Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Grace in Focus Articles
→
Grace in Ministry (Galatians 6:13-14)

Grace in Ministry (Galatians 6:13-14)

January 1, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Grace in Focus Articles

By Shawn Lazar

Paul’s letter to the Galatians contrasts law-religion and grace-religion. The contrast applies not only to how you are justified before God, but also to how you live the Christian life.

One of the differences between law-religion and grace-religion shows itself in the pressures to have a “successful” ministry.

What usually counts as a successful ministry?

Numbers.

Numbers of people.

Numbers of dollars.

The bigger the church, the more successful it is. The richer the church, the more blessed it is. That’s how it is, isn’t it?

If a church has empty pews and can’t meet its bills, it’s either considered a failure or failing. We call them dying churches. And no one likes a dying anything. We’re uncomfortable with death. We want life! Success! Some appreciation and admiration!

The legalists in Galatia had the same approach to ministry:

For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh (Gal 6:13).

Apparently, the legalists were interested in numbers, not sincerity. They boasted in how many men they circumcised. The more “converts” they could get, the better they looked! But these conversions were just as shallow as the legalists’ own religion. The legalists wanted to mark men with the sign of law-keeping (i.e., circumcision), but even the legalists themselves didn’t follow the law. And apparently, they didn’t care! All they cared about were the numbers.

How many Christian ministries get trapped in the same numbers-based quest?

I heard one missionary to Asia claim to have led a million people to Christ in a single year.

Really?

Where did he get that number?

Were hands counted? Forms filled out? Are those Biblical ways of knowing if your ministry is successful? And what is the motivation behind making that boast—to raise more money from gullible donors?

That’s law-thinking. And it leads to hypocrisy or burn-out. Hypocrisy, because you end up inflating numbers without having any idea of the real spiritual impact of your work. Or burn-out when you take those numbers as the standard of success, and then relentlessly get condemned (and also condemn yourself) for not living up to them.

Of course, there are economic realities to doing ministry. Paul himself taught about grace-giving (Gal 6:6). But economics is not the measure of success.

What does success look like in grace-based ministry?

A solid Free Grace missionary to the Caribbean once told me he was happy if he led two people to faith in Christ per year.

That seems right to me.

There are no numbers to boast about there. But maybe we shouldn’t be boasting in numbers in the first place. But if not that, then what?

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal 6:14).

Paul didn’t boast in numbers but in the cross. He boasted about God’s gracious provision of salvation for the world. He boasted in Jesus’ sacrificial love. That’s the only thing worth boasting about!

That’s especially true when you think about what was happening in Galatia.

I suppose that at the beginning of his ministry to them, Paul could have boasted about all the churches he planted and all the people he had led to faith. He could have gone back to his supporters with lots of amazing testimonies to raise more money to support Gentile missions.

But look at the Galatians now. They started well, but then quickly began deserting Christ and falling from grace! Not much to boast about then, was there?

You can’t boast in numbers because you have no idea what people are going to do long-term. Will they continue to believe, or will they fall away? Will they continue onto spiritual maturity or rebellious carnality? Will they follow Christ or shame Him?

There’s no telling.

Hence, there should be no boasting.

Grace-based ministry leaves that thinking behind.

In grace-based ministry, all you can do is boast in the cross and die to the world’s standards of what is or isn’t a successful ministry. And when you do that, you’ll trade in pressure for peace.

____________________
Shawn Lazar is the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine. He is married to Abby, and they have three children. He is the pastor of Gateway Baptist’s Faith Fellowship in Denton, TX (www.faithfellowshipdenton.org).

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

Cart

Recently Added

June 9, 2023

Do Christians Get Crowns? Do Some Christians Really Get More Rewards Than Others? Is This What Peter Means to Say?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Steve Elkins are answering a question from a listener about possible different levels of Christians...
June 9, 2023

Is Seventh-Day Adventism (SDA) a Cult? 

A friend at the conference said he was surprised to see that Dallas Theological Seminary had published an article by an SDA pastor in the...
June 8, 2023

How Can I Possibly Maintain Fellowship With God if My Sinning Breaks That Fellowship?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Steve Elkins are responding to a question about intrusive thoughts, false guilt, sin, and what...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • A Gospel of Doubt: The Legacy of John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus $22.00 $11.00
  • Romans: Deliverance from Wrath $24.99 $15.00
  • The Gospel Under Siege: Faith and Works in Tension $16.00 $10.00
  • The Epistle of James $15.00 $10.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube