We live in a time of unprecedented access to information. If we have a question about anything, we can find answers in seconds. We now even get an AI summary of our search results to relieve us of the tedious process of clicking the links ourselves.

When it comes to teaching about God, the Bible, and Christian living, you can find millions of articles, videos, books, and podcasts to learn from. Yet, in our age of tremendous access to Christian teaching, we face at least two serious dangers:

• False teaching pervades many online resources. From TBN to TikTok, men and women peddling a false gospel seek our attention. Thus, one of the greatest needs in the church today is biblical wisdom and discernment about who we listen to and follow as spiritual leaders in our lives.
• The online teaching we listen to is usually disconnected from real relationships. It is a blessing to learn from faithful pastors and teachers from the past and present through books and articles and sermon clips on YouTube. I am so thankful for the influence of faithful servants of Christ, dead and alive, in my own life!

Yet, these were never intended to be the only or the main diet of the Christian. The Christian life is meant to be lived in the context of relationships, in the context of a local church, where we can be formed in Christ through the ministry of men and women we know and love.

To help us combat these dangers, we should pay attention to Paul’s words in Galatians 4:12–20. In this passage, Paul contrasts his ministry with the ministry of the false teachers who were making inroads into the churches of Galatia. His words help us recognize what faithful gospel ministry looks like.

Marks of a Faithful Gospel Ministry

1. Faithful servants of Christ preach the true gospel no matter what.

Paul had come to these churches and preached the gospel to them (Gal 4:13). He proclaimed to them as we read in Acts 13:38–39: “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man [Jesus] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”

Paul declared to them that salvation has come to the Gentiles, to the ends of the earth, for all who believe in Jesus.

Now, Paul continues to speak the truth to them and wonders if that makes him their enemy (4:16). But no matter how the Galatians respond, Paul preaches the good news of Jesus. He speaks the truth to them.

We shouldn’t take this for granted: faithful gospel ministry gets the gospel right. That is foundational. True servants of Jesus never deviate from the truth of the gospel. No matter what, they declare Christ and him crucified.

The chief calling of gospel ministry is not to make people better citizens or parents or spouses. That can be a result of the gospel. But it is not the gospel. The calling of gospel ministry is preaching the good news of Jesus so that men, women, and children would believe and have hope in Jesus for eternal life.

Faithful messengers of Jesus get the message right.

2. Faithful servants of Christ set an example in gospel-living.

Paul pleads with the Galatians to become as he is, to follow his example (Gal 4:12). Paul didn’t just preach the gospel. The gospel changed the way he lived. He lived in a way that was consistent with the gospel, and he calls others to follow his example as he follows Christ.

Those who seek to serve Jesus and his people should be example-setters in gospel-living. Faithful gospel ministry not only gets the gospel right, but it also lives in a way that is consistent with the gospel. Legalism is put to death. Christlike holiness is pursued. Love characterizes life and ministry.

We hear of many pastors and church leaders who end up failing in ministry, not because they get the gospel wrong, but because they live inconsistently with the gospel. They may be genuine believers in Jesus who have fallen into sin, but they are clearly unfaithful servants, who we can no longer trust or follow. They get the gospel right in their teaching but wrong in their lives.

3. Faithful servants of Christ willingly endure weakness and suffering for the gospel.

Paul was no stranger to suffering as a servant of Jesus. Yet, his suffering and weakness did not deter him from faithfully preaching the gospel. Paul suffered illness, pain, weakness, and persecution for the cause of the gospel.

Paul’s physical weakness did not weaken his ministry. His weakness did not rob the gospel of its power. We need to get rid of this idea that physical weakness, suffering, illness, and persecution are hindrances to gospel ministry. It is often the opposite. Our weakness can be the very channel that God uses to display the power of his gospel.

We tend to follow the strong, those who seem powerful and popular and attractive to us. Those who are most popular online and on social media are usually those who hone the craft of appearing healthy and strong and attractive.

Yet, those things are far from the key to faithful or successful gospel ministry. Often, God’s power is displayed in our weakness. Because then it is obvious that the power is not in us but in him. True servants of Jesus know they are jars of clay (2 Cor 4:7–10). It’s not about our appearance or brand but what’s inside our ministry. It’s about the treasure of the gospel. It’s all about Jesus and his glory that shines through us even in our weakness.

Faithful gospel ministry is usually marked by suffering. True servants of Jesus recognize that they are weak. It’s not about looking powerful. It’s about displaying the power of Jesus, even in and through our weakness. 

4. Faithful servants of Christ work hard for the growth of believers in Christ.

Notice Paul’s heart for the Galatians: he calls them “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal 4:19).

Paul loves these believers. They are his brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are his little children. He pleads with them because he cares so deeply for their souls.

He feels like he is experiencing birth pains again for his children. He preached Christ to them and saw them born again. He endured toil and pain to give birth to them as a kind of spiritual mother. He is again suffering those pains. They are drifting away from Jesus, and he again is suffering and in anguish so that they might hold fast to Jesus.

Paul uses a striking image here. First, he describes himself as enduring the birth pains, but now he refers to Christ being formed like an embryo in the Galatian’s womb! They are listening to false teachers, and thus, they are in danger of miscarrying and losing Christ and the gospel.

But Paul suffers the birth pains so that the Galatians might give birth to a fully formed Christ in their lives.

That’s a bit of a jarring image. Paul uses it to wake up the Galatians to see what is happening. He wants Christ to be fully formed in their lives. He wants them to return to Christ and see Christ reproduced in their lives. In other words, he will not be content until they are grown up in Christ. He longs to see them grow in their faith, lest they fall away and be lost.

This is the heart and goal of all true gospel ministry—that people would experience the new birth and would grow up in Christ. True servants of Jesus labor to see their people grown up in Jesus. They will do whatever it takes to see them following Jesus to their dying day.

Growth in Jesus is not an optional extra in the Christian life. Gospel ministry is always seeking growth. But it is not about growth in numbers or programs or buildings. It’s about the growth of people in Jesus.

We are not content merely with decisions for Jesus. We labor for lifelong faith and growth in Jesus! That’s the heart of every faithful pastor, elder, and ministry leader.

The heart of a faithful servant of Christ often bleeds for his people. He will not be content until Christ is formed in them. He will take comfort in nothing else but their growth in Jesus. He fears and is at a loss for his people as long as they drift from the gospel.

He does the only thing he can: he preaches Christ until Christ is formed in them.

That’s the heart of faithful gospel ministry. It is a heart of deep love and concern for the souls of people. It is a heart that will not stop sweating and bleeding until Christ is formed in people.

*This post is based on a portion of a sermon I preached in May on Galatians 4:12-20.