We have a mission

The Bible is not the Gospel. The Bible contains the Gospel. Fortunately the Bible also contains some explanation of the Gospel. Why do we need Good News. When did all this happen. The Gospel can be summed up in three brief statements; Jesus died, Jesus rose back to life, and He did it for me but the application of what He did is not automatic. Therein lies the mission.

2 Cor 3:2 “you are our blog known and read of all men” said Paul. 2 Cor 6:16 “you are the temple of the living God” he also said. 1Pet 2:5 “you, as living stones, are built into a spiritual house” said Peter. In other words, once Christ’s work on our behalf has been applied to us, we are the book that people read; we are the temple, with all its liturgy, that people look at. We are what directs people’s attention to God. Once we have their attention we give them the Gospel. We are the adornment, the liturgy of the temple that leads to the veil, Christ, behind which is God. Since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus there is no other way for people to approach Him. Therein lies the mission.

In addition to generalized warnings I have seen three specific warnings to the US, warning of judgment. Because their motto has slipped. A long way. “In God we no longer trust”. This goes for the church as well as for the country as a whole. Dave Wilkerson in The Vision ‘foretold’ destruction for the US, that is quite a while ago. And now I have read a missionary from India who has given the church in the US a stern lecture about its worldliness and pride. I also have a friend who is blowing the trumpet. He has an IQ of me and his brother combined and has been with Wycliffe translating the Bible. He concluded that Revelation 18 is referring to the US. We do not agree with him but it may be that he has the judgment for the US part right.

In any case we ask the question, why has the church in the US and Canada gone so far down? Physically they say that we are in poor health because of lack of exercise and I think that the church has the same problem. Lack of exercise leads to apathy, attrition, lethargy, self-satisfaction, self-centeredness, immune deficiency, wow you name it. What is our exercise? Preaching the Gospel, therein lies the Mission ! !