A Gospel Reminder and Bishop James Ussher | The Great Anglo-Irish Prelate
Gospel Reminder
First, let me say what an honor and joy it is to partner with Practical Missions Cohort once again. To say it is wonderful how God continues to use Jesse in his missionary ministry to the Italian community is an understatement. I am beyond grateful to him and his family for their unwavering commitment, sacrifice, and perseverance in the gospel as they continue to serve in Northern Italy. Since the last time I was able to contribute to the PMC blog, my family and I have transitioned out of Northern Italy after five years of calling it home and decided to return stateside. Perhaps one day I can share how God’s faithfulness made all the difference as my family and I, continue to acclimate back to the norms of America; in short, a lot of prayer was needed, and much prayer was answered. All glory to Him! For this brief article, I wanted to share some gospel reminders with the PMc readers, and I’ll try my best to weave them together in a small effort to give us a framework for closing out this year well and Lord willing developing a strong start to a new one. The basic idea here is simple: know, share, and contend for the gospel, read about people who did that well, and don’t waste your life.
Recently I was asked to teach a Sunday school lesson under the subject, ‘the problem of sin: an answer for the modern skeptic,’ for our local youth group. Sin is absolutely a problem and so I was grateful to help and unpack what the bible says on the subject. My lesson plan included a practical exercise on how to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with an unbelieving friend, family member, teammate, or stranger. By God’s grace most of the students at our church, know their bibles well and enjoy discussing Christian apologetics and theology; one of the desired outcomes for this class was to help our youth see the connections and importance of knowing the gospel so we can better share the gospel. As the role-playing began, there were plenty of smiles to go around and perhaps a little awkwardness as a few of them genuinely struggled to articulate what they believed out loud succinctly. To be clear, it wasn’t that they didn’t know what to know, but more so how to verbally deliver what they did know. Noticeably, some students never rehearsed how to present their beliefs in the context of evangelism and that’s okay. While some struggled, others did great, but this is why we learn and practice. It was encouraging to see them rise to the occasion and really have a go at it. I sincerely believe God decided to use it as an opportunity to facilitate an introduction to thoughtful evangelism. Sadly, I think evangelism in the western church in the broader sense, (perhaps more so among and in reformed circles) feels like a former ally of war who has now found himself betrayed and left for dead. Evangelism has been replaced by sharing a link to a sermon or recommending a YouTube channel, a new podcast, or a good book with the unbeliever. Those things have a place for sure and at times can be helpful. But too often we decide to share things about Jesus indirectly versus directly sharing Jesus and His gospel (2 Corinthians 4:11, Philippians 2:11, Psalms 105:1-4). When given the opportunity with a neighbor or family member share the story of the bible. Share about God the creator, His creation, man’s fall, and sin, His promise, forgiveness and redemption, and eternal life. I am genuinely grateful for my local church where our elders and pastors admonish us weekly to share and proclaim the full gospel with our neighbors (Colossians 1:28). This practical exercise showed us the difference between knowing the truth in contrast to developing the ability to know, share, and defend the truth. It’s a great reminder that the local church doesn’t want to simply raise up ‘fat heads.’ We want our theological knowledge to lead to authentic & practical holiness and practical Christian living. Overall, we had a lot of fun. I think it was good for us to practice and experience what sharing the gospel with a modern skeptic could look like.
Two of my children who attended the class mentioned afterward they ‘just needed more reps’ and I agree with them. Above all, our evangelism should flow out of a deep love for God and our neighbor. For us to become comfortable with presenting what we believe to the skeptic, we ought to learn to have a Christ-like love and practice sharing His love through sharing the gospel. People are broken & fragile, in some cases even hostile, so there is a great need for all of us to not only know the gospel but to know it enough to properly contend for it. The command in Scripture for those of us who are saved by grace, through faith in Christ, is not only to be hearers of the gospel but active doers of His word (Ephesians 2:1-10, James 1:22). Some of us may still need to get there while others need to return to their first love through repentance and reform.
The good news is God provides us with all we need. First, and perhaps of most importance, He provides us with Himself. He provides us with a Father, our Savior Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons who willingly & joyfully gives all of Himself to us. Second, He gives us His word and desires that we read and study it and learn about Him in greater detail (Ezra 7:10). Third, He supernaturally gifts His church to preach and teach His word through the agency and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He delivers truth, grace, forgiveness, knowledge, faith, hope, and charity through the preached word. Lastly, the sacraments. Our Lord commands us the church to participate in baptism and the remembrance of His sacrifice, as found in the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and 1 Corinthians. Baptism pictures our new life in Christ and serves as a crystal-clear reminder that the old is gone and the new has come. In the Lord’s supper, we receive the bread and wine as a participation in the body and blood of Christ in which we are edified and encouraged. It is good to remember that our Lord does not ‘zap us’ into spiritual maturity. Instead, our journey to maturity happens over time as we are sanctified through His Spirit, as we pray to Him, confess our sins, study biblical doctrine, and grow in grace, faith, hope, and love (Colossians 3:14-17). All this is to say, that a maturing and developing deep knowledge of God, brings about a deep love for God & a deep love for God’s people, and a love for those who have yet to know God. When all this works in tandem we can begin to truly redeem our time in all we pursue while living and learning Christ on this side of salvation.
This helps too…a lot
Throughout my years of discipleship, I am convinced there is tremendous value added in the reading of personal stories of historical Christians who came before us. Whether it be the stories of Ignatius of Antioch and the early church fathers, or overseas missionaries like David Livingston, perhaps your favorite reformer or puritan, many faithful believers both past and present male & female, have modeled a godly life that is truly worth emulating. As Christians, we all should play an active role in listening & growing in sound doctrine, to better apply God’s truth and live out faith practically in every area of life. Honestly, for some, living the Christian life can seem daunting and maybe even impossible. But it helps when we can read of gospel stories and in turn, experience the legacy of faithful Christians who prioritized their lives for Christ firsthand.
We need to read stories filled with victory, risk, danger, persecution, and even death as saints of old and now contend for the gospel during difficult circumstances. This often helps me put into perspective how seamless it should be to share the gospel at my local coffee shop where the only real danger is having to pay for an overpriced oat milk latte. You see friends, good gospel stories can inform our approach and involvement in the gathering of God’s people, family, marriage, society, academia, theology, vocation, sports, business, and politics. Our commitment to serve Christ in His kingdom is genuinely maximized when we adopt the ethos, all of Christ for all of life, and so the mind and heart of the Christian develop and become prepared to invade these areas with the truth and clarity of God’s word. With this in mind, and before we look at the life & ministry of the great protestant Anglo-Irish Bishop, James Ussher, we begin with this: the church has always contended for the gospel and so should we. Bishop James did not waste his life, to the contrary, he spent his time, energy, and resources on contending for the gospel and so should we (1 John 3:18). The gospel should be present in every area of our life.
During the first year of living in Italy, we realized how challenging and difficult the church landscape was. It was almost nonexistent, to be honest. There was not a plethora of resources or solid churches in northern Italy. Rome is a different story as they have a healthy network of smaller churches. In the north, there may be a handful of churches preaching a clear gospel. We moved to Italy because of my career, but soon after our arrival, we realized God ultimately signed us up to live as overseas missionaries. We didn’t volunteer for that, but God reformed our thinking and changed our hearts to acclimate to the new environment we were in. Esther and I had to adjust all our understanding of what it meant to be the church in a way we hadn’t been challenged to do before. What became clear was no one was coming to save us. Ultimately it was up to us and a few families to facilitate the gospel ministries we needed to survive while living in Europe. The Lord started to really work in my life and reshape my understanding of what ministry is. By His strength and mercy (often sought with tears) he connected other like-minded families who collaborated to create a vibrant weekly homeschool Co-Op. The Co-Op was successful and began to fill the void in our homeschooling community. I taught the High Schoolers Christian Apologetics, while faithful homeschool moms taught science, language, history, and math through a Christian worldview. God began to open more doors for ministry at an unprecedented rate and permitted me to start a weekly youth group and do weekly evangelism. We also started a midweek men’s ministry, conducted one one-on-one discipleship, and even a leadership role at a PCA church plant where I taught and preached God’s word for over two years as a reformed Baptist. I’d later collaborate with an Army Chaplain during our last year and was able to start a men’s bible study for active-duty Soldiers and government civilians, and we served at the local chapel. God’s hand for sure. Jesus eventually provided me the opportunity to start biblically counseling men struggling with alcohol abuse and who suffered from broken marriages. As a married father of five, and at a time when I was wrapping up a full-time military career and completing grad school at night there were some hard weeks. There were weeks when I was tired, sad, angry, and needing support, but God gave me a heart to pray, repent, and lament, and His grace and strength given knew no limit. He gave me friendship with other faithful men who were Christlike and able to minister to my brokenness. It was nothing short of supernatural. He often made five hours of sleep feel like nine hours on the days it seemed like I needed it most. But for the first time in my Christian life, I knew what it really meant not to waste my life. I had a new measure and standard for myself on what it meant to use my time, energy, and resources for God fervently and wisely. To be forthright, we left Italy spiritually parched, grieved, and drained spiritually, but looking back I think He allowed me to accomplish what he needed me to accomplish. If nothing else, He graciously facilitated the circumstance to scatter gospel seeds, so all we can do is wait and see and perhaps the Lord would permit further harvest in the years to come. Charles Bridges once said, ‘ours is the care for service, and the Lord’s for success’, there is rest in that truth. Overall, He’d have me ‘leave it all on the field’ so to speak. Perhaps another article for another time.
That’s part of my story but whether stories of God’s people are found in the ancient text of Scripture or throughout the recorded sacred history of the church, God has kept and employed a faithful remnant to accomplish His will through proclaiming His word and promises (Hebrew 11:1-39). This brief article on the story of Bishop James Ussher is another example of a faithful saint who labored tirelessly for the gospel and the kingdom of God. His story serves as a relatable and encouraging example of a good gospel story that informs and helps shape our faith while in service to God’s church. I have found that grace-filled gospel stories and testimonies of the church are neglected, yet a vital and necessary component for edifying and encouraging the contemporary Christian. We all need encouragement but encouragement in the gospel is ultimately what we truly thrive on.
To read of the details of our shared experience of salvation reminds us that we aren’t alone, and our adoption does not only mean that we are made a son or daughter of God, but we become brothers and sisters in God’s larger, ancient, and holy & beloved divine family (1 Cor 12:12-27). The divine weaving of the Christian tapestry known as redemptive history, is ongoing and likewise, the abundant faithfulness of the Trinity has been and continues to be on full display in our hearts & minds and the church itself. The resiliency and faithfulness of the early church should encourage those of us, still in the fight against the adversary, the world, and the flesh, while living in ‘Babylon’ (Ephesians 6:10-20). Trust when I write, we are not the first nor the last to suffer for Jesus and His namesake, as we all await His glorious return (Hebrews 2:10, Ephesians 3:1-3, 1 Peter 3:18-19). But until that day, we are called to guard the truth entrusted to us (1 Tim 1:14).
We are to be awake and prudent like the five virgins of Matthew 25 and stay ready for ‘that day’. This is good gospel living. In short, until we hear trumpets, head to glory, and experience the beatific vision, we should view ourselves as enlisted soldiers ready to suffer for Christ if called upon (2 Tim 2:3-4). Each of us is called to lock arms with the faithful, both past & present, in the war against sin and in the work of proclaiming His gospel to the lost (Ephesians 6:16-20). We are living out our own gospel story as the Lord reveals His will for our lives and Lord willing, it can be used to encourage others now and for generations to come.
Stay the Course
The task of proclaiming the gospel and living it out is not always easy nor convenient. The world is fallen, primal innocence is lost, mankind is separated from God and sin abounds. The world is opposed to truth and at times, sadly, our own fear of man keeps us from sharing Christ with our loved ones and neighbors. But we must stay the course. Beloved, I genuinely share in the corporate lament, the holy indignation, your concerns, and earthly frustration of where we are politically, socially & culturally in Western society. Our national politics, and what can appear to be an ever-growing instability of a toxic geopolitical climate are just cause for grief. And that’s not all, is it? We have a failing economy, inflation, sickness & disease, death, brokenness, increased famine, criminality, sin of all types, and earthly disasters like earthquakes, storms, hurricanes etc. all of which can be highly discouraging and provide no true earthly rest or comfort.
‘But God,’ as Paul scribed to the church of Ephesus reminds us that in Christ, you and I can remain hopeful in the promises of Holy Scripture and even defiantly optimistic when it comes to the future of the world in lieu of God being rich in Mercy (Ephesians 2:1-10). The plan for the world is Jesus the Messiah. King Christ will destroy His enemies, bring in a new heavens and new earth, and save His elect (Ephesians 1:1-14, Psalm 2:1-7, 1 Peter 1:2, Romans 11:4-5, Colossians 1:13). Nothing, to include our western politics, federal legislation, presidential elections, or any geopolitical crisis will stop or even slow down the mission of God. Part of my own comfort is knowing with certainty the great commission will be wildly successful, the nations will be discipled, and they will overwhelmingly turn to Jesus before He returns. When I pray the Lord’s prayer, I really believe where it says, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Luke 11:2-4).”
Jesus fulfilled all of what was prophesied in the Old Testament scriptures and did so perfectly and our triune God will continue to do so because God is dependable and His word reliable. It is important that our life and actions reflect faith in His written promises, especially during these times, otherwise, we may find ourselves like those doubting disciples on the road to Emmaus. Remember what Jesus told them? The text says, “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:” Luke 24:25 (KJV).
The scriptures explicitly teach us faith is the evidence of things not seen and even if it is not seen that doesn’t mean it was not revealed, written, recorded, and promised. God's promises are clear, explicit, understandable, and trustworthy. This is our hope – this is the hope within us we are commanded to defend (1 Peter 3:15). True faith, ‘is the substance of things hoped for’, and the things hoped for, were the things God promised (Hebrews 11:1). I think the writer of Hebrews wants us to understand this further in the later verses of chapter 11, where it's written: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:8–10.) So have faith and pray for more of it.
The End Up Front
Forgive me, but I may have just provided what could have been my whole conclusion up front. But so much of it thus far reflects direct inspiration from researching the life & ministry of Bishop James Ussher. Bishop James understood by faith we can trust in God’s promises and His promises are not only reliable but beautiful. God is painting a portrait of truth through His promises to His church. The world, the adversary, and even our own sin cannot prevent His work from happening. Jesus promised He would build His church, and He certainly has (Matthew 16:18). But we stay ready and active; we must press on and press into the preservation of doctrine while contending for the glorious truth of His life-saving gospel (1 Tim 4:16). At times, we are unfaithful, even in our redemptive state, but God provides strength for you & I, and saints like Bishop James Ussher to accomplish the work.
In Christ, we are recipients of His ongoing mercy & forgiveness and have been given the gift of repentance, so that the church can carry out her gospel work for the expansion of His kingdom (Colossians 3:1-17). As God’s adopted children we become partakers in His divine nature and the old has passed and the new has come, this is our confidence (2 Cor 5:17, 2 Peter 1:4). We are called to labor fervently as Kingdom ambassadors and workers and have been granted access to Christ with every spiritual blessing at our disposal. Beloved this is great news! In short, we are called, beloved, kept, and equipped to contend for the gospel earnestly (Jude 1-4). This should be encouraging for us all.
So, as we walk with Christ, we can (and should) read and revisit many wonderful stories of committed pastors, theologians, and missionaries, both men and women faithfully proclaiming the gospel in every century in every known country – a faithful remnant carrying out all the Lord has asked of us in the Great Commission (Matthew 28). As Creator and High Priest, Jesus is still building His church and as Savior, He continues to draw the lost unto Himself for the purpose of calling, justifying, sanctifying, transforming, glorifying, and keeping His people secure for eternal glory (John 6:44, Ephesians1, Col 1:18-23). Beloved, again, this is our confidence.
Roots and Bishop James
From the earliest days of the church and throughout centuries since the protestant reformation, the infallible word of God and the testimony of the church informs and shapes the lives of bible believing Christians. As protestants, our reformational roots are formidable and have stood up to much of the scrutiny directed its way. As protestants, we need to continue to retrieve and reform, but our primary claim is the word of God is sufficient for life, faith, & practice. So, if religious institutions with a different gospel or post-modern humanists engage in personal attacks or detraction, we stand firm on the word of God. The same word of God revealed in the prophets and in the deposit of Jesus and the Apostles, as we proclaim a clear gospel to a dying world. When the world or some other religious institution criticizes the core tenets of Protestantism and wants proof of its validity as a branch of the historic church, my response is always simple: see the Holy Spirit and His agency. Whatever God the Spirit sets out to accomplish in accordance with the decreed will of God– He will accomplish. There is no polemic from any earthly institution that can disprove that. Since Christ Himself said He would build His church, no argument can stand against His good & perfect work (Matthew 16:18). Who can lay a charge against His elect or the agency of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:23)? God still calls, saves, changes and redeems sinners (John 1: 12-13).
As contemporary protestants, be confident that we possess gospel clarity, deep confessional roots, credal convictions, divine liturgy (though in some cases sadly discarded), and the Holy Scriptures as our guide. The Holy Spirit Himself convicts and testifies to a watching world, the power of His Word, and displays what He accomplishes in each of us individually and as the corporate body of Christ. It is in this same vein we hear of Christ-centered lives and the confidence of great protestants like Bishop James (John 14:15-31).
Okay the Bishop
The late Bishop James Ussher was born in Dublin Ireland in the year 1581. Ussher was an Anglo Prelate of the Anglican church during a time when most of the church of England could be considered orthodox without having to offer a lot of context or qualification. He is best known for his labor in patristics texts, politics, the chronology of the Old Testament, and his tenure as professor & vice-chancellor at Trinity College Dublin. Many Christians have benefited greatly from labor in patristics and do not even realize it. Ordained as a Pastor in the year 1601, a deacon at the College in 1602, Ussher played an active role in serving, leading, and shepherding the church. The Lord later in his life would graciously arrange three more significant ecclesial positions within the Irish church, a testament to Ussher’s character & virtue. Bishop James was made Bishop of Meath in 1621, four years later was named Archbishop of Armagh in 1625, and in the year 1634 where he’d become primate of all of Ireland. In between these years, he would be excused from his episcopal duties to pursue manuscript research and much-needed scholarship. Ussher wrote extensively on theology and against Catholic works that he felt muddled the gospel and departed from scripture. Despite the complexity and layers of his commitment to the gospel, he managed to hold all these roles faithfully and without scandal. Upon reading his biography I was simply struck by how there was not a part of his life in any decade in which he lived, where he wasn’t actively seeking God or engaged in gospel work. Bishop James was a bold defender and stalwart of the Protestant faith and faithfully preached the doctrines of grace while earning respect from both Puritans and Anglicans during a time when protestants, at least the Puritan types, tended to shoot first and ask questions later or shoot while asking questions. He became widely known for his humble demeanor and Christlike temperament as he strived for unity on matters of theology, orthodoxy & orthopraxy, and gospel charity.
Pastor James was able for a time, to bridge many of the theological disagreements and public issues of the day through the employment of a sincere faith, a true hope in Christ, and a charitable spirit. Suffice it to say, that theological triage has deeper reformational roots than some may know. In the year 1641, Ussher in the spirit of John chapter 17 created an alternate and mediator position on understanding church government. Ussher sought to at the very least create a shared understanding of the differences while bridging the gap between the Laudians, who believed in an episcopalian church hierarchy (bishops), and the Presbyterians, who wanted to abolish episcopacy entirely. Ussher’s writings and formal proposals were not published until the year 1656, unfortunately after his death. Though rejected by the King, his work eventually would be published in England and Scotland well into the eighteenth century and used to further the dialogue on post-reformational ecumenism.
He was adamant when defending and explaining the historical precedence, need, and justification for the protestant reformation and shamelessly shared his concerns for Roman Catholicism. At times, he’d express his disdain for the papacy as recorded in a 1627 declaration entitled, “Judgement of the Arch-Bishops and Bishops of Ireland", where it says,
“The religion of the papists is superstitious and idolatrous; their faith and doctrine erroneous and heretical; their church in respect of both, apostatical; to give them, therefore, a toleration, or to consent that they may freely exercise their religion, and profess their faith and doctrine, is a grievous sin.”
James pushed for the unity of the church, but he also labored for the purity of the church. He wanted to ensure the faith deposited once and for all was protected and proclaimed. In the year 1654, Ussher would be nominated as 1 of 14 divines to assist in writing the core beliefs and fundamentals of the faith as key terms of toleration. Bishop James opted out of his selection, citing a contention with the legality of it, and even preached against it. Apparently, Ussher, believed it was not appropriate to formulate fundamentals of the faith and subject them to scrutiny, later having to be ratified or approved by the civil magistrate. My assumption is his understanding of biblical theonomy would have those two things reversed. Meaning, God is the author of all bylaws that should be adhered to and employed by the civil magistrate. However, so the story goes, Ussher did not completely refrain from involvement or remain silent; it appears he suggested puritan and pastor, Richard Baxter to replace him instead.
Ussher was a magnificent scholar, and his genius as a researcher and writer was displayed in his eye for tracking down historic and original sources. He’d often work from neglected manuscripts and bring to light the materials he needed through rigorous & tedious personal research. A resourceful theologian, he was relentless in his logistical and coordination efforts in working with other continental scholars to track down the best copies. Younger scholars, such as Francis Quarles, were employed as research aides, allowing the bishop to cover more ground efficiently. His prose showed a passion for exactness which made him extremely sensitive about unauthorized publications and sloppy scholarship. His approach to the integrity of scholarship was unmatched and is credited for allowing his sources to tell their story in their own words. And even in their use, in his publication, he’d incorporate them into his text with clear but with little commentary.
Modern academics have found little to no fault with Ussher’s accuracy. One writer says this of Bishop James when discussing his exactness, “his conclusions have been mended by further application of his own methods. His merits as an investigator of early Irish history are acknowledged by his countrymen of all parties; his contributions to the history of the creed and to the treatment of the Ignatian problem are recognized by modern scholars as of primary value; his chronology is still the standard adopted in editions of the English Bible.”
Ussher wrote widely on Christianity in Asia Minor eventually focusing on episcopacy, and various treatises against Roman Catholicism and concern for their extrabiblical dogmas. An equipped and well-armed expert in Semitic languages, he argued aggressively for the reliability and acceptance of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and even employed someone in the Middle East to gather biblical and other manuscripts for him. Throughout the centuries scholars continue to issue praise for Ussher’s work, in particular for his innate ability to make accurate distinctions between the genuine and the spurious epistles of the 2nd-century St. Ignatius of Antioch. Ussher went on to publish works in the years 1644 and 1647 on a host of highly debated theological and textual criticisms which were met with universal praise. It was said in the eulogy of Ussher, ‘No man had a better soul, the love of the world seemed not … in his nature. He had a way of gaining people’s hearts and of touching their consciences that looked like somewhat of the apostolical age revived.’
Beloved, I could go on for pages about Bishop James in an effort to capture the many pastoral stories, victories & triumphs in public ministry, the literary works he wrote, his approach to divine liturgy, his concerns for others, or his convictions on a wide range of public and theological issues in which he always would offer God’s word as the ultimate and final authority on the matter. Trust when I write, that I have not begun to scratch the surface not to mention the virtue, character, and Christlike demeanor who clearly knew God, and more importantly I believe God knew him.
Here is the big idea for you and me: Bishop James contended for the gospel, and he did not waste his life. He used his time on earth to honor Christ, to share the gospel, to write about and proclaim biblical truth, and to care for souls. His genius was in service to the King. Perhaps you and I will never amount or even come close to completing the list of his accomplishments or achievements, but I used him for that very reason. When we examine such a remarkable life such as his what excuse can I make for not sharing the gospel with my son’s cross-country coach or my local barista? How can I not write a small letter of appreciation to the family who helped during a time of need or trial? As Christians, God gives certain assignments for a particular time for a specific person or people to do, to declare His wonderful works and salvation (Psalm 96:3). As we read scripture you will see Moses, but you will also see men who rolled away Lazarus stone at his grave. I can be floored as I read of Joshua and all the military victories God gave him, but I also read of the simple faith of a woman who touched the hem of the Lord’s garment to be healed. You may be the Pastor or the door greeter at church but either way, you are living, proclaiming, and modeling the gospel (Mark 28:19). Are you the person called to live overseas to preach to an unreached people group? Go. Are you the Sunday school student who is practicing how to share the gospel to engage his teammate after the next game? Practice and then go share Jesus (Mark 16:15). The basic idea here is simple: know, share, and contend for the gospel, read about people who did that well, and don’t waste your life.
Written by Daniel Barea
Daniel Barea was born in New York City and spent his childhood raised in a pagan religion that taught a false gospel. His parents divorced when he was just four years old and around the age of fifteen, his father would pass away leaving both he and his siblings fatherless and confused. Unconverted, and angry at God, he turned to a life of sin.
It wasn’t until many years later, at the age of 31 while serving on active duty, he would be confronted with the good news of the gospel. Daniel repented from his life of sin and turned to Jesus. Soon thereafter, his wife Esther would receive Christ while attending a women’s Bible study. Personal discipleship would soon follow for both of them and the Lord’s kindness manifested itself in the healing of his marriage and the raising of his children. Daniel and Esther homeschool five wonderful children all of whom have a confession of faith. He's had the honor and privilege of serving at many churches due to his transient active military career.
He's spent time as an evangelist, Sunday school teacher, preacher, lay pastor, and Christian CO-OP instructor, and currently is a member of Centerville Christian Fellowship in Dayton, Ohio. Daniel loves God's word, reads reformed theology, and enjoys teaching others about the wonderful works of the Triune God while sharing the doctrines of grace and His gospel with anyone who'd listen.
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