June 16, 2020 Show with Mack Tomlinson on “The Importance of Being Zealous for Good Works”

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June 16, 2020 MACK TOMLINSON, author, conference speaker & pastor @ Providence Chapel, Denton, TX, who will address: “The IMPORTANCE of BEING ZEALOUS For GOOD WORKS”

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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 a 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.
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And now, here's your host, Chris Arnzen. Good afternoon,
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Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet
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Earth who are listening via live streaming at IronSharpensIronRadio .com.
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This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Tuesday on the 16th day of June, 2020.
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And I'm thrilled to have back on the program a returning guest named
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Mack Tomlinson. Everybody who listens regularly to this program will know that that name is very familiar to them.
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He is a frequent guest on this broadcast and we love having him back every time he has the opportunity.
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In fact, we're going to have him on two days in a row this week, both today and tomorrow,
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Wednesday, June 17th. Mack is an author, a conference speaker, and the pastor at Providence Chapel in Denton, Texas.
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Today, on day one of our two -day interview, we are going to be addressing the importance of being zealous for good works.
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Tomorrow, we'll be addressing every relationship made right. But as far as today's broadcast, the importance of being zealous for good works, we look forward to hearing
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Mack Tomlinson expound upon that. It's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Mack Tomlinson.
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Thanks, Chris, for having me back. It's always a blessing. Well, for our listeners who have not heard you before, why don't you let them know about Providence Chapel in Denton, Texas.
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Yeah, we are a Reformed Baptistic Church here in Denton, a university town about a half hour north of Dallas -Fort
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Worth. And the church has been here about 20 years.
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And the Lord has blessed us with godly families and good gospel outreach.
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And so we're seeing the Lord bring in new people by way of conversion and additions.
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And we're glad to be meeting Him once again after this
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COVID period. We've been meeting again as a church about four weeks. And so we're just thankful to the
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Lord that He's letting Providence Chapel continue to shine the light of the gospel here in North Texas.
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Amen. And for anybody wanting to look up more information on Providence Chapel in Denton, Texas, just go to ProvidenceDenton .org.
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And that's ProvidenceDenton .org. And keep praying for my brother, my oldest brother,
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John, who lives very close to Providence Chapel and to Mack Tomlinson.
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I pray that the Lord so touches his heart that he is welcoming another visit from Pastor Mack as my brother has critical stage emphysema and other health problems.
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And I would love to have the greatest confidence and peace of mind being rest assured that he is going to be in glory with Christ for eternity whenever the
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Lord chooses to take him off this earth that we live on.
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Well, this is a very obviously an important subject that you have us starting off these two days of interviews, the importance of being zealous for good works.
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And I think that is a very important phrase that you've added to the title, being zealous for good works, because people may be so full of themselves that they think they are already regularly doing many good works, and they may be resting on their laurels and not doing as much for the glory of God as they can.
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And so being zealous for good works is a better way of phrasing that.
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And, of course, good works has always been, as long as God's people have been on this planet, have been the source of major controversies on how and where to place good works in the life of the
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Christian and in the life of the gospel itself.
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And there are those from the Church of Rome and from all of the world's false religions who believe that good works actually merit salvation in some level for those who are gaining entrance into heaven or whatever eternal state that religion happens to offer for those who are obedient.
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And then you have those on the other side of the spectrum who, in a twisted way of saying that Christ's grace is all -sufficient and powerful and wonderful, which it is, but in the twisted version of that, men are not responsible for good works at all, both of them equally serious heresies and equally damning as far as I'm concerned.
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Why did you want to talk about this subject today? Well, yeah, thank you for that intro there,
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Chris, because it's a good way to frame the subject. You know, there's deep pits to fall into on both sides of this truth because, you know, you talk to the average person in America today that's ignorant of the gospel.
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They really have in their mind that they'll be good enough to get to heaven even though they love sin and love darkness, but they believe this lie of human goodness.
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And so they're really banking on their good works outweighing any badness they've done.
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And so we know that's deep error and against the Bible. But then the other side of the spectrum is, for the
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Christian and true Christianity, there are those who believe such a wrong view of grace that they don't believe that good works are all that important.
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And yet the Bible is clear on this subject about being zealous on both of those sides because I think of Paul's words in Romans 12, 11.
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He says to the Roman Christians, Do not be slothful in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, serving the
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Lord. So we're clearly called there by the apostle to be possessed by holy and true zeal.
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And one of my favorite authors of all time, I guess my favorite author of all time,
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Ian Murray, said this, quote, A dull, half -hearted Christian is a poor representation of Christ and of the gospel.
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So if we're dull and half -hearted about our service and not zealous, then we're not really representing
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Christ well to a lost and dying world. So when we think about spiritual zeal, we need to think of it in terms of conformity to the image of Christ.
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Because if we're to grow in grace, if we're to increase in Christlikeness, we often think in terms of growing in love or growing in holiness or faithfulness to the church.
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But what about this area of zeal? That, too, is to become more
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Christlike because our Lord was a man of zeal. So zeal is a mark of true
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Christianity, and it's a mark of being a true Christian. In fact, the
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Bible says that zeal is a mark of heaven. The angels continually are filled with holy passion in heaven.
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And God's work is even described in Scripture as being done by the zeal of the
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Lord of hosts. So if zeal is not present, it's not really biblical
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Christianity. Wouldn't lack of zeal be evidence of a lack of love and a lack of excitement and enthusiasm over kingdom work and bringing glory to Christ and so on?
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Indifference, I think, can be in some ways much more dangerous than hostile opposition because those who are indifferent blend in more easily with the true body of Christ.
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Exactly, that's totally true. If we're to become like the Lord Jesus and not only be conformed to His image but imitate
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Him in our life, our Lord was a man of true zeal. Psalm 69, in a messianic way, says there,
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Zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproached you have fallen on me.
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Isaiah 59, it says, He wrapped Himself in zeal like a cloak. And Psalm 119, 39 says,
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My zeal consumes me. So our Lord, He had zeal to do
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His Father's will, to be about His Father's business. He cleansed the temple twice, one at the beginning of His ministry, the second time at the end of His ministry.
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And both those times, He had white -hot passion and zeal to honor
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His Father in His Father's house. And remember, He said in John 4,
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My food is to do My Father's will and finish His work. So zeal drove our
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Lord to do all that He did. That was typical in any day of Jesus' life.
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And in one place, He said those striking words, I have a baptism to be baptized with.
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I came to cast fire on earth. I wish it were already done. And how great is my anguish and distress until it is accomplished.
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So zeal drove our Lord onward to accomplish the work of redemption.
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So when we think about the Christian and the Christian life, the New Testament directly tells us that we're to be zealous about good works.
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This is really a huge doctrine in the Old and the New Testament. Its implications are huge.
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Its importance is large. And its fruit and impact is very significant.
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You know, that little book of Titus toward the end of the New Testament. Titus, over and over,
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Paul, speaks about good works. He's like a broken record there. Six times in three chapters, he speaks of good works.
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And I'll get to some of those momentarily. But I like to think in this program today, for every believer to examine ourselves and say, what place do good works have in salvation?
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Do I view this rightly? What place do good works have in my life in terms of living the
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Christian life? Because if we're not clear on this, we won't have a healthy
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Christian walk and a healthy Christian service. What place do good works have in salvation?
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That's the place to begin. Well, the simple answer is, they have nothing to do with obtaining salvation.
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Nothing whatsoever. Ephesians 2, 8 -10 affirms that salvation is by grace through faith.
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That's not of ourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works. So they have nothing to do with obtaining salvation.
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But the other side of the coin is, they have everything to do with possessing salvation as a fruit.
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Now what do I mean? Well, the New Testament tells us works have no part in our justification in believing in Christ.
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Works cannot play in coming to Christ to merit anything.
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Not one drop of works, not one action, not one deed, not one good effort are included in our justification.
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In fact, they couldn't be because the Apostle Paul tells us that justification is apart from works altogether.
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So we can say to anyone who thinks they need to be good somehow for God to accept them, we contribute nothing but our sin and we come through faith alone.
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And you know, some of our fathers of the faith spoke to this pretty eloquently.
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Back in the 19th century, the great southern Presbyterian theologian
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R .L. Dabney said this, The gospel teaches us that while believers are not rewarded on account of their works, they are rewarded according to their works.
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And he said while our works are nothing as a ground of merit for justification, they are all important as evidences that we are justified.
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And so, on the positive side, a more recent wonderful writer who went to be with the
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Lord not long ago, Jerry Bridges, about good works said this, Our good deeds are to be scattered upon all men, both
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Christian and non -Christian. So, we know that works, the
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Bible says, cannot contribute to our salvation. But then when we go to the other side of the coin, good works have everything to do with living the
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Christian life. Good works are involved in our sanctification, our growth, our service, our evangelism, and our glorifying our
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Father in Heaven. So, good works are a result of our justification and our regeneration, not a part of our justification.
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That's really important for people to make that distinction. Now, why is it that important?
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I believe it has the utmost importance.
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I was raised Roman Catholic, and I thank God that I was delivered out of that false religious system.
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I thank God that I know for certain that my mother was on her deathbed and it wasn't just a one -time profession.
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She lived for six weeks after being given the prognosis of having pancreatic cancer, and she regularly declared the true gospel as her only hope for salvation, and she abandoned prayer to Mary and the saints, and she abandoned rosary beads and idols.
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My dad, I have at least some hope in that same direction.
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But I don't know if it disturbs you as much as it disturbs me, but there seems to be a growing number of people who are, some of them very well -known
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Christians, who we agree with even on soteriology.
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We agree with them on the doctrines of grace, and for some strange reason, although they may think the differences they have with Rome are important, they don't believe it is a chasm of difference.
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They accept faithful Romanists. When I say faithful, I mean those that are faithful to the false religious system and false gospel of the
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Council of Trent. They count these men as their brethren. I just don't get it.
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Do you have any response to that? Well, I mean,
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I agree with you. Any right -thinking believer who bases his doctrine on the
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New Testament and what the gospel of God's grace clearly says, then anyone who believes it works and are in to justification, they're believing another gospel completely.
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I mean, Paul called it that, another gospel. Galatians, he condemns with great zeal adding works to salvation.
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And so it's simply error. It's heresy to add anything to the finished work of Christ.
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But I think it really goes back to the first family in history. Cain offered to God the work of his hands, and his offering was rejected because it was the offering of human works, doing his best.
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And Abel offered a blood sacrifice. And so human works have been the alternative religion since right after the
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Garden of Eden. This whole world is divided into two religions, true
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Christianity, grace alone, and the religion of human works, pure and simple.
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And so they will never meet. They will never be mixed together.
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You cannot mix grace and true salvation with works as far as meriting anything before God.
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So religious teaching has just poisoned the pot horribly, and the people need to be very clear on this.
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If they would just closely read the New Testament, that's the place to begin.
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I mean, you would think that that would solve the issue, but apparently it doesn't. And I know that I might get some folks mad at me, but one of the greatest, most beloved heroes, modern -day heroes of Reformed Christianity is
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J .I. Packer. And yet as much as he knows the New Testament inside and out, and obviously the entire counsel of God from the
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Hebrew Scriptures to the New Testament, he still has an ecumenical mindset when it comes to Roman Catholics.
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And it's just a total mystery to me. R .C. Sproul, Michael Horton, and John MacArthur or was it
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D. James Kennedy perhaps I'm thinking of, perhaps both, they warned
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Dr. Packer back in the 80s or early 90s after the Evangelicals and Catholics Together document came out, which was a peace treaty that Chuck Colson drafted, and people signed this document basically agreeing that they would not proselytize
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Catholics, and if the Catholic was signing it, they would not proselytize
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Evangelicals. To me that's absolutely absurd. I'll proselytize Baptists if I don't think that their theology is correct.
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But J .I. Packer seemed to back off of that. But then wound up signing the second
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ECT document as well. So it's just a mystery to me. I don't understand it.
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Well, it is a mystery, you know, how good man can have their view clouded, and I can't obviously address that.
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And obviously I want to make it clear that I don't believe that all those who identify themselves as Roman Catholic or Catholic, I don't believe that they are all in hell or will be all in hell, because there are many,
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I believe, a minority, but there are many who are saved in spite of the false doctrine of their religious system.
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They may believe in the true gospel, either out of ignorance of what Rome teaches, having heard it from the
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Bible itself, or having heard friends evangelize them. Or they may be in conscious rebellion against Rome, but still remaining there.
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But for some reason there are Catholics that do believe in the true gospel and yet remain within that false religious system.
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That's exactly right. And even in my growing up years, I grew up in a church that did not preach the gospel.
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It was legalism. But when I heard the gospel and the Holy Spirit really applied it,
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I was ignorant of everything. But as a 19 -year -old, what became very real to me was
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I'm a great sinner, and I need the Savior, and I know Jesus Christ is the only
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Savior, and I trusted Him from my heart, and I just came with my sin, and that was all that was necessary.
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Well, I'm sorry I interrupted you while you were on a roll there.
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No, that's fine. So we have a few minutes before the first break here. Shall I continue? Yes, yes, we have about six minutes.
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Yeah. So if we're clear that good works have nothing to do with obtaining or possessing salvation in our regeneration and conversion, we also have to realize that while they contribute nothing to our salvation, good works have everything to do with living for Christ.
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They are central to the New Testament teaching that God has ordained that we walk in them,
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Ephesians 2, verse 10. Good works are part of effective ministry.
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They're part of the church's witness. And in a way, when you think of Matthew 5 and then a passage that Peter stated in one of his epistles,
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I'll mention those later, good works might be the most important single factor in the church being salt and light in this world, and I'll get to that more in a moment.
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So I guess my second major question is, what is the place and importance of good works?
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What place do they hold in the Christian life? Just how serious should a believer be about walking in good works?
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Well, we ought to really let this sink in with the impact in our mind and our heart, what
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God directly says to the Christian in the New Testament about good works in our life.
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Just a few thoughts here straight from the New Testament. As I said in Ephesians 2, 10, it says that we were predestined, we were created in Christ unto good works to bear the fruit of good works.
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Now Matthew 5 and 1 Peter 2 directly say that good works produce effective evangelism.
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Think about our Lord's words. So let your light shine before men that they may see your what?
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Good works. And therefore glorify your Father in heaven. So our good works cause others to give glory to God.
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And Peter says the same thing in 1 Peter 2. He says, having your conversation or your lifestyle, honest among the
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Gentiles, that when they speak evil against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify
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God. So our Lord and the Apostle Peter there clearly are saying that lost men in this world will see our good works.
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They'll either see our works for good or non -existent. Now wouldn't that be the very reason why
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James, the misreading of this has caused great conflict and confusion between Roman Catholics and evangelical
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Protestants, and also cults for that matter, who would side with Rome on this.
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When James say that works justify a man, it's not talking about in the heavenly court before God the judge.
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It's talking about men being justified before other men, is it not? Right. Of course, men have made
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Romans and James be enemies together. Of course, in Romans, Paul is talking about forensic justification, what actually makes us right before God.
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It brings us to God. What merits salvation or right standing before God?
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And that is the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. And on the basis of that righteousness, we're declared righteous before God.
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James is talking about, to put it simply, the proof is in the pudding.
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Our works declare, our works justify or they declare about us that we have come to know
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God. They are proof. They're the fruit of true salvation.
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One of my pastors once said that James must have been from Missouri because Missouri is the show -me state.
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And he said James was saying, show me if you say that you're a
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Christian, show me. And how do you show? Through your works. Right.
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Matthew 5, Jesus' words about letting our light so shine, and Peter's works in 1
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Peter 2, those are just confirmations that good works will be the evidence of true salvation.
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And it's seen. We have to go to our first break right now, and we can pick up right where you left off.
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If anybody wants to join us with a question of your own on how necessary and important zealousness, zeal for good works really is, our email address is
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ChrisArnzen at gmail .com ChrisArnzen at gmail .com C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com
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And 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
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USA. Don't go away. We're going to be right back after these messages with more of Mac Tomlinson.
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Christian Resources and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
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I'm Pastor Ryan Galan of Central Islip Community Church in Central Islip, New York and the
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NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Brandon Smith of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Jackson, Georgia and the
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NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep
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Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart?
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Consider restocking your pews with the NASB and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
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Go to nasbible .com that's nasbible .com to place your order.
41:13
I'm Dr. Tony Costa, Professor of Apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary.
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I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love.
41:24
Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram, Long Island, New York pastored by Rich Jansen and Christopher McDowell.
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It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God like the dear saints at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram 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
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Christ Jesus the King and His doctrines of sovereign grace in Suffolk County, Long Island and beyond.
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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.
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For more information on Hope Reformed Baptist Church go to hopereformedli .net
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that's hopereformedli .net or call 631 -696 -5711 that's 631 -696 -5711
42:26
Tell the folks at Hope Reformed Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, New York that you heard about them from Tony Costa on Iron Sharpens Iron.
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We are excited to announce another new member of the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio advertising family
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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
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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
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To find the pharmacy nearest you call 516 -354 -2000 that's 516 -354 -2000 or order online at leesdrugsrx .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
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Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord 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
44:02
Lord like this I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made and wondrous are your works that my soul knows very well
44:10
He saw God's goodness and mercy kindness and the beauty in what
44:16
God has designed and He has erupted into praise In any crisis or problem, brothers and sisters our only fallback position is to trust
44:25
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
44:35
God in His infinite mercy has given us what we need to address this illness which can be pretty serious
44:41
Such is the beauty of His design knowing that design how can we not erupt in praise to our great
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God like the psalmist did May God bless you and give all of us wisdom to see greater things in His design
44:55
Thank you Welcome back and I was so very very thrilled to recently find out that after Dr.
45:10
Banu Gadi became a financial supporter and advertiser of Iron Trumpets Iron Radio I discovered that he was already friends with my guest today
45:22
Mack Tomlinson Is that not right, Brother Mack? Yes, we met
45:27
I met, my wife and I met Dr. Gadi and his family in New York City when
45:33
I was preaching on Long Island just before the COVID crisis broke public
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Yeah, I was there Yeah, it was right before that He's a wonderful godly man
45:47
He's an elder in his Baptist church in Long Island and very knowledgeable in his areas of expertise so I greatly appreciate him and his ministry
45:57
In fact, you had him create a video specifically for the coronavirus
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Right, he graciously did one about really a brief one about the importance of vitamin
46:11
D3 It's been used of God in real ways to help people get over the virus or protect them from getting it so he graciously did that for the body of Christ a few weeks ago, right?
46:29
Well, let's pick up where you left off before the break You were discussing the tension or the apparent tension when there's really no tension that actually exists
46:41
People using eisegesis have placed the tension there between the
46:47
Apostle Paul and James in regard to the role of works Yeah Well, you know, once a
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Christian realizes that good works do not enter into at all gaining merit before God and they realize we're to walk in good works we have to then train ourselves to believe properly that we don't do good works to maintain our standing before God where He'll love us more if we're doing well one week
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He loves us more but if we're bad in our works He loves us less Now, good works don't merit anything before God They don't maintain our justification but the
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New Testament teaches that they flow out of a new heart that loves Christ They are the fruit of loving
47:46
Christ because He saved us and therefore, faith works by love
47:52
We are to excel in maintaining good works because we want to glorify our
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Savior and so, my mind immediately goes to Paul's short pastoral letter to Titus It's amazing in Titus how much
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Paul speaks of this theme of good works to Titus for the believers that were under Titus' care and of course, these pastoral letters would have been circulating to various churches but if Titus had one theme for the whole little epistle it really would be the importance of good works
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So just think about these scriptures and I'll share them briefly what
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Paul says to Titus about good works In chapter 1, verse 16
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He says, they, that is those that would profess to know
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God but really don't So, I know Paul's Christians are religious people
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They profess to know God but in works, they deny Him They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work
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So there are those who profess to be believers they profess to know God but their works are evil and they don't have true gospel works in their life
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So their works, by their works they deny the reality of God Chapter 2, verse 7
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Paul says there that we are to be an example of good works Seven verses later, chapter 2
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He says, we're to be zealous in maintaining good works
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And that was really the primary theme of what
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I wanted to get to that we're to be zealous about good works because Paul says there
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Christ gave Himself for us to be redeemed from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works
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Going into chapter 3 He says that we're to be ready to do every good work
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Seven verses later Chapter 3, verse 8 He says, Titus I want you to affirm constantly that those who have believed in God would be careful to maintain good works
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And then the last reference in Titus Chapter 3, verse 14 He says, let our people learn to maintain good works and to meet urgent needs
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So all those are striking exhortations about being zealous for good works learning to maintain them to walk in them
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But Paul also says it in other places Galatians 6 .10 for instance As we have the opportunity let us do good unto all men
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Same meaning Let us do good unto all men especially to those who are of the household of faith
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Let us do good We know often unbelievers and scoffers at Christianity they feel like Christians are holier than thou
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They say, oh those Christians they're just nothing but a bunch of do -gooders Well the fact is, that's right
51:41
Christians are do -gooders Because it says right in the Scripture Let us do good to all men
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Being a do -gooder is a pretty good thing to be Because our
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Savior went about doing good The book of Acts says And healing all who were oppressed by the devil
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So that's pretty good company to keep Paul says, doing good to all men
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And we should do good works toward all people as many as we can as much as we can as often as we can to the extent that we can by God's enabling
52:20
Now this means good deeds are good works Paul said to Timothy concerning even wealthy people
52:29
He admonished them Let them do good that they may be rich in good works ready to give ready to share
52:40
And he says to Timothy We are to be a clean vessel for honor sanctified and useful for the
52:47
Master prepared for every good work So just those few
52:54
Scriptures in Paul's epistle show how central and significant good works are to Christian living
53:03
So if we see that they're important Then we must ask ourselves
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We must work from one point of logic to another Okay, I know good works don't help me earn salvation
53:17
They don't help me maintain merit before God I'm to do them out of love for Christ And I'm to be zealous about them
53:27
So, what are good works? And what are they directly?
53:34
Well, first we need to be clear that they're not the fruit of the Spirit In fact, we have to go to our midway break already
53:41
I'm sorry about that So pick up right where you left off In fact While we're going to the break
53:49
I'm also going to read a question that you can answer when we return from the break
53:56
Bobby in Hartsdale, New York says I know that you are a lover of good books
54:02
Pastor Mac So can you please recommend some good books other than the Bible, of course that thoroughly and biblically teach the proper role of works in the life of a
54:13
Christian And we'll have you answer that after you finish your thought when we return from the break
54:22
And please be patient, Bobby from Hartsdale, New York Because this is the longer than normal break that we have to take in the middle of the show because Grace Life Radio 90 .1
54:33
FM in Lake City, Florida requires of us this middle break to be longer because they air this show twice daily in a pre -recorded format and they need this middle break to air their own public service announcements and other things that localize
54:48
Iron Trump and Zion Radio to Lake City, Florida and that is done in accordance with FCC regulations
54:55
So while they air their own local announcements we air our globally heard commercials
55:01
Please use this time wisely by writing down as much of the information as you can provided by our advertisers so that you can more successfully and more frequently patronize them which will keep them happy and hopefully will compel them to continue to advertise which means that we will subsequently have a longer future ahead of us on the air because we rely upon the advertising dollars that come in from our sponsors so write down the information our advertisers provide so that you can patronize them successfully and frequently and also send in questions to Pastor Mac Tomlinson on the importance of the zealousness for good works in the life of a
55:45
Christian and that's chrisarnson at gmail .com chrisarnson at gmail .com
55:51
and please give us your first name, city and state, and country of residence we'll be right back after these messages with more of Mac Tomlinson ...
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today. Also check out World News Group's podcast, The World and Everything in It, at wng .org
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forward slash podcast. That's W for World, N for News, G for Group, dot org forward slash podcast.
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Oh hail the power of Jesus' name.
58:50
This is Pastor Bill Sousa, Grace Church at Franklin, here in the beautiful state of Tennessee.
58:57
Our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support
59:02
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
59:18
Lord Jesus Christ. And of course the end for which we strive is the glory of God.
59:24
Lord, if you live near Franklin, Tennessee, and Franklin is just south of Nashville, maybe ten minutes, or you are visiting this area, or you have friends and loved ones nearby, we hope you will join us on Lord's Day in worshiping our
59:40
God and Savior. Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about Grace Church at Franklin.
59:48
Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org. That's gracechurchatfranklin .org.
59:56
This is Pastor Bill Sousa wishing you all the richest blessings of our sovereign
01:00:02
Lord, God, Savior, and King, Jesus Christ, today and always.
01:00:25
As host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, I frequently get requests from listeners for church recommendations.
01:00:31
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.
01:00:41
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.
01:00:48
They believe churches need to turn to the Bible to discover what to include in worship and how to worship
01:00:55
God in spirit and truth. Grace Covenant Baptist Church endeavors to maintain a
01:01:00
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.
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Discover more about Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington, New Jersey at gcbcnj .squarespace
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.com. That's gcbcnj .squarespace .com.
01:01:31
Or call them at 908 -996 -7654. That's 908 -996 -7654.
01:01:40
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,
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Long Island Youth for Christ staff and volunteers meet with young people who need Jesus.
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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.
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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.
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Help honor our history by becoming a part of our future. Volunteer, donate, pray, or all of the above.
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For details, call Long Island Youth for Christ at 631 -385 -8333.
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That's 631 -385 -8333. Or visit liyfc .org.
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That's liyfc .org. ...have
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been sticking with or switching to the NASB. I'm Dr.
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Joseph Piper, President and Professor of Systematic and Homiletical Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylors, South Carolina.
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And the NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Chuck White of the
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First Trinity Lutheran Church in Tonawanda, New York, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
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I'm Pastor Anthony Methenia of Christ Church in Radford, Virginia, and the NASB is my
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Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Jesse Miller of Damascus Road Christian Church in Gardnerville, Nevada, and the
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NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Bruce Bennett of Word of Truth Church in Farmerville, Long Island, New York, and the
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NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Rodney Brown of Metro Bible Church in South Lake, Texas, and the
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NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Jim Harrison of Red Mills Baptist Church in Mayapac Falls, New York, and the
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NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep
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Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew Bibles tattered and falling apart?
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Consider restocking your pews with the NASB. And tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
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Go to nasbible .com, that's nasbible .com to place your order.
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James White of Alpha Omega Ministries here. If you've watched my Dividing Line webcast often enough, you know
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I have a great love for getting Bibles and other documents vital to my ministry rebound to preserve and ensure their longevity.
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No radio ad will be long enough to sing their praises sufficiently, but I'll give it a shot. Jeffrey Rice of Post -Tenebrous
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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.
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Call 1 -800 -669 -4878. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said,
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He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves he has no brains of his own.
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You need to read. Solid Ground Christian Books is a publisher and book distributor who takes these words of the
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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.
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Since its beginning in 2001, Solid Ground has been committed to publish God -centered,
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That's Solid -Ground -Books .com and see what priceless literary gems from the past to present you can unearth from Solid Ground.
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Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. And please remember folks that every time you purchase books from Solid -Ground -Books .com
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you are helping Iron Sharpens Iron Radio to remain on the air because Solid Ground Christian Books is a key, a primary, a vital sponsor of this program.
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Without their financial assistance, we might likely have to go off the air, barring a miracle of God.
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And they have the finest in Christian literature from the past and the present and this is another sponsor that my dear friend
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Mac Tomlinson is fully aware of because he's a dear friend for many years, just as I am, of the founder of Solid Ground Christian Books, Mike Gadosz.
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Is that not true? Absolutely. Mike Gadosz is a wonderful, godly man and a faithful witness to the gospel and has done a marvelous service to the body of Christ with his ministry of books and literature, yes.
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So please, folks, whenever you are purchasing books for special occasions for those you love, in addition to replenishing your own library for your own edification, but for Father's Day, for Graduation Day, back -to -school gifts, for wedding anniversaries, for bereavement gifts, even stocking up for Christmas so that you'll have your shopping done in plenty of time before the
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Mike Gadosz of Solid Ground Christian Books that you heard about Solid Ground Christian Books from Chris Arnzen on Iron Trump and Zion Radio.
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In fact, Mike Gadosz is going to be our guest this Thursday on Iron Trump and Zion Radio to highlight some things that have been brought back into print recently that he would like you to be aware of to give you ideas of not only things to purchase for yourself, but also for others.
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So mark that down on your calendar that Mike Gadosz will be our guest for the entire show this Thursday on Iron Trump and Zion Radio.
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And before we return to Mack Tomlinson, we just have a couple of other very important announcements to make.
01:12:54
Another phenomenal guest that I'm looking forward to interviewing on this program is going to be this
01:13:03
Friday, June the 19th. In fact,
01:13:09
I would appreciate your prayers for me personally this weekend because June the 19th is the day before my wedding anniversary with my late wife,
01:13:20
Julie, and that day is certainly a mixed blessing, a bittersweet day of remembrance of her.
01:13:31
So I would appreciate some extra prayers ascending up to the throne of grace this weekend, especially on Saturday, June 20th.
01:13:41
But this Friday, for the first hour of the show, we have
01:13:46
Oz Guinness for the very first time on this program. He is going to be discussing his book,
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Fool's Talk, Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion. And the second hour, a very dear friend of mine who has been interviewed many times on this program,
01:14:08
Gary DeMar, he will be on the second hour. Gary DeMar is the president of American Vision, and he'll be discussing
01:14:15
Greg L. Bonson's book that he has brought back into print, Against All Opposition, Defending the
01:14:23
Christian Worldview. That's this Friday, June the 19th. And also, folks, if you love
01:14:30
Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, you love hearing guests on topics that very often are never heard anywhere else.
01:14:39
You love giving away free, downloadable MP3s to your friends, family, and loved ones.
01:14:45
You love receiving free books and Bibles when you submit questions to our guests, especially if they're authors during this broadcast.
01:14:58
You love the wide range, the wide spectrum of topics that we have on the show.
01:15:04
You just love this show, and you don't want it to disappear. Well, if that's the case, please,
01:15:09
I'm asking you to go to ironsharpensironradio .com, click Support, then click Click to Donate Now.
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We would love to help you launch an ad campaign because we certainly could use the advertising dollars. Just keep in mind, folks, as I try to remind you every day, never siphon money away from your regular giving to your local church where you are a member in order to give to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
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Those two things are commands of God in Scripture, providing for your church and your family. Providing for this radio show is not a command of God, obviously.
01:16:36
But if you love this show and you are financially blessed above and beyond your ability to obey those two commands, you have extra money, perhaps because you have not been going to your favorite sporting events due to the pandemic quarantine that has been going on for many weeks.
01:16:53
You haven't been going to the movies. You haven't been going out fine dining. You haven't been going to theaters and playhouses to see theatrical performances.
01:17:02
You haven't been going to Bible conferences. There's a lot of things that you probably have not been doing that has been saving you money.
01:17:09
Can you use, please, some of that money to help us remain on the air? And I thank all of you who have been doing that, not only the regular sponsors that we have been enjoying, or should
01:17:23
I say donors, that we have been enjoying receiving donations from every month that we can count on like clockwork, but also new donors that we've never heard from before.
01:17:36
And I keep repeating this, but there is a wonderful woman in Austin, Texas, who donated to Iron Sharp and Zion Radio an amount that has broken all records for donations to this program, and I had never heard of her before.
01:17:52
She sent in that check not long ago. We thank all of you from the depths of our heart.
01:17:58
But if you have never given before and you love the show, or perhaps you haven't given in a while, or perhaps you feel like you could give more than you normally do, we would appreciate anything that you could donate by going to www .IronSharpAndZionRadio
01:18:12
.com. Click support, then click, click to donate now. And if you do not have a church home, you're having a hard time finding one, no matter where you live on the planet
01:18:22
Earth, I may be able to help you because I have lists of biblically faithful churches all over the world, and I have already helped many people in our audience find churches in all parts of the planet
01:18:31
Earth. So I can possibly help you too. So just send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail .com
01:18:37
and put in I Need a Church in the subject line. That's also the email address where you could send in an email, a question to our guest today,
01:18:46
Mac Tomlinson. That's chrisarnson at gmail .com, C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N at gmail .com.
01:18:54
Please give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence if you live outside the
01:18:59
USA, and only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal or private matter.
01:19:05
Now Mac, if you could, I think I interrupted you mid -sentence, but after you've finished your train of thought, we could go to Bobby in Hartsdale, New York's question, where he wants book recommendations that involve this very subject of the proper role of works and the life and faith of a
01:19:22
Christian. Yeah, Bobby, thank you for the good question. When we went to break,
01:19:28
I began to wrack my brain, because I did not prepare to recommend a specific single volume, and I could not retrieve in my memory one specific one that is totally given to this subject.
01:19:45
I think there are even some listeners may have a book in mind that they could email.
01:19:52
I have a list right now of some. Yeah, I have a couple of ones.
01:19:59
I'm sorry? Go ahead, Chris, go ahead. Well, a classic one is The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur.
01:20:07
The follow -up would be Faith Works, The Gospel According to the
01:20:12
Apostles, which was a sequel, if you will, to The Gospel According to Jesus that John MacArthur wrote.
01:20:20
And my friend William Webster, who is a phenomenal and extraordinary preacher and church historian, he focuses on disproving the false teachings and practices and claimed history of the
01:20:44
Church of Rome. But his second matter of special focus is the importance of good works and repentance in the life of true
01:20:57
Christians. He's basically going after two polar opposite heresies,
01:21:03
Romanism and antinomianism, the evangelical heresy that many professing evangelicals have as a part of their way of thinking today, where, as we mentioned earlier, good works are not necessary, even as an evidence or fruit of saving faith.
01:21:29
Well, Bill Webster has written books of his own on this subject.
01:21:35
In fact, I know that John MacArthur even has recommended at least one of them, but he has written a number of them.
01:21:44
Must Jesus be Lord to be Savior is one. And he has
01:21:51
The Christian Following Christ as Lord is another one.
01:21:58
And, let's see, he's got so many books, mainly on Roman Catholicism. The Gospel of the
01:22:05
Reformation, Salvation from the Guilt and Power of Sin is another one.
01:22:11
And you can find a list of William Webster's books at christiantruth .com,
01:22:20
christiantruth .com forward slash books, christiantruth .com forward slash books, and you'll see a very long list.
01:22:28
And those books that I listed are specifically regarding the importance of good works in the life of a
01:22:34
Christian. But that's my two cents. Well, that's marvelous. You know, I wasn't prepared really for that question, so I apologize, but that's a better answer.
01:22:44
I did think, though, you know, even a beginning place would be the Westminster Confession of Faith or the 1689
01:22:53
London Baptist Confession of Faith or other confessions. They will give a working definition theologically of the place of good works and how to define it.
01:23:05
And then I know some systematic theologies, not all of them, but some of them.
01:23:13
I think of Wayne Grudem's systematic theology. I'm pretty sure he deals with good works in there.
01:23:21
In this area, of course, Paul's under the area of sanctification and living the Christian life.
01:23:27
So, yeah, that's a very good answer there on the books. And please, folks, when you make a list of books that you want to purchase from christiantruth .org,
01:23:38
I would actually prefer it if you purchased them from cvbbs .com, Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, since they are a sponsor of this program.
01:23:47
And that does not hurt christiantruth .org at all, because cvbbs has to purchase the books from christiantruth .org.
01:24:01
So, therefore, they both win. And when you purchase from cvbbs, you're at least going directly to a sponsor of this program.
01:24:16
But I'm sorry, I just said .org. christiantruth .com,
01:24:22
I'm sorry if I've been saying the wrong website. christiantruth .com is
01:24:28
William Webster's website, so I apologize for giving you the wrong
01:24:34
URL. christiantruth .com But anyway, if you could,
01:24:41
Mack, now pick up where you left off. Yeah, well, you know,
01:24:46
I think it's very important to be crystal clear in our minds on what actually good works are according to Scripture.
01:24:57
And, you know, we can think about holiness of life, or repentance, or humility, those kind of things.
01:25:05
But when we read the New Testament closely, I think it's a little more narrow, more defined.
01:25:14
Because, say for instance, when you think about the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5.
01:25:21
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control.
01:25:28
We could have it in our minds, well, those are good works to produce. But they're really not, those are fruit produced in our character by the
01:25:36
Holy Spirit. But they're not works of action, they're not deeds. So, we also should realize that good works are not just the normal acts of obedience we're called to as Christians to live out.
01:25:53
Being a humble believer, being a good father and husband, being a good employee, or a consistent faithful church member.
01:26:01
Those are normal acts of obedience, but they're not the good works or good deeds necessarily the
01:26:09
Bible is speaking about. So, if I were to define what good works are that we're to be zealous about,
01:26:17
I would just say it's this, actual actions of mercy, actions or deeds of kindness toward others, both toward believers and unbelievers, things we do for them that are good deeds, that are thoughtful acts of service.
01:26:38
Good thoughts are not good deeds, good motives or good feelings.
01:26:47
It's not love that's a good deed, but loving acts. It's not feeling kind toward someone, but it's kind actions.
01:26:54
It's not even good intentions, but it's actually good deeds.
01:27:00
So, the New Testament's picture of being zealous for good works means actions of loving service toward others around us, motivated by the love of Christ.
01:27:15
For instance, Isaiah 58 talks about sharing your bread with the hungry.
01:27:23
When you see those lacking clothing, you clothe them. Helping the outcast.
01:27:32
Back in February when I was in New York City, I was in Manhattan, and it was a cold day, and I walked out of our hotel, and I was going to walk down the street, and as I was walking,
01:27:47
I saw this tall young man leaning against the building on the sidewalk on the street, and I said to myself, that young man doesn't have arms.
01:28:01
He had on a t -shirt only. It was cold. I had on a jacket and a coat.
01:28:08
And, well, as I got to him, I saw that he had put his arms inside his t -shirt just to try to keep warm.
01:28:16
He was shivering, and he was obviously homeless. And you could walk past hundreds of such people in any major city.
01:28:26
As I passed by, I was convicted that I could do something for him. So why should
01:28:32
I not? I turned back to him. I went up to him, and I said,
01:28:38
I want to buy you some food. And I pulled out, I only had a $20 bill in my pocket because I had been using my card in the city, but I pulled out a $20 bill, and I gave it to him, and I said,
01:28:52
I want to buy you food today. I didn't know if he was a drug addict, an alcoholic, but that wasn't my point.
01:28:59
I felt led to show an act of kindness toward him. When I did it, tears came in his eyes, and he actually leaned his head down on my shoulder, and I patted his head, and I spoke to him about the
01:29:15
Lord briefly, and then I walked away. I probably got ten steps down the sidewalk, and I was convicted that I had two coats on and he had none.
01:29:27
I went back, I pulled off my outer coat, and I took off the inner jacket that I had, and I said, here, this is for you.
01:29:36
And he began to cry, and I walked away, not feeling good about myself, but later
01:29:44
I said, you know, I could have done more. I could have taken him in to a warm restaurant and fed him and really got to the gospel.
01:29:52
So this is the kind of thing I believe the New Testament speaks of, actual choices to show acts of kindness toward our neighbors, toward strangers, toward those in our church, toward extended family that are lost.
01:30:11
You know, you think about heroes of the faith, Amy Carmichael in India. She was there 50 years.
01:30:18
She started her famous work, Bonhoeffer Fellowship, rescuing young women and later young men from temple prostitution and abuse, and she started out by simply saying,
01:30:34
I can't let those girls not be unloved. I have to do something. Spurgeon, he knew of George Mueller's work for the orphans, and Spurgeon said there are so many orphans in London.
01:30:48
I've got to do something. And Spurgeon himself started an orphanage. So why did those men and women do those things?
01:30:57
Not because they were famous. It was because they were zealous for good works. They saw a need, and they acted in faith.
01:31:07
And the question that challenges me today, why do believers often try to do what's easy for us to do?
01:31:16
But where's the risk in that? Where's the faith in that? So what all would be included in being zealous about doing good deeds?
01:31:27
Well, meeting urgent needs when we see them if we can, feeding the hungry.
01:31:33
I love seeing hungry people or homeless people, and I just go choose to give them a meal because I'm doing it in the name of Christ.
01:31:43
Visiting widows and orphans, visiting prisoners in jail or prison, clothing the poor, taking in those
01:31:51
God sends to us, hospitality, opening a soup line, meeting the needs of our neighbors, just to be able to build a bridge to share the gospel.
01:32:05
We have neighbors that are unbelievers, and we said not long ago, hey, why don't we prepare a double meal on the
01:32:16
Lord's Day, and we'll take our neighbor lunch on Sunday?
01:32:23
And we did that, and we're building bridges that way. That's a good deed.
01:32:29
That's being zealous for good works because they see God in the kind act, meaning we're endeavoring to let our light shine.
01:32:40
Or how about this? You know a pregnant neighbor. How about going and doing laundry or bringing their food?
01:32:47
Or a tired mother who works two jobs. Good works are good deeds.
01:32:54
And our great need, I think often in the body of Christ, we can be ingrown.
01:33:03
We can focus on church life or Bible studies or prayer meetings or Lord's Day services, but those things are not just an end for us to enjoy and be satisfied.
01:33:14
It's equipping us to go and do. And I think we really need to lift up our eyes and see the harvest, the needy, the lonely, the lost, the hungry, the social outcast, and choose to have the courage to go do some simple acts regularly of kindness.
01:33:36
And that seems to be the emphasis in the New Testament of good deeds, learning to do them and being zealous about it.
01:33:47
Because if I think about my own life, oftentimes I feel rebuked. How much of my time is spent on myself regularly and how much intentionally finding good works
01:34:01
I can be zealous about toward other people. We have an anonymous listener who asks,
01:34:13
Why do you think that most of the nitty -gritty work that is being done, especially in urban areas with those that are despised amongst most people, the dregs, if you will, of society, and I'm not using that term to put them down,
01:34:34
I'm just saying that's what they are viewed as. I'm talking about the drug addicts, the transsexuals and transvestites, the prostitutes, the street people.
01:34:47
The people who are bringing the gospel to these folks, as well as food and clothing, are typically not
01:34:54
Reformed people. I'm not saying that Reformed people never do these things, but it seems this work of ministry is far dominated by charismatic and Pentecostal believers.
01:35:06
Do you have any clue as to why this is? Well, I think that's pretty accurate.
01:35:15
It's sad to me, because if anybody ought to be zealous for good works, it ought to be brethren who are clear on the grace of God and the gospel.
01:35:24
There's no question in my mind. It's a neglected area. We ought to be as serious about the admonitions in the
01:35:33
New Testament, about good works, as we are about our confession of faith, or about Calvin's Institutes.
01:35:41
And I admire those brethren that do those fellows' works.
01:35:47
I'm thinking about David Wilkerson in the late 60s and 70s. He went right into the heart of the gangs in Brooklyn, and he established
01:35:56
Teen Challenge. And that good work today still bears fruit. You know, it's striking to me in Matthew 25, when our
01:36:07
Lord talked about the final judgment of believers. He said, final judgment is going to be based on our works.
01:36:15
It's not going to be based on grace through faith, but it's going to be based on our works.
01:36:22
The sheep and the goats get separated. And those on His right hand,
01:36:27
He says, come and inherit the kingdom. And then He mentions the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and those in prison.
01:36:37
In other words, street people, despised people, prostitutes, drug addicts.
01:36:43
He said, I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me drink.
01:36:50
I was a stranger, you took me in. I was naked, you clothed me. I was sick and you came to visit me. I was in prison, you came to visit me.
01:36:56
You did these things to the least of these, and when you did it to them, you did it to me.
01:37:04
But on the other hand, to the goats on the left, He said, depart from me. I was hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, and in prison.
01:37:12
And as much as you did not do it to the least, you did not do it to me.
01:37:19
So the final judgment is going to be rendered based on what individuals do or did not do, good works or no good works.
01:37:29
And the Lord meant it. He said, love your enemies, do good and lend, and your reward will be great.
01:37:37
Be therefore merciful even as your Father in heaven is merciful. You know, you wrote...
01:37:46
Can I go on? I'm sorry, brother? You want me to go on, or... I just wanted to ask you one thing.
01:37:51
I know that you, even though you are a Reformed Baptist, you wrote a biography of a man who was at least at charismatic leanings,
01:38:04
I believe, Leonard Ravenhill, in light of eternity. And he was marked out, was he not, in regard to people having passion and zeal that would reveal themselves in good deeds and so on?
01:38:27
Absolutely, very much. You know, Ravenhill was an old Wesleyan from Britain.
01:38:34
Not so much... Not to be marked by the contemporary popular
01:38:40
Pentecostal movement as much or the charismatic movement, because he didn't preach those things.
01:38:46
You know, he despised prosperity gospel. But he was
01:38:51
Wesleyan in his original theology, very much about holiness and zeal for good works.
01:38:58
And he lived that way. I mean, he really did. He and his fellow preachers in Britain, you know, during the war years, during World War II years in Britain, they walked the length and breadth of England preaching the gospel.
01:39:14
And they were zealous for good works. Well, you could continue on with your train of thought there.
01:39:24
Yeah, I just think we don't take these practical areas of the New Testament serious enough.
01:39:31
We settle in, as somebody said, we're resting on our blessed assurance.
01:39:37
And when we ought to be more fervent about good works, our works and our service ought to match our theological accuracy.
01:39:50
And Paul is always making that emphasis to live what we believe. And he always shows us that double sword of, because this is true of who we are in Christ.
01:40:03
Here is how we're to live. And I really do think we should open our eyes to the world all around us and open our arms, open our hearts.
01:40:17
It takes courage to do that. But, you know, there are hungry, lonely people all around us.
01:40:25
And we're not going to get hurt if we'll step out in courage and begin to show kindness in the simplest ways, especially in this time of pandemic.
01:40:37
People are afraid in this time of the chaos with this rioting and the racial, social divide in the country.
01:40:46
If there's ever a time for Christian to be zealous about loving good works, it's right now.
01:40:52
Because Jesus said when we love someone in his name, we're loving him.
01:41:00
And, you know, that is a bridge to shine the light of Christ, our good works.
01:41:08
Peter said people will see our lifestyle and God will be glorified.
01:41:16
And, you know, another thought too, Chris, it's amazing in Revelation chapter 19.
01:41:23
Listen to what John wrote in Revelation 19, 7 and 8. He said,
01:41:30
Hallelujah for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory.
01:41:39
For the marriage supper of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.
01:41:47
And it was granted to her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.
01:41:55
So here's the bride of Christ, the marriage supper of the Lamb, clothed with fine linen.
01:42:04
Now, if you pause and ask most Christians, what are Christians clothed with?
01:42:10
We would say, well, we're clothed with the imputed righteousness of Christ. And, of course, that's true.
01:42:17
But that's not what Revelation 19 says our fine linen is.
01:42:22
John goes on and he says this, that the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
01:42:31
It's amazing to think about that. The bride of Christ, the marriage supper of the
01:42:37
Lamb, we're going to be clothed with the fine linen of righteous deeds and good works.
01:42:44
That's what's going to mark us. And that's what's going to be the basis of our final judgment.
01:42:54
So I do believe this is a greatly neglected area. I've been rebuked myself with conviction and shame about my need to walk in this more.
01:43:07
And it's a responsibility. Now, when you say what you just said, because we have to make it very clear, something that you already firmly said at the very outset of the program, you are not saying that God is looking at our lives on the day of judgment and saying that, okay,
01:43:34
Mack Tomlinson, you did feed the hungry and clothe the naked and visit people in prison, and you did a bunch of wonderful things.
01:43:45
So, therefore, welcome into heaven. You're not saying that. Absolutely not saying that.
01:43:53
I'm saying that good deeds and good works are the fruit of a regenerate heart.
01:44:01
They are the mark of the Christian as far as our works. And they prove that we are
01:44:08
Christians. And that's why our good works will be declared or will be rewarded in the final analysis according to our good works.
01:44:26
And Jesus taught that very clearly. And, yeah, you're right.
01:44:31
I'm not saying in any way that our good works gain us anything. But they are vital proof that we are
01:44:39
Christians. They're a litmus test. Yes, they are. And the more good works we're zealous about, the more our
01:44:48
Father in heaven will be glorified. You know, it's interesting how many people have said,
01:44:58
Ah, but what about the thief on the cross that Jesus said on this day, you'll be with me in paradise.
01:45:05
He didn't have any time to do good works before he died. And on the contrary, he did.
01:45:12
Because, number one, he was one of two thieves, at least two, who were mocking
01:45:18
Christ on the cross. A lot of the movies don't add the part where both of the thieves are mocking
01:45:26
Christ. Both of these men were initially. And then one repented, and he attempted to silence and rebuke the other thief.
01:45:37
And his turning to Christ in humility, merely saying,
01:45:43
Please remember me in your kingdom. I mean, those are good deeds that he did. Am I right?
01:45:50
That's true. That was a clear, true confession of faith. No question about it.
01:45:56
So any of us that would use the thief on the cross as an excuse, Well, we're not on a cross.
01:46:04
We're not on our death bed. We can't use him as an excuse to not be zealous for good works.
01:46:12
We're alive. And we have life. Today and this week, we have a life to live.
01:46:19
And so anyone that would use the thief on the cross as an excuse, they're just trying to find an out to excuse a lack of being zealous for good works.
01:46:31
And we know the thief on the cross was a unique, stand -alone example. He's an example to people that would say to them,
01:46:41
It's never too late to come to Christ. Your whole past is a hindrance.
01:46:48
It doesn't matter how bad and sinful you've been. You can come to Christ at the eleventh hour.
01:46:56
And he's an example that it's never too late. But he's not an example to use to excuse our lethargy and our sin.
01:47:07
And we have to go to our final break right now. It's going to be much shorter than the last one. So if you have any intention to send in a question, please do so immediately because we are rapidly running out of time.
01:47:18
And our email address is chrisarnson at gmail dot com. chrisarnson at gmail dot com.
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He saw God's goodness and mercy, kindness, and the beauty in what
01:55:01
God has designed, and he has erupted into praise. In any crisis or problem, brothers and sisters, our only fallback position is to trust
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God's design. And once we do, there is nothing for us to do but to erupt in praise to him.
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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.
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Such is the beauty of his design. Knowing that design, how can we not erupt in praise to our great
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God like the psalmist did? May God bless you and give all of us wisdom to see greater things in his design.
01:55:41
Thank you. Welcome back. This is Chris Arnson. Mack Tomlinson, if you could now summarize what you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners today regarding the necessity of having zeal for good works.
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Yes, well, you know, just a closing real brief word. If every
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Christian would just look up the references on works or good works in the New Testament, just read them and pray over them, they would see how central it is in the
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New Testament. If God is glorified by our being zealous for good works, if it's linked to our spiritual influence and impacting others, then good works are a major gospel influence directly.
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And we ought to all consider setting aside more time weekly intentionally to give ourselves to doing some regular good deeds.
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You know, in the end, our legacy in our life will not be remembered by what we said, by how we lived and what we did.
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And I would just close with one final word from the Apostle Paul. He said in one place,
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As for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
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And may God make each of us increasingly a believer who are zealous for good works.
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Now, I just want to make clear on this point that I know that you do not believe someone should be satisfied if they are doing a very good work.
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They might run a food pantry, a soup kitchen. They may spend many hours sacrificing their time and energy to give out clothes and blankets and food in the inner cities perhaps, sometimes even risking their lives in some dangerous neighborhoods, especially when you're talking about those that do things of this nature on the mission field.
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But if you do these things without proclaiming the gospel, they're really of no, what's the word
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I'm looking for? You're not going to be commended by God for these things if you're not declaring along with these good deeds the gospel itself because it's almost like a reverse situation that's also true of what we have in James.
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People having good theology and very sound biblical theology but not having works, and yet there are also people that have a ton of good works but don't say anything to others or very little about the
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God they claim to believe in. That's exactly right. True good works are gospel -driven, and they go right along with the proclamation of the gospel.
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The gospel being withheld from good works just makes it social work.
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So that's an absolute truth that you're stating. Good works have to accompany the gospel, and they spring forth from a heart that has believed the gospel for sure.
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Amen. Well, folks, don't forget to tune in tomorrow for day number two of our interviews with Mack Tomlinson.
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Tomorrow we are discussing Every Relationship Made Right. That is Wednesday, the 17th of June.
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And don't forget that you can contact Mack Tomlinson at ProvidenceDenton .org.
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ProvidenceDenton .org. That's the website for Providence Chapel in Denton, Texas. Thank you so much,
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Pastor Mack. Looking forward to our conversation tomorrow. And I want you all to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far greater