Selling Jesus

This sermon was preached by Kyle Fitzgerald on 10/12/2025 at Bethany Baptist Church in Stockton, California.⁠⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church

Read the article.The Bible is replete with commands regarding the intersection of money and ministry: “Freely give” (Matt 10:8), don’t be “peddlers of God’s Word” (2 Cor 2:17), “you cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24), etc. Clearly, ministry is a task fraught with danger; it is no wonder James warns that not many should become teachers (James 3:1).Given these concerns, how are those who advance the Word of God to Christians to honor the Lord financially? They must guard against greed in their own hearts, but they also must demonstrate their good intentions before man (2 Cor 8:21). The work of ministry requires resources, but to charge the hearers a fee may solicit accusations of using godliness as a means of gain (1 Tim 6:5).One supposed remedy is to donate the profits. If someone receives none—or only a small amount—of the revenue, then they have at least demonstrated some level of generosity. In theory, this evidences a sincere heart that only desires to honor God.⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church⁠

Read the article.While there are a number of gray areas, it's clear that God has forbidden finance-based partiality in giving access to biblical teaching. This is precisely what is done when tickets to Christian conferences are sold.⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church⁠

In conversations about charging for ministry, 1 Corinthians 9 often comes up, and for good reason. It’s the longest passage we have that talks about supporting those in ministry. But people often come away with the wrong message when they read it. In this video, I want to lay our cards on the table and show you exactly how and why we interpret 1 Corinthians 9 to be consistent with our position that ministry should be supported, not sold. Prefer reading this? See https://sellingjesus.org/videos/documentary/fDoApqyqIG4

On Thursday, June 26th, 2025, Conley Owens debated "Hazard's Ghost" (on x.com as @WhosDude) about charging for Christian conferences. sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church

Read the article.2 Corinthians is replete with remarks regarding sincerity. It would be rightly said that the theme of the whole book is The Sincerity of the Kingdom of God. This underlying concern flows from the first chapter where Paul responds to suspicions about his motives (2 Cor. 1:17), to his appeal for the Corinthians’ sincere love (2 Cor. 6:11), to his denunciation of the integrity of the “super apostles” (2 Cor. 11:13), all the way to his final claim that he cannot do anything against the truth (2 Cor. 13:8).One of the motifs that brings out that theme of sincerity is the reality of the “sight of God”—that is, being in his presence. All things are before God (Heb. 4:13); he is the judge who will hold all accountable. However, particularly as a minister of the gospel, Paul speaks in the sight of God. That is, he operates only with concern for the Lord’s judgment and without ulterior motive.If we examine this theme carefully, we should see that the sale of biblical instruction is a warning sign of a ministry that will be accompanied by moral failing.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church

Read the article.If selling Jesus is a sin, is buying Jesus a sin? Often, people are convinced by the biblical arguments that Christian teaching should not be sold but then want to know whether Christian teaching may be bought. How does this apply to a Christian who wants to go to a seminary that charges tuition, read an e-book that costs money, etc.?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church

Allow me to introduce you to an article by Karl Fogel titled The Surprising History of Copyright and The Promise of a Post-Copyright World. Although the author is not concerned with the monetization of ministry, the arguments are compelling, setting an example for all Christians on how to think critically and historically about intellectual property. Although the author does not argue his points from Scripture, the article serves as a reminder of how much of the secular world is deeply concerned with the injustice, deceit, intimidation, and other negative practical results of the copyright cartel; while Christians by and large have failed to address these issues in any significant way–either through the lens of God’s Word or out of pragmatism and a zeal for justice. As I’ve said before, even if you disagree with everything Selling Jesus stands for, or with everything in this article, the fact remains that the Church is guilty of no small neglect in the critical and biblical assessment of copyright and intellectual property law and use, particularly as it relates to ministry content and the Word of God itself. Most people believe copyright exists to protect artists, but its history reveals a different story: it originated as a tool for government censorship in 16th-century England, later evolving into a distributor-controlled system via the Statute of Anne. Publishers, not authors, drove the creation and strengthening of copyright laws to maintain control over distribution and profit, a history often obscured by the industry's narrative of artist protection.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church

Read the article.One of the common misconceptions about the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is that it is a universally public domain work—something many tout as a feature of its superiority to modern copyrighted translations. But most don’t realize that it is still under a special perpetual copyright of the Crown in the United Kingdom.Unlike the KJV, some modern translations such as the Berean Standard Bible are public domain worldwide. So while it’s important for a Bible translation to be in the public domain, there are modern translations that fulfill that better than the KJV does.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church

We love to highlight ministries that are freely giving, not only so that others can see that it’s possible, but also to encourage them and help you know how to pray for them. So in this episode we’re putting the spotlight on Lingua Deo Gloria. Learn more at linguadeogloria.com.Learn more about communicative language teaching.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sellingjesus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thedoreanprinciple.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠copy.church