Biblical Marks of a Gospel Minister
Jeffrey D. Johnson is the teaching pastor of Grace Bible Church and president of Grace Bible Theological Seminary in Conway, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife, Letha, and their four children. He is the author of several books, including The Pursuit of Glory and The Absurdity of Unbelief.
The following article is adapted from The Church Bible Study.
Sadly, too many decide men to enter the ministry because pastoring sounds like a good career opportunity or because they don’t have any other good ideas of what they should do with their lives. Even worse, churches are too eager to call these types of pastoral candidates. Churches often choose a new pastor based upon his management skills, personality, looks, and charisma rather than on the biblical qualifications of personal godliness, doctrine, and his ability to handle the Word of God. Because of this, churches are full of unqualified pastors who haven’t been spiritually gifted or called of God.
Good preaching that nourishes souls includes both skill and spiritual gifting. A certain level of training and skill is needed to exposit the Word of God properly. It is amazing how many preachers lack the basic knowledge and ability to exegete a passage of Scripture properly and to give application without distorting the intended meaning of the passage. Sadly, many sermons coming from pulpits across the globe do not even come close to being an exposition of Scripture but resemble a self-help motivational speech with a few Bible verses sprinkled in for good measure. Furthermore, the lack of biblical and theological knowledge many of today’s pastors have is amazing.
Even more important than natural ability and biblical training, true preaching is accompanied by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Much of today’s preaching is lacking in power. Sermons seem more like a discussion than an authoritative word from heaven.
True preaching is recognizable not necessarily by a dynamic and eloquent speech but rather by the Word of God being accurately proclaimed and applied in the power of the Holy Spirit. Churches need clear and precise teaching, not winsome personalities. More than anything else, preaching needs to be biblical and Spirit-empowered— preaching that rebukes, encourages, and edifies the church. When the church hears true preaching, it hears something supernatural—that is, the church hears from God Himself. True preaching is authoritative, corrective, edifying, and ultimately, sanctifying. Preaching with power is a spiritual gifting obtained from God alone.
True ministers have a divine calling and gifting on their lives. At least three identifying marks separate those whom God has called to the ministry from those who have entered the ministry of their own accord:
Those called of God have a burning and unquenchable desire to teach and preach God’s Word. They have a message from God that they feel compelled to proclaim.
Those whom God calls are those who have providential opportunity to preach. This alone does not indicate a man’s calling, but it is doubtful that God would call a man into the ministry without providing him an opportunity to minister.
Most importantly, the chief confirmation of a man’s calling is the verification of the local church. If the church is not consistently hearing from God in a man’s preaching, it is not likely that the man has been called by God.
Ordination, which is the official confirmation of the local church that affirms God’s calling upon a man, is important for the ministry. If God’s people are not spiritually blessed and ministered to by a man’s preaching, it is not likely that that man has been gifted or called of God.
Local churches must be careful not to continue to encourage uncalled men to preach because they are afraid to hurt the man’s feelings. Also, men should be wary about starting a new church without having their gifts verified by an established church. Too many churches have been started because of the unwillingness of a non-ordained preacher to submit to the judgment of a pre-existing biblical church.
With all this said, not all God’s called ministers are gifted equally. All preachers are unique and have different strengths and weaknesses. The church needs to be careful not to be too critical and judgmental of their pastor. We must not judge and compare our pastor with our favorite celebrity preacher. This was the error of the Corinthians as they argued who the better preacher was—Paul or Apollos. It is fine to have a favorite preacher, but we are on dangerous ground when we make one particular preacher the standard for all other preachers to meet. The quickest way to cease hearing the voice of God in our pastor’s preaching is to start listening with a critical spirit.