McIlwain Shepherding Study: A Resource List

[The following is intended for a shepherding class at McIlwain Presbyterian Church]

Books

Systematic Theology

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief (Link)
John Frame
(Note: This is available on Audible)

A Visual Sweep of Warnings

OT: Ezekiel 18:20-26, Deuteronomy 29:18-20, 2 Chronicles 15:1-2, etc, etc.

Matthew: 5:27-30; 7:21; 10:21-22, 32-33; 18:6-9, 28-35; 24:9-14, 44-45

Mark: 8:34-38; 9:42-50

Luke: 8:11-13; 12:42-46

John: 12:24-26; 15:1-6

Acts: 8:20-23; 14:21-22; 20:28-32

Romans: 2:6-11; 8:12-13; 11:20-22; 14:13-23

1 Corinthians: 3:16-17; 6:8-13; 9:24-27; 10:2-12; 15:1-2

2 Corinthians: 11:1-5, 13-15; 13:5

Galatians: 1:6-9; 4:9-11; 5:1-6, 19-21; 6:8-9

Ephesians: 5:2-6

Philippians: (3:12-15)

Colossians: 1:21-23

1 Thessalonians: 3:15; 4:6

2 Thessalonians: 2:15-3:5

1 Timothy: 1:18-20; 4:15-16; 5:8

2 Timothy: 2:11-12, 16-20

Titus: (1:13-16 + 3:10-11)

Philemon: ———-

Hebrews: 2:1-3, 3:12-14, 3:18-4:1, 4:6, 11, 6:4-6, 10:23-29, 35-36, 12:14, 25

James: 1:12; 2:14-16; 5:19-20

1 Peter: 5:8-9

2 Peter: 2:20-21; 3:16-17

1 John: 2:24-25; 3:9-11, 18-19, etc.

2 John: 1:7-8

3 John: 1:11

Jude: 1:4, 20-23

Revelation: 2:4-5, 13-16, 26; 3:1-6, 8-10; 22:9

Claim: The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is a biblical truth. However, when a poignant warning in Scripture appears in a bible study, or is brought up in a conversation, those in the Reformed camp will almost always launch into a defense of eternal security, thereby effectively dodging the practical sting of the warning and its relevance to their lives, or the lives of others. Thus, the warnings may exist in Scripture, but they function as little more than springboards for discussing and proving the Christian’s predestined security in Christ.

Claim: No one believed in the saving efficacy of Christ’s atoning death more than the apostles. They wholeheartedly believed that God would bring to completion what He started in His sheep. However, a supreme belief and conviction in these truths did not deter them in the least from warning the saints with all the saliency and urgency of a furry-browed Arminian.

Claim: Every saint must persevere in the faith in order to be finally/ultimately saved.

Claim: When it is said that every saint in the faith must continue in the faith, lest they be damned, one of the first things that pops into a Reformed Christian’s mind is a concern that works is being added to salvation- that this notion smacks of works-righteousness.

Claim: Evangelicals tend to excuse/minimize lukewarm or lackadaisical behavior in the lives of Christians. In this vein, it isn’t rare to hear Christians assure themselves, or others, that their lack of piety or good works or zeal or whatever is essentially a common condition we sinful humans all share, and that this admission is itself a kind of pious, buddy-buddy admission that we’re all sinners who are kind of trying (but not really all that hard) to be better people. Or to say it differently, instead of spurring one another on to repentance, a more lighthearted “we are all in this together and it is ok” kind of attitude is adopted, seeing that we tend to value the mere admission of wrongdoing as an adequate expression of Christian piety.

Audio

The Triumph of the Gospel in the New Heavens and New Earth, John Piper

The Ultimate Essence of Evil, John Piper

God is Most Glorified in Us When We are Most Satisfied in Him, John Piper

The Goodness of Sex and the Glory of God, Ben Patterson

The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry, Tim Keller

The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul

The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World, Voddie Bachum

Faith and Reason, John Piper

Future Grace, John Piper- One, Two and Three

Israel’s Enemies Under David’s Foot, Douglas Green (Link)

Any of the many lectures/sermons by D. A. Carson (See the following list here and here)