theology of hebrews—part 1 in this issue · 2016. 1. 16. · macarthur’s commentary on...

Notice five things from these verses. To answer our opening question, our aim in all of life should be to have Christ highly honored. The Apostle/slave of Christ writes, “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” His aim is to make much of Jesus. He wants Jesus to be shown to be great. Magnified. Exalted.

The first thing to notice about this aim is that we should eagerly expect and hope to make much of Jesus. Paul ex-pects and hopes. He can expect because he plans, by God’s help, to live that way. He hopes because he knows he needs God’s help.

Second, we should not be ashamed in making much of Jesus but should

This is the first in a series of studies in the Book of Hebrews. These stud-ies are technically not a commentary, that is, I am not writing a verse by verse exposition of the whole epistle to the Hebrews. It is an exposition of the major theological sections that deal specifically with the New Covenant. We will spend a lot of time on some sections and will skip other sections altogether. Our goal is to show how impossible it is to understand the Book of Hebrews without having a working knowledge of New Covenant Theology (here after called NCT). It is acknowledged by everyone who writes or preaches on this book that it has some very difficult verses. Who has not struggled with Hebrews chapters 6 and 10? We will begin by listing some things where there is nearly universal agreement.

Most agree that Hebrews sets forth a series of contrasts and comparisons. However, there is not an agreement as to what is being contrasted and compared. In most cases the contrasts and comparisons are fairly clear unless the writer or preacher allows his theology to obscure the obvious meaning. Let me give one illustration. All agree that it is essential that we understand the primary purpose for which a given book was written. This

Issue 210 S eptemb er 2014

… It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace … Hebrews 13:9

Theology of Hebrews—Part 1John G. Reisinger

What is the over-arching purpose of your life? The Holy Spirit through the Apostle helps us find the God-giv-en answer to that question in Philippians 1:20-26:

My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of me, your confidence may grow in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

Making Much of Jesus: Philippians 1:20-26A. Blake White

Reisinger—Continued on page 2

White—Continued on page 10

In This IssueTheology of Hebrews—Part 1

John G. Reisinger1

Making Much of Jesus: Philippians 1:20-26

A. Blake White

1

Apologetics and Reformed Theology: Approach #2

Steve West

3

Psalm 19: 7-11 The Soul Satisfying Word

John Thorhauer

5

Hypothetical StatementsJohn G. Reisinge

7

September 2014 Issue 210Sound of Grace is a publication of Sovereign

Grace New Covenant Ministries, a tax exempt 501(c)3 corporation. Contributions to Sound of Grace are deductible under section 170 of the Code.

Sound of Grace is published 10 times a year. The subscription price is shown below. This is a paper unashamedly committed to the truth of God’s sovereign grace and New Covenant Theology. We invite all who love these same truths to pray for us and help us financially.

We do not take any paid advertising. The use of an article by a particular person is

not an endorsement of all that person believes, but it merely means that we thought that a particular article was worthy of printing.

Sound of Grace Board: John G. Reisinger, David Leon, John Thorhauer, Bob VanWing-erden and Jacob Moseley.

Editor: John G. Reisinger; Phone: (585)396-3385; e-mail: [email protected].

General Manager: Jacob Moseley: [email protected]

Send all orders and all subscriptions to: Sound of Grace, 5317 Wye Creek Drive, Fred-erick, MD 21703-6938 – Phone 301-473-8781 Visit the bookstore: http://www.newcovenant-media.com

Address all editorial material and questions to: John G. Reisinger, 3302 County Road 16, Canandaigua, NY 14424-2441.

Webpage: www.soundofgrace.org or SOGNCM.org

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by Permis-sion. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked “NKJV” are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by Permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contributions Orders

Discover, MasterCard or VISA

If you wish to make a tax-deductible contribu-tion to Sound of Grace, please mail a check to: Sound of Grace, 5317 Wye Creek Drive, Frederick, MD 21703-6938.

Please check the mailing label to find the expiration of your subscription. Please send payment if you want your subscription to con-tinue—$20.00 for ten issues. Or if you would prefer to have a pdf file emailed, that is avail-able for $10.00 for ten issues. If you are unable to subscribe at this time, please call or drop a note in the mail and we will be glad to continue Sound of Grace free of charge.

Reisinger—Continued from page 1


will also entail understanding who the specific person or persons are to whom a given book is written. He-brews is clear as to whom it is written. All agree that the theme of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ is better than any-thing and everybody. In this epistle, contrast and comparison is the con-stant message. Everything presented is presented as better: a better hope, a better priest, a better covenant, a better promise, and a better sacrifice.

If we are paying attention, we will see the writer of Hebrews is giving a master key to unlocking his epistle. He consciously does not mention the Gentiles in the epistle since they have nothing to do with the writer’s pur-pose. One of the most tragic mistakes you can make in trying to understand the theology of Hebrews is to think the writer is contrasting weak Chris-tians with spiritual Christians. MacAr-thur’s comments on 5:11 are excellent.

There are, of course, many ex-hortations for immature Christians to grow up. Throughout the history of the church there has been need of such counsel, but I do not think that is what is given here. He is saying to hesi-tant Jews still hanging onto Judaism, “Come unto completion, to maturity, in the New Covenant.” This interpreta-tion is not the most traditional, but I think it is consistent with the whole book and is defensible. The warning and the appeal, as before, are evange-listic. The maturity being called for is not that of a Christian’s growing in the faith, but of an unbeliever’s com-ing into the faith−into the full-grown, mature truths and blessings of the New Covenant. It is the same maturity or perfection (from teleioo) as in 10:1 and 14, which can only refer to salva-tion, not to Christian growth.1

I cannot too highly recommend MacArthur’s commentary on He-brews. If you can only afford to buy

1 John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary-Hebrews (Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL, 1983) 129.

one commentary on Hebrews, there is no contest, buy MacArthur’s. In the following quotation he gives the best summary of the message of the Book of Hebrews I have ever read.

Throughout the book of Hebrews, the many comparisons and contrasts are basically between Christianity and Judaism. This truth is essential to a proper interpretation of the epistle.

The central theme and message of the book of Hebrews is the superiority of the New Covenant to the Old, that is, of Christianity to Judaism. Within this theme are the sub themes of the superiority of the new priesthood to the old, the new sacrifice to the old ones, the new Mediator to the old one, and so on. This is the key that unlocks every section of Hebrews, and to use any other key is, I believe, to make forced entry.

In the book of Hebrews the Holy Spirit is not contrasting two kinds of Christianity. He is not contrasting immature Christians and mature ones. He is contrasting Judaism and Christi-anity, the unsaved Jew in Judaism and the redeemed Jew in Christianity. He is contrasting the substance and the shadow, the pattern and the reality, the visible and the invisible, the facsimile and the real thing, the type and the anti-type, the picture and the actual.

The Old Testament essentially is God’s revelation of pictures and types, which are fulfilled in Christ in the New Testament. The book of Hebrews, therefore, compares and contrasts the two parts of God’s revelation that our division of the Bible reflects.2

Look carefully at the “better things” mentioned in Hebrews and you will see that the writer cannot possibly be contrasting Gentiles with either converted or lost Jews. A Jew who had trusted Christ as his Mes-siah had a “better hope” than the most spiritual believing Jew had while liv-ing under the old covenant. The writer is not saying that the Jews to whom he was writing had a better hope than the

2 Ibid, p.127

Issue 210 September 2014

West—Continued on page 15

Apologetics and Reformed Theology: Approach #2Steve West

In many ways, Reformed epis-temology is both extremely simple and extremely complicated. Episte-mology is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with knowledge. It investigates the nature of knowledge, the procedures by which knowledge can be attained, and the limitations of what humans can know. It should go without saying that this is a highly specialized field. For apologetics, Reformed epistemology is an attempt to understand epistemology from a Reformed perspective, and Reformed thinking from a perspective that is informed about epistemology. To sim-plify, some of the questions Reformed epistemologists are asking include, “how do we know that God exists and the gospel is true?” and “what episte-mological position allows Christian belief to be accepted as intellectually justifiable and responsible?” Their de-sire is to ensure that believing in God does not fall outside of the boundaries of proper epistemology. This is a con-cern shared by presuppositionalists, although the proposed solutions differ.

One of the salient features of Reformed epistemology is that it has rejected the type of epistemol-ogy on which the classical approach to apologetics was based. Reformed epistemologists have argued that, since the Enlightenment, many West-ern philosophers have accepted a view of knowledge that makes it virtually (if not actually) impossible to justify belief in God. But belief in God is not irrational. If God exists, it would seem to follow that he could reveal himself to people in a way which satisfies the criteria that govern the formation of beliefs in a proper epistemology. A consequence of this is that if any view of epistemology ruled out the possibil-ity of actually knowing that the gospel

is true, that view of epistemology itself would have to be false.

A dominant view of epistemol-ogy since the Enlightenment has conceived of human knowledge as a building. Not every belief that we hold is of equal importance in our intellectual structure. I might believe that I ate dinner at a friend’s house last Tuesday, only to be reminded that it was really last Wednesday. My belief that connected eating dinner with my friend on Tuesday is quickly replaced with the belief that the dinner actually took place on Wednesday. This has hardly caused a massive realignment amongst all my intellectual beliefs! There are other beliefs, however, that are far more important. If my belief about the day I ate dinner with my friend can be compared to a dab of paint on a house, other beliefs are more like bricks in the wall. They are far more integral to the structure than the paint. Still, bricks can be replaced: it is more work, and there are more implications, but it is still possible to replace bricks without knocking the entire house down.

At a deeper level of importance, however, there are beliefs that func-tion in our mental buildings like a foundation functions in a house. Not only are these beliefs extremely important, and not only would replac-ing them require a large-scale mental renovation project, our other beliefs are actually dependent on them. If we were to logically trace out what justi-fies us in holding a “window-level” belief, we would find that it ultimately rests on one or more of our founda-tional beliefs. Beliefs, like walls, can-not hang in thin air.

This might seem fairly abstract, but it’s not really that complex: we

just don’t normally take the time to think about what our beliefs are actu-ally resting on. Take, for example, my changed belief about the day I had dinner at my friend’s house. Holding the belief in the first place assumes the law of non-contradiction, because I can’t be both at my friend’s house and not at my friend’s house at the same time and in the same way. It assumes that my senses work, because it was—presumably—my senses that carried certain stimuli to my brain, which were then interpreted as being my friend, his house, food, the time of day (supper, not breakfast), etc. It likewise assumes that the universe is not per-fectly random, that people maintain their identities through time, that my memory works, and a whole lot more. In this epistemological model, the big question is not whether some beliefs are foundational, but which ones are foundational. What kinds of beliefs are so basic that they simply cannot be built on any others?

In the traditional model, there were three types of beliefs that were considered foundational. The first type consisted of beliefs that are true by definition. For example, the belief that all bachelors are unmarried cannot be false, because being unmarried is part of the very definition of a bachelor. The same is true of simple analytical truths, like 1 + 1 = 2.

The second category of founda-tional beliefs involved things that are evident to our senses. At the present moment, my senses are telling me that I’m looking at a computer screen. I cannot be wrong that to me it seems like I’m looking at a computer screen. Now this belief might be false be-cause I’m hallucinating, or my crafty

September 2014 Issue 210

Gentiles. The Gentiles did not have any hope at all! They had no hope because they had no covenant nor did they have any promise. The Gentles were not looking for a Messiah. They were promised nothing but wrath. To say that the Book of Hebrews is in any way teaching that Gentiles have a better covenant, a better promise and a better hope than the Jews is to ignore what Hebrews and similar passages clearly state. The word that describes the state of the Gentiles is without. If the writer of Hebrews wanted to con-trast the state of the Jews in contrast to the Gentles, he would have said the same thing as Paul said in Ephesians. The Gentiles did not need a better hope, they needed a promise that gave hope, period. Paul specifically says the Gentiles were without hope. He does not say the Gentiles received a better covenant, they had no covenant at all until Christ came.

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumci-sion by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. (Eph. 2:11, 12).

MacArthur is not alone in his view of Hebrews. A.W. Pink, like MacAr-thur, openly admits that the classical Reformed view of Hebrews is differ-ent than his.

The interpretation which we shall give is not at all in accord with that advanced by the older writers. It differs considerably from that found in the commentaries of Drs. Calvin, Owen and Gouge, and more recently, those of A. Saphir, and Dr. J. Brown. Much as we respect their works, and deeply as we are indebted to not a little

that is helpful in them, yet we dare not follow them blindly. To “prove all things” (1 Thess. 5:21) is ever our bounden duty.3

No one had more respect for and love of the Puritans than Pink, but he did not hesitate to disagree with them when he felt their theology was wrong. He basically says the same thing as MacArthur on Hebrews 6:1-3.

The writers mentioned above understood the expression “the prin-ciples of the doctrine of Christ,” or as the margin of the Revised Version more accurately renders “the word of the beginning of Christ,” to refer to the elementary truths of Christianity, a summary of which is given in the six items that follow in the second half of verse 1 and the whole of verse 2; while the “Let us go on unto perfection,” they regarded as a call unto the deeper and higher things of the Chris-tian revelation. But for reasons which to us seem conclusive, such a view of our passage is altogether untenable. It fails to take into account the central theme of this Epistle, and the purpose for which it was written. It does not do justice at all to the immediate con-text. It completely breaks down when tested in its details.4

Our English Bibles says, “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the He-brews.” I am sure most of our readers are aware that the titles found at the head of the different books of the Bi-ble are not divinely inspired. In some instances such tiles are helpful and in other cases they are grossly erroneous. As an example of the latter, the last book in the Bible has the title “The Revelation of St. John the Divine,” but the opening sentence of the book itself designates it “The Revelation of

3 A. W. Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, MI, year ?) 272

4 Ibid, 27

Jesus Christ!”

In almost all of the Epistles there is a Divinely-named addressee in the opening verses. However, the contents of each Epistle are not to be restricted to those immediately and locally addressed. The Epistle of James is ad-dressed to “the Twelve Tribes, which are scattered abroad.” But the truth of this book is applicability for all saints. Epistles like Philippians and Colos-sians are clearly addressed to the church in local cities but it is obvious that they were not meant to apply only to those local churches. The truth is that what Christ said to the apostles in Mark 13:37—”What I say unto you, I

say unto all”— may well be applied to the whole of the Bible. All Scripture is needed by us (2 Tim. 3:16, 17), and all Scrip-ture is God’s word to us. Note carefully that while at the beginning of his Epistle to Titus Paul only

addresses Titus himself (Ti-tus 1:4), yet at the close of this letter he expressly says, “Grace be with you all!” (Titus 3:15)

Although we are at once struck by the absence of any Divinely-given title in the opening verses of Hebrews, the first sentence enables us to identify at once those to whom the Epistle was originally sent: see Hebrews 1:1, 2. God spake through the prophets to the children of Israel in the Old Covenant. It was also unto them He had spoken through His Son. However, it was not the Jewish nation at large which was addressed, but the “holy brethren, par-takers of the heavenly calling” among them.

The Epistle itself contains further details which serve to identify the addressees. That it was written to saints who were by no means young in the faith is clear from Hebrews 5:12. That it was sent to those who had suffered severe persecutions



All Scripture is needed by us (2 Tim. 3:16, 17), and all Scripture is God’s word to us.


Thorhauer—Continued on page 16

Introduction:

What do these men all have in common: Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, Ponce de Leon, Ferdinand Magellan, Hernando Cor-tez, Francisco Pizarro, and Hernando de Soto?

They were Spanish explorers. They were all part of one country’s effort to gain essentially one thing, gold. Spain was at the forefront of exploring the new worlds because they hoped for riches in gold. There were other reasons mixed in with the end goal of riches, but it is a sure thing that riches are what drove the men to sail, and riches are what drove the rul-ers to support these explorers. Gold was valuable 500 years ago and gold is still valuable today. The countries that led the exploration of the new world poured much of their resources into finding gold in the new world. Five-hundred years later things have changed very little in this regard.

I recently watched the show Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel. It is the story of modern day gold miners in Alaska. These men spend millions of dollars and work from dawn till dusk for days on end for what seems like a tiny amount of gold. This small bit of gold is worth a lot of money; it is precious and it is valuable. For centuries people have been known to pour their life’s resources into attain-ing it. The men of Gold Rush leave their families behind, mortgage their houses, and even risk their health if necessary in order to get this gold. And then they create a TV show so we can watch as they pursue their endeav-or! And yet, almost every one of you has something in your possession that has qualities which make it even more

desirable than gold!

Let’s read about it now.

Psalms 19:7-11

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward. (ESV)

These verses show a typical example of Hebrew poetry in which we see six parallel statements about the Word of God. Each one tells us a critical detail about the nature and function of the Word. In this article, we will approach this passage by first looking at the nature of God’s Word in each verse. After understanding the nature of the Word we will then look to understand the function of this Word for our lives. So first the nature, then the function, or to put in very simple terms we will look at what the

Word is and what the Word does.

I. The Word is:

Let’s focus first on what the Word is. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, this is what David did. No-tice in each verse we first see a state-ment of what the Word is, that is, we see a description of an attribute of the Word: perfect, sure, right, and so on. Then from that we see a function that follows: revives, endures, makes one wise. Since this is David’s approach, so it will be ours as well. But there is also a practical aspect to this. We need to know the characteristics of the Word before we can truly appreciate how the Word is to function. In short, we must understand what it is so that we can then understand what it does.

Perfect - v7a The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;

David tells us that the law of the Lord is perfect. The word law here has the sense of the revealed will of God. It is the very will of God made plain to us in the pages of Scripture. We are told that this book is perfect. When David says it is perfect he means that it is not lacking in any way. It is com-plete; it is beautiful; it is practical.

It is complete in its content as the revealed will of God. That is, it does not lack content. It is beautiful in its expression of God and his will. It is practical; it is very real in its descrip-tion of the world and of man, which makes it very useful.

Now, what does the world do with things that are in a sense ‘perfect’? There are things we can hold and see in this world every day that might be described as complete, beautiful, and real. What does the world do with

Psalm 19:7-11 The Soul Satisfying Word

John Thorhauer



was written, of those in Israel who had believed on the Lord Jesus. Unlike the Gentiles, who, for long centuries past, had lost all knowledge of the true God, and, in consequence, worshipped idols, the Jews had a Divine religion, and a Divinely-appointed place of worship. To be called upon to forsake these, which had been venerated by their fathers for over a thousand years, was to make a big demand upon them. It was natural that even those among them who had savingly believed on Christ should want to retain the forms and ceremonies amid which they had been brought up; the more so, seeing that the Temple still stood and the Levitical priesthood still functioned. An endeavor had been made to link Christianity on to Judaism, and as Acts 21:20 tells us there were many thousands of the early Jewish Chris-tians who were “zealous of the law”—as the next verses clearly show, the ceremonial law.6

Basically, the early Jewish believ-ers wanted to Judaize Christianity and Christianize Judaism. However,

in order to accomplish that they had to deny the clear teaching of the New Covenant. They literally had to give up the reli-gion they had practiced all their life and embrace the Gospel as the fulfill-ment of what was prom-

ised in the Old Covenant and fulfilled in Christ.

It was a small thing that their goods had been confiscated; but they had also been banished from the holy places. Hitherto they had enjoyed the privileges of devout Israelites: they could take part in the beautiful and God-appointed services of the sanctuary; but now they were treated as unclean and apostates. Unless they gave up faith in Jesus, and forsook the assembling of themselves together, they were not allowed to enter the Temple, they were banished from the altar, the sacrifice, the high priest, the house of Jehovah.

6 Ibid, 11

(cf. Acts 8:1) is plain from what we read in Hebrews 10:32. That it was addressed to a Christian community of considerable size is evident from Hebrews 13:24. From this last refer-ence we are inclined to conclude that this Epistle was first delivered to the church in Jerusalem (Acts 11:22), or to the churches in Judea (Acts 9:31), copies of which would be made and forwarded to Jewish Christians in foreign lands. Thus, our Epistle was first addressed to those descendants of Abraham who, by grace, had believed on their Savior-Messiah.5

The purpose for writing Hebrews is clear. It was to instruct Jewish believers that Judaism had been su-perseded by Christianity. We must re-member that most of the earliest con-verts to Christ were Jews by natural birth. They really struggled with leav-ing their former religion behind. They were not free from most of the Jewish prejudices especially when it came to accepting the saved Gentiles as true children of God. On several occasions we have noted that two things happened on the Day of Pentecost that Jewish believers had difficulty accepting. One was not just accepting Gentiles as true children of God but realizing that the saved Gentile was raised to total equality in every way to a saved Jew. The second thing was that the Jews who rejected Christ were lowered to an equal status with the pagan Gen-tiles. The Jew/Gentile designation was 100% dropped and there was a total equality of Jew and Gentile both in and outside of Christ. In his early Epistles the apostle Paul wrote several times on this point, and sought to wean them from an attachment to the Mosaic institutions. But only in this Epistle does the writer deal fully and systematically with the subject.

It is difficult for us to appreciate the position, at the time this Epistle

5 Ibid, 12

By clinging to the Messiah they were to be severed from Messiah’s people. This was, indeed, a great and perplexing trial; that for the hope of Israel’s glory they were banished from the place which God had chosen, and where the divine Presence was revealed, and the symbols and ordi-nances had been the joy and strength of their fathers; that they were to be no longer children of the covenant and of the house, but worse than Gentiles, excluded from the outer court, cut off from the commonwealth of Israel. This was indeed a sore and mysteri-ous trial. Cleaving to the promises made unto their fathers, cherishing the hope in constant prayer that their nation would yet accept the Messiah, it was the severest test to which their faith could be put, when their loyalty to Jesus involved separation from all the sacred rights and privileges of Jerusalem.”7

It is obvious that the stakes were high when a Jew embraced the Gos-pel. If ever it was essential to be sure you understood the God ordained re-lationship of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, it was in those early days of the church. The Jews went from a religion that was based on vis-ible ceremonies that were all without question ordained of God to a religion based on things unseen. They had a better priest than Aaron but he was in heaven and totally unseen. A verbal promise had replaced Aaron and his beautiful robes and the ritual of the Day of Atonement.

The theme of Hebrews is the super-abounding excellence of Chris-tianity over Judaism. The sum and substance, the center and circumfer-ence, the light and life of Christian-ity, is Christ. Therefore, the method followed by the Holy Spirit in this Epistle, in developing its dominant theme, is to show the immeasurable superiority of Christ over all that had gone before. One by one the various objects in which the Jews boasted are taken up, and in the presence of the su-

7 Ibid, 12


Basically, the early Jewish believers want-ed to Judaize Christi-anity and Christianize Judaism.


Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word” (John 8:54-56 ESV).

The New Testament sometimes uses hypothetical statements. We must recognize such statements as hypothetical and not use them to overthrow clear doctrines. Some of the most well-known of these hypo-thetical statements are in the Book of Hebrews:

For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt (Heb. 6:4-7 ESV)

For if we go on sinning delib-erately after receiving the knowl-edge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment,

and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sancti-fied, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? (Heb. 10:26-29 ESV).

These texts certainly, on the surface, appear to contradict the truth of the believer’s absolute security in Christ. They seem to teach you can be saved and then be lost.

1. Do these texts prove a true Christian can lose his or her salvation? No!

2. Do these texts teach that IF you renounce your faith in Christ you will be lost? Yes!

3. Does the assurance that a Chris-tian cannot be lost do away with the absolute necessity of his or her perse-verance in faith unto the end? No!

Isn’t this a contradiction? No!

One of the texts that helped me with the Hebrew texts mentioned is John 8:54, 55, quoted above.

1. Could Jesus lie? No!

2. If Christ would have said, “I do

not know Him,” would he have been lying? Yes!

3. Because Jesus could not lie, does that mean He did not have to tell the truth? No!

4. Is this a contradiction? No!

The problem is confusing the fact that a true believer is secure in Christ and can never be lost with labeling, in an absolute sense, a given individual as saved.

1. Can I tell a specific individual who professes to be a Christian that IF he forsakes Christ he will be lost? Yes!

2. Can I tell him that if he is a true Christian he is secure in Christ? Yes!

3. Can I give any specific person absolute assurance that they are a true Christian and can never perish? No!

4. Isn’t that a contradiction? No!

5. Can I proclaim, “You are saved as long as you believe?” Yes!

6. Can you quit believing and still be saved? No!

7. Does being eternal secure in Christ do away with the necessity of perseverance in faith? No!

8. Will every true Christian keep on believing to the end? Yes!

Hypothetical StatementsJohn G. Reisinger

Consider your state. You are a pardoned sinner, not under the law but under grace, freely, fully saved from the guilt of all your sins. There is none to condemn, God having justified you. He sees you in his Son, washed you in his blood, clothed you in his righteousness, and he embraces him and you, the head and the members, with the same affection.

William Romaine

Treatises on the Life, Walk and Triumph of Faith, 1830, p. 305.

September 2014 Issue 210Reisinger—Continued from page 6

perlative glory of the Son of God they pale into utter insignificance. We are shown First, His superiority over the prophets, Hebrews 1:1-3. Second, His superiority over angels in Hebrews 1:4 to Hebrews 2:18. Third, His superior-ity over Moses in Hebrews 3:1-19. Fourth, His superiority over Joshua, Hebrews 4:1-13. Fifth, His superiority over Aaron in Hebrews 5:14 to 7:18. Sixth, His superiority over the whole ritual of Judaism, which is developed by showing the surpassing excellency of the new covenant over the old, in Hebrews 7:19 to Hebrews 10:39. Seventh, His superiority over each and all of the Old Testament saints, in Hebrews 11:1 to Hebrews 12:3. In the Lord Jesus, Christians have the substance and reality, of which Juda-ism contained but the shadows and figures.8

Hebrews divides itself into two parts, the first from 1:1 to 10:18 is doctrinal, and the second, from 10:19 to the end is practice. In some obvious respects Hebrews differs from all the other Epistles of the New Testament. The name of the writer is omitted, there is no opening salutation, the people to whom it was first specifical-ly and locally sent are not mentioned. On the positive side we may note, that the typical teachings of the Old Testa-ment are expounded here at greater length than elsewhere; the priesthood of Christ is opened up, fully, only in this Epistle.

The first time that Christ is re-ferred to in this Epistle it is as seated at “the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3), for it is with a heavenly Christ that Christianity has to do: note the other reference in this Epistle to the same fact—Hebrews 1:13, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2. In perfect ac-cord with Hebrews 1:3, which strikes the keynote of the Epistle, in addition to the heavenly Christ, reference is made to “the heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1), to “the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4), to “heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5), to

8 Ibid, 13

“the heavenly Country” (Heb. 11:16), to the “heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22), and to “the church of the First-born, whose names are written in Heaven” (Heb. 12:23). This emphasis is easily understood when we remem-ber that our Epistle is addressed to those whose inheritance, religious relationships, and hopes, had been all earthly.

The doctrinal importance of this book is exceeded by none, not even by the Roman Epistle. Where its teach-ings are believed, understood, and embodied in the life, ritualism and legalism (the two chief enemies of Christianity) receive their death blow. In no other book of Scripture are the sophistries and deceptions of Roman-ism so clearly and systematically ex-posed. So fully and pointedly are the errors of Popery refuted, it might well have been written since that satanic system became established? Well did one of the Puritans say, “God foresee-ing what poisonous heresies would be hatched by the Papacy, prepared this antidote against them.”9

There is no agreement about the author of Hebrews. Most recent writers doubt that Paul wrote Hebrews. Pink says it was Paul. Dr. S. Lewis Johnson said if you read Hebrews in an English translation, you would think Paul wrote it, but if you read it in the original Greek, you would believe Paul could not possibly have writ-ten it. I will leave that subject for those more capable than I am. It is enough for me to believe the Holy Spirit is the real author regardless of what human pen he was pleased to use.

The opening verses of Hebrews immediately show the writer’s inten-

9 Ibid, 14

tion.

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spo-ken to us by his Son (Heb. 1:1-2).

The first thing to note is that God reveals himself to his people. He does not play hide and seek. He sometimes speaks verbally and directly, he some-times speaks through prophets and he uses “various other ways.” God’s speaks his full and final message in his son and the message God seeks to convey is complete in Christ. The Bible is God’s “word revelation” and is divided up into two sections, the 39 books of the Old Testament written before Christ came, and the 27 books of the New Testament written after Christ came. The subject is the same in both sections. The 39 books written before Christ reveal the promise that Christ the Messiah is coming. The 27 books written after Christ came teach

that the promise has been fulfilled.

God cannot be known in a saving sense unless he is please to reveal him-self and he reveals himself in saving grace only by his Holy Spirit using his Holy Word. Creation

reveals enough about God to justly condemn all men but it does not reveal enough to save any man. Paul is quite emphatic concern-ing an unregenerate man’s totally in-ability to understand spiritual things. In I Corinthians Paul sums up the various ways we gain knowledge.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Cor. 2:9 KJV).

There is the scientific method-“eye

God cannot be known in a saving sense unless

he is please to reveal himself and he reveals himself in saving grace only by his Holy Spirit using his Holy Word. Creation reveals enough about God to justly condemn all men but it does not reveal enough

to save any man.

Issue 210 September 2014 hath not seen” we learn by observ-ing facts and forming laws seeking to describe reality. However, no scien-tist’s eye will ever see God in either a microscope or telescope. Unsaved man can see God’s footprints but can only see God himself in the atoning work of Christ. Science at its best can-not find God unless God is pleased to open any person’s eyes.

There is the historical method-“ear hath not heard.” We learn by listening to the great historians and philoso-phers. Again, we come up empty if we want to know what God is like. We may examine every history book ever written and digest every philosophical treatise propounded and our ears will never hear God speak words of saving grace.

There is the artistic method-“neither entered into the heart of man.” The artist, whether he uses paint and brush or music notes and instruments is supposed to be able to feel and express reality. However, no artist of any kind can create a true pic-ture of God. The artist is supposed to have a deeper sense of realty than we ordinary folks do but all of his depic-tions of God are often among the most ridiculous. How simple and satisfying

are the “words of God.” A ten year old on his knees who understands the catechism can see more spiritual truth that a philosopher does on his tiptoes.

The writer of Hebrews sees Christ as the full and final revelation of God. All we need to know about God is found in the life and work of Christ and the New Testament is the full and final revelation of that life and work. Every heresy will involve either add-ing something to the Word of God or denying something written in the Word of God. The Apostles alone are inspired by the Holy Spirit to give the Church holy inspired Scripture.

One other important thing should be noted in the introduction. It is often said that we must learn to separate the “good” from the “better” and the bet-ter from the “best.” This is certainly true when we study the Book of He-brews. There is a list of specific things mentioned as being done away and replaced by something better. Not a single one of those things those things are done away because they are bad in any sense whatever. They are done away only because they had served the purpose for which God originally established them. When we insist the Aaronic priesthood has been totally

done away and replaced by Christ, we are in no sense saying or inferring that Aaron was anything less than a godly man who faithful served God his whole life. His ministry was done away and replaced by a better ministry that could accomplish what Aaron’s ministry could never accomplish.

We must never think that compar-ing two things and determining one is better than the other is the same saying one of the two things being compared is wrong. It is quite clear that the Law, as covenant terms, is done away in Christ, but it is just as clear that the Law is still just as “holy, just and good” (Romans 7:12) as it was when God wrote it with his finger at Mount Sinai. The law, as the “words of the covenant” (Exodus 34:28), is done away in Christ because its propose has been accomplished. The “tables of the covenant” (Deut. 9:9-11) were “holy, just and good” but the New Covenant terms of Christ are better (Hebrews 8:6). In all of the contrasts in Hebrews, we are not deal-ing with bad things compared with good things. We are dealing with good things being compared with better things.

The School of PainJ. R. Miller, "Life's Byways and Waysides"

Everyone has sorrow. Being a Christian does not exempt anyone from grief. But faith in Christ brings a transfor-mation of sorrow. Not only are we taught to endure the sorrows that come to us patiently and submissively—but we are assured that there is a blessing in them for us, if we accept them with love and trust.

One of the deepest truths taught in the Bible—is that earthly sorrow has a mission in the sanctifying of life. "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. God disciplines us for our good—that we may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10-11

We dread pain! And yet the person who has not experienced pain—has not yet touched the deepest and most pre-cious meanings of life. There are things we never can learn—except in the school of pain! There are heights of life we never can attain—except in the bitterness of sorrow. There are joys we never can have—until we have walked in the dark ways of sorrow. Not to have sorrow, in some form, is to miss one of life's holiest opportunities. We get our best things—out of affliction! "I have refined you in the furnace of suffering!" Isaiah 48:10

Courtesy of Grace Gems: www.GraceGems.org

September 2014 Issue 210White—Continued from page 1 faith in the Son of God, who loved

me and gave Himself for me.” Now, your number one priority is no longer you but Christ. According to 2 Cor-inthians 5:15, part of the reason Jesus came was to rescue us from living for ourselves: “And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.”

Life is for Christ and is for Christ-centered ministry.2 Philippians 1:22 reads, “Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose.” Then he writes, “Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of me, your confi-dence may grow in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.” (Phil 1:25-26). Paul gives his life for the strengthen-ing and encouragement of the body of Christ. He loved Christ and therefore loved the body of Christ. The purpose of this Christ-centered ministry is so that your confidence may grow. As

he said in Philippians 1:14: “Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly.” God wants us as believers to grow in our confidence

to speak the word of Christ without fear, to be unashamed in representing Him, and to progress and increase in joy in the faith. This is what our life is for!

As far as Paul’s own personal interests are concerned, it is better for him to die and be with Jesus, but it is better for the Philippians if he re-mains. As we have seen and will see, this principle of love, of dying to self

2 Stephen E. Fowl, Philippians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 33; D.A. Carson, Basics for Believers (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 29.

for the good of others is vital to true Christianity.3 In chapter two he will call it the “Jesus mindset”:

“Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross” (Phil. 2:3-8).

Living is for Christ and Christ-centered ministry.

Fifth, we should make it our aim to make much of Jesus by death whether by life or by death. Why? Because death is gain. “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” Putting it together, we should make much of Jesus in life because living is Christ and we should make much of Jesus in our death because death is gain. Paul desires to depart and be with Jesus. “I have the desire to depart and be with Christ - which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). It is literally “much more better” to go and be with our King.

To die is gain? He desires to depart? In other words, he desires to die? This is the opposite of the way the world views death. People try to deal with the fear of death by denying it. Just look at the cosmetic surgery industry. We refuse to admit we are outwardly wasting away. Look at the millions of dollars spent during the last weeks of life. Every gray hair (or lost hair) and wrinkle is an indict-ment. The wages of sin is death. Do you ever notice how our culture is fascinated with youth? How often do you see elderly people holding microphones? We have a youth fetish.

3 Fowl, Philippians, 52.

do so with all boldness. In Ephesians 6:19-20, Paul writes, “Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambas-sador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.” We shouldn’t cower at the thought of ridicule but should repre-sent the King with confidence because He is the King.

Third, we should make it our aim to make much of Jesus all the time. “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about any-thing, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly hon-ored in my body, whether by life or by death.” Now and always. All the time. Are we this Christ-obsessed? Is he central in our hearts and lives? Every moment in life presents us with an op-portunity to be ashamed of Christ or to make much of Christ. Annie Dillard once said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Lives spent exalt-ing Christ consist of days spent exalting Christ, and days spent exalting Christ consist of a hundred small, everyday moments in which we seek to live for King Jesus.

Fourth, we should seek to make much of Jesus by our life.Paul says “whether by life or by death.” Then he gives us the reason: because (gar) living is Christ. “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” To live is Christ. Our life is no longer our own. Our life is now hid with Christ. The finest commentary on this verse is Galatians 2:20: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body,1 I live by

1 “Body” here simply means “bodily life.” Karl Barth, Epistle to the Philip-pians (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002), 35.

. . . this principle of love, of dying to self for the good of others is vital to true Christi-anity.


White—Continued on page 12

Sadly, Evangelical churches have largely followed our culture. Our culture finds elderly people disturbing and annoying. This is because age and deterioration is a reminder to them that death is coming.

You will die. Woody Allen said that he didn’t fear death, just didn’t want to be there when it happens. Louis XV even demanded that those around him not even use the word death! Guess what? He died anyway. Try to deny as they might, graveyards continue to fill up. Death is the judg-ment of God on sin. God warned our first parents that if they did not obey him they would die. Praise God that he has loved us in this way: He sent his one and only Son so that if we will trust in him, we will not die but will live with him forever.

Christian, do you view death as gain? It is okay to dread death (see Phil. 2:27), but that is not the same as fearing it. Christians have no reason to fear death. Why would we? Hebrews 2:14-15 says that Jesus shared in our humanity “so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil - and free those who were held in slav-ery all their lives by the fear of death.” For those in Christ what – or better, whom - is on the other side of death is gain. Ligon Duncan writes, “On the one hand, death is the last enemy. Believers, too, are sinners, and so un-less the Lord comes soon, we will all taste death. The Christian views death as an enemy; it is not a natural part of life. Death is actually the way things were never intended to be. Death is a judgment of God against sin. Death is the most unnatural thing in this world. But on the other hand, death has be-come for the believer an entrance into glory.”4 For those in Christ, death has lost its sting. Death has been defeated through the death of Jesus. Through death, Jesus destroyed death. We need

4 Ligon Duncan, Fear Not! (Scotland: Christian Focus, 2001), 17.

not fear it. How freeing? The evan-gelist D.L. Moody once remarked, “Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.”5

Paul uses this same word “gain” (kerdos) in the next chapter. What was “gain” to him is now loss because of Jesus. “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ” (Phil. 3:7). So death is gain because we have already counted all but Christ as loss. In death, we gain Christ in a fresh way. If the thought of being with your Lord does not excite you, I am not sure why you are a Christian? There are better hobbies. Our desire should be to be with the Lord. Incidentally, our main desire for heaven should not be to reunite with family. I recall attend-ing a youth evangelistic event called “Heaven’s Gates, Hell’s Flames.” True to its Finneyistic theology, the method is to manipulate the emotions and lit-erally “scare the hell” out of kids. One scene portrays the death of a young girl in a car accident. Her parents had died years before. As the little girl was running to the gate of heaven, Jesus is treated as a door man! He opens the gate and the little girl runs right past Jesus into the arms of her parents. “You want to see your family again after death, don’t you? Pray this prayer. Sign this card. You’re good.” Obviously this is a distortion of real-ity. Yes, in God’s kindness, we will see dead family members who are in Christ, but our primary desire ought to be to be with Jesus.

Here in these verses we learn a bit

5 William R. Moody, The Life of Dwight L. Moody (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1900), iii quoted in Matt Chandler, To Live is Christ To Die is Gain (Colora-do Springs: David C. Cook, 2013), 38.

about what happens when we die be-fore Christ returns (what is commonly called the “intermediate state”). When a Christian dies, they are ushered into the presence of the Lord. “I have the desire to depart and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23; cf. 2 Cor. 5:8). Jesus as-sured the thief on the cross that he would be with Jesus in paradise that very day (Luke 23:43). This going to be with the Lord is what we mean by heaven. I hasten to add there is not a syllable in Scripture to undergird the doctrine of purgatory. Rather, my sin, not in part but the whole, has been nailed to the cross.

So heaven will be glorious. It will be “much more better,” but heaven is

not our final destination. N.T. Wright writes, “The ultimate destina-tion is (once more) not ‘going to heaven when you die’ but being bodi-ly raised into the trans-formed, glorious like-ness of Jesus Christ.”6

I own a great little book called, Heaven … It’s Not the End of the World.7 Our final destination is the resurrection of the body and the reno-vation of the earth. We see this toward the end of this very letter. Philippians 3:21 reads, “He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself” (cf. 3:11). This is why the Bible calls death “sleep,” which means an awakening will occur (1 Cor.15:51-52, 1 Thess. 4:14). We go to be with the Lord, soul ripped asunder from body, but when Christ returns they will be reunited as they were meant to in resurrection life.

Thomas Boston wrote, “All men

6 N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope (New York: HarperOne, 2008), 168.

7 David Lawrence, Heaven … It’s Not the End of the World (London: Scripture Union, 1995).

For those in Christ what – or better, whom - is on the other side of death is gain.


must die, but as men’s lives are very different, so their account in death is, also. To an ungodly man, death is loss, the greatest loss; but to a believer, it is gain, the greatest gain.”8 Our hope is not in the here and now but in the there and then.9

So again we see that all of life is about worship. Honoring King Jesus must be on our minds all the time, not just Sundays. We must seek to make much of Jesus now and always, not being ashamed but bold in repre-senting our Lord, whether by life or by death. Paul was sold out for the

8 Quoted in Duncan, Fear Not!, 27.9 Michael E. Wittmer, The Last Enemy

(Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 2012), 107.

White—Continued from page 12 Lord in this way. For him, life meant ministry, death was gain, and suffering made him like Jesus and advanced the gospel. What can the world or Satan do to a man or woman of God who sees life as Christ and death as gain because they will be with Christ?10 John Chrysostom, the famous monk turned priest who was born in 349, writes, “If the empress wishes to ban-ish me, let her do so; ‘the earth is the Lord’s.’ If she wants to have me sawn asunder, I will have Isaiah for an ex-ample. If she wants me to be drowned in the ocean, I think of Jonah. If I am to be thrown in the fire, the three men in the furnace suffered the same. If cast before wild beasts, I remem-ber Daniel in the lion’s den. If she wants me to be stoned, I have before 10 Chandler, To Live is Christ, 24-25.

me Stephen, the first martyr. If she demands my head, let her do so; John the Baptist shines before me. Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked shall I leave this world. Paul reminds me, ‘If I still pleased men, I would not be the servant of Christ’.”11

This is why you were created. This is why you are here. To make him look great! The over-arching purpose of your life should be to see Christ made much of. All the time. With all boldness. Whether in life or death.

11 Saint Chrysostom, Saint Chrysostom on the Priesthood Ascetic Treatises, Select Homilies and Letters and Homi-lies on the Statutes, ed. Philip Schaff (Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger Publish-ing, 2004), 14 quoted in Chandler, To Live is Christ, 24-25.

Rethinking the Law by Eric Lane Is the Law of Moses (the Sinai code beginning with the Ten Commandments) the rule of life

for the Christian, as it was for the Israelite in Old Testament times?

This question concerns many Christians, as it did the author of this book, and in fact it was the main motive for writing it. This question cannot be answered without a thorough examination of the whole subject of the Law in both testaments. The author is convinced that he has made this examination and in so doing has answered the question about the Christian’s rule of life. He offers his findings to other Christians in the hope that this will deepen their understanding of the whole subject and of Scripture generally.

Eric Lane was born and raised in London. He served in the Royal Air Force and is a graduate of Cambridge Uni-versity with degrees in English and Theology. Eric served for nine years in the Anglican ministry in Carlisle and Lon-don, UK. After that he ministered in independent evangelical churches in various parts of the UK. He is now retired and living in Yateley, Hampshire. 226 pages, paperback with scripture index, see pages 13 & 14 for price and ordering information.

The New Covenant Church—Ekklesia—of ChristJohn G. Reisinger, with his familiar clarity and respect for the Scriptures, investigates the nature of

the new covenant church. Should it be understood primarily as an organization structured with offi-cers and by-laws? Or is the church first and foremost those called to faith in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God proclaimed? The true and accurate translation of the word ekklesia demon-strates, namely, that the ekklesia of Christ is they, meaning people, and not it, meaning an organization. If you cannot speak of the ekklesia as ‘they’ but constantly think and speak in terms of ‘it’ you have not totally come out of Romanism!

John G. Reisinger has served the body of Christ for over sixty years. This is his twenty-fourth title in print. He is well known and loved for his gift of making seemingly difficult topics easily understandable to the edification of The New Covenant Church— Ekklesia—of Christ.

See pages 13 & 14 for price and ordering information.


Definite Atonement —Long $10.95 $8.76The Doctrine of Baptism—Sasser $3.50 $2.80Full Bellies and Empty Hearts—Autio $14.99 $12.00Galatians: A Theological Interpretation—White $15.95 $12.76Grace—Reisinger $13.95 $11.16The Grace of Our Sovereign God—Reisinger $19.99 $16.00Hermeneutical Flaws of Dispensationalism—George $10.75 $8.60The Imitation of Jesus—White $10.99 $8.79In Defense of Jesus, the New Lawgiver—Reisinger $19.95 $15.95Is John G. Reisinger an Antinomian?—Wells $4.25 $3.40John Bunyan on the Sabbath—Reisinger $3.00 $2.80Jonathan Edwards on Biblical Hermeneutics and the “Covenant of Grace”—Gilliland $3.95 $3.16

La Soberanía de Dios en la Providencia—John G. Reisinger $7.50 $6.00The Law of Christ: A Theological Proposal—White $14.95 $11.96Limited Atonement—Reisinger $7.00 $5.60Ministry of Grace Essays in Honor of John G. Reisinger—Steve West, Editor $14.85 $11.88Missional Ecclesiology—White $9.99 $8.00The New Birth— Reisinger $5.50 $4.40The New Covenant and New Covenant Theology—Zaspel $11.99 $9.60The New Covenant Church—Ekklesia—of Christ —Reisinger $9.99 $7.99New Covenant Theology—Wells & Zaspel $19.95 $15.96New Covenant Theology & Prophecy—Reisinger $12.99 $10.39The Newness of the New Covenant—White $12.99 $10.39The New Perspective on Justification —West $9.99 $8.00The Obedience of Christ—Van Court $2.50 $2.00Our Sovereign God— Reisinger $4.45 $3.56Perseverance of the Saints— Reisinger $6.00 $4.80The Priority of Jesus Christ—Wells $11.95 $9.56A Prisoner’s Christianity—Woodrow $12.99 $10.39¿Qué es la Teología del Nuevo Pacto? Una Introducción —White $12.99 $10.39Rethinking the Law—Lane $19.99 $15.99Saving the Saving Gospel—West $12.99 $10.39Sinners, Jesus Will Receive—Payne $9.99 $8.00The Sovereignty of God and Prayer—Reisinger $5.75 $4.60The Sovereignty of God in Providence— Reisinger $4.45 $3.56Studies in Ecclesiastes—Reisinger $19.99 $15.96Studies in Galatians—Reisinger $19.99 $15.96Tablets of Stone—Reisinger $10.95 $8.75Theological Foundations for New Covenant Ethics—White $14.99 $12.00Total Depravity— Reisinger $5.00 $4.00Union with Christ: Last Adam and Seed of Abraham—White $11.95 $9.56What is the Christian Faith?— Reisinger $2.50 $2.00What is New Covenant Theology? An Introduction—White $12.99 10.39When Should a Christian Leave a Church?—Reisinger $3.75 $3.00

TITLE LIST SALE QTY COSTAbide in Him: A Theological Interpretation of John's First Letter — White $13.95 $11.16Abraham’s Four Seeds—Reisinger $10.95 $8.76The Abrahamic Promises in Galatians—White $9.99 $8.00The Believer’s Sabbath—Reisinger $3.75 $3.00Biblical Law and Ethics: Absolute and Covenantal—Long $15.75 $12.60But I Say Unto You—Reisinger $10.95 $8.68Chosen in Eternity—Reisinger $5.50 $4.40Christ, Lord and Lawgiver Over the Church—Reisinger $2.50 $2.00The Christian and the Sabbath—Wells $11.99 $9.59Continuity and Discontinuity—Reisinger $12.95 10.36


Postage & Handling Rates United States

Up to $20.00 $3.95$20.01—$50.00 $6.00$50.01 and Up 12%

Postage & Handling Rates Overseas—Discover, VISA or

MasterCardPlease call or e-mail for rates

Postage & Handling Rates Canada—Discover, VISA or

MasterCardUp to $30.00 $7.50$30.01 and Up 25%

Ship to: ________________________________Street address: __________________________City: _______________ State: ______Zip: ____Country: _______________________________

□ My check (payable to New Covenant Media) is en-closed □ Charge to my: □ Discover □ VISA □ MasterCard Expires _______/_______ Account Number: ______/______/______/______ Signature: ________________________________

TITLE LIST SALE QTY COST

Warfield on the Christian Life—Fred G. Zaspel $17.99 $14.39

The Theology of B.B. Warfield—Fred G. Zaspel $40.00 $29.95

Philosophical Dialgoues on the Christian Faith—Steve West $12.00 $9.50

What Jesus Demands from the World—John Piper $19.99 $13.25

The First London Confession of Faith-1646 Edition— Preface by Gary D. Long

$7.99 $6.50

All Things New—Carl Hoch $19.98 $15.95

Context! Evangelical Views on the Millenium Examined—Gary D. Long $25.00 $17.50

The Doctrine of Christ—William Sasser $4.75 $3.75

The Doctrine of Salvation—William Sasser $4.75 $3.75

The Doctrine of Man—William Sasser $4.75 $3.75

The Doctrine of God—William Sasser $4.00 $3.00

The Atoning Work of Jesus Christ—William Sasser $5.00 $4.00

The New Covenant and the Law of Christ—Chris Scarborough $10.95 $9.50

Justification by Faith—James White $6.95 $2.75

Answers to Catholic Claims—James White $9.95 $2.00

The Fatal Flaw—James White $11.95 $2.50

God’s Sovereign Grace—James White $8.95 $3.50

The Reformers and Their Stepchildren—Leonard Verduin $9.95 $9.50

The Pilgrim’s Progress (The Accurate Revised Text by Barry E. Horner) $12.00 $9.75

Biblical Eldership—Alexander Strauch $14.99 $9.30

Biblical Eldership Study Guide—Alexander Strauch $19.99 $12.50

Biblical Eldership Mentor’s Guide—Alexander Strauch $19.99 $12.50

Total Price

See Rate Charts Below Shipping

Canadian orders—Discover, Visa or MasterCard only—please. Total Order

Issue 210 September 2014 West—Continued from page 3

colleague replaced my monitor with a holographic image, or my senses are just always mistaken about the exter-nal world. So the claim that I seem to be seeing a computer screen is not a claim that there really is a computer screen in the external world: it is the much less important claim that it seems to me there is one, and I cannot be wrong about how things seem to me in my internal world.

The third type of foundational beliefs is classified as incorrigible. These are beliefs that cannot be bro-ken down and disavowed; they cannot be corrected (French etymology). A common example of an incorrigible belief would be the belief that I am in a state of pain (when I actually am in a state of pain). There might not be any organic cause for my pain, or it might be generated in a psychosomat-ic way, but nevertheless if I am in a state of pain, I cannot be wrong about how I’m feeling and the state that I’m experiencing.

What these three types of belief all share is the fact that they do not depend on other beliefs for their plausibility. They rest on themselves, by virtue of the fact that they cannot be wrong. The goal for knowledge in this traditional foundationalist model was to build all other beliefs on top of these. If other beliefs did not rest logi-cally on these foundational beliefs, then they were rejected. Furthermore, other beliefs were held probabilisti-cally, because one could not be 100% sure that they were true. If this was rigorously applied, rampant skepti-cism could result. It could also make ethical and religious beliefs highly suspect, or even positively irrational, since they didn’t fit very well on the type of beliefs that were admitted into the foundation.

Often in the post-Enlightenment world, Christian apologists tried to defend the faith by showing how Christian belief could be justified on

the standard laid down by the foun-dationalists. The Reformed episte-mologists have denied that this is necessary. In fact, they have argued that Christians have no need whatso-ever to meet the challenge posed by such a strong foundationalist point of view. One of the reasons they have for rejecting foundationalism is that the whole paradigm is incoherent. We do not have time to follow their critique, but part of the rationale is that the foundational system fails its own test. The acceptance of foundationalism as an epistemological model is not itself a belief that is foundational, nor does it logically connect to the categories of foundational belief that the model posits. As a result, the foundational paradigm fails to be properly justified on the basis of its own standards.

Another—and more important—reason for their rejection of the foun-dationalist challenge is that Christians simply do not come to believe in God on the basis of long chains of reason-ing from premises to conclusions. On the contrary, Christians find belief in God simply rising up inside of them. They might stand under a starry sky, and the absolute awe and grandeur can spontaneously convince them that there is a God. They might hear a sermon on the cross of Christ and find themselves profoundly convinced that the gospel is true. This reality of belief-formation allows illiterate be-lievers and young children to be justi-fied in their intellectual acceptance of Christian truth. Part of the problem with classical proofs for the existence of God is that very few people have the specialized training to even follow the drift of the arguments, let alone evaluate their strength. If believing in God could only be justified on the basis of a long philosophical defense, hardly any Christians would be intel-lectually justified in their faith.

Reformed epistemologists do not reject foundationalism entirely; they simply recognize that the traditional

model is unsustainable. Foundational-ism can be maintained, but only in a modified form. The foundation needs to be made wider, and more beliefs need to be included. Beliefs that are foundational are called “basic beliefs.” These are beliefs that are not mediated by other beliefs, or beliefs that are ac-cepted as the conclusion of chains of reasoning and logical deduction. The great distinctive of Reformed episte-mology is that it maintains that belief in God is a properly basic belief. Believing in God can be a founda-tional belief. As a result, you do not need long philosophical arguments to justify your belief in God: on the contrary, given certain circumstances, you can’t help but believe in God!

Reformed epistemologists ar-gue that God has designed us with a faculty (or a noetic process) called the sensus divinitatis (i.e., the sense of deity, or the sense of the divine). This faculty can produce belief in God. According to Reformed epistemol-ogy, the person who stands under the starry sky and finds a belief in God spontaneously arising within him is experiencing the workings of the sensus divinitatis. This belief is not predicated on other beliefs: it is self-generating and self-supporting.

But there is certainly more to Christianity than a belief in theism. Christian belief requires faith in Jesus Christ and acceptance of his atoning death on the cross as well as his resur-rection to eternal life. For Reformed epistemology, accepting these be-liefs does not take place through the work of the sensus divinitatis. These particular beliefs are produced by the internal work of the Holy Spirit inside the believer’s heart and mind. The cardinal truths of Christianity (what the Reformed epistemologists refer to as the “great things of the gospel”) are confirmed in our hearts by the Spirit.

In this model, then, belief in God

West—Continued on page 18


them? They tend to order their lives around such things. It might be an electronic gadget such as an iPhone that seems to fulfill its function almost perfectly without sacrificing a beauti-ful design. It might be a movie that tends to grip us because it powerfully depicts the reality of life in a beautiful way.

These are just a couple of ex-amples. What does the culture do with these things that are seen as perfect in their sphere? The culture seeks out these things, seeks to be associ-ated with these things, and seeks to tell others about these things. What do you do with the one thing that has been given to you that truly is per-fect and lacks nothing? The Word is perfect. Do you seek it? Do you tell others about it? Are you attached to it as something of value in your life?

Sure - v7b the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Next David tells us that the testi-mony of the Lord is sure. The Word of God is a testimony or a witness to the truth. This witness is a sure witness.

I had to spend a day in court recently to testify on someone else’s behalf. I was a witness to events sur-rounding a very serious assault. These events occurred about nine months ago. I found myself trying and failing to remember with surety some of the details of what I saw. That was a very unsettling feeling. I was worried that the outcome of this hearing might turn on my recollection (accurate or other-wise) of specific details and events. As it turns out, I did not have to testify.

The world is full of inaccurate and incomplete testimony to what is true about us and the world we live in. These testimonies come to us in en-tertainment, in news, in education, in politics. All of these claim to give us a sure testimony but they fail. God’s word does not fail. It is sure.

Right - v8a the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The Word of God is also right. The sense here is not simply that the Word of God is not wrong. It is not just correct but much more than that. It is right in a way that produces satisfac-tion in it. It is right in the same sense that a cornerstone for a building must be right and true. It must be per-fectly square and straight. A piece of stone like this has a beauty to it. It is admirable. God’s Word is right in this sense. It has accuracy and precision that is amazing and beautiful.

Pure – v8b-9a the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

There is no distortion or con-tamination in the Word of God. The commandments of God are not tainted by sin. This means when we open this Book we read declarations of truth and commands to live by which have never been compromised in the least by sinful pride, jealousy, ignorance, lust, and the list goes on. God’s Word is pure.

Where in this world will you look and find any such revelation? Is sci-ence, in all its findings, free from the any sense of ignorance? Is your favor-ite talk show host free of any sense of pride that might cloud their thinking? The Word of God is perfect in these things. Search it out and you will see.

True – 9b the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

The Word of God is reliable. It has integrity. You can rely on it. It is this quality of honesty and a sense of in-corruptibility that makes these words worthy of our trust. It comes from a source that is beyond questioning and is communicated to us in the exact manner that God intended for it to be. This Word is worthy of our trust.

So we have seen that the revelation of God’s will, which we refer to as

the Word of God, the Bible, is true, is pure, is right, is sure, and is perfect. If this is the case then this Book contains words that, by God’s Spirit, have great power. This Word is not just a set of propositions or idle statements. This Word is the very power of God to act in this world. It is, as the writer of Hebrews puts it:

“… living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, pierc-ing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and inten-tions of the heart.” (Heb 4:12).

This Word acts upon us. It is not just a bunch of inanimate pixels on a page. It is the very breath of God breathed out to give us life. This truth has great implications for how we live the Christian life.

When the power goes out a funny thing happens. If the power is out for long enough, we do some silly things, don’t we? How many of you have had the experience of losing power in your home and then walking into a room and flicking on the light switch only to find there is no light? Why does that happen? Why do we all do that? Because we have gotten so used to flipping that switch and having the light come on.

We have absolutely no thought of what is going on behind that wall to make the switch and light work. We have become conveniently unaware of our daily need for electricity to be flowing through the wires. Our brains think flip switch —> light on.

But that is not really what is go-ing on in there, is it? There is built into that system a need for power, a need for something that we do not provide. You can stand there and flip that switch all day but it is not going to do anything unless there is electric-ity running through the wires. But we don’t do that, do we? As soon as we flip the switch once we are reminded. Oh yes, the electricity is off.

Thorhauer—Continued from page 5

Issue 210 September 2014 But what do we do with our lives,

with our souls? We are often standing there flipping the switch on/off/on/off and wondering why the light does not come on. We have forgotten that there is more to it than just flipping the switch. If we are not seeking the power source which God has designed for us to seek then we are merely flip-ping a switch with no power behind it. God has given us his Word. It is the active ingredient in powering the soul in so many ways. Let’s look at those ways now.

We have considered what the Word is now we will go back through verses 7-11 and consider what the Word does.

II. The Word:

Revives – v7a The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;

Going back to verse 7 we see that this quality of perfection means that this Word is capable of and indeed ac-tually does revive the soul. We are all sinners in need of reviving, in need of restoration. In and of ourselves we are bent on sin and evil acts. We are dead in our trespasses and sin. We need to be revived. Thankfully, God gives us his perfect word. It lacks nothing and in its perfection it is also complete in its ability to bring life to a dead soul and to restore a soul that is wandering away from life.

How precious are these words? Do you need revival? Do you need resto-ration? Come to God’s Law, come to his Word and be revived.

Makes wise – v7b the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Brothers and sisters, we have so much need for true wisdom. We sometimes walk through this world thinking we have it all together. We think we have all the answers. Then one single event can cause it all to unravel. Perhaps you have seen this in your own life or in the life of someone

close to you.

I have seen these types of events and so have you. Some are direr than others. My daughter-in-law’s car died the other day. She and our son are recently married so now they have the stress of having to finance a car and make unexpected payments. I have seen a friend turn back to abusing alcohol and prescription medications in the midst of trying to find answers for the evil that she has endured at the hands of wicked men. I have seen a young man coming to terms with having just watched his grandmother die with no one by his side who could help because his grandfather has dementia and his mother could not be there because she was being treated for depression.

What have you experienced? What have you seen in the lives of your friends? Think about that for a min-ute. Now, take this precious Book and every beautiful truth that it testifies to and set it aside. Look at your prob-lem. Look at your friend’s problem. What hope can you give? What sense of justice, of peace, of calm can you possibly impart to the problems of this world apart from the wisdom of God?

You and I are nothing but simple people with nothing of substance to offer apart from the sure testimony of the Word of God. But with the testi-mony of the Lord we have true wis-dom. We have a sure and true answer to a world that is suffering. We can explain why suffering happens. We can also offer real hope in the midst of that suffering, and we can do it with confidence because it is the testimony of God.

Give joy – v8a the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

God’s Word, his precepts, are right, that is, they have an accuracy to them that is satisfying to the soul. When we see this it causes a believer to rejoice! We rejoice in so much that God’s Thorhauer—Continued on page 18

Word tells us. We rejoice when….

• We look up at the Milky Way at night or see a gorgeous sunrise in the morning and we are reminded that:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above pro-claims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1

• We see the evil in this world perpetrated, seemingly with-out consequences. We mourn and yet we can also rejoice because we know that:

God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, [7] and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels [8] in flaming fire, inflicting ven-geance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. [9] They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, (2 Thess 1:6-9 ESV)

• We rejoice that there will be ultimate justice.

• We suffer persecution and loss for the sake of Christ when we remember the words of Jesus:

[11] “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. [12] Rejoice and be glad, for your re-ward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt 5:11-12 ESV)

• We see the sin in our own hearts and the lack of love that we have for our glorious King and we become aware again of the condemnation we deserve. Yet we rejoice when

September 2014 Issue 210West—Continued from page 15 Thorhauer—Continued from page 17fulfillment model), but the main point

is that basic beliefs can be subjected to challenges that must be met. In Reformed epistemology, apologetics has the purpose of defeating what-ever challenges are brought against Christianity. Since the belief in the gospel is a basic belief, the Christian has the right to accept the belief until it is demonstrated false. The Christian has experienced something that gives them every reason to hold to their beliefs, and they have every reason to persist in maintaining their Christian faith until it is shown to be wrong.

Much, much more could be said about Reformed epistemology, but this article is only attempting to set out a précis of the model. In the next article, we will sketch out the apologetic sys-tem of presuppositionalism. After that, we will turn to comparing, contrast-ing, and critiquing the three para-digms. Reformed epistemology has many strengths, but it also contains some significant flaws from a biblical-theological perspective. In due course, we will have opportunity to scrutinize the model, but for now it is sufficient to grasp the general contours of the approach.

is produced by the sensus divinitatis, and belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ is produced by the work of the Holy Spirit. Since none of these beliefs is derived through chains of logical reasoning, and they don’t have to rest on other foundational beliefs, then belief in God through the gospel of Jesus Christ constitutes a basic, foun-dational belief. Christian belief can, therefore, be intellectually justified and warranted.

Basic beliefs can still be chal-lenged, and these challenges need to be defeated. For example, some have argued that Christianity is the product of wish-fulfillment. This particular challenge attempts to provide an explanation for how Christian belief is produced in a basic way but is still false. The beliefs don’t hinge on other foundational beliefs because they are generated by psychological factors beyond our control. So the belief is produced in a basic way, but since the process that produced it generates false beliefs, the basic belief has been defeated and needs to be rejected. Much can be said about this objection (particularly about the self-defeating nature of this application of the wish-

we read:

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:6-8 ESV)

In all these things we are able to rejoice because the precepts of the Lord are right. They describe the world and everything in it as it truly is, not simply as it appears to be, and in that we can rejoice!

Enlightens – v8b the command-ment of the LORD is pure, enlight-ening the eyes;

Now we come to the last func-tion that David lays before us in this Psalm. The commandment of the Lord enlightens the eyes. As I get older I am starting to literally see the effects of age on my eyes. I am a computer programmer and I work in an environ-ment where most of my coworkers like to work in a dark setting. Almost everyone but me has no lights on at their desks. In the early morning hours before the sun is shining brightly it can be hard for me to walk around in a dimly lit room. I need light to navi-gate.

Without the Word of God, our spir-itual eyes are dimly lit. We can’t see well enough to walk easily through life. This inability to see clearly can manifest itself in stumbling, and this gives rise to an unhealthy fear of what is out there that we can’t see or under-stand. But with the Word the light is turned on. Our eyes can see. We gain a new ability to see. This new abil-ity changes everything. Our sight has been changed so that we can now say right along with Paul:

[16] So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wast-

Visit www.sogncm.com or www. soundofgrace.org for

Audio and Video sermons by John G. Reisinger and A. Blake White

Back issues of Sound of Grace, announcements churches, Articles and more.

We, the unclean, are not just washed; we are in the Holy One forever. We, the rebellious, are not just pardoned; we are in the King forever. We, the sad, are not just encouraged; we are in the Blessed One forever. We, the defeated, are not just empowered; we are in the Victor forever. We, the confused, are not just instructed; we are in the Sage forever. This is radical reconciliation, full provision, an astounding advantage. This is how the Jesus who lived 2000 years ago becomes our living Friend and Power today - union with Christ. God announces to us that He has relocated us in His universe of grace. We are no longer outside Christ, and now not just before Christ or near Christ or beneath Christ, but in Christ. Let’s inhale deeply from this new environment.

Lewis Smedes, Union with Christ, Eerdmans, www.eerdmans, 1970, p. xi

Issue 210 September 2014 ing away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. [17] For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Cor 4:16-18 ESV)

So, David has told us what the Word of God is and what the Word of God does. The Word of God is truly remarkable. It is, in every sense of the word, an awesome thing to behold. Therefore David writes of God’s words in v10:

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drip-pings of the honeycomb.

III. Desire and Taste v10

David understands that the words of God are to be desired even more than people desire gold! We talked at the beginning about what people have done throughout history for gold. Gold is a great illustration. It seems there would not be a better thing in this world to compare God’s Word to than gold. Gold has value, it is pre-cious. People pursue it at all costs. But David felt the need to tack on something else here. David says that these words are not just more precious than gold but they are also sweeter than honey. You see, David wants to convey something else about the nature of God’s words. If these words found in this Book are everything that David has told us they are in verses 7-9 then they truly are more valuable and precious than gold. But they are even more than that!

In comparing them to gold David instructs us on the words’ design for God’s people. In comparing the words in this Book to honey he instructs us on the design of God’s people for

the Word! This Word is as sweet as the drippings of the honeycomb to a child of God! When the children of God taste it they are satisfied with it. It supplies and fulfills the craving that we have. When you desire joy, when you desire perfection, when you seek truth, when you seek assurance, when you desire purity, you are hungering for things that God has intended for you to hunger after. Satisfy that long-ing in the Word of God.

IV. Warnings and Reward v11

Finally, David reminds us of the practicality of these past four verses (in case we have not picked up on it up to this point!). He writes:

Moreover, by them is your ser-vant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

The Word of God has warnings for you and for me and it also has rewards for you and for me. Do not be so foolish to think that God would give us such an immense gift without any expectations about its enjoyment and use! The words of this Book have been given for you and you have been designed for this Book. What will you do with it? What have you done with it?

If we truly believe even one single verse of what we have just read it will radically alter our relationship to this Book! You can’t believe that these words will truly give you wisdom and only pick it up on Sunday to bring it to church! You can’t believe that these words will give you joy and then ignore it week in and week out while struggling with depression! You can’t believe that these words are true and righteous and pure but then only find time at the end of the day for the nightly news, a ball game or some ‘me time’ on your favorite internet site.

Brothers and sisters, what can we say to such things? We are cut to the heart. We can only confess with our brother in Mark 9:24, “I believe, help

my unbelief.”

You see, the very nature of this Book makes claims on those who say they believe it! In keeping this Book there is great reward but, you are also warned by it. Don’t just go with the flow. Stop this day and think! Think about how you have been treating this precious sweet Book. What does a life look like that has been given such a precious gift?

I implore you to get into the Word. There are so many ways you can do it. If you are not sure where to start, turn to one of your brothers and sisters and ask for help. Ask for suggestions. There are Bible reading plans or audio versions of the Bible you can listen to in your car. There are great devo-tions that will help you read through the Bible. There are Bible memoriza-tion plans. There are family devotions that you can use with young children. There are catechisms that will teach you the foundational truths of Scrip-ture.

Many men have devoted all of their resources and given every part of their lives for gold. What you have in this Book is infinitely more valuable and, more importantly, is eternal.

It cannot be overstated. Desire this Book and follow that desire with your life.

In the first garden “Not Your will but mine” [by Adam] changed Paradise to desert and brought man from Eden to Gethsemane. Now “Not My will but Yours” [by Jesus Christ] brings anguish to the Man who prays it but transforms the desert into the kingdom and brings man from Gethsemane to the gates of glory.

D.A. Carson

Matthew, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan, 1984, p. 545,

SOVEREIGN GRACE NEW COVENANT MINISTRIES 5317 WYE CREEK DRIVE FREDERICK, MARYLAND 21703-6938

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 45

FREDERICK, MD 21701

"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…” (John 17:1 ESV)

“And now Jesus knows the Father’s time has arrived. This is what all history has awaited. What was about to happen was greater than the creation, than the first “let there be light”, than the Exodus, than the giving of the Ten Commandments, than God’s calling of Abraham. This was the foremost moment – of glory.”

Dennis Gundersen, Laurelville Family Conference, 2014

Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side. After leaving them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray.

He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o'clock in the morning He came to them, walking on the water. Mark 6:45, 46, 48

Jesus did not come immediately; indeed, it was almost morning when He came, and the disciples had been strug-gling all night in the storm. Yet He had not been indifferent to them meanwhile. From the mountainside where He was praying—He kept His eye upon them. "He saw that they were in serious trouble." All that dark night, He kept a watch upon that little boat that bore His disciples in the midst of the waves.

There is something very suggestive in the narrative. This 'boat in the storm', is a picture of 'Christ's friends in this world, in the storms of life'. Sometimes we think we are forgotten—but from His place in glory, Christ's eye is always on us! He sees us struggling, battling with the waves, beaten, and distressed. He has full sympathy with us in all our struggles. It ought to be a great strength and comfort to us in trial, to know this. Jesus intercedes for us in our distresses!

It may not be best always to deliver us immediately—but His prayer continually ascends, that our faith may not fail in the struggle. This also should encourage us.

Then, He always comes in time. He may delay long—but it is never too long. If we call upon Him in trouble—we may be sure that He hears and sees us, and knows just how hard it is for us to endure; that He prays for us that we may not fail, and that He will come at the right time for our deliverance!

J. R. Miller, "Miller's Year Book—a Year's Daily Readings"

Courtesy of Grace Gems: www.GraceGems.org

theology of hebrews—part 1 in this issue · 2016. 1. 16. · macarthur’s commentary on...

Documents