Groaning and Glory

"What's it like to work just one day a week?" While many pastors find themselves on the receiving end of such questions, the reality is that as Gospel workers, pastors know their jobs are never really finished. As Alistair Begg notes, Paul's instructions to his protégé Timothy make clear that the church is always in need of pastors who will study God's Word diligently so they can remind their congregations of the essentials of the faith and present themselves to God as ones approved.

As he reached the end of Romans 8, Paul presented a triumphant closing argument, grounding Christian assurance in God's decisive action in Christ. Because God did not spare His own Son, believers can be confident that nothing essential will be withheld from them. Every charge is silenced by Christ's death, resurrection, reign, and intercession, Alistair Begg explains. Though suffering and opposition remain real, they cannot sever believers from Christ's love. In all circumstances, Christians are "more than conquerors," fully secure in God's unbreakable redeeming love in Christ Jesus.

Writing to the Christians of first-century Rome, the apostle Paul acknowledged that creation, believers, and even the Spirit Himself groan in hopeful anticipation of final renewal. Present suffering is real, Scripture affirms—but it is eclipsed by the promised glory to come. Alistair Begg traces the inseparable link between suffering and glory in God's redemptive purpose, reminding us that the Spirit sustains believers in weakness and that God is at work in all things for our ultimate good.

In Mark 14, we read that as the time for Jesus' crucifixion drew near, a woman came to Him and anointed His head with an alabaster flask of precious oil. While this heartfelt act of worship provoked the disciples' disapproval, Jesus celebrated her for doing "a beautiful thing." Alistair Begg surveys the woman's action, the disciples' reaction, and Jesus' commendation, helping us to see that the only true pathway to lasting honor is to honor Christ.

Genuine Christianity is not just a new set of beliefs or even a new pattern of behavior; it's a matter of new belonging. After declaring the glorious truth that there is "now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," the apostle Paul called his Roman readers to live "not in the flesh but in the Spirit." In this message, Alistair Begg examines the reality and results of the Spirit's presence in the life of the believer as well as the responsibility that falls to those who are in Christ.

The seventeenth-century minister Thomas Jacomb once wrote of Romans 8, "From first to last, it is high gospel." Beginning with "no condemnation" and ending with the assurance that nothing can separate us from God's love, it is one of the most magisterial and encouraging chapters in all of Scripture. In this message, Alistair Begg begins a short tour through its profound depths, helping us to grasp the solution to the predicament of sin, the necessity of being "in Christ," the relationship between freedom and the law, and the call to walk in newness of life by God's Spirit.

On the verge of the release of his new book The Man on the Middle Cross, Alistair Begg sat down with Jonathan Carswell, CEO of publisher 10ofThose, to talk about the viral sermon clip that inspired it and how he hopes it can help the church evangelize the lost. Join Alistair and Jonathan as they cover where the book's central illustration came from, why it focuses on the biblical stories it does, and Alistair's hopes for how God might use it.

The sin of jealousy is often tolerated in Christian circles—but our lenience doesn't make it any less serious. The Bible is clear: Jealousy is a grave matter. In this talk to seminary students, Alistair Begg surveys jealousy's characteristics, consequences, and cure, reminding us that, as with all sin, the key to victory lies in acknowledging our transgression before God and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

In a church context that held great potential for apostasy, Timothy faced the task of leading through the example of his lifestyle and work. Faithful ministry, Paul explained to him, flows from godly character—speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity—and from wholehearted devotion to Scripture, exhortation, and teaching. Alistair Begg considers Paul's guidance to Timothy, which can help today's pastors, too, as they seek to watch themselves and their doctrine closely and see themselves and their hearers saved.