No Higher Calling Book Excerpts

Shepherding God’s People According to Paul

Biblical Reference, Church Leadership, Christian Ministry

No Higher Calling  Book excerpt 1:

This Church’s Unusual Origins

Ephesus served as the capital of the Roman province of Asia.

At the time of the New Testament, it was the Roman Empire’s

third-largest city with more than 200,000 inhabitants (behind

Rome and Alexandria). Among its most esteemed structures was

the great temple of Diana/Artemis, Ephesus’ cherished goddess.

Th e city was renowned not only for its cult worship and shrines

but also for its entertainment. It boasted one of the ancient world’s

largest amphitheaters reputed to hold somewhere between 25,000

and 50,000 spectators. Th e Ephesians took great pride in their

city, their Olympic-style games, their patron deity, and all things

Ephesian.

Th e gospel’s introduction to this vast and proud city was an unusual

one. It involved the infl uence of an enigmatic fi gure from the early

days of Jesus’ ministry: John the Baptist. It is only in Ephesus

(see Acts 19) that the disciples of John the Baptist are explicitly

mentioned after the ascension of Christ. During Paul’s fi rst stay1 at

Ephesus, he encountered several of John’s disciples who appeared

ignorant about the salvifi c events which transpired after John’s

beheading, and especially about the outpouring of God’s Spirit on

the day of Pentecost.

No Higher Calling  Book excerpt 2

1. The Content

“. . . repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus” (vs. 21).

Simply put, in his preaching, Paul prioritized the essence of the

gospel of Jesus Christ. He called upon his hearers to not hear in

vain but to acknowledge their sin by their repentance toward God

and obtain forgiveness by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every sermon, every gospel conversation, and every opportunity

for the name of Jesus to be named must be seized as an occasion

to proclaim, “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” Any

sermon that comes short of explicitly making plain the sinners’

duty in abandoning self and receiving Christ, is treasonous.

Considered by many to be the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon

had strong words for preachers and ministers who failed to

fill their sermons with Christ and his gospel.

The best sermons are the sermons that are full of Christ. A sermon

without Christ is an awful, horrible thing. It is an empty well; it is

a cloud without rain; it is a tree twice dead, plucked by the roots.
It is an abominable thing to give men stones for bread, and scorpions

for eggs, and yet they do so who preach not Jesus. A sermon

without Christ! As well talk of a loaf of bread without any flour in

1. How can it feed the soul? Men die and perish because Christ is

not there, and yet his glorious gospel is the easiest thing to preach,

and the sweetest thing to preach; there is most variety in it, there

is more attractiveness in it than in all the world besides.”18

There is cause for mourning the great departure from these fundamentals

in our own day. The devil achieves his greatest victory

over churches and ministers when there is a neglect of the pure

principles of preaching, “Christ and him crucified” (cf. 1 Corinthians

2:2). Sadly, what often prevails in the place of Pauline preaching

is speculative unending toying with the latest fads, novelties, and

fashions.