he told me that I was kind of

relieved because I thought well take some pressure off a deadline I can work on this book and

You know do a more thorough job or whatever Stan Gundry who

was an editor at and I think still is at Saunders

Quite a grapevine in the publishing world.

He said I heard that Moody Press dropped and I

was surprised he'd heard that We'd

like to do it, but he said we want to release it next year at the Christian Booksellers Association

Convention so we really need the manuscript by the end of this calendar year.

Do you think you can do that?

And so I literally pushed everything else aside and finished the man and

it was published at

88 and Yeah, I became a Zondervan

book Moody Moody couldn't publish out.

I'm sure they regret it now because Moody seems to be cranking out some very good stuff.

I can't speak for everything that they're publishing, but they are publishing some very fine.

Biblically, well, they stayed with to their credit.

They stayed with the MacArthur commentary Series, which is a great set

of yeah.

And they do provide an iron Sherpins iron radio with books to not only give away at our pastors luncheons but

also to give away to Listeners who who write in questions when we have a guest that they've published.

The gospel according to Jesus Was the very first Christian book

given to me as a gift.

When I was a very new Christian my very first Christian girlfriend Barbara

gave that book to me and I remember just totally being enthralled with it.

I Happen to be a member of a very solid Church When I

first became a Christian Having come out of Roman Catholicism Calvary Baptist Church of

Amityville, which later became Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island after it merged with First

Baptist Church of Merrick, but it was a solidly Calvinist Church and a very strong view of

lordship salvation.

And I remember being fascinated by the book because it actually shocked me That there were

so many Professedly Bible -believing Christians Who believed that you

could live like Satan himself immediately after making a profession of faith and you would still be welcomed into heaven

even decades later of living in rebellion.

That's boggled my mind.

I did not know of How that had permeated the evangelical church and yeah, you know,

I hear you on that Chris as I dug into the subject.

It just became more and more Bizarre.

What what people on the other side were saying?

In fact The gospel according Jesus sparked a couple of books in response.

Zane Hodges wrote one Charles Ryrie wrote one.

And there was a controversy for a brief time.

John MacArthur followed it up with a second book that was originally titled faith works.

It's available now as the gospel according to the Apostles.

Yes a sequel, you know, yes.

That was these that was the subtitle.

Initially as well, wasn't it the guy I was that was originally a subtitle.

It made it the main title gospel according to the Apostles and when I was doing research for that I came across

a book that I think had been written to address the lordship Controversy.

And it started with an illustration of a guy who said look I had a friend a pastor friend who I'm

certain was Genuinely saved who's in prison now because he was this guy was robbing banks

to pay for prostitutes.

And the guy writing the book said I'm absolutely convinced.

He was a genuine Christian and it said.

But that was the common idea that if you make a profession of faith That's really all you have to do.

Sacramentalism that used to say look if you're baptized then Then you're in now.

No, it was.

That I'm sorry.

Now it was just if you make a profession of faith you're in.

Now the writing of that book that lost John some some very close friends, didn't it?

I mean, I'm not gonna mention the person's name but I remember

Hearing years ago perhaps it was the late 80s early 90s a

missionary in Brazil told me that a very famous everybody

or at least 99 of the people listening to this program would recognize This person's name who hosts his own

television program and radio Ministry prolific writer and so on.

This missionary told me over dinner that that specific person that I'm talking about that very

famous televangelist author radio preacher had dropped him his his

church had dropped him as a missionary.

Because he published or should I say?

Yeah, I guess you could say published.

He published the gospel according to Jesus in Portuguese, right?

Yeah, I know the case you're talking about of corresponded with with that missionary and it's exactly

right.

He announced he was going to publish that book in Portuguese.

And I think it was the mission board that he had been sent out under dropped his support.

He had to suddenly raise support.

He actually has one of the more evangelical publish.

Yeah, and so that wasn't that individual.

Who?

Pastors the church that dropped that missionary.

Wasn't he a close friend of John's at one time, you know, I honestly.

I don't know who you're talking about.

So I don't know.

Okay, I Don't think.

I don't think John lost too many close friends over that because it really wasn't for anybody who knew John or had ever Heard him

preach.

There was nothing about that book That was shocking or knew or that he'd never done before.

Aside from the fact that he mentioned Ryrie by name and Zane Hodges by name and and disagreed with people

by name that wasn't done typically in the 1980s in books that dealt with

theological issues.

You just nobody wanted contour.

I think a number of Christian leaders who weren't necessarily close friends of John.

But mainly men who had some strong political tie to the opposite view, you know.

Some tie to Dallas Seminary or Charles Ryrie or whatever

from that point on they never asked John to speak again or whatever.

Yeah, and I just realized who you're talking about.

Because I was gonna say I'll tell you off the air and you'll definitely recognize his name.

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

I just realized who you're talking about.

You're right.

You're right.

The Didn't did not Go grace Community Church of

Sun Valley, California suffer a loss after that book lost numerically in his in regard to the congregation.

No, not over that issue.

Really?

Like I said, John had preached on those themes from his fair

on day in the pulpit.

You know, it's a it's a controversy that comes up.

Maybe it with individuals even every now and then now

we're some guns teaching

lordship Salvation then then I don't want to be there.

So the people who who raised that issue as a matter of controversy at

Grace Church.

But for the most part for the overwhelming majority of anyone

who's that book was over

all the years.

And in fact, that's the interesting thing about that book because of the title John chose the gospel according to Jesus

when when we laid out that book John sat down with me and said here's what I want to cover and and

He wanted it all drawn from the Gospels from Jesus preaching from from Jesus Interaction

with individuals like the woman at the well or Nicodemus or whatever.

So this is literally the gospel according to Jesus.

How did Jesus?

Reach out to lost people.

What did he say?

What did he demand of them?

What did you know?

What kind of response did he did he expect and and require?

And so the book but it rain

editing that book with 20 years.

They need that seemed like a long time for one pastor to

be in one place 20 years now.

It's since that you find

that in that book spanned all 20 years

we floored by the stand that

book took in fact most of us, but

I expect and

Zondervan was pretty aggressive with it and and when they did the first printing as

I recall they printed 20 ,000 copies and They haven't come from Moody Press where

20 ,000 copies would have been a massive book for us.

We we would consider a book successful if it's old we would keep it in print anyway, if it sold

3 ,000 copies a year a Successful book would be anything over 7 ,000.

20 ,000 copies would be Extraordinary, but particularly for a

book that's dealing with a issue of Theological con my hope,

but you know thinking to by the end of the

first year I think it had sold a hundred thousand copies.

They'd had to go back to press which absolutely amazed me.

I don't think there was any book written in the late 20th century to deal with a

point of theology a single doctrine.

That outsold that one that would be prior to that would be the battle for the Bible

by Harold.

Likewise created a large controversy and provoked a lot of sales.

I don't know how the two books compare in terms of sales figures, but both of them were

surprisingly successful and far -reaching in their influence.

One thing that I really kick myself about is Losing

something that was very precious to me.

It got lost somehow in a storage locker or something.

But I remember years ago when when John's Wife was

seriously injured in an automobile accident.

I Had wrote a card To Grace Community Church to John to

pass on to his wife who thankfully recovered.

But he wrote me back a handwritten letter.

It wasn't very long.

It was a brief letter.

But but the fact that he took the time to write me a handwritten letter blew me away.

Thanking me for the card that I had sent him.

Yeah, that's nice.

You know if he does.

Write a personal letter like that.

If he's not dictating it to the secretary.

He will write it by hand.

He doesn't use a computer or anything like that.

And usually he writes things out with which I

love from John in his own hand.

Yeah, so why.

That's why I kicked myself that I lost it.

But perhaps who knows you'll find it in the pages of a book someday.

Probably will or if you don't somebody will buy a book in a used bookstore and find that a hundred years from now and it'll

Be it'll be worth something.

Well, I'm gonna go to our final break right now and I'm also when I'm doing that I am

emailing to you or forwarding to you a An email a question from Joe in

Slovenia.

Who has written us a question?

So if you could take a look at that question during the station break.

To give you time to mull it over and then I'll ask it to you when we returned.

If anybody else would like to join us.

In fact, there are another there are several of you still waiting and we'll get to as many of you as time will allow.

But if you want to get in line in hopes that we can fit you in our email address is Chris Arnson at gmail .com.

Chris Arnson at gmail .com.

Please give us your first name your city and state and your country of residence if indeed you

live Outside of the USA.

Only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

So don't go away.

God willing.

We will be right back after these messages from our sponsors.

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Hi, I'm pastor Bill Shishko inviting you to tune in to a visit to the pastor's study every Saturday

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So what can you tell us about this book the freedom and power of forgiveness by John MacArthur?

It's a great book on forgiveness.

He explores the subject from a number of perspectives.

But the highlight to me is his his discussion of the question.

What does Jesus mean when he says?

You need to forgive as you have been forgiven.

Does that mean as some teach even some men we we would respect.

Teach that.

Well, then you're not obliged to forgive until someone repents because

or should our forgiveness be offered freely without condition.

And.

It's a great discussion that sort of analyzes everything Jesus said about forgiveness and why that theme is so

prominent in his teaching and his exhortations to the disciples.

Great book.

Yes.

In fact, you were kind enough to ship a hundred copies of that book out to The iron

sharpens iron radio pastors luncheon and every pastor that attended that walked out with a free copy of that book.

Yeah, I love that book.

And in fact it at the end of it because it's about forgiveness and including the forgiveness of sins God's

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As I recall, there's an appendix in there

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Going back now to our First listener question Joe in Slovenia says thanks so much

for having Phil Johnson back often.

He is such a blessing to us all.

This is more of a comment than a question.

The most influential thing that I've heard from.

Dr John MacArthur and this is my best recollection was to the effect that when I started in

ministry I would have never imagined that my ministry would be most characterized by

saving the gospel from Evangelicals.

The reason this is the reason this is so meaningful to me is that as a foreign missionary that issue has characterized

a large portion of my ministry efforts overseas.

Patterned after dr. MacArthur and dr. RC Sproul and others if you could comment on his comment.

Yeah, he's right.

I've heard John say that a number of times.

He talked about how in seminary.

He studied apologetics and he was preparing himself Thinking that as he got in the ministry, you have to

defend the gospel and the authority of Scripture against atheism skepticism You know

secularism and all these attacks from the outside.

And he says what he never dreamed was that the majority of his ministry would be spent

trying to rescue the gospel from errors created by

Evangelicals who just don't get it or who corrupt the guy who shave off the

difficult parts of the gospel change it to suit themselves or whatever.

And.

That's true.

If you think about the

Dominate I think are

the most of all of them deal with one or the other

aspect that he's defending against some Corruption or attack that

has come from within the church.

Well, thank you Joe in Slovenia and Thank you also for providing us with an American address where your

daughter lives in Georgia because we are sending to her

on your behalf a copy of the book John MacArthur.

And this is a biography by Ian Murray.

John MacArthur is servant of the word and flock.

This is a Phenomenal book published by banner of truth.

Retailing for twenty six dollars.

You're getting that absolutely free of charge.

Thanks to the generosity of banner of truth and also thanks to the generosity of CVB BS comm who

is shipping that out to you.

We have a book by the way, you know that that book came out of John's 30th

anniversary celebration.

I believe we asked Ian Murray to write a short Sort of tribute to John and he and Ian

Murray who is Probably my favorite living biographer any biography.

He writes is worth reading.

And so we thought just do a sketch of John's life and we put it

Overview we put it in a book that we produced that Included some of John's landmark

sermons over the years and offered that into our people on our mailing list

for free.

And I so much enjoyed Ian Murray's a Sketch of John MacArthur's life that I said to him that

is so great.

I wish you could develop it into a full biography and never known him to write a biography of a living

person.

But he he said that's a great idea and it sparked the thought in him that he wanted to do that.

So he came out spent some time in California here in my office sort of scouring through files of

correspondence and records that we have and and It was kind of fun to To help

him put that together.

I just love the book.

It's a great tribute to John.

Well, I'm sure that banner of truth will love hearing that promo and if you want more details on that book You could go to banner

of truth org banner of truth org, or you can go to CV bbs .com CV bbs

.com and order that book if you don't win it today.

I'm wondering I have to ask banner of truth is if this is the only book that they have published that pays tribute to a

dispensationalist.

It would be interesting to find out we have.

Let's see.

We have Ronald in Eastern Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.

Oh, this is a great question.

He says could you please tell us something about John that you think would surprise?

Most of the iron sharpens iron radio listeners obviously.

Provide us with this information that you think John would be comfortable with us.

You know, that's it that is a really hard question because.

One of the extraordinary things about John is what you see in public is exactly what you get in private.

He there is no.

There's no other side to him.

And in fact.

Some people might argue that it's dysfunctional because all he ever does is Study the Bible.

Preach when I if I go to lunch with him, we don't make small talk about you know.

Things in popular culture.

We typically talk about theological issues or Biblical things the same kinds of things he writes and

preaches about.

That's what's constantly on his mind and it's only recreation.

That I'm aware of on a regular basis.

Don't think he what I think he watches a few sporting events and things like that but.

His.

His private life is pretty much like his known

and the most disciplined.

Well, guess what.

Ronald you also won a you have also won a free copy of the book by Ian Murray on John

MacArthur.

So make sure we have your full mailing address.

So you can have that shipped out to you by CB bbs .com and we thank The folks at banner of truth

once again for the generosity.

We have Joey.

Let me answer that question though once because why you're thinking about.

I thought of something that I think would surprise a lot of people.

John was actually once arrested in Mississippi.

Really.

Back in the.

Back in the 1960s.

He he was doing some work with he's a

black preacher who of preaching and

mostly African -american communities and schools and and all of that.

And some redneck sheriff in Mississippi are rubbing the piece.

Because you had a white guy preaching to black people.

This is back 60s.

Wow, and yeah.

That's that's that's phenomenal.

I want to get a blog post about that and I just titled it.

John MacArthur arrested in Mississippi.

Was he happy about that title.

He never said anything to me about it.

But I got tons of instant blowback from people who who thought what what this happened this

afternoon.

What did he do?

We have Joey in Clifton, New Jersey.

Dear Phil.

Thank for all the work.

Thanks for all the work you do even though the credit does not always go your way.

My question for you.

While errors stay the same they also progress.

I am wondering what you see as the types of controversies that John MacArthur Most

deals with now in recent days.

We might be Expecting him to devote his publishing efforts in defending against errors of our day

question mark.

Where might.

I guess it was a better way of phrasing that where might we expect him to devote his publishing efforts in defending?

defending errors.

Against errors of our day.

Yeah, you know, I have this theory that there really are only maybe three or four categories of

error serious error heresy soteriological crystallogical and and you know

theology proper and.

And.

Attacks on the authority and.

One way or the other I think pretty much error.

Every error John MacArthur has ever dealt with or ever will deal

with the gospel itself.

An attempt to manipulate you either.

Antinomianism or whatever.

So it's an attack on the person or deity of Christ

or the doctrine of the Trinity.

That's a surprisingly big issue right now.

Attacks on the Trinity.

The theology proper and.

And then the third category would be scripture.

The authority and sufficiency of scripture and.

Probably the.

It seems to me that in and and I've never been really good at predicting these things.

But it seems to me that in the near future the the controversy you can expect to rise and.

Proclaims and has

already dealt with that numerous right and strange

fire.

For for John's 50th anniversary next year.

We're planning another conference like strange fire.

But it'll be a little broader than that.

We're gonna we're gonna make the theme certain charismatic issues.

But and that will be a big

to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Juster and

also the 50.

Well, thanks, Joey and Clifton, New Jersey.

Make sure you give us your full mailing address because you've also won a free copy of John MacArthur

servant of the word and flock.

Thanks to our friends at banner of truth and CV bbs .com.

We have.

We have Christopher in South Central, Pennsylvania.

Christopher says this is providential because of what you just said Christopher

asks has John's strange fire conference put him at

greater odds with some Former colleagues with whom he spoke at conferences such

as the together for the gospel conference which included charismatics.

You know in all honesty, I don't think it's put him at odds with them at all.

None of them were surprised to know that John is not a charismatic and that he thinks you know certain

charismatic claims and practices to our confidence in the

nobody was surprised a key guy in the Together for the

gospel group would be John Piper.

He's best known as a continuationist in a certain charismatic

doctrines and all that.

I don't think I don't think the personal Friendship between John MacArthur and John Piper

was in any way harmed by that.

They both knew they disagreed on that issue to begin with and Piper wrote what I thought was a pretty

good to

say even overall beyond the question of

You know key Christian leaders whom John is affiliated with who might hold a different view on

continuationism than he.

The the feedback we've gotten has been overwhelmingly positive.

Positive because So many of the things that we dealt with in the strange fire conference in the strange

fire book are just crying to be addressed.

There were only one or two voices and they tended to come from the extreme Charismatic side.

Rodney Howard Brown was run send Michael

Brown as well.

Besides those two I haven't really gotten Any direct

Evangelists that

everywhere I've gone that's been four years since is it three or four years since we did the strange fire

conference.

But everywhere I've gone every conference.

I've spoken at every church.

I visited and really I can't think of a significant exception.

I Always meet people who say that conference was very helpful to me or the book helped lead

me out of charismatic confusion.

So I think the overall the overall response we've gotten is just.

Far more positive than negative.

Yeah.

Well interestingly enough.

I even mentioned I can't remember if I mentioned it on air or not when I was Speaking with

Todd Friel earlier.

I Accident but he was a Assemblies of God pastor and not only

a pastor but a bishop an overseer in the assembly of God Al Stein.

And as long as I've known Al which goes back to the early 1990s

Al was a great Admirer of John MacArthur, even though he was a

Pentecostal pastor and the years that I knew Al he grew more and more

committed to the doctrines of Sovereign Grace and less and less really Identifying

with Pentecostal ism.

He never became a cessationist, but he he that just that just faded that the

area of his life that involved charismatic phenomenon really faded into the background and he

told me because he was.

He was tragically killed after Sometime after the strange fire conference.

He told me that he agreed with 99 % of everything that was said there.

Yeah, honestly, I think if you.

Nobody but the the really far out

particularly in the seminars, I think You'll sometimes hear critics

selecting cherry -picking sound bites from the Q &A and that's what they want to deal with.

I wish the critics Would actually deal with what was said in those seminars because I think a lot of the

points and they don't want to deal with that

we have.

Let's see here.

We have RJ in White Plains, New York who wants to know if

there are any Nondispensational confessionally reformed men who

have positions of leadership at Grace Community Church or on the faculty at the Master's Seminary.

You know, you have to explain to me what he means by nondispensational, I don't call myself a dispensationalist

because historic dispensationalism is so closely connected with

the antinomianism that we attacked in the Gospel of Jesus and its sequels.

I don't like the term dispensationalism.

It's based on the idea that God's dealings with men flip -flop

between grace and law from dispensation to dispensation and the early

dispensations the early dispensation all of history into seven

distinct Dispensations and honestly, I don't know anyone who I know there are people.

I just don't know anyone who still holds to that scheme so, you know, my own position

would be somewhere between the only the only remnant of

let me say it like this the only remnant of Dispensationalism that I care about is eschatology.

Premillennialist, but I'm

I would affirm the 1689 Baptist Confession with one exception and that is

the Sabbatarianism.

I'm not a Sabbatarianism.

What does that make me?

I don't know I'm always wary of people who want to pin labels on people and dismiss them which

is not to say I don't think labels Have their place they do.

But I don't think you can Reduce every theological opinion

so that it's either Either covenantal or

dispense make the same error in my judgment

they and dismiss them on that

basis I I think theology is more complex than that.

And you have also won a free copy of the biography of John MacArthur written by Ian Murray published by

banner of truth.

So thank you very much for the question.

RJ in White Plains, New York.

Make sure we get your full mailing address.

Let's see we have William in Brandon, Mississippi and

He says Let's see,.

I Wanted to ask Phil if he is planning to write any more books.

I loved his commentary on Jonah.

Oh.

That's nice.

I.

Cuz when he said any more books, I was thinking I've never written any books.

Ah, well you contributed to a book on The church, I believe it was right.

Yeah.

No.

I probably if you took all the various chapters that I've contributed to symposium books.

It would make two or three books actually on.

I was on law and grace.

I believe right?

Yeah.

Yeah, and.

I've done them on the church and prayer and contributed to books like that.

But What he's talking about the the the commentary on Jonah is it's a

kind of a very small little booklet That was compiled by friends of mine in India who took

my messages on Jonah.

Did what I do with John McArthur's material?

They edited edited for publication and published it in a book called. What's eating Jonah?

I thought so too.

And then there's another book That was compiled from my messages on the life of

Elijah and I think it's called prophet of fire or something like that was also done in India and

I'm I might be able to dredge up a copy for the guy who asked the question.

If he'll email me directly I'll see if I can find a copy of that and send him the book on Elijah.

There's also a book that was published in Italy That was drawn from my messages on the history

of heresy in Italian.

I can't even I can't even read it myself.

Somebody translated my material into Italian and published it.

Well, thank you.

William in Brandon, Mississippi.

And we are going to mail you the final copy of the book.

By Ian Murray on John McArthur.

Actually, I'm sorry.

I got my my emails crossed.

Williams in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

So, thank you very much for the question and before we I did I didn't actually answer his question.

Which was do I have any plans to write any more books and the answer is no.

I don't need any.

I don't need any more deadlines than I already juggle.

Well, I want you to close the program with some final thoughts on John McArthur before we run out of time.

Well, I appreciate John more than I could ever put into words.

He has taught me I would think probably 90 of what I know about Scripture and doctrine

and really everything I do know operate scripture.

What to believe and all of that has been framed by his teaching.

His teaching on Ephesians 2 made me a

Calvin.

What I appreciate about John's Preaching and his style is that he just goes to

the text and preaches what's in the text.

He's he's not thinking how do I fit this text into my preconceived theological grid?

He just preaches the text and that over 50 years time has shaped his doctrine into what it

is and I just love his candor his honesty.

I've just just this morning sent to Crossway a manuscript of a book that they're going to publish.

I think sometime Later in the year or maybe next year.

It's it'll be a small book Drawn from a single sermon that he gave at the opening of

last year's Shepherds conference that lays out from 1st 2nd Corinthians for

John's philosophy of ministry and great insight in that in that book as to

How John thinks about ministry.

One of the things he says that I appreciate so much he quotes where Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 4.

I've a Paul's quoting from a psalm and

John says we

shouldn't be worried about what's politically correct.

What's currently popular?

Preach what we believe preach what is in Scripture and let that govern your thing and do it fearlessly.

And he's done that I think more consistently.

Longer better.

I want to thank you so much Phil for being on the program, especially with such

little notice today.

I look forward to you returning very often.

The iron trumpet Zion radio.

I want to thank everybody who wrote in questions today.

I apologize to any of you who are still waiting in line to have your questions asked.

We ran out of time I'm sorry, but send in your questions the next time we have Phil on the program.

I hope you all have a safe and blessed weekend and especially a God -honoring Lord's Day.

And I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far greater Savior Than you

are a sinner.