rio grande magazine issue 21 fall 2012

Lost Sheep find the Shepherd

Issue 21, Fall ‘12

Larry Windle – President

Bob Kracht – Managing Editor

Enid Sanford – Copy Editor, Writer

Dottie Medlin – Editorial Assistant, Writer

Doug Roeglin – Art Director

Purpose: To make God’s people aware of the needs of the Hispanic World and the role that Rio Grande Bible Institute serves to provide godly Christian leadership.

Subscriptions: This publication is sent without charge and is sustained by voluntary contributions. Send requests, can-cellations, and address changes to Ministerial Advancement, Rio Grande Bible Institute, 4300 South US Hwy. 281, Edin-burg, TX 78539, U.S.A., E-mail: [email protected], phone: 956-380-8100, fax: 956-380-8256.

Permission: Written permission is required for reproduc-tion in whole or in part. Address inquiries to: Rio Grande Editor, at the above address.

© 2012 Rio Grande Bible Institute. All rights reserved.

Printed in USA

Rio Grande Bible Institute RGBI Canadawww.riogrande.edu 103-2005 St. Mary’s Rd. Winnipeg, MB R2N 4P1

Fall 2012

In This IssueThe Limitations of Leather .......................................3

Jungle Highway for the Gospel ................................4

Transition to Today’s Tools ........................................6

The Legacy Continues ...............................................8

What Technology Would Jesus Use? .......................10

Honor and Memorial Gifts .....................................12

The Latest ..............................................................13

The Offense of the Cross .........................................14

Sixteen years ago, when David Love was on a survey trip, he had the thrill of sharing the story of the Good Shepherd with the Yugua people in the village of Libertad, Colombia. Grateful for his teaching and the books and other things he brought, they claimed Dave as their tribal mis-sionary and blocked all other cults and religions from entering their vil-lage. Today there is a strong group of believers meeting weekly there.

Cover: Professor David Love presents the Gospel to many in an Amazon village. Left: Ready for a trip down the river.Cover, left, and pages 4 and 5 - Courtesy of David Love

2 Rio Grande Magazine

About the cover

Ouch! My feet hurt! I wore my favor-ite old boots on Saturday, and they are beyond hope. They spent two terms in

the jungles of Bolivia, and have been patched and rebuilt, but alas, the leather is rotten and torn, and the inside has grown hard, brittle, and uncomfortable. I’m going to miss those boots.

Jesus used a quaint parable to teach about the inevitable change that life brings. He draws this lesson: “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wine-skins, and both are preserved.”1

Wine was made by treading barefoot on the grapes in a wine press, normally a pit hewn out of rock and sealed with plaster. The juice then flowed through a channel into a wine vat which functioned as a collecting container for the grape juice or the “must.” Wine produc-tion in Israel began thousands of years ago, but the wines that were made often tasted so bad that bottles shipped to Egypt were garnished with anything that would add flavor. Stopping just short of adding Reddi-Wip and chocolate sprinkles, people tossed in everything from honey to berries, from pepper to salt. The bottles sent to Rome, though not lacking flavor, were so thick and so sweet that anyone who didn’t have a sweet tooth or a spoon, wasn’t able to consume them. 2

Wineskins were made of whole, tanned goatskins with the legs and tail cut off and sealed with leather string. The Hebrew word nebel, “skin-bottle, skin,” is often translated as “bottle,” conjuring up images of glass wine bottles. But these were rather whole goatskins, with nubbins bulging out where the legs once were and the neck tied off with a string for pouring. As the grape juice “processed,” carbon dioxide gas was generated and the skin would inflate and bulge almost to the point of bursting. The heavy inflation would continue for three or four months until the process slowed down and stopped. By that time the skin had been expanded and stretched “to the max.” The col-lagen that gives the leather its elasticity would be denatured by the liquid, and it would gradu-ally become brittle. The skin could no longer be

stretched without tearing. As Jesus explained, no one pours new wine

into old wineskins. If he did, the new wine woud burst the skins, the wine would run out, and the wineskins would be ruined. The listeners under-stood exactly what He was talking about. But there was more. He concluded that no one, af-ter drinking old wine, wants the new, for he says, “The old is better.” (5:39)

Times are changing, and something that was a very ef-fective method five years ago may not be now. However, it is easier to fall back to what is fa-miliar and comfortable and jus-tify that, rather than to launch out into a life guided not by laws and regulations, but led by the voice of the Spirit of God.

There comes a time in life when one must say goodbye to the old boots and embrace the new ones. The true test of ministry is not: “What did we do last year?” Rather, let us ask: “Is this effective?” God grant us wisdom to dis-cern the truth from the system, the important from the peripheral! The challenge that comes to us, whether old or young, is to be relevant and effective, without leaving the biblical principles. Let’s look at some of the new wine in this issue of the Rio Grande Magazine.

1 Luke 5:37-38, NKJ.2 Jennifer Jordan, “The Wine of Israel and Wine in Biblical Times,” quoted in Ezine Articles, http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Wine-of-Israel-and-Wine-in-Biblical-Times&id=340401, accessed on July 31, 2012.

Rio Grande Magazine 3

President’s Column

The struggle between old

and new is a battle to effectively

communicate the non-

negotiable.

www. dreamstime.comThe Limitations of Leather

Ron Cline, sharing Christ with African children

Jungle Highway for the Gospel


Ron a

nd Ba

rbara

Cline

An unlikely river of revival

David Love, Academic Dean and Professor

Gripping the side of our speeding boat, I watched the waves crash over the deck repeatedly. Murky waters from the flooded Amazon

sprayed our backpacks, food supplies, and boxes of literature. It would be another long day in the rain forest.

“See that riverboat?” Pastor Pablo* tried to whisper above the river’s relentless rumbling. “The narcos use it to smuggle drugs. Everyone knows who they are—we just stay out of their way.”

Pablo, a national pastor of a small church, was taking us on a survey of four newly-opened ministries. In each village, he disciples new believers and trains their pastor. There are few travelers along these remote branches of the Amazon except tribal people and the coca grow-ers, which significantly raises the risk factor.

Pablo is a valuable co-worker with us on an expanding international team of North and South American pastors who join forces to reach those in difficult places with the Gospel. Our southern team is made up of national lead-ers working in over twelve tribal communities. We use this jungle highway which runs almost 4,000 miles through the Amazon basin to keep them supplied with Bibles and training materi-als.

Birth of a dreamBack in 1996 on a simple survey trip, the

vision for this ministry was formed. The jungle town of Leticia, Colombia, particularly inter-ested me due to its easy access by air and the variety of people groups living in the tri-border region of Brazil, Colombia, and Perú. Over time the ministry has expanded eastward up the river some 325 miles to Iquitos, Perú.

To help foster a mindset for global missions in the hearts of the national leaders in Bogotá, we took them along with us to the jungle. Their hearts were broken at the sight of the poverty-stricken con-ditions in the tribal communities, and they soon caught the vision!

As a team, we built a beachhead of opera-tions in Leticia by forming alliances with the local national pastors in town. As these relation-ships grew we invited the pastors to travel with us to the tribal villages only hours from their doorstep. We were on the hunt for committed leaders already doing the work of evangelism. As the Lord led us to key nationals, we then as-sessed the needs and opened a pipeline to flow resources into their ministries.

Forward, march!The strategy is simple. The nationals already

have the language, culture, and skills to thrive in the harsh climate of the jungle. They are the “boots on the ground” and lead the charge. They are busy planting churches and training centers deeper into the unreached areas of the jungle.

Pastors and churches from the United States play a vital role on the international team. The groups from North America conduct Bible conferences, evangelism, and rallies for children and youth. They also provide mentorship, en-couragement, and training.

Over the past decade the churches in North America have supplied large quantities of Bibles, study tools, video courses, tracts, and children’s literature to church leaders in Colombia and Perú.

There is a flurry of movement on the watery Amazon “Highway” these days. Thankfully, it isn’t all drug running!

* Fictional name used

Left page: A mission trip deep into the jungle.

Below: David Love gives last-minute instructionsfor the Amazon adventure.

Gailyn uses sign language to teach the deaf.

Jungle Highway for the Gospel



Wind

le fam

ily ar

chive

s

Transition to Today’s Tools

Larry Windle, President

“CPM 501, CPM 501, this is CPV 502. Over.” It was my father’s voice on the Hamm radio, a familiar sound to this mission-ary kid growing up in Bolivia. Every morning at 7:00 AM he would fire up the old genera-tor to make radio contact with the main mis-sion base in Cochabamba. This was before the days of cell phones and e-mail, let alone text

messaging and Skype. Our simple two-channel Hamm radio was the link to the outside world, conveying messages and calls for emergency help. Those were the days of rugged, pioneer living for missionaries. Kerosene wick lamps and beeswax candles were the norm.

Every three months we sent prayer letters to our supporters back in the U.S. and Canada. It was a family project. Dad would type the letter on mimeograph paper and we would print out 300 copies on the mimeograph machine. Mom and Dad would assign each of us some of the letters so we could write a personal note at the bottom. Then we hand addressed the air mail envelopes, licked the stamps, pasted them on the envelopes, and took them down to the post office. Mail often took up to three months to get to the U.S.

On one occasion when I was eight years old, my father was invited to speak to the conference in the highland village of Ananoka. We drove our old four-wheel-drive truck to the end of the road, then hiked about 8 hours to the little village. The people had never seen anyone with white skin and blue eyes before, and I remember the young kids trying to wipe the white from my skin. We carried a portable blackboard with us to help illustrate and facilitate dad’s teaching. I remember the tiny stone church building filled with people listening to my father’s teaching and watching as he illus-trated words and concepts on the tiny blackboard. Bible training had a wonderful effect on the lives of people as it brought them face to face with the truth of God’s Word.

Twenty-five years later, I was back in Bolivia again, carrying on a ministry very similar to my father’s. I would drive my four-wheel-drive pickup to the end of the road and up the river beds as well. My family and I would get out and walk into re-mote villages for Bible conferences much the same as in my father’s day. I still carried a blackboard for teaching purposes, but also supplemented my ar-senal with a small generator and a video projector.

Perhaps the most difficult aspects of leader-ship training have always been communication and transportation. Sometimes I would dream about the advent of some sort of technology that would help expedite the leadership training pro-cess. I used whatever tools were available to me as my father had, but I dreamed of the day when it would be easier still.

Through the years, God’s Word has not changed, and the call to make disciples of all na-tions is still as important as ever. The spiritual bat-tle involved in missionary life and Bible training is very similar, but the physical and technological means of accomplishing the task are becoming

ever more efficient. With the advent of com-puters, e-mail, Skype, and videoconferenc-ing, communication for missionaries is much easier. What a blessing it is for grandparents to be able to see their grandkids on the com-puter every week, even when their families are serving on the other side of the world! Most of the communication with home churches is now done by e-mail. Better vehicles and more efficient road systems make access easier as the years go by. Missionaries are accomplish-ing their tasks in greater measure with the aid of modern tools.

Imagine being able to record gifted Bible teachers on digital video, place that video on a thumb drive or hard drive or data stick and send it to be played on a solar-powered com-puter in remote places!

Imagine being able to go into an internet café in virtually any city in the world and ac-cess Rio Grande Bible courses! What used to be only a dream can now be a reality, thanks to today’s technology. The Rio Grande Bible College is stepping up to the challenge to pro-vide Spanish Bible training that can be used in virtually every geographic region on the plan-et! We currently have about two dozen courses available in digital media and are in the pro-cess of producing dozens more! Please pray with us as we develop these wonderful avenues for Bible training!


Whether by mics and Hamm radio or gigs of RAM, the message of God’s love doesn’t change.

Larry Windle, President

Left: Dr. Frederick Huegel, above, and Dr. John Dale, below: two great Bible teachers on the power of the Cross.

Above: Dr. Gordon Johnson presents two of his recent books to President Windle.


The Legacy Continues

All p

hotos

this s

pread

Bob K

racht

Dr. Gordon E. Johnson, President Emeritus

In retrospect it is obvious that God was leading specific people to contribute to the spiritual formation of the little Bible school near the Mexican border of South Texas. In the late 1930s our founder, Rev. M.C. Ehlert, a Danish

immigrant and Baptist evangelist, caught God’s vision for a unique bilingual Bible institute founded on God’s Word and on faith in God’s missionary call.

It was to be a school built and sustained by faith, committed to teaching the Word of God. Each worker was to trust Him for personal sup-port and devote his energies to missions and evangelism.

The early years were not without their struggles. The biggest blow came in April 1965, with the sudden death of our visionary founder, Brother Ehlert. The future of the Institute ap-peared bleak, indeed, but God had already brought seasoned missionaries from Colombia who would become leaders in those difficult years. Dr. William Thompson served as president from 1965 to1968, followed by Rev. Leonard C. Hanes from 1968 to 1981. God had also brought my wife and me from Winnipeg, Canada, in 1954, and I had the privilege of serving as presi-dent for fourteen years (1981-95).

During the 1980s and ’90s, God graciously added significant ministries: Radio Esperanza (1981); Video Esperanza, with its distance train-ing (1987); and Bibleville, a missionary Bible Conference Center (1993). Several new build-ings were also added to the spacious campus.

The Ministry of Dr. Frederick J. Huegel As a student, I had been deeply impressed

by the spiritual classic, Bone of His Bone, written by Dr. Frederick J. Huegel, the “dean” of mission-aries to Mexico for fifty years. I suggested that Brother Ehlert invite Dr. Huegel (1889-1971) as a conference speaker. This arrangement became virtually a yearly tradition—nine visits over a span of eleven years (1957-68). Each time, he would speak for five days in English and then for five more days in Spanish.

The life and ministry of Dr. Huegel pro-foundly impacted those early days. His message on the Cross, our union with Christ in death to self and resurrection life, from Romans 1-8, gradually became the warp and woof of the for-mative years. His constant themes were the gra-cious work of the Spirit, prayer, personal victory, holiness, and spiritual warfare. Seldom does a conference speaker so deeply impact an organi-zation. But God had yet more in store for RGBI.

Fast Forward to 2003In God’s gracious providence Dr. Larry

Windle became president in 2003. One of the creative plans he envisioned was Editorial Rio Grande, using the latest Internet technology. We have already published three books in Spanish from the previous writing ministry that God en-abled me to have: Challenges from the Cross, 2011; Leadership from the Cross, 2011; and Galatians, the Epistle of the Cross and the Spirit, 2012. Two more books on Romans are projected for 2013 in Spanish and English.

A New Outreach in PrintBut God had even more in mind. Mr.

Ernesto Wong, a Chinese-Mexican entrepreneur and industrialist, became a faithful disciple of Dr. Huegel in his youth. Dr. Windle recently invited Ernesto to be our fall conference speaker.

As a direct result of the influence of Ernesto, Editorial Río Grande secured the right to publish in Spanish all of Dr. Huegel’s writings, which until now were out of print. The Publishing House of the Mexican Methodist Church kindly granted this permission.

Dr. Windle has begun the digitalization of Dr. Huegel’s book Forever Triumphant. Other of his writings will follow as God directs and pro-vides.

What God hath wrought! Fifty-five years after Dr. Huegel’s first visit in 1957, a new gen-eration of Spanish leaders will be introduced to his writings on the vital Message of the Cross.


RGBI has been

blessed with excellent teaching

from its earliest days.

Our goalin using new

technology should be to

know God better by

knowing His Word better.

In the1990s the letters WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) became a popular witnessing tool, appearing seem-ingly everywhere on bracelets, T-shirts, and billboards. Since that time, some astound-ing advancements have been made in the technology that now touches all our lives, a fact that leads me to wonder: If Jesus were on earth today, what tools would He use to spread His message?

Generally speaking, there are two schools of thought when it comes to meth-ods in ministry. Some say we should keep things as they are (the “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” mentality). Others believe in advanc-ing the Gospel through whatever means are available, as long as the message is not al-tered.

There is abundant historical evidence that Christianity has done more for the ad-vancement of society, technology, and sci-ence than any other religion in the world. As we reflect through the centuries, we discover that the Bible and church history record for us the progress from verbal communication to papyri, to scrolls, to paper, to print, and on to modern digital technology.

Twenty years ago, Logos Bible Software’s founder, Bob Pritchett, began working on his idea of having a digital li-brary. At the same time, Microsoft was se-cretly working on what was to be Windows 3.1, a new technology that someone dared to think should replace the proven DOS sys-tem.

In the last two decades Logos has revo-lutionized the study of the Scriptures, and what publishers then saw as just a side note to “the real world” has now become the real world of publishing. There is no debate as to what method is better, but rather a question: How can technology, the computer, and digital resources help me to understand God’s Word in a deeper way? After all, the reason we invest in studying the Scriptures is to know and love our God more, to become “approved workmen [and women] who rightly handle the word of truth.” (II Tim 2:15) In so doing, we grow and mature spiritually and our congre-gations, the people we disciple, or the class we teach will also be better “equipped for the work of the ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12)

Such technology does much more than save time. Bible software allows me to dig deeper and find answers that were very dif-


Guillermo Powell,Logos Bible Software,International Director

of Spanish Products

Bob Kracht

ficult or impossible to do with the printed page. For example, Bible software allows us to probe the biblical languages of Greek and Hebrew in a way that only scholars were able to do before. This has been for me the single greatest advantage! Before, it would take hours to study which Greek word had been used in a particular verse; where else in Scripture it had been used; to what that word might refer in the Old Testament Septuagint; and its meaning in several lexicons—so that I could contextually understand the significance of that word in that verse. Now I can do all of that in minutes, and without four years of seminary Greek!

Also, how could I ever read all the books in my library to find out where a particular topic might be addressed by an au-thor? How long would it take me to open each book to the exact page and have them all at my fingertips? If you ever have tried to compare several printed versions of the Bible, you remember how difficult it was. Now we can easily compare just as many versions in as many languages, all side by side on the computer screen.

What’s next? What new devices and re-sources will there be in the future? I don’t know, but whatever they are, I am looking forward to making use of those tools to enhance my study of God’s Word.

Guillermo Powell works in ministry relations and product develop-ment. He also memorizes and recites whole chapters of the Bible to encourage believers to memorize Scripture. He and his wife have two children and six grandchildren.


©Radir / Dreamstime.com

Maintenence

Construction

Radio Engineer

Electrical

Plumbing

In Honor of:L. J. Andrews

Mr. & Mrs. Larry F. DialHelen Place

Mr. & Mrs. Bill GrafKarl Place

Elijah, Jessica & James Windle

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Forsberg

In Memory of:Dave Adams

Orville & Elsie GibbsH. Raynard Alger

Mrs. H. Raynard AlgerRosemary Bartholomew

Mr. & Mrs. Bill GrafCharles Bateman

Jerry & Marge RyksWendell Baxter

Orville & Elsie GibbsKathryn Bitikofer

Evelyn DaumEvelyn TroyerJohn & Shirley Webb

Vivian BouchieOrville & Elsie Gibbs

Dan BradfordPhyllis Adams

Rev. Arnulfo CantuNoemi Noriega

Arlow & Evelyn CareyMr. & Mrs. Willard Hultgren

Alfred E. (Gene) CopeOrville & Elsie Gibbs

Deverle CooperCasa Del Sol Church

Gordon EhmkeOrville & Elsie GibbsMr. & Mrs. Willard HultgrenPhyllis Raymond

Orris O. EideOrville & Elsie GibbsMr. & Mrs. Willard HultgrenPhyllis RaymondMr. & Mrs. Ray Zakariasen

Bernice FluthMr. & Mrs. Ray Zakariasen

Phil FunkMr. & Mrs. Clarence BloomMr. & Mrs. Bob Boley Harold & Jackie BrownBetty Ehmke Mr. & Mrs. Willard HultgrenMr. & Mrs. Donald JohnMr. & Mrs. Phil LemenEd & Mary QuickJerry & Marge Ryks

Donna GrandyJerry & Marge Ryks

Wallace HarveyDwayne & Tillie EricksonJerry & Marge RyksAlbert & Kathy Van DorpJohn & Shirley WebbSheldon & Karla WeinertGary & Verla Williams

Earl T. HilbrandOrville & Elsie GibbsPhyllis Raymond

Richard HoogeEvelyn DaumStanley & Peri Jo DickJerry & Reita OwenRussell & Helen PettyKarl & Helen PlaceNeil & Marilyn RomfoRobert & Carol WeinsGary & Verla Williams

Harry IsaacJohn & Shirley Webb

Glen Jeske Delores M. Jeske

Lois Elaine JohnsVella E. Allen

Don & Roberta GraberMr. & Mrs. Logan HoltJohn & Shirley Webb

Richard JohnsonOrlin & Karen AndersonClaudia AxvigMr. & Mrs. Lester BeachClarence & Ardys BloomMr. & Mrs. Bob BoleyElizabeth EhmkeCarole EideMr. & Mrs. W. A. HultgrenDonald & Shirley JohnMr. & Mrs. Phil LemenCarl & Geraldine OlsonMalvin & Helen RobinsonBeverly VossWilliam & Delores White

Velma MathisEvelyn DaumJoyce Harwood

Doris NelsonHarry E. Nelson

Sarah J. OrtizOrville & Elsie GibbsPhyllis Raymond

Louis OswaldMr. & Mrs. Donald Wilson

Beatrice RandallOrville & Elsie GibbsJerry & Marge Ryks

Alice RobinsonOrville & Elsie Gibbs

Melvin RobinsonOrville & Elsie Gibbs

Eldon RootOrville & Elsie GibbsPhyllis Raymond

James RussellEvelyn DaumEvelyn RussellJerry & Marge RyksJohn & Shirley Webb

Lila SmithOrville & Elsie GibbsJerry & Marge Ryks

Jo StolaRoy Stola

Gerri ThelenOrville & Elsie Gibbs

Wayne VoelkerPhyllis AdamsJerry & Claudia Axvig Mr. & Mrs. Lester BeachMr. & Mrs. Bob BoleyMr. & Mrs. Harold BrownMr. & Mrs. Nick DaumBetty EhmkeMrs. Philip FunkMr. & Mrs. Marvin IntermillMr. & Mrs. Donald JohnMr. & Mrs. Phil LemenEd & Mary QuickMr. & Mrs. Earl RankePhyllis E. RaymondJerry & Marge RyksMr. & Mrs. Elton Streyle

Robert H. VossOrville & Elsie GibbsPhyllis Raymond

Laura WekkinJohn & Shirley Webb

Arcelia F. WelchTruth Seekers S.S. Class

Leverne Carl WennerMarvin & Iris Wells

Michael WhiteJerry & Reita Owen

Corrine ZabelOrville & Elsie GibbsJerry & Marge Ryks


Honor & Memorial GiftsMarch 11, 2012 - July 31, 2012

Giving an

honor or

memorial gift

allows you to

honor a loved

one while

investing in

the biblical

training of our

students.

Well done, good and faithful students (even in the summer!)

While the United States and Canada benefited from the wit-ness of our two music tour groups this summer, at least six other countries heard the Gospel from our student global mission teams. One team participated in a unique partner-ship venture between RGBI and SIM Paraguay. Missionaries Dan and Sarah Hough (MLS’11), who helped to host and work with the group, gave an outstanding report: “they were always so gracious, flexible, and ready to serve in whatever ways we asked.” Their projects included working in the capital city of Asunción, learning the basics of the Guaraní language, partnering with New Tribes Mission on a building project, distributing audio Bibles in unreached communities, giving out 250 Bibles printed in the Guaraní language, and leading kids’ clubs plus programs for MKs (missionary kids) and their families. Praise God for our volunteer summer missionaries!

Global reach shown in new enrollment

As always Rio Grande Bible Institute staff and supporters are pleased to see the returning students and new enrollees for the fall semes-ter. August 2012 registration statistics include: 19 new students in the Bible College and12 in the Language School, making total enrollments of 121(including night school) and 23 respectively, with a combined number of 144. Welcome and welcome back!

Romanos— with loveFrom a lifetime of study and sharing comes the newest book by Dr. Gordon Johnson: Romanos: Vida Abundante en Unión con Cristo (Romans: Abundant Living in Union with Christ). This fourth book, covering chapters one through eight of Paul’s great doctrinal epistle to the Romans, will be avail-able in January 2013. It is printed by RGBI’s publishing arm, Editorial Rio Grande.

Growth means changeHave you noticed some name changes in current articles of our publications? No problem, just growth: growth in RGBI’s plans, mission, and view of its calling. Recently our adminis-trators introduced this new, expanded mission statement for the ministry: “Rio Grande Bible Institute (RGBI) exists to de-velop Christ-centered leaders with a biblical worldview for the global church.” Along with this change, they felt that for better clarity in both the Anglo and Hispanic cultures, the Spanish Bible school division would now be known in English as the Bible College, and in Spanish, Seminario Biblico. (Rio Grande Bible Institute remains the name of the entire organization.) Come grow along with us!

The 2012 fall semester student body (joined by a few staff members for this photo) are motivated to make an impact in our local community and around the world.


The Latestwww.dreamstime.com

Dr. Gordon E. Johnson, President Emeritus

The Galilean Teacher had just fed five thousand men with five barley loaves and two small fish. ( John 6:13) So awesome was the miracle, that the people wanted to make Him king.

Refusing that response, Jesus withdrew “to a mountain by Himself alone.” Later, in a second show of power, He appeared to His disciples at midnight, walking on the water to calm their fear.

The people whom He had fed were so impressed with His power to care for their needs that they even crossed the sea to make Him king. Later in the syna-gogue He used the historical backdrop of the manna in the wilderness to reveal His true message—not about earthly manna but rather: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (v.51)

Could anyone measure on a spiritual “Richter scale” the response to His next declaration? “Most as-suredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (v.53) Confounded and offended, they quarreled among themselves.

Christ made no attempt to explain His oblique reference to His pending death, His broken body, and His shed blood. He let the truth of the Cross stand and they were scandalized. Had He not earlier said to Nicodemus, the foremost religious leader of the day, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’ ”? (3:6-7) The flesh and the spirit are two distinct spheres, and there can never be a connection.

The only possibility of an entrance into eternal life is revealed in that tender statement given earlier by Jesus to this very audience: “All that the Father gives Me, will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (6:37)

As His would-be followers heard the promise of eternal life on Christ’s terms, not their own, they murmured. Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?” (v. 61) In other words, did it scandalize them or cause them to stumble?

Jesus speaks the definitive word that still resonates today in the unbeliever and the believer who chooses to live under the tyranny of the flesh. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (v.63) The eternal Word, Who became flesh and shed His blood, freely offers eternal life to the believer who is not offended in Him. Rather, as that disciple allows the Spirit to do His redemptive work in his life, he experiences that vital union with the risen Lord.

His would-be disciples had said: “This is a hard saying.” (v.60) But all was not lost; of His own disciples He asked, “Do you also want to go away?” (v.67) Peter’s response was, “You have the words of eternal life.”

What lessons can we draw for ourselves? Christ offers Himself in a living, vital union with those who bring nothing but biblical faith; they yield to the working of the Spirit of Truth through God’s Word. We come to Him on His terms alone.

In many mega-churches we often hear the diluted message that God wants to realize our dreams. The emphasis falls on happiness, not holiness and humility. Sin and the Cross are not mentioned, lest they offend.

A prosperity Gospel tries to manipulate God in hopes of personal enrichment. Believers may act as though talents, gifting, education, and status add something to the cause of Christ. All too often we hide or justify our anger, fears, selfishness, and attitudes that are anything but Christ-like. Unless the Spirit breaks down our confidence in the flesh, nothing is truly ac-complished for eternity.

In Philippians, Paul gives us his definition of the true believer: “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no con-fidence in the flesh.” (Phil. 3:3)

*All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version.


The Offense of the Cross

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4300 S. US Hwy 281Edinburg, TX 78539-9650

In Canada:103-2005 St Mary’s RdWinnipeg, ManitobaR2N 4P1

www.riogrande.edu

Giving is an act of worship...we show our love to Him by what we sacrifice.

Dr. Robert CraneDirector of Ministerial AdvancementRio Grande Bible Institute4300 S. US Hwy. 281Edinburg, TX 78539-9650Phone 956-380-8114 or605-481-8566 [email protected]

“Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found

faithful.” I Corinthians 4:2 (NKJV)

rio grande magazine issue 21 fall 2012

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