This week, we will be exploring the five solas of the Protestant Reformation and their importance to our theology.  On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the front door of a Catholic church in Wittenburg, Germany.  These 95 Thesis were a call to the church to embrace the Bible as a basis of theology and Christian practice and to protest indulgences.  

Indulgences were essentially get out of purgatory for a price cards that the church was selling to raise money to spend on massive cathedrals.  The idea of purgatory, a place where one goes after death as a waiting room before entering their eternal destination of heaven or hell, is entirely unbiblical.  There is no biblical evidence that this waiting room exists.  In addition to this theological fabrication, the church was using scare tactics to get people to purchase these indulgences.  Imagine hearing that you could get grandma out of purgatory for only $500.  The guilt of not doing what you could and giving money was used to force giving.  

The people were convinced this was the truth because they had no access to scripture.  The Word’s of God only came through the mouths of church leadership leaving church leaders with little accountability and the people with no standard to determine truth from error.  

The Protestant Reformation, which many say began with Luther’s 95 Thesis, brought the Word of God to the people and centered around five key priorities that are essential for the church to continue to embrace today.  These priorities in Latin are:

• Sola Scriptura
  
• Sola Fide
• Sola Gratia
• Solus Christus
• Soli Deo Gloria

Since we explored ministry calling this week, I thought that I would end the week with an additional perspective on ministry calling from Dr. Albert Mohler, the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:

Has God called you to ministry? Though all Christians are called to serve the cause of Christ, God calls certain persons to serve the Church as pastors and other ministers. Writing to young Timothy, the Apostle Paul confirmed that if a man aspires to be a pastor, “it is a fine work he aspires to do.” [I Timothy 3:1, NASB] Likewise, it is a high honor to be called of God into the ministry of the Church. How do you know if God is calling you?

First, there is an inward call. Through His Spirit, God speaks to those persons He has called to serve as pastors and ministers of His Church. The great Reformer Martin Luther described this inward call as “God’s voice heard by faith.” Those whom God has called know this call by a sense of leading, purpose, and growing commitment.

Charles Spurgeon identified the first sign of God’s call to the ministry as “an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work.” Those called by God sense a growing compulsion to preach and teach the Word, and to minister to the people of God.

This sense of compulsion should prompt the believer to consider whether God may be calling him to the ministry. Has God gifted you with the fervent desire to preach? Has He equipped you with the gifts necessary for ministry? Do you love God’s Word and feel called to teach? Spurgeon warned those who sought his counsel not to preach if they could help it. “But,” Spurgeon continued, “if he cannot help it, and he must preach or die, then he is the man.” That sense of urgent commission is one of the central marks of an authentic call.

Second, there is the external call. Baptists believe that God uses the congregation to “call out the called” to ministry. The congregation must evaluate and affirm the calling and gifts of the believer who feels called to the ministry.  As a family of faith, the congregation should recognize and celebrate the gifts of ministry given to its members, and take responsibility to encourage those whom God has called to respond to that call with joy and submission.

These days, many persons think of careers rather than callings. The biblical challenge to “consider your call” should be extended from the call to salvation to the call to the ministry.

John Newton, famous for writing “Amazing Grace,” once remarked that “None but He who made the world can make a Minister of the Gospel.” Only God can call a true minister, and only He can grant the minister the gifts necessary for service. But the great promise of Scripture is that God does call ministers, and presents these servants as gifts to the Church.

One key issue here is a common misunderstanding about the will of God. Some models of evangelical piety imply that God’s will is something difficult for us to accept. We sometimes confuse this further by talking about “surrendering” to the will of God. As Paul makes clear in Romans 12:2, the will of God is good, worthy of eager acceptance, and perfect. Those called by God to preach will be given a desire to preach as well as the gifts of preaching. Beyond this, the God-called preacher will feel the same compulsion as the great Apostle, who said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” [1 Corinthians 9:16, ESV]

Consider your calling. Do you sense that God is calling you to ministry, whether as pastor or another servant of the Church? Do you burn with a compulsion to proclaim the Word, share the Gospel, and care for God’s flock? Has this call been confirmed and encouraged by those Christians who know you best?

God still calls . . . has He called you?

Ministry calling is a call to vocational ministry.  This is a life-long call, but the context of the ministry itself may change.  We see this frequently in pastors who change churches or youth ministers who become senior pastors.  The people, age group, church, or style of ministry may change, but the calling remains the same.  

When looking at where God is calling you to ministry, there is a quote by Fredrick Buechner that comes to mind:

“The place where God calls you is where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger.”-  Fredrick Buechner

We need to find where out deep passions and desires meet the hungers and needs of the world and that is where we need to minister.  I think that over time our place of deep gladness in ministry roles may change, but there will always be a new hunger and need to go along with our new passion.

In Monday’s post, I mentioned that all Christians are called to be the church by ministering and using their spiritual gifts to build up the church and to share Jesus with the lost.  We must not confuse the call of a Christian to embody the gospel and the call into vocational ministry.  

Today, I want to build an argument from the two tests that we looked at earlier this week getting to what I think is the core of whether the Holy Spirit is leading you into vocational ministry.  Here are the tests once again with comments corresponding to each point:

Daniel Akin’s Five Biblical Tests of the Call to Ministry

1. Do I meet the qualifications of a preacher set forth in the Word of God?-  A Christian who is living life in light of scripture and seeking to follow Jesus Christ could very well meet the qualifications of a preacher that are presented in scripture.  This question could apply to all Christians who through the power of the Holy Spirit are seeking to live like Jesus, but it must apply to someone who is called into ministry.
2. Have I the witness of the Spirit in my heart that God has called me? This is a question that would be something that could potentially apply to all Christians if this calling is a calling to use your spiritual gifts in order to build up the church and reach the lost.  The distinctive factor is the confirmation from the Holy Spirit that this ministry should be vocational instead of just using your gifts in the context of your local church body.
3. Has the gift of the ministry become evident in my life and service? This could also apply to both all Christians and Christians called into vocational ministry.  If you are a Christian seeking to follow Jesus Christ, you will be using your spiritual gifts in your life to reach the lost and in your service to build up your church.
4. Has my church recognized and confirmed my ministry gift? This is a confirmation that could be seen in all Christians but is especially essential for someone called into ministry.  If your brothers and sisters in Christ do not recognize that you have been gifted the way that you are and called into the ministry that you feel that you have been called into, you must seriously reevaluate and seek God to see if where you feel called is truly where He is calling you.
5. Has God used my ministry gift to the salvation of souls or the edification of the saints? All Christians have ministry gifts to build up the church and lead people to Jesus.  This could apply to any Christian but is definitely essential for someone called into ministry.  

The second test of ministry calling comes from the Prince of Preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon.  In his essay “The Call to the Ministry” from Lectures to My Students, Spurgeon shares three tests of a call to ministry:

1. Intense, all absorbing desire for the work.
2. Apt to teach, possess qualities needful of the office of a public minister.
3. Must see a measure of conversion work going on under his efforts.

The first set of questions for thought about vocational ministry calling come from Dr. Daniel Akin, the President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  These are adapted from his Expository Preaching class notes.  Here are five biblical tests of the call to ministry:

1. Do I meet the qualifications of a preacher set forth in the Word of God?
2. Have I the witness of the Spirit in my heart that God has called me?
3. Has the gift of the ministry become evident in my life and service?
4. Has my church recognized and confirmed my ministry gift?
5. Has God used my ministry gift to the salvation of souls or the edification of the saints?

What do you think about these questions? 

This week I want to explore the topic of ministry calling.  In addressing this topic, it must be made clear that all Christians are called to live and preach the gospel to people around them.  So, the call to be a Christian is essentially the call to minister to the church using your spiritual gifts and to also share the gospel with others.  This means that in one sense we are all called into ministry in these areas.

When I refer to ministry calling in this blog, I am referring to a call into full-time vocational ministry.  This would be considered making your primary focus ministry rather than ministering as the Spirit leads you in addition to your vocation.  

Calls to ministry in scripture that frequently come to mind include:

• Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3)- God speaks to Moses through a burning bush that is on fire but not consumed.
• Isaiah Sees a Vision of Heaven and Gets Called by God (Isaiah 6)- Isaiah sees this indescribable picture of God on the throne in heaven.  He then responds to God’s call to be the person whom God will send.
• Saul becoming Paul on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9)- Saul is headed down the road to Damascus to kill the Christians, and he is blinded by a great light.  He hears the voice of Jesus asking Saul why he is persecuting Him.

One thing that was really interesting to me at Secret Church was that Dr. David Platt was hesitant to speak where scripture does not.  The issue of the Holy Spirit brings about many questions and heated theological discussions about the role, if any, of miraculous gifts, such as healing, tongues, or prophecy, in the church today.  This is a highly debated issue with people falling on different ends of the spectrum. 

In addressing this issue, Dr. Platt presented both sides of the debate and the corresponding scripture that is used as proofs by the differing sides.  He then left the question open.  The issue remained unresolved.  Dr. Platt was not jumping to resolve the issue because these were not issues to which scripture specifically makes a definitive statement.  As the pastor preaching the Word of God, Dr. Platt does not see it as His role to speak his thoughts and opinions into an issue where scripture does not give a specific view.  

This has great implications on the role of a preacher.  A pastor should not let his opinions be presented as scriptural truth.  The role of the pastor is to study and preach the Word of God.  This includes the hard and unpopular parts of scripture.  This Word should be preached with passion and authority since it is the Word’s of Almighty God.  The preacher, however, should never make a stand where scripture does not make a stand.  The opinions and views of a preacher are irrelevant.  What matters and what gives life to a congregation is not the theories and opinions of a pastor but the authoritative Words of God.

In the trinitarian view of God as presented in scripture, the Holy Spirit has a unique role.  The Holy Spirit fulfills a role that can be compared to the complementarian view of marriage that scripture presents in Ephesians 5.  

The Spirit has equality with God the Father and God the Son and is clearly deity.  He is not an outpouring of deity but is in fact God just as much as Jesus Christ is God.  This is seen in scripture where the same roles and activities that the Son of God is seen doing the Holy Spirit also does.  This is equating the workings of the Son of God and the Spirit of God to be both very similar.  So by this line of reasoning to accept the Son of God as fully God, you also must scripturally accept the Holy Spirit of God as fully God.

The Holy Spirit, though equal to the Father and the Son, fulfills different functions within His role in the trinity.  Though the Spirit is seen working in different ways than God the Father and God the Son, that does not mean that He is any less than God but is fulfilling a different role in the story of redemption in the plan of the trinitarian God.

The following is some outline points from Secret Church: Exploring the Holy Spirit.  I am deeply grateful to Dr. David Platt for his faithful study and preaching of the Word.  These notes are a reflection of the power of the Holy Spirit working through a pastor.

• The Holy Spirit Regenerates:
  • The Holy Spirit Is able to Bring New Life to God’s People
  • The Holy Spirit Opens Our Eyes
  • The Holy Spirit Changes Our Hearts
  • The Holy Spirit Enables Our Belief
  • The Holy Spirit Transforms Our Lives
• The Holy Spirit Indwells:
  • The Holy Spirit Unites Our Lives with Christ through His Presence in Us
• The Holy Spirit Sanctifies:
  • The Spirit Transforms Our Lives into the Image of Christ so that We Come to Mirror the Standing We Already Have in God’s Sight
• The Holy Spirit Comforts:
  • The Holy Spirit Comes Alongside Us
  • The Spirit Is Our Sacred Advocate
  • The Spirit Is Our Strong Comforter
• The Holy Spirit Teaches:
  • The Holy Spirit Takes All that Belongs to Christ and Makes It Known to Us
  • We Need the Spirit to Know God
  • We Need the Spirit to Know Ourselves
  • The Spirit Teaches the Word
• The Holy Spirit Guides:
  • The Holy Spirit Leads God’s People to Accomplish God’s Will
  • The Spirit Guides Individuals
  • The Spirit Guides the Church
• The Holy Spirit Intercedes:
  • The Spirit Enables Us to Pray According to the Father’s Will
  • The Son Intercedes for Us
  • The Spirit Intercedes Within Us
  • The Spirit Intercedes for Our Good
• The Holy Spirit Unifies:
  • The Spirit Creates a Profound Oneness in the People of God
• The Holy Spirit Bears Fruit:
  • The Spirit Produces the Life of Christ in Every Facet of Our Character
  • The Fruit of the Spirit Is Supernaturally Produced
  • The Fruit of the Spirit is Extraordinarily Expressed
• The Holy Spirit Gives Gifts:
  • By His Grace, the Holy Spirit Equips Every Christian to Edify the Church for the Glory of Christ
  • Spiritual Gifts Are Given by God’s Spirit
  • Spiritual Gifts Are Given by God’s Sovereignty
• The Holy Spirit Incites Worship:
  • The Spirit Leads the Church to Glorify God through Jesus Christ
• The Holy Spirit Empowers Witness:
  • The Spirit Fills the Church so that the Gospel Will Be Proclaimed to the Ends of the Earth