Episode 210: Jenny-Lyn de Klerk on 5 Puritan Women

By / May 10

On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson talks with scholar and author Jenny-Lyn de Klerk about what the lives of five Puritan women teach us about holy living and devotion to God.



5 Tips for Learning to Preach as a Student Pastor

By / May 8

If your church has given you the title of “Youth Pastor,” “Student Pastor,” “Children’s Pastor,” or “_____ Pastor” then your church has called you to be a competent preacher whether you realize it or not. In 1 Timothy 3 the one competency Paul expects of any elder is that they are “able to teach.” The role of a student pastor is multifaceted, encompassing a wide range of responsibilities and skills. Yet, at the heart of this calling lies the same calling that marks all pastoral ministry—the task of preaching God’s Word.

As student pastors, we must constantly seek to grow in our preaching abilities, ensuring that our messages are both faithful to Scripture and engaging to our audience. Many people treat having a staff pastor who is able to preach as a bonus, but Paul considers it a necessity. In this article, we will explore five practical tips for becoming a better preacher as a student pastor.

1. Ask for Feedback (and Listen)

One of the most effective ways to improve as a preacher is to actively seek feedback from others. This may include soliciting input from fellow pastors, mentors, or even students themselves. By inviting constructive criticism and being willing to listen, we create opportunities for growth and refinement in our preaching. Invite people to listen to you that you trust and are prone to listen to. Ask them for real feedback and not simply affirmation of your gifts.

When asking for feedback, it is essential to approach this process with humility and a teachable spirit. Recognize that it is an opportunity to learn and grow, not merely to receive praise or validation. You’ll never get better surrounded by people who are overly impressed with you. As you receive feedback, be open to seeing things a different way, trying new things, and implementing suggestions during future opportunities.

2. Listen to Good Preaching

Another valuable tip for becoming a better preacher is to regularly listen to good preaching. By exposing ourselves to skilled expositors of the Word, we can receive insights and ideas that we may not have considered otherwise. Pay attention to the structure, illustrations, and delivery of these sermons, taking note of elements that resonate with you, but also what resonates with other people.

While listening to good preaching, be sure to maintain discernment and avoid the temptation to simply mimic another preacher’s style, content, voice, and mannerisms. I can still remember my first few years of trying to simply be “Great-Value John Piper.” Instead, seek out principles and techniques that can be adapted to your unique voice and your context with your students. You can do this better by not just listening to the one preacher you may be tempted to copy, but by listening to ten to twenty preachers you can synthesize information from. This practice will not only help you grow as a preacher but also expose you to a wealth of biblical wisdom and insight that will devotionally bless you.

3. Read Broadly

Developing a robust and diverse reading habit is another crucial aspect of growing as a preacher. As a student pastor, there can sometimes be a temptation to not read because people tell you that your job is to “just teach the basics.” While that assumption is not true, even if it was the point still stands. By reading broadly, we expand our knowledge and understanding, even of the basics, which in turn enriches our preaching. A well-rounded reading list might include theological works, church history, biographies, and even good fiction to shape your imagination.

As you read, take note of compelling arguments, turns of phrase, or illustrations that could be incorporated into your sermons. Additionally, reading widely helps to sharpen your critical thinking skills and deepen your understanding of culture, beauty, and story enabling you to better connect with any audience. Reading is formative and a major way God shapes anyone regardless of their position. Carve out time in your schedule to “take up and read” (regularly)!

4. Take Every Opportunity You Can to Preach

Experience is often the best teacher, and preaching is no exception. To grow as a preacher, it is essential to seize every opportunity you can to practice your craft. This may include preaching at nursing homes, prisons, or other small gatherings in addition to your regular student ministry responsibilities. You should never consider any opportunity to small or too unimportant.

Each preaching opportunity presents unique challenges and learning experiences, allowing you to refine your skills and adapt to different contexts. If you can preach an engaging exposition in a nursing home you’ve conquered what many great preachers never could. By embracing these opportunities, you will not only gain valuable experience but also develop resilience and flexibility as a preacher. I know that the thought of more prep, more travel, and more responsibility may seem daunting, but each opportunity will grow you in new ways and allow you to serve more people.

5. Preach as Well as You Can at Student Ministry

Lastly, it is crucial to give your best effort when preaching to your student ministry. Student ministry provides a unique context in which to hone your skills in illustration and contextualization. Student are people of story and metaphor, making them an ideal audience for honing your ability to craft compelling illustrations. Moreover, students inhabit a distinct cultural environment that demands you become adept at contextualizing your message in a way that is relatable, applicable, and engaging.

Resist the temptation to treat student ministry as a lesser priority or a mere stepping stone to a “more significant” preaching ministry. Instead, recognize the immense value and eternal impact of faithfully preaching the Word of God to your students. It is easy to fall into the trap of mailing it in for your Wednesday Nights out of a desire for more, feeling like it doesn’t matter, or thinking that no one is paying attention. This could not be further from the truth. Every word you say is indelibly shaping the souls of everyone listening. All preaching, no matter where it is, can and is used by God. By preaching as well as you can at student ministry, you not only serve your students but also develop skills that will benefit your ministry for years to come.



Young People, Go Outside

By / May 4

We can certainly learn plenty from computer screens (and technology of every kind), but—for the sake of your soul—go outside! Go outside and look around as often as you can. For so many reasons, your mind and body need the outdoors. I’ll cover just two reasons here.

1. The glory of God is declared by the natural world.

But consider this—none of these things are accidents. They are gifts crafted by the Father Himself for the sole purpose of our enjoyment. Think about it. Beauty and pleasure contribute little if anything to functionality. Flowers could serve the same purpose if they were all the same size, shape, and color. For that matter, color is basically worthless. We don’t need it to survive. Clean air with no fragrance serves our lungs every bit as well as a breeze carrying the scent of freshly cut grass and the neighbor’s lavender bushes. But God delights in our enjoyment of His creation. It’s part of His conversation with us. He says “I want your soul to be refreshed” every time we inhale sweetly perfumed air. He says “I want you to be filled with joy and wonder” every time we watch a baby bird stumble and then take flight for the first time. He says “I want you to remember Me” every time we study His handiwork in the artistry of a canna leaf or the perfect symmetry of a fern. He says “I like to hear you laugh” when we witness two squirrels chasing each other and fighting over the same nut even though there’s an untouched pile a few feet away.

Every sunrise reminds us of new mercies. Every rainfall tells a story of His provision. Every rainbow speaks a promise.

Psalm 19:1 tells us that “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.” Theologians call the perception we can have of God from the created world “general revelation,” and obviously we need the “special revelation” of the Scriptures (and Christ’s gospel in them) to be reconciled to our Creator, but we can still behold some of the glorious wonders of our Creator through the wonderful world He has created.

I admit that I can be rather ridiculous in my enjoyment of nature. My daughters have rolled their eyes at me many times when I squeal with delight at the sight of some little bird or ladybug or lizard. Imagine my reaction to watching baby sea turtles find their way into the ocean a few years ago. Forget about it. I might have (definitely) cried.

I am not suggesting that we all have to enjoy the outdoors in the same ways or even in the same amounts. But many times I have found myself alone in nature and realized that I was the only witness to something glorious happening right before my eyes, that the Lord saw fit to put His artistry and power on display just for me. I believe He desires to do that for each of us, and it’s a conversation we do not want to miss. Make time for these conversations. Experience what He called “good” during creation and desires to share with you now. Take joy in what He has made for His glory and your enjoyment. It will serve your mind and body in immeasurable ways.

2. The outside world can help you battle sin.

Of course, sin can happen outside just as easily and often as it does inside. Unfortunately, being present in the beauty of nature doesn’t magically remove the ugliness of our sin nature. However, I could reasonably argue that it’s much more difficult to hide in our sin when we are outside in wide open spaces. Further, it is easier to forget our sinful desires when a majestic moment in nature takes our breath away and changes the subject of our thoughts.

In a sermon many years ago, John Piper pointed out the absence of windows in stores that sell pornography. He observed that the reason for this is that it is very difficult to engage in this particular sin when we look at the sky. I couldn’t agree more, but I also think the same idea would apply to most any sin. Fully engaging in the grandeur of nature reminds us of our smallness and makes us forgetful of our small desires. When we consider God’s work during creation, we must remember that we were specifically designed to enjoy it!

Things changed dramatically when sin entered the world, but not so much that this desire was completely removed from us. Consider Barnabas Piper’s words:

The world God created was not ok or decent or fine; it was exactly right. It was good. . . . But what we often forget is that sin and the curse did not evaporate the good and replace it. They did not recreate the world as a heinously evil hellscape. Sin corrupted the good, but the world still has God’s fingerprints all over it and tendrils of Eden woven through it. Nothing is completely as it should be, but neither is the world utterly corrupt. The good that once defined all of creation still shines throughout it.

We were created for Eden, and we still have desires for Eden. We belong in nature. Today it isn’t as perfect as it once was or will be when Christ returns, but we are much closer to it when we spend time outside than when we surround ourselves with closed doors and windows or stare at screens too long. Even if only for a few brief moments, develop a daily habit of walking away from whatever is demanding too much of your attention (especially if it is sinful) to go look at the sky. Your future self will thank you.

This is an excerpt from a brand new book I wrote with my husband Jared — Go Outside . . . and 19 Other Keys to Thriving in Your 20’s, now available from Moody Publishers. Order for your favorite high school grads, college students, or young professionals from wherever good books are sold.



What is the Beatific Vision?

By / May 3

Editor’s Note: The Theology in the Everyday series seeks to introduce and explain theological concepts in 500 words or less, with a 200-word section helping explain the doctrine to kids. At For The Church, we believe that theology should not be designated to the academy alone but lived out by faith in everyday life. We hope this series will present theology in such a way as to make it enjoyable, connecting theological ideas to everyday experience and encouraging believers to study theology for the glory of God and the good of the Church. This week, the Beatific Vision.

One doctrine that you may never have heard of (but one that you really should know about) is the beatific vision. This “happy vision” or “blessed vision” is the blessed hope of beholding God in heaven, and it is the telos of the human soul. The beatific vision is what Moses was impatient to see on Mount Horeb (cf., Ex 33:18-23), and it has been the blessed hope of the vast majority of saints down through the centuries. This doctrine is what animated the prayers and contemplations of so many wonderful theologians like Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and John Owen. The overwhelming majority of Christians throughout the ages have said with Paul, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Cor 13:12). What makes heaven, heaven is that there we shall see the face of God. That blessed vision is the culmination of all our godly enjoyments in this life, and the satiation of all our desire. That blessed vision is the promised land we march on toward, the consolation that sustains us on our pilgrimage. We shall see God. While Christians have many desires and aspirations, the central point of every single one of them is the same as David’s: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Ps 27:4). We see the beatific vision promised all over the Scriptures, including Isaiah 33:17, Psalm 17:15, 1 John 3:2-3, 1 Corinthians 13:12, and Revelation 22:5.

Even if you haven’t heard of this doctrine before, you are probably already primed and ready for it. “Christian Hedonists,” who have learned from John Piper that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him”—those who have come to agree with Piper that the chief delight of the soul is “seeing and savoring Christ”—are ready to embrace the beatific vision. If you have learned from Lewis to ache for “the stab of joy,”[1] to reject playing with mud-pies in the slums for the sake of a holiday at sea,[2] and to go joyfully “further up and further in” to Aslan’s country forever, you are ready to embrace the beatific vision. If you have learned from Jonathan Edwards that heaven is “a world of love,” you are ready to embrace the beatific vision. If you have learned to pray with Augustine, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee,”[3] you are ready for the beatific vision.

This doctrine is relevant for so many areas of our life, but one in particular is the area of sin and temptation. If it is true that those who will see God are “the pure in heart” (Matt 5:8), and if the beatific vision is our blessed hope, we will come to hate our sin with a pure and holy hatred on account of what it keeps us from. We will hate our sin because it threatens to keep us from seeing God clearly, and seeing God clearly is what we want more than anything else. Therefore, the beatific vision can be a powerful motive for the pursuit of godliness in progressive sanctification.

For the Kids

The beatific vision is the fancy term for something every Christian looks forward to: the hope of seeing God in heaven. This is the hope of every Christian—every person who has come to trust Jesus to forgive them of their sin because of his life, death and resurrection, and to give them a new heart. When Jesus gives them that new heart, that heart comes with new desires and new hopes, and the biggest of those new hopes is that one day we will get to see God in all his glory. Jesus promises to fulfill that hope by faith now in this life, but the Christian will receive that promise with vision in heaven—and it will be the most beautiful thing they can ever imagine! His glory will be so beautiful, and they will be so happy, that they will never be sad or disappointed by anything ever again. Their enjoyment of him will keep growing, without stopping or slowing down, forever and ever and ever.

[1] See C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life (Orlando, FL: Harvest, 1958).

[2] See C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (HarperCollins, 2001).

[3] Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, book I, 1.5.



Episode 209: The Care and Feeding of Pastors

By / May 3

On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson talk about how church members can support and encourage their pastors — and why this work is so important and a benefit to the church!



Go Outside: An Interview with Jared C. Wilson

By / May 2

Jared C. Wilson serves as Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Author in Residence at Midwestern Seminary as well as General Editor at For The Church. In his most recent publication titled Go Outside: And 19 Other Keys to Thriving in Your 20s (Moody Publishers), Jared and Becky Wilson share advice they’d give their younger selves. In 20 short chapter, they discuss the value of time spent with Jesus, taking care of your mind and body, how chasing your dreams is overrated, and more.

Tony Merida, Pastor at Imago Dei Church, commented on the new publication, “Go Outside is a treasure trove of wisdom for all present, future, and even former twentysomethings. It is filled with wit, written from a loving heart, and has the markers of battle-tested wisdom from years of serving this age group.”

Ronni Kurtz, Assistant Professor of Theology at Cedarville University, also said, “This book is a wonderful exercise in showing that gospel-centrality and practical advice are not at odds with one another.”

Costi Hinn, Teaching Pastor at Shepherd’s House Bible Church, said, “I can only wish that this book was written when I was in my twenties, but find great joy that countless lives will have this godly insight for one of the most foundational seasons of life.”

In a recent interview, Jared Wilson answered a few questions about his latest publication and the importance of the book of Acts.

For The Church: Why this book now?

Jared C. Wilson: If not now, when?

Just kidding.

In terms of the audience opportunity for this book, Becky and I both feel like young people are more hungry for mentorship and godly counsel than they’ve been in a long time. They are certainly more interested in it than our generation was at their age. In our day of increasing moral chaos and spiritual confusion, I think a book that carefully and clearly re-articulates the basic stuff of Christian spirituality for young adults in a practical way and really meets a need.

In terms of our timing in writing it, I would say that in now our middle-aged years we’ve spent over a decade now ministering directly to twentysomethings and speaking into their lives, and after thirty years of adulthood ourselves, feel equipped to share some of the most valuable lessons we’ve learned along the way.

FTC: What was it like writing a book with your wife?

JCW: It was fun! Though I should add that we didn’t exactly write the book together. Meaning, we didn’t collaborate on each chapter, but rather, divided up the chapter outline between ourselves. Becky came up with ten topics she wanted to address, and I came up with ten I wanted to address. We took our own time writing our chosen chapters.

The one thing Becky has enjoyed pointing out is that it took her months to write her half of the book, while it only took me a few days to write mine. You could conclude from this discrepancy that I’m a more natural writer than her, or you could conclude that she’s a more thoughtful writer than me. Take your pick.

FTC: What might readers be surprised about after reading this book?

JCW: I think most readers might be surprised at how relatable and refreshing the book is. Most things like this – stuff young people need to know – either comes across very legalistic or very dry. Both of us have good senses of humor. I write with a lot of illustrations and stories, and Becky writes with a very laid-back, unassuming, non-judgmental tone. Even when we’re giving advice or reminding our readers about things Christians must do or should do, we are constantly pointing young people back to the grace in the good news for their assurance and sense of okay-ness. In fact, there is more than one chapter on the importance of knowing God approves us fully because of Jesus, not our religious performance or spiritual production.

FTC: Which 2-3 of the 20 principles in the book do you wish you’d applied in your twenties?

JCW: Well, all of them! That’s the premise of the book: If we could go back, what are the 20 things we’d tell our younger selves. But if I had to pick just 3 of the chapters that are most important to me, I would say:

Chapter 4 – Porn is more toxic than you realize

Chapter 18 – Center on the gospel

Chapter 20 – You are not only as good as what you haven’t done

These three chapters probably best outline the plot points of my own testimony of sin and redemption in my twenties.

FTC: What’s one main point you hope readers take away from this book?

JCW: The biggest thing I hope readers take away is just how big Jesus is! How much he can be trusted. How investing in our friendship with him in our early adulthood isn’t just a way to be one of the “Christian college kids,” but the way we make sure we start out on a track of life that will fill our joy and keep us from looking back when we hit our thirties and forties and beyond with regrets and desires for a do-over.

 

Editor’s Note: Go Outside: And 19 Other Keys to Thriving in Your 20s is now available for purchase.



Young People, Church Membership Isn’t Optional

By / May 1

One of the most concerning developments in church life over the last twenty-five years or so has been the virtual disappearance of young adults. Even kids who grow up in church, attending weekly with their families, participating in youth group and other programs, tend to drop out of church when they leave home at a rate of nearly 70 percent. That’s a lot of church kids suddenly deciding church isn’t for them!

There are probably a few reasons why this happens. First, for kids who move away from home to go to college, it can difficult to find a local church that feels comfortable or that resembles the church they grew up in. And some college environments, of course, aren’t exactly conducive to a flourishing spiritual life. If you have a new set of peers in a new environment, the value of church may just not be present, and there’s no expectation or encouragement to continue a commitment to church.

For others, it’s not the new environment of a college campus or new town that makes it difficult but simply the freedom of being a young adult, whether “leaving the nest” or not, making your own decisions apart from parental requirement and family tradition. You’re in the season of life now where you get to determine if your faith is really yours or just a custom handed down by your family. A lot of young people decide that church, at least at this time, just doesn’t fit into their own plans for their life.

Whether you’re in college or out, reject the idea that committing to a local church is something only to be done when you’re older, more “established,” or in the life stage of having a family.

There are a few reasons for this, but the primary reason is because discipleship isn’t designed to be done on your own. The New Testament knows of no Christian faith apart from commitment to the “one another” context of a local church. To grow in one’s relationship with Jesus, in fact, is to grow in one’s relationship with other Christians. And while you can make lots of friends in a campus ministry or other parachurch organization, and even learn a lot in those places that can benefit you spiritually, God’s design for optimum growth according to His Word is a local church.

But “God says so” isn’t the only reason to commit to a local church even if you only plan to be away from home for four years or less. A healthy local church provides a multigenerational family that is a much healthier environment for growing in wisdom than simply attending a regular program with people your own age. As I said, such programs can certainly be beneficial, but treating them like your church robs you of being around people who have lived longer, experienced more, and have insights and guidance from mileage in their Christian journeys that you don’t have.

Certainly, a new church environment, particularly one that has older people in it, may not always suit our stylistic preferences or comfort levels, but consider how even that experience can serve to build patience, empathy, and endurance in you. It does not serve anybody very well spiritually to always have their faith custom-tailored to their own self-interested tastes. But we become more like Jesus when we put ourselves in a position to consider and honor people who aren’t like us.

There can be a tension point, also, in suddenly finding yourself considering a commitment to a church that feels so different than the weekly attendance of a youth program or a worship service customized to youthful tastes. But remember that you can’t do youth group forever! Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11 that he put away the things of childhood when he grew up.

Part of this for Christians today is not expecting our adult experience of church to carry on the same way as our experience of student ministry, especially if our student ministry programming was conducted in ways pretty different from the “big church” we grew up in. This is in fact one of the biggest mistakes churches and youth pastors make—creating an entirely different experience for young people that is pretty much insulated from the life of their larger church. Kids raised in youth ministry silos like this usually do not stay in church long after their youth group days are over. The contrast is too jarring. They haven’t been prepared to see value in and love the local church, only to enjoy the youth ministry portion of it.

One way you can overcome issues of stylistic preferences and the like in a new church is to commit yourself to serving in some way. How can you help? Maybe you can’t change their music or architecture or overall “vibe,” but you can selflessly love people and pitch in to help them be the church God has called them to be. There may not be many college students or other young adults there, and there never will be unless someone like you selflessly decides to pioneer that growth!

When I was pastoring a church of mostly older folks in a little New England town several years ago, we were all praying that God would grow our church and grow it younger too. It took a while, but eventually we had one or two twentysomethings decide that it didn’t matter to them there weren’t a whole lot of others their age in our church. They’d be the first. And then when the next young people visited, they saw people like them. And their number began to increase.

I thank God that one young lady and her brother decided to be the firsts. They took a selfless risk to commit to a church not for its immediate benefits to them but in order to love and bless others. They were the impetus God used to grow our church. So don’t turn your nose up at churches that don’t have a lot of young people in them. If the gospel is preached there, people believe the Bible there, and people are serious about loving others there, be a pioneer for your demographic. Don’t be afraid, as the saying goes, to “be the change you want to see.”

In the end, we commit to a local church, regardless of our age, because church membership is how God has designed Christian growth to take place. We are individually members of a body (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:27). Our faith may be personal, but it’s not meant to be private.

The community of believers is the ecosystem prescribed by God for healthy maturing in the faith. Don’t use whatever newfound freedom in this stage of life to free yourself from this important facet of maturity. Find a local healthy local church, overlook its flaws, work against your own selfishness and resistance, and become a contributing member. The church needs you, and you need the church.

This is an excerpt from a brand new book I’ve written with my wife Becky — Go Outside . . . and 19 Other Keys to Thriving in Your 20’s, now available from Moody Publishers. You can order today from wherever good books are sold.



What is Union with Christ?

By / Apr 26

Editor’s Note: The Theology in the Everyday series seeks to introduce and explain theological concepts in 500 words or less, with a 200-word section helping explain the doctrine to kids. At For The Church, we believe that theology should not be designated to the academy alone but lived out by faith in everyday life. We hope this series will present theology in such a way as to make it enjoyable, connecting theological ideas to everyday experience and encouraging believers to study theology for the glory of God and the good of the Church. This week, Union with Christ.

I can remember the first time I heard of the doctrine of union with Christ. I was sitting in a classroom in north Texas listening to Dr. Sinclair Ferguson lecture on the doctrine of salvation. He had us to turn to Ephesians 1 and asked a student to read it out loud to the class. Every time the student read the phrase “in Him,” he said in his deep Scottish voice: “IN HIM.” 

When the student finished reading, he launched into 45 minutes on the beauty of the doctrine of union with Christ. I sat in the back of the room, tears in my eyes. I had been a Christian for 22 years and the gospel was surprising me yet again.

After class, in the student commons, Dr. Ferguson was chatting with students and I began to pepper him with questions about this doctrine.At one point, after what must have been my tenth question, Dr. Ferguson turned to me and said, “Young Mr. Worley, it’s all in Christ. Every blessing God has for His people. They are all in Christ. Where else would they be?”

He walked back into class, but I didn’t. I walked out of the building in a daze and I walked around the neighborhood for the next two hours. All I could think about was what Dr. Ferguson had said: “Every blessing God has for His people. They are all in Christ. Where else would they be?”

The doctrine of union with Christ changed my life. It changed the way I conceive of my relationship with God. It changed the way I read the Bible. It changed the way I pray. It changed the way I pastor. It changed everything.

Union with Christ

But, what is it? In 500 words or less, here’s how I would explain the doctrine of union with Christ:

Louis Berkhof defined union with Christ as that “intimate, vital, and spiritual union between Christ and His people, in virtue of which He is the source of their life and strength, of their blessedness and salvation.” That’s a really wonderful way of stating it.

This union is intimate in that it takes God’s people and places them into divine fellowship by placing them into the identity and under the covenant headship of the Son of God. It’s vital in that it is necessary for salvation. As John Calvin says concerning salvation, “We are deprived of this utterly incomparable good until Christ is made ours.” It is spiritual in that it is a “mystical” union, it isn’t some tangible thing we can see, but it is real nonetheless.

The doctrine of union with Christ lives in the prepositions of the New Testament and is often overlooked because of its subtlety. But like one of those optical illusions and brain teasers, once you see it…it’s all you can see. Let me just point to a few places: (emphasis added below to spotlight the doctrine)

  • Romans 6:5, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
  • Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chrsit, who has blessed us in Christ…”
  • Ephesians 1:4, “…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…”

And there are dozens more too!. In Paul’s writings alone we get a total of over 73 uses of the phrase “in (with, into, or through) Christ” with 24 of those times occurring in Ephesians.

John Frame said, “In Christ, is the most general thing that can be said about us as God’s people.”

I have often stressed that the doctrine of union with Christ is not primarily about me in Jesus, but about we in Jesus. The witness of Scripture is consistently pointing to the reality that when we are pulled into identification with Jesus, we are incorporated into His body, that is, all those who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ.

In Christ Jesus, we find all the promises and blessings of God for His people. Nowhere else.

The doctrine of union with Christ is an invitation to make our home with God in Christ Jesus. It is an unbreakable fellowship. Not because we strive to keep the faith, but because God the Father keeps His people in His forever love in the Son of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Brother or sister, whether you have been a Christian for a year or a decade, I appeal to you: Meditate upon this doctrine, let it anchor your soul and may the gospel surprise you all over again.

For the Kids:

Hey kiddos! Imagine you are playing outside and all of a sudden a storm shows up. The rain is pouring down, there is lightning and thunder; would it be better to stay outside the house or to go inside? Of course it would be better to go inside the house, that way you have protection from the storm!

When God created the world, He created it good. But when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God’s good world was broken and all of a sudden everybody was caught up in a storm.

But guess what? God invited people to step out of the storm, by stepping into a relationship with God.

God invites us to make our home with Him by placing our trust in Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is the home where God invites us to live with Him, safe from the storm, free from the penalty of sin.

Do you want to live at home with God? You can! In Jesus Christ, we are invited to live with God forever.



True Servanthood in the Footsteps of Jesus

By / Apr 26

Editor’s Note: This post is excerpted from A Ransom for Many by John J.R. Lee and Daniel Brueske (Lexham Press, 2023). This book is now available for purchase.

We believe that the term “service,” as applied to the mission of Jesus, must be understood in a nuanced and refined manner. Its overuse in our era has cheapened the concept. But in Jesus’s case, “service” meant embracing the most shameful and despised fate of his time—death on a Roman cross. It meant being condemned by his fellow Jews as one accursed by Israel’s God (cf. Gal 3:13; Deut 21:23). It meant being mocked by the Romans as a failed insurrectionist (cf. Mark 15:16–20). And the final phrase of Mark 10:45 (“to give his life as a ransom for many”) points to the ultimate expression of the Son of Man’s radical servanthood, his atoning death. Jesus did not allow his unique identity and authority to exempt him from the kingdom principle of sacrificial servanthood (cf. Phil 2:6–8). Instead, he lived it out fully (Mark 10:45) and thus provided the foundation and prototype for his followers’ radical servanthood in his footsteps (10:43–44; cf. 9:35–37;).

This emphasis on sacrificial servanthood is not limited to Mark’s Gospel alone. It is found across the New Testament (John 15:12–13; Eph 5:2; 1 John 3:16). Church history is replete with examples of radical servanthood in the footsteps of Jesus. Just beyond the apostolic era, 1 Clement 55:2 reports, “We know that many among ourselves have delivered themselves to bondage, that they might ransom others. Many have sold themselves to slavery, and receiving the price paid for themselves have fed others” (trans. J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer). This reported practice among early Christians reflects a literal application of Mark 10:45.2 Other examples of Christian servanthood across the centuries are not hard to find. One of the most notable examples is Francis of Assisi. Before his conversion, Francis felt a strong aversion to the sight of lepers. But after his conversion, he went to live in a leprosarium to care for those with the disease.3

Mark 10:45 does not describe service in general and abstract terms. Instead, the portrayal is quite specific and personal. The service in Mark 10:45 is a service that a particular person, Jesus, has offered in a specific manner at a specific time and place, namely, giving his life sacrificially for the sake of others by being crucified on a Roman cross. And he did this despite the defeat that such a death signified in the eyes of his contemporaries. If we want to follow in Jesus’s footsteps, we must also do so in a personal way in our own specific time and space. The readers of this book will likely have one or two people they can quickly identify as their models of sacrificial service. For some, time would fail them to tell about their heroes of Christ-like servanthood (cf. Heb 11:32).

However, following Jesus’s example of servanthood may also take less conspicuous forms and may have a more manageable and mundane expression. For instance, welcoming neighbors over for dinner, staying late after church to vacuum the building, serving in a food line that feeds the hungry, or offering to babysit for a single parent can all be meaningful ways of serving others sacrificially. The core thread common to each of these acts is a willingness to subordinate our liberties, comforts, rights, and sometimes even our necessities to those of others, and, in so doing, we embody Jesus’s own habit of sacrificial service in a small yet meaningful way.

To be clear, Mark’s message is not that we must suffer or serve in order to get into heaven. Suffering and service do not earn our redemption and reconciliation with God. And not everyone who follows Jesus will face the same obstacles. Interestingly, Acts 12:2 mentions the death of James, which likely occurred only a decade or so after the request of Mark 10:37, yet church tradition indicates that his brother John lived to an old age. Likewise, in John 21:18–24, the resurrected Messiah foretells two very different paths for Peter and “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Mark does not claim that we will all experience the same afflictions and persecutions or identify the same needs among our neighbors.

Instead, the message of Mark is that those who follow Jesus must be willing to complete the journey. It is not enough simply to hear the message of the kingdom (Mark 4:4, 15). It is not even enough to receive that message with joy and start following Jesus if we are not committed to remaining with him to the end (4:5–7, 16–19). It is only those who receive the message of the kingdom and bear the fruit of loyal perseverance—committed to following Jesus wherever he leads and whatever it costs—who can say that they have truly followed him (4:8, 20). If you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus, it is worthwhile to ask yourself periodically, “What obstacles might deter me from staying on the path?” This world offers many distractions to lure us off the path of discipleship. For the rich man, it was his earthly treasure (10:17–22). For James and John, it was the pursuit of honor (10:35–37). For Peter, it was an aversion to shame and suffering (8:32; 14:66–72). What tempts you to sidestep the shame and suffering that may come with following Jesus? What are you unwilling to give in service to Jesus and others?

The spirit of competition and worldly success that once possessed James and John (10:35–40) is still rampant in our generation. Even churches, Christian institutions, and missions organizations are not immune. Too often, we view one another as competitors, not recognizing that Jesus sharply opposed this sort of perspective. We must again listen to Jesus, who sharply contrasted his way (Mark 1:3; cf. Isa 40:3) with that of the world: “it shall not be so among you”(10:43, ESV)! We who would follow Jesus on the way to the cross must deny ourselves and take up our own crosses (8:34), and we must learn to embrace the way of God rather than the ways of the world (8:33).

2 Garland, A Theology of Mark’s Gospel, 453n62.

3 Augustine Thompson, Francis of Assisi: The Life (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013), 18–19.



Episode 208: Aaron Armstrong on Guiding New Christians

By / Apr 26

On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson talks with author Aaron Armstrong about his new book of counsel for new believers and how we all might help our new brothers and sisters take their first steps in the pursuit of Christlikeness. But first, a conversation about comic book movies! (If you just want to skip to the book conversation, jump to 9:37.)