[Pastor], The world will see in due time that your ministry—big or small, strong or frail—is an epic success because of the finished work of Christ. May we be desperate to be swallowed up forever in the expansiveness of his wonderful glory!”
(The Pastor’s Justification by Jared C. Wilson, 178)
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What Drew Me to Read The Pastor’s Justification
I don’t recall where I got this book or how it followed me to Asia, but I’ll be honest: when I saw it on my shelf, I wasn’t drawn to it. After all, why would I need a book to convince me that pastors are important? Isn’t that what it means to “justify the pastor”?
But that’s not what this title means! Instead, it’s all about the justification a pastor receives (like anyone else) thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus and the grace of God.
This book is a spiritual bath for men in ministry. In fact, if my copy hadn’t fallen apart in my hands as I read it (perhaps due to a bad batch of glue at Crossway), The Pastor’s Justification would easily become an annual read for me.
What drew me finally to read it, however, was a sad event. I have many other hand-me-down books on my shelves here in Asia, so I’m rarely at a loss for things to read. But while looking for a book that might help refocus my vision for the future, I picked up a different book titled Plan B by Pete Wilson.
I got barely a chapter in, when I became skeptical of this “young pastor of a growing church.” So I googled him. Sure enough, I discovered that Pete Wilson is no longer in the ministry but instead has a handful of infidelity accusations against him from his wife.
Wouldn’t you know it? It’s not the failure that sucks, though that’s certainly terrible. It’s the arrogance that one has to think, “I’ve made it this far in life, and I’m so successful that I should write a book about trusting God no matter what!” It’s like what Jared Wilson writes in The Pastor’s Justification:
We have to stop being drawn to flashy things. Flashy things tend to burn out quickly. And as many have learned, extraordinary gifts can take a man where paltry character cannot keep him. (146)
What Kept Me Reading
As I delved deeper into The Pastor’s Justification, I somehow knew I wouldn’t get such arrogance from Jared Wilson, who from the beginning readily admits his own failures. He makes it clear that he, like all believers, is on the road to learning how to trust God despite himself, not because of himself. He knows he’s a sinner in constant need of justification, and he also knows that his role as pastor never changes that. He writes:
The justification for the sin-prone pastor—by which I mean simply the pastor—is the same as it is for every sinner. There is no Justification 2.0 for ministers of the gospel. There is only the gospel itself. (19)
I also felt a kinship with Wilson, because I’ve not only felt “sin-prone,” but so sin-prone that I feel sometimes like I’m a fraud! About this, he writes:
There is something both lay elders and career elders have in common…: a profound sense of insecurity for which the only antidote is the gospel. (17)
By this time, I knew I needed this book, and the deeper I read, the more awash with God’s grace I felt. I’m not kidding when I say that this book is like a spiritual bath—and Church Leaders, we all need one!
Some Things I’ve Learned
This book is so filled with needful reminders that I’d just say: Pastors need to read it! And if you’re not a pastor or leader yourself right now, then I’d encourage you to gift a copy (in love) to the ones who are leading you—anonymously if you want, but send ’em! I think in the long run, they’ll appreciate it.
Wilson shares so many great points that I’m simply going to cherry-pick five of my favorites with quotations I pulled from my reading. And like a good pastor, I think I’ll alliterate them all with the letter “P” too, because, why not?
The Pastor’s Power (and Weakness)
I have concluded that God is as much, if not more, interested in doing a great work in us as he is and doing a great work through us. (Mike Ayers, Foreword, 12)
The Pastor’s “Profession”
The professionalization of the pastorate is killing the spiritual life of congregations, even congregations seeing an increase in attendance to Sunday worship. (28)
Don’t settle for the false heaven of a ”successful ministry.” Because real success is faithfulness. Big church or small church, growing church or declining church, well-known church or obscure church – all churches are epic successes, full of the eternal, invincible quality of the kingdom of God when they treasure Jesus’s gospel and follow him. (37)
The Pastor’s Prayer
“Your will, not mine,” prayer says. “Your glory, not mine,” prayer says. “Your power, not mine,” prayer says. (69)
Prayerlessness is arrogance. (70)
The Pastor’s Protection
Because God loves his children, he hates false teaching. And we ought to take the kids gloves off with false teachers endangering the sheep, if our love for Christ and his church is real. (92)
The Pastor’s Preparation
Don’t study as if drinking shots or preach as though dispensing from an eyedropper. Drink deeply, pour out generously. (121)
Conclusion
Not too long ago, as my family was preparing to move to the Big City, and a passage from this book (38) really affected my thinking. I shared this passage with family, and eventually wrote about the experience in an article titled, “Here We Go!” Thoughts on Moving and Contentment. I won’t rehash the article here, but I encourage you to check it out.
Few books are as thought-provoking or as re-readable as this one, and I highly recommend it. I just hope I can salvage my copy with some superglue, so it’s ready for when I’ll inevitably need its reminders—probably a year from now…or less.
©2026 E.T.