What About All Those Other Christian Ministries? (1)

How must we think about different Christian ministries?

There are three typical Christian-ministry situations in which Christians need to apply some Biblical discernment:

1. those who are faithful,
2. those who are ungodly, but get the Gospel right, (tomorrow’s post)
3. and those who get the Gospel wrong. (the day-after-tomorrow’s post)

The first is when there is more than one faithful, godly Gospel teacher. For example, in 1 Corinthians chapters 1 and 3, Paul deals with believers in a church that had made little cliques between the various good teachers that they have had the privilege of hearing. He reminds them that all good teachers, are only what they are, because of the grace of God.

When you look at a few different Christian ministries and find that they all measure up to a biblical model ministry, then do not cause division between them by creating little groups defined by ideas like: “I only listen to John MacArthur sermons and stopped downloading any of John Piper’s messages”.

Don’t shoot other sheep! Be faithful to your own local church, and do not try to steal sheep from other good churches or bad-mouth a faithful servant of Christ simply because you don’t like him as much as another. Rejoice in the abundant grace God shows your generation in sending many faithful preachers.

Be fully united with all true believers in spite of great personal differences.

If the Gospel is preached, rejoice in that, but don’t join the church of ungodly preachers.

Flee all false representations of the Gospel, warning all who are lured away from true faith.