October 20, 2020 Show with Geoff Thomas on “Benefitting From Knowing True Theology”

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

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Carlisle, Pennsylvania, it's Iron Sharpens Iron. This is a radio platform in which pastors,

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Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.

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Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.

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Matthew Henry said that in this passage we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to have in view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.

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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

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Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon

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Cumberland County Pennsylvania Lake City Florida and the rest of humanity living on the planet earth who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensiradio .com

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this is Chris Arnzen your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio wishing you all a happy Tuesday on this 20th day of October 2020 and I'm thrilled to have back for the second day in a row this week

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Jeff Thomas who beginning in 1965 served for over 50 years as pastor of Alpha Place Baptist Church of Everest with Wales and he's an author, a conference speaker, he has been published by Banner of Truth and Reformation Heritage Books and is well known to be a very popular conference speaker at Reformed conferences worldwide including those of Banner of Truth and today we are addressing in part two of our discussion on true theology we are discussing this time the benefits of knowing true theology and it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back for the second day in a row

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Reverend Jeff Thomas and once again for those of our listeners who are just discovering you for the first time tell our listeners about Alpha Place Baptist Church in Everest with Wales where you pastored for over 50 years and where your grandson now pastors yeah yeah

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I went there in 65 my first daughter was born in September and I started the first Sunday in November so I always had two very precious members of my family my wife and daughter in the congregation and then of course we had a second daughter and a third daughter and there was the family pew with the four ladies sitting there towards the front and then

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I'm an only child and dad and mom then lived 100 miles away and they were all excited with the grandchildren and with me and so they sold up their house and they came to move and they were in the congregation and my mother sister she came she was a widow and so I had seven members of my family and all my father mother listened intently it was the first gospel preaching they'd ever heard and my mother had been saved in around 1920 hundred years ago through an uncle of hers who loved the

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Savior my father had never been under gospel ministry and until me and all he drank it up and so the and the church warmed to them and welcomed them and my wife led the women's work and my children were the heart of the children's group as they grew up and there we are my first daughter married a student that she knew in the congregation so it was just a very blessed happy time a resort on the

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Irish Sea a small town bilingual and we were very happy and I never really had a call of God never never put it in my mind to go anywhere else well if anybody wants to find out more about Alfred Place Baptist Church of Everest with Wales if you are visiting

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Wales or perhaps you already live in Wales and you need a good church home you go to alfredplacechurch .org

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.uk and perhaps you should start considering taking a vacation to Wales if you haven't already and keep that church in mind that's alfredplacechurch .org

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.uk and of course if you want to find out more about books written by Jeff Thomas you can go to the

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Banner of Truth website that is banneroftruth .org

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banneroftruth .org and you can also go to the website for Reformation Heritage books and that is heritagebooks .com

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I believe heritagebooks .com and if that is not I'm going by memory on that one but he has written a number of books and I actually would hope that you would purchase them after you actually

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I'm sorry I got it wrong it's heritagebooks .org heritagebooks .org

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not com I'm looking at it right now and I would appreciate it if after you go to those websites to find out all the books that he has written that you actually purchase them from CVBBS .com

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Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service CVBBS .com which is a book distributor who sponsors this show and they carry the titles of most if not all the

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Reformed publishers all over the world so you could get any book by Jeff Thomas if they don't already have it they will order it and that's

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CVBBS .com CV for Cumberland Valley BBS or Bible Book Service .com

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well as I mentioned moments ago today we are discussing part two of our two -day series on true theology and today we're going to be discussing specifically the benefits of knowing true theology and if you could let us know about some of those benefits right okay it's been a remarkable decade with works of systematic theology that have appeared my it is not just the great solid works of two or three volumes

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Grudem, Prem, Kelly, Greg Nichols, Lethem, Beaky but popular works as well by James Montgomery Boyce and Donald MacLeod, R .C.

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Sproul, Lloyd -Jones and it's interesting

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Beaky and Grudem in their systematic theology at the end of a chapter they give you a hymn to sing to meditate on all you've been taught and then to respond in doxology and I think that's wonderful and I think we should rejoice then that the there's this new interest in in dogmatic systematic theology and I'll give you some of the reasons firstly it's an evidence that historic

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Christianity exists now what is iron sharpens iron all about it's all about historic

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Christianity and its relevance and importance for 2020 that those two words are not a slogan not a pipe dream they are a reality there's a river that's been running from the throne of God and the

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Lamb and it's still running 2 ,000 years and you see it in Augustine and the church fathers and Luther and the reformers and John Bunyan and the

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Puritans and Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards in the 18th century and Princeton of the 19th and in the 20th century then oh the people that we hear broadcasting and writing these books and these men are

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French and German and Dutch and Scots and English and Welsh and Americans they're

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Anglicans Presbyterians Reformed Lutherans Baptists Congregationists this river is running on and on and it's dynamic and fresh and clean and cleansing and scholarly and the systematics are being bought by the thousand they've been translated into Japanese and Korean and Spanish and when their authors speak the conferences may have 10 ,000 people attending historic

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Christianity is living and spreading and it is because of the word of Christ I will build my church and the gates of hell will not triumph over it and so he is confident in the endurance of his truth and its necessity and its relevance to every single person this little boy this teenage girl and this old person who's discovered the truth and there are things that he'll give to them living historic

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Christianity it's alive it's thriving it's seminaries it's book publishers it's radio broadcasts secondly we are because systematic theology makes

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Christianity clearer I was taking a mission in the university in Bangor in North Wales and a student came up to me after a meeting and he said with a broad grin on his face define

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God as foolish as impossible and I just repeated to him the definition of the shorter catechism

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God is a spirit infinite eternal and unchangeable in his being wisdom power holiness justice goodness and truth the magnificent definition of historic

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Christianity and it wiped the grin of his face and all he could say was oh and so we start teaching children um theology the children's catechism their first systematic theology pre -shorter catechism is the children's catechism and you know it's been set to music um who made me

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God made me what else did God make God made all things why did

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God make all things for his own glory where do we learn about God in the

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Bible book and so on and you know that there are several versions of the

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Westminster shorter catechism set to music you you can just find them on the web and it's easier to memorize stuff when it's set to music and so even children and their teachers can grasp high theology

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I'm saying theology makes Christianity clearer thirdly um it is produced because there's a worldwide desire to know the truth of systematic theology um you think the situation in England in 1954 when

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Billy Graham arrived and Billy was preaching the gospel in Haringey arena for a couple of months to thousands of people and it impacted the press and the

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British Broadcasting Corporation and uh people were going to Westminster chapel and they were going to Dr Martin Lloyd -Jones and they were saying um how did

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God make the world then what is the state of man who is

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Jesus is he God is he man um why did he die on the cross what about the end of the world and so he started his series out of which the book came

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Great Doctrines of the Bible he did it from 1932 to 1955 and it was all linked with this new interest the common people wanted to know about systematic theology and you know if we have a taste of latter day glory if we have an awakening uh may we have one in the lands that we live in then we have abundant materials to provide for them to teach them and that's a cause for rejoicing or again systematic theology warms off error um you know in 1958

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I went to university and in 1959 I was asked to become the secretary of the

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Christian union and I felt honored to be asked and then I was given a theological basis 10 points a mini theology a very abbreviated systematics and I was asked to sign it

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I couldn't become the secretary of the Christian union unless I held to the

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Christian faith and I read it and I knew I believed all those doctrines and I and the other eight members of the committee we all signed it and I did it with joy and now whenever I go to speak in a university in England and Wales the

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Christian union sends me the same doctrinal basis and they asked me to sign my agreement that has kept the intervarsity fellowship or as it's called in Britain today universities and colleges

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Christian fellowship it's kept it sound it's kept it from wandering away and following the devices the cunning devices of to teach what is historic

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Christianity and again I rejoice in this abundance of systematic theology because it furthers unity

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I've been reading a book the newly translated sermons on john chapter 15 and 16 preached in the castle church in wittenberg by martin luther oh they are wonderfully inspiring and now they are newly translated they are simple and preachy in their expensive translation luther preached on 400 years ago in Germany and yet because they are faithful to the bible they can bless everyone in 2020 who trusts in Christ and reads them today a faithful work of theology is real ecumenicity a

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Lutheran can bless a Baptist on a journey you meet some

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Pentecostal Christians some people from a different denomination and they love the

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Lord and they read the bible and we feel one with them so I noticed how joel becky's new massive work that's appearing with theology he dedicates it to a

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Baptist he's reformed he dedicates it to Steve Lawson and he produces this reformed systematic theology that he's written with Paul Smalley who's a

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Baptist and so systematics historic Christianity furthers unity what the ecumenical movement has failed to do gospel

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Christianity does and again I rejoice because systematic theology satisfies our minds desire for systematization and you know we we listen to a sermon and we'd like to hear my first point is this my second point is this my third point we are moving preaching is about moving your hearers in a variety of ways in the bible you have a plan of redemption history redemption is a map and we are on pilgrimage

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Christian religion has a structure and a coherence and a development you think of the great word of Paul therefore and you know we say when you see the word therefore you ask what is it therefore and it is saying in the light of all that the apostle has written so far this is the consequence for you

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Romans 1 to 11 Christian theology chapter 12 present your body a living sacrifice to God because of the theology you've received this cause and this effect this logic this rationality there's the preposition so as a result seeing that then the great logic and development of the bible there's a really funny story

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Dr. Lloyd -Jones used to tell about a preacher he heard and he announced his text and Abram rose early and saddled his donkey the preacher then said to the congregation he had three points one the benefits of early rising two the ancient craft of saddle making and three a few words about the woman of Samaria where did she come from into the story of Abraham and Lloyd -Jones and we all laughed when he told us that story he was speaking about irrationality and the essential need for for preaching is it to be lucid for there to be order for there to be a logical structure and systematic theology provides this there is much doxology much cause for praise and thanks when we study and get engrossed in these old and wonderfully new works of systematic theology that's the first thing

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Chris I wanted to say this afternoon amen well we're going to go to our first break right now and if anybody would like to join us with a question of your own our email address is chrisarmson at gmail .com

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chrisarmson at gmail .com and as always please give us your first name at your city and state of residence and your country of residence if you live outside the

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Thank you. Welcome back. This is Chris Arnzen and our guest today for the full two hours is

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Reverend Jeff Thomas, who for over 50 years was pastor of Alford Place Baptist Church in Everest with Wales and he is an author and conference speaker globally known and loved and we are now in part two of a two -day discussion that we began yesterday on true theology and today we are specifically addressing benefiting from knowing true theology.

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Our email address is chrisarnzen at gmail .com c -h -r -i -s -a -r -n -z -e -n at gmail .com.

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If you have a question you'd like to ask, please give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence and your country of residence if you live outside the

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USA and please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal and private matter.

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If we could put some of these benefits of knowing true theology under a magnifying glass so that we can more thoroughly examine what this means because as we said yesterday sadly and tragically there are many voices in modern day

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Christendom who downplay knowing true theology, the importance of it.

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They even might go as far as vilifying those that are steadfast and determined and serious about knowing and teaching and declaring and defining true theology because they think that we are deadening what would otherwise be lively faith.

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They think that somehow knowing and studying and protecting and defending true theology somehow quenches the spirit which

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I think is nonsense but as far as the benefits go, I know too immediately, perhaps you could discuss in greater detail, when we know true theology we understand ourselves better and the condition and state we're in and what we need and we understand

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God much better. If you could go through those two aspects of benefits.

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Yeah, well firstly it's our God -given duty to understand what

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God has revealed to us. He's taken such pains in revealing through the prophets and the apostles and especially through Jesus Christ who he is and you know you hear men say oh it's difficult those those big words justification, sanctification, imputation, propitiation, oh it's so difficult but boy do they know about taxation and inflation and superannuation oh they know those things they just don't have the heart to study.

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Well they know all the stats on their favorite sporting team whether it be professional or college.

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Yeah, they'll never be able to say to God well

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I didn't know so you never gave me the resources. God will say didn't I give you scripture?

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Didn't I exhort you to search the scriptures? Didn't I give you the help of the Holy Spirit? Haven't I given you these excellent works of systematic theology?

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What did you do with your money? What did you study? Jewabiki has got five simple powerful reasons for our theology.

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One, God has spoken. Two, God has spoken so we must hear him.

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Three, God has spoken so we must obey him. Four, God has spoken so we must teach others about him.

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Five, God has spoken so we must glorify him.

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And so it's so important to grasp theology.

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It's a God -given duty. What does Paul say? In understanding be men.

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Be children in malice but in understanding grow up. And then it's very profitable for our

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Christian living. There was a guy who wrote to John Piper. He had a problem that had troubled him for some years.

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He was watching pornography on his computer. Could Dr. Piper help him? And this is what

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Dr. Piper said. Knowing God has a powerful effect on subduing passions.

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So here is what I'd say when addressing men like you who've been struggling with this temptation for a long time.

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I say this, I don't really know how deep or strong your knowledge of God is.

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So here is my assignment to you to help you overcome pornography. Get a copy of a systematic theology and read it cover to cover over the next six months.

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And then come and we will talk again about your problem with pornography.

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Now I think that's really excellent. There have been again some leaders, the evangelical leaders who've been revealed to be in desperate moral compromise and shame over the last months.

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And I wonder how familiar they have been with the mighty works of God in scripture.

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Because God has given us a sword to fight against sin. It's very powerful.

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And that sword is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

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And so my friends, I know it's not enough to know your theology.

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I've got very dear friends, experts in theology who've destroyed their ministries because of some weakness here.

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But you can be seriously weakening yourself if you don't know

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Christian teaching. Don't presume on your grasp of theology or your degree in theology or that you went through seminary.

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That's not going to keep you. We are all falling, stumbling, failing men.

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But theology draws us into God.

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It helps us to have a growing relationship with God. My late friend

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John and his wife were dressing one morning and he noticed that his wife had the first button in her cardigan into the second buttonhole.

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And then she did up all 12 buttons. And when she got to the top, she discovered a mistake.

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I do that almost every day. She made 12 because she'd made one fundamental mistake at first.

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So getting the truth right, getting the theology right is basic. It's essential for getting right in your life, right in your church, right in your experience, right in resisting temptation, and right in your chief hand glorifying and enjoying

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God. And then theology, it gives us balance.

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You know, our whole Christian life is a pilgrimage for balance. There are secret things that belong to God.

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We don't know the second coming. That's a secret thing, the date of it. There are revealed things that belong to us.

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Right. And you know many of those. It's your duty to bow the knee and trust in Jesus Christ and plead his life and his sacrifice as the basis of your hopes that God will accept you.

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Those things are very, very clear. So the universal love of God and the election of favored sinners, they're both there in the

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Bible. And so it's essential that we know the things

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God has taken pains to tell us. And here is our

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Savior, Jesus Christ. And he is God and he is man.

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He is God as though he were not man, and he is man as though he were not

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God. He is 100 % human and he's 100 % divine.

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100 % plus 100 % equals 100%.

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So he needs the Father to assist him, and yet he speaks and the winds and waves obey him.

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He never got to the point in his life where he or any of us can say, it's okay,

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Father. I don't need to pray. I can handle it. We go to God with a crushing sense of our weakness as creatures.

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So a balanced ministry faithful to these apparent antinomies of Scripture is essential.

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An all -around ministry is a balanced ministry and systematic theology then delivers us from riding a hobby horse or delivers us from being worldly or otherworldly.

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Both errors we've got to avoid. And then systematic theology protects us from error.

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You know they come to our doors and they're sweet people and their presence as they knock on the doors and give us some literature makes us feel guilty because we've got a better message than they have.

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And they're out on the doors and we're always very busy.

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I've got some flats that I own in Aberystwyth and some of the Christian students there, they keep leaflets and booklets ready for these people to come around and we've got some stuff to give them.

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I spoke of Jesus Christ to one lady at the door and she said, oh we think highly of him, but we don't want to put him on a pedestal, do we?

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I said, I worship him. I fall at his feet as if dead.

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You know our heresies develop Chris, they develop a doctrine at a time. The liberal says to us, we're not going to divide over the inviolability of scripture, are we?

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So off goes that doctrine. We're not going to divide over the doctrine of hell, are we?

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And so that doctrine goes. I remember sharing a meeting with Dr. Sinclair Ferguson preaching and I was the chairman and he was speaking on the

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Puritan understanding of the judgment of God and I chaired the question session that followed and I said to him, do you think the doctrine of eternal punishment for the unrepentant and the unbeliever is a trunk and branch doctrine or is it a leaf and twig doctrine?

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Those were the words I used and he said, oh it's a trunk and branch doctrine.

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It's mightily important. It displays the character of the

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God who is light, who is angry with the rapist and the murderer every day.

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You know there are two ways you can demolish a factory chimney. You can put scaffolding around it all the way up and then you can demolish it brick by brick or you can put dynamite under it and blow it up.

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And the liberal and the modernist approach is brick by brick. They say to us, we're not going to separate because of our difficulties with the virgin birth.

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We're not going to separate because we don't accept the propitiatory atonement of Calvary.

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We're not going to separate over the physical resurrection of Christ, the second coming and one by one, doctrine by doctrine,

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Christianity is demolished. You know the story of the family in a sledge going across the frozen

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Russian steppes and a pack of wolves sees them and chases them.

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So to speed up their flight they start to throw out the luggage and that helps for a while then the wolves catch them up again.

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So then they throw off grandpapa and that slows them for a while then the wolf pack catches them again.

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Grandma, she gets thrown out next, then the children and then the man throws off his wife and just as he arrives very near the city of refuge without luggage, parents, children, wife, everything else, the wolf pack falls on him and he never gets to safety.

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That's what modernism does. The faith has been attacked since the enlightenment.

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Doctrine after doctrine has been discarded so that what is left today is very, very little fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man.

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And where is there redemption from our lost state in those two doctrines?

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We need, we need all of theology, all the Bible we need, because all the

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Bible is essential for our salvation. Amen. And we do have an anonymous listener who says, if it were not for the theology that comes from my

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Reformed heritage, I would be totally in a state of despair and who knows might even be considering suicide because of the real difficult trials and struggles

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I've experienced in my life. When I know that God is in sovereign control and that he is a reason and specific purposes for everything for which

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I am going through, it gives me a peace that I can't explain in the midst of all the pain and agony and suffering.

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I know that this is not just meaninglessness that I am experiencing and I know that God means every single minute of what

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I am going through for my good ultimately. I don't understand how those who reject

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God's sovereign authority and control over all things could possibly find peace in their lives when they are experiencing trials, especially those of enormous magnitude, and especially perhaps even more so when a loved one dies without Christ.

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How the non -Reformed can possibly sleep at night knowing that according to their own theology, if they had only done one more kind act in the name of Christ, if they had only evangelized that person one more time or more articulately or more boldly or more patiently, that you could go on and on and on with the what -ifs, but we don't need what -ifs when we truly trust in the sovereignty of God.

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Can your guest comment on the importance of believing in the total sovereignty of God, especially in the midst of painful trials?

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Well, that is wonderful. Thank you very much for writing that and sending that in.

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I wish I could be as articulate and helpful in saying those things.

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You're right, what we owe to what we were taught in the

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Catechism classes. What is man's chief end? What is your chief end? Man's chief end is to glorify

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God and enjoy him forever. Not out of fun, but to honor and please

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God in all I do. What is my only hope in life and death? Ah, that I'm not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior.

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The great Heidelberg Catechism first question and answer. These questions that bring to us the story of a loving

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Heavenly Father who will not allow us to be tried above that we are able to bear, but he will with every trial make a way of escape, but we'll be able to bear it, that he is in control, that he doesn't allow things to come into our life that are going to destroy us.

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He doesn't explain everything now, why she died.

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Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we're going to see face to face.

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God is going to explain to our total satisfaction why the accident, why the loss, why the heartache that we went through.

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Heaven is not going to be a world where we are frustrated forever and ever not knowing.

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We will be content to know the will of God for us.

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And the secret for that, you know, the Christian contentment is to go to God and say, thy will be done.

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What I want in my life is to know my

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Heavenly Father's in control and what I want is his will for my life.

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in the show because grace life radio 90 .1 FM in lake city florida requires of us a longer break in the middle of the show so that they can localize iron sharpens iron radio to lake city florida which is a requirement of the

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FCC they air their own public service announcements during this break and other local things while we air our globally heard commercials so use this time wisely write down as many of the as much of the information for as many of the advertisers that you hear as you can so that you can more frequently and successfully patronize them that will further ensure that our advertisers will be happy when they keep hearing from our listeners and that they will continue advertising on our show because we require their funding as advertisers to exist we could not survive without our advertisers so please try to keep them happy as much as you can and send in those questions to chris arnson at gmail .com

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chris arnson at gmail .com don't go away we'll be back after these messages from our sponsors with more of jeff thomas iron sharpens iron radio depends upon the financial support of fine christian organizations to remain on the air like the historical bible society the historical bible society maintains a collection of christian books manuscripts and bibles of historical significance spanning nearly a thousand years the mission of hbs is the preservation and public display of ancient scripture dissemination of scripture to provide tools equipping believers and christian apologetics with evidence for the bible's reliability and to introduce reformation literature and christian art to a broader audience since 2004 hbs has toured schools and churches throughout the northeast united states reaching thousands of believers and non -believers alike who are hungry for knowledge of the bible hbs's founder daniel p buttafuoco attorney at law is committed to sharing this collection along with an inspirational historical message that will captivate you and your church come journey through their website historicalbiblesociety .org

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the collection includes a complete 11th century bible an actual page of the gutenberg bible from 1455 the first book ever printed the geneva bible the 1611 king james bible and much much more visit historicalbiblesociety .org

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today thank you daniel p buttafuoco attorney at law for your faithful support of ironsharp and zion radio james white of alphanomega ministries in the dividing line webcast here although god has brought me all over the globe for many years to teach preach and debate at numerous venues some of my very fondest memories are from those precious times of fellowship with pastor rich jensen and the brethren at hope reform baptist church now located at their new beautiful facilities in corham long island new york i've had the privilege of opening god's word from their pulpit on many occasions have led youth retreats for them and have always been thrilled to see their members filling many seats at my new york debates i do not hesitate to highly recommend hope reform baptist church of corham long island to anyone who wants to be accurately taught discipled and edified by the holy scriptures and to be surrounded by truly loving and caring brothers and sisters in christ i also want to congratulate hope reform baptist church of corham for the recent appointment of pastor rich jensen's co -elder pastor christopher mcdowell for more information on hope reform baptist church go to hope reformed li .net

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that's hope reformed li .net or call 631 -696 -5711 that's 631 -696 -5711 tell the folks at hope reform baptist church of corham long island that you heard about them from james white on iron sharpens iron radio when iron sharpens iron radio first launched in 2005 the publishers of the new american standard bible were among my very first sponsors it gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the iron sharpens iron radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the nasb i'm pastor brandon scalf of cruciform bible church in indianapolis indiana and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor chris hatton of grace chapel in sanford florida and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm jack wilkie minister of the forney church of christ in forney texas and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor mike wishowski of westminster chapel in ballground georgia and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor steve cooley of bethlehem bible church in west boston massachusetts and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor brock evans from wading river baptist church in wading river long island new york and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor tom lasser of crispview baptist church in big spring texas and the nasb is my bible of choice here's a great way for your church to help keep iron sharpens iron radio on the air pastors are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart consider restocking your pews with the nasb and tell the publishers you heard about them from chris arnson on iron sharpens iron radio go to nasbible .com

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that's nasbible .com to place your order hi this is john sampson pastor of king's church in peoria arizona taking a moment of your day to talk about chris arnson and the iron sharpens iron podcast i consider chris a true friend and a man of high integrity he's a skilled interviewer who's not afraid to ask the big penetrating questions while always defending the key doctrines of the christian faith i've always been happy to point people to this podcast knowing it's one of the very few safe places on the internet where folk won't be led astray i believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide this is a day of great spiritual compromise and yet god has raised chris up for just such a time and knowing this it's up to us as members of the body of christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and in finances i'm pleased to do so and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining me in supporting iron sharpens iron financially would you consider sending either a one -time gift or even becoming a regular monthly partner with this ministry i know it would be a huge encouragement to chris if you would all the details can be found at iron sharpens iron radio .com

01:00:02

where you can click support that's iron sharpens iron radio .com so as host of iron sharpens iron radio i frequently get requests from listeners for church recommendations a church i've been strongly recommending as far back as the 1980s is grace covenant baptist church in flemington new jersey pastored by alan dunn grace covenant baptist church believes it's god's prerogative to determine how he shall be worshiped and how he shall be represented in the world they believe churches need to turn to the bible to discover what to include in worship and how to worship god in spirit and truth grace covenant baptist church endeavors to maintain a god -centered focus reading preaching and hearing the word of god singing psalms hymns and spiritual songs baptism and communion are the scriptural elements of their corporate worship performed with faith joy and sobriety discover more about grace covenant baptist church in flemington new jersey at gcbcnj .squarespace

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.com that's gcbcnj .squarespace .com

01:01:23

or call them at 908 -996 -7654 that's 908 -996 -7654 tell pastor dunn that you heard about grace covenant baptist church on iron sharpens iron radio 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

01:02:50

that's liyfc .org was your business shut down during the covid19 pandemic depriving you of earning any money causing you to default on your rent as you try to survive without income maybe you've had to close your doors for good the good news you thought was that you purchased business interruption insurance as a part of your business liability policy with a major insurance company who told you they are a good neighbor or that you would be in good hands you filed a claim only to be told that it was denied due to the pandemic exclusion clause the pandemic exclusion since 2006 most insurance companies added this clause to enable them to deny your income loss claims in the event of a worldwide pandemic do not give up no matter what state you live in call buttafuco and associates now at 1 -800 -669 -4878 buttafuco and associates is a part of a large multi -district litigation and they are working with lead council to bring what they believe will be a successful lawsuit for these claims it is the best way for you to proceed there's absolutely no risk to you you do not have to pay them out of pocket and there is no fee unless you recover on your claim you need to call 1 -800 -669 -4878 right now trust the law firm where the attorneys at one of the largest business firms on long island new york are sending their own clients for representation during this lawsuit buttafuco and associates here to help business owners rebuild their lives in the wake of the pandemic call 1 -800 -669 -4878 linbrook baptist church on 225 earl avenue in linbrook 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 and 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 waldeman and i invite you to come and join us here at linbrook baptist church and see all that a church can be call linbrook baptist at 516 -599 -9402 that's 516 -599 -9402 or visit linbrookbaptist .org

01:05:58

that's linbrookbaptist .org we are excited to announce another new member of the iron sharpens iron radio advertising family bhanu gadi owner of three new york pharmacies lee's drugs of floral park long beach chemists and prescription center of long island in hempstead bhanu gadi earned a doctorate in pharmacy degree and is very knowledgeable on the current coronavirus pandemic please contact dr gadi so he and his expert staff can give you proper guidance amid all the contradictory confusion we are all hearing in the media to find the pharmacy nearest you call 516 -354 -2000 that's 516 -354 -2000 or order online at lee's drugs rx .com

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that's l -e -e -s drugs rx .com don't forget to ask about their discount generic drug program greetings in the matchless name of our jesus christ my name is bhanu gadi i am a pharmacist in new york which is the epicenter of the latest crisis the world is going through in psalm 139 verse 14 the psalmist offers praise to the lord like this i praise you because i am fearfully and wonderfully made and wondrous are your works that my soul knows very well he saw god's goodness and mercy kindness and the beauty in what god has designed and he has erupted into praise in any crisis or problem brothers and sisters our only fallback position is to trust god's design and once we do there is nothing for us to do but to erupt in praise to him when the whole world is searching for a solution god in his infinite mercy has given us what we need to address this illness which can be very serious such is the beauty of his design knowing that design how can we not erupt in praise to our great god like the psalmist did may god bless you and give all of us wisdom to see greater things in his design thank you so 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 will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves 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

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that's solid -ground -books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past or present you can unearth from solid ground solid ground christian books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of iron sharpens iron radio and don't forget folks that solid -ground -books .com

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is a vital a very very important essential sponsor of this program without their continued support we would likely not remain on the air barring a miracle from god so please uh whatever you can and as often as you can and as generously as you can purchase books not only for yourself to replenish your own library but for those you love from solid -ground -books .com

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solid -ground -books .com and you're not only going to be doing them a favor and you're not only going to be doing us a favor by making our advertiser happy you're going to be doing yourself and anyone for whom you purchase gifts from solid -ground -books .com

01:10:16

a huge favor because they carry the finest in christian literature from the past and present and i know that my guest jeff thomas has a great fondness for solid ground christian books and its founder mike gadosh is that not true brother dear brother he's preaching to me he's been to arborist chris you've never been there yet yes he's a oh on that work on those books yes he's been a blessing to thousands of people amen and uh so remember to go to solid -ground -books .com

01:10:55

as frequently as you can and as generously as you can uh and uh keep that ministry going always remember to mention chris arms in a vine trip and sign radio whenever you make a purchase at solid -ground -books .com

01:11:09

before we return to jeff thomas and our discussion today on the benefits from knowing true theology we just have a couple of announcements to make uh this thursday we have kurt smith returning to our program for part two of a discussion he began last thursday on thundering the word the awakening ministry of george whitfield that's this thursday the 22nd of october then on friday we have joining us for the very first time ever on iron sharpens iron radio tim clary who is the author of a massive 500 page book hardcover carved in stone geologic evidence of the worldwide flood and we are going to be giving away copies of this book to those blessed few people who send in good questions good enough questions to read on the air and are among the first to do so to win these books very expensive books very massive books that you could use as a deadly weapon if you wanted to if somebody breaks into your house very very large heavy book and we want to thank cumberland valley bible book service cvbbs .com

01:12:29

for shipping those books out because that will certainly cost them a pretty penny in shipping costs uh then the week after uh tim clary or next week i should say from the 26th through the 30th of october the last week of october we have a five -day tribute to the late greg bonson who is known by many to be the father of modern day christian apologetics and every day we're going to have at least one perhaps even two or more guests who are experts on the life legacy and teaching of greg bonson some of whom knew him personally very well and some who have just benefited enormously from his writing and preaching and teaching and debating so we hope that you mark a calendar for the 26th through the 30th of october for our five -day tribute to greg bonson uh also folks if you love this show and you do not want it to disappear from the airwaves please go as frequently as you can to iron trump and zion radio .com

01:13:44

click support then click click to donate now you can donate instantly with a debit or credit card by doing that i'm urging you folks to please do that because we are in urgent need of your financial help we are definitely in jeopardy of the possibility of going off the air if we do not have a increase in our giving and advertising and uh so please help us out if you've never given before please consider giving to us and if you've already given please consider giving again and perhaps even uh giving a greater amount because of our urgency in financial help uh if you prefer sending in a check via snail mail you can send that check made payable to iron trump and zion radio to the address that appears on your screen when you click support at iron trump and zion radio .com

01:14:43

i want to thank everybody from the very depths of my heart who already is doing this please know that i do not take for granted or take lightly your generosity especially during a time like this when many people are hurting financially during this covid pandemic hysteria and so i thank god for you every day who are helping us remain on the air through your generosity also if you want to advertise with us send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:15:16

and as long as whatever it is you're promoting is compatible with what we believe you don't have to believe identically with me but you need to be promoting something that's at the very least compatible with what i believe then i will help you to launch that ad campaign as quickly as possible because we are in urgent need of those advertising dollars so send that email to chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:15:37

chrisarnson at gmail .com and put advertising in the subject line and remember folks please never siphon money away from your regular giving that you're accustomed to to your local church where you are a member in order to give to iron trump and zion radio in other words don't punish your church by blessing iron trump and zion radio never do that and never put your family in serious financial jeopardy if you're struggling to survive and make ends meet already never further put your family in a hole by giving to iron trump and zion radio those two things are commands of god to provide for your church and your family providing for my radio show is obviously not a command of scripture but if you love the show you don't want it to disappear please i'm urging you please go to iron trump and zion radio as frequently as you can and give as generously as you can if you are blessed financially above and beyond your ability to obey those two commands providing for church and home we once again are in urgent need and we praise god every time we hear from one of you with a gift no matter how large or small we are in urgent need also folks if you are in need of a church home if you no matter where you live in the world if you are not a member of a good solid bible believing church and you're not aware of one that's near you i have helped people already all over the planet earth find churches sometimes within just a few minutes drive of their own home that they didn't even realize existed so please if you're in that predicament of not having a good solid church no matter where you live i do have lists extensive lists of faithful churches all over the world so perhaps i can help you send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:17:27

and put i need a church in the subject line that's chrisarnson at gmail .com but i need a church in the subject line and that's also the email address where you can send in a question to jeff thomas with a question on what we are discussing today the benefits from knowing true theology that's chrisarnson at gmail .com

01:17:47

chrisarnson at gmail .com and we do have another listener we have a listener from bb in cumberland county pennsylvania who says why is it that god in his sovereignty seems to have only revealed the deeper truths of his word such as those in reform theology to a certain select number of people not that those people were any more deserving of knowing this truth uh or that they are better in any way but for some reason god who's over all things in authority has only chosen a minority of the church it seems to discover and cherish these precious truths that we all who are reformed enjoy and benefit from yeah that's uh that question comes in a quickly after the life of christ and his apostles did the church lose its way and did error develop and paul is battling with it in one of the first letters the oldest manuscript in the new testament is galatians say it could be the first thing to be written and uh there paul is having to deal with absolute basic things and they taught him as their teacher and instructor um and then in the uh centuries that followed why did the church go further and further away and move into uh arianism and sacerdotalism and why then in the um years following the reformation was there a counter -reformation and why did liberalism rise and take over scottish gospel churches of great vitality and love and holiness and these uh these churches dwindled and closed why why did this happen and why so few well it is the answer in the end of course is because of the power of the god of this world the spirit that now is at work in the children of disobedience and because of the power of remaining sin in the lives of the christians let alone that the world men and women are dead in trespasses and sins the spirit of disobedience gives them people a lie and power to believe that lie and i think we are underestimating the enormous power that the devil and sin and the attraction of the world has uh we are fighting not against flesh and blood we are fighting against principalities powers rulers of the darkness of this world spiritual wickedness in high places those are mighty enemies and they are doing all in their power to defeat the gospel of jesus christ who is the summation and perfection of god's loving and free grace we thought when there was an initial enthusiasm for the ministry of lloyd jones and the publications of the banner of truth and the growth of some great preachers in america we thought we were going to see then a mighty explosion a great awakening we didn't realize we were in for the long haul and then we've got to encourage one another and say look brother there's this there's this program this iron iron there are these seminaries um six eight of which never existed when i came to philadelphia in 1961 and now thousands of men are studying for the ministry look at the wonderful thing that's happened in louisville with the southern baptist assembly 72 evangelical professors there and many many of them reformed in their theology um think of what that might do for the the largest protestant denomination the southern baptists so um you balance your bleak analysis of how dark rings are with uh an awareness of why because of the power of sin and the devil and who you balance it with yet look look at the popular radio broadcasts they are men who speak at banner of truth conferences um look at the books that are coming out these days look at the conferences that are so well attended um are we've got much to thank god for yes and uh there is a different phenomenon going on when god unconditionally elects uh his children and when he regenerates them it has absolutely nothing to do with anything within them at all but there is something different about that from regenerate people when we come to a deeper understanding of god's truth and when we become stronger and more christ -like in our sanctification that actually does involve our hard work and study and prayerfully uh asking god to prevent us from letting our own uh traditions and our own desires or what makes us comfortable when we are trying to exegete the word that may be causing us not to see uh some of these deeper truths that are in the word and i'm not just laying this blame at the feet of our non -reformed brethren because even we who are reformed don't perfectly understand the bible nobody on the planet earth perfectly understands and nobody will until we are face to face in glory for eternity with christ but isn't there in a different way uh than god's election and his regeneration of lost sinners which does not involve us in our input doesn't our understanding of the deeper truths of christian teaching doesn't that involve us uh plowing in and plunging into the the word and and rolling up our sleeves and doing some hard work of course there's something good about a fight isn't there and you know um in uh one of the puritans he says he would rather be felled by a lion than stung by a crowd of wasps that's true it's a big mighty enemy we're up against well then let's be strong and strong in our battle against him and let's go back again and again to the sovereignty of god because he's in charge um of him through him to him are all things so we've got to be careful when we say um you know i don't understand why god is doing this such and such as we don't understand but we will understand one day let's trust and obey him amen and let's see here we uh do have uh we have john and banger maine who asks can you give us at least a brief list of those things that you think are scriptural truth that cannot be strayed ignored or rejected in order to be a truly obedient and honorable christian wow you're asking for what are the what i described as the trunk and branch truths of gospel which are summarily comprehended in the brief confessions of faith that christian organizations some christian schools and missionary societies have adopted as their basis 10 great points of doctrine and they are important and they would be of course the trustworthiness and truthfulness of the bible the trinity the father is god the son is god the holy spirit is god and these three are one god that jesus christ is a hundred percent god and a hundred percent man um and these two natures are not intermingled but he is one person he never says but we say unto you he always says but i say unto you and then the way of salvation is through jesus christ it's through his righteous obedience as the second adam to the law of god and his submission to the judgment of the law of god for sin and for sinners when he dies as our substitute vicariously on the cross and then there is the great soldiers of the reformation we're saved then by god's grace alone through our faith in jesus christ alone and to the glory of god alone by what we believe is the authority of the bible alone speaking to us and then the holy spirit is a person and he has inspired scripture and he enlightens and illuminates our minds and he regenerates us and he makes us new creations and he comes and sets up his abode in us and then as the church of the people of god and we should all belong to a gospel congregation and then um there is the end of the world coming when no man knows it but christ will come and all his holy angels with the trumpet of the lord shall sound and there will be then the the great resurrection and all of us must appear before the judgment seat of christ and we must receive our eternal destinies from his lips and there will be the eternal state there will be the bifurcation of humanity there will be a heaven as a gift and a hell that is deserved and there will be a new heavens and a new earth where where righteousness will dwell and those are the fundamental doctrines briefly summarized by me which are all non -negotiable which you uh receive because god emphasizes in proportion those great truths amen and we're going to go to our final break right now and it's going to be much more brief than the last two breaks so if you'd like to join us send in that question before we run out of time to chris arnzen at gmail .com

01:31:30

chris arnzen at gmail .com that's c -h -r -i -s -a -r -n -z -e -n at gmail .com

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please as always 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 back with jeff thomas right after these messages from our sponsors when iron sharpens iron radio first launched in 2005 the publishers of the new american standard bible were among my very first sponsors it gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the iron sharpens iron radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the nasb i'm dr tony costa professor of apologetics and islam at the toronto baptist seminary and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor jeff downs of knox reform presbyterian church in mechanicsville virginia and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor mark rimaldi of grace reform baptist church of long island in merritt new york and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor scott pisolo of the master's church of bucks county pennsylvania and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor kevin venue of the bible church for washington new york and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor andrew smith of christ reformed community church in saint augustine florida and the nasb is my bible of choice i'm pastor clint lighter of highway m chapel sedalia missouri and the nasb is my bible of choice here's a great way for your church to help keep iron sharpens iron radio on the air pastors are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart consider restocking your pews with the nasb and tell the publishers you heard about them from chris arnzen on iron sharpens iron radio go to nasbible .com

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that's nasbible .com to place your order james white of alphanomega 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 and buttery soft imported leathers in a wide variety of gorgeous colors like the turquoise goat skin tanned in italy used for my nessie all 128th edition with a navy blue goat skin inside liner and the electric blue goat skin 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 ptl bible rebinding .com

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that's ptl bible rebinding .com i'm dr tony costa professor of apologetics and islam at toronto baptist seminary i'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where i've been invited to speak and have grown to love hope reform baptist church in corham long island new york pastored by rich jensen and christopher mcdowell it's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of god like the dear saints at hope reform baptist church in corham who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of christ in his holy word and to enthusiastically proclaim christ jesus the king and his doctrines of sovereign grace in suffolk county long island and beyond i hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing of being showered by their love as i have for more information on church go to hope reformed li .net

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that's hope reformed li .net or call 631 -696 -5711 that's 631 -696 -5711 tell the folks at hope reform baptist church of corham long island new york that you heard about them from tony costa on iron sharpens iron was your business shut down during the covid 19 pandemic depriving you of earning any money causing you to default on your rent as you try to survive without income maybe you've had to close your doors for good the good news you thought was that you purchased business interruption insurance as a part of your business liability policy with a major insurance company who told you they are a good neighbor or that you would be in good hands you filed a claim only to be told that it was denied due to the pandemic exclusion clause the pandemic exclusion since 2006 most insurance companies added this clause to enable them to deny your income loss claims in the event of a worldwide pandemic do not give up no matter what state you live in call buttafuoco and associates now at 1 -800 -669 -4878 buttafuoco and associates is a part of a large multi -district litigation and they are working with lead council to bring what they believe will be a successful lawsuit for these claims it is the best way for you to proceed there's absolutely no risk to you you do not have to pay them out of pocket and there is no fee unless you recover on your claim you need to call 1 -800 -669 -4878 right now trust the law firm where the attorneys at one of the largest business firms on long island new york are sending their own clients for representation during this lawsuit buttafuoco and associates here to help business owners rebuild their lives in the wake of the pandemic call 1 -800 -669 -4878 this is pastor bill sasso grace church at franklin here in the beautiful state of tennessee our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support iron sharpens iron radio financially grace church at franklin is an independent autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole counsel of god as revealed in scripture through the person and work of our lord jesus christ and of course the end of which we strive is the glory of god if you live near franklin tennessee and franklin is just south of nashville maybe 10 minutes or you are visiting this area or you have friends and loved ones nearby we hope you will join us some lord's day in worshiping our god and savior please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about grace church at franklin our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org

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that's gracechurchatfranklin .org this is pastor bill sasser wishing you all the richest blessings of our sovereign lord god savior and king jesus christ today and always charles headings burgeon once said give yourself unto reading the man who never reads will never be read he who never quotes will never be quoted he will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves 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 it's 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

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that's solid -ground -books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past or 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 irons and 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 cvbbs .com

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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 cvbbs .com

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that's cvbbs .com let todd and patty know that you heard about them on iron sharpens iron radio we are excited to announce another new member of the iron sharpens iron radio advertising family banu gadi owner of three new york pharmacies lee's drugs of floral park long beach chemists and prescription center of long island in hempstead banu gadi earned a doctorate in pharmacy degree and is very knowledgeable on the current coronavirus pandemic please contact dr gadi so he and his expert staff can give you proper guidance amid all the contradictory confusion we are all hearing in the media to find the pharmacy nearest you call 516 -354 -2000 that's 516 -354 -2000 or order online at lee's drugs rx .com

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that's l -e -e -s drugs rx .com don't forget to ask about their discount generic drug program welcome back this is chris arenson and we have been discussing uh with our friend jeff thomas author conference speaker pastor benefiting from knowing true theology and if you'd like to join us on the air our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com

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if you have a question and we do have bobby in hartsdale new york and bobby in hartsdale new york says don't you think that sometimes we who are reformed isolate those that disagree with us too much outside of our fellowship and therefore we're preventing them other than the grace of god from hearing and discovering and embracing these truths that we hold to be precious we act as if that they should know these things without having the benefit of fellowship with brethren who already know them yeah well i wrote a biography of a a great construction leader uh earnest reisinger and uh oh yes he's the founder of the church where i'm a member yes right and uh there we are earnest was the very antipathy of of how our brother has described some reformed people and he he was involved with people and took them out for meals and had time to them and played softball with them and spoke to them and cared for them and uh he's a great example uh to me of uh what um personal evangelism should be um we have to give a reason for the hope that's in us well because people are asking us you know you're such a hopeful guy you you seem to be so positive and oh look at the covid 19 now and look at the trouble it's doing a look at the political state where are our leaders people are so pessimistic uh but but you are not uh but what's your reason and you you give a reason and you give meekly don't you uh and you you give it with reverence and respect um because once you start to feel superior to someone and are talking down to him you lost him he's someone that's created by god who will live as long as god and you you want to win him over and uh so you are much in prayer and um there are the great commands go into all the world don't wait for people to come to you you go and make disciples of them where are you going where's your mission field um your family your neighbors the men and women you work with these are the places where god has put you and so a man once said to me you know we shouldn't pray god use me we should pray god make me usable and that's what you should do uh make me a a clean vessel a holy vessel fill me with love for jesus christ build me up in in in grace and and faith and so that um i can be a clean vessel through whom the flowing holy spirit of jesus christ can come out and meet uh people who we really do need to be evangelistic and that comes from having a close walk with christ that he's the most important person in the world to us uh and so we must pray what john the baptist prayed when he spoke to jesus he said that he must decrease and christ must increase and let that be our prayer in the weeks to come praise god we have let's see here we have rj in white plains new york and rj says don't you think that very all too often reformed people like us are not realizing that we have no reason to be timid when being out in the public square engaging in public dialogue and discussion and debate with those outside of our faith people seem to think that if we allow those who disagree with us to be involved in public disagreement that they will be deceived by those who are our opponents but we have to remember that those who are of god's elect will not be deceived i'm not saying that we should be flippant and haphazard by exposing falsehood to true children of god but at the same time we should not be paralyzed in fear and prevent which would prevent us from being involved in these public open exchanges with those who have not yet embraced the gospel i guess he's uh he's probably talking about debates and things like that they're done in an orderly and uh i would say a gracious manner not ugly nasty exchanges in public but those like i have been involved in organizing debates for many years since 1995 when i organized my first debate and i uh some have criticized me because they say i'm giving a public forum to an unbeliever but i don't think that my believes my beliefs in the doctrines of grace should not permit me to be timid about things like that so i'm echoing what our listener is saying what do you have to say about that i i wish i'd had more opportunity um i i would become more familiar with uh and the arguments that people bring up and uh rosario butterfield is a a wonderful uh christian a pastor's wife who now um debates in uh universities um the christian view of sexuality she's doing a wonderful work there and when we admire her and how do you how do you manage it how do you cope and she says well really there's only about four different angles four different questions that uh they bring to me when they ask me about lesbians and homosexuals and and i've heard them so often and um it it's become um much easier for me of course she's dependent on the holy spirit for his assistant and she's dependent on the knowledge that the bible gives her and she walks with god and then god opens up more opportunities for her she has obviously prayed lord make me usable and then he has and he is using her um maybe that's why we are you and i are not being used as much in uh defending the faith publicly as we should because we're not as knowledgeable and as caring and as holy and as patient and as discerning and loving as we need to be and so um oh i hope you will grow more and i will grow more in grace and that we will have more opportunities in trusting us for this defense of the faith i am set for the defense of the gospel amen and we have an anonymous listener who says i am in a church that is not reformed and i am finding myself more drawn to these teachings could you recommend to me please the finest in commentaries and other books other than the bible of course that would help me better understand these doctrines known as reformed and calvinist yes um there are a number of banal truth paperbacks like walt shantree's today's gospel and ian murray's um the forgotten spiritual and there is a book by um arthur pink called the sovereignty of god and um one of the best books on the doctrine of election is by r .c.

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uh chosen by god um there are excellent simple introductions to christianity uh and uh the more you start to read those books i mentioned and follow up one book will mention another and uh you will move on from one to another and there are excellent broadcasts during the week some of the fine preachers on the radio today i mean men like alistair begg they are um exceptionally powerful and we listen to john macarthur on our way to the church prayer meeting every he broadcasts in london every uh wednesday night from seven to seven thirty and he's on at that time nearly every day of the week uh grace for you um those are popular living vital presentations of the we read day by day a daily portion of scripture called table talk which the ligonier publishers bring out and that again is a wonderful introduction in simple short passages on the great truths of the reformation and so those would be some of things that i would recommend to you i am immediately reminded of a book that has changed titles uh that i gave to a dear friend of mine who's actually a sponsor of this program a major sponsor dan buttafuoco who's an attorney you hear his ads every day in this show uh dan was an elder in the assembly of god pentecostal denomination and he still is a member of that denomination he is just retired from being an elder but back in the 1990s i gave him a book that at the time was titled grace unknown and today it is retitled what is reform theology understanding the basics and that's again by rc sproll and it's published by baker i gave that book to dan as a christmas present back in the 90s and he said are you kidding me you're giving me propaganda for a christmas present and he he called me up on new year's day and said brother i have not been asleep i could not fall asleep i could not put this book down you gave me i believe in every word that rc sproll is teaching in this book and dan remains a believer in the doctrines of sovereign grace to this day so i highly recommend that book and you can get that at cvbbs .com

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cvbbs .com also any book on theology and doctrine at solid -ground -books .com

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would be excellent they only carry excellent books solid -ground -books .com and let's not forget that our guest today jeff thomas has quite a number of books that he has written banner of truth for instance publishes his book philip and the revival in samaria and reading the bible and the book that he mentioned before earnest rate earnest riesinger a biography those are all available at banner of truth .org

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banner of truth .org and also reformation heritage books they publish what is true religion cultivating biblical godliness by our friend jeff thomas and reading the bible and uh yes uh i'm sorry not yes you could have it all you could have it all yes that's yeah that's the latest and uh brown low north the all -around evangelist and there are other books as well that you could get at heritagebooks .org

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heritagebooks .org and by the way you can get all of these books at the website of our sponsor cumberland valley bible book service cvbbs .com