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Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson, 19th century hymn writer George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports legend Jim Thorpe.
It's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors, Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today. Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse 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 two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener, with your own questions.
And now, here's your host, Chris Arnzen.
Good afternoon, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet Earth. We're listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com. This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Tuesday on this 30th day of July 2024.
And I'm thrilled to have a first-time guest today, and I'll introduce him to you momentarily. But first, I want to remind our listeners, if you're a man in ministry leadership, you are invited to the next free biannual Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Pastors Luncheon, which will be held Thursday, October 10th, 11 a .m. to 2 p .m. at Church of the Living Christ in Loisville, Pennsylvania, which is in Perry County, Pennsylvania.
And this is going to be a free event that will feature, for the very first time, Dr. Joseph Boot, founder and president of the Ezra Institute. Not only is your admission free and being edified by what will very confidently be a powerful message by Dr. Boot free, and not only is your time of rest, relaxation, fun, fellowship, and feasting all free, everybody attending will also receive a heavy sack of free brand-new books, personally selected by me and donated by Christian publishers all over the United States and the United Kingdom.
If you'd like to register for this free event, if you are available, if you are able to attend on Thursday, October 10th, 11 a .m. to 2 p .m. at Church of the Living Christ in Loisville, Pennsylvania, if you're able to attend that and you're a man in ministry leadership, send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com, chrisarnson at gmail .com, and put Pastors Luncheon in the subject line.
You'll be automatically registered, absolutely free of charge. Well, as I was mentioning, I'm thrilled to have a first-time guest today that came with the highest recommendations from my very dear friend, my very dear longtime friend, Pastor Bill Sasser of Grace Church at Franklin in Franklin, Tennessee, who is a sponsor of this program.
He told me that you should get David Hale on the program. He is one of my favorite preachers, and I would love to get David involved in a Bible conference this September at Grace Church at Franklin. And he has also invited my former pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island in Merrick, Mark Rimaldi, who is currently pastoring Sovereign Grace Church in Greenbrier, Tennessee, and he is among three conference speakers, and they may even add a fourth, coming up this September 12th, 13th, and 14th.
But my guest today is David Hale, pastor of Christ Community Church of Lewisburg, Tennessee, and we're going to be addressing our identity in Christ as individuals and as the church. It's my honor and privilege to welcome you for the very first time ever to Iron Trip and Zion Radio, Pastor David C. Hale.
Thank you, Chris. It's an honor and privilege to be with you on this radio program, and I really appreciate what you do in spreading sound Bible teaching and addressing the diverse issues that come our way in this world.
And I've enjoyed listening to your show and even going back to the podcast, so it's a privilege for me to be with you. Thank you.
Well, great. Well, tell us something about Christ Community Church of Lewisburg, Tennessee.
Well, Lewisburg is actually kind of in between Nashville, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama. We're about an hour south of Nashville. We are about an hour and 15, 20 minutes north of Huntsville. And Lewisburg, it's about 12 ,000 people there in that area.
And Christ Community Church, at first, when the Lord brought me there, it was actually more of a free will Baptist church.
Wow.
Right when I first came, they actually dropped the free will name title on the front of the.
Church.
I'm glad they did that.
Well, they still had a free will Baptist teaching in that. So, by God's providence, he had dropped me in that area at that church, and I was not looking for a church. I was not looking to pastor a church.
I was actually doing some type of more creation evangelism. And lo and behold, the Lord actually had me stop in that church and to share the information that I have as far as it's called Reasons for Believing.
We would give four reasons for believing God's word to be true and faithful. But what we would do is do a PowerPoint presentation. Well, I actually stopped at this little church called New Life Community Church at that time and to share the information.
And I gave information to the pastor and the pastor said, well, I will give this information to the men of the church. And I asked him, I said, well, if you don't mind me asking, I heard the brother praying as he was closing the service about your transition.
What was your transition? If you don't mind me asking. And he says, well, I've actually gave my resignation this morning.
And I showed up that evening. So, but I had no intentions of, like I said, pastoring or anything of that nature. But I did talk to one of the men of the church and I did say, you know, if you want some help, I will be glad to fill in the pulpit until you find someone.
And so they had me come and then I would gave my testimony the first time and they said, well, we had someone lined up, but that fell through. Can you come back again for the next two Sundays? And I prayed about it.
And I thought, well, Lord, the church needs to know what they're looking for in a pastor and what a pastor is looking for in a church. And there needs to be a type of marriage there. And so I taught on what the church should look for in a pastor.
Well, long story short, each time they had invited someone else to come and fill the pulpit, it kept falling through. And they kept asking me to come back until the point came that they asked me if I would be interested.
And I said yes, before I even thought about it. And I had, like I said, I had no intentions. So by God's providence, he actually pulled me up out of one church, Good Sovereign Grace Church there, Grace Church at Franklin, where my wife and I were attending and dropped me in the pulpit there in Lewisburg.
And some changes were made. We're now called Christ Community Church. And we're an independent, autonomous body of believers. We're striving to glorify God, being faithful to the holy scriptures. And we hold to the conviction that all of the Old Testament scriptures and all of the New Testament scriptures and the original manuscripts are the inspired word of God.
And our canon of scriptures that we have today is fully and completely reliable as our only rule of faith. And therefore, we go through the scriptures and we preach and teach the free and sovereign grace of God, found in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we strive to live out that very same grace that has saved us. We try to put it into practice as well.
Praise God. Well, if anybody is traveling through that area in Tennessee, in Lewisburg, Tennessee, or perhaps you already live in or near there, or you have family, friends, and loved ones who live in or near there, write down this website so you can take advantage of visiting this congregation or recommending it, reasonsforbelieving .com, reasonsforbelieving .com.
And up in the left corner, you will see a tab for Christ Community Church. And you can click on that and get all the details that you need. Well, we have a tradition here on Iron Trip and Zion Radio, Pastor Dave.
Whenever we have a first-time guest such as yourself, we have that guest provide for our listeners a summary of your salvation testimony that would include any kind of religious atmosphere in which you were raised and the kinds of providential circumstances our Sovereign Lord raised up in your life that drew you to Himself and saved you.
So let's hear your story.
Well, it's very... In a way, I'd kind of start back in the sense that when I was born that far back, providentially, I was actually born with some physical disabilities that people can't see internally.
And when my mom was carrying me, when she was pregnant, she did go through some depression in her life. And at that time, while she was pregnant, the doctors prescribed her some medication to try to calm her nerves.
Well, she noticed one day that inside, I quit moving as a baby and scared and concerned. She didn't know what to do, but she sat on the edge of the bed and prayed and just asked the Lord if there's any complications with my baby.
If there's anything, please give me the grace to take care of my baby if there's something.
Wrong.
Well, when I was born, I was born with an undeveloped rectum and urinary tract infections. And lo and behold, I was only born with one kidney. And the doctors told my parents at that time that I had 18 hours to live and that the only possible chance was for me to go to Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky for an emergency.
Surgery.
And what happened was my father took me with my aunt and drove me by the house for my two brothers and two sisters to see me and then immediately drove to Louisville, Kentucky, to Children's Hospital where they were waiting on me.
And I had a sigmoid colostomy at the age of 15 hours.
And really, the surgeons didn't expect me to even live through that surgery because the odds were that I was so small that my body would not accept a colostomy. But anyway, two months later after that, the Lord just kept me going.
After about two, at the age of two, a team of surgeons presented to my parents that they wanted to attend what's called a post-abdominal pull to correct my condition. And at this time, this procedure was never performed upon a young child before in this region of the country.
In fact, it only really was performed upon adults. But that information wasn't shared with my parents. Nevertheless, my mother did ask one of the leading chief surgeons, if this was your son, what would you do?
And he said, oh, I would definitely have this surgery right now. I would definitely have. Well, the day of the surgery came and while my parents were waiting for hours to hear the results from the doctor, well, to my parents' surprise, one of the leading surgeons came out and told them that the surgery was now over and you need to go and pray because nine out of ten children do not live through this surgery.
And that was after the fact. So the extreme danger of the surgery was never really explained to my parents. And the Lord brought me through the surgery. It was unsuccessful, actually. The surgeons actually caused more damage to my body.
Damage to my nerves, to my muscles, actually to the point where I am actually incontinent. And so that has been kind of one of my struggles through my whole life of that. But in that also, there was a huge blessing because there was one doctor, a urologist, who was an observer of all my procedures, and he was definitely a blessing to us.
And in a subtle and professional way, he kind of let my parents know that the whole time the surgeons never expected me to live. They were basically using me as a guinea pig. They used me as an experiment to be the first, so they could be the first surgeons to successfully perform this surgery on a child this young in this region of the country.
And so it was very shocking to my parents. That this was even happening. This is in the early 70s. This wasn't the time of where there was medical malpractice ensuing and things of that nature. That just wasn't even the mindset during that time.
But long story short, the Lord has really blessed me. I was raised in a Christian household, a Christian home with God-fearing parents who trained their children up in the Word of God. For most of my life, I have sat under the doctrines of grace, sovereign grace.
And now, throughout my life, I can just be more thankful for that. But however, growing up, even though I was under the sovereign grace of God and good, sound teaching, and that was one thing my father always said.
He said that even though he may have failed as a father in so many areas, one thing that he has done was he made sure that every one of his children sat under the gospel truth. He says, that I have done.
And I just really appreciate that he did that and being faithful to the Lord in that. But anyway, growing up under the gospel, I was outwardly a good person. Taught loyalty, morality, be polite, courteous, all that kind of stuff.
And in every instance, in the eyes of the world, I was a good moral person. However, when the Lord reveals the darkness of your heart, you can see that your heart had sin in it as black as could be, right, as the hymn writer puts.
Well, I was no exception. But, you know, you hear so many testimonies of like skid row, sinners strung out on drugs that God cleaned up and praise the Lord for that. Thief who was stealing from family and friends to support addictions and somehow made miraculous turnaround or ex-con who came to know Christ in a prison cell or anything like that.
I mean, praise the Lord for that. The Lord is finding his sheep. He's bringing his people into his kingdom. But Chris, let me tell you, I was the worst sinner possible. I was an undetected lost sinner that quietly and politely was headed down the path of hell.
And the worst possible sinner is an outwardly good, moral, polite churchgoer who didn't know Christ. That was me.
Now, like I said, I said under the word, I knew I was a sinner. You know, I knew I was not as good as people were telling me. You know, he's a good man. He's a good boy and all of that. But I knew one thing that I fall short of the glory of God.
And I knew about Jesus Christ being the only way to heaven. I knew the Bible stories. My father took time out and taught me how to read. I could read a fifth grade level by the time I was three years old.
My father spent time to teach me and I would read the Bible to him at night when I was really young. And I encourage you fathers out there who are listening. Take your child, boy or girl. Take your child and spend time with them.
Teach them how to read.
You teach them.
You take the word of God and put it into their hearts and to their minds. And that's what my father did for me. And I thank the Lord for that. You know, and I knew Ephesians 2, 8, 9 about salvation by grace and not of words.
I knew all of this about Christ, but I didn't know Christ. All of it was in my head, but I didn't have any of it in my heart, Chris. And so the Lord brought me to the point where I knew life wasn't working for me.
I knew I needed him. And so what did I do? Well, I started on the path of the do-betters. I made the decision to try to do better and live better. And then then I would be baptized. I'd make a profession of faith.
Well, what was I doing? I was deceiving my heart again. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Jeremiah 17. So the harder I tried to be better in order to be baptized, the worse I became.
And I started to see more and more of my sin that was in me. And I couldn't clean myself up so that I could be baptized. I was understanding things. I tried harder to clean myself up. But I saw how much more dirtier I was.
And then, praise God, one day in my parents' driveway, I was stepping out of my dad's truck. I was driving his truck and God revealed the gospel to my heart. And it came to me clear as a bell. No, I can't do better.
That's why Jesus came. That's why salvation is by grace.
Hallelujah.
And right then, I surrendered. I surrendered right then. I was made free. I quit trying and I started trusting. Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, because of my faith in Christ, I was baptized as a believer.
So that's basically my testimony in short. Like I said, I was a self-righteous person. And my story is really how God saved what society called a good boy from going to hell. So it's just, I've gone from self-righteous goodness to saving grace.
Hallelujah. Reminded me a lot of Martin Luther's testimony. Other than the believer's baptism part. Well, we are going to our first commercial break. And if anybody would like to join us on the air with their own question, our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com.
Chrisarnson at gmail .com. Give us your first name, at least your city and state of residence and your country of residence. If you live outside the USA, only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.
And we are going to be discussing our primary theme, which I announced at the beginning of the show. Our identity in Christ, both as individuals and as the church. Don't go away. We will be right back after these messages from our sponsors.
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I'm Pastor Bill Shishko of The Haven, an Orthodox Presbyterian church in Comac, Long Island. I hold the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio program hosted by my longtime friend and brother, Chris Arnzen, in the highest esteem.
And I'm thrilled that you're listening today. I'm also delighted that Iron Sharpens Iron is partnering with one of my favorite resources for Reformed Christian literature for decades now, Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service.
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We can be reached at securecommgroup .com. That's securecommgroup .com. But today, I want to introduce you to my senior pastor, Doug McMasters, of New High Park Baptist Church on Long Island.
Doug McMasters here, former director of pastoral correspondence at Grace to You, the radio ministry of John MacArthur. In the film Chariots of Fire, the Olympic gold medalist runner Eric Liddell remarked that he felt God's pleasure when he ran.
He knew his efforts sprang from the gifts and calling of God. I sensed that same God-given pleasure when ministering the word and helping others gain a deeper knowledge and love for God. That love starts with the wonderful news that the Lord Jesus Christ is a savior who died for sinners and that God forgives all who come to him in repentance, trusting solely in Christ to deliver them.
I would be delighted to have the honor and privilege of ministering to you if you live in the Long Island area or Queens or Brooklyn or the Bronx in New York City. For details on New High Park Baptist Church, visit nhpbc .com.
That's nhpbc .com. You can also call us at 516 -352 -9672. That's 516 -352 -9672. That's New High Park Baptist Church, a congregation in love with each other, passionate for Christ, committed to learning and being shaped by God's word, and delighting in the gospel of God's sovereign grace.
This is Pastor Bill Sousa, Grace Church at Franklin, here in the beautiful state of Tennessee. Our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support Iron Sharpens Iron Radio financially.
Grace Church at Franklin is an independent, autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole counsel of God as revealed in scripture through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And, of course, the end of which we strive is the glory of God. If you live near Franklin, Tennessee, and Franklin is just south of Nashville, maybe 10 minutes, or you are visiting this area, or you have friends and loved ones nearby, we hope you will join us some Lord's Day in worshiping our God and Savior.
Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about Grace Church at Franklin. Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org. That's gracechurchatfranklin .org. This is Pastor Bill Sousa wishing you all the richest blessings of our sovereign Lord, God, Savior, and King, Jesus Christ, today and always.
I'm Pastor Keith Allen of Linbrook Baptist Church, a Christ-centered, gospel-driven church looking to spread the gospel in the southwest portion of Long Island, New York, and play our role in fulfilling the Great Commission, supporting and sending for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth.
We're delighted to be a part of Chris Arnzen's Iron Sharpens Iron radio advertising family. At Linbrook Baptist Church, we believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, inherent in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God's will for salvation and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received through faith alone, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual.
Salvation in Christ also results in righteous living, good works, and appropriate respect and concern for all who bear God's image. If you live near Linbrook, Long Island, or if you're just passing through on the Lord's Day, we'd love to have you come and join us in worship.
For details, visit linbrookbaptist .org. That's L-Y-N-Brookbaptist .org. This is Pastor Keith Allen of Linbrook Baptist Church reminding you that by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. May the Lord bless you in the knowledge of Himself.
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Go to royaldiadem .com today and mention Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. We're now back with my guest, David Hale, pastor of Christ Community Church in Lewisburg, Tennessee, and our theme today is our identity in Christ, both as individuals and as a church.
Well, let's start the ball rolling, Pastor David, with, first of all, let us know what you mean specifically by our identity in Christ.
Well, I really believe it kind of comes back to really struggling with the different kinds of fears. We do know that there is one good, healthy fear, and that is the fear of the Lord. In Proverbs 1, verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
In Proverbs 9, 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. However, among many professing believers, it just seems like I have come across and seen where so many live an unsatisfied life, unsure about God's love and grace for them, so they really don't know who they are in Christ.
It's kind of like they're torn between the God that they read and hear about in the Bible and their experience of fear and anxiety in life. And so I really believe there's an identity crisis among the Christian community as both individual and also corporate.
And believers just really don't know who they are in Christ and remind themselves of that. And the church really doesn't know who she is in a lot of areas and the glory of God and what he has done for her.
So that's kind of what the Lord has kind of put on my mind. I don't know if that answers your question, what you were asking about.
Yes.
But also, go ahead.
I was just going to say, well, let's start with our identity in Christ as individuals.
Right.
I'd like to give just a little bit of background before I really get into that to kind of explain where I come from and what has happened in the life of my wife and I. As I was saying, I was raised basically under the doctrines of grace.
The Lord saved me. He revealed himself to me in my early 20s, mid 20s, late 20s. I would go to a lot of Bible conferences across the eastern part of the United States. And I actually met my wife at a Bible conference in Pennsylvania.
And it was definitely a blessing.
What conference was that? What conference was that?
It was a Sovereign Grace Baptist Conference in Milton, Pennsylvania. The pastor there has now passed away. It was Pastor David King. But he's gone to be with the Lord.
And let me quickly announce to my listeners that it is not the same pastor who is a very close friend of mine, David T. King, who is one of the pastors in Katy, Texas, at the Presbyterian Church in Katy, Texas, down there.
I just don't want to alarm people who know of my close friendship with David T. King. Different guy. But anyway.
Thank you for saying that. I want to make sure no rumors go out in the wrong direction.
But anyway, my wife, Martina, and I, we met at a Bible conference. And we were definitely blessed by the Lord. And so just coming together, we've been married. And that we just really need to understand that in a lot of areas in life, we can have trials and troubles and tribulations that just kind of rock our world.
And just like I said, as a short background, my wife was bitten by a tick in 2014, right beside her belly button.
Well, she seemed fine and she was fine. However, in 2015, she was bitten again by a tick. And oddly, or I should say providentially, once again was bitten right beside her belly button in the exact same place as the previous summer.
Now, this caused some problems this time. So I took her to the doctor. You know, there was no signs of any tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. You know, she did have a false positive for what is called Babesia.
But nevertheless, the doctors, they wanted to go ahead and just be aggressive, treat her across the board. We really don't know. It may have been too late. We really don't know. But anyway, she did in a blood test reveal that she developed alpha-gal, which is syndrome, which is an allergic reaction to beef and sometimes pork.
So she can no longer really eat beef or pork. However, it went much deeper than a meat allergy. By trial and over the years, it came evident that she was also allergic to rice products, everything with rice.
And even the smallest amount of rice powder is often used in fillers and medicinal capsules as well as in vitamins and supplement capsules. If she took that, she would have a reaction. Not only that, we also found out that she was allergic to latex.
Now, when we think of latex, we think of latex gloves, balloons and things of that nature. Well, we didn't know at this time. We finally found out that there were actually latex proteins in most of our fruits and vegetables.
And so her food list kept dwindling down. No, no fruits, very few vegetables and small amounts of maybe turkey and chicken. That was basically her diet. Now, if my wife consumed or came into contact with any of those newly developed allergens, she didn't break out into a rash like most people think of allergy.
You know, just take a cold shower, pop a few Benadryls, take this, you know, go to bed. A couple of days, you'll be OK. Now, that was not her allergic reaction. Her allergic reaction was severe panic attacks.
So severe that many times she would just be uncontrollable and unreasonable. And all because of the physical pain in her stomach. Now, in that eight and a half year period, we went through this for eight and a half years.
There were many emergency room visits. And when the medical staff ran all their tests and everything comes back normal, you know, but my wife, she's still in panic mode. Well, the doctors, they look at her and think there's something wrong mentally.
So they ship her off to a mental institute. And what was really interesting is at the beginning of all this, we didn't quite know what was causing her fear and her anxiety. Nevertheless, because of her severe anxiety, being in the moment of fear, when she would try to explain to the doctors what she was feeling, the doctors immediately diagnosed her from anything from bipolar to schizophrenia, every other kind of mental illness in between.
They didn't know, but they labeled her. So within that eight and a half year period, we were in and out of different hospitals, and I can't even describe all the different kinds of medications that was thrown at her over and over, just trying to calm her down.
She would be up all night walking the floor in panic. And some of the hardcore psych medications would not even touch her as far as relaxing her. It was just a constant fear of everything and especially afraid of eating something because of the stomach pain.
It got to the point where she got down to about ninety five pounds and because of some other related issues, almost lost her three different times.
You know, and I can't even imagine nor would I even try to attempt to say that I understood what she was going through. I mean, there's just no way I could know what really what was going on in her mind, what reality looked like to her in her mind.
And in this continual state of panic and fear, she was a believer and believed in the sovereign grace of God. And I can't imagine what she went through because she was not herself at all, not at all. She was in this continual rage of panic.
And brother, I'm sharing this with you for the very first time. We never shared this publicly. I talked to her and I asked her if I could share this openly. And she said yes.
And by the way, by the way, I just want to let you know that your story is remarkably close to my own late wife's. She was she was told by her doctors somewhere in the neighborhood of 1996 or so that she had Lyme disease, even though she did not have the classic bullseye tick bite.
In fact, we don't even we didn't even know that she had a tick bite. They just concluded that's what their beliefs were about her condition. And there were some remarkable similarities to my my wife not eating properly because she was constantly having stomach problems through eating.
And tragically, tragically, she lost so much weight. She passed from a heart attack and went home to be with the Lord. But I just wanted to let you know that that when you're telling your story there, it was very, very reminiscent of what I witnessed my wife, my own wife going through.
My heart goes out to you, brother. And I say that by some some element of experience from that. You know, and like in those eight and a half years, I was her caregiver. I mean, we no longer had a husband wife relationship.
And my job was to take care of her the best way I knew how, as I'm sure that you knew. And so, you know, basically I lost my wife and it was like instantly with no warning. I now had an adult daughter I was taking care of.
And she just wasn't even in her right mind at that time. And, you know, and at night I look forward to where she would eventually tire out and go to bed. You know, it was a time of quiet and calmness for me at that time, you know, because it was just constant rage, you know.
Now, I didn't even want to go to sleep when it got quiet and calm, because as soon as I would close my eyes, the alarm would go off and I'd have to go through the same horrible day again. Over and over and over for eight and a half years.
And during those times, I prayed and I cried out to my sovereign. I knew where to go. And but I got to the point where I had no more tears. And I mean, I prayed and in this trial that we were going through, darkness seemed to keep smothering me.
And every time I prayed for my wife, looking expectantly to God, my savior, every time the exact opposite would happen every time. And it was like every time I turned a corner, I would get kicked in the gut.
Something else came up, fighting the misdiagnosis of the doctors, taking the implications of possible abuse from social workers. You know, not having a say in my wife's health care. At that time, this is when the Obamacare kicked in and we didn't have insurance.
And people really don't know that if you didn't have insurance with your spouse or you didn't have a medical say. They took rights away from me, from saying how to treat my wife. And not only that, I had one of my wife's family members question me, was I hurting her?
Was I poisoning her? You know, all of these different types of allegations. And in the midst of all this, my dad died. And everything that was going on, what really tore me up, it just seemed like my prayers were not being answered.
You know, it was to the point that, you know, the enemy would put into my mind, there's no reason to pray. I mean, look, every time you pray, the exact opposite happens. Why pray? You know, you're fighting that spiritual battle.
And all I knew was that the Lord Jesus alone had the words of eternal life. And who else could I go to? You know, and I even got to the point that, like I said, I had no more tears. My prayers were empty.
You know, I was frustrated with everything and even with God.
Yeah.
You know, and I came to the point where I just was numb to the whole thing, almost like just existing. You know, and but all I knew was that God is sovereign. God is good. And that the Lord gave and the Lord's taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord. And I would tell Martina, my wife, I would tell her in the times of her calmness where she was reasonable. I would tell her and I'm telling myself at the same time that God designed this trial for us, which means he's in it with us.
And I was going to stick to that. So I got to the point that all I could do is just quietly sit before God, knowing that he's God. And that's all I could do, Chris. That's all I could do. And, you know, going through this with my wife, I started to see how fear and anxiety can manifest itself in many different ways.
And there can be physiological reasons as to why a person is acting in fear or can just, you know, could just be the weight of the world life circumstances that causes fear. So it's not always a psychological mental illness that's always so labeled when people so quick.
You know, God has created us to be spirit, soul and body. First Thessalonians 5, 23. So our whole being is intertwined together as one person. And we all, to some degree, interact with society and react within ourselves and outside of ourselves.
Chris, I can't give you a turning point or an aha moment where just everything turned around. It took years. And by God's grace, Martina slowly was taking off some of the hard site medications to the point where she was more reasonable.
And, you know, however, she still had great amounts of fear, fear of eating, fear of pain, fear of dying. And so she was required by the state, you know, to have a professional counsel. Well, once again, I'm starting to see God answer some prayers by God's good providence.
I'm a friend with a pastor who is recognized by the state as a mental health counselor and who worked in many of the institutions around Nashville. And as God would have it, the church he pastors was just down the road from where we live.
So Martina could go to him twice a week. And what I really appreciate is his approach to Christian counseling was just renewing the spirit of your mind from the scriptures.
Amen.
For over two years, her counseling that the state required. Well, actually, it was really Bible study with the brother. And it was good because the word of God that he continually put before her wasn't coming from me.
It was coming from someone outside of me, a different voice. Right. Because that's all I'm doing. All I'm trying to do throughout the household is put the word of God before putting it on the everywhere she turns.
I've got it written on papers, everything, trying to put the word of God before her. And, you know, so it was a blessing to have someone outside doing this. And he would pray over her. And at the same time, through different resources, the holy identity of the believer and the church jumped out at me in the New Testament, especially in the book of Ephesians.
So Martine and I would read scriptures together every morning once once she started to be calm and reasonable. And we would go through who we are in Christ together and pray together. And we still meet every morning before we go off to work or whatever and pray together and read scripture together.
And I suggest that to husbands and wives to do that. Make time out to present yourselves before God as a couple as well. But thankfully, the Lord slowly answered my prayers. And according to his will and his timing, you know, I just thank the Lord for it.
And and I used to have to pay for home sitters to stay with Martine during the day until I got home from work. I have a secular job as well. But now Martine is able to be at home. She's productive as a homemaker.
She takes care of the basics around the household. And that's just amazing to me. And then I never thought she would ever drive again. Well, she's able to drive. The Lord provided a little car for her.
And all of that is amazing. And even what's even more mind blowing is that Martine now holds down a part time job in the public as a cashier at a store. And before she starts her day, every morning, she looks up a portion of scriptures and sends scripture text to a list of friends.
Could you pick up? Could you pick up?
Praise the Lord.
Amen. Yeah. Pick up where you left off there because we have to go to our midway break. And please be patient with us, folks. The midway break is always a little longer than the other breaks. But if you have a question for David Hale, send it to Chris Arnsen at gmail .com.
We'll be right back.
Puritan Reformed is a Bible-believing, kingdom-building, devil-fighting church. We are devoted to upholding the apostolic doctrine and practice preserved in scripture alone. Puritan Reformed teaches men to rule and lead as image-bearing prophets, priests, and kings.
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I'm Dr. Joseph Piper, President Emeritus and Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Every Christian who's serious about the Deformed Faith and the Westminster Standards should have and use the eight-volume commentary on the theology and ethics of the Westminster Larger Catechism titled Authentic Christianity by Dr. Joseph Morecraft.
It is much more than an exposition of the Larger Catechism. It is a thoroughly researched work that utilizes biblical exegesis as well as historical and systematic theology. Dr. Morecraft is pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, and I urge everyone looking for a biblically faithful church in that area to visit that fine congregation.
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When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the NASB.
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Go to nasbible .com. That's nasbible .com to place your order. It's such a blessing to hear from Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listeners from all over the world. Here's Joe Riley, a listener in Ireland, who wants you to know about a guest on the show he really loves hearing interviewed, Dr. Joe Moorcraft.
I'm Joe Riley, a faithful Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listener here in Atai, in County Kildare, Ireland. Going back to 2005, one of my very favorite guests on Iron Sharpens Iron is Dr. Joe Moorcraft. If you've been blessed by Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Dr. Moorcraft and Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, are largely to thank, since they are one of the program's largest financial supporters.
Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming is in Forsyth County, a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Heritage is a thoroughly biblical church, unwaveringly committed to Westminster standards, and Dr. Joe Moorcraft is the author of an eight-volume commentary on the larger catechism.
Heritage is a member of the Hanover Presbytery, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, and tracing its roots and heritage back to the great Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
Heritage maintains and follows the biblical truth and principles proclaimed by the Reformers, scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and God's glory alone. Their primary goal is the worship of the Triune God that continues in eternity.
For more details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit HeritagePresbyterianChurch .com. That's HeritagePresbyterianChurch .com. Or call 678 -954 -7831. That's 678 -954 -7831. If you visit, tell them Joe O 'Reilly, an Ironsharpens Iron Radio listener from Attawai in County Kildare, Ireland, sends you.
Hello, my name is Anthony Uvino, and I'm one of the pastors at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Quorum, New York, and also the host of the ReformRookie .com website. I want you to know that if you enjoy listening to the Ironsharpens Iron Radio show like I do, you can now find it on the Apple's iTunes app by typing Ironsharpens Iron Radio in the search bar.
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Subscribe to the Ironsharpens Iron Radio podcast right now. And while you're at it, you can also sign up for the ReformRookie .com podcast and visit our website and the YouTube page. We are dedicated to teaching Christian theology from a Reformed Baptist perspective to beginners in the faith as well as seasoned believers.
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And finally, if you're looking to worship in a Reformed church that holds to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, please join us at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Corham, New York. Again, I'm Pastor Anthony Invinio, and thanks for listening.
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If you love Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, one of the best ways you can help keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers. One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what Chris Hansen is doing is Daniel P. Patafuco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.
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Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said,.
Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves that he has no brains of his own.
You need to read.
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Welcome back. Before I return to my guest, Pastor David Hale, and our theme, which is our identity in Christ, both as individuals and as the church, I have some very important announcements to make. Folks, if you really love this show and you don't want this show to disappear and go off the air, I'm urging you please go to IronSharpen'sIronRadio .com, click support, then click click to donate now.
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Go to www .IronTrepperDesignRadio .com, click Support, then click Click to Donate Now. Last but not least, if you are not a member of a biblically faithful, Christ-honoring, theologically solid, and doctrinally faithful church, like Christ Community Church in Lewisburg, Tennessee, well, I have extensive lists spanning the entire globe, and I have helped many people in our audience all over the planet Earth find churches that are biblically faithful, sometimes even just within a couple of minutes from where they live.
And that may be you, too, if you do not have a biblically faithful church home of your own. So send me an email to ChrisOrenson at gmail .com, and put I need a church in the subject line. I also want to let you know that the church where I was formerly a member before moving to Pennsylvania, Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island, which is located in Merrick, New York, is hosting the Courageous Marriage Conference featuring best-selling author Dr. Joe Rigney, who is on the faculty now, a recent addition to the faculty at New St. Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho.
This event will be held Friday, August 23rd, through Saturday, August 24th, and that's once again at Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island, located in Merrick, New York. If you'd like to register for this event, go to gracereformedbaptistchurch .org, gracereformedbaptistchurch .org, and scroll down to where you will see Featured Events on your left side of the screen, and the Courageous Marriage Conference will be listed there with all the details.
That's gracereformedbaptistchurch .org. And if you have a question for my guest, David C. Hale, pastor of Christ Community Church of Lewisburg, Tennessee, send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com.
Chrisarnson at gmail .com. Give his first name, at least. City and state and country of residence. And Pastor David, right before the break, you were giving us all the wonderful news that your wife, after battling this very serious illness, was finally able to even go back to work.
And if you want to pick up where you left off.
Thank you, brother. Yeah, compared to where we were, you know, I'm just praising the Lord. I mean, I'm shouting on the housetop and give him all the glory from where we've come. Now, we're still not out of the woods.
We still have things that we deal with, but everybody has things they deal with in life. But I shared all that with you and your listeners to let them, you know, let everyone know that I'm not coming from a clinical point of view or not even from a systematic theological point of view when I'm talking about the holy identity of the believer and of the church.
And, you know, it's and I wish I could say I was faithful. I mean, I was not always faithful, but I failed that in this dark time. God brought me to the point of my weakness, showing me that my testimony is that God is faithful.
He is faithful. He is faithful to himself. And where does he dwell? He dwells within the believer. So he will be faithful to himself in and through us. Hebrews 10, 23, for he is faithful that promised.
First Corinthians one, nine, God is faithful. So he's faithful to us in our trials, our troubles, in our darkness. So I really want to encourage people and let the body of Christ know that they are not alone and that believers at times find themselves in long seasons of depression and darkness.
But God is faithful. And even the apostle Paul wrote in Second Corinthians chapter one about their troubles and afflictions that came upon them in Asia, where he wrote, you know, quote, we were pressed out of measure above stream in so much that we despaired even of life.
And Paul shared that with this church, that they were so burdened down, pressed down in depression and despair that they was ready to die. And you wouldn't think that the apostle Paul. Well, that's what he went through.
And he's declaring that God is the deliverer because he will not trust in themselves, but God who raised the dead. So I'm sharing all this to let people know that fear raises its ugly head. And where did fear start?
Well, it started in the garden. Right. I mean, we know the Genesis account after Adam and Eve sinned, after Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, they saw their nakedness and hid themselves. And in Genesis three, nine and ten, the Lord called Adam and said unto him, where art thou?
Now, you have a good educated audience and they understand. But I just want to make it clear also to those who may not understand that every time God asks a question, it's not for information. He already knows he is omniscient.
He's omnipresent. So when he calls unto Adam, where art thou? The point is, Adam didn't know where Adam was. And he was said in verse 10, when he heard the voice in the garden, he was afraid. That fear is the first emotion that sin produced fear.
Now, I kind of apologize for taking so much time, but my desires for the people of God not to be ashamed of fear. The depression and the anxiety that first comes upon us, you know, when things pop up in life, you know, it startles us.
We become instantly afraid. However, we are called not to stay in that state of fear. Once again, you know, we read Second Timothy one, seven, for God have not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.
And that sound mind is the mind of Christ, according to First Corinthians, chapter two, verse 16. So our heavenly father loves us and he cares for us so much that he's given us his son. He's given us his word.
He's given us the spirit. And so we are to, according to Ephesians 4, 23, renew the spirit of our mind. And that's something I would like to do out of the book of Ephesians. And if your listeners have your Bible handy, go ahead and turn to Ephesians chapter one.
I'd like to just give a quick running commentary highlighting out of Ephesians the holy identity that the apostle brings forth. Now, you can there's a lot of topics you can bring out of the book of Ephesians.
We can look at the father's person and purpose. We can teach on the Lord Jesus Christ and his redemptive work and in the Holy Spirit, making the dead sinner alive and being, you know, that seal that preserves us, that keeps us and lessons about marriage, family structure, social interaction, spiritual battles and so on.
But however, I want to pull out of this rich letter how the apostle Paul over and over throughout this letter is describing the new holy identity of those whom God has saved by his sovereign grace and that we are not just to know about it and receive it as doctrinal truth, which we should.
But the point Paul is making in his many descriptive terms is we are to embrace this as this is who we really are in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So I'd like to start at the very first verse, Ephesians one one.
It says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God to the saints. Now, I'd highlight circle underline the word saints right there to the saints, which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
According to Strong's concordance, that word saint here in verse one is the Greek word Hagios, which means sacred, pure or holy. So the apostle Paul is writing to the saints, to the holy ones, so to speak.
And Paul is describing these holy ones at the end of verse one as the faithful, the trustworthy, the trustful ones, the faithful ones. So right at the beginning, we know who the apostle Paul is addressing his epistle, his letter to and this to the saints, to the holy ones in Christ Jesus.
Verse two, grace be to you, to who? To the saints, to the holy ones. Grace be to you and peace from God, our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is letting the saints, these holy ones know that they are graced with peace.
Paul is developing the identity of the holy ones, ascribing to their spiritual identity that God, the creator of all things, is our father in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he has graced you with peace. His peace goes on to verse three.
Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us circle and highlight, blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. In verse three, the holy ones are graced with peace, are also blessed with all or every spiritual blessing in the highest of realms in heavenly places in Christ.
Now, that word blessed is connected to the Greek word where we get our English word eulogy, which means to speak well of or to say a good word about. We use the term usually at funerals. Right. But God uses it when his spirit makes us alive in Christ, according to chapter two.
So God, our father and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ has eulogized, has said a good word about or blessed his holy ones with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Now, verse four, according as he that's God, our father has chosen us in him, Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
And verse for the saints, the holy ones who are graced with peace, who are blessed with all spiritual blessings, are also chosen to be holy and without blame before God in love. That is really beyond our human comprehension sometimes, Chris, to think that for God to make us and consider us holy as he is.
That's mind blowing. And this is very important also is let me bring your attention to the word holy here in verse four. It is the exact same Greek word translated as saints back in verse one where I'm taking the biblical idea of the saints being the holy ones.
So Paul is reiterating the fact that we are holy ones without blame before God in love. Now, before we go on to verse four, five, grab that last word in verse four, see the word love. This is the first mention of the word love in Paul's letter.
Now, read verse five with God's love in mind. Verse five, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. So the holy ones are graced with peace, are blessed with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places who are holy without blame before God in love.
They are predestinated as adopted children by the good pleasure of the father's will. Chris, you know, as well as you're informed the listeners that when the word predestinated or predestination, election or elect or chosen is mentioned, you know, there's a red warning sign and many people back up from that.
They're afraid of right now. I wanted us to read verse five about having predestinated us unto the adoption of children in the light of the last word in verse for love. Now, Chris, you interview and have interviewed many wonderful Bible minds and some great theologians who can explain election and predestination in ways that I can't understand or I could ever comprehend.
You know, I respect them. I learn from them. I listen. I try to learn. I highly regard them and appreciate and I study what they say. However, I need to take a doctrine like election and predestination and explain it in a way that the 10 year old boy and the 10 year old girl sitting in the pew listening to me can get a hold of it and not be afraid of it.
Now, before I explain election and predestination in my elementary way, OK, I usually ask the people, is there anyone here who does not believe in the love of God? You know, be honest. Raise your hand if you don't believe in the love of God.
Nobody's going to throw a rock at you. So everyone here believes in the love of God and everybody agrees. Next, I ask the people. Now, when did God decide to love you? From there, I bring the biblical word love like we had here at the end of verse four, and I bring it into my definition of predestinated in verse five, explaining that election and predestination is nothing more than love before time.
Genesis one one in the beginning, God created. So if the beginning of time is a creation of God and we know that God is love, first John four sixteen and that God is eternal, Deuteronomy thirty three twenty seven and first Timothy one seventeen.
Then the question is, when did God choose to love us? It obviously was not in time or even looking down into time. God is eternal and he chose to love us in eternity. He loved us before time. Now, we experience that to a small degree.
The pregnant mama and expectant daddy already loves that baby inside inside the womb before their child has ever experienced time. Before their birth. So it is with our heavenly father. In eternity, we were inside inside the heart of our heavenly father before we ever experienced time before our new birth.
And according to Ephesians one five, this is a purposeful, redemptive love whereby the father chose to adopt us. And God, the father, did so by no instigation or no beauty or worth on our behalf. But it was according to his good pleasure of his will.
And this is another phrase that sticks out in the letter. So from there, let's move on to verse six. It says to the praise of the glory of his grace, where he made us accepted in the beloved. Next, these holy ones are graced with peace or blessed with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places who are holy and without blame before God and love who adopted children of the pleasure of the father are accepted in the beloved.
According to Strong's concordance, the word accepted means to grace with special honor. So once again, the holy ones are graced. But in this verse, we are graced in the beloved. And the beloved refers back to Jesus Christ in verse five, verse seven, in whom in the beloved Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
We see that the saints, the holy ones who are graced with peace, who are blessed with all spiritual blessings, who are holy and without blame before God and love, who are adopted children by the good pleasure of God, who are accepted in the beloved are redeemed and forgiven in verse seven.
I want everyone to understand. I'm not just throwing out scriptures. Paul is starting to develop your identity. This is who you are, in whom we have redemption in his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
Also, take notice of that word riches. This is the first time that the word riches is used here. And the apostle Paul will play off the riches of God later on in chapters two and chapter three. Verse eight and nine, it says, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to the good pleasure which he had purposed in himself.
In verse nine, we have the first mention of the mystery, the mystery of his will, in which Paul will once again develop later on when he starts explaining the the identity of the church. OK, and bringing together Jew and Gentile into one body, according to God's good pleasure.
Verse 10, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, which both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. Notice that this is the first time the English word one is used.
This Greek word is used only used one time in Ephesians. And this word one here means to sum up all things in Christ. And Paul then plays off of this summary, summing up all things in Christ, teaching a oneness within the church's identity later on in chapters two and chapter three, where he brings Jew and Gentile together as one in Christ.
Verse 11, chapter one, verse 11, in whom in Christ. Also, we obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who work with all things after the counsel of his own will. And verse 11, we see that the holy ones are heirs.
We have obtained an inheritance being predestinated. We're no longer afraid of that word predestinated, being predestinated, being loved before time, according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will.
So the holy ones are inheritors. Verse 12, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. Next, we see that the saints, the holy ones are to the praise of God's glory. Verse 13, in whom in Christ at the end of verse 12, in whom you also trusted after they heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believe you were sealed with that Holy Spirit, a promise.
Notice that the salvation of the saints, the holy ones, their salvation is dependent upon hearing the word of truth. And Paul calls the word of truth, the gospel, the good news of your salvation. And notice the progression in whom you also after what?
After what? After you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. After that, you believe. And after you believe you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, which was promised by Jesus in John chapters 15 and 16.
The point is that within God's eternal decree, he has determined that all of his saints, all of his holy ones, as they are regenerated and made alive spiritually by the Holy Spirit. They will hear the word of truth and believe the gospel and then be sealed or preserved by that same spirit.
Therefore, within God's eternal decree, he has predestinated the hearing of the gospel so that sinners would freely come to Christ and become his saints, his holy ones, to the praise of his glory and grace sealed by his spirit.
Verse 14, which is the earnest, the spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase possession unto the praise of his glory. The Holy Spirit of God is the earnest or the down payment.
It's a he is the security for the holy ones until the time of redemption, you know, whereby our mortal bodies will receive the redemption as immortal. OK, and just like our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
However, right now we've grown in ourselves with the creation waiting for that total, complete, final redemption that we desire in Romans chapter eight, verse twenty three. And this includes what the redemption of our spirit, soul and body together.
And so at this present time, the Holy Spirit is given to the saints indwelling us being with us. John 14, 17. Until we, the saints, the holy ones are personally and eternally in the very possession of Christ, our redeemer as one as one body, as one church.
In short, this is our individual holy identity. Quickly, the saints, the holy ones are graced with peace, are blessed with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ, are holy without blame before God and love are adopted.
Children, by the good pleasure of God, are accepted in the beloved, redeemed, forgiven inheritors to the praise of God's glory, sealed with the spirit of promise as Christ purchased possession. Dearly beloved, that's who you are.
That is who you are.
And this is the personal holy identity of everyone redeemed in Christ. And as church leaders and believers, we need to edify ourselves with this truth so that we can edify the body of Christ, because you and I, we can't give someone something that we don't have.
So let's encourage and edify ourselves first so that our cup would be full so that we may give spiritual water to another thirsty brother or sister who's needing help. So we need to edify ourselves so we can help others.
You know, Chris, there's some very good words like in the old hymn written by the late James Gray, which was entitled Only a Sinner written, I think, in around 1905 or something there. But I wholeheartedly agree with the brother where he wrote boasting excluded pride I base.
I agree with the point that the hymn writer was emphasizing that we are only saved by God's grace. Only, only saved by God's grace. However, in a loving way, I might take a little issue with the thought that I am only, only, only a sinner saved by grace.
Now, please don't misunderstand me. You're not going to find anyone else who believes more in the absolute sovereign grace of God to save a hell deserving sinner like myself. In fact, like I said, my testimony is how God saved a good boy from going to hell.
The world saw me as a good boy, but there was no good in me. Sin permeated my thoughts, my desires, my emotions, my will. Theologically, we can call that total depravity if you want to. I do not disagree.
But God's word calls me carnal, saying my carnal mind is enmity against God, Romans 8, 7. In so much that by nature, I am called an enemy of God by nature. And that while I was God's enemy, he reconciled me by the death of his son.
So, like I said, there's many testimonies of terrible wicked people who've come to Christ. But mine is the worst of all. How a good boy going to hell, God brought me out of my goodness and brought me into the free and sovereign grace of God.
Now, by nature, I am a saved sinner. But I am not called in the scriptures to live by the natural man, the old man, knowing that our old man is crucified with Christ, Romans 6, 6. So, we should no longer live in servitude to sin, which means we shouldn't even entertain that in our minds.
We have the mind of Christ now. Now, therefore, if the theological belief that a saved sinner by God's grace is only a sinner saved by grace, then I suggest to you and to your listeners that we are devaluing the precious blood of our dear Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and what he has purchased for his elect upon the cross.
All believers agree that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses us, keeps on cleansing us from all sin, according to 1 John 1. And to imagine that our sins, past, present, and future, have been paid for by the sacrificial blood of Jesus, and that we're clean, that you are clean, is beyond our imagination.
And God's word is true, that we are clean, and we just praise him for it. And if that was all that Christ ever did for his people, we praise him, eternally praise him, and keep on praising him for such a great sacrifice forever and ever.
However, Christ our King, our Redeemer King, did, I'm saying this reverently, did so much more than just pay for our sins.
Amen. In fact, I'm assuming then you would disagree, at least in part, with the famous bumper sticker, I'm not perfect, I'm just forgiven. That's really half of the story, because that's almost saying, don't mind me behaving like a wicked individual or a buffoon, but, you know, I've just got my slate wiped clean and I've got a one-way ticket to heaven or something.
That's not the message of the gospel.
That's a very good example there, Chris. I appreciate that. Yes, most definitely. And we have to understand that we're not only something. Our identity is so great and so rich, and if I'm only a sinner saved by grace, and if that is the only theological view, then someone should have told the Apostle Paul, because he started the book of Ephesus, what, you know, to the saints, which are to Ephesus.
If they were just only sinners, he should have written to the sinners, which are to Ephesus. And so the Apostle Paul, he's writing to the saints, the holy ones. And, you know, in our natural born sinnerhood has been transformed into a spiritual sainthood.
And it's not anything that we've done. It's all by his grace. It's all through the blood of his son, Jesus Christ, and we are recipients of this. We do not deserve it. We are recipients of it. And we should also accept this, the theological metamorphosis that are, you know, we talk about worm theology, that our sin-filled, natural-born, wormy, caterpillar theology really has been transformed by God's sovereign grace into a beautiful, saintly, butterfly theology.
And we need to embrace that as well. So, yes, I mean, in total depravity, I mean, we're the bottom side of a maggot. If you want to put it that way. But that wormy caterpillar, the metamorphosis it takes through the blood of Jesus Christ,.
We're a butterfly now. We're beautiful. Well, we have a question for you from Della Mae in, it's either Laverne or Laverne, Tennessee. And Della Mae says, I have heard a growing number of Calvinists teach something that is true, but partially true.
They will say that not enough Christians and pastors are teaching the importance of our identity in the corporate body of Christ and dwelling too much on our personal relationship with Christ. While that may be true, I think that they overreact and undermine the significance and beauty of our personal relationship with Christ.
Have you noticed this and what are your comments?
Well, I definitely see that, you know, we need to, like I said, what I'm doing now is trying to emphasize the beauty of the individual. What God has done for the individual. However, you know, we're not called to be lone wolf Christians.
There is a beauty within the body of Christ. And in the body of Christ in chapters one and two of Ephesians, he starts to go in and starts to describe the beautiful body of Christ and the identity of Christ.
In fact, in chapter two, we know that great passages of how we were saved by grace through faith and that. But also in chapter two and verse 12, he starts to talk about the identity of the church. And then in chapter two, verse 12, it talks about that.
At that time, you were without Christ being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope. And without God in the world. Now, what we're seeing here is in chapter two, chapter three, Paul is going to start giving the identity of the church.
And right here, one of the first identities, identifications he gives to the church is the Commonwealth of Israel. Now, I mentioned the word riches just a moment ago as we were going through Ephesians chapter one.
And the reason I was doing that is because many times it talks about the riches of God, the riches of his glory. But God, who is rich in mercy, chapter two, verse four, for his great love or what he has loved us.
This riches is, I believe, is connected to that word Commonwealth of Israel. Now, some will have that translated as citizens of Israel, which is fine. It is true. But I like the word Commonwealth because you're having a wealth, a wealth of what?
A wealth of the riches of God's grace, the wealth of the riches of God's glory. And that's common, common among who? The church. And he calls the church here Israel. Now, we're not saved by grace through faith.
And he brings us into the physical nation of Israel. That wouldn't make sense. Now, he's talking about a spiritual entity, this remnant that is mentioned all throughout the Old Testament. And the apostle Paul also mentions that remnant in Romans as well.
But this Commonwealth is riches that are common among Jew and Gentile who has come together as one. I don't know if that really is going to answer her question as much. But I just see it as that we need to understand that we are not just redeemed people and God leaves us out there.
And we are looking at ourselves in the way that Christ sees us. And we don't use our gifts, our talents, edification within the church. If we are lone wolf Christians, what are we doing? We're robbing one another of Christ in us, our hope of glory.
So as I brought a message out not too long ago that our lives, what are we doing? Every day should be worship. We should worship the Lord every day. It doesn't matter if you're taking out the garbage or washing the dishes or whether you're driving to work, what you do at work.
Everything we do, we do as unto the Lord and not unto men. We give him glory in everything. That is a form of worship. So we take that worship through the week and we bring it into the fellowship. The fellowship of the saints.
In fact, in chapter 2, in verse 19, it talks about the fellow citizens, the saints, the household of God. That's another term for the church.
In fact, let me have you pick up right there at the Household of Faith when we return from our final break. Don't go away, folks. We'll be right back.
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Hi, this is John Sampson, pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona. Taking a moment of your day to talk about Chris Arnson and the Iron Sharpens Iron podcast. I consider Chris a true friend and a man of high integrity.
He's a skilled interviewer who's not afraid to ask the big penetrating questions, while always defending the key doctrines of the Christian faith. I've always been happy to point people to this podcast, knowing it's one of the very few safe places on the Internet where folk won't be led astray.
I believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide. This is a day of great spiritual compromise, and yet God has raised Chris up for just such a time. And knowing this, it's up to us as members of the body of Christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and in finances.
I'm pleased to do so, and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining me in supporting Iron Sharpens Iron financially. Would you consider sending either a one-time gift or even becoming a regular monthly partner with this ministry?
I know it would be a huge encouragement to Chris if you would. All the details can be found at ironsharpensironradio .com where you can click support. That's ironsharpensironradio .com.
I'm Dr. Tony Costa, Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary. I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love, Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Corham, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jensen and Christopher McDowell.
It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God like the dear saints at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Corham, who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of Christ in His Holy Word, and to enthusiastically proclaim Christ Jesus the King and His doctrines of sovereign grace in Suffolk County, Long Island and beyond.
I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing of being showered by their love as I have. For more information on Hope Reformed Baptist Church, go to hopereformedli .net.
That's hopereformedli .net or call 631 -696 -5711. That's 631 -696 -5711. Tell the folks at Hope Reformed Baptist Church of Corham, Long Island, New York that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron.
When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience are dealing with or switching to the NASB.
I'm Dr. Joe Moorcraft, pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in Cumming, Georgia, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
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I'm Pastor Josh Miller of Grace Bible Fellowship Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Joe Bianchi, president of Calvi Press Publishing in Greenville, South Carolina, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Jake Korn of Switzerland Community Church in Switzerland, Florida, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
Go to nasbible .com, that's nasbible .com, to place your order.
Greetings. This is Brian McLaughlin, president of the SecureComm Group, and supporter of Chris Arnzen's Iron Sharpens Iron Radio program. SecureComm provides the highest level of security systems for residential buildings, municipalities, churches, commercial properties, and much more.
Doug McMasters here, former director of pastoral correspondence at Grace to You, the radio ministry of John MacArthur. In the film Chariots of Fire, Olympic gold medalist runner Eric Liddell remarked that he felt God's pleasure when he ran.
He knew his efforts sprang from the gifts and calling of God. He sensed that same God-given pleasure when ministering the word and helping others gain a deeper knowledge and love for God. That love starts with the wonderful news that the Lord Jesus Christ is a Savior who died for sinners, and that God forgives all who come to Him in repentance, trusting solely in Christ to deliver them.
That's nhpbc .com. You can also call us at 516 -352 -9672. That's 516 -352 -9672. That's New High Park Baptist Church, a congregation in love with each other, passionate for Christ, committed to learning and being shaped by God's word and delighting in the gospel of God's sovereign grace.
Chris Arnzen here. I am forever grateful to Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service for their generous financial support of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
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The theologically reformed influence of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio through their financial support. Shipping worldwide. Welcome back, and folks, don't forget that this program is paid for in part by the law firm of Buttafuoco and Associates Attorneys at Law.
If you are the victim of a very serious personal injury or medical malpractice anywhere in the United States, call 1 -800-NOW-HURT, 1 -800-NOW-HURT, or visit Dan Buttafuoco's website, 1 -800-NOW-HURT .com, or call Dan Buttafuoco that you heard about his law firm, Buttafuoco and Associates, from Chris Orensen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
I also want to remind you about the conference that we are promoting today, which is going to be held, God willing, September 12th, 13th, and 14th at Grace Church at Franklin in Franklin, Tennessee. And that conference is featuring guest speakers such as David Hale, my guest today, and also Mark Grimaldi, my former pastor when I was living on Long Island.
Today, Mark is the pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Greenbrier, Tennessee, and also Tom Gabbard, who is the pastor of Graced Baptist Fellowship in Lewisburg, Tennessee. There may be a fourth man added to this roster, and if that is the case, the conference will start a day earlier.
So if you'd like more details, go to gracechurchatfranklin .org, gracechurchatfranklin .org. Well, if you want to pick up where you left off,.
Where we,.
Or where you were mentioning the household of faith is another way to recognize from the Scriptures, Christ's Church. And then you'll have about four minutes to summarize what you want most etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners today.
Yes, just the identity of who we are individually and as a church. You know, just to go through, I think time to read chapter 2 and chapter 3 of Ephesians, and notice the identity of what Paul calls the church.
Once again, in chapter 2, verse 19, he calls it the household of faith. Chapter 21, the holy temple, the habitation. Also in chapter 3, he talks about the Gentiles being fellow heirs of the same body, same body, what, Jew and Gentile coming together in that commonwealth of Israel.
And also talks about the fellowship in chapter 3, verse 9, and it specifically mentions the church again in chapter 3, verse 10. Then he also says in verse 15, glory in heaven and earth. And then towards the end of chapter 3, once again, he says unto him the glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
So I encourage you to look at the identity of who we are as a church as well and share that with one another. Encourage one another. We're of the whole family. We're fellow citizens. This is who we are in Christ.
And what's also interesting is in chapters 4 and 5, he talks about walking in this identity. We just don't know about it. We live it out. Chapter 4, verse 1, he talks about walking worthy of the calling, the vocation with which you're called.
Chapter 5, verse 2, he says walk in love. So we know who we are and we are to live it out.
Technically,.
You cannot join the church. You're called out of this world and placed into the church. It's the called out one. You're called out of this world and you're called out into what? Into a relationship with Christ and his body.
Therefore, there's no such thing as a lone wolf Christian. You are brought into the family of God. And so, you know, Chris, that is just something that the Lord has just put on my heart is that we all go through sufferings in this world.
We all go through things in this thing, this world. And most of you have gone through probably a whole lot more than I've gone through. Sounds like you've gone through a lot of hurt in your life as well, Chris, and just the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, you know, life hurts.
But my point is on the identity is you're not alone. Not only you're not alone, glory and then also you're not alone within the body of Christ. We all suffer. We all go through seasons of darkness and depression and things of that nature.
But we have peace with God, the peace of God and the peace with God that he has blessed us tremendously. The Lord Jesus Christ said in John 14, 27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I to you, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
So this peace that passes all understanding in Philippians 4, 7 is I pray that it will be encouragement to those of you who are struggling, those who find yourself in the moment of panic and fear to renew the spirit of your mind while you're calm.
So when the time, the moment comes, you are already having your mind, your heart is already being fed so that you can overcome that panic and that fear and that anxiety so much better than just getting into it.
And there you are. So I just really encourage and to impress upon the spirit of your mind who you are in Christ and renew the spirit of your mind continually. And I'm just thankful to what the Lord has done and my wife's life and mine and what we've gone through and the kind of hospitals and I'm not ashamed of her.
I'm thankful to God for her. And by his sovereign hand, God chose her to go through what she has gone through.
And we're out of time, brother. And I want to make sure our listeners have your website again, ReasonsTheNumber4Believing .com. ReasonsTheNumber4Believing .com. I want to thank you so much for being such an excellent guest and I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives Jesus Christ is a far greater Savior than you are a sinner.