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August 19, 2021
WILLIAM F. HILL, pastor of Providence Church (PCA) in Evansville, Indiana, & blogger at TheParchment.net who will address:
“ADVICE to YOUNG MINISTERIAL STUDENTS”
Live from the historic parsonage of the 19th century gospel minister George Norcross in downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 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 a 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 who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com. This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Thursday on this 19th day of August 2020.
As always, I am looking forward to my interview today with someone who has proven to be an excellent guest on this program, someone who I love to interview, and he has become a friend, and I also share with him many of his convictions, even though I am a Reformed Baptist and he is a Presbyterian.
We do have most things in common, and I'm speaking of Pastor Bill Hill. He is pastor of Providence Church, which is a congregation in the Presbyterian Church in America in Evansville, Indiana, and today we are going to be discussing, I think, a very important theme.
Pastor Bill is going to be giving advice to young ministerial students, and it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Pastor Bill Hill. Yes, we did, I think, a fascinating interview on the most recent PCA, Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly, and if you could make sure your mouth is as close to whatever thing that you're using.
I tried something different this time.
Yes, I was very saddened, as you know. This individual will remain nameless, but I was very saddened and surprised that a fellow PCA pastor requested that I remove him from my email list promoting Iron Sharpens Iron Radio because he believed our discussion on the PCA General Assembly was hate speech, and that is quite baffling to me, how a professing evangelical, a professing subscriber to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Three Forms of Unity, how such an individual could find the belief that homosexuals need to repent and and be transformed by Christ in order to be considered worthy of membership in the church, and even into the office of a pastor, elder, etc., how that could be considered hate speech.
That's kind of chilling in a negative way.
The climate in which we continue.
Yes, I wonder if that same individual believe it's hate speech to urge a heterosexual adulterer to repent and to put aside his sexual proclivity and activity, and I don't even understand it. I can understand it from the left, the open left, obviously, but that is not the subject of our topic.
Yeah, we could spend the first hour talking about that, but let's not.
If you could, tell us about Providence Church in Evansville, Indiana.
Sure, I'd be glad to. I was called in about 100. It's been really enjoyable, ups and downs.
If anybody wants to find out more about this very important church, which I believe, if I'm not mistaken, there are not a whole lot of confessionally Reformed churches in your area, are there?
Are you talking about the Evangelical Presbyterian Church denomination? No, I'm talking about Evangelical Presbytery. Oh, Evangelical Presbytery. Yeah, there you go. Thank you.
Yes, and I know that they would be very much in harmony with other churches that adhere to the Westminster Confession, except they permit the ordination of women, and they believe in, or they are open to, the charismatic sign gifts.
Yes, I don't...
Well, anyway, we don't want to spend time dissing another denomination.
Oh, no, I'm not trying to...
I actually do have friends in that denomination, as much as I may disagree with those two things I mentioned, strongly disagree. But if anybody wants more information on Providence Church in Evansville, Indiana, you can go to providencechurchevv .com, that's Providence Church E, that's for Evansville, VV, which is also a part of the abbreviation for evansville .com.
Providencechurchevv .com. All right, now tell us about The Parchment.
Oh, that website that I started, and occasionally I'll...
And that website is theparchment .net, theparchment .net. By the way, we have a listener in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who asks, Why does your guest sound so upset? And he's not using, actually, the phrase upset.
He's using a more colorful term that goes by the initials P as in Peter O. I don't know. Well, I think it's largely because you're a New Yorker.
It could be, I don't know. Yeah, I'm just chilling in my study.
By the way, folks, I want to give our listeners the email address if you have questions on our main theme, Advice to Young Ministerial Students. ChrisArnzen at gmail .com, C-H-R-I-S-A-R-N-Z-E-N 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. Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.
Well, initially, what was the catalyst behind you wanting to discuss this theme? And I do believe it's a very important theme because so many young people in the 21st century, in the faith, who may even be in very conservative, biblically orthodox denominations and congregations, are going off to either college, Bible college, or seminary, and they are being deprogrammed from Christianity.
They are being brainwashed. And some of these leftists and apostates, who may even be disguised as Christian professors, are actually making headway. They're having an impact on the minds and thinking of young Christians and leading them to abandon things that have always been believed by biblically faithful Christians.
But if you could tell me your specific reason for wanting to discuss this.
I don't know if there's any specific...
You even entered seminary later in life than the average seminary student, didn't you?
Yeah, I did. I went to seminary when I was 40. Another thing, too, thinking about it, I had a guy contact me.
I could have been.
I just want to quick plug your seminary because it's one of the few remaining seminaries that I think that people can have complete confidence in. If you are a thoroughgoing, confessionally reformed, conservative Christian, you can have great confidence in either sending your children or if you yourself are the student attending and becoming a part of the student body at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylors, South Carolina.
And that website is gpts .edu G-P for Greenville Presbyterian, T-S for Theological Seminary .edu. I just thought I'd throw that out there. And by the way, Joey Piper, if you are listening, I left a voicemail for you about a week ago hoping that you return as a guest on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
It was a rich pleasure to interview you in the past and it's been far too long. But anyway, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Oh, he's probably... I think he was out of the country.
Okay.
Actually, I didn't get it.
Yeah, I will do that. But do you agree with my assessment, though, that it is a real... I mean, it's not like this is anything new. This was happening in the late 19th century where people were hearing about higher criticism and beginning to adopt Darwinianism.
And of course, not long after that, the tragic fundamentalist modernist controversy rose up in the early 20th century. So this is nothing new, but the ideas are even more insane and satanic in these days that professing Christians are teaching and adopting.
Am I right?
Yeah, I think that's a problem. I don't know that that is why I was... You know, it's because the climate is so going to use the light world. Can they get out of the church when they've been in light?
Young men...
Well, we have to go to our first break right now. If anybody would like to join us, our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com. Chrisarnson at gmail .com. Give us your first name, at least your city and state and your country of residence.
If you live outside the USA, only remain anonymous. If your question involves a personal and private matter. In fact, I'll read a question to you from a listener. In fact, I believe it's a first time listener and you can answer it when we come back.
We have Adam in Edgewood, Maryland, who says, What advice would you give to young men who desire to pursue ministry in a predominantly atheistic country? And he gives us an example, the Czech Republic.
I'm not sure why, since he lives in Edgewood, Maryland. But if you would like to follow up with another email explaining why the Czech Republic is of specific interest to you, let us know. But thanks for that question, Adam.
And we will have Bill answer it when we come back. He says, Go Blue Jays. I'm not sure what Toronto, Canada has to do with Edgewood, Maryland or Czech Republic either.
I'm trying to think if I know this person because I'm obviously a big Yankee fan.
And so he's rubbing it in by saying, Go Blue Jays.
I didn't mean to ring a bell. But if they know me and whatever, OK, fine. Go Blue Jays.
OK, well, if anybody else wants to join us, our email address is ChrisArnzen at gmail .com. C-H-R-I-S-A-R-N-Z-E-N 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. Don't go away. We'll be right back.
I'm James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries. My friend Chris Arnzen, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, and I are headed down to Atlanta, Georgia once again for the G3 conference. This year's G3 will be held Thursday, September 30th through Saturday, October 2nd on the theme, Christ is supreme over all.
I'll be joined by over 20 other speakers and musicians to lead in the worship of God through preaching, teaching and singing, including John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Conrad M. Bayway, Daryl Bernard Harrison and Virgil Walker.
For details, visit G3conference .com. That's G3conference .com. Chris Arnzen and I hope to see you September 30th through October 2nd at G321. This is James White reminding you that Christ is supreme over all.
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.
I'm Dr. Joseph Piper, President and Professor of Systematic and Homiletical Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylor, South Carolina, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Chuck White of the First Trinity Lutheran Church in Tonawanda, New York, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Anthony Mathenia of Christ Church in Radford, Virginia, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Justin Miller of Damascus Road Christian Church in Gardenville, Nevada, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Bruce Bennett of Word of Truth Church in Farmerville, Long Island, New York, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Rodney Brown of Metro Bible Church in Southlake, Texas, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Jim Harrison of Red Mills Baptist Church in Mayapac Falls, New York, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
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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 for 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.
Because I trust the reporting, I gain insight from the analysis, and World provides clarity to the news stories that really matter. I believe you'll also find World to be an invaluable resource to better understand critical topics with a depth that's simply not found in other media outlets.
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That's W for World, N for News, G for Group, dot org forward slash podcast. As host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, I frequently get requests from listeners for church recommendations. A church I've been strongly recommending as far back as the 1980s is Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington, New Jersey, pastored by Alan Dunn.
Grace Covenant Baptist Church believes it's God's prerogative to determine how he shall be worshiped and how he shall be represented in the world. They believe churches need to turn to the Bible to discover what to include in worship and how to worship God in spirit and truth.
Grace Covenant Baptist Church endeavors to maintain a God-centered focus. Reading, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, baptism, and communion are the scriptural elements of their corporate worship, performed with faith, joy, and sobriety.
Discover more about Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington, New Jersey at gcbcmj .squarespace. com. That's gcbcmj .squarespace .com or call them at 908 -996 -7654. That's 908 -996 -7654. Tell Pastor Dunn that you heard about Grace Covenant Baptist Church on Iron Sharpens Iron.
Radio.
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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 Arnton is doing is Daniel P. Patafuco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.
Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society. Their mission? To foster belief in the credibility of Scripture as the written Word of God. They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare collection of biblical texts, along with a fascinating presentation by Mr. Patafuco demonstrating the reliability of Scripture.
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Welcome back.
This is Chris Arnzen. If you just tuned in to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, our guest for the entire program today is Bill Hill, who is pastor of Providence Church, a PCA congregation in Evansville, Indiana, and we are discussing Pastor Hill's advice to young ministerial students.
If you have a question of your own, our email address is chrisarnzen at gmail .com. C-H-R-I-S-A-R-N-Z-N at gmail .com. Give us your first name at least, city and state, and country of residence.
Adam, the questioner that I cited right before the break, who is from Maryland, he explained in further detail why he has a specific interest in the Czech Republic. He says, I've had a desire to pursue pastoral ministry since I started to repent and believe in the gospel.
I've always had a love for my heritage. So I'm assuming he's speaking of Czechoslovakia. So it made sense that love for my people and a love for sharing the gospel would merge. Pastor Hill and I spoke a few times in person at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
I'm not the most memorable person, but I think I'm the only student who has had a heart for the Czechs. I thought that might have helped his memory. So if you want to give him any advice there.
I don't know the background.
One of the nice things about... Brother, could you go back closer to the mic again or with a phone, whatever you use?
Right on top of me.
Oh, really? Yeah, you sound kind of distant. I don't know why.
Maybe that's why I sound angry. Which I'm not, actually.
I know, you always sound angry, even when you're happy. I know that.
I think he is primarily addressing the atheist part, not the Czech part.
What kind of advice would you give to any ministerial student or somebody even intending to become a missionary where the majority of people around them are atheists? You might even include New York City in that.
If there are any Reformed people out there who are interested in church planting, New York City is a barren wasteland, except for a handful of solidly Reformed churches there. It's amazing to me that a city so large and so heavily populated would have such a small percentage of confessionally Reformed churches.
But having said that, any advice when it comes to a person desiring to pursue atheists as a mission field is basically, I think, what he's saying in summary.
Yes, I know personally, because we have listeners in Ukraine, which was formerly.
A part of the Iron Curtain and the USSR, and Christianity is beginning to grow and spread there, and there might even be some of my listeners from Ukraine who could give you some counsel in that regard.
There are even Reformed satellite teaching groups. I don't know if they're at quite the seminary level. They may be. I just don't remember right now. But I know that my friend, for instance, Dr. James R. White of Alpha Omega Ministries, at one time anyway, was annually making trips to Ukraine to teach.
So obviously, when it comes to God and his sovereignty, nothing is without hope. He has brought revival in formerly atheistic countries or predominantly atheistic countries in the past, and he could do it again.
But anyway, thanks so much, Adam, for writing in. And since you are a first-time questioner, I believe, please give me your full mailing address in Maryland, Edgewood, Maryland, so that CVBBS .com, Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, can ship to you a free New American Standard Bible, compliments of the publishers of the NASB.
And I want to thank, by the way, Pike Lambeth, the executive director of the Lockman Foundation, who publish the New American Standard Bible. I want to thank them so much for just recently, a few days ago, renewing their advertising contract.
We depend upon them very much for our existence. All right, but now, let me give you seven minutes to at least get the ball rolling on what you originally attended as your counsel and advice to young ministerial students before we go to our midway break.
Yeah, I think, through your church, by doing part of the preparation, not—.
Yeah, what I'm going to do, since we are entering into the time when we have to go to our midway break, I'm going to ask you another question and have you answer it when we come back. We have an anonymous listener who says, what do you say to an individual who really has a desire to go to seminary and to become trained for the ministry when his own elders do not want him to leave the congregation, they want him to rely on the education and training that is available in the local church, and they do not want this person to depart for formal education for degrees and so on because they believe he is of too much value in the congregation?
And we'll have you answer that question when we come back. Our email address, if you have any questions of your own, if you want to get in line, is chrisarnson at gmail dot com. Chrisarnson at gmail dot 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 personal and private matter.
Please be patient with us as this is our longer than normal break in the middle of the show because Grace Life Radio, who airs this program, is compelled by the FCC to localize Iron Sharpens Iron Radio geographically to Lake City, Florida with their own public service announcements and other local things that they air in the middle of the show, while we simultaneously air our globally heard commercials.
So please be patient with us as we do that, and also please use this time wisely. Write down as much of the information as you possibly can for as many of our advertisers as you can so that you can more frequently and successfully respond to our advertisers.
We hope that many of you will buy our advertisers' products, use their services, visit their churches, and support their parachurch organizations. But when you cannot do those things, please, at the very least, simply reply to the ads with whatever contact information they provide and thank them for sponsoring Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
We need our advertisers to exist, folks. Some of you complain about the frequency of ads in the show, but we will not exist without them. We depend 100 on the funding provided by our advertisers, in addition, of course, primarily to the sovereign grace of God, and also our generous donors and benefactors who donate to the program.
But we can't exist without our ads, folks. So please respond to them, at the very least, by thanking them. And send in your questions to chrisarnson at gmail .com. Chrisarnson at gmail .com. Don't go away.
We'll be right back after these messages.
Through Saturday, October the 2nd, on the theme, Christ is supreme over all. I'll be speaking there, along with over 20 other speakers, including John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Vody Balkam, Joel Beakey, and James White.
For details, visit g3conference .com. That's g3conference .com. Please join Chris Arnson and me, September 30th through October the 2nd at G3 2021. This is Justin Peters reminding you that Christ is supreme over all.
Iron Trump and Zion 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 Trump and Zion Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the NASB.
I'm Pastor Nate Pickowitz of Harvest Bible Church in Gilmanton Ironworks, New Hampshire, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Rich Jensen of Hope Reform Baptist Church in Coram, New York, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Sule Prince of Oakwood Wesleyan Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor John Sampson of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Chuck Volo of New Life Community Church in Kingsville, Maryland, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Steve Herford of Eastport Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Roy Owens Jr. of the Church in Friendship in Hopley, Texas, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
Here's a great way for your church to help keep Iron Trumpet's Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew Bibles tattered and falling apart? Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Trumpet's Iron Radio.
Go to nasbible .com. That's nasbible .com to place your order.
As a mother, I was looking for a magazine that would include devotionals that I could quickly do before school, and had theology and doctrine made very simple for children to understand that they could read themselves, or I could walk them through.
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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 Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show like I do, you can now find it on the Apple's iTunes app by typing Iron Sharpens Iron Radio in the search bar.
You no longer have to worry about missing a show or a special guest because you're in your car or still at work. Just subscribe on the iTunes app and listen to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show at any time, day or night.
Please be sure to also give it a good review and pass it along to anyone who would benefit from the teaching and the many solidly reformed guests that Chris Arnzen has on the show. Truth is so hard to come by these days, so don't waste your time with fluff or fake news.
Subscribe to the Iron Sharpens 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.
From Keech's Catechism and the Doctrines of Grace to the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Leviticus, the Reform Rookie podcast and YouTube channel is sure to have something to offer everyone seeking biblical truth.
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 Coram, New York. Again, I'm Pastor Anthony Avino, and thanks for listening.
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Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ. My name is Bhanu Gadi. I'm a pharmacist in New York, which is the epicenter of the latest crisis the world is going through. In Psalm 139, verse 14, the psalmist offers praise to the Lord like this,.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and wondrous are your works that my soul knows very well. He saw God's goodness and mercy, kindness, and the beauty in what God has designed, and he has erupted into praise.
In any crisis or problem, brothers and sisters, our only fallback position is to trust God's design, and once we do, there is nothing for us to do but to erupt in praise to him. When the whole world is searching for a solution, God, in his infinite mercy, has given us what we need to address this illness, which can be very serious.
Such is the beauty of his design, knowing that design, how can we not erupt in praise to our great God like the psalmist did? May God bless you and give all of us wisdom to see greater things in his design.
Thank you.
If you love Iron Sharpen's 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 Arnton is doing is Daniel P. Patafuco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.
Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society. Their mission? To foster belief in the credibility of Scripture as the written word of God. They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare collection of biblical texts, along with a fascinating presentation by Mr. Patafuco demonstrating the reliability of Scripture.
Visit historicalbiblesociety .org. That's historicalbiblesociety .org. Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio on the air.
Getting a driver's license, running a cash register, flipping burgers, passing sixth grade—do you know what they all have in common? They all require training, assessments, and certifications. But do you know what requires no training at all?
Becoming a parent. My name is A .M.
Brewster.
I'm the president of Truth, Love, Parent, and host of its award-winning podcast. I've been a biblical family counselor since the early 2000s, and what I've discovered is that the majority of Christian parents have never been biblically equipped to do the work of the ministry in their homes.
That's why Truth, Love, Parent exists. We serve God by equipping dads and moms to be the ambassador parents God called and created them to be. We produce free parenting resources, train church leaders, and offer biblical counseling so that the next generation of dads and moms can use the scriptures to parent their children for life and godliness.
Please visit us at truthloveparent .com.
Here's what Gary DeMar, president of American Vision, had to say about Iron Sharpens Iron.
Radio recently.
Good to be back, Chris.
I always enjoy our time here. I have to tell you, you're one of the better interviewers out there, and I've been doing this for more than 30 years.
Wow, that's some compliment. How much do I owe you for that?
You don't have to owe me anything. We're in good shape.
I'm glad you said it on the air, so I don't have to brag about myself. Tell your friends and loved ones about Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, airing live Monday through Friday, 4 to 6 p .m. Eastern Time, at ironsharpensironradio .com.
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.
Solid Ground Christian Books is a publisher and book distributor who takes these words of the Prince of Preachers to heart. The mission of Solid Ground Christian Books is to bring back treasures of the past to minister to Christians in the present and future, and to publish new titles that address burning issues in the church and the world.
Since its beginning in 2001, Solid Ground has been committed to publish God-centered, Christ-exalting books for all ages. We invite you to go treasure hunting at solid-ground-books .com. That's solid-ground-books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past to present you can unearth from Solid Ground.
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That's a very important element so that they are aware of how successful their advertisements are on this show. Also, folks, I want to thank all of you who have been sending in via email and text your condolences for or to me and my family after the loss of my oldest brother, John, who entered into eternity with Christ yesterday, yesterday morning at 76 years old, after a long bout with critical stage emphysema and a more recent bout with cancer and an inoperable aneurysm and COVID and pneumonia.
I cannot explain in the English language, according to my limited vocabulary, how grateful I am to you and how grateful to God I am for you, especially those who have been reassuring me that they believe as well that my brother is in eternity with Christ because of the profession I shared with them that my brother made in writing last month, assuring me that he was turning to Christ every single day, asking forgiveness for his sins, and asking him whenever God were to take him that he would take him into his arms so that he could worship him gloriously for eternity.
I just thank God that my brother did tell me that in writing last month. And the reassurance I've been having from Christians I uphold as being very biblically knowledgeable and as being champions for Christ, for them to be sharing with me the encouragement that they believe my brother is in glory has been extremely helpful.
Hence, you could probably detect a lilt in my voice today, a measure of peace and even joy in my voice today that was not necessarily evident yesterday when my brother passed, or entered into eternity is a better phrase, entered into eternity with Christ.
So thank all of you who have been praying. I ask of you to continue praying for me and my family and my sister-in-law, Jan, who is John's widow, his two daughters, Regina and Patrice, and his two sons, Eric and John Jeffrey, more commonly known as JJ, and my siblings, Andrew, Mary, Robert, and myself.
So I just thank you all and can never thank you enough. Also, folks, if you are a man in ministry leadership, I urge you, if you are capable of getting to Carlisle, Pennsylvania on Monday, September 27th, I am having my next Iron Sharpens Iron radio pastor's luncheon featuring a speaker whom I believe, and I am not exaggerating or flattering this man, which I believe would be sin if I were to do so, I believe this man is the most powerful preacher alive on the planet Earth.
His name is Dr. Conrad Mbewe. He is pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church of Lusaka, Zambia, Africa, which is a confessionally reformed Baptist church. He is the founding chancellor of African Christian University, and he also happens to be Vody Baucom's pastor.
He is going to be speaking at my next pastor's luncheon from 11 a .m. to 2 p .m. on Monday, September 27th, here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the Bongiorno Conference Center. It's absolutely free of charge.
There is not even anything for sale there. Every year, going back to the 1990s, major Christian publishers from all over the United States and the United Kingdom have been donating books that I select from their catalogs for free, so that every man in attendance at these luncheons can receive a copy of one of these titles.
So every man leaves with a heavy sack of books, dozens of books, brand new, absolutely free. The entire afternoon is free food, free spiritual nourishment, and free books, and a free time of fun, fellowship, feasting, rest, relaxation, and refreshment.
This was all the brainchild of my precious late wife, Julie, back in the 1990s, who came up with the idea of treating my pastor friends to lunch every year where we would have a guest speaker and have free gifts.
She always insisted, don't you dare ever have an ulterior motive, or a hidden agenda, or sell anything. Don't be trying to convince people to sign up for Amway or anything else. No offense to Amway salesmen, but my precious wife, my dear late wife, who is in glory with Christ, she insisted that there be no hidden agenda, and it was to be an entire day of treating men in ministry with a gift of this day for their labors, in exchange or in gratitude, is a better word, for their labors as ministers of the gospel.
So if you are a man in ministry leadership and you would like to attend this event, merely email me at chrisarnson at gmail .com, chrisarnson at gmail .com, and put pastor's luncheon in the subject line.
I look forward to hearing from you and your free registration. Also folks, if you love this show and you don't want it to disappear from the airwaves, please, I'm urging you to go to ironsharpensironradio .com, click support, then click, click to donate now.
We are in urgent need of your donations, folks. The coronavirus pandemic hysteria has hurt us financially in a big way, because many in our audience have been hurt financially in a big way. They have either lost an income altogether, lost the business that they owned perhaps, or had a reduction in their income.
All kinds of reasons that the giving has radically, drastically gone down. Some people who used to give, give less, and some people do not give at all any longer. And let me quickly say, I thank all of you in the audience who have been giving all the way back since 2005 when we first launched the show, and those who are giving more recently, some for the first time.
I can never explain to you how deeply grateful I am to God for you. Your gifts have been necessary in addition to our advertisers to keep this show on the air. Thank you so much. Don't ever think I underestimate or underappreciate you.
I appreciate you enormously, and I ask of your forgiveness if I don't make that clear enough. But thank you. But if you have never given, but and yet listen to the show regularly, please. I know that there are a lot of people in that category, because between 30 and 40 ,000 people download the MP3s off of our website every single month.
If you are one of them and you've never given before, please seriously consider helping us. Go to www .ironsharpensironradio .com, click support, then click click to donate now. Now that comes with a caveat, comes with a warning.
Please don't ever siphon money away from your regular giving that you're accustomed to, to your own local church where you are a member, in order to give to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. I launched this show in 2005 with among my other reasons, a primary reason was to be a friend, a platform, a helping hand, an extension, and an outreach from the local pastors and the local churches.
I never want to do anything that harms or hinders the local pastor and local church, including financially. So please don't cut down on your giving to your church by giving to us. Also, please don't harm your family financially.
If you're really struggling to survive, please don't plunge your family into financial peril by giving to us. Those two things are commands of God in Scripture, providing for your church and providing for your family.
Providing for my radio show is not a command of God, obviously. But if you are financially blessed above and beyond your ability to obey those two commands, you have money in the bank collecting interest, you have money for recreational and trivial purposes, please, if you love this show and don't want to disappear, share some of that money with us.
We really need it. Go to ironsharpensironradio .com, click support, then click click to donate now. Also, if you are not a member of a local Bible believing church, I have extensive lists of biblically faithful, theologically sound churches all over the world, and I have helped many people in our audience find churches in all parts of the globe, sometimes within just a couple of minutes from their own homes.
I may be able to help you too if you send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com and put I need a church in the subject line, chrisarnson at gmail .com and put I need a church in the subject line. That is also the email address where you could send a question to Pastor William Hill of Providence Church in Evansville, Indiana, and we are discussing Pastor Hill's advice to young ministerial students.
And again, the email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com. You may recall, Pastor Bill, that before the break, an anonymous listener wanted to know what to do when his own elders, they may be biblically faithful and theologically sound men, but they may be discouraging a person from leaving the congregation, going to seminary.
Now, obviously, I'm assuming you don't have a cookie cutter answer because there may be reasons for that, that maybe the person can't afford seminary and the church can't afford to send them. It may be that some of the elders are thoroughly knowledgeable in Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic and are capable of training a member for the pastoral ministry.
There are multiple reasons, but sometimes, I mean, obviously, on an extreme, it could be selfishness. They don't want to lose somebody that they view as valuable. Not that that is necessarily selfish, but it can be selfish.
And you do also, to add to what our anonymous listener is asking, there are some churches more bent towards the fundamentalist realm who don't even believe in seminary. And of course, last but not least, we all have to admit, even though I know Presbyterian denominations typically insist that a seminary degree is required for ordination, we have to admit that that is not a biblical command.
But having said all that I said,.
Why don't you give your own advice to this individual? Yeah, Chris, I'll do the best I can because as you've already gone over... Thank you, Anonymous. And if you are a first-time.
Questioner, please give us your full name off the air, of course, through an email. I won't divulge this information, obviously. Give us your full name, your full address, and you will receive a free New American Standard Bible, complements of the publishers of the NASB.
Who just renewed their advertising contract with us. And also, thanks to our friends at Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, cvbbs .com, who ship out all of our winners, the books and Bibles and other things they receive, by virtue of submitting questions to us, at no charge to our listeners or to Iron Troupe and Zion Radio.
Thank you, cvbbs .com. Do you have another point of advice that you'd like to give? I do. Okay, go ahead. The next thing I would say,.
Outside of just recognizing that you can read a lot in seminary, there's always how the real learning begins. And so it's vitally important to stay teachable. Always try to keep that attitude in front of you.
Don't know everything. And it reminds me of what my... And that is exactly what I learned. And I went to seminary at 46 years age. 25 years, books that get my hands on. I was a... guy. I was... for the next... and the PCA, and ministered for life in general.
Ever know what's gonna happen. You don't have a game plan every week. You're not going to just get up there and wing it, I hope. Oh, sure. I mean, I do have some people who are waiting for their questions.
To be asked. But if you are on a roll, go ahead. No, I'm fine. Okay. We have another anonymous listener who said, I heard of your love of baseball earlier in the program. I am a fellow fan. But the problem with being a fan of baseball and being a Sabbatarian is that you miss out on a lot, and you have an added temptation to consume your time on a Sunday after worship with viewing baseball and other sporting events.
I was wondering how you view the Sabbath, and if refraining from watching something like baseball is a part of that. And, most importantly, when it comes to ministerial students, I know of many who pack their Sundays after worship service with study.
Is that proper, as noble as that may be? Yeah, that's a great question. No,.
I don't watch baseball on the Lord's Day. I'm a strict. You'll multiply. Be indulgent. I would say no. That's an interesting area. Would you differentiate between a seminary student.
Writing a paper on the Lord's Day after a worship service and studying? Because, in some sense, I'm sure you would not find fault with any Christian. He's hearing a sermon. He's hearing something, perhaps, that has sparked an interest in something in a text that he's never seen before, and he begins, after service is over, to open up his Bible, open up a lexicon, open up other helpful aids, confessions, and so forth, and he begins to study commentaries and so forth, begins to study on the Lord's Day.
I would be hard-pressed to find fault with the average Christian doing that. So, why would a student be, in your opinion, prohibited from doing that? And that's why I asked, is there a difference between actually.
Writing a paper that's due and just studying? Yeah, you're going to need a break to do your work, but on the seventh day, the Lord's Day, you're going to...
Thank you, Anonymous. Once again, if you are a first-time questioner, give us your mailing address so that cvbbs .com can ship you a free New American Standard Bible. Do you have another word of advice before I go to another listener question?
Sure. You're advertising. It's not to say that the guys that are living are hurting our lives. Read their sermons. They have stood the test of time. By God, it's false. They're tremendous to myself. Nobody preaches like this.
I think there's a reason why the majority, not all, but the majority of books, for instance, that my sponsor, Solid-Ground-Books .com, and also Banner of Truth, they primarily reprint the older works because they are about timeless issues rather than current controversies that may not be applicable to all ages.
I'm not saying...
No, you're right. I was reading a sermon the other day. This guy could have preached talking about do not heed these instructions right now. This was written... I mean, you cannot be... They will give you such a concrete foundation that you'll read some new guy and you'll be like...
The new guys, I read...
Yeah, the new guys are 99 of my guests.
Right. Well, I'm reading Joel Beeky's Reformed Systematic Theology. I'm reading that right now. That's a new book, but Joel Beeky obviously is... I'm saying don't ever read anybody that...
You mentioned Gerhardus Vost before. I remember I interviewed Danny Olinger years ago on my old show when I was broadcasting out of New York on his Gerhardus Vost anthology. I'm assuming it's still in print, but I would urge people to look up where they can get a copy of that even if it's out of print.
I should get Danny back on the show as well. We have to go to our final break right now, and it's a lot shorter than the other breaks. So please, if you have a question, send it in immediately because we're rapidly running out of time.
ChrisArnzen at gmail .com is our email address. ChrisArnzen at gmail .com. As always, give us your first name at least, city and state of residence, and country of residence. We'll be right back. Don't go away.
Transcription by CastingWords.
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.
I'm Dr. Joe Moorcraft, pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in Cumming, Georgia,.
And the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Anthony Uvino, founder of thereformrookie .com and co-founder of New York Apologetics, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
I'm Pastor Tim Bushong of Syracuse Baptist Church in Syracuse, Indiana, and the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Eli Ayala, founder of Revealed Apologetics and staff member with the Historical Bible Society, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
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.
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Drug program. 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. Anchored in Truth Ministries is the mission.
Arm of Grace Life Church of the Shoals. Based in Alabama, it supports missionaries in over 13 countries around the world. Anchored in Truth is in partnership with 36 church plants, as well as radio stations, theological seminaries, and various programs for unreached people groups.
With an aim to glorify God and reach the nations with the gospel, it is a blessing to see how God has used Anchored in Truth in so many different contexts globally as well as locally. To find out more about this vital work worldwide, visit anchoredintruth .org.
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 Coram, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jensen and Christopher McDowell.
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That's hopereformedli .net. Or call 631 -696 -5711. That's 631 -696 -5711. Tell the folks at Hope Reformed Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, New York that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron.
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L-i-y-f-c-dot-org. Welcome back, and Pastor Bill Hill, do you have another piece of advice, or would you like me to go to a listener question? We have B .B. in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, who says, I know an older gentleman who is desirous of entering into more formal training for ministerial preparation, including seminary education, and I was wondering, what could you say to prepare an older person who is considering this venture?
Yeah, since that's what I did, all the things I've said are pretty well
That's about the age that my very dear friend, now in eternity with Christ, Dr. Robert J. Cameron, he was a black brother who was a pastor in first the Reformed Episcopal Church, then the PCA, then the OPC, and he owned, I believe it was a trucking business that when he retired and sold the business, he went into seminary in his late 40s, possibly even early 50s.
Yeah, and I think there's some advantage to that, Chris, to be perfectly honest. I mean, again, there's exceptions to everything he said about an older, not until you can draw on that.
Now, was there any level of discomfort being or seeming to be out of place surrounded by people much younger, possibly even young enough to be your children or grandchildren that you had to overcome, or were you just comfortable right at the outset?
Yeah, no, you're right. I mean, I was one of the older students on campus. My oldest daughter got married. I don't know if I was uncomfortable so much.
One of my pastors, John Miller, had a different kind of problem being the only Baptist student at Greenville. At least when he was there. Do you know John Miller? Do you know John Miller?
I do. I think we've met. Maybe you know him. I know of him.
Yeah, he's a good guy.
I know he went to Greenville, so, I mean, it's not that big a school, so it's easy to keep track of guys that work there.
Lord, we have about a minute for you to summarize what you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners today.
The last thing I want to say to guys that are training for the ministry, if you're currently in seminary or if you're seeking to go there, do not sacrifice the time that you need to spend alone in seminary for the entire life.
It doesn't make sense. Don't do that. You will dry up and it's false advice.
Yes. Well, I want to make sure that our listeners have your websites. ProvidenceChurchEVV, that's an abbreviation for Evansville, Indiana. ProvidenceChurchE, as in Edward, V as in victory, vasinvictory .com.
ProvidenceChurchEVV .com. And don't forget about the blog, The Parchment, which is found at theparchment .net, theparchment .net. I want to thank you so much for being a superb guest once again, Pastor Bill.
I look forward to your soon return and your frequent return. I want to thank everybody who listened today, especially those who took the time to write in the question. I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far, far greater Savior than you are a sinner.
I thank the Lord that my brother John truly came to know that before departing this earth yesterday. Thank all of you for your prayers for me and my family as we continue in this journey of grief. God bless you, and I hope that you all have a safe, joyful, and refreshing evening.