Juan Sanchez said Paul David Tripp’s book “Dangerous Calling” warns of the traps and dangers that await pastors in the ministry.
But there’s a “sad irony” about the book, he said.
On the back cover, three of the endorsers were pastors who have since “disqualified themselves from ministry — one due to authoritarian leadership, one committed adultery and one very publicly deconstructed his faith,” he said.
Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, said these are the kind of dangers that the Apostle Paul is warning Timothy about in 2 Timothy 3:1–9. Sanchez told those in attendance at the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference on June 9 in Dallas that there’s an underlying theme running through the book of 2 Timothy of two types of vessels in God’s house — honorable vessels and dishonorable vessels.
“The impetus of this letter is to encourage Timothy to stay faithful … preach the Word, don’t be ashamed and endure suffering,” Sanchez said. “At the end of his life, Paul is concerned that Timothy might be convinced by these false apostles and false teachers.”
Paul warns in this passage that such people are already within the church, Sanchez said. “Brother pastors, this is a warning to all of us … that we must have our radar up.”
He said there are two things pastors need to do when it comes to ungodly people in the church who oppose the truth.
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First, identify them.
How do we identify such men? Sanchez said Paul gives two criteria by which pastors are to identify them — observe their anti-Christ character and observe their anti-shepherding conduct.
“The purpose of the ministry of the Word is to conform us to the image of Christ, building up one another until we look more and more like Jesus,” Sanchez said. “These men reflect the very opposite of Christ.”
In some cases, it may be that a man was elevated to leadership before there was time to test his character, he said.
One of the telltale characteristics is a distorted love, Sanchez said. “Christ was not a lover of self, Christ was a lover of others. What we learn there is that the definition of love is self-giving. He gave Himself for others whether or not they deserved it and whether or not they return it.”
Ungodly men in the church love themselves and don’t love God, he said, noting that looking for things like this can help pastors identify the “dishonorable vessels” in their church.
Second, avoid them.
Sanchez gave five exhortations for how to avoid these men who are putting the church in danger.
- Don’t be such a person.
One reason Paul wrote to Timothy is so he wouldn’t become like them, Sanchez said. “Men, don’t be people who are anti-Christ and anti-shepherd.”
- Ground the church in sound doctrine.
Sanchez said every church should be seeing an Ephesians 4 culture where church members are spiritually equipped to discern when there are ungodly influences among them.
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It’s a “culture of discipleship where everyone is speaking the Word to one another,” he said. “When that doesn’t happen, our people will be swayed by every kind of doctrine.”
He said it’s possible some pastors may need to “move beyond the milk of the Word and learn to teach the meat of the Word.”
“We have to teach our people to be discerning, and the only way to do that is to ground them in the Word,” Sanchez said. “Preach the whole counsel of God, the Old Testament and the New Testament and teach them to read the Bible for themselves.”
- Recognize only faithful men for pastoral leadership.
“Have clear standards,” Sanchez said. “Don’t rush this process. Have your radar up and observe their character.”
He recommended that pastors pray for God to raise up faithful men who are able to teach others.
“How are they caring for the church? Are they discipling other believers? Are they involved with people who aren’t like them? Observation over a period of time — that’s what establishes credibility,” he said.
- Remove ungodly men from church leadership and teaching.
Sanchez urged pastors to act with urgency and boldness when an ungodly person is identified.
“Begin with personal corrective conversations — try to shepherd that person, be patient and endure evil,” he said.
From there, follow processes to remove the person, he said. “As the pastors go, so go the church members, so we have to act with urgency and with boldness.”
- Rest assured that judgment is certain.
In verses 8–9, Paul refers to the two men who opposed Moses, but says they won’t get very far. Ultimately, they and their teaching will be exposed.
“When we ground the church of Jesus Christ in the goodness of the Word of God, this folly will become evident every quickly,” Sanchez said.
That’s why it’s so important to equip the saints, he said. “Brother pastors, do you have your radar up? Have you taught your church members how to have their radar up with the Word of God? We do this not out of fear or pride but out of love, love for Christ and love for His sheep.”
For more information about the SBC Pastors Conference, visit sbcpc.net. To see Sanchez’s sermon and others from the conference, visit sbcannualmeeting.net.
