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

Is sue 2 0 6 Apr i l 2 014

How To, and How Not To Preach the

Doctrines of GracePart One
John G. Reisinger

This article was transcribed from a sermon. It was left very much as verbally
presented, which accounts for the way some things are stated.

If this message had a subtitle, it would be, The Confessions of John Reisinger. I think all of us have left some pools of blood in presenting the truths
of sovereign grace. I confess I left my share of them along the way. One of the
difficulties we have in getting people to discuss truth is creating an atmosphere
where everybody wants to learn. The old Greeks in their debating society had a
rule that you were not allowed to enter into the debate and challenge somebody
until you could repeat, in your own words, what that person had said to his satisfaction. Until you could do that, you didnt understand what he said, and thus
you had no business opening your mouth in criticism. If we would do that same
thing today instead of jumping to false conclusions and caricatures, we would
not have as many difficulties. We have to learn to listen and understand what
somebody else is saying before we respond.

In This Issue
How To, and How Not To Preach
the Doctrines of GracePart
One

John G. Reisinger
Shepherding the New Covenant
Flock: Part 5 of 6
Shepherding Imagery in the NT:
The Good Shepherd

Steve West
Philippians: Joyful Unity in the
GospelPart 1
A. Blake White
Mission to Manymar
Jonny Carson and
Robert Millar
Enough Room
Stan Vaninger

ReisingerContinued on page 2

Shepherding the New Covenant Flock: Part 5 of 6

Shepherding Imagery in the NT: The Good Shepherd
Steve West
In our previous examination of the shepherd metaphor
in the OT, we noted that God himself is the ultimate shepherd of his people. All of the best qualities of a competent and caring shepherd are perfectly found in him. In
the thought world of the OT, shepherding imagery often
referred to leadership and governance. Since God alone
reigns and rules over all things, this particular connotation
points to his sovereign authority and power over all the
earth. Yet the OT frequently applies the shepherd metaphor
to human leaders who are appointed by God to care for
his flock. They are undershepherds, not owners; their right
to rule the flock of God is entirely derived from his good
pleasure. All of their authority is derivative, and as such
they are answerable and accountable to God for how they
discharge their duties. When shepherds abuse the sheep of
Gods pasture, they treat him with contempt. But for those

shepherds who love Gods sheep and serve him by serving

the flock, God watches, remembers, and rewards.
It is imperative to continually bear in mind that the
shepherd metaphorwhen it is being applied to human
leadersis only one metaphor among many. In Ezekiel 34
the wicked leaders of Israel are depicted as selfish, harsh,
and brutal shepherds, but they are also portrayed as ornery
sheep bullying other sheep in the flock. Human shepherds
must never forget that they are no less a sheep than any
other sheep in Gods flock! Some people are delegated
certain responsibilities by God, but they remain the same
species as those they are responsible to care for.
Bringing together the fact that both God and human
leaders are referred to as shepherds in the OT, one begins
to see that God himWestContinued on page 12

Page 2
ReisingerContinued from page 1

Until we truly understand what each

other is really saying, a profitable discussion is futile.
I have used the following story
to illustrate what I mean. The pope
was going to run all the Jews out of
Rome. The rabbi went to see the pope
and said, You cant do this. The
pope said, Yes, we can because you
dont believe in the true God. The
discussion started to get heated, and
the pope said, We dont want to get
angry and start shouting; lets have
a silent debate. They both agreed to
settle the matter with a silent debate.

April 2014
then said (by holding up one finger),
There is only one true God. Then I
replied (by holding up three fingers),
But God may exist in three persons.
The pope then said (by drinking the
wine), It is through the man, Christ
Jesus, that sin was taken out of the
world, and the rabbi replied (eating the apple), It was by another
man, Adam, that sin came into the
world. The Jews then said, What
did the pope say next? The rabbi
said, Nothing at all, we had lunch
together.
Most of the time when Christians
discuss theology, they might just as
well have silent debates. They usually
dont really understand each other
any more than the pope and the rabbi
understood each other in their silent
debate. They just talk past each other.

The pope made a sweeping gesture

with both hands. The rabbi jabbed the
palm of his left hand with his right
index finger. The pope held up one
finger. The rabbi held up three fingers.
When we say,
The pope blessed a
Why
dont people
Im afraid there are some
glass of wine and
drank it. The rabbi people who have rejected the truth of believe the docthe grace of God because of the way trines of grace?
blessed an apple
and ate it. The pope that you and I may have presented it we can give an
easy answer and
to them.
said, You win, you
say, because they
can stay.
are totally depraved, and of course,
The rabbi left and the cardinals
that is true. It is true that man, by
asked the pope what happened. The
nature, hates God. That is a clear bibpope explained, I said (by making
lical fact. We know that men reject
a sweeping gesture with my hands)
grace because of depravity. However,
that God is everywhere. The rabbi
Im afraid there are some people who
said (by jabbing his finger into the
have rejected the truth of the grace
palm of his hand), God is also right
of God because of the way that you
here. That is as orthodox as we are.
and I may have presented it to them.
I then said (by holding up one finger), I love the doctrines of grace and have
There is only one true God. The
preached them openly for many years.
rabbi replied (by holding up three
I have more than fifty years of scars
fingers), God might exist in three
to prove it, and I dont want to do anypersons. The cardinals asked, What thing (and I dont think you do either)
happened then? The pope said, I
to hinder the truth of the grace of God
dont know, we had lunch together.
and hinder people from receiving
When the rabbi went out, the Jews these doctrines. We want to protect
the truth of sovereign grace from
asked what had happened. The rabbi
abuse and misrepresentation.
said, I am not sure but we can stay.
The rabbi continued his explanation:
Let me correct a misconception at
The pope said (by a sweeping gesture the beginning. I do not want to imply
with his hands), You Jews have to
in any way that if you say everything
get out of here. I replied (by jabbing
in the best possible way, people are
my finger into the palm of my hand),
We are staying right here. The pope
ReisingerContinued on page 4

Issue 206
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Issue 206

April 2014

Page 3

Philippians: Joyful Unity in the Gospel Part 1

A. Blake White
Everyone loves the book of
Philippians. Rightly so. It is short and
sweet, full of rich gospel truth and
gospel application. Why do we have
this precious letter? How did this
church start? God has a mission, and
we are an integral part of it. What is
the mission of God? God created humanity with the purpose of representing him and ruling the world on his
behalf, for His glory. Of course, our
first parents decided not to trust God,
and sin entered the world with death
as its dreadful consequence; however,
God promises that the offspring of the
woman would conquer evil. The story
takes another dismal turn as humanity
continues in rebellion, and God judges
the whole world, other than Noah and
his family, for their persistent rebellion. As the human race grows yet
again, God chooses one elderly, pagan
couple and promises to bless them
and to bless the nations through their
offspring. God told Abram that his
offspring would be as numerous as the
stars of the sky.
The New Testament tells us that
Jesus is the singular offspring of
Abraham, and all who believe in him
are now Abrahams offspring, heirs
according to promise (Gal. 3:6-29).
That means you and I who believe
are among the stars of Abrahams
offspring. As the church grows, Gods
old promise to Abraham is being
fulfilled. You and I are Christians
because God made that promise thousands of years ago in Genesis 12!
After the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but before he ascended
to the Father in the first chapter of
Acts, Jesus told his disciples that the
kingdom would come, they would
receive power when the Holy Spirit
came on them, and they would be his

witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea

and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth (Acts 1:8). The church is birthed
and her mission begins, but it is not
really the churchs mission. As one
has put it, It is not the church of God
that has a mission in the world, but
the God of mission that has a church
in the world. Our mission is part of
Gods mission. The mission of God
is the reason the church exists. In the
middle of Acts, Jesus interrupts Sauls
life, and Saul becomes Paul and is
forever-after a man on a mission. Here
is the story of how the church began
in Philippi:
They went through the region
of Phrygia and Galatia and were
prevented by the Holy Spirit from
speaking the message in Asia. When
they came to Mysia, they tried to go
into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus
did not allow them. So, bypassing
Mysia, they came down to Troas.
During the night a vision appeared to
Paul: A Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, Cross
over to Macedonia and help us!
After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for
Macedonia, concluding that God had
called us to evangelize them. Then,
setting sail from Troas, we ran a
straight course to Samothrace, the
next day to Neapolis, and from there
to Philippi, a Roman colony, which
is a leading city of that district of
Macedonia. We stayed in that city for
a number of days. On the Sabbath
day we went outside the city gate by
the river, where we thought there was
a place of prayer. We sat down and
spoke to the women gathered there.
A woman named Lydia, a dealer in
purple cloth from the city of Thyatira,
who worshiped God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to

pay attention to what was spoken by

Paul. After she and her household
were baptized, she urged us, If you
consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my house. And she
persuaded us. Once, as we were on
our way to prayer, a slave girl met us
who had a spirit of prediction. She
made a large profit for her owners
by fortune-telling. As she followed
Paul and us she cried out, These
men, who are proclaiming to you the
way of salvation, are the slaves of
the Most High God. And she did this
for many days. But Paul was greatly
aggravated and turning to the spirit,
said, I command you in the name
of Jesus Christ to come out of her!
And it came out right away. When her
owners saw that their hope of profit
was gone, they seized Paul and Silas
and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. Bringing
them before the chief magistrates,
they said, These men are seriously
disturbing our city. They are Jews
and are promoting customs that are
not legal for us as Romans to adopt
or practice. Then the mob joined in
the attack against them, and the chief
magistrates stripped off their clothes
and ordered them to be beaten with
rods. After they had inflicted many
blows on them, they threw them in
jail, ordering the jailer to keep them
securely guarded. Receiving such
an order, he put them into the inner
prison and secured their feet in the
stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas
were praying and singing hymns to
God, and the prisoners were listening
to them. Suddenly there was such a
violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened,
and everyones chains came loose.
WhiteContinued on page 10

Page 4
ReisingerContinued from page 2

going to believe the doctrines of

grace. I dont want to give the impression that if you have had trouble and
some people get angry, it was your
entire fault because you did it wrong.
I dont believe that at all. Most people
rejected both Jesus and Paul when
they preached grace, and the servant
will not be greater than his master.
However, I do believe we may have
asked for some of the difficulties that
weve had in our attempts to teach
sovereign grace. I have fifteen suggestions on how to, and how not to, handle the subject of Gods sovereignty
that I have learned over the years.
Number one: Dont ever approach
the preaching of the doctrines of
grace, or any other biblical doctrine
for that matter, with a negative attitude. I read a book one time where
the first line said, Election: that hated
doctrine. I wrote to the publisher and
said, If you ever publish this book
again, dont you dare start with that
statement. Start this way: Election
that beloved doctrine. Why would
anybody ever want to start a book
with a negative statement like that? I
had a friend who preached on the doctrine of election. His first statement
was, Now I know youre not going to
agree with this, and then he preached
a sermon on election. That is a stupid
way to begin unless your intention is
to deliberately antagonize people. I
had a lawyer friend who was in the
congregation; he said, Hes the only
man I can agree with 100% and still
get mad when he preaches. I think
there are people who have a natural
negative attitude, and I dont think
that helps in preaching the doctrines
of grace at all.
When you read the book of Hebrews, you hear some pretty harsh
things. In Hebrews chapter 5, Paul
accused people of being immature
little babies. Then at the beginning
of chapter 6, he shows there are some
bad signs with those people; hes not
even sure they were ever converted.

April 2014
Then he argues that their past experience doesnt really prove that theyre
children of God. However, he does
not stop with the hard statements; he
holds out his hands and says, Im
persuaded better things of you. He
does everything he possibly can to
build a bridge even though thats one
of the most scary, harsh chapters that
youll find in Holy Scripture. Yet
when hes finished scolding, he closes
by opening his heart and appealing
with all the pathos thats in him. He
says, Im persuaded better things of
you and proceeds to remind them of
all of the good things about them.

Issue 206
one thing for sure: theres no power in
negative thinking. However, Im not
talking about positive thinking; Im
talking about biblical thinking. I am
talking about the power of Scripture
and being like the writers of Scripture
in our presentation. When Paul reasoned in Acts chapter 26, he did the
same thing. Look at that passage of
Scripture. Remember the apostle Paul
is to be a pattern in all things to you
and to me, so we can learn from the
way he did it.

takes the best avenue of approach that

he can take. He is not trying to win an
argument; he is trying to win peoples
hearts.

Whether Agrippa was responding in scorn or whether he was really

moved, we cant know for sure, but
we can see the attitude of Paul. When
Festus says, Paul, youre crazy,
Paul, speaking to both Festus and
King Agrippa, did not say, Well,
youll just have to go to hell. Im not
going to talk to you; Im not going to
reason with you. No, no; Paul continued to talk, and he said, Now you believe this; you know you believe this.
He took the approach as positively as
he possibly could.

And as he thus spake for himself,

Festus said with a loud voice, Paul,
thou art beside thyself; much learning
doth make thee mad. But he said, I
When you read the book of Galaam not mad, most noble Festus, but
tians, you see how Paul can be both
speak forth the words of truth and
negative and positive. You see the
soberness. For the
apostle Paul use
king knoweth of these
both the rod and
things, before whom
the staff. You see
When people like you as a
also I speak freely, for
him rebuking in
person, they are 95% disposed
I am persuaded that
strong terms, and
to believe what you say. And if
none of these things
you also see his
they dont like you, they are 95%
are hidden from him,
hearts sincere
disposed to reject what you say.
for this thing was not
concern. I long
The way you say something has
done in a corner. King
to see Christ
an effect on the attitude of the
Agrippa, believest
formed in you
people who listen to you.
thou the prophets? I
is the appeal of
know thou believest.
a father, and yet
Then Agrippa said
there is no harshunto
him,
Almost
thou persuadest me
er book in the New Testament than
to be a Christian. Acts 26:24-28
the book of Galatians. The apostle

When people like you as a person,

they are 95% disposed to believe what
you say. And if they dont like you,
they are 95% disposed to reject what
you say. The way you say something
has an effect on the attitude of the
people who listen to you. If people
like you, they look for reasons to believe what youre saying. If they dont
like you, they sit there looking for
reasons why it cant possibly be right.
I am sure somebody is going to say,
Mr. Reisinger, youre talking like
Norman Vincent Peales power of
positive thinking. Well, Ill tell you

Number two: Never deliberately

or knowingly preach truth to people
that youre certain are going to reject
ReisingerContinued on page 6

Issue 206

April 2014

Mission to Myanmar
Jonny Carson and Robert Millar
On January 12, 2014, my friend
and fellow pastor Jonny Carson and
I started our journey to Myanmar/
Burma (organized by Asia-link). It
was an experience which neither of us
will ever forget.
Landing in Yangon, the first thing
that hit us was the heat. Next was the
poverty before us. The combination of
this poverty and the great faith of the
believers there in such impoverished
circumstances have left an indelible
mark on us both.
Our two weeks in Myanmar were
divided into two legs, the first of
which consisted of travelling six hours
into the heart of the country to visit
church plants and planters (sent out
by the Reformed Evangelical Church
of Myanmar). We travelled to some
very remote villages, and during these
visits, we had the great privilege of
meeting the people, sharing from
Gods Word, and praying with them.
The harsh reality of life for these
folks was a real shock to the system;
seeing these young church plant-

ers and their families living in such

circumstances was both humbling
and challenging. Myanmar is a predominately Buddhist country, and the
majority of the Buddhist population
and especially the monks do not want
these church planters in their villages.
They make life really tough for the

work of the church planters.

One of the villages we visited was
so remote that we could only access
it by ox and cart. This thirty-minute
journey is one we will never forget
and one from which our backs may
never recover.
The strategy for planting churches
in these unreached areas is quite simple. First of all, two women will move
into a village and start a preschool for
the young children. These preschools

are unashamedly Christian in both

their syllabus and their goals. As the
villagers are so poor, they really value
education, seeing it as
an avenue out of the
poverty they are in,
and so they send their
children to the school in
great numbers. Subsequently, after a year or
two of preschool work,
church planters will
join the school teachers
and begin having Bible
studies and church services. If funds
are available, then the church will dig
a well close by the church building
so the villagers can have clean fresh
water which is a real help to village
life. Also if funds allow (all funding
comes from outside the country via
agencies like Asia-link), a solar panel
system will be fitted to the preschool/

Page 5
church building, which makes it the
only place in the village with electric
light at night. This being the case, the
villagers flock to the church building
in the evening, presenting the pastor with an opportunity to share the
gospel with them.
After a few days in the villages,
we travelled back to Yangon, to take
part in the graduation service of
Myanmar Centre for Church planting (hereafter MCCP). This was a
great honor for us both, with Jonny
preaching the graduation sermon and
me presenting each student with a
copy of Wayne Grudems Systematic
Theology in the Burmese language.
I also had the opportunity to present
the school with some New Covenant
Media books such as New
Covenant Theology, Abrahams Four Seeds, But I Say
Unto You, and Theological Foundations for New
Covenant Ethics. The books
were gratefully received
and will be used by the students in the coming years. I
count it as a great honor to
have been able to provide
these brothers and sisters with such
great materials.
The graduation service kicked off
our time at MCCP where we had the
opportunity to teach everyday Monday through Friday. What a privilege
it was to teach these young men and
women who will be planting churches
like we had seen the previous week.
During the week, Jonny taught the
books of Romans and Haggai, and I
had the chance to teach from the Pastoral Epistles. The students were very
receptive to the teaching and always
had questions after each lesson.
I taught from a New Covenant
standpoint and was able to correct
false notions that some of the students
had regarding dispensationalism. It
was wonderful to be able to explain
to the students the one eternal plan of
Carson/MillarContinued on page 7

Page 6
ReisingerContinued from page 4

it because they dont have the background necessary to believe it. Remember the principle laid out in John
16:12, I have many things to say to
you, but you are not yet able to bear
them. Howbeit, when he the Spirit of
truth has come, he will teach you all
things. There were things that Jesus
couldnt say to his disciples at that
point because they didnt have the
experience and the background at that
time that was necessary to receive
those truths. I had a very good friend
and mentor named Robert Dittmar.
He had a great influence on my life.
I remember one time I saw him just
after I had learned something new.
We have the tendency to think the last
truth we have learned is the answer to
all the problems. Its all you want to
talk about. On this occasion, I started
to share my latest revelation with him.
He patiently listened to me. When
I was finished, he said, John, how
many things did you learn that made
it possible for you to understand this
latest truth? I thought for a moment,
and said, About three or four. Bob
then said, Promise me that before
you open your mouth and share this
latest truth with anybody, you will
make sure they understand these other
three or four things. Never preach
or talk about the last thing youve
learned; let it simmer a while. Think
it through a little while and get some
of the ramifications of it.
I have some friends who have gotten me in a lot of trouble. They heard
me preach on sovereign grace and
were convinced I was right. Then
they went out and started an argument about the sovereignty of God.
They quickly started to lose the argument because they could not answer
the objections, and then do you know
what they did? They knew the person
they were arguing with liked me, so
they said, Well, this is what John
Reisinger believes. The way they said
what John Reisinger believes is not
what I believe at all. I have often said,
with Martin Luther, Lord, deliver me

April 2014
from my friends, I can handle my enemies. Oftentimes our friends do us
more harm than our enemies.
We ought never to preach truth to
a person that we know cannot receive
it because he doesnt have the background. We sin against him. Now I
dont mean that we shouldnt be clear
and very straightforward when we
teach and preach; Im not saying that
at all. Im saying that there is a methodology; there are degrees; there are
things you must understand in order
to believe certain other things. There
are things that must go first before you
go to something else.
When I was a pastor in Canada,
there was a fellow pastor who was an
all things to all men person. Some
mutual friends asked him if he agreed
with me about Calvinism. He said,
Well, Im a Calvinist but not a hyperCalvinist like Reisinger. One day
we were both on the same airplane,
and he started to tease me about my
hyper-Calvinism. I am really not a
hyper-Calvinist. I am a very mild Calvinist in a hyper-Arminian generation.
Thats what I amreally. Most people
never met a hyper-Calvinist. If they
would have, they would immediately
know I am not a hyper-Calvinist. But
anyhow, I asked this pastor how many
people in his congregation clearly understand sovereign election because
he said he believed it with all of his
heart. He said, My congregation isnt
ready for that yet, and he quoted John
16:12. I said, How long have you
been pastor there? He said, Seven
years. I assure you, that congregation
will never be ready to hear about sovereign election as long as that man is
pastor. How do you get people ready
for truth? By teaching them truth. And
then you teach them the next truth and
keep on teaching them truth. If you
have been seven years in a place and
nobody has ever heard about election,
dont hide behind John 16:12; you just
arent teaching the truth as you claim
that you understand it.
Go with me to Acts chapter 22

Issue 206
for another illustration. Paul is on the
road to Damascus, and in verse 10, he
recounts how he was struck down by
God and cried out, What shall I do,
Lord?
And the Lord said to me, Rise
and go into Damascus, and there it
shall be told thee of all things which
are appointed for thee to do. And
when I could not see for the glory of
that light, being led by the hand of
them that were with me, I came unto
Damascus, and one Ananias, a devout
man according to the law, having
a good report of all the Jews which
dwelt there, came unto me and stood
and said, Brother Saul, receive thy
sight. And the same hour I looked
up upon him, and he said, The God
of our fathers hath chosen thee, that
thou shouldst know his will and see
that Just One and should hear the
voice of his mouth.

I refer to that passage for two reasons. First, the first Christian doctrine
that Paul learned as a new convert
was the doctrine of election. The first
thing he learned was the God of our
fathers has chosen you in order that
you might understand the truth and
your eyes might be opened to see
Jesus Christ. We should teach theology in the very beginning of a new
Christian diet. Actually, the truth of
election is a doctrine that ought to be
taught in evangelism. The second reason I looked at this text is that when
Paul said this, he was not teaching
a theology class; he was giving his
personal testimony to lost sinners.
Theology belongs in all of our preaching, whether it is in evangelism or
catechism class. However, be sure it is
taught in the right proportion. Where
a person is in his understanding will
have a bearing on what you teach and
how you teach it.
Number Three. Avoid labels as
much as possible. You cannot totally
avoid labels, and your use of labels
will vary according to different cirReisingerContinued on page 8

Issue 206
Carson/MillarContinued from page 5

God to save his people in Christ Jesus

and how that plan has been worked
out through different covenants which
find their ultimate fulfilment in Christ
and the New Covenant that he inaugurated. I tried to explain to the students
that the Bible was Christocentric
and Christotelic. I have the men who
write for Sound of Grace to thank for
teaching me this, and I hope it will be

April 2014
Romans while we were there to reflect
his new understanding.
Two really poignant moments
during the trip happened on both the
Sundays we were there. The first was
an opportunity I had to preach in a
church on the delta river system. We
started out early that morning as the
sun was rising and travelled two hours
by boat to get to this little fellowship,
a fellowship that has suffered greatly
over the years from both the
harshness of the environment
and the hostility from the local monks. In spite
of such circumstances, they are
seeing people turn
from their idols and
turn to the living
God through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
To finish off
our time in Myanmar, just before
we travelled to the airport to
head home, we visited what
we were told was a slum
church. Considering the
poverty of the country, to be
labelled as the slum church
really was something.

an encouragement to you to know that

I have tried to pass it on to others in
Asia. The dean of the school was my
translator, and he plans to translate
my notes into Burmese and use them
for a class in their new syllabus.
Being away with Jonny also gave
me the chance to fully explain what I
have been mentioning to him for some
time now, namely New Covenant
Theology. I believe he is really
grasping the subject. I let him
listen to some sermons by Joe
Kelly and Blake White as well
as read some articles from
Sound of Grace, so hopefully
the New Covenant revival
will continue to grow here in
Northern Ireland. Jonny even
changed some of his notes on

Jonny had the opportunity to speak

to the children that gather every week
for Sunday school, telling them that
Jesus was greater than the temple, in
a country where temples are everywhere. This was truly a word in season. When it was made known to us
that these children sneak out of their
homes to go to church and that when
they are caught they are severely

Page 7
beaten, I must admit my heart broke.
In all honesty, I could do nothing but
weep in this place. To think that these
poor little children valued their Bible
stories and their memory verses over
and above their physical safety and
comfort was a real challenge to my
own lack of desire and passion for the
things of God.
To sum up my trip to Myanmar, I
can speak for both of us when I say
that we will never forget the people
we met, the food we ate, and the
challenge we received. It is now a big

challenge for me to keep the challenge

received in Myanmar alive. It is so
easy to slip back into a materialistic,
comfortable lazy attitude. I am praying the Lord would give me a wartime mentality; living a simple, basic
lifestyle and so enabling me to help
the war effort (spiritual war) in places
like Myanmar. I trust the readers of
Sound of Grace will also be challenged to live lives that glorify our
great God and Saviour Jesus Christ
and seek to relieve the saints around
the globe. The desire of the people
we met to share the gospel with their
neighbors and friends and with the
unreached, even at the risk of their
own safety, was so inspiring.
If you wish to know more
about our time away, please
contact me at: mcalvinist@aol.
com.
If you would like to contribute to any of the projects mentioned above, then please visit
http://www.asialink.org/projects/where-we-work/burma/.

Page 8
ReisingerContinued from page 6

cumstances. In an article like this, I

can use labels in a way that I would
not normally use them when speaking
in a local congregation, except the one
which I myself would have pastored.
If we must use labels, make sure we
explain them carefully. Be sure to explain the labels honestly; dont caricature them, and by all means admit that
all Christians dont agree on a subject
that you know is controversial.
Any time I ever preach on election, the first thing I always say is,
Sincere godly Christians disagree on
this subject. You may disagree with
my understanding of election and love
the Lord with all of your heart. All
youre doing is disarming the person
so hes ready to listen. He knows that
youre not jeopardizing his salvation
or that you are better than he is or that
this has something to do with his conversion. Godly Christians disagree,
and I think we should admit this all
the time when we teach anything
at all that we know is controversial
among sincere Christians. If we use a
label, we should only use it for identification, and as I say, we must use
it honestly. As a pastor teaching the
leaders in your own congregation, you
ought to have labels so that all might
know what you believe and why you
believe it. Your elders ought to know
the difference between an amillennialist and a premillennialist and how
they differ. They ought to know the
difference between a Calvinist and an
Arminian and why theyre different.
You may possibly have both on your
board, but if they understand each
other carefully and honestly, there is
a much better chance of them tolerating each other that way than there is
if they have total misconceptions of
what each other believes.
Number Four. As I mentioned a
moment ago, start where people are,
especially if theyve never heard anything about sovereign grace. When
Mr. McGee came down to Lewisburg
to hear me preach in 1959 and the

April 2014
Issue 206
congregation of which Mr. Magee
with logical deductions and not with
was a deacon later called me as pascreeds alone. Prove things with Scriptor, there were 300 people coming to
ture texts if youre trying to convince
church. There was only one person, a
people that this is a theological truth.
young girl, in that congregation that
Make people look at the text in the
had previously heard the doctrines of
Bible. What does the text say? Youre
grace. I was there seven years, and I
teaching the Word of God when
say this to the praise of Gods glory,
youre doing this. Did you ever notice
when they interviewed a man for the
when Christians argue, they often arpastorate to take my place, one of
gue using labels instead of over a text
the first questions they asked was his
of Scripture? How many times have
knowledge and understanding of the
you heard two Christians discussing
five doctrines of grace. The entire
doctrine and one of them said, Well,
board of deacons and the majority
the difficulty with you is you dont
of the congregation were thoroughly
believe this text or you dont underentrenched in grace. We only lost
stand this text? No, they say, The
one family in seven years over the
trouble with you is you dont believe
doctrines of grace because we never
the moral law, or, You dont believe
pressed people; we never pushed
in the millennium, and they use a
people, but we did teach it. We always theological label instead of dealing
encouraged queswith the text of the
tions. We didnt
Word of God. What
We sin if we choke
start with limited
does the Bible say?
people with truth, even though
atonement. We
Some years
it is the very truth of God, if
started with books
ago,
I was asked to
theyre not able to chew it and
like the book of
speak at a fellowswallow it
Habakkuk. If
ship of Reformed
you preach to the
pastors in Canada.
hearts of people about the sovereignty
They asked me to speak on the Four
of God in providence and the soverSeeds of Abraham. Somebody had
eignty of God over their lives, they
read a paper I had done, and they
believe that. And its much easier to
wanted me to present that. When I
move from a concept of Gods soverwas finished, we had a lively discuseignty in your life and texts like Rosion. This was the first time Id ever
mans 8:28 and a series of sermons ilspoken on this subject. It is a bit scary
lustrating that text in the life of Joseph
to face forty pastors knowing half of
and so on; all Christiansthe worst
them dont agree with you. I could
of Arminianswill say Amen!
hear them cocking their theological
It will echo in their hearts, and its
guns. About 1/3 of the men were dismuch easier to move from there to the
pensational, about 1/3 were covenant
doctrine of election because all youre
theologian, and about 1/3 had a very
doing is just going one step further
limited knowledge of New Covenant
on the foundation youve already laid,
Theology. During the discussion perithan it is to just attack that head-on.
od, a Presbyterian kept using the theoAgain I say the principle, I have
logical terms covenant of grace and
many things to say to you, but you
covenant of works. He was trying to
are not yet able to bear them, would
refute what I had said and was using
apply here also. We sin if we choke
these terms as key points in his argupeople with truth, even though it is
ments. He was using these terms as if
the very truth of God, if theyre not
they were Bible verses. I finally said,
able to chew it and swallow it.
Wait a minute, you keep using purely
Number 5: Prove the things you
theological terms as if they were Bible
believe with the Word of God and not
ReisingerContinued on page 10

Issue 206

Enough Room

April 2014

Stan F. Vaninger

We see a paradise lost/paradise

restored scenario in the pages of
Scripture.
In the early chapters of Genesis,
we see Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden. Since they were assigned
the task of caring for the garden, we
can be certain that it was small. But it
was just the two of them, so there was
enough room.
The paradise of Eden was lost
when they sinned. But the rest of the
Bible records Gods plan to restore
paradise on earth. Revelation, the last
book of the Bible, gives us some hints
about what that restored paradise is
going to be like. It is quite clear that
it is going to be a big deal. While it

is true that many are called but few

are chosen nevertheless there will
be a lot of people in the Eden of the
new creation. Millions of people. But
we neednt fret about having our own
space. God had this all planned out
from a while back. We can be sure
that there will be enough room.
The resurrected saints will no
doubt inhabit the entire earth. God
had something in mind from the very
beginning. He commanded Adam and
Eve to fill the earth. After the flood,
Noah was given the same directive.
It was part of Gods master plan.
Throughout the Bible, land seems
to have great importance. When the
Lord called out Abraham, he promised him that his descendants would

Page 9
be given land. This was an important
aspect of the Abrahamic covenant.
About 500 years later, when Israel
was redeemed from slavery in Egypt,
that promise was fulfilled. God gave
them a parcel of land in Canaan that
is spoken of as the Promised Land. It
was very small. If we look at a current
map showing all the Muslim nations
surrounding modern Israel or ancient
Israel (theres not a big difference) we
realize just how small the Promised
Land was. But it was enough room
for Israel. It was enough room for
Gods chosen people of that era.
When Christ returns and consummates his glorious kingdom on the
new earth, we can be sure that it will
be the perfect environment for the resurrected elect of all nations. We can
be certain that there will just enough
room.

I conclude, therefore, that God permitted Satans fall, not because He was helpless to stop it, but because He had a purpose for it.
Since God is never taken off guard, His permissions are always purposeful. If He chooses to permit something, He does so for a
reason an infinitely wise reason. How the sin arises in Satans heart, we do not know. God has not told us. What we do know
is that God is sovereign over Satan, and therefore Satans will does not move without Gods permission. And therefore every
move of Satan is part of Gods overall purpose and plan. And this is true in such a way that God never sins. God is infinitely
holy, and God is infinitely mighty. Satan is evil, and Satan is under the all-governing wisdom of God.
John Piper

The New Covenant ChurchEkklesiaof Christ

John 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 officers 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 demonstrates,
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 Ekklesiaof Christ.
See pages 16 & 17 for price and ordering information.

Page 10
ReisingerContinued from page 8

verses. You havent yet quoted one

verse out of the Bible that proves your
terms are truly Scriptural.
The man said, Dont you believe
the Bible is structured around two
covenants? I said, Absolutely. And
he said, Well, so do I. I said, All
right, give me the texts of Scripture
that establish your two covenants.
Show me where the Bible teaches a
covenant of works made with Adam
before he fell and a covenant of
grace with Adam after he fell. He
said, Where are the Bible texts that
establish your two covenants? I said,
Galatians 4:24 specifically mentions
two covenants and refers to them as
these are the two covenants. Thats
a pretty clear verse. Paul proceeds to
tell us exactly what two covenants he
is talking about. The first covenant
he mentions is the covenant that God
made with Israel at Sinai. The other
covenant is the covenant made with
Abraham, which is fulfilled in the
new covenant in Jesus Christ.

April 2014
promises. I said, Now there is an
old covenant and a new covenant, and
those are the covenants around which
the Scriptures are built.
Continuing, I said, Now you give
me the texts of Scripture for your covenant of works with Adam before he
fell and your covenant of grace made
with Adam after he fell. There was
dead silence. I just stood there and
waited. Finally the man said, Well,
we dont actually have a specific text
of Scripture. We prove our point with
the good and necessary consequences
deduced from all of Scripture.

Use the Word of God and insist

the other person do the same thing.
I could not get this brother to tell me
what Hebrews 8:6 means. He would
not discuss the two texts I had given
him. He kept saying, But theres only
one covenant. I kept saying, I gave
you two texts that contradict you. We
looked at two texts and both say there
was an old covenant replaced with a
new covenant. These two texts specifically mention the two covenants
I said, Hebrew 8:6 is another
around which the Scripture is built. I
clear text that specifically speaks of
dare you to try to read one covenant
the same two
with two adminiscovenants around
trations into either
Use the Word of God to
which the Scripof these texts. I
prove what you want to say.
ture is built. Hecould not get him
Defend truth with the Book and
brews 8:6 says,
to discuss the texts.
with the Book alone.
But now hath he
He would not look
obtained a more
at the texts of Scripexcellent ministry
ture but insisted on
by how much also he is the mediator
using theological terms without provof a better covenant which was esing them with Scripture.
tablished upon better promises. The
When you deal with those who
writer is comparing the old and new
covenants. The writer is showing how dont believe in election or the doctrine of total depravity, insist they
the New Covenant is so much better
read the text of Scripture and ask
than the one it replaces. We looked
up Hebrews 8:6 and I said, In verse 6 them, What does that text say?
What does that text mean? I may not
there are three comparisons: Christ is
understand it, but you must believe
a better priest than Aaron because he
has a better ministry than Aaron. And something about it. Use the Word of
God to prove what you want to say.
the second comparison is this minisDefend truth with the Book and with
try is better because it is based on a
the Book alone.
better covenant. And the better covenant is better than the old covenant it
To be continued . . .
replaces because its based on better

Issue 206
WhiteContinued from page 3

When the jailer woke up and saw the

doors of the prison open, he drew his
sword and was going to kill himself,
since he thought the prisoners had
escaped. But Paul called out in a loud
voice, Dont harm yourself, because
all of us are here! Then the jailer
called for lights, rushed in, and fell
down trembling before Paul and Silas.
Then he escorted them out and said,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
So they said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus, and you will be savedyou and
your household. Then they spoke the
message of the Lord to him along with
everyone in his house. He took them
the same hour of the night and washed
their wounds. Right away he and all
his family were baptized. He brought
them into his house, set a meal before
them, and rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household
(Acts 16:6-34).1

Paul has a vision of a man in

Macedonia asking for help and concluded that God had called them to
evangelize them (Acts 16:9-10), which
leads them to Philippi, a large city
and a Roman colony. The story of
the gospel coming to Philippi shows
that the message of the gospel knows
no bounds. Here we have three very
different types of people being confronted with the message of grace.
F.F. Bruce writes, Three individuals are singled out by Luke among
those whose lives were influenced for
good by the gospel at Philippi; they
differ so much one from another that
he might be thought to have selected
them deliberately in order to show
how the saving power of the name
of Jesus was shown in the most diverse types of men and women.2 The
1 Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture
quotations are taken from the Holman
Christian Standard Bible, Copyright
1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by
Holman Bible Publishers. Used by
permission.
2 F.F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 312.

Issue 206
church of Jesus Christ transcends our
standard social classifications and
makes all one in Christ.
The typical practice of the first
missionaries was to go to the local
Jewish synagogue, but there was no
such thing in Philippi. There only
needed to be ten Jewish men to form
a synagogue, but there was not even
that in Philippi.3 But there were some
ladies who were having a riverside
Bible study.4 (Praise God for faithful women of God. Chances are you
would not be interested in such things
as the book of Philippians had it not
been for the prayers and encouragement of a faithful women. I know it is
true of me.) One of those ladies was
not Jewish but had rejected paganism.
Her name was Lydia, and she was
Asian. She was from Thyatira and
probably owned a successful fashion
company, and her main clients would
have been wealthy people since purple
was the color the wealthy wore. She
wanted to honor God and was listening in on the Bible study. Paul enters
the conversation and tells these Jewish
ladies whator whomthe Hebrew
Bible pointed toJesus Christ. As
Paul tells the story, the Lord opens
Lydias heart to pay attention to what
Paul was saying (Acts 16:14). That is
grace, friends. Shes irresistible. But
notice that we work, and God works.
John Stott writes, Although the message was Pauls, the saving initiative
was Gods. Pauls preaching was not
effective in itself; the Lord worked
through it. And the Lords work was
not in itself direct; he chose to work
through Pauls preaching.5 Paul told
the story of Jesus and God opened
her heart. How many times did you
3 David G. Peterson, The Acts of the
Apostles (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2009), 460.
4 Matt Chandler, To Live is Christ To Die
is Gain (Colorado Springs: David C.
Cook, 2013), 18.
5 John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts
(Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity,
1990), 263.

April 2014
hear the good news of Jesus before it
finally hit home? God opened your
heart just like he did Lydias. Lydias
conversion changed her life, and immediately she was hospitable inviting
Paul, Silas, and Timothy to her house.
She was quick to serve other believers
and use her resources for the propagation and advancement of the gospel.
True conversion inevitably leads to a
desire to see others converted. If were
redeemed, we will love to proclaim it!
Next, the message of grace grabs
the fortune-telling slave girl. She followed the Apostles around for many
days, announcing that these men
know the way of salvation. Finally
Paul had enough of it and commanded
the spirit to buzz off and buzz off it
does, which frustrates the owners
whose means of profit buzzed right
with it. The owners drag them to the
authorities and accuse them of preaching against Caesar, which is partly
true since they were announcing the
reign of a new king (Acts 17:7). They
were stripped naked, beaten with
rods(!), and tossed in prison.
Next, the hound of heaven pursues the Philippian jailer. Naked and
beaten, the disciples sulk in their own
despair and cry out Why me God?
No, they do not. One would expect to
hear groaning and complaining, but
the Bible says they prayed and sang
hymns!6 As the 2nd century theologian
Tertullian put it, The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is
in heaven.7 Their faith was strong.
Brothers and sisters, we need to cultivate a faith that sings when, when not
if, the trials come. Earlier, when the
disciples were persecuted by the Jews,
Peter and John had said, Whether
its right in the sight of God for us
to listen to you rather than to God,
you decide; for we are unable to stop
speaking about what we have seen
and heard (Acts 4:19-20). They would
also rejoice that they were counted
6 Bruce, The Book of the Acts, 317.
7 Tertullian, To the Martyrs quoted in
Bruce, The Book of the Acts, 317.

Page 11
worthy to be dishonored on behalf of
Jesus (Acts 5:41). They truly believed
in the surpassing worth of Jesus. Do
we?
Then God miraculously frees Paul
and Silas through an earthquake.
Nothing can stop the mission of God.
This desperate jailer knew that once
his boss found out that he had failed
to do his job, hed be put to death in
a way that would be worse than him
stabbing himself with a sword. Paul
shouts at him and tells him not to do
it. Paul was free but risks his own
life to save the life of the jailer. This
theme of giving of self for the good
of otherswhat I have called elsewhere cruciform love8 will surface
again and again. Before he became a
Christian, Paul held the robes of the
Jews who killed Stephen for preaching Jesus and no doubt Paul recalled
that experience in the midst of his
own suffering. Stephen prayed for the
blessing of those who were persecuting him: Lord, do not charge them
with this sin! (Acts 7:60). Stephen
was following the example of his Lord
who prayed, Father, forgive them,
because they do not know what they
are doing (Luke 23:34). Here Paul
could have escaped, but he is more
concerned about the salvation of the
jailer than about his own freedom.
This jailer knows that the God
whom these Christians were praying
and singing to is the real deal. So he
asks, What must I do to be saved?
(Acts 16:30). The answer is that he
must believe on the Lord Jesus and he
will be saved, a simple, but life-transforming answer. He believed, cleaned
them, fed them, and rejoiced. Just as
with Lydia, this mans faith immediately leads to service for the people
of God. Paul and Silas were released,
returned to dear Lydias house to en8 See Part Two of my Theological
Foundations for New Covenant Ethics (Frederick, MD: New Covenant
Media, 2013).
WhiteContinued on page 14

Page 12
WestContinued from page 1

self is the great shepherd, and that human shepherds (even when good) are
deeply flawed (and some are downright wicked), but God has elected to
have his people shepherded by other
people. Does this doom his flock to a
minimum of substandard care, and,
given a worst case scenario, savage
abuse? No. God himself will shepherd
his people directly and he will do so
through a human leader. Or, more precisely, God will shepherd his people
directly as a human leader. God will
become incarnate, and the full splendor of the imagery will be brought to
exquisite and rich fulfillment, both
theologically and practically.
According to Matthew, Jesus birth
in Bethlehem fulfilled this prophecy:
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah, are by no means least among
the rulers of Judah; for out of you will
come a ruler who will shepherd my
people Israel (Matt 2:6 quoting Micah 5:2,4). The immediate connection
in this particular usage of the shepherd imagery is with ruling. There is
nothing said here about compassion,
care, or tenderness: the accent sounded is purely that of a great ruler. This
is not the only aspect of the metaphor
that applies to Jesus, but we must
guard against romantically envisioning a soft shepherd image where a
handsome Jesus with long, flowing,
brown locks and bright, blue eyes is
gently carrying an innocent lamb on
his shoulders back to the safety of a
sheep pen. That type of idyllic Western artwork may capture other truths
in the imagery, but it certainly does
not exhaust the riches of the metaphor.
Actually, if that is the only picture
one has when Jesus is thought of as a
shepherd, the biblical fullness of the
imagery is being horrifically distorted. Jesus is fittingly described as a
shepherd because he is a ruler.
Even when the imagery shifts to
highlight the compassion and tender
care that Jesus exercises towards his
flock, the ruling motif should not be

April 2014
Issue 206
abandoned. He is always a ruler. What night you will all fall away on acis truly wonderful is that he rules with count of me, for it is written: I will
love and mercy. He is not calloused
strike the shepherd, and the sheep of
towards his peoples hurts. Matthew
the flock will be scattered. But after
tells us that, Jesus went through all
I have risen, I will go ahead of you
the towns and villages, teaching in
into Galilee (Matthew 26:31-32). The
their synagogues, proclaiming the
Messianic prophecy obviously uses
good news of the kingdom and healthe shepherd metaphor to communiing every disease and sickness. When cate its point, and Jesus knows that
he saw the crowds, he had compassion when it is fulfilled, he as the shepherd
on them, because they were harassed will be struck, which will result in the
and helpless, like sheep without a
scattering of his sheep. Yet Jesus furshepherd (Matthew 9:35-36). Jesus
ther knows that the struck shepherd
is moved with compassion for the
will rise again: his death is not an
people, and he discharges the duties
absolute disaster for the flock because
of a competent and caring shepherd.
he will rise again, lead them (go
He takes note of their situation and
ahead of you) and gather them safely
he heals them. He doesnt want them
together again.
scattered and helpless; his compasThe themes of life, death, and
sion causes him
resurrection infuse
to gather, teach
. . . Jesus is not only the
John 10:1-21, where
(i.e. feed), and
good shepherd but he is also
Jesus gives his faheal. All of this
the gate . . .
mous good shepherd
activity is not
discourse. Here in
disconnected from his position of
John 10 the shepherd imagery is given
ruling. As a matter of fact, Jesus acts
its most extended treatment in the NT.
as a compassionate shepherd as he
There is also a mixing of metaphors,
goes about preaching his kingdom.
where Jesus is not only the good
His kingly rule and tender care are
shepherd but he is also the gate to the
inextricably linked.
sheep pen. Conflating these images
There will come a time in the
so that Jesus is the gate because he
future when the shepherd-ruler judges as a shepherd lays down to block the
his flock. One day, All the nations
entrance to the pen is possibly forcing
will be gathered before him, and he
the imagery to a consistency its just
will separate the people one from
not designed to bear. Jesus has every
another as a shepherd separates the
right to mix his metaphors.
sheep from the goats. He will put
John 10:1-5 sets out the contrast
the sheep on his right and the goats
between Jesus and the Pharisees.
on his left (Matthew 25:32-33).
Jesus is the one who has rightful
The shepherd gathers all the people
authority over the flock. The Phariof the world, and then proclaims to
sees are trespassers, virtual criminals
them what their eternal destiny is. To
who only want to harm the flock for
describe the eschatological judgment
their selfish gain. By contrast, Jesus
where the Lord acts as the great king
knows the sheep by name (stop and
(cf. 25:34) and the universal judge,
think about that: not just the phonetic
Jesus employs the imagery of a sheplabel attached to them, but who they
herd.
are, their character, he knows them).
Jesus also uses the shepherd meta- Jesus, God incarnate, knows each
phor to explain to his disciples what
of his sheep and they know him too.
is going to happen to him and to them They hear his voice, listen when he
when he is crucified. Jesus takes the
calls, and follow him. Because of this
Messianic prophecy from Zechariah
intimate relationship they will not fol13:7 and tells his disciples, This very low another shepherd or be destroyed

Issue 206
by heresy: by Gods grace they know
the one who knows them.

April 2014
herd is not overwhelmed by a predator
and forced to either watch his flock
die or intervene and die himself in so
doing. No, he has chosen to come to
this flock and die in their place. And
death will not be the last word. The
ultimate reason his death is good for
the sheep is that when he dies, death
dies. Jesus can confidently claim, I
have authority to lay it [my life] down
and authority to take it up again (v.
18). The good shepherds death is not
the end of the good shepherd or his
sheep: it is actually how the members
of the flock become the recipients of
abundant life.

Jesus continues to contrast himself

with the Pharisees. Whoever comes
to God through Jesus will be saved.
He says, They will come in and go
out, and find pasture. The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full (John 10:9b10). Listening to the voice of their
good shepherd, the sheep will be led
out of their safe pen, taken out to safe
pasture, and led back to their shelter
again. What more could sheep want?
This is the full,
In fact, there
abundant life! TransJesus knows the sheep by
is just too much
late the metaphor
name (stop and think about
work for Jesus
into human terms,
that: not just the phonetic label
to do for him
think about a spiriattached to them, but who they
to die and not
tually rich life, and
are, their character, he knows
come back to
know that it is yours
them). Jesus, God incarnate,
life! There are
through Jesus alone.
knows each of his sheep and they
other sheep, too,
In the course of
know him too. They hear his
scattered across
calling his sheep and voice, listen when he calls, and
the entire world,
leading them and
follow him.
who are not yet
blessing them abunsafely in the fold
dantly, it is necessary
(10:16). Jesus is not just the shepherd
for the good shepherd to die. This is
of Israel, he is the only good shepherd
jarring and discordant: Jesus has just
in the world. There are Jewish sheep
said, they may have life, and have
and Gentile sheep. There are sheep
it to the full, and he immediately
embedded in every nation, tribe,
proclaims, I am the good shepherd.
tongue, and culture. But there is only
The good shepherd lays down his life
one shepherd, and he is going to bring
for the sheep, (10:11). The sheep get
them all safely into one flock, by callabundant life; the shepherd gets death.
ing them and having them respond to
How can the death of the shepherd be
his voice.
good for the sheep? Wont that leave
The good shepherd is not only a
them in the most vulnerable of all
ruler, a judge, a king, and a perfectly
positions? We have seen that when
virtuous person, he is also a misthe shepherd is struck, the sheep are
sionary. He actively tracks down his
scattered; in the OT scattered flocks
figuratively resembled people without sheep. Without making any additional
commentary at the end, Im simply
strong, godly leaders. How can the
going to cite a very famous parable
death of the good shepherd be good
with context. Notice how the shepherd
for the flock?
cares about his sheep and how he
The reason, as we know, is that
actively goes to gather even one stray
Jesus lays down his life on his own
that has wandered off and needs his
authority. Nobody can take his life
help. Now the tax collectors and sinfrom him; only he has the power to
ners were all gathering around to hear
lose it (10:17-18). So his death is not
Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachinvoluntary or forced. The good shepers of the law muttered, This man

Page 13
welcomes sinners and eats with them.
Then Jesus told them this parable:
Suppose one of you has a hundred
sheep and loses one of them. Doesnt
he leave the ninety-nine in the open
country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it he
joyfully puts it on his shoulders and
goes home. Then he calls his friends
and neighbors together and says, Rejoice with me; I have found my lost
sheep. I tell you that in the same way
there will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who do
not need to repent (Luke 15:1-7).
Although much more could be said
about the shepherd imagery as applied
toand fulfilled byJesus, there is
one more element of it that is essential
to see. As much as Jesus is the good
shepherd and the complete fulfillment
of that metaphor, he is not only the
shepherd. Jesus is also the fulfillment
of the sheep component of the imagery. This is true not just in the general
sense of being obedient to the will of
the Father, listening to the Fathers
voice, and following him with trust
at all times. All of that is true but the
connection is much deeper. Jesus is simultaneously the good shepherd who
lays down his life and the sacrificial
lamb that is led silently to the slaughter (cf. Isaiah 53). He is the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the
world (John 1:29). He is the lamb who
was slain, triumphing in glory and
bringing Gods purposes to pass (cf.
Revelation 5). He is the good shepherd
and the good sheep, the substitutionary lamb without blemish required
for sacrifice. Jesus the shepherd is
also Jesus the Passover lamb. Mixing
metaphors, he is the shepherd incarnated in the lamb, dying for the sheep
as a member of their species. But then
he rises again. The richness of what
he has done transcends our language,
regardless of whether we employ
straight propositions or symbolic images. Jesus contains the best parts of
everything good.

Page 14
WhiteContinued from page 11

courage the new believers, and moved

on to Thessalonica.
So here we have the beginnings
of the church at Philippi. We have
Lydia the successful business owner,
a rough and tough jailer, their households, and a formerly enslaved slave
girl. The church at Philippi was a
diverse group of people, which shows
that the grace of Jesus is available
to all. Whosoever will, may come.
The message is for the rich and the
poor, men and women, slave and
free, black, white, green, or brown.
Salvation is available to the demonpossessed, to the blue collar and
white collar worker, to the tattooed
and the preppy, to the Republican
and the Democrat. For God loved
the world in this way: He gave His
One and Only Son, so that everyone
who believes in Him will not perish
but have eternal life (John 3:16). The
Philippian church begins as a motley
crew, to say the least, but a motley
crew with a message that saves. And

April 2014
it does. The church grows, and it continues to grow.
What is our role in the larger
story? We are all called to take part in
this same mission of God, but in order
to properly function for that mission,
we have to have our community unified and must walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. This is why the letter to Philippians was written. This is
why every book of the New Testament
was written. Listen to Old Testament
scholar Christopher Wright: The
writings that now comprise our Bible
are themselves the product of and witness to the ultimate mission of God.
The Bible renders to us the story of
Gods mission through Gods people
in their engagement with Gods world
for the sake of the whole of Gods
creation. The Bible is the drama of
this God of purpose engaged in the
mission of achieving that purpose
universally, embracing past, present and future, Israel and the nation,
life, the universe and everything,
and with its center, focus, climax, and

Issue 206
completion in Jesus Christ. Mission
is not just one of a list of things that
the Bible happens to talk about, only a
bit more urgently than some. Mission
is, in that much-abused phrase, what
its all about.9 Or as Ralph Winter
put it, The Bible is not the basis of
missions; missions is the basis of the
Bible.
So we need to hear the message
of this prison epistle for the purpose
of Christian formation; this letter
was written and included within the
Christian canon of Scripture to instruct and shape us. We are instructed
in order to function better within the
mission of God. The point is not simply to form a holy huddle but to help
us be better missionaries. God has a
mission, and we are an integral part of
it. That is how the church of Philippi
came into being.

9 Christopher J.H. Wright, The Mission

of God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006), 22.

Humility is knowing that everything that happened for the good was God, and everything that happened for the bad was you.
John MacArthur

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Issue 206

April 2014

Council on Biblical Theology

Page 15

Tuesday Evening July 22 to Friday Noon July25, 201

Grace Church at Franklin
4052 Arno Rd., Franklin, TN 37065

Theme: Gods Eternal Kingdom Purpose:

NCTTime for a More Accurate Way
(Make Your Reservations as Early as Possible)
Morning (8:45-12:00) & Evening (6:45-9:30) Speakers
Tony Costa. Christian Apologist & Adjunct Professor, Providence Theological Seminary (PTS). The Sabbath and Its
Relation to Christ and the Church in the New Covenant.
Peter Gentry. Professor of OT Interpretation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. (Two Messages) Ephesians 3:4-6:
What the OT Says about the Inclusion of the Gentiles & Gods Dealings with Abraham: Conditional or Unconditional? One or Two Covenants?
Gary George. Evangelist & Pastor, Sovereign Grace Chapel, Southbridge, MA; Board Member PTS. The Regenerative
Power of the Holy Spirit in the OT and the NT
Frank Gumerlock. Professor of Church History and Systematic Theology, PTS. Hebrews 11:8-19: Gods Land Promise to
Abraham and the New Covenant
Zach S. Maxcey. Graduate of PTS and Blog Administrator for PTS. Daniel 9:24-27: The Messiah and the New Covenant
W. W. Sasser. Pastor, Grace Church at Franklin and Board Member PTS. Grace and Law: Whats the Big Deal?
Greg Van Court. Pastor, Dayspring Fellowship Church, Austin, TX & Adjunct Professor PTS. 2 Timothy 3:16-17: The
Profitability of All Scripture
Kirk Wellum. Principal, Toronto Baptist Seminary, Toronto, Canada. The Ecclesiological Implications of the New Covenant
Stephen Wellum. Professor of Christian Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. (Two Messages) What Is New
about the NC? and The Nature of Typology Revisited: Do We All Agree?
Blake White. Pastor, Spicewood Baptist Church, Spicewood, TX. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23: Not Under Law But Not Without
Gods Law.
Wednesday & Thursday Afternoon Consolidated Doctrinal Workshop Topics (2:00-3:30 p.m.
Moderator: Gary D. Long Faculty President, PTS
Topics Include:
Use and Misuse of Inaugurated Eschatology in Dispensational and Covenant Theology
Response to Criticism of the Book Kingdom through Covenant
Servant King and Obedient Son as Covenant Categories in Genesis 1-3
Hebrew Idiom in Covenant Making (Cut vs. Establish a Covenant)
The Church, Pentecost and Spirit Baptism
The Two Greatest Commandments and the Covenantal Administration of the Law of God
REGISTRATION & MOTEL ROOMS FOR THE COUNCIL ON BIBLICAL THEOLOGY
Franklin, TNJuly 22-25, 2014
Registration Fee: $75 per person attending the Council. Enclose Check or Money Order and mail to: Providence Theological Seminary, c/o Dr. Gary D. Long, 6720 Wild Indigo Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80923, with a note For 2014 Council
on Biblical Theology. Questions: Call Dr. Long at 719-572-7900; Alternate #: 719-821-9892
Room: Individual Responsibility. Call Baymont Inns & Suites in Franklin, TN (615) 591-6660) located at 4202 Franklin
Commons Ct., Franklin, TN 37067 and reserve a King-size bed room, or a room with two Queen beds, or a King-size
Suite with one King-size bed and one Queen pull-out bed. The group rate per room is $69.99 + 17.25% tax. All rooms are
non-smoking. Mention to the Motel that you are attending the Grace Church Doctrinal Conference. PLEASE MAKE
YOUR ROOM RESERVATION EARLY DUE TO THE HIGH TOURIST SEASON FOR THE NASHVILLE AREA. (If
Baymont Inns & Suites becomes filled, check directly with other motels in Franklin.)
Administrative Host: Grace Church at Franklin, Pastor W. W. Sasser; Church Office: (615) 791-1575.
Nursery Service provided by the Church. Church hosted Dinner provided Wednesday evening, July 23d.

Page 16

April 2014

TITLE
Abide in Him: A Theological Interpretation of John's First Letter White
Abrahams Four SeedsReisinger
The Abrahamic Promises in GalatiansWhite
The Believers SabbathReisinger
Biblical Law and Ethics: Absolute and CovenantalLong
But I Say Unto YouReisinger
Chosen in EternityReisinger
Christ, Lord and Lawgiver Over the ChurchReisinger
The Christian and The SabbathWells
Continuity and DiscontinuityReisinger
Definite Atonement Long
The Doctrine of BaptismSasser
Full Bellies and Empty HeartsAutio
Galatians: A Theological InterpretationWhite
GraceReisinger
The Grace of Our Sovereign GodReisinger
Hermeneutical Flaws of DispensationalismGeorge
In Defense of Jesus, the New LawgiverReisinger
Is John G. Reisinger an Antinomian?Wells
John Bunyan on the SabbathReisinger
Jonathan Edwards on Biblical Hermeneutics and the
Covenant of GraceGilliland
La Soberana de Dios en la ProvidenciaJohn G. Reisinger
The Law of Christ: A Theological ProposalWhite
Limited AtonementReisinger
Missional EcclesiologyWhite
Ministry of Grace Essays in Honor of John G. ReisingerSteve West, Editor
The New Birth Reisinger
The New Covenant and New Covenant TheologyZaspel
The New Covenant ChurchEkklesiaof Christ Reisinger *NEW*
New Covenant TheologyWells & Zaspel
New Covenant Theology & ProphecyReisinger
The Newness of the New CovenantWhite
The New Perspective on Justification West
The Obedience of ChristVan Court
Our Sovereign God Reisinger
Perseverance of the Saints Reisinger
The Priority of Jesus ChristWells
A Prisoners ChristianityWoodrow
Qu es la Teologa del Nuevo Pacto? Una Introduccin White *NEW*
Saving the Saving GospelWest
Sinners, Jesus Will ReceivePayne
Studies in GalatiansReisinger
Studies in EcclesiastesReisinger
Tablets of StoneReisinger
Theological Foundations for New Covenant EthicsWhite
The Sovereignty of God and PrayerReisinger
The Sovereignty of God in Providence Reisinger
Total Depravity Reisinger
Union with Christ: Last Adam and Seed of AbrahamWhite
What is the Christian Faith? Reisinger
What is New Covenant Theology? An IntroductionWhite
When Should a Christian Leave a Church?Reisinger

Issue 206
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Issue 206

April 2014

Page 17

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What Jesus Demands from the WorldJohn Piper

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All Things NewCarl Hoch

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Context! Evangelical Views on the Millenium ExaminedGary D. Long

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The Atoning Work of Jesus ChristWilliam Sasser

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The First London Confession of Faith-1646 Edition

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The New Covenant and the Law of ChristChris Scarborough

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Justification by FaithJames White

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Answers to Catholic ClaimsJames White

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Page 18

April 2014

Issue 206

The 2014
John Bunyan Conference
The 2014 John Bunyan Conference is scheduled for May 57
at Reformed Baptist Church in Lewisburg, PA

Speakers
Peter J. Gentry (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of Old Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary and director of the Hexapla Institute.
Larry McCall has served as a pastor at Christs Covenant Church, Winona Lake, IN since 1981. He has written a
number of articles and is the author of two books, Walking Like Jesus Did and Loving Your Wife as Christ Loved
the Church. He received his BA in New Testament Greek and MDiv from Grace College and Theological Seminary. In 1993, he completed his Doctor of Ministry at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Stephen Wellum (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is professor of Christian Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.
Steve West (PhD) is the Lead Pastor of Crestwicke Baptist Church, Guelph, Ontario, and an adjunct professor at Toronto Baptist Seminary.
A. Blake White (MDiv, SBTS; ThM, SWBTS) is pastor of Spicewood Baptist Church in the Texas Hill Country. He
and his wife Alicia have three children: Josiah, Asher, and Karis. He is the author of What is New Covenant Theology? An Introduction and eight other books focusing on exegesis and biblical theology.

Topics
Peter J. Gentry

Larry McCall
Stephen Wellum
Steve West
A. Blake White

Overview of How the Covenants are Central to the Plot Structure of Scripture
Culminating in the New Covenant
Exposition of the Covenant at Creation and Its Foundational Role in the Understanding of the New Covenant
Loving Your Wife as Christ Loves the Church - 2 Messages
Underpinning and Understanding Biblical Theology
Understanding the CovenantsCentral to Theology

Shepherding the New Covenant Community 3 Messages

Marks Prologue and the Isainic New Exodus (Mark 1:1-15)
The Gospel Gift of Gods Righteousness (Romans 1:16-17)

Pre-Conference

Stephen Wellum will present two pre-conference messages Sunday, May 4 at 9:30 and 10:45 am at
Reformed Baptist Church.
For further information, please contact the church directly:
Reformed Baptist Church, 830 Buffalo Road, Lewisburg, PA 17837.
Phone (570) 524-7488; Website: www.rbclewisburg.org; Email: rbclewisburg@earthlink.net

Issue 206

April 2014

The 2014
John Bunyan Conference
Registration Form

Page 19

Lodging for the conference is available at a reduced rate at the Country Inn and Suites by Carlson in Lewisburg, PA. Just
mention that you would like accommodations for the John Bunyan Conference to receive a double occupancy room for
only $90.00 per night which includes a nice continental breakfast.
Reservations must be made by no later than April 13, 2014 to receive this reduced rate.
Reservations at the Country Inn and Suites may be made by calling 800-456-4000 or 570-524-6600. Their website is
www.countryinns.com/lewisburgpa and the address is 134 Walter Drive, Route 15, PO Box 46, Lewisburg, PA 17837.
Meals for lunch and dinner will be available at the church.
The registration is $80.00 per individual and includes five meals.
Space for meals is limited and registration will be restricted to the first 80 individuals who register. Please register by no
later than April 13, 2014. Sign-in for the conference will be from 9:00 to 10:00 am Monday, May 5, 2014
at Reformed Baptist Church.
Please call 301-473-8781 or email johnbunyanconf@comcast.net to register; Discover, Visa or MasterCard accepted.
Please register by no later than April 13, 2014.
REGISTRATION FOR THE 2014 JOHN BUNYAN CONFERENCE, LEWISBURG, PA
MAY 57, 2014
Register me for the 2014 John Bunyan Conference. Enclosed is a check for $80.00.
Register me for the 2014 John Bunyan Conference. Enclosed is a check for $30.00; I will pay the remaining $50.00
upon sign-in.
Make the check payable to Sovereign Grace New Covenant Ministries with a note For 2014 John Bunyan Conference
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A Little Book, Which Contains Only Three Pages

William Mason
"The One Thing Needful to Make Poor Sinners Richand Miserable Sinners Happy"
I have read of a godly man who was once very dissolute. When converted, his former companions sought to bring him back to his former wicked courses. But he told them, "I am deeply engaged in meditating on a little book, which contains only three pages; so at present I
have no time for other business."
Sometime after, being asked if he had finished his book, he replied, "No; for though it contains only three pages, yet there is so much
comprised in them, that I have devoted myself to read therein, all the days of my life.
The first page is red. Here I mediate on the sufferings of my Lord and Savior, His shedding His precious blood, as an atonement for
my sins, and a ransom for my soul, without which I must have been a damned sinner in hell, to all eternity!
The second page is white. This cheers my heart with the wonderful consideration of the unspeakable joys of heaven obtained for me by
Christand of being forever with Him!
The third page is black. Here I think of the horrible state of the damnedand the perpetual torments they are suffering in hell. O this
excites thankfulness to my Savior, for His wonderful love and rich grace, in snatching me as a brand out of hell-fire, and saving me from
eternal destructions!"
Here is a good man, a good book, and a good example for you and I. "Let us go and do likewise."
Constantly meditate upon Christ; upon the wrath He has saved us fromand the glory He has saved us to!
Courtesy of Grace Gems: ww.GraceGems.org