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Flower Vase Freedom?
Celebration of Independence
Yesterday, July 20th, Colombia celebrated 202 years of independence from Spain. Colombians all around the country demonstrated their patriotic loyalty much like we do for our 4th of July celebrations in the USA. They enjoyed a day off from work, parades, time with family, massive feasts, and giving thanks for their freedom.
The story of their independence is a rather interesting one, revolving around a Venezuelan-born man named Simon Bolivar (who spent most of his time in Colombia and liberated 6 countries from Spain), and more interestingly, a conflict about a flower vase. Yes, a flower vase! You can read about that story here.
The battle for freedom in Colombia wages on.
I’m not talking about simply freedom from oppression from rebel groups, violence and political uprisings. Yes, that is what many focus on, but I’m talking about the freedom that Jesus speaks of in the Bible.
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
You see, Colombia, just like the rest of the world, has a root need for eternal freedom. If you look at the entire passage there in John 8, Jesus was speaking to the Jews who were religious. They had the right family heritage, being sons of Abraham. They had the law. They had the right customs and practices and they didn’t see their need for being made free.
But Jesus saw that they were indeed servants and slaves to sin, and of their father the Devil.
Pretty harsh words, aren’t they?
Set Free or Made Free?
No matter how hard we try, in our own effort, the best we can do is to be “set free” from sin. There’s a difference between that and what Jesus actually said. He said he would make us free!
Here’s a good way to picture it… If you were in prison paying for a crime that you committed and I came by with a bomb and blew the wall off to let you out, I would have set you free. The problem with that is, eventually they are going to come looking for you (and me) again to throw us both back behind bars. It would be a temporary fix.
But, what if I go and pay your penalty for you. I can then walk in the front doors with the warden, who reaches for his keys and lets you out, now a free person. You’ve been made free. There is a great difference! Because, now, there is no more condemnation (See Romans 8:1).
How are we made free? By Jesus Christ! He paid our penalty 100%. As long as we try to work our way to God, the best we can do is break free for a little bit. We can’t get completely free from sin, and we can’t get completely free from eternal condemnation.
But, thanks be to Jesus, he has already paid the price and offers to MAKE us free! The Bible calls that Justification. My record is cleaned. God’s books show that I am free. There is no more punishment for my sin. No condemnation.
Do you see the difference? That’s what Colombia (and the rest of the world) need to hear.
What about you?
Have you let Jesus make you free or are you still struggling along, trying to make it on your own. If you were to die today, would you spend eternity with God, or would you be found guilty. It all goes back to what you’re depending on. Are you depending on your works? Your religion? Your effort? Your family?
Jesus Christ died on the cross to buy your freedom. Why don’t you believe in that today? Don’t just believe that it happened, but put all your faith in what He has done and repent of your own effort. He said he’d make you free.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
If you need help or if you have questions about salvation and being made free, I and my family would love to help you and answer your questions. Leave a comment, send me a message or give me a call. I promise to respond because Jesus loves you, and I do too.
How Have We Missed The Gospel?
Why do many of our converts fall away? Why is it that christian workers burn out? Why is there so much sin in the lives of most “believers”? Why is it so hard to find people willing to surrender their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ?
I sincerely believe that churches today are full of lost people. I would go even as far to say that many leaders of churches are as lost as the people they try to reach. Why is this?
Could it be that their perspective of the Gospel is warped?
I challenge you to find the time to read the following article. It is written by a great friend of mine who is a church-planter in North Africa. It will help your perspective, I promise.
You can check out the original article on my friend’s site by clicking here.
I have recently been appalled at how my independent Baptist brethren have got the Gospel only half right. What do I mean? Let me give you a few illustrations:
1. I heard a sermon recently where the preacher (Bible college grad from an ind. Bap. school) gave the following illustration: “If I were to offer to give you a year’s worth of provision for a minute’s worth of work, would it be a good deal for you? Sure. So God gives us provision for eternity, shouldn’t we serve him for this short lifetime?”
If you missed it, the Gospel is not: Serve me and I’ll give you eternal life. It’s not even: Serve me since I already gave you eternal life. Why? Well, in eternity we’ll serve him, too. No. The Gospel is a new heart. A new life. New desires. From Ezekiel to John 3 to the writings of Paul we learn that the whole point of the New Covenant is that we will WANT to serve him if we’re born again. He will put a new heart in us and we won’t turn back to the old heart of sin (Jer. 3:17). This is a changed life! Not a life that serves God in exchange for eternal life. That is the motivation for all false religion. We have nothing to bring to God. He brings everything to us in the Gospel and makes us alive “unto good works” (Eph. 2:8-10)
2. I heard a song recently where the line repeated was this: “I am satisfied with you. I hope you’ll be satisfied with me.” I love the dear brother (also a grad of an Ind. Baptist college and a missionary) who sang this. In love I have to say, God is already satisfied with you! That’s why Jesus came! He satisfies God for you. He makes you satisfactory. (Rom. 3:25, 5:1, I Jn 2:2, 4:10) Then he frees you from a life of needing to work to satisfy God. God sees you as perfect, just, and completely whole. Now the motivation to serve him is a heart overflowing with thanks for his kindness, mercy, and blessings! (Is. 63:7)
This is natural in the life of a believer in Christ. No, we don’t need to work to satisfy God. In fact, could our work ever satisfy God? No, only the work of the cross. It didn’t only satisfy God concerning our salvation but it also satisfied God concerning our life as “Christ followers”. God is satisfied with his blood washed children. Don’t think your service as a missionary is what satisfies him with you. Christ’s service on the cross already did that.
Don’t the Muslims in North Africa need to know that working to obey Allah’s laws won’t satisfy him? Don’t they need freedom from a life of striving? Don’t the Buddhists of SouthEast Asia need to know that doing good works won’t help them reach Nirvana having satisfied the Creators demands through Buddha’s Four Nobel Truths? Don’t they need freedom from that sort of life of striving? Don’t the Hindu’s of the Indian Subcontinent need peace with God without the sacrifices and the works on the Ganges river? The missionary message is that God’s demands have been satisfied in Christ! We satisfy God when Christ is in us! His blood! His cross!
3. I recently heard another preacher (well-known and respected) preach these words exactly: “The security of our salvation is up to God. The assurance of our salvation is up to us. When we are living right we will know we are saved. When we aren’t living right we will doubt it. So then, the Bible teaches works assurance.”
Would it be, then, ok to say, “For by works are you assured of salvation through your efforts. That, not of God, it is the result of hard work.” (see Eph 2:8-9 for a reference)? I don’t think so. My salvation was a work of God by grace. My new life in Christ is work of God by grace. My assurance is a work of God by grace. The whole life of a Christian from beginning to end is a work of God by grace! Doesn’t Phil 1:6 teach us that he who began the good work in us (John 1:13) is the same one who completes it? Not of works, lest any Christian should boast.
Here are a few reasons I think we as Ind. Baptists miss the Gospel so badly:
1. At it’s root, we have understood salvation to be a prayer of acceptance that saves us. Since the Holy Spirit, repentance, and the new birth (new heart, new desires) don’t play a large part in salvation, then neither do they play a large part in the rest of our lives.
2. As a result of this root we have a lot of people who aren’t born again, don’t have the Holy Spirit of God living in them, and we try to get them to continue by the power of the flesh by works (Gal. 3:3). The only way left to motivate them is by scolding them or by making them feel guilty. “You have been given eternal life in exchange for a simple prayer, shouldn’t you then work harder in exchange!” is the common logic.
I think it’s time we square up with the Bible and stop trying to assure lost people that they are saved. The message of the Gospel is, “You will know them by their fruit.” If a person is saved they WILL want to serve God with all their hearts. They just need to know how. They need someone to walk with them and help them learn to walk in the grace of the Gospel the same way they were saved. We don’t need to work on their fruit, we need to look at the root.
The grace of the Gospel is not only for salvation it’s also for sanctification. It’s all of God. He has made me a new person and now I serve him out of this new heart. I serve him out of overwhelming thanks. God is satisfied with Christ in me. The work I do is Christ living in me. In myself is no good thing. When I understand Christ’s work in me and I am more and more consumed with a desire to serve him. That’s the new covenant. That’s the new heart he’s given me. It began with Him and will end with Him.
Here are a few verses to help you contemplate the work of the New Covenant in your sanctification:
Ezekiel 11: 19-21 ”And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.”
Jeremiah 3:15-17 “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Philippians 1:5-7 “ For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.”
The Saddest Letter
Read the article below reposted from “Encouraging Words by Cary Schmidt.”
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SADDEST LETTER I’VE EVER READ by Cary Schmidt
I recieved this letter from a young lady last week—a Bible college student who grew up in a Christian home and Christian school. I believe it’s the saddest letter I’ve ever read and right on the mark for so detailing the experiences of so many young Christians. I asked her permission to post it. Please read. Her words will greatly challenge you as a parent or pastor:
Dear Pastor Schmidt,
A few years ago, I read your books Hook, Line, and Sinker, Discover Your Destiny, and Life Quest. I found them to be extremely encouraging and instructive. These books showed me that not only do you have a real heart for young people, but you also understand us well. I am writing to ask you to consider writing a book to our parents and youth workers. Let me explain.
I am a junior at a well-known Christian college. I grew up in highly respected “fundamental independent Baptist” churches, and went to excellent Christian schools. My father has been a Christian worker since before I was born. One would think that my testimony would go something like this:
“I was saved when I was about 5 and I had dedicated my life to God and I have been growing a lot and serving Him and now I’m studying to serve Him full time.” But that isn’t my story. Actually, though I did make a profession of faith when I was very young, I didn’t get saved until I was 17. Since I was 12 and now on into college I have struggled with “serious” issues. And I found out when I went to college that I am not the only “good kid” who is or has struggled with or is still struggling with serious stuff. We struggle with issues like eating disorders, depression and suicide, cutting, pornography, gender identity, homosexuality, drugs, drinking, immorality, and the list could go on. We listen to “wild” music, we idolize pop culture’s heroes, we watch dirty sitcoms. We have no discrimination in our entertainment, dress, or any aspect of our lifestyle. Obviously, I’m generalizing our problems—you would not find that every Christian young person from a conservative background struggles with all of these issues, and praise God, some of us do not struggle with any of these issues.
My point is that the problems that are supposed to be bad kid’s problems belong to us too. Unfortunately, our parents and youth workers don’t know that we struggle with these things and they don’t know what to do with us when they find out. Quite frankly, I believe that if you grabbed the average Christian school teacher or youth worker and asked them, “What would you do if you found out that one of the kids you work with was a homosexual?” they wouldn’t know what to say.
My point is not simply that they don’t know what we struggle with or how to deal with it. I think there is a pretty simple reason why “good” kids struggle with such serious stuff. And that there is a solution. At the risk of being blunt, I’m going to be blunt.
Our parents did not spend time teaching us to love God. Our parents put us in Sunday Schools since K4. Our parents took us to church every time the doors opened, and sent us to every youth activity. They made sure we went to good Christian colleges. They had us sing in the choir, help in the nursery, be ushers, go soulwinning. We did teen devotionals, and prayed over every meal. We did everything right. And they made sure that we did.
But they forgot about our hearts. They forgot that the Bible never commanded the church to teach children about God and His ways. That responsibility was laid at the feet of our fathers. Unfortunately, our fathers don’t have time for us. They put us where we are surrounded by the Bible. But they didn’t take time to show us that God was important enough to them to tell us personally about Him. So to us, Christianity has become a religion of externals. Do all the right stuff, and you’re a good Christian. So, some of us walk away from church. Some of us stay in church and fill a pew. Many of us struggle with stuff that our parents have no idea about because they hardly know us.
I think these problems stem from first, our detachment from our parents, and second from our misunderstandings about the essence of Christianity—a relationship, not a list of rules. I worry that many young people like me are not even saved because of their misunderstandings about Christianity.
I know that this has not been a well articulated treatise, but it comes from my heart. If you are able to help us and our families, we would be so grateful. I realize that probably, there is no way to fix the fact that kids my age are detached from our parents or to straighten out the crazy stuff that we struggle with. The alienation is fixed, the scars are permanent. I know our situation is not hopeless. God is at work in my life and my generation, among those of us who have struggled and are struggling. But maybe our younger siblings can have some help that we never had. Maybe you can write a book for our parents that will grab their attention and help them see that this is serious—that their kids need them, desperately.
I guess I’ve run out of things to say. I must say I’m a little hesitant to share my name with you because that attaches me with my parents, who are, by the way, good people. Thanks for everything you have already done to help Christian teens and their families. I’m eager to see what else God will do through you.
Sincerely,
(Name Removed to Protect Anonymity)
All I could say when I read this letter was, “WOW! She nailed it!” Let this insightful young lady’s words sink in, and let God help you evaluate your own parenting and influence.
Are we teaching kids to simply appear and act right? Or are we teaching them to LOVE God and KNOW Him personally?
What are your thoughts?
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Check out Cary Schmidt’s follow-up articles here:
Response #1 To The Saddest Letter
Response #2 To The Saddest Letter
New Friends In Bogotá
Today we went to la Iglesia “La Biblia Dice…” (“The Bible Says” Church) and got to meet some new friends. This is a Baptist church that was started by a missionary, Paul Clark 26 years ago (the church’s anniversary was today), and God has blessed in huge ways. The church has been pastored for a while now by a Colombian man who was reached through the ministry and they have about 1,000 people, with two services that are packed to capacity every week. They have sent out many people from the church to start more churches and have dozens of daughter and granddaughter works around Colombia and in Venezuela. Their goal is “Colombia Para Cristo en 5 Años” (Colombia for Christ in 5 years). They are well on their way!
Just after the morning service. (I didn't take any pictures during church)
After church, Pastor Rudy Garrido and his precious family took us out to eat and then to their home for a wonderful time of fellowship. God is using this man in an incredible way.
Pastor Rudy Garrido, his wife Rocío and his youngest daughter Ana María. His older two children aren't pictured here.
He explained to me the three stages of discipleship that has become the heart of their ministry. When somebody accepts Christ they are invited to an “induction” course. They meet once a week, either on Monday or Saturday, and go through 8 lessons that teach mostly about salvation, eternal security, baptism and church membership. These lessons are taught in a group setting by one of the church leaders.
After these 8 weeks, most of these people are baptized and join the church, then are invited to be involved in a more thorough one-on-one discipleship series of 13 lessons. The people teaching these lessons are people who have gone through all three levels of discipleship themselves and can identify with the individual on a personal level. A taxi driver would disciple another taxi driver. A housewife would disciple another housewife. A businessman would disciple another businessman. etc… These lessons deal with the basics of the Christian life and get people well founded in what they believe and how to explain to others what they believe.
Then, the third level of disciple ship is a series of 16 lessons that go very deep into the Christian faith, getting people well familiar with the theology of salvation, having a strong prayer life, how to do in-depth Bible study, evangelism methods, etc. When people come out of these lessons, they are able to comfortably teach others in the one-on-one courses.
Furthermore, the church offers more classes for going deeper in one’s Christian life. The series they’re going through now is “¿Quién Es Dios?” or, Who is God? Even the pastor and his wife go to this and it is almost like another church service, with about 300 going through this at any given time.
People get saved every week. There were about 15 that were saved today! The church is involved in many outreach programs, going on mini missions trips around Colombia, soul winning in local parks (they give people a free bottle of water if they’ll give them 5 minutes in return lol), conferences for young people and so many other things. Most of the people who visit, are saved and get involved in the ministry are personal friends and contacts of the church’s members. They teach a lifestyle evangelism. Not just one day a week. It’s a whole manner of life.
This is truly an incredible ministry. A ministry we might like to learn from even more, if God permits.
Be praying for God to direct us as to His perfect Will. We definitely need His guidance.
Tomorrow we will be meeting with Freddy Nieto, another national pastor here in Bogotá, then hopefully visiting the ministry that ABWE has here along with their Bible College. We’ll keep you posted!
Saving Lives In Medellín
She was 15 years old. She has a two year old and a 4 month old baby, both with different daddies. Her family didn’t offer much support. Her surroundings screamed that a life of utter failure would ensue. The babies didn’t have much hope. It was even questionable if they would live. Then she met Christ and her life was changed. There was suddenly a support group around her giving counsel, help with the baby and instruction in God’s word. Somebody made a difference and invested in her. Now there is hope.
She was 13 years old. Her body had become a dumping ground. It’s the only value she could find. It was the only time anybody thought she was worth anything. Then they would leave and somebody else would come. She was at the mercy of the streets. Drugs, alcohol, sex. This was her life. Then she was introduced to a man called Jesus Christ. He showed her what real love is. He changed everything. He put her in a place where she received love in a pure way from people that actually cared for her.
He was 12 years old. His parents essentially kicked him out of the house. The street became home. Drunks, pimps and druggies became his friends. Food was a luxury. His life was hard. Each day he woke up with fear that it might be his last. And with the gunshots, the yelling, the crying, the hallucinations, it’s not as if sleeping through the night were something easy either. What was the purpose of life? Why even try? But then, God came into his life. He brought him into a home where love abounded, where people cared, and they taught him about a man named Jesus. It wasn’t an overnight process, but after time, this Jesus became HIS Jesus. He became the father that never existed. He became a good friend. He became a personal loving Lord and Savior. Now, after 8 years in the program, this boy is now a leader for other boys coming straight off the streets. The unwanted ones. The scum of the city. The ones for which Jesus died. He now makes a difference in many lives because somebody made a difference in his.
These are real stories we heard today, from the kids themselves. These are real kids who have been saved. Saved from a life of destruction. Saved from a life of failure. Saved from the vicious cycle. Saved from hopelessness. Saved from eternal Hell.
We spent most of the day with the Perrow family, who are good folks from the Open Arms Foundation here in Medellín. They have a wonderful work going on. Their mission statement says it all:
Please watch this touching video that they’ve put together. We met many of these kids today, and it broke our hearts for the need. For every kid saved there are dozens more just like them that need somebody to reach out to them. You can find more info on their website here.
The Vance Family 