Ask the Pastor with J.D. Greear

In this week’s episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, we listen in to a recent sermon where Pastor J.D. answers a question about how we know where the Holy Spirit is leading us. Show Notes: In Romans 15, Paul gives us a great example of what it looks like to be led by the Holy Spirit. As we look at that text, we discover that all of us have a part to play in the kingdom of God. All of us are called to ministry. The call to leverage your life for the Great Commission was included in the call to follow Jesus. Jesus’ last words to his disciples were, “GO and make disciples.” A lot of Christians are waiting on a still, small voice when they already have a very clear verse. Not everything that comes from Heaven has your name on it. The Spirit of God does reveal to us in dynamic and sometimes mystical ways exactly what your part to play in the kingdom of God is. Three ways to find out what your calling is: Through prayer Through engagement in ministry Through involvement in the local church Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this week’s episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. answers a question from a listener about how important it is that someone’s doctrine be correct, and whether it’s worth confronting friends or family about. Show Notes: We’ve talked before about separating out doctrinal issues by order of importance, but I want to hone in on that to answer this question.  An Australian theologian named Michael Bird identified three levels of beliefs in the church—I’ve found this really helpful:  Category (1) Matters essential for salvation. (think: the doctrine of Christ, the way of salvation) Category (2) Matters that are important to the faith and the integrity of the church. Though not necessarily essential for salvation like category 1 issues (think: inerrancy of the Bible; our understanding of sexual morality and gender and marriage, which are very serious issues.) Categories 1 and 2 are things Paul would tell us to divide over. (By the way, what to believe about items in these 2 categories are almost always spelled out clearly in Scripture) Category (3) Matters of indifference. These are debatable things, preferences, convictions about the best application of Christian principles, and political philosophies. We’re not saying there is no right and wrong in this category, just the importance of agreement in these things does not rise to a category 1 or 2 level. Paul refers to this as “disputed matters.” So to your question about when to approach someone on these issues, I think it’s always fair to have discussion about theological differences. This can help you catch onto the other person’s point of view while explaining yours. But I definitely think it’s important to talk about first-order issues with friends and family who claim to be believers. In fact, that’s the most loving thing you could do. Because while it feels good to claim to be a Christian and to not have to believe any of the hard teachings, that’s a false sense of security and it is out of a place of love. And that gets to the how question: you should always do this out of a place of love for the other person, you should always do it respectfully, you should always let them present their point of view… but you should also be clear about what Scripture says. Pastor J.D. referenced an article by Justin Taylor, linked HERE. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this week’s episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. answers the question, “Should I get married or not?” Show Notes: The first consideration for “Should I get married?” is… Do I have the gift? First, realize that most people have a wrong conception of spiritual gifts–they assume that a spiritual gift is some kind of lifelong assignment that God stamps you with when you leave heaven, like a personality trait. Spiritual gifts don’t work like that, and definitely not the gifts of marriage and singleness. I’m going to show you this more when we study 1 Cor 12, but a spiritual gift, a charisma, is a special empowerment that comes on you for a time for some spiritual assignment. ALL of us are single for time, which means all of us, for a time, have the gift of singleness and God will give us the spiritual empowerment to do it well.  You don’t look within and mystically see if you’ve got the gift of singleness. Don’t make it complicated. If you are single, you have the gift of singleness. At least for the moment. How do I know? Because you are single. And God will empower you to do it well. And if you are married, you have the gift of marriage. And you can know that because… you are married. Even if you felt like it was a mistake, you have the gift now, and God will give you the spiritual power to do it well.  The second consideration for “Should I get married?” is… “Is it the right time?” There’s a really interesting verse in this chapter that really confuses people, but when you understand it in context it really makes sense: 26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. He goes on to say, “If you are married, stay married. If you are single, remain single.” And at first, it sounds like Paul is telling single people, “Don’t ever seek to get married.” But that’s not what Paul is saying. Paul says “in view of the present distress” remain as you are. Paul was writing in a particular era of history where persecution against Christians was at a fever pitch. Here’s what it means for you: There can be situations, eras, in your life that make it more advantageous for you to wait. For example: In a season where you’re trying to finish your education or get established in your career. Or maybe God has called you to focus on a mission assignment.  Or maybe you need time to heal from something. During those seasons where it is wise to wait, you can trust God that he’ll give you the spiritual gifting to wait. One of the reasons to be closely involved in the church is that other people can help you see when those times are. When it’s time, don’t wait!  I love what Paul says in vs. 36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. But whatever you do, vs. 37, Paul says, “…be firmly established.” Let me follow Paul’s lead here and talk to the guys, since guys are typically the ones to take initiative in relationships.  Guys: Be firmly established. Are you going to marry her or not? Make up your mind.  And, guys, if you know it’s not time for you to get married, be firmly established and don’t lead her on. Get on with what God is doing in your singleness. Girls, you too—don’t lead the guy on. Dating is a road that leads to marriage, and if you’re not ready for the destination, stay off the road!     Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this week’s episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. talks about whether or not gambling is morally wrong. Show Notes: Gambling can seem harmless. You throw a little bit of money on a sporting event, on a slot machine, or on a lottery ticket… what’s the harm in that? I am going to draw distinction between Las Vegas-type gambling and a $20 office pool. Gambling is at least a $44 billion dollar industry in the US–and that’s just the legal gambling, to say nothing of off-the-books gambling. In fact, as more and more states legalize gambling, it’s getting worse. Some studies say up to 10% (6-9%) of young adults experience problems related to gambling. And gambling has some big moral ramifications.  Three primary problems with it:  First, it goes against the work ethic in Scripture.  Second, the gambling industry intentionally takes advantage of the poor.  Third, gambling is addictive.  Honestly, you need to use your own personal judgment on these. I realize it may sound ultra-spiritual, but this is exactly the kind of issue where the Holy Spirit guides us. What may feel totally right to one believer may feel morally wrong to another. Al Mohler: https://albertmohler.com/2012/02/20/when-the-accounts-are-called-a-christian-understanding-of-gambling  Wayne Grudem, Politics According to the Bible, pp. 550-551  Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this week’s episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. answers a question from a listener named Barbara. She asks what passages and method he uses when he shares the gospel with people. Show Notes: There’s not a set way to share the gospel, and there’s certainly no “magic bullet” formula that’ll work every time. I wish there was! However, there are several helpful tools you can use to help you share the gospel. You don’t have to know how to answer every single question to be able to share with someone. But it does help to have somewhat of a “plan” if you’re not used to doing it. Here are some tools that I find helpful: Romans Road Taste & See (a resource from The Summit Church) The FISH method: (Build) Friendships Initiate spiritual conversations Share the gospel: Romans 6:23 Help them believe Again, none of this offers some kind of secret formula that’ll automatically make someone get saved. But all of these help you package the gospel clearly, and it can be helpful to know what you’re going to say before you say it. And the golden rule of evangelism: Don’t be weird. Just be yourself. Talk about what God has done in your life. Here is a link to The Summit Church’s Taste & See document, a resource he mentioned in the podcast. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This week, Pastor J.D. answers a question about why biblical church discipline is a necessary—and even a loving—thing to do. Show Notes: Four reasons for church discipline from 1 Corinthians 5:1-13: For the sake of the sinning brother (5:5) The hope, the goal, is always that they wake up from their sin; that the pain of being removed from the blessings of the church wakes them up and brings them back to their senses. For the sake of other believers (5:6) The Bible uses the analogy of yeast. Just like a little yeast quickly spreads through the whole lump of dough, a little sin in the community quickly infects everybody. For the sake of Christ (5:7-8) Christ died, Paul says, to get rid of sin. So why would his church tolerate in their midst those things that put him on the cross? For the sake of the outside world (5:9-10) Paul says that these steps are important because we need to give the outside world an accurate picture of Jesus. Most of the world will never read the Bible—they read the lives of Christians. Therefore, we have to present Christ accurately. And here’s a special promise: Jesus promises to be with us, in a special way, if we do this. Look at Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” The context of Jesus’ statement is when you choose to go through the messy process of lovingly trying to restore someone caught up in sin. He wants you to know that he’s with you. When you’re doing the hard work of being family, he says, “I’m there for that. In an unusually powerful way.” Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. talks about whether or not the Bible teaches that men should have long hair. Show Notes: With passages like 1 Cor. 11:14, you can go wrong in one of two ways: You can over-apply it, or you can under-apply it. Here’s another example from 1 Cor. 16:20: “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”  In those days, it was a common way to show friendship. But should we still be doing this today? No, in our culture that would be quite odd. And yet we should not let go of the principle of the verse and we should still greet one another warmly, like family. The same is true for long hair. In that day, long hair for men communicated femininity in a way it does not now. The same concept applies to women wearing head coverings (mentioned in this same chapter). While the cultural practice may not apply to us today, the principle Paul is making in these verses still does. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. talks about the Bible verses that seem to imply you can lose your salvation. Show Notes: There are all kinds of warnings in the Bible about how you must continue on in your faith to be saved. And yet, like we talked about last week, the Bible also clearly teaches that once you’re saved, you’re always saved. So how do these sort of verses square with each other? Do they contradict? Well, no, they don’t. But they do teach you something important about the nature of saving faith: Saving faith endures to the end. So why are “eternally secure” believers given warnings about enduring in the faith? I believe it’s because these warnings are not only to awaken those with false assurance about salvation but also to spur true believers onward in their faith. The Bible clearly teaches that believers cannot lose their salvation. Yet these warnings ought also to be taken at face value: If we fall away, we will not be saved in the end. The only way those two statements can both be true is if a failure to heed them demonstrates that we never possessed that saving faith to begin with. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. answers the question of whether or not you can lose your salvation. Show Notes: At first glance, Hebrews 6 seems to say that not only can you lose your salvation, but once you do, you can never get it back! So what does it mean? This is important: I believe the writer of Hebrews is giving a general, pastoral warning to his congregation rather than attempting to delineate how the processes of regeneration, justification and eternal security work together. So, the warning here is a statement to believers and unbelievers alike about the importance of the gospel. Hopefully, it will rouse unbelievers out of their slumber. To the believer, we know that God will use it to keep his believers tethered closely to the gospel. Warnings like this one are one of God’s means of keeping believers awake to the gospel. If you persevere to the end, that proves you had the salvation you could never lose. If you don’t, it proves you never had that faith to begin with. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode of the Ask Me Anything Podcast, Pastor J.D. answers the question of how to respond to hypocritical Christians. Show Notes: This question is valid. Jesus said he died to create a new breed of people. But so many aren’t any different than the world. So how do you handle that? First, realize hypocrisy is more about being human than it is a particularly Christian thing. Second, hypocrisy doesn’t invalidate the message. Lastly, look at Jesus! The church is supposed to adorn Jesus, and it’s tragic when it fails happens; but when they fail you, look at him. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.