2005 Shepherd’s Conference in review
Wayne Song
The Shepherd’s Conference was an encouraging time away from my typical mundane workweek to a three-day fellowship of rich biblical exhortation. During these very full days of lectures and sermons, the time spent with fellow saints was precious and the value of the wonderful biblical teaching immense. And getting to worship and praise literally “shoulder to shoulder� with thousands of like-minded believers was indescribably encouraging. But, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Annie’s support and encouragement for my attendance this year while singly taking care of our home and family in my absence.
The focus of the conference was on the doctrine of justification; that is, salvation through faith and faith alone. Although simple enough in concept, there is an ever persistent doctrinal tension between salvation through faith alone and the doctrine of works. John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul and Albert Mohler presented the proper biblical view of justification in a way that few men can. Equally important, however, was their powerfully clear admonition about the dangers of an ever subtle infiltration of false teaching and/or doctrinal compromise in the church and the necessary response for Christians (both individually and in the aggregate) to hold firm and true to sound biblical doctrine. Learning directly from giants like MacArthur, Sproul and Mohler and having the benefit of their collective biblical knowledge and spiritual wisdom all at place was a truly blessed time.
A particularly poignant moment of the conference for me, however, was during a Q & A with John MacArthur. An elder of a church in Santa Barbara asked MacArthur for some guidance on his own struggle with reconciling the tension in the doctrine of sovereign election. This elder, while holding firm to the doctrine that people are brought to salvation through sovereign election, still had a personal heart struggle with the notion that a truly loving God could condemn people death in “eternalâ€? punishment. I believe this elder’s dilemma was one with which I have also struggled — how could God create people for the specific purpose of damning them to hell?? I thought I knew what MacArthur’s response would be.
To both my surprise and encouragement, MacArthur responded not with dispassionate presentation of Calvin’s so-called “dreadful decree� of the predestinated fall, but with a compassion and emotionalism that almost belies Calvinistic doctrine. MacArthur, with utmost grace and compassion, responded by expressing that pastors should struggle and have a heart for the fact that eternal torment awaits the souls of men. He seemed to imply that a pastor who does not have such compassion and struggle needs to reflect upon his own deserving nature of hell. He closed with his hope that in heaven we will have all struggles resolved and be at peace before the Lord’s glory .
What lesson was learned?? That sound biblical doctrine, while immeasurably important, without love and compassion misses the point of the gospel message.
Immanuel Bible Church