Pew and Pulpit #02: The Pew Looks at the Pulpit — Ernest C. Reisinger

And appreciation of the fellowship that I've had here and the things I've received for my own soul from the ministry of the others who have ministered to us. I think I should say a word about books to encourage preachers to encourage your people.

I have take just a minute to do that. I've had witnessed and I suppose you have some wonderful things by men being changed by a book or two. I know you've enjoyed and been blessed by the ministry of Al Martin.

I met Al a strange kind of way. I was at a little conference one weekend and trying to minister to some young people and the first evening was a Friday when we got there we had driven a long ways. I drove one way and they were about 200 miles at least.

It was a weekend retreat and so in the Friday evening I just kind of mentioned to them what I'd hoped to do. I think at that time I said we're going to have a little study in first John, tests of eternal life.

Because they'd all had a long drive and I was tired and they were tired I didn't want to burden them with any long message. It would be too heavy. So I just kind of introduced it and I was no more back to my room and with a tap on the door.

Here was the director of this and his wife and all the counselors and I thought oh boy I'm in for it. Because sometimes you know when you go away they want to tell you what to preach and that's about the last straw with me.

I'll do anything stand on my head but that's one place we draw the line. So I listened and the first thing they said do you know Al Martin? I said I never heard of him. They said well some of the things you were saying was kind of what he did last year.

And so then I started to ask them questions and the more questions I asked the more I wanted to meet that man. And when I and believe it or not I before I ever went home for that conference I drove way out of my way to chase him down and found him in that little town in New Jersey.

Well I found that God had brought him a long ways and a hard road and I won't go into all the details but there was some things he we didn't agree on and that was all right because I felt that he was coming along and I gave him two books.

That's that American humility. It was in relationship to the atonement and some things in holiness and I gave him Bishop Ryle's book on holiness and I gave him John Owen's Death of Death and the Death of Christ and if you know anybody that's hung up on the atonement and you give them that they read it don't bother giving them anything else just they'll have to die hung up.

One book two weeks ago before I came here I can't go on to say what that book Al testified to me what those books have meant. But two weeks ago before I came here I was in Phoenix Arizona little church I couldn't understand how I got invited there it was through the literature actually.

I'm saying this to encourage you in books not only to buy them for yourself but sometimes to share a book with a fellow minister. There are businessmen in your church if they knew a minister the only thing was keeping from having a book with money would would do it and you could intercede for another minister better than you could for yourself probably in that respect at least.

But I was amazed in this little I said well how did you find out about us because they'd been buying books from us like they're going out of style with them and he spoke to to all reformed stuff to to Phoenix and so then they invited me to speak there and I was quite interested.

Half a dozen of those young lads visited Scotland and they they were of course with the kind of evangelism that we couldn't wholly endorse by any stretch of the imagination and they needed a few things and somebody in Scotland gave them a couple books old books I don't know how they got a hold of them.

There's a good plug for the Scotsman so and I can say it since I'm not a Scotsman but uh they got the whole those books and they saw a different kind of a Christianity as they compared it to the old historical Christianity and they wanted to know where they could get more and of course it was through those books and banner and referring them to us and I could say today that that was a healthy looking young church about two years old they had if they were getting a hundred people out to the meetings God had given them a couple elders that came from other churches because if they were back in that old historic stream but my point is this was just a book or two just a book or two if you study the reformation I think it was.

John Fox says the pope will have to have new reign new new regions to reign over or abolish the printing press because these people give out their literature by night at the risk of their life. I just say that to encourage you to encourage your people you know you've got a lot of laymen in your church but if they had this vision held before of using literature in their witness the right kind of literature I believe it would help well so much.

I have a lot of things on my heart today and I could talk more about books and give you more testimonies to where I've seen a book or two change your life. I met two young fellows in Westminster Seminary and they were from backgrounds that would never never never never get them to any place near a place like Westminster Seminary.

Upon inquiring with them and conversation with them I found one fellow was in the most liberal university or one of them in our nation went over in the old library and pulled down Charnock's attributes or something and got a hold of that and it changed his life.

And he pursued that till he could find out where that stream of truth was being spread led him to Westminster. Another fellow in a liberal seminary in the most liberal seminary in our country at least one of them stumbled by Calvin's Institutes started to read him and said this is a different kind of Christianity they're teaching me here.

He left that seminary after one year and went to a seminary that believed the Bible multitudes of them. One book. Oh my brother this is not a great effort sometimes with a book if we're prudent and watch our watch our opportunities and be wise.

Sound Doctrine and the Law-Gospel Relationship

I'd like to read just a few verses from Titus and a few verses from Timothy. Titus chapter 2. Mr. Mary said in his address. How made some remark about how doctrine is practical. I'm sorry I get in those places that look disparagingly at sound doctrine.

The Bible is pregnant with statements about doctrine. In a meeting not too long ago I had to say to some people who cornered me about doctrine. They didn't like the word and I said have you read Titus and Timothy lately.

Just underscore the number of times the word appears. Chapter 2 verse 1. But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine that the ages. This is the reason that the ages may be sober grave tempered sound and faith and charity and patience all stemming from sound doctrine.

The aged women likewise that they be that they be in behavior as becoming holy becometh holiness not false accusers not given too much wine teachers of good things that they may teach the young they have to be instructed in sound doctrine themselves first to be sober to love their husbands to love their children to be discreet chase keepers of home good obedient to their own husbands that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded in all things showing myself a pattern of good works in doctrine showing uncorruptness gravity sincerity sound speech that cannot be condemned. That he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed having no evil thing to say of you.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their masters and to please them well in all things not answering again. Our fate is the word of our God shall stand forever. May he bless it to us today. I feel constrained that we bow in just a word of prayer before the this hour with you this morning.

Let us pray. Oh holy father righteous father in the name of our lord jesus christ we would approach unto thee. We are but men. And we are not only men but we are so impotent even at our strongest and we are so ignorant even at our wisest.

Be pleased our father to look at us in this respect today and help us give us of thy spirit for our impotence. Give us of thy wisdom. That wisdom that is from above that's pure and peaceable and gentle and easy to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits.

That wisdom that is without partiality and without hypocrisy. Oh merciful father give us of thy spirit. Lord jesus thou has said if we ask for bread you would not give us a stone. And if we ask for a fish you would not give us a snake.

And how much more you promise the spirit to them that ask in thy name. We ask just now for thy spirit for jesus sake. Amen. We were thinking i was hoping and mr mary asked me he had heard a tape but i gave it a little conference on biblical assurance and i was meant to do that this hour but i didn't get very far yesterday.

I didn't get finished at least with some things i had hoped to say. You know i kind of left my notes a few or three times. And that's bad when you leave your notes but i don't apologize for it anymore.

I did that once and an old fella come to me put his arms around me at the end of the meeting. He said son if the lord sheds a little light on your feet when you're preaching now and again he said just follow that light.

He said your notes will be there tomorrow. And uh i've tried to take the advice of that dear old soul ever since and not been a slave to notes though. I am blessed with them this morning and i was blessed with notes yesterday.

The Pew’s Longing for a Powerful and Faithful Pulpit

So i think i'll go on with the spiritual needs of our time representing the pew what we long for what we pray for to see the pulpit filled because there's power in the pulpit it's a powerful place a powerful place we long to see that place that god has ordained to be a powerful place filled with ministers of that special kind that especially mr alexander's been calling our attention to so vividly.

Just a word of review. I know that's a bad rule in homiletic but since i haven't had homiletics i can break all the rules. I haven't learned that fine art to put round corners on square things and smooth things down.

But uh i do want to review because i think number one on my list as i would represent that pew that i talked about yesterday would be that men must be sound in doctrine and more especially have a right understanding of the relationship between the law and the gospel.

A clear view that these three great truths of the bible stand or fall together the law of god and the cross of christ and the judgment of god realizing as i said yesterday that the base of the cross is eternal justice and the spirit of the cross is eternal love.

And if you have a cross without that base this lovey-dovey thing without any justice there's a place for bible love in a high place. But when there is a cross without that base of eternal justice it's a baseless cross and leads to sentimentalism or superstition or something else.

And another reason is because so it's important the law is so important in evangelism by the laws of knowledge of sin. What is sin the bible tells us in plain answers it is the transgression of the law.

The law is a schoolmaster to bring us to christ. And so it's vitally important not only in evangelism but also in sanctification. Most of the deeper life movements would be greatly helped if they could see the relationship to the law and sanctification.

What. In what does sanctified behavior consist. Doing the will of god isn't that simple. In what does sanctified behavior consist in doing the will of god. Where do i find the will of god in the moral law.

Children obey your parents and the lord. For this is right whether i'm a christian or a non-christian. It's right for a christian to love god with all his heart. It's right for a christian not to have idols.

It's right for a christian not to take the lord's name in vain. It's right for a christian not to steal not to bear false witness. Therefore i say whatever grace does it doesn't change. What's right changes our relationship to what's right and gives us power to do right.

Because a man becomes a new creature in christ he does not cease to be a creature. The way i hear sanctification press. Sometimes you'd think that when he became a new creature in christ that he ceased to be a creature he's still a creature and he's still a creator.

And those mandates are for creatures saved or unsaved. Then the other thing and i feel it's the lost doctor of the bible. I really do. I i don't have the pulse of things here and don't know. But in my country i'd call it the lost doctrine of the bible.

The Lordship of Christ and the Leper’s Cry

And that is the lordship of christ. The lordship of christ. He is lord by god almighty's decree. Eternal life is not the end of an accepted proposition like we have even in some of the better circles.

It's the idea of hofstering off christ. Christ is not the eternal life is not at the end of an accepted proposition. Eternal life is in the hands of a sovereign christ. I don't know any more serious verses that you could face sinners with in john 17 2.

That's a tremendous verse. And if you read that verse you'll see that eternal life is not at the end of an accepted proposition but in the hands of a sovereign christ who has been exalted as we've heard so vividly and beautifully this morning that to preach that he's the lord.

What happens when we preach that he's the lord. Well he's the lord of all men. That crowd you'll speak to on sunday most of which give no evidence of bible regeneration. He's their lord. You say well what's the difference.

Well there's a great difference. Some of us are very happy about it. We're very happy about it. And we've find our freedom within his lordship. And others grit their teeth and say as they did years ago when he was on this earth we will not have this man to reign over us.

And they went free from his rule and free from his reign. They don't mind giving him a little tip on sunday morning to save their conscience have enough religion to save their conscience but not enough to save their soul because they have not vowed to the lordship of jesus christ.

And i want to say again today any effort or anything to put basic submission to christ subsequent to salvation is to cut the living and vital nerve of the new covenant again by repetition because the two blessings of the new covenant are forgiveness of sin and a new heart.

And that man is self-deceived who believes he has forgiveness of sin where there's nothing been done in his heart. What christ blood does in heaven gives us a new record. Spirit does something in earth gives us a new heart and writes his law on our heart.

The lordship of christ. Oh why is it so important. Why it puts men down here. And it puts men seeking him and it puts him up there. You want a beautiful picture of it. What i'm trying to say. Luke 5 12.

Here's the picture. The leper lord if thou wilt thou can make me whole. That's a far cry from trying to strike a bargain with jesus. That's a helpless dead hopeless sinner crying out to god to do something for him that he can't do for himself.

Sovereign Grace, the Trinity, and Definite Atonement

I'd like to sum up some other things. That's just by way of review. I'd like to sum up some other things when i think of those old preachers the men that i said i read and brought it to comparison the bible.

They preached the true biblical condition of men and women that is that they're not just sick and need help but they're dead and need life supernatural life from god who alone can raise the dead. They believe that history was nothing less than the working out of god's pre-ordained plan.

That's what history is. They believed in a god who was sovereign not only in creation but sovereign in redemption. All wise in planning redemption. All powerful in performing and perfecting redemption.

A god that a bible that had held the doctrines that set forth a redeemer who actually redeemed. A christ who came not just to make salvation possible. This is a fine line and an important distinction.

A christ who came not just to make salvation possible and is standing idly by waiting to see what these big mighty sinners are going to do with this pathetic jesus. No. A christ who came to seek and actually save.

That's different. The doctrines that set forth a triune god with each person of the trinity working together in the salvation of men. It's an awful thing to sit in a pew and have a preacher that has a god that planned one thing and a and a savior that redeemed something else.

And the holy ghost that's applying it in another way. No. No. There's no war in the trinity on this business. What the father planned the son purchased. And the holy ghost is in the world today now applying.

And if i didn't believe that i'd turn him a button. There's no war in the trinity on something as important as redemption. The spirit communicates what the father planned and what the son purchased in redemption.

I'm talking about the atonement. Sure. What gives me greater thrill than to read that probably the most christological chapter in the when i read this keeps me going when i read isaiah 53 and see that verse 11 where it says he not.

Maybe possibly depending on sinners. No he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. That's it. That's it. You know i find these people who are afraid i don't believe we ought to stand up and give definitions of election and all that i believe these great bible truths are what we stand on to live by and to preach from some people.

I've been in meetings where i said election and it was you know as if it were in the bible i sell spurgeons and give away spurgeon's sermon on election. And i say now you may not agree with this dear people but don't fight with it because it's in the bible it'll be perfectly all right for you to say i don't understand it but don't speak.

And what. Against what's in the bible. Do you know jesus. I don't. I came across this one day and i don't feel so badly about getting bumped a few times when i mention election. Sometimes in the meetings because i was reading this passage of luke and i see he got stoned for preaching election.

Yes he did in luke chapter 4 here it is he verse. Well it's verse 25 where he talks about there were many widows in israel but unto none of them was the prophet sent except one decided an election. I don't know what is.

And he was preaching this. He said there were many many widows in israel but unto none of them was the prophet sent except one to save serapta a city of sidon unto a woman a widow. And then he then he increases it he said.

And there were many lepers in israel at the time of the last of the prophet and none of them were cleansed save name in the syrian and all. And what happened when he preached election. And all day in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath.

They rose up and thrust him out of the city led him to the brow of a hill. And all these great doctrines there you know there we see him all the way. I'll tell you if you ever have a bout with a real universalist you'll do some thinking about the atonement.

For two years a universalist tried to convert me with letters and books and at that particular time i didn't see the importance of having a right view of the atonement as i do today. But you know after two years i either had to believe what she was trying to propagate to me a very high class educated woman a wife of a general in the american army.

And i came to one. I thought i could be neutral on this thing or at least quiet about it. And i saw that i either had to believe what that woman was saying that everybody's going to be saved. She had bring such verses to me as in adam all die so in christ shall all be made alive.

That's the verses she used on me. And i said well either she's right or that means something else. And i had to come to the conclusion thank god to john owen and some more help. I had to come to the conclusion that all that adam represented shall die and all that christ represented shall be made alive.

I don't want to be vague on these things. People fight it. I have to remind them the hymns. They'll stand up and sing william coppers hymn. There is a fountain filled with blood. And when they get to that third standard they sing right through it.

Never think what they're singing. Dear dying lamb thy precious blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church of god be saved to sin. No more. Now let us not suppose that god's decision to save a man by a decree leaves a man passive or inert.

It's the very opposite that takes place. The covenant of grace does not kill man or it doesn't regard him as a tin can or a piece of wood. It takes possession of the man. It lays hold of him his whole being all his faculties powers soul and body for time and eternity.

That's what it does. It doesn't annihilate his powers but it removes his powerlessness. It doesn't destroy his will but it frees it from sin. It doesn't stifle or obliterate his conscience but it sets it free from darkness.

It regenerates recreates man in his entirety and renews him by grace and power. And causes him to love and consecrate himself to god. Freely freely. You know we have to lay some of these foundation principles.

These are the foundations that i believe the doctrinal foundations that you build a devotional life on if it would have substance to that devotional life. Yes. And these doctrines rather than drive us to coldness rather drive us to be doctrinaires.

They ought to drive us as it did saint paul and a host of the godly of the past to proclaim to all men that they're dead in trespasses and sin. Not just that they're sick and need help but they're dead in trespasses and sin.

That jesus christ god's son is a perfect able willing savior of sinners even the worst yea the chiefest that the father and the son promised that all that know themselves to be such sinners and put their faith in christ as savior lord shall be received into everlasting favor.

And none cast out. That's what it ought to drive us to do. Well we've looked so much at the preacher's life and his doctrine. I want to spend a few minutes this morning on because i told you how many sermons i've listened to.

How a Minister Should Apply the Word

I want to spend a few minutes this morning if i may with a few thoughts on how to preach him. I got a lot of help. I was hauling dr packer from the over to seminary when he was over in our country a couple years ago.

We were going back and forth and had spent quite a bit of time together and i remember he he i found him in the westminster library that's where i used to meet him. And he was reading uh he was reading an old old saint of another day william perkins and he was telling me about perkins on the art of prophesying.

I had a lot yesterday. I wanted to give you about that on another point but i i think i must bring perkins in today a little bit because after after dr packer told me so much about perkins i i snuck back there myself and i and i and i and i liked that so much that i said to the librarian mr kuski i said i don't have time to write all this out.

I'm a poor writer anyhow i've been dictating letters for 25 years i can hardly spell anything. So i i said to to mr kuski the librarian i said do you think you could get somebody to type this off. For me this is some 80 pages.

And he said sure so he did. But under the under in chapter 8 of that great treatise on the art of prophesying uh he had talking about ways of application which i think is a tremendous weakness in the ministry you know these men get out their swords and they dangle them and they shine and they sparkle and they and then they lay it up to somebody's chest like that no the old the old puritans when they when they brought their swords out it was no.

You must do that in a holy fashion with sincerity. We'll talk about that. But under that he said talking about the the ways of application are chiefly seven. He said he sounds like a puritan already. Doesn't he according to the different conditions of the people which are in the fold.

And he said this first these are the seven. And i wish i had time to read all that he said about it. Let me just give you the heads on believers he said who are both ignorant and unteachable. So you have to allow for that.

Some are teachable but yet ignorant these men. To these men the catechism must be delivered. And he gives acts 1825. Apollos was catechized in the way of the lord perkins was very strong in this point.

He said in another place the catechism is the doctrine of the foundation of christian religion. But he said another place. And then he said some have knowledge but are yet not humbled. And such the foundation of repentance ought to be stirred up.

That is to say a certain sorrow which is according to god sorrow according to god a grief for sin even because it is sin. Under this point perkin tells how the use of the law stirs up the heart. And then he said some are humbled just never forget.

They're not all unbelievers. They're not all unteachable and ignorant. They're not all uh in one class. Some are humbled here we must very diligently consider. Oh this is a vital point. I hope you hear this.

We must very diligently consider whether their humility be complete and sound or but begun and light and slight lest he or they receive comfort sooner than his meat should afterwards wax more hard like iron which being cast into the furnace becomes exceedingly hard.

After that it is cooled. You know i believe there's a danger in giving false comfort. I was reading jeremiah the other week and i came to that sixth chapter with these verses. One of the marks of the false prophet is that he says peace peace when there is no peace.

But it says in the 13th and 14th verse i noted this the priest he says the false prophet at just this point he says the priest every one dealer falsely they have healed. Also the hurt of my my people slightly saying peace peace when there is no peace.

And a lot of our evangelism especially that it's connected with super psychology and mass psychology is nothing more than saying peace peace when there is no peace. And then perkins says some do not believe.

He points out how these may be built up. And he points out how some do believe and that they need to be built up in the faith. I'll never forget our first pastor of our little church. We were desperate and we didn't know as much then as we knew later about calling ministers.

And so we thought because the fella had the college in the school that he was ready and we heard him preach. And he must have preached us his only best sermon. But but anyhow we called him and on prayer meeting nights.

Now here's the saints that want to cry out to god and need fed need their shorts sharp. One prayer meeting night i remember the title of his sermon and this is actual. It was a he had a title all car and a new motor.

That was his title. And he and he gave a little 10 minute ditty on being born again to the saints. Well he went back to school after a while. But some people need built up and perkins didn't miss that part.

And then he said some are fallen. That is the true people of god who stumble and fall. And he has a lot to say on that. But you know even after reading perkins you can't improve on the larger catechism on this point.

You know i could have spent this whole message on one question in the larger catechism to make this point. And i'm going to take time to catechize you a bit because i don't know if you've looked at the larger catechism lately you see the shorter catechism doesn't have this in and it ought to teach the people of god what to look for in a minister.

But there's a question. It's question 159 to be exact. And this is the question. How is the word of god to be preached by those who are called there unto now. If this isn't five sermons i never saw what wouldn't be five sermons.

Listen to the answer. They that are called to labor in the ministry of the word are to preach sound doctrine diligently in season and out of season. One plainly i'm going to talk about these things in a minute not in enticing words of man's wisdom but in the demonstration of the spirits and of power.

Three faithfully making normal whole counsel of god wisely applying themselves. Now get this to the necessity and capacity of the hearers zealously with fervent love to god and the souls of his people.

Sixly sincerely aiming at his at his glory and at their conversion edification and salvation. Let's take that apart a little bit. Sound doctrine diligently. We covered that pretty well. And then the second thing was plainly plainly i want to spend a little time plainly you know some young preachers that i go here come out.

They think they're going to refute all the higher critics. And the big problem is first they must teach their people what the higher critics believe. That's right. So they go to all this great strain of refuting all the higher critics.

And it's wonderful. But the people they're talking to don't know what the higher critics believe. That's right. That's not play me. I read in the bible except you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood.

How shall that be known. What is spoken for you shall speak into the air. And that kind of preaching is nothing more than speaking into the air. Plainly our brother called our attention to this verse the other night see the pattern of faithful minister.

And my speech in my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom but in the demonstration of the spirit of power. Plainly. Plainly ah yes hebrew and greek and latin all have a very high place but not where pilot put them over the head of jesus at his feet at his feet at his feet.

The pew is not interested so much in the tools of the minister and as they are and how he uses them. How does he use the tools. These are tools. Plainly i say i want to read from banner magazine a back issue on the simplicity of preaching by jc ryle.

I'm going to take time to read this. There's a lot of points but i just want to read point four called a direct style. The fourth hint i give is this if you wish to preach simply use a direct style. What do i mean by this i mean the practice and custom of saying i and you.

When a man takes up this style of preaching he is often told that he is conceited and egotistical. The result is that many preachers are never direct and always think it very humble and modest and becoming to say we.

But i remember good old bishop valor zellner saying he was that we with a word for kings or corporations they should be used and they alone. But the parish clergy should always take i and you. I endorse that saying with all my heart said the bishop i declare.

I never could understand what this famous pulpit we means. Does the preacher who all through his sermon saying we mean himself in the bishop or himself in the church or himself in the congregation or himself in the early fathers or himself and the reformers or himself and the wise men and all the wise men in the world.

After all does he. Or after all does he only mean himself plainly john smith or tom jones. If he only means himself what earthly reason can he give for using a plural number and not saying simply and plainly i when he visits his parishioners on on a sickbed or catechizes in his school or orders baked bread from the baker or meat from the butcher.

He doesn't say we. He says i why then should i like to know. Can he not say in the eye in the pulpit what right has he as a modest man to speak for all for none but himself. Why not stand up on a sunday and say reading the word of god.

I have found a text concerning such things as these and i come to set them before you my people many people i'm sure do not understand what the preacher means. What the preacher's we means. The uh this expression leaves them in a kind of a fog.

If you say i your rector i your vicar i your curator your of the parish come here to talk of something that concerns your soul something you should believe something you should do. You are at any rate understood.