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THE BIBLICAL MODEL PART 8: THE MESSAGE OF MISSIONS, WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? 2

What is the Gospel? (Pt. 2)

How to Share the Gospel with both unbelievers and believers

Illustration: Did you know that many times when a baby is born it is not breathing? And the doctor or someone has to spank the baby to make it cry out and take its first breath. This first breath of life…is it the one and only breath the baby will ever need? Or is it the first of many?

 

The first of many, of course! Now, I think we can compare the believing of the gospel of Jesus Christ to a baby’s first breath, and subsequent breaths as well. When a person hears the gospel, and the Spirit of God regenerates that person, giving new birth, making them born again, the very first thing they do is believe and repent. Spiritually speaking, believing and repenting are like a baby’s first breath. But just as a baby doesn’t then stop breathing, but needs to continue to breath to live, so a new believer doesn’t stop needing the gospel upon being saved. They continue to live spiritually by the life-giving breath of the gospel every moment of their lives. It is gospel-truth that both saves and sustains a child of God. In other words, it is the gospel that both justifies a believer at the moment of salvation and progressively sanctifies that same believer as he/she matures in the faith.

 

Romans 1:16 tells us, “The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” So the gospel message saves when one repents and believes it. The gospel is for the unbeliever. It is for those who have not believed on Jesus Christ and confessed Him as Lord. I think we all know this.

 

But one verse prior in Romans 1:15, Paul writing in his introduction to the church in Rome, said, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Paul was trying to make it to Rome to visit the church so he could preach the gospel to them, to the church, to those who were already believers.

 

Do we know that the gospel is for the believer as well? We naturally think of the gospel being for the unbeliever. We think of sharing the gospel as we evangelize the lost. But not many of us think of sharing the gospel with the church, with those who are already Christians. Paul, did though.

 

Need: Paul knew that the church (believers) still needs the gospel. They need it every day, every hour. Until they die or Christ returns. And we all know the unbeliever needs the gospel, or they will die in their sins and spend eternity in hell.

 

Now, if this is true, if unbelievers and believers alike both need the gospel, we need to know how to share it and speak gospel- truth into the unbeliever’s life and into the believer’s life. Sharing the gospel with unbelievers is the responsibility of every member in the church. Every child of God is called to share the gospel with unbelievers, and so we need to know how. Sharing gospel- truths to believers pertains to all of us as well. There will be times in each of our lives that a brother or a sister in the faith needs encouragement, counseling, admonishment. We need to know how to apply the gospel to their situations. But the pastors and teachers of a church especially need to know how to preach the gospel to the their church members, as Paul intended to do at Rome, because they have the given responsibility to teach the Word of God to the gathered church every Sunday and other meeting times. Pastor, how should you preach the gospel in your Sunday morning sermons (and other teaching times)?

 

Theme: Tonight we will talk about the gospel being for all, for the unbeliever as well as for the believer. And we will talk about how to share the gospel with an unbeliever, as well as how to share the gospel to believers in the church.

 

Outline: So, the two headings of our discussion: How to Share the Gospel with Unbelievers; and How to Share the Gospel with Believers

 

How to Share the Gospel with Unbelievers

So first, how to share the gospel with unbelievers. Let us turn to the Word of God for guidance. One of the reasons I love the book of Acts is because it shows us how the early church did church. How they planted churches, how the did missions, how they evangelized, how the local church operated, how they appointed deacons to help the elders and apostles, how they fellowshipped and interacted. It really is an instructive book.

 

Well, we are going to look at a particular occasion in Acts 17 where Paul shared the gospel to unbelievers in Athens, Greece, and learn from the apostle how to share the gospel to unbelievers. These men of Athens were in many ways like people we encounter. They were not Jews, who knew the OT. They had no prior knowledge of the God of the Bible. Whether you be in Venezuela, or Haiti, or the D.R. or the USA, we are mostly sharing the truths of Who Jesus is and What Jesus has done to those not having a lot of knowledge of the Bible. Some have superficial knowledge, but most have very little understanding, and so it is instructive to see how Paul did it when talking to people who were not Jews.

In his book, What is the Gospel?, Greg Gilbert explains the gospel in four easy to remember steps. This book has been translated into Spanish so it would be worth reading. Here are the four steps: 1) God; 2) Man; 3) Jesus; 4) Response. I have found this very helpful over the years.

Now, I would contend with Gilbert that it would be more accurate to label his book: The Message of Salvation or something like that, rather than, “What is the Gospel?”

Why do I say that? Well, because last time we met I explained what the gospel is. It is the person and works of Jesus Christ. So, the gospel is contained within Gilbert’s four steps, mostly the third and fourth, but speaking of God’s holiness, His wrath, man’s sin…things like this in Gilbert’s first two steps are actually bad news. They are not the gospel, which is good news, but they are still very important to explain the gospel. They set the stage. For their to be good news, there must first be bad news. So what Gilbert is really doing in my opinion in his four steps is explaining the plan of salvation and the gospel is within that plan but is not the whole of it.

Hopefully that was clear. So, first, we need to explain God. Consider His attributes. He is holy, He is loving. As He told Moses when He passed in front of Him and hid Moses in the rock in Exodus 33 and 34, He is merciful and gracious (34:6) but He is also a righteous judge (34:7).

That would naturally lead us into talking about man. Man was made in God’s image but has fallen. He has rebelled against God. Romans 1 teaches us we are God-haters (v30). Romans 3 teaches us none is righteous (v10), none seeks for God (v11). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (v23). Some people use the 10 commandments at this point to demonstrate man’s sinfulness.

So, as I’ve been saying. This is bad news. God is good. God is righteous. That’s good news right. Not for sinners! That is the most terrible news they could hear. He will pour out His wrath on them, judge them. Send them to hell. And there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor. This is hopelessness. This is not good news.

But the gospel is good news! And this begins with the third step in Gilbert’s plan of salvation. Jesus. As I said last time. Here, we explain the person and the works of Jesus. Here is the essence of the gospel. There is hope because of Jesus.

And then fourth and finally, our response. We must believe the gospel of Jesus. We must also repent and submit to Jesus as Lord. Faith and Repentance are the conditions of salvation. They are the required responses to the gospel.

So, there is how I suggest explaining the gospel to an unbeliever. Now, I mentioned Acts 17. Let’s turn to Acts 17:22-31. Let’s read v22-25. Here we see Paul preach God. He informs these Pagans about the One True Living God. Then, in v26 Paul begins to speak about mankind. V27 says they were to seek God. The implication is that they did not. V29 says they developed wrong thoughts about God. They became idolaters instead of worshipping God. V30 returns to God, saying He was long-suffering, but He is now commanding men to repent or else He will judge the world in righteousness (v31). Paul mentions the response the people must have to the gospel (v30). What is that response? Repentance. He then quickly preaches the gospel in v31. God will judge the people through Jesus, but not if they repent and turn to Him who raised from the dead. Now, I’m sure Paul also preached the crucifixion of Jesus. This is a summary of Paul’s sermon, not every word of it. A resurrection of Jesus, which Paul clearly did preach would not make much sense without the prior death of Jesus being stated.

So, the order at the end is a bit off, but we clearly see the four steps of explaining the gospel to unbelievers that Gilbert stresses. God, man, Jesus, response. Do you have to explain the gospel this way to an unbeliever? I’d say there are other ways, but this is a helpful guide. And remember last time’s lesson. Remember to stress the person and the works of Jesus (Who He is and what he has done for sinners).

Transition: Well, let us turn our attention to sharing the gospel with the church, with believers. And as I said, this is not only for pastors, but pastors and teachers are my primary audience at this point. And the Sunday morning sermon is the primary setting I have in mind.

How to Share the Gospel with Believers

Here is what I grew up hearing on Sunday morning. A sermon. And then a “gospel presentation” at the end. It sounded the same every week. It was the plan of salvation. It was for the unbelievers in the room, not the believer. Furthermore, it was unrelated to the sermon. It had nothing to do with what the preacher just preached to the believers. And there is the problem. What that type of preaching does—when a preacher preaches a message to believers, then tacks on the gospel at the end for the unbelievers—is teaching the church that the gospel is not for them, that it is unrelated to the believer. It teaches them that the gospel is for initial salvation, but then the believer must move on to more deep and mature things.

If you are doing this, you are crippling your church. Listen to CJ Mahoney’s words,

“The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian – the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.”

We never move past the gospel! We believers need it every hour. It is our initial breath of new life, it is every breath thereafter.

But how then do we preach the gospel to those who have already believed it? Is it going through Gilbert’s God, man, Jesus, response method over and over with them, each Sunday? I don’t think so. I think two reminders will help us when preparing our teachings. First, Don’t forget Christ. Second, Don’t forget the text.

Don’t Forget Christ

So, first, don’t forget Christ. That may sound obvious but I am amazed at how many sermons I hear that are Christless! Not only in the OT, but in the NT as well. And this very big problem seems to be nothing new. Charles Spurgeon, almost 150 years ago noticed this problem. Listen to what he said, “A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.” Very stern words that should make us reflect upon our preaching.

Now, by mentioning we must preach “Christ” in our sermons, what I’m really meaning is we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in our sermons. Who Jesus is and what He has done. It is essential that the gospel is woven into each and every sermon, perhaps multiple times. Even if we are preaching through the genealogies in Genesis. We must do this because Jesus, Himself, said in Luke 24:25-27 that all the Scriptures are about Him, and more specifically about His death and resurrection. In this passage Jesus rebuked two disciples on the road to Emaus following His resurrection for not understanding that the Christ must die and rise again. Then he preached to them. V27 says, “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Oh what a sermon that must have been!

Did you notice that word, “expounded”? That’s where we get out word “exposition” from. Jesus was an expository preacher! So,

the number one rule of proper exposition is that we must preach Christ. We must be gospel-centered.

In every sermon a preacher is exhorting, rebuking, challenging, calling for a response, calling for a person to be conformed into the image of Christ, to repent, to abound more in doing good, to look to Christ. He reveals to us from the text where we fall short due to our flesh and due to our fallen state. He beats us up a little, but he always ends on a high note.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! God forgives us in Christ, He redeems us. This is the gospel. Furthermore, Jesus is our strength, our faithful high priest who can relate to our weakness, and Who is able to help us. The preacher offers hope through Christ and the gospel to the weary believer as he sojourns this fallen world. He urges us to keep our eyes on Christ, to endure until the end. He reminds us of our inheritance waiting for us, and encourages us us not to grow weary in doing well, lest we faint before we reap.

This is the aim of the preacher. The aim of the preacher is not life lessons, not to give a “how-to manual” on prayer, marriage, whatever. There are times and places for that but they should not be the main diet for the church. Going through books of the Bible should be and pointing people to Christ and the gospel throughout the text.

Remember the Text

That brings us to our second reminder: Remember the text. Remember Christ and the gospel, remember the text! Our text is not a spring board. We don’t just read it, and jump off it into the gospel without the gospel being related to that text. This is very important. 

The text at hand is inspired, it was written to a specific people for a specific purpose and it is the expositor’s task to take this text and then teach us how it relates to us. How does the main point of the text to its original audience relate to us 21st century believers?

And here is the point I’m trying to make. We must never leave the text behind when going to the gospel. If we do, even if we have good, God-honoring intentions to preach Christ, we are in fact watering the gospel down, because we are suggesting the text does not relate to the gospel. We must preach the gospel from the exegesis of the text. The gospel is in your text, brother. Because every text in some way is centered around the gospel of Jesus Christ—around Who He is and what He has done, and how we need Him. Remember, even from the OT, Jesus preached His person and works from Moses and from the prophets. See, He was text-centered, while being gospel- centered.

There’s a lot more to be said on this, but time does not permit. Maybe we can have future times together on this. The second part of this teaching was just an overview. In the meantime, I think it is helpful to have your sermons critiqued. You have to have thick skin, but it will help you learn to preach better. Hopefully this teaching will start some conversations on the matter. 

 

 

 

Outline for “What is the Gospel? (Pt. 2) The Gospel for all “

How to Share the Gospel with both unbelievers and believers

Introduction

  • The importance of the gospel:
  • The gospel as the first spiritual breath.
  • The gospel as daily nourishment for the believer.
  • The need for the gospel for unbelievers and believers.

 

The purpose of the teaching:

  • Explain how to share the gospel with both groups.
  • Emphasize the importance of preaching Christ in all sermons.

 

Part 1: Sharing the Gospel with Unbelievers

Paul’s model in Athens (Acts 17):

  • Present God as the one true living God.
  • Talk about humanity and its sin.
  • Announce Jesus as the hope.
  • Call to repentance and faith.

 

Greg Gilbert’s four steps:

  • God: His holiness, love, and justice.
  • Man: The fall and sin.
  • Jesus: The person and work of Christ.
  • Response: Faith and repentance.

 

Practical application:

  • Adapt these steps to different cultural contexts.
  • Emphasize the importance of clarity and simplicity.

 

Part 2: Sharing the Gospel with Believers

The problem of decontextualized evangelism:

  • Separating the gospel from the sermon.
  • Teaching the church that the gospel is only for unbelievers.

 

The importance of preaching Christ in all sermons:

  • Quotes from Spurgeon and Jesus.
  • The gospel as the central theme of all Scripture.

 

How to integrate the gospel into preaching:

  • Keep Christ in mind in every sermon.
  • Relate the biblical text to the gospel.
  • Offer hope and encouragement to believers.

 

The role of the pastor:

  • Be a model of dependence on the gospel.
  • Equip the church to share the gospel.

 

Conclusion

Summary of key points:

  • The importance of sharing the gospel with everyone.
  • The need to focus on Christ in all preaching.
  • The practical application of these principles.
  • Call to action:
  • Exhort listeners to apply these principles in their own lives.
  • Encourage pastors to preach the gospel comprehensively.

 

Note: This outline provides a comprehensive overview of the main points discussed in the text. It can be used as a starting point for further development or as a guide for creating a sermon or teaching on the subject.

 

Additional notes:

 

  • The outline could be further developed by adding more specific examples from the text or by exploring additional biblical passages.
  • The focus on the pastor is intentional, as the text is primarily addressed to pastors and teachers. However, the principles can be applied to all believers.
  • Cultural adaptations may be necessary when applying these principles to different contexts.

 

Written by Jared Duncan

Edited by Antonio Salgado

Soli Deo Gloria

 

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

 

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EL MODELO BIBLICO PARTE 8: EL MENSAJE DE LAS MISIONES ¿QUÉ ES EL EVANGELIO? 2

¿Qué Es El Evangelio? (Parte 2)

Cómo Compartir El Evangelio Tanto Con Creyentes Como Con Incrédulos

 

Ilustración: ¿Sabías que muchas veces cuando nace un bebé no respira? Y el médico o alguien tiene que darle una palmada al bebé para hacerlo llorar y respirar por primera vez. Este primer aliento de vida… ¿es el único aliento que el bebé necesitará? ¿O es el primero de muchos?

¡El primero de muchos, por supuesto! Ahora, creo que podemos comparar la creencia en el evangelio de Jesucristo con el primer aliento de un bebé, y también con los posteriores. Cuando una persona escucha el evangelio, y el Espíritu de Dios la regenera, dándole nuevo nacimiento, haciéndola nacer de nuevo, lo primero que hace es creer y arrepentirse. Espiritualmente hablando, creer y arrepentirse son como el primer aliento de un bebé. Pero así como un bebé no deja de respirar, sino que necesita seguir respirando para vivir, así un nuevo creyente no deja de necesitar el evangelio al ser salvo. Continúan viviendo espiritualmente por el aliento vivificante del evangelio en cada momento de sus vidas. Es la verdad del evangelio la que salva y sostiene a un hijo de Dios. En otras palabras, es el evangelio que justifica al creyente en el momento de la salvación y santifica progresivamente a ese mismo creyente a medida que madura en la fe.

 

Romanos 1:16 nos dice, “El evangelio es poder de Dios para salvación a todo aquel que cree”. Entonces el mensaje del evangelio salva cuando uno se arrepiente y cree en él. El evangelio es para los incrédulos. Es para aquellos que no han creído en Jesucristo y no lo han confesado como Señor. Creo que todos sabemos esto.

 

Pero un verso antes en Romanos 1:15 Pablo, al escribir su introducción a la iglesia en Roma, dijo: “Estoy ansioso por anunciaros el evangelio también a vosotros que estáis en Roma”. Pablo estaba tratando de llegar a Roma para visitar la iglesia y poder predicarles el evangelio a ellos, a la iglesia, a aquellos que ya eran creyentes.

 

¿Sabemos que el evangelio es también para el creyente? Naturalmente, pensamos que el evangelio es para los incrédulos. Pensamos en compartir el evangelio mientras evangelizamos a los perdidos. Pero no muchos de nosotros pensamos en compartir el evangelio con la iglesia, con aquellos que ya son cristianos. Paul, sin embargo, lo hizo.

 

Necesidad: Pablo sabía que la iglesia (los creyentes) todavía necesita el evangelio. Lo necesitan todos los días, cada hora. Hasta que mueran o Cristo regrese. Y todos sabemos que el incrédulo necesita el evangelio, o morirá en sus pecados y pasará la eternidad en el infierno.

 

Ahora bien, si esto es cierto, si tanto los incrédulos como los creyentes necesitan el evangelio, debemos saber cómo compartirlo y hablar la verdad del evangelio en la vida del incrédulo y en la vida del creyente. Compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos es responsabilidad de cada miembro de la iglesia. Cada hijo de Dios está llamado a compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos, y por eso necesitamos saber cómo hacerlo. Compartir las verdades del evangelio con los creyentes se refiere a todo de nosotros también. Habrá momentos en cada una de nuestras vidas en que un hermano o una hermana en la fe necesitará aliento, consejo y amonestación. Necesitamos saber cómo aplicar el evangelio a sus situaciones. Pero los pastores y maestros de una iglesia necesitan especialmente saber cómo predicar el evangelio a los miembros de su iglesia, como Pablo pretendía hacerlo en Roma, porque tienen la responsabilidad dada de enseñar la Palabra de Dios a la iglesia reunida cada domingo y otros horarios de reunión. Pastor, ¿cómo debería predicar el evangelio en sus sermones dominicales por la mañana (y otros momentos de enseñanza)?

 

Tema: Esta noche hablaremos de que el evangelio es para todos, tanto para los incrédulos como para los creyentes. Y hablaremos de cómo..

  • compartir el evangelio con un incrédulo, 
  • también cómo compartir el evangelio con los creyentes en la iglesia.

 

Describir: Entonces, los dos títulos de nuestra discusión: Cómo compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos; y cómo compartir el evangelio con los creyentes

Cómo compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos

Primero, cómo compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos. Busquemos guía en la Palabra de Dios. Una de las razones por las que amo el libro de los Hechos es porque nos muestra cómo la iglesia primitiva hacía iglesia. Cómo plantaron iglesias, cómo hicieron misiones, cómo evangelizaron, cómo operaba la iglesia local, cómo nombraron diáconos para ayudar a los ancianos y apóstoles, cómo tuvieron compañerismo e interactuaron. Realmente es un libro instructivo.

 

Bueno, vamos a ver una ocasión particular en Hechos 17 donde Pablo compartió el evangelio a los incrédulos en Atenas, Grecia, y aprende del apóstol cómo compartir el evangelio a los incrédulos. Estos hombres de Atenas se parecían en muchos aspectos a las personas que encontramos. No eran judíos que conocían el Antiguo Testamento. No tenían ningún conocimiento previo del Dios de la Biblia. Ya sea que esté en Venezuela, Haití o la R.D. En los EE. UU., principalmente compartimos las verdades de Quién es Jesús y Lo que Jesús ha hecho con aquellos que no tienen mucho conocimiento de la Biblia. Algunos tienen un conocimiento superficial, pero la mayoría tiene muy poca comprensión, por lo que es instructivo ver cómo lo hizo Pablo cuando hablaba con personas que no eran judías.

 

En su libro ¿Qué es el evangelio?, Greg Gilbert explica el evangelio en cuatro pasos fáciles de recordar. Este libro ha sido traducido al español por lo que valdría la pena leerlo. Aquí están los cuatro pasos: 1) Dios; 2) Hombre; 3) Jesús; 4) Respuesta. Esto me ha resultado muy útil a lo largo de los años.

 

Ahora, yo diría con Gilbert que sería más exacto etiquetar su libro: El Mensaje de Salvación o algo así, en lugar de “¿Qué es el Evangelio?”

 

¿Por qué digo eso? Bueno, porque la última vez que nos vimos le expliqué qué es el evangelio. Es la persona y obras de Jesucristo. Entonces, el evangelio está contenido dentro de los cuatro pasos de Gilbert, principalmente el tercero y el cuarto, pero hablar de la santidad de Dios, Su ira, el pecado del hombre… cosas como esta en los primeros dos pasos de Gilbert son en realidad malas noticias. No son el evangelio, lo cual es una buena noticia, pero aún así son muy importantes para explicar el evangelio. Ellos prepararon el escenario. Para que sean buenas noticias, primero debe haber malas noticias. Entonces, en mi opinión, lo que Gilbert realmente está haciendo en sus cuatro pasos es explicar el plan de salvación y el evangelio está dentro de ese plan, pero no es la totalidad.

 

Ojalá eso haya quedado claro. Entonces, primero debemos explicar Dios. Considere sus atributos. Él es santo, es amoroso. Como le dijo a Moisés cuando pasó frente a Él y lo escondió en la roca en Éxodo 33 y 34, Él es misericordioso y misericordioso (34:6), pero también es un juez justo (34:7).

 

Naturalmente, eso nos llevaría a hablar de hombre. El hombre fue hecho a imagen de Dios, pero ha caído. Se ha rebelado contra Dios. Romanos 1 nos enseña que odiamos a Dios (v30). Romanos 3 nos enseña que nadie es justo (v10), nadie busca a Dios (v11). Todos han pecado y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios (v23). Algunas personas usan los 10 mandamientos en este punto para demostrar la pecaminosidad del hombre.

 

Entonces, como he estado diciendo. Éstas son malas noticias. Dios es bueno. Dios es justo. Esas son buenas noticias, ¿verdad? ¡No para los pecadores! Esa es la noticia más terrible que pudieron escuchar. Él derramará sobre ellos su ira y los juzgará. Mándalos al infierno. Y no hay nada que podamos hacer para ganarnos el favor de Dios. Esto es nos quita la esperanza. Ésta no es una buena noticia.

 

¡Pero el evangelio si es una buena noticia! Y esto comienza con el tercer paso en el plan de salvación de Gilbert. Jesús. Como dije la última vez. Aquí explicamos la persona y las obras de Jesús. Aquí está la esencia del evangelio. Hay esperanza gracias a Jesús.

 

Y luego cuarto y último, nuestra respuesta. Debemos creer el evangelio de Jesús. También debemos arrepentirnos y someternos a Jesús como Señor. La fe y el arrepentimiento son las condiciones de la salvación. Son las respuestas requeridas al evangelio.

 

Entonces, así es como sugiero explicar el evangelio a un incrédulo. Ahora, mencioné Hechos 17. Pasemos a Hechos 17:22-31. Leamos Leer v22-25. Aquí vemos a Pablo predicar a Dios. Él informa a estos paganos acerca del Único Dios Vivo Verdadero. Luego, en el v26 Pablo comienza a hablar de la humanidad. El V27 dice que debían buscar a Dios. La implicación es que no lo hicieron. V29 dice que desarrollaron pensamientos erróneos acerca de Dios. Se convirtieron en idólatras en lugar de adorar a Dios. El v30 regresa a Dios, diciendo que fue muy sufrido (paciente), pero que ahora está ordenando a los hombres que se arrepientan o, de lo contrario, juzgará al mundo con justicia (v31). Pablo menciona la respuesta que debe tener el pueblo al evangelio (v30). ¿Cuál es esa respuesta? Arrepentimiento. Luego rápidamente predica el evangelio en el v31. Dios juzgará al pueblo a través de Jesús, pero no si se arrepienten y se vuelven a Aquel que resucitó de entre los muertos. Ahora, estoy seguro de que Pablo también predicó la crucifixión de Jesús. Este es un resumen del sermón de Pablo, no cada palabra. Una resurrección de Jesús, que Pablo claramente predicó, no tendría mucho sentido sin que se indique la muerte previa de Jesús.

 

Entonces, el orden al final está un poco fuera de lugar, pero vemos claramente los cuatro pasos para explicar el evangelio a los incrédulos que Gilbert enfatiza. Dios, hombre, Jesús, respuesta. ¿Tienes que explicar el evangelio de esta manera a un incrédulo? Yo diría que hay otras formas, pero esta es una guía útil. Y recuerda la lección de la última vez. Recuerde enfatizar la persona y las obras de Jesús (quién es y qué ha hecho por los pecadores).

 

Transición: Bueno, dirijamos nuestra atención a compartir el evangelio con la iglesia, con los creyentes. Y como dije, esto no es solo para pastores, sino que los pastores y maestros son mi audiencia principal en este momento. Y el sermón del domingo por la mañana es el escenario principal que tengo en mente.

 

Cómo compartir el evangelio con los creyentes

Esto es lo que crecí escuchando los domingos por la mañana. Un sermón. Y al final una “presentación del evangelio”. Sonaba igual todas las semanas. Era el plan de salvación. Era para los incrédulos en la sala, no para el creyente. Además, no tenía relación con el sermón. No tuvo nada que ver con lo que el predicador acaba de predicar a los creyentes. Y ahí está el problema. Lo que hace ese tipo de predicación (cuando un predicador predica un mensaje a los creyentes y luego añade el evangelio al final para los incrédulos) es enseñar a la iglesia que el evangelio no es para ellos, que no tiene relación con el creyente. Les enseña que el evangelio es para la salvación inicial, pero luego el creyente debe pasar a cosas más profundas y maduras.

 

Si haces esto, estás paralizando a tu iglesia. Escuche las palabras de CJ Mahaney: “El evangelio no es una clase entre muchas a las que asistirás durante tu vida como cristiano: ¡el evangelio es el edificio completo en el que se llevan a cabo todas las clases! Si se abordan correctamente, todos los temas que estudiará y en los que se concentrará como creyente se le ofrecerán “dentro de los muros” del glorioso evangelio”. ¡Nunca pasamos del evangelio! Los creyentes lo necesitamos cada hora. Es nuestro aliento inicial de nueva vida, es cada aliento posterior.

 

Pero, ¿cómo entonces predicamos el evangelio a aquellos que ya lo han creído? ¿Está repasando el método de respuesta de Gilbert, Dios, hombre, Jesús, una y otra vez con ellos, cada domingo? No me parece. Creo que dos recordatorios nos ayudarán a la hora de preparar nuestras enseñanzas. Primero, no te olvides de Cristo. En segundo lugar, no olvides el texto.

 

No olvides a Cristo

Entonces, primero, no te olvides de Cristo. Esto puede parecer obvio, pero ¡estoy sorprendido de cuántos sermones escucho que no tienen a Cristo! No sólo en el Antiguo Testamento, sino también en el Nuevo Testamento. Y este gran problema no parece ser nada nuevo. Charles Spurgeon, hace casi 150 años, notó este problema. Escuche lo que dijo: “Un sermón sin Cristo es como una barra de pan sin harina. ¿No hay Cristo en su sermón, señor? Luego vete a casa y no vuelvas a predicar hasta que tengas algo que valga la pena predicar”. Palabras muy severas que deberían hacernos reflexionar sobre nuestra predicación.

 

Ahora, al mencionar que debemos predicar “Cristo” en nuestros sermones, lo que realmente quiero decir es que debemos predicar el evangelio de Jesucristo en nuestros sermones. Quién es Jesús y qué ha hecho. Es esencial que el evangelio esté entretejido en todos y cada uno de los sermones, quizás varias veces. Incluso si estamos predicando a través de las genealogías del Génesis. Debemos hacer esto porque Jesús mismo dijo en Lucas 24:25-27 que todas las Escrituras tratan de Él, y más específicamente de Su muerte y resurrección. En este pasaje Jesús reprendió a dos discípulos en el camino a Emaús después de Su resurrección por no entender que Cristo debe morir y resucitar. Luego les predicó. El V27 dice: “Y comenzando por Moisés y por todos los Profetas, les explicó en todas las Escrituras lo que concernía a Él”. ¡Oh, qué sermón debe haber sido ese!

 

¿Notaste esa palabra “expuesta”? De ahí surge la palabra “exposición”. ¡Jesús fue un predicador expositivo! Entonces, la regla número uno para una exposición adecuada es que debemos predicar a Cristo. Debemos estar centrados en el evangelio.

 

En cada sermón un predicador está exhortando, reprendiendo, desafiando, pidiendo una respuesta, llamando a una persona a ser conformada a la imagen de Cristo, a arrepentirse, a abundar más en hacer el bien, a mirar a Cristo. Él nos revela en el texto dónde fallamos debido a nuestra carne y a nuestro estado caído. Nos golpea un poco, pero siempre termina con una nota alta.

 

¡No hay condenación para los que están en Cristo Jesús! Dios nos perdona en Cristo, nos redime. Este es el evangelio. Además, Jesús es nuestra fortaleza, nuestro fiel sumo sacerdote que puede relacionarse con nuestras debilidades y que puede ayudarnos. El predicador ofrece esperanza a través de Cristo y el evangelio al creyente cansado mientras peregrina en este mundo caído. Nos insta a mantener los ojos puestos en Cristo, a perseverar hasta el final. Nos recuerda nuestra herencia que nos espera y nos anima a no cansarnos de hacer el bien, no sea que desmayemos antes de cosechar.

 

Este es el objetivo del predicador. El objetivo del predicador no son lecciones de vida, ni dar un “manual de instrucciones” sobre la oración, el matrimonio, lo que sea. Hay momentos y lugares para eso, pero no deberían ser la dieta principal de la iglesia. Revisar los libros de la Biblia debería ser señalar a las personas a Cristo y el evangelio a lo largo del texto.

 

Recuerda el texto

Eso nos lleva a nuestro segundo recordatorio: recuerda el texto. ¡Recuerda a Cristo y el evangelio, recuerda el texto! Nuestro texto no es un trampolín. No simplemente lo leemos y saltamos al evangelio sin que el evangelio esté relacionado con ese texto. Esto es muy importante.

 

El texto que nos ocupa es inspirado, fue escrito para un pueblo específico con un propósito específico y es tarea del expositor tomar este texto y luego enseñarnos cómo se relaciona con nosotros. ¿Cómo se relaciona el punto principal del texto con su audiencia original con nosotros, los creyentes del siglo XXI?

 

Y este es el punto que estoy tratando de señalar. Nunca debemos dejar atrás el texto cuando vamos al evangelio. Si lo hacemos, incluso si tenemos buenas intenciones de predicar a Cristo que honran a Dios, de hecho estamos diluyendo el evangelio, porque estamos sugiriendo que el texto no se relaciona con el evangelio. Debemos predicar el evangelio desde la exégesis del texto. El evangelio está en tu texto, hermano. Porque cada texto de alguna manera se centra en el evangelio de Jesucristo: en quién es Él, qué ha hecho y cómo lo necesitamos. Recuerde, incluso desde el Antiguo Testamento, Jesús predicó su persona y obras desde Moisés y desde los profetas. Mira, Él estaba centrado en el texto, mientras que estaba centrado en el evangelio.

 

Hay mucho más que decir al respecto, pero el tiempo no lo permite. Quizás podamos tener momentos futuros juntos sobre esto. La segunda parte de esta enseñanza fue sólo una descripción general. Mientras tanto, creo que es útil que critiquen sus sermones. Tienes que tener la piel dura pero te ayudará a aprender a predicar mejor. Esperemos que esta enseñanza inicie algunas conversaciones sobre el tema. 

 

 

Bosquejo de ¿Qué es el evangelio? (Parte 2)

Cómo compartir el evangelio tanto con creyentes como con incrédulos

Introducción

La importancia del evangelio:

  • El evangelio como el primer aliento espiritual.
  • El evangelio como alimento diario para el creyente.
  • La necesidad del evangelio para incrédulos y creyentes.

El propósito de la enseñanza:

  • Explicar cómo compartir el evangelio en ambos grupos.
  • Enfatizar la importancia de predicar a Cristo en todos los sermones.

 

Parte 1: Compartir el evangelio con incrédulos

  • Modelo de Pablo en Atenas (Hechos 17):
  • Presentar a Dios como el único Dios verdadero.
  • Hablar de la humanidad y su pecado.
  • Anunciar a Jesús como la esperanza.
  • Llamar al arrepentimiento y la fe.

 

Los cuatro pasos de Greg Gilbert:

  • Dios: Su santidad, amor y justicia.
  • Hombre: La caída y el pecado.
  • Jesús: La persona y obra de Cristo.
  • Respuesta: Fe y arrepentimiento.

 

Aplicación práctica:

  • Adaptar estos pasos a diferentes contextos culturales.
  • Enfatizar la importancia de la claridad y la simplicidad.

 

Parte 2: Compartir el evangelio con creyentes

El problema de una evangelización descontextualizada:

  • Separar el evangelio del sermón.
  • Enseñar a la iglesia que el evangelio es solo para incrédulos.
  • La importancia de predicar a Cristo en todos los sermones:
  • Citas de Spurgeon y Jesús.
  • El evangelio como el tema central de toda la Escritura.

 

Cómo integrar el evangelio en la predicación:

  • No perder de vista a Cristo en cada sermón.
  • Relacionar el texto bíblico con el evangelio.
  • Ofrecer esperanza y aliento a los creyentes.

 

El papel del pastor:

  • Ser un modelo de dependencia del evangelio.
  • Equipar a la iglesia para compartir el evangelio.

 

Conclusión

Resumen de los puntos clave:

  • La importancia de compartir el evangelio con todos.
  • La necesidad de centrarse en Cristo en toda la predicación.
  • La aplicación práctica de estos principios.

 

Llamada a la acción:

  • Exhortar a los oyentes a aplicar estos principios en su propia vida.
  • Animar a los pastores a predicar el evangelio de manera integral.

 

Escrito por Jared Duncan, traducido y editado por Antonio Salgado

Ore por nuestros trabajadores de BCMS que sirven fielmente en lugares difíciles. Que el Evangelio siga saliendo, a Dios sea la gloria.

 

Si el Señor está en su corazón para retribuirle apoyando este ministerio, puede donar fácilmente en línea a través de PayPal. Haga clic en el botón de donar a continuación para enviar apoyo de cualquier monto directamente al ministerio. Esta es la opción más rápida para llevar fondos al campo misionero.

 

Puedes donar a este ministerio en línea con Paypal. Haga clic en el botón de donar a continuación y podrá enviar apoyo de cualquier monto directamente al ministerio. Puede elegir la opción de hacer una donación única y esta es la opción más rápida para hacernos llegar los fondos. Haga clic en el enlace a continuación para esa opción.

 

 

 

 

También,

CÁMARA DE COMPENSACIÓN MISIONERA CENTRAL
CORREOS. Caja 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-ORAR (1-800-262-7729)
Oficina: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

El ministerio de (CMC) sirve a cientos de misioneros, pero ellos SÓLO reciben los fondos para nosotros y de ninguna manera tienen control sobre cómo se gastarán los fondos o qué debemos hacer como ministerio, lo que da espacio para ser sensibles a la dirección del Espíritu y la libertad para hacer los ajustes necesarios.

Puede comenzar a enviar su apoyo al BCMS (Antonio Salgado) en cualquier momento a la dirección anterior. (Los cheques deben hacerse a nombre de Central Missionary Clearinghouse o C.M.C.)

Ahora también puede donar al ministerio aquí en la República Dominicana en línea a través de la nueva solución de donaciones llamada “haga clic y done” en el sitio web de CMC.

Para comenzar, solo necesita hacer clic en el enlace a continuación y registrarse por primera vez. Simplemente haga clic en el botón donar en su página (consulte el enlace a continuación) y luego haga clic en el ícono/botón “hacer clic y donar”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

Para la exención de impuestos, debe enviar su donación a través de Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) a la dirección anterior. Pero la opción Paypal es la forma más rápida de hacer llegar los fondos directamente al campo.

No utilizamos una agencia de envío que recibe un porcentaje del dinero donado, por lo que puede estar seguro de que su donación irá directamente al campo misionero.

Decidas lo que decidas, muchas gracias por orar por nosotros y ayudar a este ministerio. ¡Dios lo bendiga!

 

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KRIS SE TOUT POU MISYONÉ (CHRIST IS EVERYTHING, HAITIAN CREOLE VERSION)

Kris Se Tout Pou Misyonè

Leksikri sa a ap pale sou yon bagay enpòtan anpil pou tout moun ki rele kretyen: mete Kris nan sant tout bagay. Men, poukisa nou dwe fè sa?

Evangelik Lilik 24:25-27  fè nou wè jan Jezi te esplike bagay sa apot yo apre l te releve. Li te di yo: “Mesye yo san konprann san pèdi gròsè, poukisa zot pa kwè nan tout pawòl pwofèt yo te di? Eske Mesi a pa te dwe soufri bagay sa yo pou li ka rantre nan glwa l? Konsa, Jezi te komanse eksplike yo ekritid yo depi nan liv Moyiz rive nan liv tout pwofèt yo. Li te montre yo nan tout Ekritid yo bagay ki te pale sou li menm.”

Jan 5:46  fè nou konprann menm bagay la. Jezi te di: “Paske si nou te kwè nan Moyiz, n a te kwè nan mwen tou, paske se li menm ki te ekri sou mwen.”

Jodia nou wè anpil kretyen sou rezo sosyal yo, nan liv, nan preek, nan chante ki pale de “santre sou Kris”. Men, sa vle di egzakteman epi poukisa nou sèvi ak ekspresyon sa a? Poukisa nou mete tèl aksan sou sa? Petètèt kesyon ki pi enpòtan an se: Èske selon Bib la li bon pou nou mete tèl aksan sou pèsonn Kris ak sou sa li te fè?

Sije sa a se yon bagay ki parèt senp men li vrèman pwofon. Li gen rap ak teyoloji “akòmplisman” an, e se yon bagay ki vrèman enpòtan nan Testaman Ansyen an. Se mesaj Jan Batis la te preche, se mesaj Jezi ak apot yo te preche tou. Se tèt tem nan Evanjil la.

Apot Pòl te di nou lè tan an te rive pou Jezi vini. Sa vle di, te gen yon peryòd preparasyon. Yon preparasyon pou yon bagay enpòtan ki te gen pou rive. Nan plan progresif Bondye a, tout bagay ki te pase te gen yon objektif ak yon bi: montre moun pou Kris e pou fè lwanj li.

Epok Moyiz la te anonse moman sa a epi li te mete aksan sou moman sa a ki te gen pou rive. Rivè Pitit Gason Bondye a te make fini pou tan sa a. Jis nan moman sa a nan istwa, sa te objektif tou sa ki te pase nan tan lontan an.

Plisye fwa Seyè a te promette yon Liberatè, yon Sovè, Mesi a, pwofèt ki pi bon an, pi gran an, e moun ki te bay lalwa a. Tout tip ak tout bagay ki te gen pou rapèl nan Testaman Ansyen an te sèlman bagay pou rapèl pou Moun ki te gen pou vini an. Nou ka di pa tja janm te gen yon vrè wa, yon vrè pwofèt, yon vrè jij, yon vrè anseyan. Paske nan yon sans, tout bagay nan tan lontan an te pa t pi pase bagay pou rapèl pou Vrè Moun nan, pou Seyè Jezi Kris la!

Depi nan liv Jeneze rive nan liv Malachi, gen plis pase 353 pwomès sou Kris ki te akonpli nan Testaman Nouvo an!

Bib la te ekri e rezerve pou nou, men li pa pale de nou, Ekritid yo temwaye sou Kris! Tout pwomès yo se pou li, pou Kris, e nou se eritye pwomès sa yo gras a lafwa nou gen nan li.

2 Korentyen 1:20  fè nou konprann sa menm: “Paske tout pwomès Bondye yo gen repons yo nan li (Kris) ‘Wi’. Se poutèt sa, se atravè li nou di ‘Amen’ pou glwa Bondye a nan men nou.”

Sen Ogusten te konnen pou li te di: “Ansyen an revele nan nouvo a, e nouvo a se kache nan ansyen an.”

Depi nan liv Jeneze, nou wè premye pwomès liberasyon an, nan “protoevangelium” an, ki te akon

pasaj sa a soti nan liv Jeneze epi li montre nou jan Bondye te fè pwomès yon liberatè ki ta vin delivre pèp la:

“Mwen pral mete yon delè ant ou menm ak fanm nan, ant desandans ou yo ak desandans li yo. Li pral kraze tèt ou men, epi ou pral blese talon li.” (Jeneze 3:15)

Sa vèrsè sa a, rele “protoevangelium” an, se premye pwomès liberasyon an nan Bib la. Li pale de yon batay ant mechan tet ak Bondye. Mechan tet la pral blese Mesi a, men Mesi a pral gen viktory final la.

Nan liv Detrònòm la, nou wè yon lòt pwomès ankò sou yon pwofèt tankou Moyiz, men pi bon, pi gran pase li:

“Seyè Bondye ou a va chwazi pou ou yon pwofèt tankou mwen pami frè ou yo. Se pou ou koute l.” (Detrònòm 18:15)

Nan Testaman Nouvo an, nan liv Matye, pandan Transfigirasyon an, Papa Bondye te repete menm pawòl sa yo nan yon nwaj glwa:

“Epi gade, Moyiz ak Eli te parèt devan yo, ap pale avèk li. Pyèt te pale ak Jezi, li te di: ‘Seyè, li bon pou nou se pou nou rete la a. Si ou vle, mwen pral bati twa tant la a, youn pou ou, youn pou Moyiz, ak youn pou Eli.’ Pandan l te kontinye pale, yon gwo nwaj klere te kouvri yo, e yon vwa soti nan nwaj la te di: ‘Sa se Pitit mwen byen renmen an, mwen kontan avèk li nèt. Se pou nou koute l.’ Lè disip yo te tande sa, yo te tonbe sou figi yo pè. Men, Jezi vin touche yo, li te di yo: ‘Leve kanpe, pa pè.’ Lè yo te leve je yo, yo pa t wè pèsonn lòt pase Jezi menm.” (Matye 17:3-8)

Nan moman trè enpòtan sa a, Moyiz ak Eli, ki te toujou reprezante lalwa ak pwofèt yo, disparèt. Tèks la di disip yo te leve je yo epi yo pa t wè pèsonn lòt pase Jezi. Se pou nou koute Li! Se sa mesaj Bib la vle di. Jezi se vrè Pwofèt la, vrè Wa a, vrè Ansèyman an, vrè Jij la, Gran Prèt alyans an ki pi bon an ak pi nouvo a ki baze sou pi bon pwomès yo, ak vrè ak pi gran moun ki bay lalwa a, Lalwa l!

Tout bagay montre nou Kris: sakrifis yo, tanp lan, tabènak la, jou repo a, ak nou ka kalkile anpil lòt egzanp sou bagay ki te fè nou sonje Kris nan Testaman Ansyen an. Men, Testaman Nouvo an fè bagay sa yo pi klè.

Kris se pi wo pase tout otorite, tout pouvwa, tout fòs, tout dominasyon, ak tout lòt non yo ki egziste, pa sèlman nan tan nou an men tou nan tan kap vini an. (Efezyen 1:21)

Li se limyè glwa Bondye a ak imaj natirèl Bondye a. Li kenbe tout bagay nan linivè a ansanm pa pawòl pouvwa l lan. (Ebre 1:3)

Se Kris ki kenbe tout bagay nan kreyasyon an! (Kolosyen 1:16-17 ak Jan 1:3)

Kris se tout bagay! Papa Bondye te deside sa a nan sajès l san limit lan, Lèt Sen Lespri a glorifye Kris epi li gide nou nan direksyon l.

Nou menm kòm kretyen, nou dwe mete Kris nan sant lavi nou tou. Se pou sa, paske Kris se sant pou tout bagay, menm Pawòl Bondye a ladan l. Si se Kris ki nan mitan Bib la (ak linivè a), li dwe nan mitan lavi nou tou. Nou se disip li kounye a, epi nou dwe adore l epi remèsiye l pou lanmou l te demontre pou nou. Li te mouri pou nou menm nou te pecheur. Repanti pou peche ou yo, e pou konfyans ou te gen nan tèt ou. Vin jwenn Kris, goute nan li, epi mete konfyans ou nan li. Si ou mete Kris nan mitan lavi ou, ou pral gen lapè ak Bondye, Bondye va pardonne peche ou yo, epi ou pral jwenn repi pou nanm ou. Mete lavi ou nan men Kris paske se li menm ki nan sant tout bagay.

Li te ajoute de vèrsè nan Bib la tou pou fè mesaj la pi klè:

Romans 5:8 (ESV) – Men, Bondye montre nou gras li gen pou nou menm pandan nou te peche, Kris te mouri pou nou.

Repanti pou peche ou yo, e pou konfyans ou te gen nan tèt ou. Vin jwenn Kris, goute nan li, epi mete konfyans ou nan li. Si ou mete Kris nan mitan lavi ou, ou pral gen lapè ak Bondye, Bondye va pardonne peche ou yo, epi ou pral jwenn repi pou nanm ou. Mete lavi ou nan men Kris paske se li menm ki nan sant tout bagay.

Leksikri sa a ekri pa Antonio Salgado ki ap travay nan Repiblik Dominikèn.

 

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SOME DANGERS FACED BY MISSIONARIES IN LATIN AMERICA

IT JUST COMES WITH THE TERRITORY

Evangelical missionaries working in Latin America, including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Venezuela, encounter a complex web of risks depending on the specific location and context. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of potential dangers:

General Dangers:

  • Crime: Petty theft, mugging, assault, and even kidnapping are all possibilities, especially in areas with high poverty rates. Gang violence can be a significant threat in some urban centers.
  • Political Instability: Latin America has a history of political unrest, protests, and violence. Missionaries may get caught in the crossfire of demonstrations or targeted due to their perceived affiliation with foreign powers.
  • Health Concerns: Access to quality healthcare can be limited in many areas. Missionaries may face exposure to diseases like dengue fever, Zika, malaria, and foodborne illnesses due to inadequate sanitation or unfamiliar food sources.
  • Natural Disasters: Hurricanes, earthquakes and floods are common occurrences in many parts of Latin America. In some places, even volcanic eruptions. Missionaries need to be prepared for potential emergencies and natural disasters.
  • Cultural Clashes: Language barriers, misunderstandings due to differing social norms, beliefs and tensions arising from attempts to introduce the Gospel can create many challenges. Missionaries need to invest time in understanding the local culture and building relationships for their own protection and well-being. When you win them over, many times they are very loyal and thankful and will look out for you.

Variations in Risk by Location:

Big Cities:

  • Heightened Crime: In the bigger cities it is easier to find good schools, hospitals, more availability of medications, car parts and much better variety of food. Unfortunately, crime rates, including violent crime, tend to be significantly higher in major urban centers compared to rural areas. Missionaries should exercise extra caution in poorer neighborhoods and be aware of their surroundings.
  • Social Unrest: Large cities are often the focal point for political demonstrations and protests, which can escalate into violence. Missionaries should stay informed about potential disruptions and avoid large gatherings during volatile times.

Small Towns and Countrysides:

  • Limited Resources: Access to quality healthcare, reliable communication networks, and essential supplies may be scarce in remote areas. Missionaries need to be prepared for these limitations and have contingency plans in case of emergencies.
  • Isolation: Missionaries working in remote areas can feel isolated from support networks and experience loneliness. Building strong relationships with local people and maintaining communication with their home base is crucial for their well-being.
  • Infrastructure Issues: Poor roads, limited public transportation, and unreliable electricity can pose logistical challenges and hinder movement, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Country-Specific Risks:

  • Venezuela: Venezuela’s ongoing political and economic crisis creates a particularly dangerous environment. Food shortages, hyperinflation, and social unrest can significantly impact safety. Missionaries considering Venezuela should carefully assess the situation and weigh the risks before deploying.
  • Haiti: Extreme poverty, gang violence, and a vulnerability to natural disasters make Haiti a challenging environment. Missionaries need to be especially vigilant and have robust support structures in place.
  • Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic is generally considered safer than Haiti or Venezuela. However, petty theft and many other crimes still occur. So it’s best not to be naive. I have had robbers attempt many times to break into our house, they poisoned one of my dogs that protected us while we slept, the church plant in Santiago has been broken into several times, another missionary friend of mine suffered a home invasion, and they were tied up at gun point and locked in a bathroom with his pregnant wife while they stole everything. I can go on and on, but won’t. But to protect their strong tourism industry, it is likely that you won’t see much of that on the news back home.

(Unfortunately, being an American in any of these locations will automatically make you a target in one way or another by some. Missionaries should be aware of their surroundings and take precautions, especially in the barrios and even tourist areas. But if you left home to serve on the mission field, congratulations, it comes with the territory. )

Risk Mitigation Strategies:

  • Missionary Training: Missionary should receive training on cultural sensitivity, safety protocols, and emergency preparedness specific to the Latin American context.
  • Security Awareness: Missionaries need to be aware of the current security situation in their area and take steps to minimize risks. This may involve avoiding certain areas, traveling with a companion, and varying routines to avoid predictability.
  • Local Support Networks: Building relationships with local people who can provide guidance and support is essential. Understanding the local culture and customs can help missionaries navigate potentially risky situations.
  • Communication Plan: Having a clear communication plan with their home base or support organization allows missionaries to raise concerns and receive assistance in case of emergencies.

By carefully researching their destination, taking preventative measures, and building strong relationships with the local community, missionaries can mitigate many of the dangers they may face in Latin America.

Yet, these are all the more reasons why in many ways it is beneficial to work through the nationals with the proper training and accountability. They know this type of life better than we do, they are usually very used to these risks and already know how to best maneuver through most of these situations.

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PASTOR, YOUR WAY OF PREACHING AMOUNTS TO NOTHING

 

PASTOR, YOUR WAY OF PREACHING AMOUNTS TO NOTHING

 

For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing.” – 2 Corintians 10:10

 

Paul was a man of tremendous intelligence. The mysteries of God had been revealed to him, things that were hidden in times past. His letters and sermons were deep and of great theological weight.

 

However, it was said of him that, “his physical presence is weak and his public speaking amounts to nothing”. Even with the knowledge he had, many did not like his way of speaking or preaching. He said true things, yes, pure words of God, nothing that was not biblical. But he was not as eloquent as other preachers, or even the philosophers of his day. We must remember that when we judge our pastors, or any preacher of the Word.

 

God has given pastors and teachers to His church as gifts to build up believers. At the same time, just like the different authors of the gospels, each one has his own distinct way of communicating the same truths. Some sound better than others, some have more passion than others, some are more eloquent and academic than others, each one is an individual person. And none of them will perfectly please your standard, opinion, tradition, or preference.

 

The question is whether they are faithful in preaching the Bible. Do they love the Word and the Lord and the church? Perhaps they do not preach in the way that you prefer. Perhaps they fail in one point or miss a detail of a text. But the question is whether God is building His people through that man? Does he have his weaknesses? Does he have his struggles and sins? Of course! They will have some theological differences with what you understand from Scripture in certain aspects too, yes! Almost always, at least in something for sure. But it is okay and normal as long as they are not fundamental things of faith where they fail.

 

We must strive to have unity in what is primary, liberty in what is secondary, but love in all things. There is true beauty in that diversity. I fear it is pride that causes us to despise those who don’t do things exactly the way we think they should be done. In many cases, it is something more traditional than Scriptural that we have a problem with.

 

We have several examples in the Scriptures of men who preach or tell stories correctly, but in different ways. Apollos was praised for his eloquence… while others despised Paul. Some include details that others do not, and vice versa. But are they preaching the Word in such a way that it is clear what they are saying in the text, and the brothers in the congregation are being benefited and built up by the teaching? Are they joyful and do they express to you how God has spoken to them and taught them something that they now understand they must change in their lives, giving thanks to God for those same sermons that others despise and judge?

 

They look at the men that God has greatly used in the past and present and compare their sermons. Spurgeon, Edwards, Whitfield, Pink, Tozer, Piper, MacArthur, etc. They all preach the Word, and with excellence! Some with different methods, some with more passion. Not only in the communication of the message, but also in the way it is organized. It is a beautiful thing how God, through different men and in different ways, always does His will through His Spirit to speak to and edify His people. At times, Spurgeon’s sermons sounded more like poetry than anything else.

 

When we cling to one method, and in our futile way try to limit the Holy Spirit of God by saying that only in such a way should a sermon be, and if not, the people will not be edified, we are showing nothing more than a deep pride in our hearts and a certain level of immaturity. The most important thing in any preacher’s message is that Christ is lifted up, that God is glorified,… but there is also much wisdom in the following verse.

 

Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.   – 1 Corinthians 4:6

 

It is true that there are better and more accurate methods than others. There are ways to preach more academically and effective than others in that sense. For the record, I personally am a fan of sound exegesis similar to the method of Simeon Trust. I like to examine the Greek and seek to have the confidence that I am saying what the text is actually saying and not something else. But when we set ourselves up as the ultimate judge of these things, especially when we are not a pastor, do not know the inner struggles of each man, the unique way each of us are wired, or when we are not appreciating the time and effort that man gives to be able to preach that message to the best of his ability at that moment, we are doing what the Word says we should not do. Complaining….

 

´ “Do everything without complaining or arguing,” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:14‬ (For the theologians out there- if I understand the immediate context of this text, however, this can easily be applied to every aspect of Christian life.)

 

How easy it is to criticize instead of loving them and receiving the good from the message that was preached. How easy it is to desire another church, another pastor, or a better specific method of preaching, Instead of loving the church we have, loving the pastor we have, and looking for the good in what was preached instead of criticizing with crossed arms like the expert we probably are not. 

 

Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. Sound teaching is important. Solid biblical exposition is important for the health and growth of the church, and I certainly promote both things. But even within the camps of sound doctrine and good biblical expositors, unfortunately it has become a trend to despise local pastors and glorify the celebrities. But while the well known pastors may preach well, they are still sinful men at best. Furthermore, they don’t even know you exist, meanwhile your local pastor regularly prays for you and has probably shed tears before the Lord on your behalf. Let that sink in for a minute.

 

We should be more careful how we treat our brothers, Philippians 2 teaches us that the humility of Christ is what brings unity in His church. And the lack of humility in any member of the church, for any reason, will only bring division and the opposite of what Christ truly desires of us. The same ugly attitude that causes us to complain, the desire for a better pastor, a better church, a better spouse, a better child or a better job are all from the same ugly root of ungratefulness. In other words, without being aware of what we are actually saying, we are thinking that God has somehow not been good to us, and we foolishly think that we deserve more or something better. It reeks of that which caused the fall in the beginning. We should guard our hearts of such things. Let him who has ears, let him hear. Pray.

 

The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. – 1 Timothy 5:17

 

“Above all, let your love for one another be fervent, for love covers a multitude of sins.” – ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:8‬

 

“Fools do not care to have understanding; they only want to express their own opinions.” – ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:2‬ ‭

 

“Whoever keeps his words has knowledge, And the one who is calm in spirit is a man of understanding.” –  ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17:27‬

 

Written by Antonio Salgado

 

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

 

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511
You may begin sending your support to BCMS/Antonio Salgado at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)
You can also now give to the ministry online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website. To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

 

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

 

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field in case of emergencies. We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field. Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

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JESUS A FRIEND OF SINNERS

  • Jesus: A Friend of Sinners / Mark 2:13-17
  • “And again he went out by the sea, and all the crowd came to him, and He was teaching them.”
  • For Christ, teaching was important because the Word of God is important
  • The THINGS that were important to Christ, should be important to us (teaching, preaching the Gospel to the lost)

(v. 14-16) And as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. And it came to pass that as Jesus was reclining at table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many of them who followed him. And when the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

 

  • The PEOPLE who were important to Christ should be important to us

 

(v. 17) And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

  • As followers of Christ, we must follow Christ’s example

 

Additional Notes:

  • The passage highlights Jesus’ willingness to associate with and accept those considered outcasts by society, such as tax collectors and sinners. Although this presents its challenges for some, it is a clear pattern in the ministry of Christ, therefore we ought to imitate the Master in His approach.

 

  • Jesus’ actions challenged the religious authorities of the time, who believed that he should not associate with such people. Sometimes, cold and legalistic evangelicals can be our worst critics. When the critics come, we must be set on being servants of Christ, not servants of men. Christ was often criticized and slandered. Did you think it would be different for us?

 

  • Jesus’ message is one of compassion and understanding for those who are trapped in their sin, and a call to repentance and transformation through faith in Him.

 

  • We are called to follow Jesus’ example by extending compassion in tangible expressions of God’s love to those in need, and hope through the Gospel to those on the margins of society, without condoning their sin and destructive behaviors.

 

Conclusion:

Jesus, in his ministry, demonstrated radical love and invited sinners, extending friendship despite their transgressions. This message challenges us to follow His example, extending compassion and understanding to those on the margins of society, without condoning their destructive behaviors. The grace and compassion that Jesus offered to the most hated and outcasted of society was scandalous then, and is scandalous now.

People who were raised in church and in Christian homes all of their lives with little knowledge of the “world” or the “streets” will naturally fear these contexts to some extent. And perhaps for some good reasons, there is a war going on out there and this is not a game!

Yet, If you aren’t bold enough to take risks for the Lord, you will probably never do anything great for His sake. Self-preservation is a hindrance to the Gospel. Get out of the four walls of your building and out of your comfort zone. Don’t be foolish by any means, but don’t be cowardly either. Pray.

 

For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach—and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
– 1 Corinthians 9:16

 

Written by Antonio Salgado

 

 

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

 

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511
You may begin sending your support to BCMS/Antonio Salgado at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)
You can also now give to the ministry online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website. To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

 

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

 

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field in case of emergencies. We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field. Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

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THE FREEDOM OF FORGIVENESS

 

“bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.” – Colossians 3:13

 

The Gospel isn’t just for unbelievers; it’s a constant reminder and source of freedom for us believers too. We tend to forget, so preaching the Gospel to ourselves is vital. We need to marvel at the cross, at the depths of God’s forgiveness for us, just as Charles Spurgeon said: 

 

“I have to lie humbly at the foot of Christ’s cross & marvel that I am saved at all.”

 

This pardon humbles us, but it also liberates us. The Gospel reminds us of God’s immense grace through Christ’s sacrifice and the depth of our own sin, far greater than any offense another can commit. Our sin is against a Holy, infinitely Worthy Creator. So, as we contemplate the Gospel, we are disarmed and find ourselves without an argument. It frees us from self-importance and opens our eyes to the slow but sure self poisoning of unforgiveness, often rooted in our pride. We are then humbled by the cross’s grace, which empowers us to forgive others. Struggle is natural, especially with deep hurts or loved ones involved. We might stumble, but the Holy Spirit fosters a desire for forgiveness, which should eventually lead us to true reconciliation.

 

As Christians, forgiveness is a hallmark. When we struggle, meditating on God’s grace towards us and our own sin’s depth helps us forgive. Christ’s sacrifice paid for all our sin, leaving no condemnation for those in Him, including those we struggle to forgive. We‘ve been shown such incredible grace and love.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”- Ephesians 2:4-5

 

So pray, forgive, and release the bitterness. Heal and grow from the experience. “Be imitators of God,” showing grace and forgiveness to others, just as God has done so to us in Christ. Because at the end of the day, we too should lie humbly at the foot of Christ’s cross & marvel that any of us are saved at all.

 

We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day. – Martin Luther

 

Written by Antonio Salgado

 

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” – Philippians 1:3-5

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

You may begin sending your support to BCMS/Antonio Salgado at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website. To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field in case of emergencies. We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field. Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

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THE FATHER OF MERCIES AND COMFORTER IN OUR AFFLICTIONS

Let’s face it, everyone has problems they are dealing with. And it can be hard, very hard. Whether it be some bad news about your health, a life changing or terminal diagnosis, or of someone very close to you. It could be behavioral issues of a small child or a rebellious teen, marital strife, loss of employment or some other financial crisis that can seriously compound and worsen any of these issues. To be sure, it can happen in the seemingly safest of environments. How much more will it happen on the mission field, in a different context than your own, far from all that was once dear and familiar. Where stress and dangers are multiplied and difficulty becomes a way of life. It just comes with the territory. These difficulties at times can be rooted in our own sin, neglect or irresponsibility. Or we could find ourselves caught in the crossfire of someone else’s sin. Or it may just be the effects of a fallen world on those closest to us. It can still affect us deeply.

It can be enough to send someone spiraling into depression or some other unhealthy state of mind or spiritual low that feels like an inescapable, dark valley of despair. During those moments, God can seem distant and our prayers and groans of anguish towards heaven can even feel to us as if they go unheard. Thank God that is not the case! But if we are honest, it can feel that way sometimes. As believers, we can be truly trusting the Lord through the storm, but it doesn’t always make it easier, humanly speaking. We may even find ourselves at our wits end, crying out in fear like the disciples did on the boat “Lord save us! We are going to die!”

Even though a season of peace and tranquility may be coming afterward (maybe), at the moment, it can feel crushing and almost too much to bear. Some suffer for a season, some deal with it for a lifetime.

“Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

Many “storms” in life wreak havoc and leave a path of destruction in their wake, just like real storms. And just like in a real storm, it usually takes time to “rebuild” after the damage has been done. Some storms can be life changing and for some, even life ending. Many find themselves in shock and rattled to the core, left only to mourn over their situation and pick up the pieces as they move forward limping from the traumatic and hurtful experience. This happens every day to some people, for different periods of time, somewhere. We should not be surprised. We should actually learn to expect it eventually if we understand what Scripture says about the fallen nature of the world in which we live and the effects of sin as long as we live here.

God does in fact give us more than we can handle. Please don’t be one of those people who say that He doesn’t, or that He only does so because He knows we can handle it (as if were actually so strong in and of ourselves). If we could do it on our own and in our own strength, we wouldn’t need Him. Gideon comes to mind. (And may I briefly say, the popular but often misquoted verse in 1 Corinthians does not mean what you may think it means.)

The Lord brings suffering to our lives more often than we like. But He has His reasons, and we must trust Him through it. We must. Sure, we can know God’s plan and will in general, but oftentimes His plans for us as individuals in the details of our daily lives are not so easy to see or understand. God’s plans for us are often quite different from ours.

But if we find ourselves really struggling while suffering, we should ask ourselves this.  When things get hard, where else can we really go? Where does our help really come from? Sure the Lord will use people as a means to comfort us and help us, but ultimately only He can give us peace. True peace. Where will we find our strength to endure other than in our Lord’s unchanging nature, faithful promises in Christ and loving care?

He is our Strong Tower, our Rock, our Shield and Fortress to which we run to for comfort, shelter and peace. Only in Christ are we truly safe, and apart from Christ we can do nothing.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.- Psalm 23:1

I’m reminded of a well known modern hymn that beautifully says:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

Beautiful moving words right? But the question is, do we believe it?

Do we really believe Him?

Do we really trust Him?

Do we really believe that He is good?

Do we really believe that He is working out all things for good for those who love Him, even when we can’t see it?

It is important to remember that regardless of what we believe, He will be glorified. Even through the seemingly most terrible of circumstances. But we can also rest as we remember that He is a kind, compassionate, unchanging and faithful Father and draw near to Him. We must learn to abide in Christ. His Sovereign hand and love for his people will be the pillow we rest our weary heads on.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song. – Psalm 28:7

The unchanging nature of God is an anchor that keeps us clinging to the Rock that shall never fail us or cast us out during those difficult moments, or ever for that matter if you are in Christ. As I write this, many people who are dear to me come to mind. Close family members and family in the faith who are presently dealing with some of the very things I mentioned at the beginning, or even worse at this very moment. Pray for me and for other missionaries that know of these storms all too well. But also pray for those in your church who are suffering. A neighbor, a friend, or maybe even someone in your own household.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

To them, I can only say trust Him, praise Him, get alone with Him and His Word and pray. He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our affliction. The Lord is our Shepherd, we have what we need. If we persevere, we will be more like Jesus when it’s over. And believe it or not, we will even be thankful for those difficult but transforming storms in our lives. Pray.

I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.- Charles Spurgeon

Written by Antonio Salgado

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THE BIBLICAL MODEL PART 6: SENDING AND RECEIVING IN MISSIONS

Where Are Their Missionaries? (The Latin American church and the lack of outward missionary efforts)

The Command is to Send Missionaries, Not Just Receive Them

Is your church a missionary church? Are you committed to praying for, giving to, or possibly preparing a brother or sister from your church to go on a mission trip? Do you have a desire to work in missions?

In many Latin American countries, we have seen great missionary efforts from groups and individuals from various foreign organizations. Many churches have received groups of “missionaries” or have met missionaries personally who work in their town or even in their local church. Many of the people I have met here in the Dominican Republic have been the fruit of these missionary efforts. Of course, what has been done in Latin America has happened despite the problems of the region. In addition, we cannot deny that God has used them despite these many difficulties. But by God’s grace, at the end of the day, the church arrived, and for this reason today we have worshippers of Jesus Christ in Latin America. Does it have its problems? Yes. Is there work to be done? Very much! But we give thanks and glory to God first for that.

However, there is something worrying that happened with the “passing of the torch of the gospel.” The vision fell short in many places, or perhaps the mission was not communicated well in its fullness. When a people recognizes their responsibility to reach their population with the gospel, they are headed in the right direction. But it must be understood that within the mandate remains the element of going beyond, and we cannot ignore it. So we must define the terms.

What happened after the transfer of that sacred truth that is the gospel, when it passed from one distant land to another? Why does it seem that many countries receive missionaries, but generally very few in Latin America have sent missionaries to other places? Many believe that evangelizing their own people is enough and bringing the gospel to other places in their own country is enough to participate in the Great Commission. For many, this is missions.

I have personally witnessed entire “mission” campaigns on a national level of a certain baptist denomination that focused its entire month of missions on trying to get people to go out and share the gospel in their neighborhoods. Where most of their neighbors were exactly like them. I applaud the effort, but it was am emphasis on evangelism, not missions. I was asked to speak at a church who was participating. I was the only missionary there. I was gentle and loving. But I was clear that what was going on that day was much more evangelism than actual missions and that we just shouldn’t stop there. I remember receiving many blank stares after saying that. Their concept of missions was actually evangelism. We must define the terms.

Let’s see what the gospel of Matthew 28:18-20 says:

“Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Some brief observations:

* Jesus declares his supreme authority before His disciples.
* Based on that authority, Jesus gives orders to his disciples that include:
* Going to other places
* Making disciples of all nations (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη)
(groups with ethnolinguistic and cultural differences, within any nation, and outside in other nations as well).
* Baptizing believers.
* Teaching them to obey Jesus.
* Jesus promises to be with us always.

Generally, any biblical church understands the importance of evangelizing, understands the concept of making disciples by teaching new believers how to follow Christ. And many understand the ordinance of baptism and the importance of growing in knowledge and obedience to the teachings of our Lord.

But for one reason or another, we have failed greatly in a vitally important element of the Great Commission. The mandate includes going beyond, to people different from us. I am referring to an intentionally transcultural ministry, crossing ethnolinguistic and even geographical barriers, intentionally bringing the gospel to people different from us and starting the same process with them as was done when the gospel came to our context. There are some churches that, yes, have managed to send some, but if we are honest in view of the big picture, there are very few.

Where do we begin?

First, the most practical and natural thing is to reach out to people in our families, neighbors, coworkers, etc. But that’s really just evangelism. We need to have a plan to reach out to foreigners and make disciples of them as well. Maybe your church doesn’t have the resources to go, or support sending someone to a faraway land. But have you ever thought about the foreigners who live in your community, in your city? Groups that are usually looked down upon. They need the gospel too. And that would be a perfect example of participating in missions locally.

What would you think if I told you, with great sadness, that I have heard a pastor with my own ears say that he is not interested in reaching out to “those people”? This man then said that, “They can come to my church if they want, but I will not make an effort to reach out to them beyond that.”

“Those people!” At that moment, my heart was broken. This pastor was contradicting part of the mandate of Jesus. The most ironic thing is that if it were not for missionaries from other countries who brought the gospel to his country, he would not have the hope he has now either. Thank God that the brothers who reached this man’s country did not think the same way.

Why it is important to define the terms?

If we do not understand that the Great Commission carries with it the intention of propelling outward and reaching people different from us where we live, and even further to other ethnicities outside our borders as well, we do not understand the concept of missions.

In short, evangelizing is bringing the gospel to our own people and of course evangelism is very important. But, according to the biblical pattern, missions could be better defined as the “intentional way of crossing cultural barriers to evangelize and disciple.”

We are wrong when we only evangelize people of our own culture and think that we are fulfilling the mission, when in reality, it is only a part of the mission. The text does not present us with the luxury of only working here or there, one group or another. It is both things. The Lord with all authority in heaven and on earth said to “all nations, to all the world.” And I repeat, that was a command, not a suggestion. The King of kings has given His orders; period. I agree with John Piper when speaking about missions he says: “We only have three options, to go, to send, or to disobey.” It is key that we can understand this, that missions should not be optional for the church.

Below, I present some evidences that may show that many churches have lost focus, and then you will be able to see some practical suggestions to start taking the Great Commission more seriously in our local churches, even with the few resources that many churches have.

Evidences that we have lost focus of the mission

Churches with growth invest their resources (and sometimes even go into debt) with secondary matters; such as better equipment, larger temples, a multitude of fun activities, etc. But in order not to be misinterpreted, I must clarify that these are good things and none of them are a sin in themselves. I would never say something like that. But, if I ask you to honestly examine our priorities. The budgets of each church reveal a lot about the true priorities of any ministry. If we take the words of the Lord seriously, the Great Commission should be one of those priorities.

Evidences that we have lost focus of the mission:

  • Receiving and thanking missionaries from other countries who come and help, but without having any urgency to understand the need to imitate that kind of sacrifice and dedication for others. What we have received was never only for us.
  • No long-term plan to prepare and send missionaries from local churches.
  • No funds allocated in the church budget to support some people who are already working in the mission field.
  • No place on your prayer list for missionaries in other countries, or for the Lord to raise up missionaries from your congregation to give their lives in the mission field in another country.

It is time for us to learn to obey the Lord and step outside our comfort zones, my brothers. This is God’s plan, and we should not give ourselves the luxury of ignoring the most difficult parts of following Christ. Let us remember that in the book of Acts, the disciples had to suffer persecution in order to spread the gospel to other cities and nations. We should not expect anything different for us.

Some suggestions for adjusting our focus and beginning to participate in the Great Commission:

  • Firstly, we must pray. Let us pray for missionaries in other countries. Brothers and sisters who give or put their lives in contexts much more difficult than ours.
  • Let us pray that the Lord will put a passion in the hearts of the members of his church to present the gospel in other nations.
  • Let us pray for provision so that we can support missionaries and eventually send others. Faithfulness is more important than quantity, and the people who give offerings and pray for missions play a role of equal importance to that of the missionary in the field.
  • Let us pray and choose a country for which to pray frequently, for the missions and the church of that country. Praying for missions in other nations is participating in those missions. We depend on the Lord, and we cannot do it in our own strength.
  • Let us pray that the Lord will raise up one of his own church to the mission field, possibly it could be you. Would you be willing?
  • Be intentional in preparing leaders. This should always be a priority in any church. If you have faithful men working in the ministry, who know the Word of Truth, they will be the best candidates. If they are to be effective as missionaries, they must be good theologians.
  • Above all, do the work of an evangelist. Preach to everyone. But you must be intentional in seeking opportunities to build relationships with people from other cultures as well (even if it is with translators), take the time to learn things about them and their culture, with the goal of preaching the gospel to them. This is also participating in missions.

If you open your eyes you will realize that God brings a mission field to your own doorstep. Opportunities abound, Christ has all authority and thank God He promised to be with us. What else do we need? What stops us?

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… – Jesus

(This article was originally written in Spanish. The context is of the Latin American church and the lack of outward missionary efforts. Written and translated by Antonio Salgado.)

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry:

You can donate to this ministry online with PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to us. Click the link below for that option.

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

Posted on

THE BIBLICAL MODEL PART 4: THE BALANCE OF FAITH AND FUNDRAISING IN MISSIONS

 A Glance At Both Sides Of The Same Coin

For every person who has ever prayed for me, or donated any amount over the years. Thank you, I appreciate your love for the Lord and the desire to be involved His mission.

Anyone who has followed the work here for any length of time has probably read in a newsletter, or a post on social media somewhere that,

“Those who pray for and give to missions play a role just as important as the missionary on the field.” 

I say it often, especially when doing some speaking back home or talking missions with anyone. I say it a lot because I really believe that. The church or person who gives any amout faithfully over time, or the grandmother who wakes up early every morning to pray for the missionaries that she has pictures of or names of on her fridge. Both play a crucial role in this long term partnership in the Gospel we call mission work.

When it comes to funding a missionary, some would say very simply that if it’s God’s will He will provide, and they take the position of not seeking to share needs or raise money. They firmly believe that in this way they are truly trusting the Lord. That’s fine, if it is their conviction, and I believe that if it’s God’s will then He will provide too. But to leave it so simplistic would really be to miss something important on the other side of the same coin. Something clearly revealed in the Scriptures that should not be avoided.

We understand and believe that God has ordained all things, absolutely. But He has also ordained the means by which to reach those ends. One confession puts it well when speaking on the decree of God. It says that:

“God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established; in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decree.”

And it wouldn’t take long reading through the epistles before you would start to notice a couple of things:

First, Paul absolutely depended on God and prayed expecting God to answer, and God often did.

At the same time we see other examples of Paul making his needs known to the churches. He also expected the brethren to help him with his needs and the needs of others.

Both are true and they go together.

Yes, at times he worked with his hands out of a conviction and even necessity. In Philippians he writes that at one time

“in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone.” (Philippians 4:15)

This is incredibly astounding! Consider the great Apostle Paul, the Apostle to the gentiles, the great missionary. Now consider churches that he himself and perhaps others had planted, unwilling to give or help Paul so that the Gospel may go forth in other places? If we lost all of our support, and only one (fairly young) church supported us, we would have to do the same. I too have had to do quite a bit of tent making  as of late, at least until we acquire some new mission partners to help ease the burden of new needs and to prepare for future plans we have. But that hasn´t always been the case.

One realistic downside of bivocational missionaries to consider, is that it is easy to become overloaded and overwhelmed, and hence comes the possibility of becoming less effective and their longevity on the field may then soon be in play. Unless somehow, they had established in the past a business, or a high paying career before they moved to a foreign mission field, and they were able to somehow keep it going and make money for their family and ministry without sacrificing all of their time. But those are exceptions, and often bivocational missionaries usually end up spending less time working for the Lord (of course everything we do is unto the Lord, but I mean specifically mission work and ministry here) and more time working just to survive and make ends meet.

And as the Lord opens more doors, it also comes with more expenses and needs. In the past, I taught English at another school free of charge for almost two years. We still even recently have helped that school. But there are seasons of life and ministry when you just do what you gotta do. So I  was teaching at another school, but now I am working at the orphanage to make ends meet. I am willing to do it and even enjoy it in many ways. Sure it is a blessing and the opportunities to share the Gospel are many. But, family in that mix of a very demanding work load, both in ministry and another full time job, and you will eventually have a recipe for burnout. Especially on the field where the needs are often much greater when working with the poor, and people aren´t so individualistic and private, but need and desire much more attention and time spent together with them. Often needing more time and resources than you have available, and need more than most Americans do.

It is this way with ministry in many other cultures, it’s just different. And if we are honest, most people culturally as Americans just like thier privacy and in general are better off financially. And that’s ok. I say this to mean that just because something is common and or easily done in the States, it doesn’t mean it will be so in a different setting. And though bivocational ministry is always difficult, it proves to be even moreso where the people are poor, often sick and less educated. In those situations, things usually take much more time, energy and money.

But why do some missionaries seem to always need money?

Well, first we would certainly agree that the most loving thing we can do for a person is to share the Gospel with them and point them to Christ. To this we say yes and amen. Yet at the same time, it would very unloving to preach the Gospel and ignore someones obvious urgent, basic needs, especially if we were in any position to help them. Of course we cannot help everyone, and the “poor will always be with us.” But this is no excuse for not being as generous as possible and we must remember that we were saved not just from something, but also for somethings,

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Time and time again we see in Scripture the duty of the believer to compassionate, merciful and generous as we saw exemplified in the life of our Lord and the Apostles and the early church. When the other Apsotles extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas as they were getting ready to go off to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples of the gentiles, they reminded Paul of something that was important to them beacuse it was important to God..

“Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”  Galatians 2:10

In the book “Controversies in Missions,” a compilation of essays written on various controversial topics in missions, a chapter on Carl F. H. Henry’s regenerational model puts it this way:

“The particular eloquence of Henry’s position is this: one need not deny the important biblical commands regarding social justice in order to arrive at prioritism (the Gospel proclamation is the priority), and the way one does this is by understanding the full weight of the doctrine of revelation within Christian theology. When this is done, it becomes clear that there is a direct correlation between the doctrine of revelation and the priority of proclamation. However, such a prioritist position by no means renders what the Bible says about social justice as irrelevant or unimportant. In fact, the opposite is true. A high view of the doctrine of revelation, especially concerning Scripture, also gives rise to a robust social concern because the moral imperatives for God’s people are divinely revealed.”

This is in no way a “social gospel” as some understand it. But rather biblical ministry centered on God’s revelation and the ethical demmands put on those who are transformed by the very same Gospel proclamation. The latter (compassionate generosity) actually gives evidence to and establishes that the first and main thing, (Gospel proclamation and salvation) actually took place to begin with. One is a priority, yet both are necessary and biblical. The author offers a very helpful illustration from every day life to help us understand how both are necessary, while rightly keeping the main thing, namely Gospel proclamation, the main thing.

“I might say that I am going to go to the bank to make a deposit and then to the post office to mail some bills. I furthermore declare that the bank is my top priority because if I do not deposit my paycheck, then the bills cannot be paid. Clearly, one has here a case of priority in which both things remain necessary. I still must deposit my check and I still must pay my bills. Yet one of these takes priority because the second thing depends on the first thing having taken place. It is the same with evangelism and social concern. The gospel must first be preached before converts can be discipled and, indeed, the content of Christian discipleship remains mired in obscurity apart from the proclamational foundations of the apostles and prophets, which is divine revelation. Thus, the logical priority of evangelism does not render compassion as optional. It simply affirms the ultimate place of Scripture and the unequivocal role given to proclamation in the life of the church.”

Consider this text in James:

“If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.” James 2:15-17

But now back to my first point on the funding necessary in order to do both of these things:

So we have the Apostle Paul, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write and explain the mysteries of God being revealed, praying to the Sovereign Lord, and at the same time He makes his needs known to the churches and seemingly expected them to meet those needs. We see true dependence on God through prayer, AND communicating to the churches his own needs and the needs of others. Why? Because He understood that the means to reach the goal of the church, IS the church. Specifically, the emphasis in the NT is overwhelmingly on the local churches.

God´s people have a mission, to go and make disciples of all nations, baptize and to teach all that Christ has commanded. God´s people also have the real responsibility to be intentional in going, sending, praying for and providing for that mission and showing mercy and compassion to others in the process. There are ethical demmands that are put upon the beliver through the commands in the NT.

It´s not rocket science, but for some at least, its hard to stay balanced. Many people error and fall off of one side of the horse or the other. It just isn’t as black and white as some would like. We live in a tension in this area. Consider the beautiful mystery of God’s Sovereignty and the will and responsibility that man has. His decrees and His means to reach His intended purpose.

Who´s mission is it?   God´s.

Who has He commanded to fulfill the mission?   God´s people.

Who´s doing the calling?   God.

Who´s Word are we preaching and teaching?   God´s.

Who did He choose and inspire to write and preserve it? God´s people.

Who is the one preaching and teaching?   God´s pèople.

Who is forgiving sins and doing the saving?   God.

Who is being saved and who is He using to proclaim the Gospel?   God´s people.

Who is opening the minds of people, illuminating them to understand the Scriptures? God is.

Who does He use to do this?   God´s people.

To Whom belongs the cattle on a thousand hills (and everything else in the universe)?   To God.

Who is doing the praying and who is doing the providing?   God´s people.

Who has He entrusted precious resources to, to be used for His glory?   God´s people.

At the same time, who is really doing the providing and Sovereignly answering specific individual prayers of provision for His people who are doing His will on His mission? God is.

I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the point by now. His plans will be accomplished and cannot be thwarted, no doubt about that. But He has revealed and commanded how it is to be done as well. And we are very much responsible for being about the will of God in the work of the church. He will do it, and He will do it through His people. Paul knew this. But many who lean too much in either direction fall into error and become unbalanced, inconsistent or worse, unbiblical.

To deny the real responsibility we have before Him would be somewhat foolish and would require the systematic focusing on some particular texts of Scripture, while at the same time ignoring of a lot of other texts. Or putting Scripture against Scripture versus putting the two things together. It would be akin to an error as in saying, God will provide for me but I refuse to work. Or that God will cause me to grow in knowledge but I refuse to read or study.

For the above mentioned reasons, we have come to the understanding that it is ok to ask for help and make needs known for us and for others. We simply say “these are the needs, pray about helping.” If the Lord puts in someone the desire to help, then praise the Lord! We have examples of it in the Scriptures and we simply accept it and live in the tension between the Sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. There is no need to even try to reconcile the two, we see both in the Bible and they do not oppose eachother in any way.

Why even address this? I feel the need to expalian this mainly because of critics, who themselves are of an extreme position and choose not to communicate or share needs out of their conviction.

Unfortunately, the same often suffer need more frequently and unnecessarily. God has blessed and given the specific gift of helping/giving to some. (1 Cor. 12:28)  People who desire to see the Gospel taken forth and to help the poor and others. There are people and churches somwhere, right now praying about which mission to give to.

I could testify time and time again about how the Lord in His providence would bring such people across our path through their own prayers in seeking who to help, while at the same time answering our specific prayers for provision. Many of who we have never even met or had any prior contact or a relationship with! The Lord really has provided and answered an innumerable amount of prayers like these. And He always did so through His people, whether a church as a whole or through individual brothers and sisters.

Having said all of that, I am extremely grateful to God and to our mission partners who pray and support. Especially those who have done so faithfully over the years. Without your prayers and donations we just wouldn’t be able to do what we do for as long as we have done it. That’s a fact. Thank you and God bless you.

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado Jr.

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

 

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

You can  donate to this ministry online with Paypal. Click the donate button below and you can send support of any amount directly to the ministry. You can choose the option of doing a one-time donation and this is the fastest option to get funds to us. Click the link below for that option.

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the Paypal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us and helping this ministry. God Bless You!