On Mission with God

In the US, there has been a great deal of controversy over the Ten Commandments. I remember just a few years ago seeing many yards with signs of the Ten Commandments, supporting their public display. Much of this centered around the situation of the monument of the Ten Commandments in the Alabama State Courthouse. For the moment, the controversy in the US seems to have subsided.

Here in Brazil, the controversy we face over the Ten Commandments is not publicized and does not center around their public display. Rather, the controversy is over which Ten Commandments are the actual Ten Commandments. That may strike you as odd, but that really is one of the barriers we face in presenting the gospel in a way that Catholics in Brazil can understand.

Let me explain. Most Catholics in Brazil learn their belief system from the practice of the church and from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They rarely read the Bible. They certainly do not study the Bible the way they are required to study the catechism. Therefore, the catechism is considered a source of authoritative teaching and is, in practice, placed in a position of authority over the Bible.

The Portuguese translation of the Latin Catechism of the Catholic Church has a formulation of the Ten Commandments. It is more of a summary, rather than presenting the full text of the Ten Commandments as they appear in Exodus 20.2-17 and Deuteronomy 5.6-21. I’ll translate the formulation for you:

First: Worship God and love Him above all things.

Second: Do not invoke the holy name of God in Vain.

Third: Sanctify Sundays and the observed festivals.

Fourth: Honor your father and mother (and other legitimate superiors).

Fifth: Do not kill (nor cause other damage, in body or soul, to yourself or to your neighbor).

Sixth: Keep chastity in word and deed.

Seventh: Do not steal (not keeping unjustly, nor damaging the goods of your neighbor).

Eighth: Do not raise false witness (nor in any other fashion slight the truth or defame your neighbor).

Ninth: Keep chastity in thoughts and desires.

Tenth: Do not covet/envy the things of others.

If you grew up in or have been discipled in a Protestant church, you will quickly see that this list of Ten Commandments is somewhat different from the Ten Commandments in the Bible. It is even different from the authorized Catholic Bible used by Catholics here in Brazil. It is quite shocking for the folks to whom we witness when they read the Ten Commandments in the Catholic Bible. They can not believe that the Bible actually says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below (Exodus 20.4 NIV).” They do not want to believe the Bible actually says that. Most Brazilian Catholics have statues of Mary and many of the saints in their homes and in their churches. Some homes have 100 or more statues, idols.

I could go on, but I won’t for now. Perhaps I’ll continue this subject in a future post. Suffice it to say, we have a huge challenge before us as we share the gospel with the lost of Brazil.

I would like to ask you to pray for Prof. M. He is not yet a follower of Christ, but has been attending one of our house churches for quite some time. God has been doing a lot to grab his attention. Those of you who heard me speak in the US may recall me telling you about a dream that this man’s wife had and how God fulfilled that dream. He e-mailed me with two questions. One of those questions was, “What are God’s laws for man today?” That is a huge question and will take a lot of time to answer. Please pray for Prof. M and me as we walk through the Bible together searching for the answer to this question. Please pray that God will open his eyes to the truth, that he will become a follower of the way of Jesus Christ.

In Brazil, there is something about Mary, and the saints, that holds incredible sway over Catholics. I was talking with a young lady at house church last week about this very subject. We were expressing praise to the Lord that another family has realized that they can no longer follow Mary and the saints. This young lady told me that it took three years from the time she first heard the idea that praying to Mary and the saints is idolatry to the time she realized that was true. The family (mentioned in our previous post) have been studying the Bible with us for about six months. We praise the Lord that He has opened their eyes to see this truth.

We have not discovered any specific amount of time that is necessary for people to realize this truth. Since we discovered this barrier to proclaiming the gospel among our people, we have become more intentional about addressing idolatry in our teaching. With a belief that is so much a part of who Catholics in Brazil are, we must take the time necessary to present the truth in love. We must also give them time to count the cost of following Jesus.

If you approach a post-modern person and proclaim that an absolute truth exists for all people, you probably will have only one opportunity to speak to that person, and you probably will not convince them. If you approach a Buddhist and proclaim that there is only one path to God, you will probably only have one opportunity to speak to that person, and you probably will not convince them. The same holds true with Catholics in Brazil. If you approach a Catholic in Brazil and proclaim that it is necessary to abandon Mary and the saints in order to follow Jesus, you will probably only have one opportunity to speak to that person, and you probably will not convince them.

We have learned that this particular barrier to the gospel among our people will usually only be overcome by investing time and love in teaching the Bible to them.

This is just one insight we have gleaned from our time working here in Brazil. Thank you for taking the time to read it. Please pray that God will ever keep our eyes open to see barriers to the gospel and that He will give us ways to overcome these barriers. 

Luciano and his wife Rosângela learned Hunsrik as children from their parents in the interior of Brazil’s south where immigrants from all over Europe came seeking a better life. Their families have been Catholic longer than any of them can remember. With this many years of family and societal traditions change comes at a high price. Friends often ridicule you and family can cut you off. However, this couple continues to pay the price as they learn more and more about God through Bible teaching. Their journey has been one that the team has been watching carefully and praying over. 

Recently they studied the Ten Commandments and the issue of idols and images came again to the forefront. They have accepted that their worship of the saints through images as well as their prayer to the dead is a sin but now they are wrestling with what to with the images that are family heirlooms. Those who have walked this path understand the ties that exist with those who have gone before us being bound up in the images of the saints or Mary. Pray for Luciano and his wife to be set free from their past.

Recently the team has struggled through a series of difficulties both physically and spiritually that have begun to take their toll. Both IMB and national team members grow weary in the face of illness and spiritual darkness, and even spiritual attack, and this can leave one feeling as if the wind has been taken away. Often the difficult and dark days are a prelude to blessing and growth that is coming if we will but persevere.

Pray for the team and those in the churches to persevere. Pray for deliverance from evil and to love God, neighbor, and enemy alike. Many in the churches face persecution on a daily basis at work and at home. Also, pray that God would bring new workers to the harvest from among the Hunsrik. There are so many that have yet to hear that Jesus is so much more than a ceramic image.