May 17, 2019 Show with Daniel R. Hyde on “Grace Worth Fighting For: Recapturing the Vision of God’s Grace in the Canons of Dordt” AND Michael A. Gaydosh on “More Recommendations for the Best in Christian Literature”

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 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 Friday on this 17th day of May, 2019.

And I love my two guests today, some of my favorite guests, two of my favorite guests.

For the first hour, we're going to have Danny Hyde joining us again on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

He is the author, he is an author and conference speaker and pastor at Oceanside United Reformed Church, and he is going to be discussing his new book,

Grace Worth Fighting For, Recapturing the Vision of God's Grace in the Canons of Dort. During the second hour, my dear friend of many years, going back to the 1980s,

Michael A. Gaydosh, founder and director of Solid Ground Christian Books. He is returning to the program to discuss more recommendations for the best in Christian literature.

But first of all, it's my honor and privilege to welcome back to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Danny Hyde. Hey, Chris, thanks for having me.

Good to be here. It's great to have you on the program, brother. And before we go into the topic at hand,

Grace Worth Fighting For, Recapturing the Vision of God's Grace in the Canons of Dort, please let us know about Oceanside Reformed Church, United Reformed Church.

Sure. Yeah, we have been in existence since the year 2000.

I was actually a seminary student out here at Westminster Seminary, California, when we first started a little church plant

Bible study and then kind of took off from there. So, yeah, been here since 2000. We are located just on the border of Carlsbad and Oceanside here in sunny San Diego, Southern California.

I preach the Gospel every Sunday and seek to worship Him and evangelize a lot.

So if anybody out there finds this recording or is listening live or knows someone in the

North County San Diego area, let them know that we exist. Great. And that congregation is a member of the

United Reformed Church of North America. From my understanding, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, that denomination largely came to be from congregations in the

United States and also in Canada that left the Christian Reformed Church largely due to protests over the encroachment of liberalism.

Am I right on that? That's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And, you know, we're a

Reformation church, and the Reformation spread throughout Europe. It made its way to the

Netherlands, and then eventually immigrants from the Netherlands came to the New World and started

Dutch Reformed churches, and then those churches became what we call the Christian Reformed Church, and our denomination left or formed out of that in the mid -1900s for basically what you said, the issues of,

I would describe it as the authority of Scripture, the clarity of Scripture on issues. For example, women in office, right?

Women ministers, women elders. It's not just an issue of, you know, who can preach, who cannot preach.

It really comes down to an issue of, do we take what God says as authoritative or not?

And so that was the sort of last straw that brought the camels back that led to the formation of our churches, and people might know names like Kim Riddlebarger or Michael Horton or Cornelius Fenema.

Those are sort of our quote -unquote big names, the main theologians that are in our little circle. Yeah, I've had all those men on the program.

Oh, good, good. And you said it was formed in the middle of the 1900s, wasn't it? Much more recent than that for some reason.

Yeah, yeah, 1990, Michael, yeah, 1990. Okay. And for you folks who either live near Oceanside, California, or you're planning on visiting there, or if you have family and friends and loved ones there, the website for that church is oceansideurc .org,

oceansideurc .org for the Oceanside United Reformed Church. I hope that many of you folks at least at some point visit there.

Well, the title of your book is quite provocative, Grace Worth Fighting For, Recapturing the

Vision of God's Grace in the Canons of Dork, for some weird reason. I don't know how younger you are than me, but for some weird reason.

44, yeah, 44 years young. Okay, you're 13 years younger than me, so you may not remember this, but when

I was a kid, there was a TV commercial, when they actually had TV commercials for cigarettes, and it was the

Tarotin cigarette brand, which I don't even know if they exist anymore, but their logo was,

I'd rather fight than switch. And the person in the ad, whoever it happened to be for that particular ad, always had a black eye.

But why did you choose a title like that,

Grace Worth Fighting For? Yeah, thanks. Wow, that's a great question.

I would say because that's what we read in the New Testament letters from the apostles.

And, you know, we think about sometimes the church in the earliest centuries as being, you know, the golden age, and, you know, oh, it would be so great if we could just get back to the good old days, you know, when we had apostles and prophets running around, and, you know, churches were, you know, just worshiping the

Lord, and, you know, no controversy, everybody had all things in common and so forth. You know, from my background,

Pentecostalism, this was sort of like a running theme that we were always taught about, that, you know, in the early church, you know, people thought

God just loved the Lord and reveled in His grace, and if we can just get back to that, you know, that old doctrinal division and so forth.

But you read the New Testament letters, and it's a totally different story than that, isn't it? It's a big mess. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, just like today. And, you know, just one example, the small little letter, the

Epistle of Jude, the very back of our New Testament, right before you get to the Book of Revelation, there's a tiny little one -chapter, quote -unquote one -chapter letter, this letter of Jude, and he tells these believers that he's writing to that he had intended to write to them about their common salvation, but he was compelled to write to them, to exhort them to contend, or to fight earnestly for the faith that was once for the

Lord and the saints, and then he goes on to explain why, and he says because some people have crept into the

Church and who have turned the grace of God into a, you know, basically a means of sinning.

And so grace, God's grace obviously is His favorable, loving, forgiving, merciful disposition and attitude towards sinners who come to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, but we can use

His grace as a license to sin. And so that image is, throughout the

New Testament, Jude verse number three is just sort of the clearest example of how you see these two sort of different ideas.

You know, we don't really put grace and fighting right in the same... Yeah. But yeah, they're right through the

New Testament. I mean, Paul writes these letters, you know, to churches that are, you know, asking

Romans, you know, and so forth, or Galatians, where they're turning

God's grace into a way to get Gentiles to have to follow, you know,

Old Testament Jewish ceremonies and traditions and laws. And so grace, the concept of God's grace, this is forgiving and merciful acceptance of sinners, has to constantly be struggled over so that we can clearly proclaim the

Gospel and people can believe it. Amen. And, you know, it's a sad thing, and I'm sure this is not just a common thing in the 21st century.

I'm sure this has existed as long as there have been Christians. But it's a sad thing to see that not only don't many

Christians, or at least professing ones, but I would even include in that regenerate, genuinely born -again

Christians, that many, not only do they not think grace is worth fighting for, they don't think that the

Gospel of Jesus Christ, or even Jesus Christ himself, is worth getting embarrassed for by even bringing him up in public, just because you're afraid of getting a strange look from the clerk at the store, or you don't want to upset your family at the

Thanksgiving dinner table, or whatever the case may be. I can even remember working for a

Christian radio network, so -called, and we sent out

Christmas cards, and the cards said, Season's Greetings on them.

I mean, what? We're supposed to be a Christian network. Why are we, of all people, supposed to be embarrassed by this?

But, you know, it is a sad day and age, where it's probably more prevalent than ever, but this is the 400th anniversary, as you well know, of the

Synod of Dort, and we've done a number of programs already, this being the 400th anniversary, on this great

Synod of History, that has not only blessed the Dutch wing of the

Reformation, of Reformed Christendom, but has also just blessed, I believe, the entirety of Christendom, since 400 years ago, when the

Synod finished convening, and I believe it was in this very month that it came to a conclusion, that even those that may not even realize how much they have been blessed by what was put down for all to be blessed by at this

Synod, but if you could give our listeners a summary of why this Synod gathered, tell us a little bit of the background and summary form of the

Synod of Dort. Sure. So, you know, just to define the term, a

Synod, just a fancy, an old Greek word that means a gathering, it's an ecclesiastical, a churchly gathering, of pastors, theologians, in this case there were also politicians involved, and they gathered together from across Europe, in 1618 and 19, for the

Synod in a, just a shorthand form of Dort, or Dortrecht, which is a city in the southern

Netherlands, and they gathered there, from across,

I mentioned Europe, to deal with the issues that arose out of the teachings of a man that we know as James Arminius, or Jacobus Arminius, was a

Dutch pastor in Amsterdam in the late 1500s, became a professor of theology in a

Dutch university in Leiden, and began to teach and to preach ideas about grace that were in conflict with the basic reformational teachings of the gospel and God's grace that had been proclaimed for a couple generations at that point, and so he, you know, began teaching, you know, just in the simplest of ways, that God chooses to save some, so he believed in election, predestination, but that choice of God was based upon a prior choice, his foreknowledge, or his looking down the corridor of time, as it were, seeing sinners choose him, using their free will, and so, therefore, he responded with salvation.

And so, obviously, that brings up, you know, people might ask, well, you know, well, why split over hairs about predestination?

Why is that such a big deal? Well, the big deal is that when one views God's predestinating eternal work that way, that it's based on foresight, or foreseeing of faith, that turns faith into, you know, simply speaking, works, and that turns the response of a sinner into something that God responds to that.

And so that faith, you know, albeit couched in terms of faith and grace and graciousness and so forth and whatnot, because God chooses us because we've chosen him, that inevitably just destroys the whole

Gospel Reformation. That's the whole reason why the Reformation existed, was to proclaim the purity of grace apart from works and the justification of sinners.

So that's really at the heart of the issue. There are lots of other topics which we'll talk about, but that was really the heart of the issue.

So they gathered their politicians and churches throughout Europe, as far as England and Scotland on the western edge of Europe, and as far as places in Germany and Switzerland and so forth.

So they gathered to deal with these teachings of Arminius. Yeah, you have a section in your book, in fact, on the grace of predestination, and I'm sure you agree that those that oppose the

Reformed faith are typically, at least in my experience and the experience of many

Reformed brethren that I've spoken with, the main objection to the doctrines of grace, to the doctrines of Calvinism, to the doctrines of Reformed theology, whether the non -Calvinist admits it or not or articulates it this way, it's really an opposition to unconditional election.

They don't like the idea that there are people out there that really have no, quote -unquote, chance of coming to faith in Christ, and they are repulsed by that.

They see a title like your section in the book, The Grace of Predestination, and they may say,

What on earth are you talking about? That's a nightmare. Because they very wrongly are objecting to something, first of all, that is not even what

Reformed people historically believe. It's not even something that we would say we find in the scriptures.

They usually equate double predestination, which I do believe in. I do believe in double predestination.

But they usually equate that with equal ultimacy. They usually equate that with their understanding, in some way, that man is born morally neutral, and God has to supernaturally impose upon some wickedness in order for them to deserve damnation, and he forces the others against their will to believe.

And this is really a caricature and something that has not ever been taught by at least the great men of God who have championed the

Reformed faith that we uphold as heroes. This has never been taught in the history of the Reformed faith.

Am I right? That's right. Yeah. You know, even that language of double predestination that's been used throughout

Christian history from very early on, double predestination, or an election to salvation, and passing over some kind of language of that, reprobation,

God passes some over. And like you said, they're not, to use sort of the theological jargon, they're not equally ultimate.

As if God creates some to be saved and, as the caricature says, he creates others to be damned.

That's not what the Canada Dorte have a very lengthy section at the end where it says this is not our teaching, this is slander, and anyone who teaches this basically is outside the bounds of our confessional understanding.

So, yeah, that's typically what happens is people use the most extreme caricature, straw man, and try to take that down in response to it, rather than, you know, from our vantage point, and I would say it's the vantage point of clear texts of Scripture that have been understood throughout the history of Christianity from the earliest days.

So, you know, this doctrine is not some distinctive, you know, only Reformed people believe it.

It's the quote -unquote Catholic, the small -c Catholic Christian doctrine, Augustine and others, you know, who turn to texts like Romans 9, which is, you know,

Paul is discussing there why it is that God elects people, the

Israelites, are not all believing in Jesus as Messiah, and so then the way he explains that is by talking about predestination, that not all

Israel is real, and it's always been this way. It's not as if God's Word has failed. So, you know, and you read that, you go on to read that passage,

Romans 9, and Kirsten will read through that. He gives examples from Old Testament, you know, patriarchs and forefathers, and, you know, that God, you know, that Jacob, I love you, so I hate it, and people's natural response to that,

Romans 9, verse 14, where Paul uses the objections, the natural objections that we have, when he says, you know, what should we say then?

Is there injustice on God's part? If he loves some and doesn't love others or hates them, is it unjust for God to choose some and others?

And what does Paul say? He says, absolutely not. God has mercy in whom he has mercy, and he has compassion in whom he has compassion.

He's God. He can do what he wants. And then he says that he can harden some and he can soften others, and again, the objection is,

Romans 9, verse 19, you'll say to me, well, why does

God still find fault? If God didn't, you know, soften my heart, if God didn't choose me, why does he find fault then for a person who doesn't believe?

Can we resist his will? If God is so almighty and all -powerful and his will can't be resisted, what's the point?

Why should I, how can I be at fault? And essentially how Paul answers the question, he doesn't really answer it per se.

He simply says, who are you, O man? Reply to God. And he gives the illustration of God being a potter and we're just pieces of clay.

In other words, we should be humbled and be reverent towards God, recognize that God is God, and the attitude of a regenerate person is never, you know, well,

I'm just a robot, or, well, it's not fair, or, you know, what about the people that God, you know, hasn't given a chance to and so forth?

You know, we have lots of objections, but what it comes down to is that God is, God is supremely good in his mercy and his grace, and he's almighty in that mercy and grace.

And so we should, we should allow God to be God and, you know, just simply serve him and worship him and praise him for his amazing grace that's been revealed to us and pray that he uses us to give it, to spread that grace to others.

So, yeah, the objections are numerous, and even the apostles had to build these very objections.

Yeah, the thing that's bizarre is that you have many non -reformed Christians who will try to turn

Romans 9 into an allegory about God favoring the nation of Israel above all other nations.

And the thing that is strange is that they would find that to be more comforting than God choosing individuals.

So how is it more comforting to you that entire nations of people are vessels of wrath?

You know, I mean, it doesn't make any sense to think that that is a more comforting concept, because it's clearly salvific.

We're talking about salvation and damnation here. Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was because he refers to them as vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath.

Yep. Yeah. So those who take Romans 9 as what's called a quote -unquote class election, that God chooses classes of people, you know,

Israel, Jacob, and Esau, Edomites, nations, you know, or categories of people, it doesn't soften it in any way.

It still doesn't. Okay, let's say it only means Israel and, you know, the rest of the world.

Well, God has chosen Israel in His sovereign grace, and He's not chosen others in His sovereign will and justice and passing them by.

But the objections still don't stand. Is there injustice on God's part? So why does He still find fault?

Who can resist His will? The objections and the answers that Paul gives still apply. So even if we take it out of the realm of individual salvation,

He's still speaking in these very powerful terms of the grace of God, that God has grace upon whom

He wills because He's God, and He softens and hardens those He wills because He's God.

So, yeah, that doesn't make it any more comfortable or, you know, palatable. The problem is us, you know, with our, even as believers, you know, our own weak understanding.

The problem is not what God says. The problem is our understanding of it. Yes. And when we come back from our first break, we're going to have you speak a bit on the grace of satisfaction.

And if anybody would like to join us on the air with a question of your own, our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com,

chrisarnson at gmail .com. And as always, please 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.

Don't go away. We'll be right back with more of Danny Hyde and grace worth fighting for after these words from our sponsors.

Chris Arnson, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, announcing a new website with an exciting offer from World Magazine, my trusted source for news from a

Christian perspective. Try World Now at no charge for 90 days by going to getworldnow .com.

That's getworldnow .com. I rely on World 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.

Armed with this coverage, World can help you to be a voice of wisdom in your family and your community.

This trial includes bi -weekly issues of World Magazine, on -scene reporting from World Radio, and the fully shareable content of World Digital.

There's no obligation and no credit card required. Visit getworldnow .com

today. Also check out World News Group's podcast, The World and Everything in It, at wng .org

forward slash podcast. That's W for World, N for News, G for Group, dot org forward slash podcast.

James White of Alpha Omega Ministries here. If you've watched my Dividing Line webcast often enough, you know

I have a great love for getting Bibles and other documents vital to my ministry rebound to preserve and ensure their longevity.

And besides that, they feel so good. I'm so delighted I discovered post -Tenebrous Lux Bible rebinding.

No radio ad will be long enough to sing their praises sufficiently, but I'll give it a shot. Jeffrey Rice of Post -Tenebrous

Lux is a remarkably gifted craftsman and artisan. All his work is done by hand, from the cutting to the pleating of corners to the perimeter stitching.

Jeffrey uses the finest in buttery -soft imported leathers in a wide variety of gorgeous colors, like the turquoise goatskin tanned in Italy used for my

Nestle All -in -28th edition, with a navy blue goatskin inside liner and the electric blue goatskin from a

French tannery used to rebind a Reformation study Bible I used as a gift. The silver gilding he added on the page edges has a stunning mirror finish resembling highly polished chrome.

Jeffrey will customize your rebinding to your specifications and even emboss your logo into the leather, making whatever he rebinds a one -of -a -kind work of art.

For more details on Post -Tenebrous Lux Bible Rebinding, go to ptlbiblerebinding .com.

That's ptlbiblerebinding .com. Hi, I'm Stephan Lindblad, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at IRBS Theological Seminary in Mansfield, Texas.

I accepted this call to teach at the seminary because I'm firmly convinced that the people of God in the churches of our

Lord Jesus Christ need to be firmly grounded in the truth of Holy Scripture. I'm excited to be teaching such subjects as the nature of theology and the doctrine of Scripture, and even the doctrine of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Our churches and our people need to be well grounded in these truths. Indeed, future ministers of the

Gospel need to understand these truths in order to proclaim them to all of God's people.

If you want to learn more about our program, visit us online at irbsseminary .org.

I'm Pastor Bill Shishko, host of A Visit to the Pastor's Study, and I am so thankful to be part of the advertising family right here on Iron Sharpens Iron.

If you live on Long Island or if you're visiting the metropolitan New York area, I invite you to join us for worship at The Haven on Sundays at 4 .30

p .m. We meet at the Ascension Lutheran Church facility, 33 Bayshore Road in Deer Park, New York.

At The Haven you'll find God -saturated singing, Gospel -rich ministry, and Great Commission opportunities.

Learn more about us at thehavenli .com and join us this Sunday at 4 .30

p .m., 33 Bayshore Road, Deer Park, New York. Did you know that all believers are priests?

In 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9, the Apostle Peter describes Christ's church as comprising a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

So if you're a Christian, you're also a priest. Now you can find the newest styles in Reformed and Protestant apparel at CitizenPriest .com.

CitizenPriest .com specializes in Christian -themed T -shirts and clothing especially for Reformed Christians.

CitizenPriest .com's merchandise is purposefully Scripture -based and meant for the edification of the saints and the furtherance of the

Gospel. Let everyone know that you stand firm on the doctrines of the Reformed faith by wearing apparel from CitizenPriest .com.

Visit CitizenPriest .com today. My name is

Steve Lawson, founder and president of One Passion Ministries as well as teaching fellow for Ligonier Ministries.

I serve as professor of preaching and oversee the Doctor of Ministry program at the Master's Seminary in Los Angeles.

I would like to recommend the church where one of my preaching students, Andy Woodard, serves as the pastor.

It's called New Covenant Church, NYC. They are a Reformed Baptist church that meets in Midtown Manhattan.

You can find their service times and location on their website, which is www .ncc .nyc.

They believe in a sovereign God who commands all men everywhere to repent and believe the

Gospel. If you're looking for a church that believes in expository preaching, which is simply biblical preaching, in New York City, I'd like to recommend that you visit

New Covenant Church, NYC. Again, their information can be found at www .ncc

.nyc. Have a great day. 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 www .solid

-ground -books .com That's www .solid -ground -books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past to present you can unearth from Solid Ground.

Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. And we are honored to have

Solid Ground Christian Books as a sponsor. In fact, we depend upon them for our existence.

They are a key sponsor. So please remember, every time you purchase a book from www .solid -ground -books .com

you are further ensuring the life of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio because we need the funding of our advertisers to exist.

www .solid -ground -books .com We are now back with Danny Hyde and we are discussing his book

Race Worth Fighting For. That's a new book of his that is published by the

Davenant Press. Can you tell us about this organization, the Davenant Group? Yeah!

Davenant Institute exists as an organization of pastors and scholars, writers, you know, podcasts, there's education, there's publishing, a whole bunch of different opportunities with the purpose of recapturing, as the subtitle of my book is, or reassessing and bringing back classic

Protestant theology. And so to get these things not just published, but put forth in ways that people can understand for themselves.

They've published multiple books by lots of current authors as well as Reformation authors by re -typesetting, updating language and so forth so people can read some more obscure books but read them in an easier way, you know, in modern idioms.

But yeah, basically an organization that's seeking to recapture the treasures of the

Reformation for today. So it's a great organization. I encourage people to go out and look it up. Great!

And of course, I could give our listeners right now the website for the

Davenant Group. It's davenantinstitute .org D -A -V -E -N -A -N institute .org

D -A -V -E -N -A -N institute .org Before I move on to the section that I mentioned earlier on the grace of satisfaction, we do have a couple of listeners

I might as well try to squeeze their questions in before we run out of time since you can only be on an hour. We have

Mary in Cork, Ireland who wants to know how do you respond to people who are terrified by the doctrine of predestination because they fear that they are not of the elect even if they have repented, believe upon Christ, and follow

Him. They think that this is such a concept of mystery in the mind of God alone that they can never be sure if they're of the elect and it drives some people into a deep depression and fear.

Wow! First of all, part of my family hails from County Cork. Wow!

So, yeah, blessings to you. Yeah, that's a great question.

So, me as a pastor says to anyone, believe in Jesus, repent, and you'll be saved.

And to trust in His promises that God loves the world and all who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

These clear scriptural promises of looking to Christ, putting our faith in Jesus Christ, when we do this, we are told by scripture that we are saved.

Whether we feel that or not, it is a matter of every believer has their own physical and emotional and social and emotional spiritual struggles, sinful struggles, in all the various realms of our lives.

But God clearly promises to us that if we do sin, that we have an Advocate with the

Father Jesus, the Righteous One. He's a propitiation. He turns away God's wrath for all of our sins.

Election, predestination, these are, number one, they are topics in the

Bible. Secondly, they're proclaimed, if you read closely, the context in which the

Old Testament, you know, Deuteronomy chapter 7, for example, why does Moses preach about predestination and the election of Israel?

Well, he's doing that to encourage these saints who have been wandering in their struggles for 40 years to tell them that God chose you not because you are greater in number than anybody else, but because He loves you.

And so He's meant to comfort them. Jesus does the same thing. The Apostles do the same thing.

When Paul only brings up the mystery of predestination in Romans 9 and 11, because he's trying to explain to his audience and himself, because it's hard to say that they would all be saved, he's bringing that up just to explain why it is that some believe and some don't.

So, yes, it is a mystery beyond our full comprehension, but yet there are things that are revealed, and those things are revealed magnified by God, humble us, so that we would put our hope and trust in Jesus Christ.

So it's not for us to sit around and just contemplate, you know, speculate about eternal predestination.

It's our calling to meditate upon Christ. And when we do that, as John Calvin said, He is the mirror of our election.

When we look to Christ, we trust in Him, we sing, pray, meditate upon Him, we come to know that God has loved us for all eternity, and that we are

His children. Yeah, people who are reprobate, although there are millions of reprobates that have had false professions in Christ and have had professions of faith in a false

Christ and in a false gospel, but those that have a genuine repentant faith in the true

Christ of Scripture and trust in His saving work on Calvary alone as their only means to salvation, a reprobate is not going to demonstrate that.

It's only His elect people that will do that. Am I right? Yeah, that's right. And even just, you know, thinking about Paul himself, read

Romans 9, 10, 11. How does Paul preface each of those chapters?

Well, he's agonizing. He has an experiential struggle with the reality that he knows that God is sovereign, but he also desires the salvation of all of his countrymen, his fellow kinsmen, according to the flesh, the

Jewish people. He longs them to be saved. He even goes so far to say that if it was possible, he wishes that he himself was cut off and cursed so that the rest of them can be saved.

So that struggle is the struggle of a believer's heart. You know, and the wrestling with God, you know, knowing all things and determining and, you know, planning and purposing all things at the same time, my own weak faith, my own sinful struggles.

But again, that's why the remedy to our, you know, to our spiritual struggle is

Christ, is to believe in Him and to meditate upon Him and to know Him, the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of the suffering.

Well, thank you, Mary in Cork, Ireland. You have won a free copy of Grace Worth Fighting For. So thank you so much for contributing your excellent question to our program.

We have David in Ada, Ohio. And David asks,

Is the name of Jesus worth fighting for? I hear a lot of Christians speak of God either in song or testimony without mentioning the name of God.

His name is Jesus. I am reminded of a song by Leon Patillo where he clearly and enthusiastically proclaims

Jesus as our Lord and God and I am a Reformed Baptist and feel the name of Jesus is not being proclaimed as it should be in our songs or testimony or even perhaps sermons.

I wonder if you have noticed this happening. Can grace be grace without identifying

Jesus as the author and perfecter of it? That's an interesting question. I actually, a year after 9 -11,

I was in New York City for a Christian gathering. Remember, this is a Christian gathering. And this was at Madison Square Garden.

There were thousands of people there and they had all these ministers both famous and local who got up to the podium and many

Christian recording artists who got up and performed. And the only people at that event where thousands were gathered who mentioned

Jesus Christ by name were a couple, just a couple of local Hispanic pastors that no one had ever heard of.

These men were strong enough in their faith that they were not ashamed of the gospel.

They were more fearful of God than men. And they named Jesus by name. But all these famous Christian recording artists and other people, not a mention of Jesus.

It was all God, God, God. Now, does our guest, or should I say our listener, have a point here?

Yeah. I think I read or maybe listened to something by Sinclair Ferguson a while back on this very thing.

Yeah. And we can talk a lot about the gospel you know, the last, I don't know, ten years, maybe a dozen years or so.

You know, gospel -centered this. You know, there's a whole sort of cottage industry of books and blogs and, you know, whatever about gospel -centered this and gospel -centered that.

You know, and we talk about preaching the gospel and, you know, this and that. But we miss the point that, you know, the gospel is

Jesus himself first and foremost. And so yeah,

I do think that we, in Reformed circles, we can be very abstract, overly doctrinaire, and miss the point that, you know, when we preach about justification, we should be preaching about Jesus.

We preach about predestination, we should be preaching about Jesus. I mean, predestination is hardly a topic that I ever preach because it doesn't show up in the

Bible a whole lot. I mean, it's there, but it's not as if it's, you know, front and center. But when those texts come up and you preach those texts, it always drives us to Christ.

And so we should be, yeah, we should be loudly proclaiming the name of Jesus. It's in his name alone that we're saved.

And, you know, as pastors, we need to be as clear as possible that we're not preaching a generic God. We're not just preaching, you know, sort of harmony amongst, you know, mankind.

We're preaching that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God in human flesh, born of the

Virgin Mary, lived in Nazareth, had a family, you know, a mother, a father, you know, brothers, and lived, walked, talked, all that stuff.

This real human being, God -man, is the one that's saved from sin.

So, yes, we should be loudly proclaiming and struggling to proclaim in our time

Jesus above all. Praise God. Well, the section of the book that I wanted to address now is

The Grace of Satisfaction. And although I just got this book very recently and haven't had a chance to read it,

I am assuming, and I could be wrong, I'm assuming you're talking about particular redemption or definite atonement or limited atonement as they are, as the atonement that Christ provided on Calvary is called by various nicknames like that, and substitutionary atonement is another?

Yeah, that's right. In general, yeah. Those are the sort of popular ways that they're described. Yeah, that's an issue that came up again in the 17th century.

How do we understand the grace of God in Jesus Christ? How does that relate to His death on the cross?

And how does that relate to those that are sinners and those who come to know Him? So, you know, there's a lot of, you know, various things that can be said, but the simple thing is that the cans of doors, what they do say is very clear, that God's justice must be satisfied in order for any sinner who's under the wrath of God to be acceptable to God.

So His justice must be satisfied, His wrath must be satisfied, and the remedy for that is Jesus who suffers that very hellish agony on the cross.

So He satisfies God's justice, and that satisfaction is of infinite value, of infinite worth.

It's enough for the salvation of a thousand worlds, many reformed theologians, and I found this even back as far as Aquinas, coming to Aquinas, Roman Catholic theologians have always proclaimed that even one drop of Jesus' blood, to put it in crass terms, is enough to save an infinite number of worlds.

Because it's the death of the Son of God in human flesh who's satisfying the wrath of God. Yeah, the non -reformed person who is repulsed by limited atonement misunderstands it, because, as Charles Spurgeon said, it is the

Arminian who truly limits the atonement because he limits its power. We who are reformed believe that the power of Christ's death was unlimited.

It was only limited in the number of people for whom it was intentionally provided. Yeah, yeah, so God has purpose, uh, yeah, you know, quote -unquote, particular redemption, you know, in other words, that God has, those that God has small eternity chosen to salvation, uh, those are the ones that in the greatest of senses

Christ has died for. You know, uh, the reformed people, you know, we say, and I've discussed in the book, not to get too much of the weeds, but, uh, you know, the language of Christ dying for the world, there is sort of a broad sense in which we affirm that, but what we're really talking about here is that his death actually is intended and applied, eventually applied by the

Holy Spirit uh, for those for whom Christ has died.

Um, and God intended it, yeah, and so, um, yeah, it's not as if he just dies in a sort of generic sense, kind of like a general covering of of death and salvation, you know, for everyone, uh, and as long as you embrace uh,

Jesus, you know, it's good. No, it's, his death is good, his death is efficacious and powerful, uh, and those for whom it's intended, it's going to, it's going to be applied for them.

So, that's what Christ's doing on the cross. He is, he's satisfying the sins of the world, as the

Bible says. But in the most particular sense, he's dying for his sheep, he's laying down his life for his sheep, as Jesus himself said.

yeah. Yes, and you've just reminded me to plug another book by the great John Murray, Redemption Accomplished by God.

Yes. A very brief book, but an excellent book on this subject. And, uh, our conversation also reminds me of my favorite of all hymns before the throne of God above.

And, uh, indulge me, don't worry, I'm not going to sing, but I wanted to just quote from that beautiful hymn that has become my favorite.

When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward

I look and see him there, who made an end of all my sin, because the sinless

Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.

I just, I just love that. I love the whole hymn, but that, that line, oh boy.

Um, well, amen. And, uh, we do have, uh, let's see here, we have another listener, we have

CJ in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, and CJ wants to know, I have even heard

Reformed and Calvinistic Christians tell strangers that Jesus loves them and died for them, but this is very inconsistent according to our theology, is it not?

Well, uh, I would say that there have been Reformed people in our history that have said that, who have said that's not inconsistent, because, uh, we can say that Jesus died, that God beloved the world, that Jesus' death, uh, is sufficient for the sins of the world and so forth.

So, there have been some, and I'm not necessarily arguing for or against this, but I'm saying that there have been some who have said this.

Uh, you know, the time that Senator George, one of the delegates, said this very thing. Um, I guess for me, you know, it's not about that, uh, the issue for me is, you know,

New Testament preaching is clearly focused upon repent and believe.

Um, it's not about, you know, telling, having to tell every individual, you know, person, you know, that God loves them, you know, instead of figuring out what that means for them and so forth.

But the New Testament just proclaims that there is a God, that he has sent his son, uh,

God, he's gonna come again to judge, read the book of Acts, what the big themes are. God is gonna send his son again to judge, and he better repent and believe.

Um, so, you know, do I tell seemingly unbelieving people that, you know,

God loves them and he's gonna have a wonderful plan for their life, that Christ died for your sins? I don't say that. I have my own reasons for that, but, uh, yeah, so I think we should get away from, you know, that debate, that argument, and focus more on the pattern of New Testament preaching, which is repent and believe, you know, and let the

Lord apply it, you know, and just let the Lord do his work. Yeah, it might surprise many of our listeners, uh, that nowhere in the

Bible does any author of Scripture say to a stranger, Jesus loves you and died for your sins.

That's right. Any wording resembling that is when somebody is addressing, one of the authors is addressing the church.

Yep. Not just any, uh, stranger. Um, uh, but we can tell people, even if we don't know who they are,

Jesus died for sinners. Yep. And no sin is so great that he cannot, uh, atone for that sin.

So, um, that's right. We definitely have to have you back, uh, Danny, uh, because we're, our hour is up, and we have, uh,

Mike Gadosz waiting in the wings to join us for the second hour, so definitely please come back so we can continue discussing

Grace Worth Fighting For, but you have two minutes to summarize what you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners today.

Yeah, that God, God is a God of immense, eternal, incomprehensible, uh, grace and mercy, and, uh, he didn't have to create us, but he did.

And, uh, knowing full well, you know, in his own, in his own mind, that, you know, what has happened to us as a human race, it was going to happen no matter what, because of our sinfulness and our, our fallenness, he still desires to save, and so he sends his son to die, and he sends the

Holy Spirit to apply, uh, that death, and he promises to, uh, to lead us to the end, you know, that he was going to have a good work, and that he was going to be faithful to complete it.

You know, these are the basic doctrines of the New Testament, and so we should be concerned with these doctrines, preach them, apply them, seek to live them out, and, yeah,

I hope my book encourages people in that, uh, and just to put a plug in for Reformation Heritage books, uh, they have the best deal in town, as always, on the book, if you buy one copy, it's 19, uh, if you buy two or more, so you buy one for yourself and your pastor, they are only 18 dollars.

That's cheaper than Amazon. Wow, yes, uh, Dr. Joel Beakey is a good friend of mine, going all the way back to the 1990s, and, uh, that's a wonderful publishing ministry that they have.

Uh, well, thank you so much, and also, don't forget, folks, that if you want to visit, uh, the Oceanside United Reformed Church, where our guest,

Danny Hyde, is the pastor, uh, that website is oceansideurc .org,

oceansideurc .org, and we thank you so much, Danny, and we look forward to your return, and, in fact, when

I send you an MP3 of our interview, I will include a calendar of dates that you can choose from so you can return.

Sure thing. God bless, Chris. God bless you, too, and don't go away, folks, because Mike Gadosh of Solid Ground Christian Books is going to be joining us any second now,

God willing, uh, actually in about, uh, a little midway break right now, and that is because, uh,

Grace Life Radio in, uh, Lake City, Florida, 90 .1 FM, uh, has to air their own public service announcements, uh, and their own commercials to localize

Iron Trip and Zion Radio to Lake City, Florida, so please be patient as we take this longer -than -normal break. Use this time wisely by writing down the information provided by our advertisers so that you can frequently and successfully patronize them, because, remember, we cannot exist without our advertisers' financial funding, and without that, we will disappear, so our advertisers are going to be more likely to stick around if you patronize them, so please try to patronize them as often as you can if you do indeed love this program, but also write down questions for Mike Gaydosh regarding Christian books, uh, the best in Christian literature at chrisarnson at gmail .com,

chrisarnson at gmail .com, give us your first name, city and state and country of residence. If you live outside the USA, don't go away.

We'll be right back after these messages. Tired of box store

Christianity? Of doing church in a warehouse with all the trappings of a rock concert? Do you long for a more traditional and reverent style of worship?

And how about the preaching? Perhaps you've begun to think that in -depth Biblical exposition has vanished from Long Island.

Well, there's good news. Wedding River Baptist Church exists to provide believers with a meaningful and reverent worship experience, featuring the systematic exposition of God's Word.

And this loving congregation looks forward to meeting you. Call them at 631 -929 -3512 for service times.

631 -929 -3512 or check out their website at wrbc .us.

That's wrbc .us. I'm James White of Alpha Omega Ministries.

The New American Standard Bible is perfect for daily reading, or in -depth study. Used by pastors, scholars, and everyday readers, the

NASV is widely embraced and trusted as a literal and readable Bible translation. The NASV offers clarity and readability while maintaining high accuracy to the original languages which the

NASV is known for. The NASV is available in many editions like a topical reference Bible. Researched and prepared by Biblical scholars devoted to accuracy, the new topical reference

Bible includes contemporary topics relevant to today's issues. From compact to giant print

Bibles, find an NASV that fits your needs very affordably at nasbible .com. Whichever edition you choose, trust, discover, and enjoy the

NASV for yourself today. Go to nasbible .com. That's nasbible .com.

Chris Orenson, host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio here. I want to tell you about a man I have personally known for many years.

His name is Dan Buttafuoco. Dan is a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer, but not the type that typically comes to mind.

Dan cares about people and is a theologian himself. Recently, he wrote a book titled Consider the

Evidence for the Bible. Ravi Zacharias wrote the foreword. Dan also has a master's degree in theology.

Dan handles serious injury and medical malpractice cases in all 50 states. He represents many

Christians in serious injury matters all over the country. Dan is an exceptional trial lawyer.

He wrote the test for the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and currently his firm has over 100 cases that have settled for $1 million or more, and in approximately 10 different states.

In Illinois, his lawyers had the fourth largest settlement in the state's history. In New York, his case involving a paralyzed police officer made the front page of the law journal.

If you have a serious personal injury or medical malpractice claim in any state, I recommend that you call

Dan. Consultations are free. There is no fee unless you win. Dan Buttafuoco's number is 1 -800 -669 -4878.

1 -800 -669 -4878. Or email me for Dan's contact information at chrisarnson at gmail dot com.

That's chrisarnson at gmail dot com. Did you know that all believers are priests?

In 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9, the Apostle Peter describes Christ's church as comprising a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

So if you're a Christian, you're also a priest. Now you can find the newest styles in Reformed and Protestant apparel at citizenpriest .com.

Citizenpriest .com specializes in Christian -themed t -shirts and clothing, especially for Reformed Christians.

Citizenpriest .com's merchandise is purposefully Scripture -based and meant for the edification of the saints and the furtherance of the gospel.

Let everyone know that you stand firm on the doctrines of the Reformed faith by wearing apparel from citizenpriest .com.

Visit citizenpriest .com today. One sure way all

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listeners can help keep my show on the air is to support my advertisers. I know you all use batteries every day, so I'm urging you all from now on to exclusively use batterydepot .com

for all your battery needs. At batterydepot .com, they're changing the status quo.

They're flipping the script. They're sticking it to the man. In other words, they'd like to change the battery industry for good by providing an extensive inventory of top -of -the -line batteries that are uniformly new, dependable, and affordable.

Ordering from batterydepot .com ensures you'll always get fresh, out -of -the -box batteries you can count on to work properly at competitive prices.

Whether you need batteries for cordless phones, cell phones, radios, PCs, laptops, tablets, baby monitors, hearing aids, smoke detectors, credit card readers, digital cameras, electronic cigarettes,

GPS's, MP3 players, watches, or nearly anything else you own that needs batteries.

Go to batterydepot .com. Next day shipping available. All products protected by 30 -day guarantees and 6 -month warranties.

Call 866 -403 -3768. That's 866 -403 -3768.

Or go to batterydepot .com. That's batterydepot .com. I'm Pastor Billy Linhart of Sovereign Grace Particular Baptist Church of San Angelo, Texas.

And I'm thrilled to have joined the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio family of sponsors. We fully subscribe to the

Second London Baptist Confession of Faith as a faithful summary of the most vital biblical truths.

Desire to worship the triune God of the Holy Scriptures in spirit and truth, and seek to make

His glory known in the Concho Valley, West Texas, and beyond. Sovereign Grace PBC of San Angelo purposes to center our worship on the

Holy Scriptures and the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hope that He will grow us in love and the unity of truth.

After Sunday services, join us for a fellowship meal followed by our Ladies Fellowship in our

Children's Sunday School class. If you're looking for a church in West Texas that's serious about the Word of God and worship that pleases

Him, come visit us. For details about Sovereign Grace Particular Baptist Church of San Angelo, Texas, email sgbcsa at gmail .com

or visit us at sgbcsa .com. That's s -g -b -c -s -a dot com.

Hello, my name is James Renahan, and I'm the president of IRBS Theological Seminary in Mansfield, Texas.

The Word of God says, If a man desires the office of an overseer, he desires a good thing.

Do you have the desire to serve Jesus Christ in pastoral ministry? Twenty years ago, the

Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies at Westminster Seminary, California, was born. For those two decades, these institutions worked together to train men for ministry in Reformed Baptist churches.

It's been a wonderful partnership. Now we have advanced our school into an independent seminary offering a full program of courses leading to the

Master of Divinity degree. This is IRBS Theological Seminary. We believe that the scriptures of the

Old and New Testaments are the inspired and inerrant Word of God, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh who came to save sinners by His life, death, and resurrection, and that the task of the church is to honor and serve the

Triune God in all things. IRBS Theological Seminary is dedicated by God's grace to preparing godly ministers who will be committed to these doctrines.

Do you sense a call to serve Jesus Christ in His church as a pastor? Why not consider IRBS Theological Seminary?

You'll find more information at irbsseminary .org. That's irbsseminary .org, two

S's in the middle. I hope to hear from you soon. God bless you. Thriving Financial is not your typical financial services provider.

As a membership organization, we help Christians be wise with money and live generously every day.

And for the fourth year in a row, we were named one of the world's most ethical companies by the

Ethisphere Institute, a leading international think tank dedicated to the creation, advancement, and sharing of best practices in business ethics.

Contact me, Mike Gallagher, Financial Consultant, at 717 -254 -6433.

Again, 717 -254 -6433 to learn more about The Thriving Difference.

Lending faith, finances, and generosity. That's the Thriving story.

I'm Pastor Bill Shishko, host of a visit to The Pastor's Study, and I am so thankful to be part of the advertising family right here on Iron Sharpens Iron.

If you live on Long Island or if you're visiting the Metropolitan Area, I invite you to join us for worship at The Haven on Sundays at 4 .30

p .m. We meet at the Ascension Lutheran Church facility, 33 Bayshore Road in Deer Park, New York.

At The Haven, you'll find God's saturated singing, gospel -rich ministry, and Great Commission opportunities.

Learn more about us at thehavenli .com and join us this Sunday at 4 .30

p .m., 33 Bayshore Road, Deer Park, New York. Have you been blessed by Iron Sharpens Iron Radio?

We remain on the air because of our faithful sponsors and because of listeners like you. There are four ways you can help.

First, do you know potential sponsors who may wish to advertise their goods or services on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio?

Second, whenever possible, purchase the products or use the services that our sponsors advertise, and then let them know that you heard about them on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

Thirdly, you can also donate to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio by going to our website at ironsharpensironradio .com

and click support at the top of the page. But most importantly, keep Iron Sharpens Iron Radio in your prayers.

We hope that Iron Sharpens Iron Radio blesses you for many years to come. My name is

Steve Lawson, founder and president of One Passion Ministries, as well as teaching fellow for Ligonier Ministries.

I serve as professor of preaching and oversee the Doctor of Ministry program at the Masters Seminary in Los Angeles.

I would like to recommend the church where one of my preaching students, Andy Woodard, serves as the pastor.

It's called New Covenant Church, NYC. They are a Reformed Baptist church that meets in Midtown Manhattan.

You can find their service times and location on their website, which is www .ncc .nyc.

They believe in a sovereign God who commands all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel.

If you're looking for a church that believes in expository preaching, which is simply biblical preaching, in New York City, I'd like to recommend that you visit

New Covenant Church, NYC. Again, their information can be found at www .ncc

.nyc. Have a great day. 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 www .solid

-ground -books .com That's www .solid -ground -books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past to present you can unearth from Solid Ground.

Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. Hi, I'm Buzz Taylor, frequent co -host with Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

I would like to introduce you to my good friends Todd and Patty Jennings at CVBBS, which stands for Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service.

Todd and Patty specialize in supplying Reformed and Puritan books and Bibles at discount prices that make them affordable to everyone.

Since 1987, the family -owned and operated book service has sought to bring you the best available

Christian books and Bibles at the best possible prices. Unlike other book sites, they make no effort to provide every book that is available because, frankly, much of what is being printed is not worth your time.

That means you can get to the good stuff faster. It also means that you don't have to worry about being assaulted by the pornographic, heretical, and otherwise faith -insulting material promoted by the secular book vendors.

Their website is www .cvbbs .com Browse the pages at ease, shop at your leisure, and purchase with confidence as Todd and Patty work in service to you, the

Church, and to Christ. That's Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service at www .cvbbs

.com That's www .cvbbs .com Let Todd and Patty know that you heard about them on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

And don't forget, you can also call www .cvbbs .com at their toll -free number 800 -656 -0231 800 -656 -0231

Monday through Friday between 10 a .m. and 4 .30 p .m. Eastern Time. And they are still offering that excellent book that I recommended to them, my favorite of all

Christian biographies, my favorite of all biographies, period, A Pastor in New York, The Life and Time of Spencer Cohn, published by Evangelical Press, a beautiful hardback book.

They are giving this absolutely, they are giving it away, absolutely free of charge if you purchase a minimum of $50 worth of merchandise.

So what you have to do is go to www .cvbbs .com, put A Pastor in New York, The Life and Times of Spencer Cohn by John Thornberry in your cart, and then add $50 worth of merchandise.

And when you add or enter the coupon code IRONSHARPENSIRON which is all one word and it's all capital letters, the price of A Pastor in New York will be subtracted from your total.

And I've got a suggestion for you and a strong request for you. Why not to reach that $50 minimum mark faster?

Purchase books published by our other sponsor, Solid Ground Christian Books. Mike Adosh, the founder and director of Solid Ground Christian Books is our second guest.

And they are in urgent need of your patronage. So why not go to www .solid

-ground -books .com make a long list of books that they publish, and then go back to www .cvbbs

.com and place an order for those books. Because www .cvbbs .com is not a publisher, they are a book distributor and they carry all of Solid Ground Christian Books published books.

So why don't you do that to help both of my advertisers at the same time.

And you can also call them and give them that list. And you can also call them and give them the coupon code verbally,

IRONTRUPINZIRON to get the free book by John Thornberry, a pastor in New York, The Life and Times of Spencer Cohn, my favorite of all biographies.

I have a few upcoming events that I need you to know about. First of all, next week,

Thursday, May 23rd, the IRONTRUPINZIRON Radio Free Pastor's Luncheon is being held here in Carlisle, Pennsylvania at the

Carlisle Fire and Rescue Banquet Hall absolutely free of charge. My guest speaker is

Dr. Tony Costa, Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary. He's going to be speaking on how the

Dead Sea Scrolls vindicate the reliability of the Bible. You're going to be fed free. You're going to hear

Dr. Tony Costa for free. You're also going to get free books donated by many of the major Christian publishers in the

United States and the United Kingdom. You're going to be leaving with heavy sacks of books. I guarantee you, if you want to gather up this many, you'll be leaving with at least two heavy sacks of books.

Brand new books that I've selected from major publishers and some not -so -famous publishers that are excellent nonetheless.

You'll be leaving there with those books absolutely free of charge. You must be a man in ministry leadership. If you're a pastor, an elder, and I think that those are the same office, by the way, a deacon, a parachurch leader, whatever leadership position that you hold, if you are a man, you may attend this luncheon for free.

It's Thursday, May 23rd, 11 a .m. to 2 p .m. at the Carlisle Fire and Rescue Hall, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Send me an email to register at chrisarnson at gmail .com, chrisarnson at gmail .com, and put Pastor's Luncheon in the subject line.

Then Dr. Costa will be leaving with me to New York when

I will be attending meetings that I've arranged for Dr. Costa all over Long Island, New York.

These events are open to everybody, man, woman, or child, Christian or non -Christian. They include

New Hyde Park Baptist Church. They include Wading River Baptist Church. They include

Hope Reformed Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, and Missio Church of Ridge, New York.

That's from Friday through Sunday of next weekend. The 24th through the 26th of May.

If you want an itinerary of Dr. Costa's speak engagements, send me an email at chrisarnson at gmail .com,

chrisarnson at gmail .com, and put Dr. Costa's itinerary in the subject line.

Then I'm going to leave Long Island and head right over to Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, to the Elizabethtown College where the

Banner of Truth is having their East Coast Ministers Conference. The theme is, I Believe in the Holy Spirit If you'd like to register for this conference, which is held

Tuesday, May 28th, through Thursday, May 30th, go to banneroftruth .org, banneroftruth .org,

click on events, and then scroll down to the East Coast Ministers Conference on I Believe in the Holy Spirit.

And then later on in the year, in fact, in December, a perfect time to visit New York City, I am going to be attending the

Foundations Conference, a conference of sermonaudio .com. That's going to be held Thursday and Friday, December 19th and 20th, in Manhattan.

And they have a phenomenal lineup of speakers, including Dr. Stephen J. Lawson, whose voice you've been hearing advertising

New Covenant Church NYC, one of our sponsors. Also on that roster are Paul Washer, Rev.

Jeff Thomas, Rev. Armen Tamassian, who I've been bragging about for a couple of years now, at least.

He is a remarkable young man who I think is going to be a household name within the next decade.

Richard Caldwell Jr. and Andrew Quigley are on the roster as well. If you want to register for the

Foundations Conference, go to thefoundationsconference .com, thefoundationsconference .com,

and I would do so quickly because their venue can only hold less than 200 people. So I would try to register as quickly as possible if you have any intention of attending.

And then in January, I am going to be heading back to Atlanta, Georgia, more specifically College Park, Georgia, to the

Georgia International Convention Center for the G3 Conference, which stands for Gospel, Grace, and Glory.

The G3 Conference also is going to have a remarkable lineup of speakers.

This is Thursday, the 16th of January, through Saturday, the 18th of January. And I strongly urge you to attend if you can.

My friend James White is on the roster as well as Vodie Baucom and Paul Washer and Stephen Lawson and a number of other phenomenal speakers are there on the roster at the

G3 Conference, which is going to be on the theme Worship Matters.

And there's going to be over 5 ,000 people attending. So I'm just getting a word from Mike Adosh for some reason that he is trying to call in and I thought that I answered his call already.

So if you want to register for the G3 Conference, go to g3conference .com,

g3conference .com, and I would also strongly urge you to register for an exhibitors booth if you have a church or business or parachurch ministry that you want to promote since there's going to be more than 5 ,000 people there and I will be manning my own exhibitors booth there as well.

So go to g3conference .com, g3conference .com. Last but not least, if you love this show, you don't want it to disappear from the airwaves, please go to ironsherpensirenradio .com,

click support, then click, click to donate now. You can donate instantly with a debit or credit card by doing that.

And please try to donate as much as you can because we are in a very serious financial situation, a financial disaster, if you will.

We have a major advertiser from Iron Sherpens Iron Radio who had to cancel their advertising campaign after next month because they had several families move away from the area where the church is located.

So the financial loss that they are experiencing due to the families leaving is too great at this point for them to continue advertising with us even though they were benefiting from the advertising and have got new people join the church.

The loss of these families was greater financially than the new families that have come in can provide.

So therefore, we are in a really big mess financially. Please help us out.

Be as generous as you've ever been, more generous than you've ever been, if you can. ironsherpensirenradio .com,

click support, then click to donate now. Also, Tony Costa, who is my speaker at the

Iron Sherpens Iron Radio pastor's luncheon. The Canadian government has put a new tax on airfare, a carbon tax, some nonsense from the

Soviet Socialist Republic of Canada. And so therefore, Dr. Costa's airfare, which used to be just about $300, is now over $1 ,000.

So we need your donations more than ever. Please donate as generously as you can by going to ironsherpensirenradio .com,

click support, then click, click to donate now. And you can also send in a check via snail mail to the address that appears on the screen when you do that.

And also send us a question for Mike Gadosh. Our topic is the best in Christian literature, and he's got new recommendations for us.

And it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to Iron Sherpens Iron Radio, my first pastor, my dear friend, and a very important sponsor of this program,

Mike Gadosh of Solid Ground Christian Books. Great to have you back. Thank you, Chris. It's good to be back. Can you hear me okay?

Yes, I can. And I'm not sure what the problem was before about connecting, but I apologize for that, and I'm glad that you successfully, finally have joined us.

No problem. Glad to be here. Well, let's get right at it. I've got several books that I've piled up in front of me here, and most of them are new.

Some of them are not. The first one I'd like to mention is a book that I just received from Don Kistler at Northampton Press.

Don is actually the man who founded Soledad Gloria, publishing many years ago.

And he just recently published a very little -known book, but a very, very beneficial book entitled

The Duty and Blessing of a Tender Conscience. And the author was

Timothy Crusoe. He lived from 1656 to 1697.

And if the last name sounds familiar, it's because he was very dear friends with Daniel Defoe, the author of The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

Wow. And it's believed that he named his main character after Timothy Crusoe, who was a gifted

Puritan preacher. And this particular volume has been buried for many, many years.

And Don has done a great job. It's a beautiful little book, a nice hardcover with a dust jacket.

And he does, Crusoe does just an amazing job of addressing the subject of the tender conscience.

And Don actually found five sermons to add as appendices to the volume on the conscience as well.

And so I've already sold almost all the copies. I ordered a good number of copies, and the first time

I advertised it, I sold almost all of them right away. So I'm going to have to be getting some more pretty quickly.

But that's one title, The Duty and Blessing of a Tender Conscience. A second volume is not as new, but it's a very valuable little book as well.

Nancy Guthrie, many people would know her as a woman who has gathered together the writings of many great

Christians through the years on several different subjects. And she gathered together 25 classic and contemporary readings on the problem of pain.

The title of the book is Be Still My Soul, the subtitle

Embracing God's Purpose and Provision in Suffering. Wow. And it's a very timely book.

What's nice about it, I like it because it has 25 readings, and they're from, as the subtitle says, they're both contemporary and classic works.

Johnny Erickson Tata has a contribution on God's Plan A.

There's a contribution by Corey Tenboom, Just What You Need Just in Time. Sinclair Ferguson, Dark Valleys.

J .I. Packer, Hoped for Healing. Thomas Manton, Happy in Affliction.

Martin Luther, To Suffer as Christ Did. Jeremiah Burroughs, Learning to Be Content. Jonathan Edwards, Refuge and Rest in Christ.

Spurgeon, Faith Tried and Proved. The Test of a Crisis, Martin Lloyd -Jones.

Choosing Trust by Jerry Bridges. The God We Had to Lose, Abraham Kuyper.

No Sorrow Like Jesus' Sorrow, John Newton. Bearing Suffering, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Illumined by the Light of Divine Providence, John Calvin. Is There Such a Thing as Senseless Tragedy, R .C.

Sproul. And you can just tell by the subjects and the authors that this book is just jam -packed.

It's not a large book. There's nothing that could be more discouraging for people discouraged than getting a huge volume on discouragement.

I think that Nancy did a great job of selecting very nice size.

I mean, if you just do the math on 25 chapters and 170 pages. It's just a shame that none of these authors are known.

I'm surprised she didn't ask you for a chapter. She was closed and in her right mind.

I think that if your listeners are...

Well, let me put it this way. I think the value of a book like this is...

And I would challenge your listeners to think this way. When I was a pastor, one of the things that I lobbied for with our deacons and with the church was not only did

I have a book allowance for my own library to help build up my library and help me to be able to prepare my sermons and lessons, but I also ended up getting a budget for giveaway books.

That is, books that I would... Whenever I would go to a conference, I would go to Cumberland Valley or wherever we happen to be in Grand Rapids.

I'd go to the bookstores there. And I would always have two things in mind. I would go looking for things that would help me in my ministry.

And I would go with the hearts of my people on my heart.

And I would go in and I would look at books and I'd think, now that would be a great book for Mrs. So -and -so and that would be a perfect book for these teenagers.

And I'd give maybe a handful of those to give out to the young people and things like that. And I think that this kind of a book, that is, the book

Be Still My Soul, is the kind of book you'd want to get for yourself and then also get an extra copy or two to be able to give as a ministry gift to somebody who you know is passing through some dark valley in their lives.

And I think that would be, you know, that's a wonderful, wonderful book. Another one is a brand new book that is written, it was published by B &H and recently has come out.

It's entitled Suffering is Never for Nothing. And the author was

Elizabeth Elliott. These were messages that she brought towards the end of her life and apparently she used these messages many, many times towards the end and they finally decided to take those and put them into a book form and Johnny Erickson Tata, again, she wrote the foreword to the book and it addresses just the most basic issues of suffering.

And I just love the title, Suffering is Never for Nothing. The first chapter is entitled

The Terrible Truth, then The Message, Acceptance, Gratitude, Offering, and Transfiguration.

It's a small book, again, it's not a large book, but it's a very nice hardcover and about 120 -125 pages.

And I am a personal, I've always been a personal fan of Elizabeth Elliott. Yeah, I remember you two had a friendship and she used to endorse many of the books, not only by Solid Ground Christian Books, but Calvary Press before you started

Solid Ground. In fact, if you may remember, I drove her mother -in -law, not

Elliott's mother, but Lars Grenn's mother, I drove her to church every

Sunday at Grace Reformed Baptist Church when I was still living on Long Island because she lived in a local nursing home. That's right,

I remember that. Yeah, she was a real fan of what we were doing.

She loved Stepping Heavenward. In fact, the book Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss, I never learned if I was the first one to introduce her to the book, but I think

I was. And she fell in love with it. She ended up writing the foreword, a beautiful foreword for it.

She ended up also doing just a whole series of lessons on the radio on her life, the life of Elizabeth Prentiss, as well as the book

Stepping Heavenward, and she just did a phenomenal job. In fact, while I'm mentioning her, another book that has become very popular recently is a brand -new publication, and it's entitled

Devotedly. I don't know if you've heard about this book, but it's the personal love letters, or the personal letters and love story of Jim and Elizabeth Elliot.

Wow, no. Valerie Elliot Shepard found, after her mom passed away, she went up into the attic and found a, she found an old chest that had just an incredible number of letters that had been preserved by her mother and her father, and she had never seen them before, and she went through them and found that they just told the story of their early relationship, their courtship, and then their marriage, and it's a beautiful book.

I mean, it is an absolutely beautiful book, and it's entitled Devotedly, the Personal Letters and Love Story of Jim and Elizabeth Elliot.

Jim Elliot, I, there was a small connection that I always felt with Jim Elliot, even though he died.

I was only about four or five years old when he died, but he wrestled in college.

He wrestled at Wheaton College, and I almost wrestled at Wheaton. I actually flew to Wheaton one weekend and then also to Taylor University in Indiana.

I ended up choosing to go to Taylor instead, but Jim was a wrestler for Wheaton.

I wrestled for Taylor against Wheaton, and then I went to seminary in Portland, Oregon, which is where he was from, and I used to go for walks up on Mount Tabor, and if you read any of his, the biography of Jim Elliot, he used to go for walks up on Mount Tabor as well, and I used to drive by his family home.

The Elliot home was like right around the corner from Mount Tabor, and just on the other side of the...

Mount Tabor was not really like a mountain. It was more of a hill, and their home was on the other side of the seminary that I graduated from,

Western Seminary there in Portland, and so I always felt and sensed some kind of a connection, a special connection with Jim Elliot, and so it meant a lot to me that Elizabeth was willing to reach out and help me in my early years in publishing, and we'd spoke on the phone several times, and towards the end,

I would speak to Lars, and Lars had shared with me. He said, well, he said, Elizabeth's really not able to carry on conversations anymore.

She's beginning to lose her memory, and it was very sad, and I was not surprised when

I finally heard that the Lord had taken her home, but these books here, Suffering is

Never for Nothing and Devotedly, are just superb books. They're beautifully produced books, and they're the kind of books that would be, you know, any woman would love devotedly, and just the feel of the book.

I mean, I love the way that it was produced. It was produced first class in every way, and I think it tells a story about their relationship and the purity of their relationship, and I'm just thrilled.

I'm thrilled that it's available now. And we're going to our last break now. It's going to be much more brief than the last one.

Just to remind you, while we're going to this break, the website where you can order these books that Mike Adosh has been listing here for us is solid -ground -books .com,

solid -ground -books .com, but if you have a question for Mike, send it in now to ChrisArnzen at gmail .com,

C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com. Don't go away. We'll be right back with Mike Adosh and more of the best in Christian literature right after these words from our sponsors.

I'm Pastor Bill Shishko, host of A Visit to the Pastor's Study, and I am so thankful to be part of the advertising family right here on Iron Sharpens Iron.

If you live on Long Island or if you're visiting the metropolitan New York area, I invite you to join us for worship at The Haven on Sundays at 4 .30

p .m. We meet at the Ascension Lutheran Church facility, 33 Bayshore Road in Deer Park, New York.

At The Haven, you'll find God -saturated singing, gospel -rich ministry, and great commission opportunities.

Learn more about us at thehavenli .com and join us this Sunday at 4 .30

p .m., 33 Bayshore Road, Deer Park, New York. Did you know that all believers are priests?

In 1 Peter 2, verse 9, the Apostle Peter describes Christ's church as comprising a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

So if you're a Christian, you're also a priest. Now you can find the newest styles in Reformed and Protestant apparel at CitizenPriest .com.

CitizenPriest .com specializes in Christian -themed t -shirts and clothing especially for Reformed Christians.

CitizenPriest .com's merchandise is purposefully Scripture -based and meant for the edification of the saints and the furtherance of the gospel.

Let everyone know that you stand firm on the doctrines of the Reformed faith by wearing apparel from CitizenPriest .com.

Visit CitizenPriest .com today. Paul wrote to the church at Galatia, for am

I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man,

I would not be a servant of Christ. Hi, I'm Mark Lukens, pastor of Providence Baptist Church. We are a

Reformed Baptist Church and we hold to the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. We are in Norfolk, Massachusetts.

We strive to reflect Paul's mindset to be much more concerned with how God views what we say and what we do than how men view these things.

That's not the best recipe for popularity, but since that wasn't the apostles' priority, it must not be ours either.

We believe by God's grace that we are called to demonstrate love and compassion to our fellow man and to be vessels of Christ's mercy to a lost and hurting community around us and to build up the body of Christ in truth and love.

If you live near Norfolk, Massachusetts or plan to visit our area, please come and join us for worship and fellowship.

You can call us at 508 -528 -5750 that's 508 -528 -5750 or go to our website to email us, listen to past sermons, worship songs, or watch our

TV program entitled Resting in Grace. You can find us at ProvidenceBaptistChurchMA .org

that's ProvidenceBaptistChurchMA .org or even on sermonaudio .com Providence Baptist Church is delighted to sponsor

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. Every day at thousands of community centers, high schools, middle schools, juvenile institutions, coffee shops and local hangouts,

Long Island Youth for Christ staff and volunteers meet with young people who need Jesus. We are rural and urban and we are always about the message of Jesus.

Our mission is to have a noticeable spiritual impact on Long Island, New York by engaging young people in the lifelong journey of following Christ.

Long Island Youth for Christ has been a stalwart bedrock ministry since 1959. We have a world -class staff and a proven track record of bringing consistent love and encouragement to youths in need all over the country and around the world.

Help honor our history by becoming a part of our future. Volunteer, donate, pray, or all of the above.

For details, call Long Island Youth for Christ at 631 -385 -8333 that's 631 -385 -8333 or visit liyfc .org

that's liyfc .org I'm Pastor Billy Lindhardt of Sovereign Grace Particular Baptist Church of San Angelo, Texas and I'm thrilled to have joined the

Iron Sharpens Iron Radio family of sponsors. We fully subscribe to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith as a faithful summary of the most vital

Biblical truths. Desire to worship the Triune God of the Holy Scriptures in spirit and truth and seek to make

His glory known in the Concho Valley, West Texas and beyond. Sovereign Grace PBC of San Angelo purposes to center our worship on the

Holy Scriptures and the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hope that it will grow us in love and the unity of truth.

After Sunday services, join us for a fellowship meal followed by our Ladies Fellowship in our

Children's Sunday School class. If you're looking for a church in West Texas that's serious about the Word of God and worship that pleases

Him, come visit us. For details about Sovereign Grace Particular Baptist Church of San Angelo, Texas email sgbcsa at gmail .com

or visit us at sgbcsa .com that's sgbcsa .com

Iron Sharpens Iron welcomes Solid Rock Remodeling to our family of sponsors. Serving South Central Pennsylvania, Solid Rock Remodeling is focused on discovering, understanding, and exceeding your expectations.

They deliver personalized project solutions with exceptional results. Solid Rock Remodeling offers a full range of home renovations including kitchen and bath remodeling, decks, porches, windows and doors, roof and siding, and more.

For a clear, detailed professional estimate, call this trustworthy team of problem solvers who provide superior results that stand the test of time.

Call Solid Rock Remodeling at 717 -697 -1981 717 -697 -1981 or visit

SolidRockRemodeling .com that's SolidRockRemodeling .com

Solid Rock Remodeling bringing new life to your home. Lindbrook Baptist Church on 225

Earl Avenue in Lindbrook, Long Island is teaching God's timeless truths in the 21st century. Our church is far more than a

Sunday worship service. It's a place of learning where the scriptures are studied and the preaching of the gospel is clear and relevant.

It's like a gym where one can exercise their faith through community involvement. It's like a hospital for wounded souls where one can find compassionate people in healing.

We're a diverse family of all ages enthusiastically serving our Lord Jesus Christ in fellowship, play and together.

Hi, I'm Pastor Bob Walderman and I invite you to come and join us here at Lindbrook Baptist Church and see all that a church can be.

Call Lindbrook Baptist at 516 -599 -9402 that's 516 -599 -9402 or visit

LindbrookBaptist .org that's LindbrookBaptist .org Hi, I'm Stephan Lindblad Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at IRBS Theological Seminary in Mansfield, Texas.

I accepted this call to teach at the seminary because I'm firmly convinced that the people of God in the churches of our

Lord Jesus Christ need to be firmly grounded in the truth of Holy Scripture. I'm excited to be teaching such subjects as the nature of theology and the doctrine of Scripture and even the doctrine of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Our churches and our people need to be well grounded in these truths. Indeed, future ministers of the gospel need to understand these truths in order to proclaim them to all of God's people.

If you want to learn more about our program visit us online at IRBSSeminary .org

Listening to Christian radio can be a big gamble spiritually Even many of the major Christian networks that include excellent biblically faithful teachers on their lineup sadly often also include the worst of doctrinally dangerous heretics.

If you are a lover of the doctrines of Sovereign Grace you need not fear listening 24 hours a day to FirstLoveRadio .org

They feature Christ -centered programming from Reformed pastors and teachers you can rely upon for theological soundness and biblical faithfulness such as Dr.

W .R. Downing Dr. Peter Masters Pastor Joe Jackowitz Pastor Robert Gifford Al Martin Edward Delpor and more

FirstLoveRadio .org also live streams my Iron Sharpens Iron radio program daily

Please stick around on FirstLoveRadio .org after Iron Sharpens Iron radio is over to continue being blessed by the unwavering proclamation of the gospel of Sovereign Grace Spread the word about FirstLoveRadio .org

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 Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio And we're honored to have

Mike Gadosh of Solid Ground Christian Books on the program with us now We are talking about the best in Christian literature and Mike is providing with us a list of some new books that are available that might not necessarily be new in regard to them being first -time editions of books by new authors but they may be new to you and our email address is chrisarnson at gmail dot com chrisarnson at gmail dot com and please give us your first name city and state and country of residence when you write in We have

RJ in White Plains, New York who said you mentioned something earlier about not giving a large book on grief to somebody who is suffering because that kind of a weighty material might be too depressing to handle in a large volume

Should we not also consider that with all other subjects when we give books to new believers or to lost people shouldn't we be more prone to give them shorter books so that they will be more willing to pick them up and actually read them?

Oh yeah, I would agree It's certainly not just the area of grieving but that was the subject of the particular book that we were featuring so that's the reason why

I mentioned that but no, I would agree I would agree that if you're dealing with young people that's why

Thoughts for Young Men has been such a great book because it's a smaller book it's not overwhelming it doesn't look intimidating of course, when they read it

Ryle's pretty well packed it's a short book but it can be misleading if you think oh this will be an easy read no,

Ryle's never an easy read he's a challenge to even any age but yeah,

I would agree with that I think that for the most part and again it would depend on who the particular person is

I mean, there are some people who are readers and would not be to them intimidating at all but I would say yeah,

I would say for the average person certainly unbelievers new believers yeah,

I would say yes, absolutely Peter Jeffrey's works I think are especially good for new believers yeah, excellent there's a book that I have a good number of copies of entitled

All Things New A Help for Those Beginning the Christian Life oh yeah it's a really small book it's only like I don't know, maybe 30 pages it's really more of a book than it is a book yeah,

I remember that was one of the first books that I read as a Christian oh wow yeah, in fact

I remember the old cover it's probably a different cover now but it's really beautiful a cover with an old rotted tree trunk with a new tree growing out of it that's pretty good,

Chris and of course Peter Jeffrey as you may remember spent at least a half hour with my mother alone when she was about to depart this earth from pancreatic cancer and he reassured me that he had the utmost confidence she was saved and I can remember him in his well shacks saying what are you worried about?

your mother's born again she's going to heaven but I praise God for Peter Jeffrey who is now with her in heaven

Peter was so precious a man and those books it's not just that one but that one in particular

I believe that was the first book I ever picked up by him as well and I just was so impressed with I mean it's just this one page per chapter you are now a

Christian and in his typical fashion you were not born a Christian you did not pass an exam to become a

Christian you did not earn the right to become a Christian God makes a person a Christian and that's

Peter that's how he begins and the whole book is just chapter by chapter dealing with that kind of that kind of method of teaching you were a lost sinner how did you become a

Christian? if you are a Christian you have been converted you have been born again you have been saved you have been forgiven you have been reconciled you have been justified and he just goes through each of those if this then that and very very simple very powerful and hey it worked with you look at you today certainly more of that than my ministry that has accomplished what has been accomplished in your life you were in touch with the right people right off the bat you know but anyway those

I would agree I would agree with that in fact a couple books that I would recommend two of which one

I have already published and the other one I am about to publish and again they are both shorter books they are 100 pages and 100 pages or less one is called

The Spirit Within You The Church's Neglected Possession by J .I. Packer and A .M. Stibbs this book was instrumental in my life when

I first came to the Lord and I had the privilege of talking to Packer about this book and asked him permission to do a new edition because it hadn't been published in nearly 50 years and we just brought it out this past year and I am so thankful that I was able to do that to give it a new life it focuses on the ministry of the

Spirit as God's crowning gift they have a section on widespread misunderstandings governing sanctions the

Pentecostal gift receiving the Spirit walking by the Spirit the fullness of the Spirit the leading of the

Spirit assurance and hope and again all chapters are rather brief but they are packed packed with Scripture packed with valuable, valuable material another book

I'm about to publish and bring back into print is again another book that was very instrumental in my early walk with the

Lord and it's a book by Abraham Kuyper The Practice of Godliness and in this book it's divided into three sections the first part is the

Christian Warfare in that section he addresses the subject of our troubled lives and I love the way he begins he talks about how people often mistake the idea that we're supposed to just sit back and let

God do the work he said there are Christians who maintain that the godly life is a life of quiet submission of patient waiting waiting upon the

Lord until he performs his own work for the battle is the Lord's and Jehovah shall fight for you they say in Old Testament times it did occur that Jehovah made his people stand aside and wait when

Israel was before the Red Sea panic stricken at the sound of Pharaoh's armed horsemen coming after them the

Lord gave command to them do not fight I will fight for you and they stood still while the waves of the sea awaited his word of power why was

Israel spared a bloody battle and permitted to walk safely and comfortably through the Red Sea because the

Lord was about to perform a miracle at which all the nations would stand amazed making the bottom of the sea a pathway for Israel and a grave for Pharaoh and all his hosts and in order that his power and greatness might shine forth with greater glory the miracle must be holy free from human mediation

God works by one or two methods through man or without man immediately or immediately when he chooses to work immediately he commands man to stand aside be still and wait to keep hands off but then he goes on and talks about how but that isn't the way that we we grow in holiness and in godliness we are to take up the whole armor of God we are to fight we are to strive we are to seek we are to call upon him we are to take heaven by storm as it were and so he goes through and deals with all the different aspects of practical godliness and in dealing with that first section on christian warfare he looks at man versus satan man versus nature and man versus man and then the second section is on christian patience first part patience is a rarity and then we glory in strength for the love of God the strength of spirit meekness the man of sorrows maranatha and cross bearing and then finally the last part part three is on humility before God and he has an outstanding section on fasting and biblical fasting

God's word our guide biblical fasting godliness not by bread alone seek ye first and it's one of the rarer books that deals with the subject of fasting and does so in a very very powerful way so that's a book that I'm hoping to have out in June I'm also working on a new edition of a book that Joe Bianchi wrote several years ago entitled

God Chose to Save Why Man Cannot and Will Not Be Saved Apart from Election and we're working on doing a new edition of this book it's been out of print for a while and we just have to forgive

Joe for converting to presbyterianism I don't have to but I will in fact it was funny you say that because I got a phone call today from his pastor

Dick Phillips he actually mentioned something about that to me about Joe Bianchi of course he did

Rick Phillips always loves to brag about Joe's conversion every time I see him at the 10th

Presbyterian not at the 10th at the Philadelphia Conference of Reformed Theology he always says did I tell you that Joe Bianchi is a presbyterian now yeah baby sprinkling the whole thing oh that's funny so we're working on that I'm hoping to have that out soon another book

I do want to conclude with focusing attention on is a book that just came out by Carolyn Staley Ron and Carolyn Staley have been married for over 45 years have been in ministry he's a pastor out of Richmond, Virginia and Carolyn has been working for over 10 years focusing upon Pilgrim's Progress and she has written just a beautiful volume

A Present Day Journey Through John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress the title of the book is

From Grace to Glory and Mac Tomlinson has written a beautiful endorsement for the book he says here

I'm so glad this wonderful commentary on John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress will soon be available

I've been looking forward to it for a long time when I first read through the manuscript some of my first thoughts were this is wonderful here is insightful interpretation rich exposition and wonderful practical application for the

Christian life this is truly quality insightful and excellent in every way Carolyn Staley has truly captured

Bunyan's heart in understanding his classic work and it's a really massive volume she's labored so diligently on this it's only 675 pages and my wife has started reading it and she loves it she just she was a little taken by the size of it at first but she's been reading section day by day and shares with me in the morning what she just read and I'm encouraged

Carolyn is just a wonderful lady Ron is a precious man and they've been laboring as they sit together for over 45 years and this is a brand new book it's a beautiful volume it's a it's a it's got a beautiful picture of a lighthouse on the front and she's she's always loved lighthouses and the story of lighthouses and she uses that in the illustration of the light that led to the

Wicked Gate and I've got to get her on the show oh yeah you absolutely absolutely you've got to get her on the show and you should get them both on the show together

I think they would make they would do a wonderful wonderful job but from grace to glory is the name of the book and as I said it's a modern present day journey through the book

Pilgrim's Progress and she ends every chapter with questions to ponder very very much filled with application just an outstanding an outstanding new book

I I think that's it I wanted to feature today those are the books that I wanted to emphasize okay we do have a question from Arnie in Perry County, Pennsylvania who says if you have one book to give to a pastor and one book to give to a lost person what would those two books be?

and sometimes those are the same people what book do you give to a lost pastor?

but anyway yeah that's a that's a that's a tough question

I I I would I know the book that a book that helped me early on in my ministry there are two in particular one was

Lectures to My Students by by Spurgeon and another was The Christian Ministry by Charles Bridges those two volumes now

I know that there's a new book that that Sinclair Ferguson has done Shepherds and Teachers that I haven't seen it yet but I know

I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it and I would I would think that would probably be another one as far as as far as unbelievers are concerned it's impossible to answer that question because everybody is in a different position right

I know that we've published a little book by Peter Jeffrey again we mentioned earlier called

Seeking God and I think that is one of the finest little things that you could give to a person who's an unbeliever in fact

Peter Jeffrey also wrote an excellent book called I Will Never Become a Christian that's right that's a book in fact those words

I Will Never Become a Christian he said those very words the morning that he became a

Christian later that night and that's where the title of the book comes from I Will Never Become a

Christian we're out of time and I look forward to you coming back Mike but I want to remind our listeners of your website it's solid -ground -books .com

solid -ground -books .com I want to thank you I want to thank all the listeners who were listening today especially those who took the time to write

I hope you have a safe blessed and happy weekend and Lord's Day and I hope you all always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far far greater