“WHAT DO YOU DO IF THE SAINT AIN’T?”

Ephesians 4.12

I am a Baptist preacher. I came to Jesus Christ, by faith, on March 31, 1974, as near as I can reckon. But when I was saved, I was not affiliated or inclined to attend any particular Church. I didn’t even think of going to Church when I was saved. I went to a Bible study at work. As a result of attending the Bible study at work, I began attending services at the Shekinah Fellowship in Long Beach. So, my first introduction to Christians was at a Bible study taught by Pentecostal coworkers. And my first introduction to public worship (if it be called that) after I was saved was at a Charismatic healing service on Saturday nights in Long Beach.

It was only later, after my personal reading of God’s Word began to cause me to wonder if my Pentecostal and Charismatic friends were reading the same Book, that I was invited to and then attended a Baptist Church. I was baptized at that Baptist Church and became a member of it. But I gradually became a Baptist by conviction over time.

So, please recognize that with me, the cart has never come before the horse. I do not believe what I believe because I am a Baptist and, therefore, am inclined to hold to historic Baptist positions. I believe what I believe because I believe the Bible teaches what I believe, and discovered only later that what the Bible teaches happens to be what Baptists have historically believed.[1]

That said, let me restate a couple of things I have come to learn from my personal study of God’s Word, and that I have preached to you time and time again: First, I have come to learn from my studies that during this era in which we live, God’s work done God’s way will be done through local congregations, Churches just like this one. The notion of Christianity at large, freelance Christianity, I call it, is simply not Scriptural, and evidence of Christians living out their Christian lives apart from local Churches is not found in the Bible.

Second, this local Church and other congregations like ours belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. He died for the Church, and He has a special and unique role for the Church in every believer’s life. The Church, unlike any organization or ministry founded by man, is the Savior’s institution of higher learning. This is the place where His people gather to be trained to live for Him and serve Him.

From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we know that God is to be glorified in the Church by Jesus Christ, now and forever (Ephesians 3.21). But what has the Savior done to ensure that God the Father is glorified in the Churches? He has given gifts to these Churches. We have learned from the apostle that these gifts are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers.

How do we know the Lord Jesus Christ gave these gifts to Churches? Simple. God’s plan calls for a Christian to live in connection with his Church. A Christian’s rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ will be based mainly on service to Christ through his Church.[2] And there is nothing else in existence that Christ could give such gifts to, once you set aside the preposterous notion that Christianity is supposed to be an unstructured and undisciplined anarchy.[3]

The four kinds of gifted men were given. Gifted men were not assigned to minister to Christianity at large or to the unaffiliated. Gifted men were given to entities, specifically congregations. But why? What are they to do? What is their function? That, my friends, is what our text for today tells us. Please turn to Ephesians 4.8-12, and then stand for the reading of God’s Word:

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Three consequences in verse 12 are supposed to result from the Lord Jesus Christ giving gifted men to entities, congregations, which is to say, Churches. Let us examine those three consequences that are supposed to happen and see how they relate to each other.

Verse 12 begins, “For the perfecting of the saints.” This is the first supposed consequence. Gifted men have been given to congregations by the Lord Jesus to “perfect” the saints. This is an interesting word best explained by illustration: The shipbuilders of those days would construct a boat out of the water, much as we do today, but on a much smaller scale, of course.

Upon completion of the boat’s construction, it would then be lowered into the water. Once in the water and tied up to a dock, a crew of men would board the boat and rig it for sailing by erecting the mast, hanging the sails, mounting the rudder and the tiller, and such things as that. Those things, done by a separate crew after the boat had been built and launched into the water, were described using the same Greek word we find in this verse, translated as “perfecting,” the term being katartίsmos.[4] If you liken salvation to the construction and launching of a boat, then the pastors are responsible for rigging the ship for navigation through the storm-tossed seas of life.

My assignment is not to construct you to bring you into existence. My job is not to launch you onto the waters of your new life in Christ. My job is to do work in your Christian life so that you will be prepared to navigate the prevailing headwinds that are sure to come into every believer’s life.

The verse continues, “For the work of the ministry.” This is a tough phrase to interpret correctly. The preposition translated “for” at the beginning of this phrase, eἰs, is not the same Greek preposition that is translated “for” in the preceding phrase, prόs. Two different prepositions are translated in these two phrases using the English word “for.”

What that means is this: There is a powerful argument to make for the phrase “for the work of the ministry” being an equivalent statement to “for the perfecting of the saints.” That would mean we have two phrases describing the same essential thing. If that is the case, then the work of the ministry is really what only the gifted men do.

This does not mean that Christians in the Churches who are not gifted men don’t serve God. We know this because of Ephesians 2.10 and 4.7:

2.10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

4.7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

But it does mean that Scripture teaches that the particular kind of ministry that the gifted men in Churches are assigned is markedly different from others, and those men who are not special gifts to the Church should not try to serve in the same way as gifted men. It is inappropriate to take upon yourself what you have not been called to and equipped for.

This interpretation bears some scrutiny because most Christians these days think little of the call of God to the ministry and the enabling of God for the ministry. It also deserves scrutiny when James 3.1 comes to mind, which is a warning:

“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”

The word “master” translates the Greek word for teacher, and I am persuaded that it is used about the ministry of a pastor-teacher. Does this mean that I and only I should teach the Word of God at Calvary Road Baptist Church? That is not where this passage leads.

This passage suggests that only gifted men should engage in pastoral ministry at Calvary Road Baptist Church. That would be me until it becomes evident that another gifted man is mature enough to labor with me in this endeavor, and I am convinced God is persuading you about it at present.

What happens when a gifted man, or when gifted men, in a Church “perfect the saints” and do the “work of the ministry”? When such things are properly done, though flawed and fallible men always do them, we will see this result: “for the edifying of the body of Christ,” the body of Christ, of course, being the local congregation. “Edifying” refers to being built up, being built up spiritually, and being built up numerically.

So, it is evident to anyone with the eyes to see that the Lord Jesus Christ’s plan for glorifying God the Father in the Church is directly related to the ministry pastors have in the lives of saved people in the Church. In other words, the Savior has seen fit to glorify the Father by sending men like me to congregations like this to work in the lives of people like you.

The result will be as follows: You will grow spiritually and serve God. The Church will grow numerically as lost folks are reached and brought in. God will be glorified. But what happens if there is a breakdown in this prescribed sequence? What happens if there ain’t a saint? What happens if the saint stays home on Sunday or Wednesday nights or doesn’t get up in time to attend Church?

What happens if the saint refuses involvement in a pastor-led discipleship program, but the women in the congregation go for Women’s Bible Fellowship, and guys get into some Lone Ranger program without accountability to the gifted men or leadership input from the gifted men? Do any of these breakdowns affect the Savior’s effort to glorify God? They certainly do.

Let us each do our part to glorify God. I commit myself to you to do my job and fulfill my role. Will you commit yourself to do your job and fulfill your role: to come to the services, gather for special meetings and events, yield to ongoing discipleship under my leadership, and let me equip you to serve God? I pray that you will. This message is titled, “What Do You Do If The Saint Ain’t?”

Imagine this scene: I am an outfitter who lived on the Mediterranean’s shore about 1900 years ago. The shipbuilder I work for occasionally has left a word with my wife that he’s just finished building a new boat and wants me to come over and do my thing. And what do I do? As an outfitter, I am the guy who hangs the rudder, mounts the mast, hangs the sails, and runs all the ropes. I am not responsible for making the boat float, but I am responsible for making the boat navigable.

So, I grab a bite to eat and something to drink, assemble my crew, and head over to the docks. Being just a few minutes from my house, I get there in time to say “Hi” to the ship builder and the owner, who is a very wealthy man that I’ve met before. After half an hour or so, they knock out the props from under the boat, and it slides down the wooden ramp it was built on and into the water.

But something weird happens. Something strange. Something very unusual. Instead of floating, the boat slides down the wooden ramp and into the water, and, pulled down by the ballast rocks in the keel, the ship sinks. It didn’t have to sink. It shouldn’t have sunk. But it did sink, because one of the shipbuilder’s guys forgot to caulk the boat and make the hull watertight. So, it sank.

Nevertheless, even though the result of the shipbuilder’s labors for the past three months is at the bottom of the harbor, and even though the owner’s new pride and joy doesn’t float at all, they both turn to me and say, “Well, get to it. By the week’s end, we’ll expect the mast, rudder, sails, and rigging in place. This ship needs to be ready to sail by the new moon.” And they turn and walk away.

Can you imagine such a thing as that? Of course, not. In shipbuilding, such a thing as that would never happen. And why not? Because no one in their right mind could ever hope to think that you could successfully “perfect” a sailing vessel that wasn’t floating and seaworthy. After all, what good does it do to put the mast on a boat, or to put a rudder and sails on a ship that doesn’t float?

But do you realize that the same kind of thing, which we could never imagine with a literal boat, is always attempted with people? In my text for today, I have already described that “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry” is much like outfitting a boat for the high seas. But what happens when attempts are made to mount the mast, mount the rudder, and hang the sails and the controlling ropes, but the ship can still never sail?

In like manner, there are Church members and professing Christians who are exposed to the ministry of gifted men and sit under the ministries of pastors for considerable periods of time. The pastor toils and labors and prays, but that individual never seems to be equipped for service. That person always seems to be either a no-show, a no-go, or a no-show, no-go.

That person never seems to become a net asset to any Church ministry but seemingly forever remains a net liability. They devote themselves to Bible teaching, exhortation, visitation, prayers, and everything the pastor offers, but never become dependable, effective, productive, giving, and fruitful Church members.

Want to know what the problem is? Look at the word “saint” in Ephesians 4.12. Gifted men can only “perfect” people who are “saints.” As it does no good to “perfect” boats that do not boat (which is to say, do not float), so it does no good to “perfect” people who are not “saints.” To put it another way, pastors cannot “perfect” for the work of the ministry those who are not “saints,” those who are not saved.

Let me describe why a gifted man, a pastor, and I cannot prepare for service, cannot effectively involve in the Church’s ministry, someone who is unsaved, someone who is not a saint.

First, BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY

In connection with God’s holy nature, three things are clearly seen in Scripture:

First, the declaration of God’s holiness is seen. Make no mistake about it, God is holy. Holiness is not merely something God does; it’s something God is. Holiness is the very essence of His being.

In Leviticus 20.26, the LORD God of Israel declares, “I the LORD am”
In Joshua 24.19, Joshua declares to the people, “He is an holy God.”
In First Samuel 2.2, Hannah cries out to heaven, “There is none holy as the LORD.”
In Second Kings 19.22, the great prophet Isaiah describes Him as “the holy One of Israel.”
In the 22nd Psalm, verse 3, the sweet psalmist of Israel, sings out to God, “thou art”
And in Isaiah 6.3, the angels in heaven cry out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts.”

So, God Himself declares that He is holy. It is the very essence of His being. God’s people recognize that He is holy. The angels in heaven trumpet this to each other. Scores of other passages, in the Old and New Testaments, declare the holiness of Almighty God.

But holiness is something rather difficult to understand, to wrap our minds around. So, let’s examine several of the illustrations of God’s holiness. These are not instances where God is said to be holy, but where God is shown to be holy. Because God is holy, Moses was commanded to remove his shoes as he approached the bush that burned with fire, from which God spoke to him, Exodus 3.5. Because God is holy, the children of Israel were forbidden to ascend or to touch any part of Mount Sinai, under penalty of death, Exodus 19.12. Because God is holy, the high priest of Israel was allowed to enter the holy of holies, wherein the glory of God dwelt between the cherubim above the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the covenant, only once each year, and that under the cover of a thick cloud of smoke. Because God is holy, Moses, in Deuteronomy 4.24, warned the Israelites by telling them that

“the Lord thy God is a consuming fire.”

Because God is holy, Moses, in Deuteronomy 9.3, comforted the Israelites by telling them that as they entered the Promised Land, God would go before them

“as a consuming fire.”

And finally, because God is holy, the writer of Hebrews declared, in Hebrews 12.29, that

“our God is a consuming fire.”

And friends, that’s in both the Old and New Testaments. If you think there is any inconsistency between the holiness of God and Christian love, listen to the next verse in Hebrews. After it declares,

“For our God is a consuming fire,”

it urges,

“Let brotherly love continue.”

Please make no mistake about it. God is holy. And His holiness is described in these and other passages of Scripture to illustrate to us, to all who have ears to hear and eyes to see, what is written in God’s holy Word, that God is pure and clean and free from the taint of any sin or moral defilement. Yea, He abhors defilement and uncleanness.

So, what about the result of God’s holiness? Because holiness is what God is, it is one of the determining factors in what God does. And we see how this is true with another attribute. The Bible declares that God is love. And how does love move God?

“For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son ....”

Well, God is also holy. And because God is holy, He moves to demonstrate His holiness, just as His love causes Him to move to show forth His love. And how does God manifest His holiness? Suppose you recognize holiness as moral purity and freedom from defilement and uncleanness. In that case, it is easy to see that what follows holiness is the powerful desire to cleanse that which is dirty, to punish that which is criminal, to correct that which is wrong, to purify that which is contaminated, and to glorify that which is holy. That is why God created the lake of fire for the devil and his sinful angels, Matthew 25.41. That is why sinners cannot be allowed into heaven, leaving only the lake of fire as the alternate place for you to spend all eternity. Because God is holy, He will cleanse His creation with the fire of judgment.

Next, YOU ARE UNHOLY

How did you come to be unholy? You came to be unholy precisely like every other person born of woman came to be unholy. In Job 25.4, the question is asked,

“How can he be clean that is born of woman?”

Here is the issue: With an unholy father and an unholy mother, how can a child born of such a union possibly be holy?

“... Yea, the stars are not pure in His sight.

How much less man, that is a worm?”

Job 25.5-6. So, your unholiness has been inherited from your parents. That is how you came to be how you are.

What is the result of you being unholy? The result of you being unholy is this: You will not go to heaven when you die. Instead, you will go to Hell, for at least one thousand years, you will be judged for the kind of life you lived on earth, and, finally, you will spend all eternity in the lake of fire. Something or someone is either holy or unholy. It’s a black or white moral issue. There are no degrees of holiness or unholiness with God. So, when God says repeatedly in the Bible, “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” He does not mean, “Try to do better.” He means, “You’d better find a way to get holy, or else.” A person is unholy if he or she is not morally perfect. If there is any spiritual blemish, any taint of sin, any history of wrongdoing or even error, then there is no holiness. With this understanding, it is undeniable that you are unholy. You cannot deny that you are unholy. That understood, listen to the fate of all who are unholy, Matthew 25.46:

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Finally, YOU MUST BE CLEANSED

Since unholiness is moral defilement, contamination, and spiritual dirtiness, the remedy for unholiness is cleansing. The only way that unholy can be made holy is by cleaning it. And the only way that an unholy person, whose entrance to heaven is barred, whose access to a holy God is prohibited, can be made holy, is by cleansing away that which makes him unholy and unclean. And what makes an unholy person unholy? Your sinful nature and the sins that you commit.

But there is a problem. Job 14.4 states the dilemma that unholy people have faced for centuries: “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.” Therefore, if you are unholy, nothing you can do will remedy your unholiness. And neither can any mere man help you, since all men are unholy, as well. You cannot turn to God the Father. He is a consuming fire and is unapproachable by unholy men. Your deliverance can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ.

And deliverance is accomplished by the blood of Jesus Christ. Are you unholy? The Bible declares that you are. Your actions show that you are. Then you must be cleansed. And as First John 1.7 states so clearly,

“the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

As the old Gospel hymn goes, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” You are sinful. Your sin makes you unholy in the sight of God, Who is holy. And the cleansing you must experience before you can approach God, the cleansing you must experience to go to heaven, the cleansing you must experience to escape the wrath of God, Who is holy, only comes by the blood of the Lamb. Because, you see, as Hebrews 9.22 tells us, “without shedding of blood is no remission.” Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ washes away sins. Nothing else will do. But how do you benefit from the shedding of Christ’s blood? Sure, He died and shed His blood to wash away sins, but how are your sins washed away? What must you do to be saved?

Through faith in Jesus Christ. He will wash your sins away in His blood and make you holy. How can we be sure? When the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” in Acts 16.30, they answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,” in Acts 16.31. And how does the Apostle Paul address this man and those who were later saved in precisely the same way, who comprised the Church at Philippi? Paul wrote in Philippians 1.1,

“To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi.”

Those Christians were all saints. All of them.

Have you sat under the ministry of a gifted man for quite a while without discernible results? Are you dead in the water spiritually? Am I attempting to rig a ship that isn’t even floating? No gifted man can perfect you for the work of the ministry unless and until you are a saint. Why? Because God is holy. You are unholy, which means you are not a saint because the word saint means holy. And because you need to be cleansed.

Once you are cleansed, once you are saved, once you trust Jesus Christ to save you by washing away your sins in His precious blood, once you become a saint, a gifted man can then do what we do for you and to you in the Church. But not until then.

Do not try to approach God. He is holy. You are unholy. But He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. You can come to Him by faith. He will save you. He will make you a saint. And then all will be well with your soul, and your life of humble obedience to God’s plan for equipping you can proceed.

If you do not come to Jesus Christ by faith, the Bible way, and if you die in your sins, if you die unholy in the sight of God, you will suffer the torment of the damned. You will be punished by a holy God, forever in the lake of fire.

You can be saved. I want you to be saved. Indeed, God wants you to be saved. But do you want to be saved? We’ll see.

__________

[1] I published a book on the subject in 2019, John S. Waldrip, The Church of Jesus Christ: 28 Truths Every Christian Ought To Learn, (Monrovia, CA: Classical Baptist Press, 2019), that is available on request.

[2] 1 Corinthians 3.9-15

[3] 1 Corinthians 14.33

[4] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), page 526.

What Do You Do If The Saint Ain't?