Latest / Reformed Thinking / Brothers, Save the Saints | John Piper

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Brothers, Save the Saints | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to Reformed thinking. This is our deep dive where we
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  try to draw wisdom from different sources just to get
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  clear insight on topics that really matter.
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  Today we're getting into something that honestly might
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  just shift how you view a really vital role in the church, the
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  pastor. We're going to unpack this
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  responsibility and not just about getting people initially
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  converted, but the pastor's role in the ongoing the ultimate
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  salvation of the people they shepherd.
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  It's one of those perspectives that, well, once you see it,
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  it's kind of hard to Unsee. Yeah.
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  And this deep dive really centers on a, let's call it a
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  dramatic shift in understanding pastoral ministry.
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  We'll be looking at why John Piper and, you know, key
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  historical figures before him came to think that the eternal
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  outcome for church members actually hinges on faithful
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  pastoral work. It's really about seeing
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  ministry as, well, a fundamental means God actually uses for a
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  believer's final salvation. It's a, it's a pretty sobering
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  thought, actually. OK.
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  Let's dig into that. We're starting with what seems
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  like a fairly standard goal, right?
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  But one that John Piper, himself a well known pastor teacher,
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  later said was built on an erroneous assumption.
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  Oh, he's described his goal pretty simply.
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  Glorify God by winning the lost and edifying the Saints.
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  I mean, on the face of it, that sounds totally biblic,
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  commendable even. Bringing people to faith,
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  helping them grow. For years that was kind of the
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  standard thinking in his circles.
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  And you can see why it lines up with lots of commands to, you
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  know, preach the gospel and build up the church.
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  It does sound solid, and look, it's definitely part of the
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  work, no question. But the flaw Piper saw later was
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  in the idea behind that second part edifying the Saints.
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  His initial thinking, as he explains it, was that his part
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  in someone's salvation basically wrapped up after they converted.
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  So once someone was, you know, evangelized, came to faith,
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  joined the Church, his instrumental work in their
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  salvation? Done.
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  Finished. Any ministry after that, in this
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  more traditional view, was just for their edification, their
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  sanctification. It was about helping them grow,
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  maybe more, maybe less, but it didn't really touch their
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  ultimate salvation. The idea was like the saving
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  part was sorted, now it was just about spiritual development.
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  Almost like decorating a house that's already built and secure.
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  The structure is safe, the rest is just furniture.
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  Wow, that's a huge shift for you listening.
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  Imagine thinking your main job stops at the finish line, only
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  to find out there's this whole other race ahead and your work
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  is crucial for them finishing it.
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  So what was it? What jolted Piper into
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  rethinking something so basic to his whole ministry?
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  What made in question this view he held for so long?
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  Well, it wasn't like a lightning bolt moment.
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  It started, actually, with a historical observation that
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  first seemed a bit odd to Piper. He noticed that Puritan pastors,
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  guys like Richard Sibbs, you know, the one called the Sweet
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  Dropper, and Richard Baxter, Thomas Boston, Jonathan Edwards,
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  these pastors preached to their congregations with an intensity
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  and urgency that seemed almost excessive if the only goal was
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  just edification. Sibs, for instance, got that
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  nickname, the Sweet Dropper because his preaching was
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  gentle, comforting, but it also had this like, penetrating
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  quality medicine dropped slowly, healing deeply.
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  These guys were known for their deep spiritual insights, A
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  practical application of Scripture, absolutely.
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  But the seriousness in their sermons was just undeniable.
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  They preached like, well, like the people's eternal lives
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  depended on it. OK, but why that level of
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  seriousness? If someone's already a St.
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  A believer? Why would their eternal life
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  still be on the line for the What were these Puritans seeing
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  that maybe Piper hadn't quite grasped yet?
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  Well, the Puritans were convinced that without
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  perseverance in the obedience of faith, the end result wouldn't
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  just be, you know, less spiritual growth or a lower
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  degree of sanctification, it would be eternal destruction.
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  They really understood that salvation wasn't just a one and
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  done deal that then lets you go spiritually.
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  For them, faith was alive, active, not just something you
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  declared once. Richard Sims, for example, would
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  plead with believers to keep grace in exercise, and his
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  reason was crystal clear. It is not sleepy habits, but
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  grace and exercise that preserveth us.
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  And by sleepy habits, he meant this kind of spiritual laziness,
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  you know, of passive faith that doesn't keep showing itself in
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  obedience and growth. He saw that a dormant faith
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  wasn't enough for spiritual preservation.
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  If you say you have faith but your life doesn't show active
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  grace, well, that's a big red flag.
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  So for these Puritan pastors, preaching the whole pastoral
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  ministry really was seen as a primary means for the Saints
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  perseverance, given that the pastor's aim wasn't just to make
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  believers more holy. It was, quite literally, to save
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  the Saints. The stakes for them were eternal
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  salvation. They saw themselves as tools in
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  God's hand, helping ensure that those who professed faith would
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  actually continue in faith right to the end.
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  This meant their sermons weren't just informative talks.
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  There were calls to action, urgent pleas, serious warnings.
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  They constantly preached on the need for real repentance,
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  diligent spiritual practices, genuine obedience.
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  Not turn salvation, no, but as the proof of true saving faith
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  and the way God keeps his elect secure.
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  That really does shift the focus, doesn't it?
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  Gives the pastoral roll such wait.
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  But you said the thing that really locked this in for Piper,
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  the final catalyst wasn't the Puritans, It was someone much
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  earlier, the Apostle Paul. That's right, Paul's letters
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  especially brought this whole understanding into really sharp
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  focus for Piper. Let's look at a couple of key
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  spots first. First, Timothy 4.16.
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  Paul gives this direct instruction to Timothy, who's a
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  young pastor. Keep a close watch on yourself
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  and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing
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  you will save both yourself and your hearers.
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  Now you might ask straight away, who are these hearers?
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  Well, Paul makes that clear just a few verses earlier in First
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  Timothy 4.12. He tells Timothy to be an
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  example to those who believe. So we're not talking about
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  outsiders here or people who haven't believed yet.
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  These are actual believers inside the church.
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  And the implication, Well, it's incredibly heavy.
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  The pastor's faithful attention to his own holiness and to
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  teaching sound doctrine directly impacts his own salvation, yes,
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  but also the salvation of those listening to him week after
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  week. So there's more at stake than
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  just making progress in holiness.
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  The actual salvation of of believing hearers is on the
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  line. Think about that.
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  A pastor who slacks off in his own spiritual life or who
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  teaches error. He's not just setting a bad
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  example. In Paul's view, he's potentially
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  endangering his own and his congregations ultimate standing
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  with God. It's not about earning
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  salvation, let's be clear. It's about being a faithful
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  steward of the means God uses for our perseverance.
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  The sermon you hear next Sunday? It isn't just a nice thought for
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  the week. It's literally part of God's
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  appointed way to keep you on the path to final salvation.
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  That makes the pastor's job feel incredibly burdensome.
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  It's not just guiding, it's having a direct effect on
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  eternal destinies. How does a pastor even carry
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  that kind of weight without just getting completely crushed by
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  it? It definitely is a serious
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  weight, but Paul gives us more insight here too.
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  Take another passage, Second Timothy 2.0.
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  Paul says I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that
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  they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ
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  Jesus with eternal glory. This verse is huge because it
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  shows that the salvation of the elect isn't just automatic.
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  It happens through means God puts in place.
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  And Paul sees his own work, his suffering, even as instrumental
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  in that process. He suffers so that they also may
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  obtain the salvation. And this isn't just about
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  getting them converted. Initially, Paul says in
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  Colossians 1.24 his sufferings are for the sake of his body,
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  that is the church. So his focus is clearly on
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  believers, his endurance, his pain.
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  It's for their ongoing and ultimate salvation.
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  This whole idea of means is so central and Reformed thinking,
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  isn't it? God is completely sovereign.
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  He ordains the end of salvation of his chosen ones, but he also
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  ordains the means to get there. Paul isn't saying his suffering
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  earns their salvation, not at all.
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  But it's the path God uses. So when a pastor works hard,
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  makes sacrifices, even suffers for the congregation, he's
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  actually participating in God's plan to bring the elect safely
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  home to glory. And that's comforting in a way,
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  because it means the pastor isn't carrying the ultimate load
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  alone. He's a Co worker with God.
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  And it's not just about the getting salvation through Paul's
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  work. He includes himself, doesn't he?
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  He stresses the need for perseverance, even for an
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  apostle. Like in Second Timothy 2.12, he
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  puts himself right in the mix with that sobering reality.
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  That's a really critical point, Paul writes.
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  If we endure, we will also reign with him.
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  If we deny him, he also will deny us.
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  The we includes Paul. It suggests that even his own
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  salvation, his reigning with Christ, depends on him not
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  denying Christ, on enduring in faith and obedience.
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  This puts the necessity of perseverance squarely on
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  everyone, apostles included. It's not a suggestion, it's just
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  how spiritual reality works. Now, this doesn't contradict
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  God's sovereign election, not at all.
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  It just clearly describes the path the elect will walk.
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  The elect will endure because God empowers them and their
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  perseverance proves their election.
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  So when you understand that, it's no surprise Paul felt, as
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  he said in 2nd Corinthians 11.28, this daily pressure of
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  his anxiety for all the churches, the sheer gravity of
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  his pastoral job, caring for their perseverance was immense.
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  He wasn't just worried about their spiritual growth.
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  He was anxious about their final destination.
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  And think about Second Corinthians 1.62.
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  Paul explains how his own hardships serve a purpose for
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  the church members. If we are afflicted, it is for
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  your comfort and salvation. Again, pastoral suffering, even
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  things like persecution or just tough times, it serves the
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  ongoing salvation of the church. It's not just about making them
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  feel better now, it's about eternal rescue.
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  Paul saw his troubles, not just his personal burdens he had to
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  get through, but as divinely intended tools for the spiritual
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  good and the ultimate security of the believers he served.
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  When a pastor goes through hard times for the gospel or for the
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  church, those very struggles can become a means God uses to build
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  comfort and help secure the perseverance of the flock.
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  So it's not. Just Paul's general suffering,
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  then, even his direct, sometimes really tough, pastoral actions
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  were leaned to this ultimate goal.
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  You mentioned Paul's tough pastoral letter to the
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  Corinthians earlier. That seems to get right to the
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  heart of it. Yeah, that's a prime example of
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  direct pastoral intervention aimed squarely at salvation.
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  In 2nd Corinthians 7.10, Paul talks about how that letter
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  caused the Corinthian believers godly grief, and that grief
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  produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret.
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  Paul's whole pastoral point in sending that letter to these
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  Saints was exactly that, repentance unto salvation.
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  Remember, these were people who'd come to faith, but some
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  had fallen into pretty serious sin, causing divisions, moral
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  compromises in the church. Paul didn't just pat them on the
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  back and say be nice or try harder, He confronted their sin
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  directly. And this wasn't just about
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  sorting out their church problems, it was about bringing
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  them to genuine repentance that would secure their ultimate
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  salvation. His strong words, probably hard
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  to hear at the time, 'cause those wavering believers to
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  sober up and to work out their own salvation with fear and
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  trembling like Philippians 2.91 urges.
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  It means taking your faith incredibly seriously, realizing
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  your actions reflect whether your profession is real.
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  And this ties right in to James 55.120, which talks about
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  bringing back a wandering Sinner from the error of his ways to
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  save his soul. It's pretty clear that pastoral
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  work, even the difficult stuff like confrontation and
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  correction, is intended for their ultimate salvation.
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  A pastor who avoids confronting sin or error when it's needed
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  isn't really being loving in the deepest sense.
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  He might actually be letting a wandering Sinner drift further
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  away from the path of life. OK, this leads us to a really
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  sobering place. A pastor's job involves working
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  so that none of his brothers and sisters is destroyed that were
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  destroyed. It carries enormous weight.
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  We're not just talking about a stumble here or a spiritual set
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  back, are we? This sounds far more final.
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  It is final, and it's a terrifying thought for anyone
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  responsible for souls. Paul gives these very strong
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  warnings about actions that could destroy a fellow believer.
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  In Romans 14.15, he warns against destroying the one for
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  whom Christ died just by exercising your Christian
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  freedom, like eating certain foods in a way that trips up a
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  weaker believer or leads them into sin.
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  He says that again in Romans 14.20.
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  Do not for the sake of food destroy the work of God.
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  That's a powerful statement about how our actions can affect
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  others. And these warnings aren't just,
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  you know, abstract theological ideas.
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  They're practical instructions for everyday church life.
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  Imagine a mature believer, maybe someone very confident in their
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  freedom in Christ, flaunting it in a way that causes a new
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  believer, maybe someone just out of a really legalistic
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  background to either just despair or maybe stumble into a
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  sin they aren't strong enough to handle yet.
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  That action, which might seem small, could potentially lead to
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  spiritual disaster for the weaker person.
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  And similarly, in First Corinthians 8 verses 9 and 11,
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  Paul warns against letting your right maybe eating meat offered
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  to idols, which was a big issue then become a stumbling block to
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  the weak. And he says this could lead to
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  the destruction of the brother for whom Christ died.
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  These aren't light terms. They signal a very real danger.
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  So a pastor has this responsibility to teach and
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  model this kind of care. Making sure the church
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  environment builds people up, doesn't them down, or cause them
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  to fall. This means fostering a place of
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  grace, truth, and real care where people think about how
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  their freedoms impact others. Right.
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  And let's be absolutely clear here.
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  When Paul uses this word, destroy a palumi, what exactly
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  does he mean? I can hear listeners thinking,
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  hang on, is this actual eternal damnation or just, you know, a
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  really bad spiritual state? Can we be really precise about
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  the stakes? Yes, that's a crucial
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  clarification. The sources really stressed that
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  this word Apollo, mean destroy, shouldn't be watered down.
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  It's direct opposite in Paul's writings is salvation.
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  You see this contrast clearly in places like First Corinthians
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  1.18 and 2nd Corinthians 2.15. S To be destroyed means to be
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  lost, and it refers to destruction beyond death, which
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  means perishing in hell. Paul uses the exact same word in
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  First Corinthians 15.1 and then 18 when he talks about those who
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  perished, meaning have been destroyed in hell if Christ
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  hadn't been raised. So no, it's not about losing
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  progress in your Christian walk. It's about eternal loss.
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  The language is stark. It points to the ultimate final
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  separation from God. And this is what makes the
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  pastor's work so incredibly serious.
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  If a pastor's teaching, or maybe even their neglect, allows
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  someone to stumble or embrace error or drift away in such a
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  way that they fall away completely, the stakes aren't
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  just about having a less vibrant spiritual life.
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  The stakes are their eternal condition.
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  That's the weight on a pastor's shoulders not guaranteeing that
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  everyone in the pews is genuinely saved, only God knows
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  the heart, but faithfully preaching and shepherding in a
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  way that helps the truly elect to persevere and brings those
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  who might only appear to be believers face to face with
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  their need for genuine repentance and enduring faith.
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  It demands an urgency, A sincerity that's often missing
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  in ministry that focuses only on, say, church growth numbers
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  or making people feel good temporarily.
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  OK, this raises the big question when many people might be
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  thinking about right now, does this mean true believers can
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  actually lose their salvation? This seems to clash with the
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  idea of eternal security that's so central for many of us.
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  How do we square these two things?
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  They seem almost contradictory. It's a very understandable
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  concern, and it's a tension we live with in Reformed theology,
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  isn't it? But no, this focus on avoiding
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  destruction does not mean that true Saints can ultimately lose
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  their salvation, or that Christ's death wasn't fully
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  effective in securing the eternal salvation of the elect.
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  We hold firmly to the truth that God will preserve his own, Jesus
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  himself said in John 10102728. My sheep hear my voice.
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  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.
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  That's a promise. And Paul in Romans 8.2930 lays
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  out that golden chain, foreknown, predestined, called,
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  justified, glorified. It's an unbroken chain for God's
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  elect. So instead, what these warnings
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  suggest is that someone who we charitably call a brother,
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  someone in the church community who attends, maybe even serves,
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  might in the end prove not to be a brother because of failing to
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  persevere in faith. Hunter Brute.
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  This fits perfectly with what First John 2.19 says about those
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  who left the community. They went out from us, but they
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  were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have
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  continued with us. They're leaving prove they were
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  never truly part of the full to begin with.
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  The church you know in its visible form here on earth is
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  always a mix of wheat and tares. Like Jesus taught.
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  A pastor can't definitively know who is truly elect.
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  So he preaches to everyone, exhorts everyone, warns
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  everyone, as if their salvation depends on how they respond to
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  the Word. So the point is, what's at stake
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  in pastoral warnings, in preaching isn't just about how
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  much progress the church makes in becoming holy.
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  It's about the church's perseverance unto final
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  salvation. The pastor's role is to shepherd
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  and teach in a way that helps the truly elect persevere and
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  confronts those who might only have a superficial faith with
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  the reality of their need to truly embrace Christ and endure
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  in that faith. It's a serious call for all of
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  us in the congregation to examine ourselves.
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  Are we truly in the faith? Are we continuing in it?
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  And it puts a heavy burden on the pastor to make sure that a
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  cheap, easy believism gospel is never ever preached.
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  OK, so given these incredibly high stakes, what happens when a
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  church is consistently fed, let's say, a meatless diet?
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  You know, just simple messages about getting saved initially,
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  week after week, without the deeper, more substantial
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  teaching. What does that meatless diet
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  actually sound like in practice? And what are the real dangers?
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  Well, this meatless diet, these repetitive, maybe overly
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  simplistic messages preached week in, week out to the church,
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  it's actually quite dangerous. In practice, it often sounds
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  like sermons that rarely go beyond the absolute basics of
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  how to get saved. Every sermon might feel like an
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  evangelistic appeal, even when the room is full of people
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  who've been Christians for decades.
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  Or it could be exclusively feel good messages, you know,
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  focusing only on personal comfort, maybe success without
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  challenging sin or calling people to costly discipleship.
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  It might also involve deliberately avoiding difficult
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  doctrines, God's sovereignty, human sinfulness, the reality of
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  hell. Because, well, maybe the pastor
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  fears offending people or causing confusion.
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  The sources explained that this kind of preaching doesn't just
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  stunt believers growth in character, it actually
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  jeopardizes their final salvation.
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  It can potentially send them straight backward toward
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  destruction. That's the warning in Hebrews
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  5.1 and 14. Remember when the writer of
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  Hebrews scolds his readers for being dull of hearing and still
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  needing milk, not solid food? He wasn't just saying, oh,
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  you're just spiritually immature.
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  He was saying their lack of growth was putting them at
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  serious risk. They were stagnating when they
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  should have been moving on to the meteor truths of the faith.
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  And that kind of stagnation is a critical danger.
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  It prevents the growth needed for perseverance.
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  If you're not continually being nourished by the fullness of
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  God's Word, you just can't develop the spiritual strength
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  needed to face trials, resist temptation, or spot error.
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  Over time, this meatless diet weakens A believer, making them
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  really vulnerable to just drifting away.
• 18:22
  So if simple salvation messages aren't enough, what kind of
• 18:26
  spiritual food is needed then? What should pastors be feeding
• 18:29
  the flock? What does this solid food look
• 18:31
  like? What's needed is a really
• 18:32
  robust, comprehensive diet from the whole Word of God.
• 18:36
  Peter's words in first Peter 2.2 capture it so well, like newborn
• 18:40
  infants long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you
• 18:44
  may grow up to salvation. Now the milk here isn't
• 18:47
  necessarily just basic teaching like maybe in Hebrews.
• 18:50
  Here, it seems to me, in the essential, pure Word of God
• 18:52
  itself, the Word of God's grace, as Peter calls it elsewhere,
• 18:55
  believers need to hunger for this like a baby craves milk,
• 18:58
  specifically so that they may grow up to salvation.
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  It implies this constant, eager desire for all of God's revealed
• 19:05
  truth and the consequences stated plainly, only by feeding
• 19:09
  on the Word can you grow, and only by growing can you
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  persevere and attain final salvation.
• 19:14
  Therefore, pastors have this duty to unfold the whole counsel
• 19:17
  of God, just like Paul said he did in Acts 20.27.
• 19:21
  They need to point our people to the inexhaustible riches of
• 19:23
  Christ, to stir them up, to make them want to go forward into
• 19:26
  more of God. This full council includes
• 19:29
  everything from creation to the end times, from God's attributes
• 19:32
  to commands for daily living, from the deep mystery of the
• 19:35
  Trinity to the nitty gritty of Christian ethics.
• 19:37
  It means not dodging hard passages or controversial
• 19:40
  topics. It means diving deep into who
• 19:42
  Christ is and what He did, understanding sin, wonder of
• 19:46
  redemption, the process of sanctification, the hope of
• 19:48
  glory, and the reality of judgment.
• 19:51
  This kind of comprehensive teaching is what truly nourishes
• 19:54
  believers for the long haul, for perseverance.
• 19:56
  It equips them for every spiritual battle, every step of
• 20:00
  obedience. And for you listening, it means
• 20:02
  you should probably seek out churches where the whole Bible
• 20:04
  is taught faithfully, not just the pastor's favorite bits or
• 20:07
  the comfortable themes. This Pete's a picture.
• 20:09
  Of a very active. Very dynamic Christian life.
• 20:12
  It really sounds like there's no neutral gear, no just standing
• 20:16
  still in this spiritual race. I have to admit, I wonder how
• 20:19
  many times I've heard a sermon and just processed it as
• 20:22
  interesting information, not as like a crucial lifeline for my
• 20:25
  own perseverance. You've absolutely hit on a
• 20:28
  critical point there. There is no standing still in
• 20:31
  the Christian life. Either we are actively moving
• 20:33
  forward towards salvation, or we are perhaps subtly drifting away
• 20:37
  toward destruction, and this drifting is mortal danger.
• 20:41
  It's a serious warning. Think of it like being in a
• 20:43
  river, maybe a river of indifference, and the current is
• 20:46
  always pulling downstream towards the falls.
• 20:49
  If you're not actively paddling upstream, or at least
• 20:52
  intentionally moving forward, then by default the current is
• 20:55
  carrying you backward, downstream, toward peril.
• 20:58
  And this river of indifference. It often feels comfortable at
• 21:01
  first, doesn't it? It's that slow fading of
• 21:03
  spiritual discipline, the subtle compromises with truth, the
• 21:06
  gradual cooling of a heart that was once on fire.
• 21:09
  It's usually not a sudden leap into apostasy, but a slow,
• 21:12
  almost unnoticed slide. The command in Hebrews 2.1
• 21:15
  really drives this home. Therefore, we must pay much
• 21:18
  closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from
• 21:20
  it. And to neglect such a great
• 21:22
  salvation, as Hebrews 2.3 warns, means failing to give proper
• 21:25
  attention to what God has revealed through his Son.
• 21:28
  It means not keeping our focus fixed on Jesus.
• 21:30
  The inevitable result? Drifting away from the Word and
• 21:33
  therefore away from salvation. The writer of Hebrews also warns
• 21:37
  against developing an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to
• 21:41
  fall away from the living God. That's Hebrews 3.12.
• 21:44
  This isn't usually a one time choice, but a process of the
• 21:47
  heart becoming hard through repeated disobedience or
• 21:49
  neglect. He then stresses that we become
• 21:52
  partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our
• 21:55
  assurance firm until the end. Hebrews 3.1.
• 21:57
  Free and Jesus himself became the source of eternal salvation
• 22:01
  to all who go on obeying its present continuous action.
• 22:04
  Hymn Hebrews 5.9. So this ongoing active
• 22:07
  engagement with Christ in His Word is just essential for every
• 22:10
  believer. This means daily vigilance,
• 22:12
  constantly turning back to the Word, to prayer, to fellowship
• 22:15
  with other believers. It means being honest about
• 22:17
  spiritual apathy and getting help from the community when you
• 22:19
  feel that current pulling you downstream.
• 22:21
  OK, but with all this strong talk about perseverance and
• 22:24
  obedience, some people might immediately think, hang on, is
• 22:27
  this just just about by works again?
• 22:30
  Are we saying our actions save us?
• 22:33
  How do we make sure we're clear on this, especially given the
• 22:35
  foundational doctrine of justification by faith alone?
• 22:38
  That's an excellent and absolutely necessary question,
• 22:41
  especially for anyone coming from a Reformed background.
• 22:44
  No, this focus on obedience does not mean justification by works.
• 22:48
  The sources are very clear. Obedience is the evidence of
• 22:51
  faith. That alone unites us to Christ,
• 22:54
  who is our justifying righteousness.
• 22:57
  So it doesn't contradict justification by faith alone at
• 23:00
  all. Instead, it complements it.
• 23:02
  It confirms that true saving faith will always inevitably
• 23:06
  produce a life of obedience and perseverance.
• 23:09
  The fruit proves the nature of the root act of grace
• 23:12
  demonstrates indwelling grace. Think about it like this.
• 23:15
  You know a tree by its fruit, right?
• 23:17
  You don't get apples by sticking apples onto a pear tree.
• 23:20
  You get apples because it is an apple tree.
• 23:22
  In the same way, good works and perseverance don't make you a
• 23:24
  Christian. They show that you are a
• 23:25
  Christian because you've been made new by faith in Christ.
• 23:28
  Saving faith isn't some dead intellectual agreement.
• 23:30
  It's a living, active trust that responds to God's grace with
• 23:34
  obedience. There's no obedience, no pursuit
• 23:36
  of holiness, no desire to persevere.
• 23:38
  Well, it raises series questions about whether the initial faith
• 23:40
  professed was genuine saving faith in the 1st place.
• 23:42
  So pastors preach obedience not as a condition for earning
• 23:46
  salvation, but as the necessary result and proof of the
• 23:49
  salvation already received by grace through faith.
• 23:52
  Got it. That distinction is vital.
• 23:54
  So if we're clear this is about the evidence of faith not
• 23:56
  earning salvation, then this idea of eternal security really
• 23:59
  becomes, as you put it, a community project.
• 24:03
  A striking phrase because it shifts the responsibility.
• 24:06
  It's not just on the individual or just on the pastor.
• 24:09
  It involves the whole body of Christ.
• 24:11
  How does a community actually do that?
• 24:13
  How do we foster perseverance? Together, what's the role?
• 24:16
  Of regular church members in this project, not just the
• 24:18
  pastor. It is a striking phrase, and it
• 24:21
  makes pastoral ministry feel utterly serious.
• 24:24
  As the source says, the preaching needs to be earnest,
• 24:27
  not light or playful, because these eternal realities are in
• 24:30
  view. Pastors preach so that Saints
• 24:33
  might persevere in faith to glory.
• 24:35
  They preach not just hoping people will grow a bit, but
• 24:38
  because if they don't grow, they perish.
• 24:39
  The stakes are truly that high. And the community aspect means
• 24:43
  we aren't just individuals trying to make it on our own.
• 24:46
  We're part of a flock looked after by pastors, yes, but our
• 24:49
  spiritual path is also heavily influenced by the teaching and
• 24:53
  care we get and by the care we give each other.
• 24:56
  This is where the Community Project really comes alive.
• 24:58
  How does it work practically? Well, first there's mutual
• 25:01
  admonition. Believers are actually told to
• 25:03
  admonish one another. According to Romans 15.14, this
• 25:07
  means speaking truth to each other, gently, lovingly, but
• 25:10
  clearly. Warning against sin, encouraging
• 25:12
  what's right. If you see a brother or sister
• 25:14
  starting to drift, you actually have a part to play in calling
• 25:16
  them back. Then there's accountability.
• 25:18
  Real Christian community involves being accountable to
• 25:21
  each other. Maybe that happens in small
• 25:23
  groups, or through close friendships, or even just
• 25:25
  informal check insurance, asking someone, hey, how's your walk
• 25:28
  with the Lord right now? Or are you struggling with
• 25:30
  anything that's pulling you away from Christ?
• 25:32
  That can be a real lifeline. Prayer is huge, too.
• 25:36
  The church prays for each other's perseverance.
• 25:38
  We lift up those who are struggling, those facing
• 25:41
  temptation, those who feel wet. Our prayers are one of the means
• 25:44
  God uses to sustain his people. Also, fellowship and
• 25:48
  discipleship. Just being in regular, real
• 25:51
  fellowship gives encouragement and support.
• 25:53
  Older believers, mentoring younger ones, sharing wisdom,
• 25:57
  walking alongside them. It's not just about passing on
• 25:59
  information, it's about shaping character, building resilience
• 26:02
  together, and finally, shared worship and sacraments.
• 26:05
  Coming together for corporate worship, hearing the Word preach
• 26:08
  together, taking the Lord's Supper, witnessing baptisms.
• 26:10
  These are all communal acts that strengthen faith and remind us
• 26:13
  of our covenant with God and with each other.
• 26:16
  So while the pastor has a unique and very heavy responsibility,
• 26:19
  the entire congregation is actually involved in helping
• 26:21
  each other reach final salvation.
• 26:23
  It's a serious call for us to recognize the weight of pastoral
• 26:26
  leadership, but it's also reassuring, isn't it?
• 26:29
  It reminds us to rely on God's appointed means through the
• 26:31
  pastor and through the body of Christ for our perseverance.
• 26:35
  But underlying all of this, it still rests entirely on God's
• 26:37
  sovereignty and salvation, right?
• 26:38
  We know Jesus promised in John 10.
• 26:41
  My sheep hear my voice. I give them eternal life and
• 26:44
  they will never perish. And Paul lays out God's
• 26:46
  unbreakable plan for the elect in Romans 8.
• 26:49
  How do these two ideas, God's absolute sovereignty,
• 26:52
  guaranteeing salvation, and the pastor's instrumental, crucial
• 26:55
  role, fit together? It can feel like a tension, but
• 26:57
  it's actually beautiful. Truth isn't.
• 26:59
  It it is the beautiful truth we find woven through scripture.
• 27:02
  The two aren't fighting each other.
• 27:04
  They work together perfectly. The elect will be saved
• 27:07
  absolutely. The elect will love the word of
• 27:09
  God. The elect will grow, the elect
• 27:10
  will repent, and the elect will most assuredly be saved.
• 27:13
  God's sovereign plan cannot fail.
• 27:16
  He has guaranteed the perseverance of His chosen ones.
• 27:19
  However, and this is the vital point for understanding pastoral
• 27:22
  ministry, they will not be saved.
• 27:24
  Apart from faithful teaching. God hasn't decreed salvation to
• 27:28
  happen in some kind of spiritual vacuum.
• 27:30
  He has chosen to work through means, and He has specifically
• 27:34
  ordained pastor teachers not just for building people up, but
• 27:37
  also for their ultimate salvation.
• 27:39
  This means our preaching, our pastoral care.
• 27:41
  They aren't just optional extras or nice to haves.
• 27:43
  They are God's chosen tools for bringing his elect all the way
• 27:46
  home to glory. It's a bit like, well, God
• 27:49
  ordained that Israel would inherit the promised Land, but
• 27:51
  they still have to go in and fight the battles.
• 27:53
  Or how a farmer trusts God for the harvest, but he still has to
• 27:56
  plow, plant, and water. What's really amazing here is
• 27:59
  how God, in his wisdom, give such value to human partnership.
• 28:02
  He weaves his sovereign decree together with the diligent work
• 28:05
  of his servants. And this truth brings comfort
• 28:07
  because it assures pastors their labor isn't pointless.
• 28:10
  And it calls congregations to be diligent because God uses these
• 28:13
  means. It's a sobering reality that
• 28:15
  should really infuse every sermon, every pastoral
• 28:18
  conversation, every word of counsel with There's a deep
• 28:21
  sense of urgency. Oh, that our preaching might
• 28:23
  really have the flavor of eternity in it.
• 28:25
  Because eternity truly is at stake, week by week.
• 28:28
  What a weighty and yes, sobering picture of pastoral ministry.
• 28:31
  This deep dive has certainly highlighted that the call to be
• 28:34
  a pastor is this sacred trust with eternal consequences.
• 28:39
  It's a responsibility. Focus not just on getting people
• 28:42
  started in the faith, but on guiding God's people to
• 28:44
  persevere, to endure in faith all the way to glory through
• 28:48
  faithful teaching and loving care.
• 28:50
  It really pushes us beyond just being passive or complacent,
• 28:53
  doesn't it? It calls us into this dynamic,
• 28:55
  active faith that's meant to be nurtured and protected within
• 28:58
  the church community. It does indeed.
• 29:00
  And as you, our listener, reflect on all this, just
• 29:04
  consider the implications of God's design, how he plans for
• 29:06
  believers to be shepherded toward their final salvation.
• 29:09
  It is sobering thinking about the weight of pastoral
• 29:11
  leadership, but it's also deeply reassured during reminding us to
• 29:14
  depend on His appointed means. So maybe a final thought to
• 29:17
  ponder. How might understanding this
• 29:19
  truth about pastoral ministry actually change the way you
• 29:21
  listen to sermons next Sunday? Or how you participate in your
• 29:24
  church community. Or even how you pray for your
• 29:27
  own pastors and leaders.