Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Gospel is for All

Church of Christ minister and missionary John Moody McCaleb spent almost 50 years in Japan as a missionary. When asked why he would travel all that way when there were people in the US who needed to hear the Gospel, McCaleb wrote these words that later he made into a song:

Of one the Lord has made the race,
Through one has come the fall;
Where sin has gone must go His grace:
The gospel is for all.

Say not the heathen are at home,
Beyond we have no call,
For why should we be blest alone?
The gospel is for all.

Received ye freely, freely give,
From every land they call;
Unless they hear they cannot live:
The gospel is for all.

The blessed gospel is for all
The gospel is for all;
Where sin has gone must go His grace:
The gospel is for all.


This song is always a reminder to me of the need for the Gospel throughout the world. That is the reason that we are going to Argentina. Although 92% of the population claims Christianity as their foundation (mostly Catholicism), less than 5% attend any sort of church services in a given month. Most Argentine men go to church as children, stop early in their adult years, and then only attend for major events in life (marriage, baptisms, funerals). They joke that the true religion in Argentina is futbol, since the games are played on Sunday afternoons.

There is a need to take the true Gospel to the people of Argentina. They need to hear that God loved them so much that he gave himself for them. It is amazing and awe inspiring, and the people of Argentina need to know that following Christ is about more than traditions, doctrines, and rituals.

Pray for the people of Argentina. God is working in their hearts and lives; people are constantly coming to Christ, and there seems to be a small sense of openness. Pray that God will do great things in that nation.

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