Episode 9: Not Greedy

By / Apr 11

Does anyone go into ministry for the money? Maybe. Jared and Ronnie didn’t think they’d have a lot to say about the pursuit of money — and what the apostle Peter calls “shameful gain” — but they did. And it turns out ministerial greed and shameful gain isn’t just about money. There are other things pastors often succumb to becoming greedy about. In this conversation, our hosts explore the variety of ways pastors pursue discontentment, gluttony for things and experiences, and even how congregations can help pastors avoid financial (and other kinds of) anxiety and unrest.



Episode 258: When a Church Changes

By / Apr 10

On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson discuss how mature Christians might learn to consider, process, and adjust when their churches change in a variety of ways, as well as how leaders might initiate change in a way that best positions a church for health and stability.



Episode 8: Not a Bully but Gentle

By / Apr 4

Is gentleness the lost art of pastoring? The apostle Paul forbids pastors from being bullies and from being quarrelsome, but many pastors (and churchgoers) today seem to think these qualifications are optional and even valorize ministerial violence, manipulation, and conflict. In this honest conversation, Jared and Ronnie share some of their own experiences serving under bully pastors, what sows the seeds of abuse in ministers, and how to pursue not an image of peace but a heart and reality of peace.



Episode 257: Grab Bag!

By / Apr 3

The latest installment in our new Grab Bag! feature comes with a twist. This grab bag is a movie swap! Jared and Ross assigned movies to one another. Jared has to watch Ross’s “Christian movie” recommendation. Ross has to watch Jared’s “is it a Christian movie?” recommendation. Then they discuss. Will they like their assignments? Will they hate them? Listen in and find out.



Gospel-Centered Preaching

By / Mar 29

While attending Heriot Watt University I took a public speaking class. The course led students to produce and effectively deliver a public speech on any given subject. A well-crafted and excellently delivered speech can certainly produce results; at the very least an applause would be warranted. Although a response is given it is usually short lived and even the best of speeches will soon be forgotten. These emotional responses rely on a rousing speech. Therein lies the problem: when we apply the principles of a public speaking class to preaching, we can expect short lived emotional responses but no real transformation in the lives of our hearers. When it comes to preaching, we need a different set of principles. To see a significant and eternal difference in the lives of our church, we need gospel-centered preaching.

What is the Gospel?

Before we consider how the gospel impacts preaching, we must first understand what the gospel is. The gospel simply means good news. When it comes to Scripture, the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ, and it is the point of the whole Bible. God made all things perfect (Genesis 1 & 2), yet sin entered the world through the actions of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:6). With a broken covenant, sin impacts all of mankind (Romans 3:23). God, being just, must punish sin and declares that mankind faces death (Romans 6:23).

Yet God, in His eternal redemptive plan sends Jesus to this world to be both fully God and fully human (John 3:16). He lived a perfect sinless life; in so doing, He could be a perfect sacrificial lamb (Hebrews 10:12). By God’s will, Jesus suffered to the point of death on the cross. His death was the punishment that we should have paid (Mark 15:37-39). He was buried but three days later rose from the dead. Through His resurrection, Jesus is able to offer life and a relationship with God to all who would place their faith in Him (John 10:10). It is good news for the sinner that they have a way to deal a death blow to their sin and have our brokenness forgiven. The gospel can be described in many ways, but it must always include the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as the way to the Father. The condemned, through faith in Jesus, find forgiveness and rest.

What is Gospel-Centered Preaching?

Edmund Clowney in his book Preaching Christ in All of Scripture states clearly that “gospel preaching presents Jesus.” Many preachers will present anything but Jesus. Two prevalent ways to preach are moralistic, which considers the do’s and do not’s that Christians should live by. The other way is to preach pragmatically, leaning into promises fulfilled if you do a certain activity (usually obedience to the law). In each of these ways, the preacher presents to the congregation a road map to God which centers on behaviors. Specifically, these behaviors consider what you as the individual can and should do. In other words, much preaching places the person at the center and God on the outside as something we must work toward.

Gospel-centered preaching puts Jesus at the center of not only the message, but of the entire story arch. It is the good news of salvation in Jesus that radiates out, touching everything and transforming all from the inside out. What makes one a Christian? Faith in Christ. Therefore, what makes a sermon Christian? Christ must be presented otherwise we are simply delivering a speech or lecture that would fit well in a public speaking class. Yet, gospel-centered preaching is not simply stating the story of the gospel, or reminding people about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The sermon and the preacher are fueled by the gospel itself, without it their message is dead. Yes, the preacher must present Jesus, but not in a stale recitation of the facts. The preacher must proclaim the good news with passion and in anticipation that lives will be transformed.

The preacher is presenting Jesus, and it is Jesus who speaks to the heart of the sinner. In gospel-centered preaching, we must be careful not to enact the roles of Jesus. It is only He that can save mankind. The preacher has no power outside the message he preaches. The preacher has no wisdom outside the Word of God. Therefore, the preacher must present the good news of Jesus as Savior and the friend of sinners, or he leaves the lost damned in their sin.

As the preacher prepares his sermon in a gospel-centered approach, he will find that the presence of Jesus unifies our message. All of Scripture points to Jesus and the finished work of the cross. Therefore, all Scripture-based sermons must point to Jesus. The preacher is then able to deliver an expositional sermon and not only find that Jesus will be magnified, but the good news of salvation in His name will be evident to the hearer. It is this type of preaching that delivers the promises of God in Jesus. Whereas pragmatism and moralism simply deliver a list of unattainable tasks that lead the sinner to deeper despair. It is not wrong to show clear expectations of obedience in Scripture. We do not obey thinking that our keeping of the checklist saves; we preach that Jesus saves through faith and transforms the heart to want to obey. Gospel-centered preaching makes obedience a gift. The Holy Spirit gifts us the desire to obey in order to glorify God. Suddenly, we are preaching obedience as a joyous walk with Christ rather than a cumbersome step we trip over.

What should I expect?

If I deliver a good speech, my expectation is that I would receive a round of applause. So, when we preach gospel-centered sermons, what should we expect? There are two distinct outcomes we should expect from gospel-centered preaching.

The first is the salvation of the sinner. We know that believing comes through the hearing of the Word (Romans 10:14-15). As we preach gospel-centered sermons, we present Jesus in whom the lost are to believe in and through. We therefore anticipate souls to be saved. For individuals in the congregation to face toward Jesus and be welcomed into the family of God.

The second expectation is that believers in Christ will be renewed and refreshed. We know that the yoke and burden of Jesus is light (Matthew 11:28-30). In the gospel, believers are reminded that Jesus forgives and then carries us to the Father. We can rest in the knowledge that He is changing our hearts and renewing our minds. We are being sanctified through the gospel. In preaching the gospel as central, we radiate the message that Jesus sustains and that He is always enough to satisfy. Hearers of the gospel will be released from the burden of the law and into the gracious arms of Jesus.

Gospel-centered preaching recognizes that Jesus is the central message of Scripture. The sermon is fueled by it and seeks to powerfully transform the lives of those who hear. Presenting anything else will leave the lost damned. Presenting Jesus in a winsome and loving manner will lead many souls to eternal relationship with their creator. Preach expositional sermons but preach with the power of the gospel at the center!



Episode 7: Able to Teach

By / Mar 28

Does every pastor need to be gifted in the pulpit? Does every pastor need to be an academic or a scholar? What does the biblical qualification of pastors that they be “able to teach” actually mean? Jared and Ronnie, two long-time preachers and teachers, have a straightforward conversation in this episode about the place of creativity and eloquence in preaching and teaching, the non-negotiable basics of the teaching qualification, pursuing clarity in our communication, and what it takes to “find your voice” as a teacher.



A Sacred Silence: How Witholding Words Helped Me Heal

By / Mar 27

In the past, God used trials to refine both my soul and my art. Regardless of the darkness faced, processing with the Lord birthed poems and words. I often turned to the Psalms, with their patterns of lament, repentance, and praise. So, it shocked me when the pattern shattered, and Psalm 88:18’s final words permeated my every attempt at penning something private or public:

“You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.”

As a new believer, I was eager to write down every prayer and thought, hopeful for the future. I went through journals frequently, then enjoyed looking back over the entries to help me reflect on God’s sovereignty and grace. Now my favorite journal now contains entries from 2022, 2023, and 2024 because, despite my desire to fill its pages as I did in the past, the words eluded me.

At some point, watching people vanish from the polaroids within its pages and seeing color fade from the record of my world became too painful. What once felt like a safe place to meditate on the Lord and spend time in prayer suddenly felt unbearable–perhaps melancholy at best.

Trying to push through this in my personal journal was one thing, but wanting to keep producing content in the public sphere was another. At the time, I worked for a seminary, was in conversations about a doctoral degree, and served as an Associate Editor for FTC.co. The expectations I set for myself demanded I keep producing content, but it all sounded… flat.

Unfortunately, something in me was broken. And it did not take long to realize it was different from pain I had encountered before. For the first time, it was ineffable.

At first I was frustrated. Christians throughout history had gone through much harder things and yet glorified God through their writings. Could I not be one of them?

The answer was no; I could not. At least not at that point in my life. I soon discovered that though it still brought joy to serve as an editor or help others share stories of God’s grace, the writing goals I had upheld during the past decade of following Jesus were no longer possible. (Well, they were possible. They were just no longer healthy or helpful.)

So, despite the pain, I would continue to love Jesus. But I would do so in a season of silence.

As the days turned into months without my usual outpouring of written expressions, I discovered a richness in the unspoken dialogue between my soul and its Creator. The silence became the canvas on which God once again brought color to my world with strokes of truth, and I found solace in the simplicity of just being with Him.

This newfound, intentional spiritual discipline led to a realization that I had unintentionally made an idol out of communication. My good desire to cultivate community and encourage others had soured the moment I began prioritizing conversations with friends or processing through a publication above time in the Word. In the hushed moments with Scripture, God gifted a sacred silence that spoke volumes.

Instead of rushing to theologize every emotion and struggle, I started to relearn how to sit in the presence of the One who understands without words. This quiet communion with the Lord rested like a healing balm upon my weary soul. Not every healing requires a public proclamation, and sometimes the deepest work happens in secret places, away from the eyes and ears of the world.

So, here I am, a writer who found healing in not writing but in withholding. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there is a time for everything, including “a time to keep quiet, and a time to speak” (v. 7). How sweet it is to stop striving and rest in God’s grace for each moment–whether our lips are parted to share truth with others or just to drink it in for ourselves. And though my journal still awaits fresh ink, I know there is a never-ending well of grace still flowing despite the dry pages.



Episode 256: What’s the Big Deal About the Resurrection?

By / Mar 27

On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson talk about the ways some churches celebrate Easter that seem to have little to do with the resurrection of Jesus, how to re-embrace the power of the full message of the gospel, and why we sometimes drift into resurrection amnesia.



The End of Religious Liberty

By / Mar 25

Are we seeing the end of religious liberty?

For Christians in America, we see the complexities of cultural engagement. Articulating the truths of biblical Christianity regarding sexuality and gender alone, brings conflict or worse. So, it is good and right to be concerned and wonder if the end of religious liberty is near.

We also wonder and debate how best to respond. We watch and listen to conversations about Christian Nationalism. We consider an upcoming presidential election. All the while, we recognize our society is experiencing more and more what a recent book calls The Great Dechurching.[1]

Are we seeing the end of religious liberty?  Here, in the West, we wonder.

However, in the rest of the world, we are seeing it. Listen to these facts from the recent annual World Watch List Report[2] that lists the 50 Countries where it is hardest to follow Jesus. Last year:

  • Almost 5,000 Christians were killed for their faith
  • Nearly 15,000 churches were attacked or closed
  • More than 295,000 Christians were forcibly displaced from their homes because of their faith

The fact is that for those of us in the Western World who worry about the loss of religious liberty may never go to jail for our faith, but, right now our brothers and sisters are in jail in many countries around the world.

Are we seeing the end of religious liberty?  In the rest of the world, we are.

Religious Liberty as Something Bigger

Given this predicament, one might be tempted to despair. Even so, while the present trends are not good, we should work to prevent the erosion of religious liberty wherever possible. To help with that, I want to offer an adjustment in how we think about the end of religious liberty.

Rather than a single-focused lament about what this means for Christians, I find it a helpful corrective to think of religious liberty as something bigger than just the free exercise of religion in a country or in our country.

For the purpose of religious liberty, ultimately, is not about freedom for Christians. Absolutely it includes that, but it’s purpose, as a doctrine, is so much more.

So, instead of asking, “Is this the end of religious liberty?”, I want to ask, “What is religious liberty?” and then “What is the end of religious liberty?”

What is Religious Liberty?

First, here are a few brief statements to summarize a biblical understanding of what is religious liberty:

  1. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see anyone coercing faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus could have coerced faith, but did not.
  2. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see Christians executing or arresting those who deny faith in Jesus Christ. While on earth, Jesus could have exercised judgment in this way, but did not.
  3. Instead, we see our Lord Jesus, his apostles, and the early churches reasoning, instructing, calling to repentance, and inviting people to believe.
  4. In sum, in the New Testament, Christianity is a faith that does not coerce, but persuades.

This biblical understanding influenced a theological and culture-engaging distinctive for many believers throughout history, and especially the men and women who formed the Baptist Tradition. From the Reformation, to England, to early America, to the present world at large, Baptists have advocated for religious liberty along these two axioms:

  1. The defense of every citizen’s right to pursue what they believe or do not believe only exists when the Church operates independent of the State.

Baptists affirmed that the State should exist and Christians should relate accordingly, but not ultimately (Romans 13, 1 Timothy 2, Acts 5). Baptists understood, from experience, that when the State can determine the validity of or limit the practice of one religion in society, nothing prevents it from turning to another religion or all religions.

  1. The defense of this civil right ensures the proclamation the Gospel for all either to accept or reject freely, without coercion. Further, it prevents the State from using its power intended to ensure civil protection and safety for matters of the soul and Spirit.

Read this summarized so well in the Baptist Faith and Message: “A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.”[3]

If this is religious liberty, when, then, will religious liberty come to an end?

When will Religious Liberty end?

The beautiful hymn in Philippians 2 tells of the humbling, sacrifice, and exaltation of Jesus Christ. And, it also tells us when religious liberty will end.

In Philippians 2, we see God has already exalted Christ Jesus and given him the name “Lord.” He has already handed all things over to him (see Matt 11:27), put all things under his feet (Eph 1:22), and given him all authority (Matt 28:18).

Yet, Paul also reveals that a future day is coming when the name of Jesus will go forth and all creatures will bow and confess him as Lord. At this time, which Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:24 calls “the end,” Jesus will finally destroy death and see the complete fulfillment of Psalm 8:6, when all things are put in subjection under his feet (1 Cor 15:23–28).

In Philippians 2:10, Paul references a statement from Isaiah that “every knee shall bow” to God the Father and ties his hymn to the larger and weightier biblical story.

In Isaiah 45, the prophet is crusading against idolatry by defending the uniqueness of the God of Israel. Thus, by ascribing this text to God the Son in Philippians the Bible not only affirms trinitarian equality, it shows that Jesus Christ is not a challenge to the monotheistic God of the Bible. The Father and Son are One. And this One God will one day be exalted once and for all. Until that day, we understand that Christ’s exaltation and the subjection of all to him are both already true and not yet complete.

Only on that day, the time of religious freedom will end. Everyone will bow and acknowledge the one true religion and one true God. The bowing especially conveys this acknowledgment, as the Bible regularly identifies this posture with concession that the one to whom one bows is superior. Further, this day of acknowledgment is universal but not universalism. No one will escape participation, whether repentant or not. Everyone will acknowledge that Jesus is King, whether out of joy or shame.

When we talk of religious liberty in the United States, we acknowledge its present fragility with words like threatened and with calls to “defend” it. And, as I said, to be sure, as long as we have religious liberty, it is worth defending.

However, should believers find their liberties removed or suppressed in the days ahead, we should also recognize that we will not really reach the end of religious liberty until Jesus returns.

Think of our brothers and sisters in North Korea or Yemen. How do they persevere? With no temporal hope for religious liberty, they must rely on an eternal and future hope. For those in Christ, the knowledge of the last day should provide hope that, no matter what trials come or earthly freedoms are diminished, God will make all things new. He will put all things under his feet and declare himself finally triumphant.

This eternal perspective should provide hope, but it should also serve as a sober warning, for the grace God shows by granting any form of religious liberty on earth is finite. At that time, when religious liberty ends, there will be no more hope for the lost.

If that is when religious liberty will see its ultimate end, how are Christians now to think about the purpose of religious liberty as something bigger?

What is “the end” of Religious Liberty?

In Philippians 2:11, Paul says that the universal submission of humanity to the lordship of Christ at the end of time takes place “to the glory of God the Father.”

This is “the end” goal, or bigger purpose, of religious liberty.

What do we mean when we see all things taking place to the glory of God? In part, it is the proclamation that:

  • The reigning King who made the heavens and the earth should receive honor and glory forever and ever (see 1 Tim 1:17).
  • To the one who put forward his Son as a propitiation so that God the Father might be just and the justifier of all those who fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:21–26) belongs glory and dominion forever and ever (1 Pet 4:11).
  • The one who gave his Spirit as a Helper to teach, convict (John 14:26; 16:8), and send his children as witnesses to the nations (Acts 1:8), to him be glory in the church, throughout all generations, forever and ever (Eph 3:21).

When we can hold onto the glory of God as the reason why religious liberty is worth defending, we can adjust our thinking about what is religious liberty and why it matters. This adjustment allows us to step back and affirm:

  1. Our hope that one day Jesus will be exalted on earth even while suffering continues, whether to us or to our brothers and sisters around the world.
  2. True faith cannot be coerced. The best cultural environment for faith to take root is one where there is religious liberty for all religions.
  3. One day true religious liberty will end and all knees will bow, whether they want to or not.
  4. Until then, the good news that Jesus is Lord is shared, with reasoning and pleading, while there still is time.
  5. It is worth proclaiming Christ even at the risk of security, safety, and rights—all for the glory of God.

This is the end of religious liberty.

 

This article is adapted from Jason G. Duesing’s recent chapel message: “A Portrait of the End of religious liberty,” at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College. You can watch the full message below: https://www.mbts.edu/2024/01/chapel-with-jason-duesing-january-24-2024/

[1] Jim Davis, Michael Graham, and Ryan P. Burge, The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring them Back? (Zondervan, 2023).

[2] Jayson Casper, “The 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2024,” Christianity Today, January 17, 2024, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2024/january/christian-persecution-2024-countries-open-doors-watch-list.html

[3] “Article XVII: Religious Liberty,” Baptist Faith and Message, https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#xvii



Introducing the Heart of Pastoring Podcast

By / Mar 21

Now available on the Midwestern Seminary podcast platform: The Heart of Pastoring, featuring hosts Jared Wilson and Ronnie Martin. Listen in week by week as Jared and Ronnie reflect on the biblical qualifications for ministry with spiritual insights, pastoral reflections, and personal stories. Season 1 is is releasing now wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.