Let's do a better job of being His ambassadors
Why did Jesus Christ come to earth? Why did He die? And what is the message of the Gospel? These questions must be answered, and they must be answered with simple clarity. Throughout our beloved India, we find these questions being answered by pastors, evangelists, missionaries and Bible Translators. But their answers are often unclear, and rarely are we hearing a consistent reply among these church leaders. It's no wonder that church members throughout the country live with a dangerous confusion about these crucial questions. It's also very, very sad to see church plants in the rural areas filled with people who are now calling themselves "christians" but who only understand Jesus as another strong God that is able to provide them protection, healing, a better job and a good spouse for their children. Many of them are not saved and they do not understand the Gospel because God's servants are not making the message understandable.
The Gospel is the "Good News", but it makes no sense to people until they've understood the truth about the "bad news". In Proverbs we are told that when a person feels they have a full stomach, then even something wonderful like honey seems like a terrible idea to them (Prov. 27:7). And Jesus said that He came for those who realize they are sick, and that He really has nothing to offer those who believe they are healthy (Mt. 9:12). But so often the church is insisting on giving the sweet honey of the Gospel to people who have no thirst at all for it. Or worse, they're giving a message that SOUNDS like the Gospel, but isn't quite understood as it should be.
I hope my book, "Making the Truth Understandable" will be a help to those who really want to do a good job of carrying out the responsibility of being His witnesses, His ambassadors and His ministers of reconciliation.
For His glory,
Satya M.
South Asia
Why did Jesus Christ come to earth? Why did He die? And what is the message of the Gospel? These questions must be answered, and they must be answered with simple clarity. Throughout our beloved India, we find these questions being answered by pastors, evangelists, missionaries and Bible Translators. But their answers are often unclear, and rarely are we hearing a consistent reply among these church leaders. It's no wonder that church members throughout the country live with a dangerous confusion about these crucial questions. It's also very, very sad to see church plants in the rural areas filled with people who are now calling themselves "christians" but who only understand Jesus as another strong God that is able to provide them protection, healing, a better job and a good spouse for their children. Many of them are not saved and they do not understand the Gospel because God's servants are not making the message understandable.
The Gospel is the "Good News", but it makes no sense to people until they've understood the truth about the "bad news". In Proverbs we are told that when a person feels they have a full stomach, then even something wonderful like honey seems like a terrible idea to them (Prov. 27:7). And Jesus said that He came for those who realize they are sick, and that He really has nothing to offer those who believe they are healthy (Mt. 9:12). But so often the church is insisting on giving the sweet honey of the Gospel to people who have no thirst at all for it. Or worse, they're giving a message that SOUNDS like the Gospel, but isn't quite understood as it should be.
I hope my book, "Making the Truth Understandable" will be a help to those who really want to do a good job of carrying out the responsibility of being His witnesses, His ambassadors and His ministers of reconciliation.
For His glory,
Satya M.
South Asia
Photo credit (top faces) to Noah Saleem; (bottom, Kolkata Rickshaw pullers) to Girish Kumar P J
