Ephesians 4:11-12
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

Through my ten years of walking in the newness of life, I have encountered the good and bad and the ugly in the church. By keeping Scripture as always the ultimate authority, discernment can be reached with any teacher of God’s word. Some teachers may sound passionate, great and sound in Christ, but careful listening will discover that some are not edifying the body of God or equipping the saints, but teaching a false gospel and propping up themselves to a lustful world. Remember always that a little truth in a teaching will not cover up the rot of a false gospel. It is either 100 percent true by Scripture’s ultimate test, or it is a false teaching and be discarded and that teacher exposed so as to warn others especially new believers who can be trapped into that false doctrine.

Below is a brief list of some of the main resources I have personally turned to of which I believe closely aligns with the Apostolic and Biblical Gospel God had taught me through Scripture, and the systematic doctrinal teaching through the whole Bible which is necessary for equipping and edifying the body of Christ. I found these teachers quite HELPFUL in convicting me to learn and to study doctrines carefully by the authority of Scripture. Each are a different in personality as expected, but they all align and teach the doctrines of the Biblical Gospel.

You can find their teaching sermons on Sermonaudio.com, Youtube, or a Google search of their websites.

Voddie Baucham Ministries – Pastor Voddie is highly recommended. He does not mince his words and will be straight forward with the Gospel and Scripture. I personally recommend his series on the Book of Revelation if you find yourself struggling to understand this book. He is a solid hermeneutics teacher and uses systematic context as his guide, never his personal opinions. A sermon I highly recommend listening to from him is called “Brokenness”, but all of his sermons are serious, to the point, and quite passionate and edifying. I have learned much in witnessing the Gospel through Baucham.

Grace to You – John MacArthur – Mr. MacArthur was one of the first resources I listened to upon my rebirth. I heard this guy on the radio in my former life which I know now looking back God was drawing me to. MacArthur teaches the Biblical Gospel. One very strong thing I found with his particular teachings is that on the gty.org website, he has the actual pdf – written words of his sermons which go back almost 50 years. One can read along as he speaks, and see the actual verse references, stop the sermon, study, and continue. I learned much on some passages and verses which were a little harder to understand this way. MacArthur always points to God’s word as the ultimate authority and asks the listener to discern him by this. You can listen to a sermon of his from 40-50 years ago, and it will remain relevant because he sticks to teaching from Scripture, and is not distracted by tradition. One of my favorite powerful sermons of his is “Looking at the Cross through God’s perspective” he preached in 1991.

Patrick Hines – Bridwell Heights Presbyterian Church http://www.bridwellheightspca.org/sermons.html – I will admit that this resource is fairly new, but in just a week I have already learned much from Patrick Hines. He is a solid Gospel teacher, and will not mince words or try to confuse the listener. His authority being Scripture will confirm many things you are being taught, but gives you more in the logical equipping department from God’s word especially on God’s sovereignty and also the discerning of false gospels which you may have overlooked. He is also quite good with giving new resources you may have not heard about to edify your walk. I would call him a diamond in the rough as you may not have heard of him, and I would say the endearing thing about Hines is that he is not clamoring to be a celebrity preacher, but a humble preacher of God’s word and takes his responsibility quite serious.

James White – Alpha and Omega Ministries Pastor White is a solid Gospel teacher. And if there was a source I could point you to of which would equip you how to witness to Roman Catholics and answer their questions, White would be one of the first ones recommended. He has debated several renowned Catholic apologists through the years, and I have learned many things from him on church history and different approaches to refute false Catholic doctrines. He is also quite good in teaching on God’s sovereignty. If I had a criticism of him, is that sometimes he can get distracted in his podcasts on other things which makes it hard to listen to at times. At times, he tends to be drawn in by critics of him and sometimes will appease instead of convict, but concerning the main cog of the Gospel, White is a good resource.

RC Sproul – Steve Lawson – Ligonier Ministries – The late RC Sproul was a very logical Gospel preacher. With MacArthur, he was one I turned to in the beginning of my walk with Jesus. Sproul will come across as more of an intellectual if you listen to his sermons, but this is good in our discernment and equipping. Steve Lawson who learned from Sproul, is also a high powered teacher of the Gospel. This resource does quite well in explaining the sovereignty of God and the understanding of it through a systematic context as to equip you in order to explain it. If you manage to hear the entire series from Sproul/Lawson on God’s sovereignty, rest assured you will learn many things you may have not thought of. Sproul made no secret that he would never compromise the Gospel with Rome and was one of the first things that drew me to him. His command of church history is one the best you will hear and learn from. He is highly regarded among all reformed circles. Although he is no longer with us, Sproul’s sermons are readily available online.

Give these guys a try. Turn off the hunk dorky evangelists who do not teach on sin and the holiness of God. I recommend only those who push and convict you to learn more! If you are not growing in your walk, you are dying, so avoid any teaching resource which is not pushing you to grow more and those universalist kind where the Gospel is used as a punchline rather than the POWER of God unto salvation. Gospel teachers are always edifying and equipping, they aren’t your nurse maid or your psychologist or your motivational speaker, as God did not task His teachers in this respect. They equip, they edify, they teach only the word of God, never their mere opinion or from feelings. They command repentance of sin just as Jesus and the Apostles commanded it and do not water down the Gospel for the sake of social easiness.

Lastly, every Gospel teacher from God is accessible. If they are too big in their own sight, a red flag should go up. Such as those who make their teaching all about them, never pointing to Jesus Christ and to Scripture. The true teacher knows that the Gospel is the power unto salvation, and are not the converter, God is. Bear this in mind when you hear one on the radio or a broadcast or even the pastor in your local church. If you are not leaving your fellowship as being equipped by the teachers and instead feeling hollow, empty, and starving in your growth, ask yourself why are you wasting your time there.