Gospel Today

About Gospel Today

What does the Gospel of Jesus Christ look like in our lives today and how can we effectively share it with others?

Publisher

Caleb Suko

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Feb 2018

Latest episode

24 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

73 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Jul 2026

   Resolved to Learn from Suffering

   Finding Joy in Suffering: What James Teaches the Modern ChurchConsider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. - James 1:2-3 Few passages of Scripture challenge modern Christians as much as these opening words from James. The idea of finding joy in suffering seems almost impossible in a culture that spends enormous amounts of time and energy trying to avoid pain. We naturally seek comfort, security, and relief. Yet James begins his letter by confronting believers with a truth that feels uncomfortable but deeply necessary: trials are not outside of God’s purposes. James does not write to people who are experiencing an easy season of life. He writes to believers who have been scattered and pressured because of their faith. Their circumstances were difficult, uncertain, and painful. But instead of offering them a message of escape, James gives them a new way of seeing their suffering. The Christian life is not a promise that hardship will disappear. It is a promise that God is present in the middle of hardship and is able to use it for our growth. A Culture That Runs from Pain One of the defining characteristics of modern society is the pursuit of comfort. From entertainment and technology to self-improvement and convenience, much of life is built around reducing discomfort and avoiding suffering. While there is nothing wrong with seeking relief from pain, this mindset can shape the way we view God and the Christian life. Many believers have unknowingly adopted the idea that following Jesus should result in a smoother, easier life. When suffering comes, they are left confused, discouraged, or questioning whether God is truly good. But Scripture presents a very different picture. Throughout the Bible, suffering is not portrayed as evidence of God’s absence. Often, it becomes the very place where God reveals His presence most clearly. The Lord does not waste the trials His people endure. He uses them to deepen faith, produce endurance, and make believers more like Christ. Without a biblical understanding of suffering, the church becomes vulnerable to shallow faith. A faith built only around comfort will struggle when life becomes difficult. But a faith rooted in the character of God can remain steady even in seasons of uncertainty. Two Ways of Understanding the Christian Life Throughout church history, faithful believers have understood that suffering plays an important role in spiritual maturity. Jonathan Edwards, the influential 18th-century pastor and theologian, intentionally prepared himself for hardship. In his personal resolutions, he reflected often on eternity, God’s sovereignty, and the purpose of trials. He determined that when difficulties came, he would seek to understand what God was teaching him and how those moments could produce greater faithfulness. Edwards understood that the goal of Christianity was not simply a comfortable life, but a transformed life. This perspective stands in contrast to messages that present Christianity primarily as a path to earthly success, prosperity, or personal fulfillment. Such teachings are attractive because they appeal to our natural desire to avoid suffering. But they leave believers unprepared for the realities that Scripture repeatedly describes. Jesus never promised His followers a life without difficulty. Instead, He promised to remain with them through every difficulty. James’s Message to Suffering Believers James wrote to believers who knew suffering firsthand. The early Christians had experienced persecution and displacement. They were not facing temporary inconveniences but genuine hardship because of their commitment to Christ. Yet James does not begin by explaining how they can escape their circumstances. He begins by showing them how to understand them. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. - James 1:2 James is not saying that pain itself is enjoyable. He is not asking believers to pretend that suffering does not hurt. Instead, he points them toward the greater reality behind their circumstances. Trials have a purpose; they test faith, expose dependence on God, produce endurance, and through that endurance God matures His people. Joy That Exists in the Middle of Suffering The joy James describes is not based on changing circumstances. It is rooted in knowing that God is working even when life feels uncertain. Peter describes this same reality: In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. - 1 Peter 1:6 Notice the connection between grief and rejoicing. Scripture does not deny the reality of suffering. Christians can experience deep sorrow while still having confidence in God’s goodness. This is possible because Christian joy is not simply an emotion produced by favorable circumstances. It is a confidence that comes from seeing Christ as greater than our circumstances. Jesus Himself demonstrated this perfectly. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:2 Jesus endured the suffering of the cross because He looked beyond the pain to the joy that awaited Him. Because Christ endured suffering and overcame it, believers can face their own trials with hope. The Refining Work of Trials James reminds believers that trials are not meaningless. God uses them to strengthen and refine our faith, producing perseverance and spiritual maturity (James 1:3-4). Suffering is not merely something to survive until it passes. Through hardship, God exposes our weaknesses, removes false securities, and teaches us to depend more fully on His grace. Although trials may leave us with unanswered questions, Scripture assures us that God is still working, even when His purposes are not immediately clear. Perseverance requires patience. Spiritual growth rarely happens instantly, but like gold refined through fire, our faith becomes stronger as we learn to trust God in the midst of difficulty. A Hope That Endures The church today does not need a message that promises a life without suffering. It needs the truth that God remains faithful through suffering. A faith that has never been tested may remain shallow, but a faith refined through trials becomes steadfast. As believers learn to trust Christ through hardship, they discover that their hope is not built on changing circumstances but on the unchanging character of God. Paul reminds us that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-5). This hope does not disappoint because it rests in God’s love. James’s message remains just as relevant for the church today. May we see trials not as evidence of God’s absence, but as opportunities to experience His faithfulness—and may our suffering ultimately point others to Christ, the One who endured the cross and gives His people lasting hope.

2. 

   22 Jul 2026

   The Biggest Mistake in Modern Evangelism

   Should We Give a Little Gospel to Thousands—or the Whole Gospel to a Few? Contemporary evangelical movements have often focused on giving a little gospel to as many people as possible. The goal is to reduce the message down to a few memorable phrases that can be shared quickly with large numbers of people. But is that the pattern we find in Scripture? This question is addressed thoughtfully in Chapter 2 of Will Metzger's Tell the Truth, titled The Gospel Reduced. As I recently revisited this chapter, I was reminded how relevant its message is for the church today. Metzger challenges us to consider whether biblical evangelism is about communicating the least amount of truth to the greatest number of people, or faithfully teaching the whole gospel so that people truly understand the message they are responding to. Does 1 Corinthians 15 Define Evangelism? Those who favor a highly condensed gospel presentation often point to Paul's summary in 1 Corinthians 15. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.—1 Corinthians 15:3–4 This is undoubtedly a beautiful summary of the gospel. Paul himself says these truths are "of first importance." The question, however, is whether this passage is intended to show us how to evangelize or whether it simply summarizes the gospel Paul had already preached. The surrounding context suggests the latter. Just two verses earlier Paul writes: Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.—1 Corinthians 15:1–2 Paul is reminding the Corinthians of the gospel they had already received through his ministry. These verses come after his lengthy ministry in Corinth and after fourteen chapters of instruction in the letter itself. They are not presented as a formula for evangelism but as a concise reminder of a message that had already been carefully taught. How Did Paul Share the Gospel? When we look at Paul's ministry in Corinth, we find a very different picture from a brief, simplified presentation. Luke records: Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.—Acts 18:4–5 Paul remained in Corinth for eighteen months, reasoning from the Scriptures, persuading his hearers, and teaching them. His ministry was not built around reducing the gospel to its smallest possible form but around patiently explaining God's truth. That is why Metzger writes: For Paul the only right method of evangelism was the teaching method. Therefore scriptural evangelism has extensive not minimal instruction as its goal. That simple statement deserves careful reflection. The goal of biblical evangelism is not minimal instruction, but extensive instruction. More Than a Few Phrases There is certainly a place for summarizing biblical truth. Paul himself summarized the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. But summaries are not substitutes for teaching. When someone has little or no understanding of the Bible, can we reasonably expect them to understand the gospel well enough to place their faith in Christ after hearing only a handful of phrases? Scripture seems to point us toward a deeper approach. Someone might immediately think of the thief on the cross. Certainly, God can save a person who has only a simple understanding of the gospel. Yet we do not know that man's background or everything he had heard before his crucifixion. It is dangerous to build our normal practice on an exceptional situation. The overwhelming pattern throughout the New Testament is patient, biblical instruction that leads people to genuine understanding and saving faith. The Danger of Reducing the Gospel Metzger argues that oversimplifying the gospel often reveals a deeper problem. What caused this oversimplifying of the gospel message? He suggests that a “me- centered” approach to the gospel has caused this dumbing down of the gospel. Me-centered evangelism also shortens the message. It so focuses on relationships and its attractiveness that it reduces God. Is so Fears further doctrinal division among trueChristians that it allows the most imprecise gospel message to become commoncurrency. One of the helpful features of Chapter 2 is Metzger's comparison between a me-centered gospel and a God-centered gospel. In a me-centered approach, the point of contact is often, "God loves you." In a God-centered approach, the starting point is creation. God made us, owns us, and has authority over every aspect of our lives. Likewise, rather than presenting God's love in isolation, Scripture presents both His love and His justice together. The gospel becomes distorted whenever one aspect of God's character is emphasized at the expense of another. Three Questions to Evaluate Our Gospel Message Near the end of the chapter, Metzger offers three questions that help evaluate whether our gospel presentation is both biblical and balanced. The first question is: Were the truths of the gospel elaborated clearly so that a meaningful response was possible? A genuine response requires genuine understanding. The second question asks: Did appropriate Scripture probe the conscience or only reinforce sinful desires? This is an important distinction. Sometimes gospel presentations appeal primarily to what people want—a happier life, greater fulfillment, or personal peace—without confronting the reality of sin, repentance, and our accountability before God. Finally, Metzger asks: Was the impression given that they can decide for Christ by their own abilities whenever convenient? The gospel calls for an immediate response because it is God's truth, not because it offers personal benefits on our timetable. Keeping God at the Center There is nothing wrong with communicating clearly or speaking concisely. But clarity should never come at the expense of biblical depth. The pattern we see throughout the New Testament is one of teaching, reasoning, explaining, and persuading. The apostles were not simply trying to produce decisions; they were proclaiming God's truth so that people could understand the gospel and respond in repentance and faith. As we think about our own evangelism, it is worth asking whether our goal is merely to communicate the least amount of information possible or to faithfully proclaim the whole counsel of God. May our desire always be that God, not man, remains at the center of our gospel message.

3. 

   16 Jul 2026

   How to Keep Your Heart Soft in Hard Times

   Just a couple hundred meters from our church office, a missile struck an apartment building. It happened around 7:00 in the morning. Thankfully, I was still at home drinking my coffee when I heard the explosion. A few hours later, as I drove to church, I was met with a large traffic jam because the missile had hit the very road I travel every day.When I arrived at the office, I walked down the street toward the scene. I could see the top of the apartment building where the missile had struck. Three people had been killed. The top of the building that was hit Living in Ukraine, these things affect us.We've now lived through more than four years of war. Missile strikes, drones, air raid sirens, and destruction have become part of everyday life. As I reflected on that morning, one thought kept weighing on my mind: the danger of a hardened heart. The Danger of a Hardened Heart One of the effects of living in a war-torn country is that prolonged exposure to war, death, pain, and violence slowly hardens the heart. I've experienced this myself. The reality is that you cannot live through years of destruction and become emotionally overwhelmed every time another missile strikes. We develop ways to cope. But as Christians, we must be careful that those coping mechanisms do not become callousness. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The same thing happens spiritually. When sin surrounds us every day, we gradually become accustomed to it. What once grieved us no longer does. Suffering can have the same effect. I still remember the first morning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The explosions. The fear. The uncertainty. But then came the second day, the third day, the first month—and eventually the years. The temptation is to become numb. In fact, after this most recent missile strike, I found myself almost more frustrated by the traffic jam than by the explosion itself. I'm not saying that's a good thing. I'm saying that's the temptation. So how do we guard our hearts? Jesus Didn't Shy Away from Pain and Sorrow The answer begins by looking at Jesus. Isaiah describes the coming Messiah this way: He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. - Isaiah 53:3 One of the great encouragements of the gospel is that Jesus never kept His distance from a broken world. He didn't avoid suffering. He walked straight into it. When we look at a world filled with war, sickness, injustice, and death, we realize we cannot fix it all. But Jesus entered into humanity's suffering and understands it better than anyone. Jesus Never Dismissed the Pain of Others One of the clearest examples is found in John 11. When Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus, He found Mary, Martha, and the others weeping. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. - John 11:33 Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. Yet He didn't rush past their sorrow. He entered into it. He never dismissed their grief simply because He knew how the story would end. Jesus Had Deep Compassion for People Throughout the Gospels, compassion is one of the defining marks of Jesus' ministry. He never treated people's pain as an interruption or inconvenience. He entered into their sorrow and walked alongside them. That's a great comfort for every believer. Whatever grief we carry, Jesus understands. He has experienced suffering Himself, and our Savior is never distant from the pain of His people. Jesus Was Indignant at Injustice Jesus' response to suffering was not only compassion. When a man with leprosy came begging to be healed, Mark writes: Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man... - Mark 1:41 Jesus was angered by the effects of sin and the suffering it had brought into the world.bLiving through this war, I've felt that myself. Watching innocent Ukrainians suffer naturally stirs anger toward the evil that caused it. There is a place for righteous indignation—but we must be careful what we do with it. Jesus Did Not Stay Dwelling in Grief One of the things I love about the Gospels is that Jesus never remained in sorrow. He entered fully into the suffering of others, yet He didn't allow Himself to marinate in grief. Again and again, we see Him entrusting Himself to His Father. Jesus understood that grief had its proper place, but it was never meant to become His dwelling place. That's an example we desperately need to follow. Jesus Made Time to Be with the Father Throughout the Gospels we repeatedly find Jesus withdrawing to lonely places to pray. Again and again, He stepped away from the crowds to spend time with His Father. When we live in the middle of continual trauma, we need those same rhythms. Personally, I've found the book of Psalms to be one of the greatest helps. More than any trauma manual, the Psalms give voice to our grief while continually directing our hearts back to God. Jesus Carried Joy in the Midst of Suffering Jesus was a man of sorrows, but He was also a man of joy. On the night before the cross, He prayed: I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. - John 17:13 Think about that. Jesus spoke of joy as He walked toward the cross. That is one of the beautiful tensions of the Christian life. We experience grief, pain, and loss, yet at the same time we possess a joy that suffering cannot take away because it is rooted in Christ. Following Jesus in a World of Suffering One of the unique realities of ministry in Ukraine is that suffering can produce two very different responses. God often uses pain to soften hearts and draw people to Himself. But prolonged suffering can also harden hearts. As followers of Christ, our calling is not to offer shallow answers. It is to follow the example of Jesus—to enter into the pain of others with compassion, to grieve over injustice, to remain close to the Father, and to hold fast to the joy that only He can give. May God guard our hearts from becoming hardened. And may He help us reflect the heart of Christ in a world that desperately needs the hope of the gospel.

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Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100

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