Getting the Good News across

Published in Pasugo, Oct 2003


TO PROCLAIM THE good news of salvation to as many people as possible has always been the overarching mission of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ). Whether by way of face-to-face encounters or through the mass media, we carry out this task with a sense of urgency, aware as we are that there is not much time left before this world comes to its fiery end.

We know that the day appointed by God to bring the world to judgment is fast approaching, and we must do the best we can to share the truth about salvation to those who do not know it yet. There is, indeed, an immediate need to disseminate the biblical truth that although man has been alienated from God because of sin, and as a consequence, the whole world is held accountable to Him on the day of Judgment, the good news is that God sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to save sinners (Col. 1:21; Rom. 3:19; Jn. 3:16). And to fulfill this redemptive function, Christ “created in himself one new man” – consisting of Himself as the head, and of the Church that He founded as the body – so that He can save the sinner without violating God’s decree that “each is to die for his own sin” (Eph. 2:15; Mt. 16:18; Dt. 24:16). Thus, the salvific death of Christ is meant to benefit the members of His Body, the Church, a fact that underscores the importance and necessity of Church membership as a part of God’s master plan of salvation. This is not to say that it is the Church that will save man, rather, it is the Church – the true Church – that will be saved by Christ, Who is the only Savior appointed by God.

It is of paramount importance that the truth about salvation be made known to all who want to be saved, including those who think that they already know it but, on closer scrutiny, actually do not. For instance, there are those who think that faith alone in Christ is sufficient for them to attain salvation, and it is not necessary for them to become members of any church or even the true Church or Church of Christ and to do any works at all. Such a notion is so fundamentally wrong and yet is so widely held and circulated.

Because of the urgency and magnitude of the task, our evangelistic outreach employs the mass media to put across the pristine teachings of the Bible to a large number of people simultaneously.

Hence, aside from this magazine that you are reading, and its international edition, the God’s Message, the Iglesia ni Cristo also publishes pamphlets that also dwell on the beliefs of this church for the perusal of those who are seeking the truth. Today, 63 radio stations, 218 cable TV and 64 relay television stations all over the country broadcast the Church’s religious programs on a daily or weekly basis. Also, 554 cable TV stations relay the Church’s daily religious programs which are aired over NET 25, a UHF television station. We telecast our four religious programs: The Message, Ang Iglesia Ni Cristo, Pasugo: Ang Tinig Ng Iglesia Ni Cristo, and Ang Tamang Daan. Among our radio programs are: Iglesia Ni Cristo, Ang Tamang Daan, Ang Pinagpapalang Sambahayan, Ito Ang Payo, What The Bible Says, Landas ng Buhay, This Is The Answer, Salita ng Diyos Ang Tanging Lunas, Ang Pagbubunyag, Biblia Ang Sasagot, Biblia Ang Lunas, and Ibalita Ang Pagliligtas. Aside from the radio programs in English and Filipino, there are also religious programs broadcast in major Philippine languages, such as Kini Ang Kamatuoran, Dalan Sa Kinabuhi, Pagsusi sa Kamatuoran (Cebuano); Mantepet Kayo (Pangasinense); and Agsaludsud Kayo (Ilocano).

Periodically, district wide (covering a province or a state) massive evangelistic campaigns, dubbed grand evangelical missions, are conducted in public squares or in sports complexes big enough to accommodate huge crowds. Everyday, in thousands of locale churches of the Iglesia ni Cristo all over the world, ministers and workers are preaching the gospel to smaller groups of truth seekers. They are assisted by Church officers and members who relentlessly perform missionary works by inviting their friends, relatives, and acquaintances to those places where studies on biblical doctrines are being conducted by evangelical workers of the Iglesia ni Cristo. All members, from the newest converts to the older ones, are expected to do their part in evangelism, after all most of us have been called by God out of spiritual death into spiritual life through the efforts of those who have persistently and resolutely shared the good news of salvation.

They draw inspiration from the fact that the members of the first-century Church were themselves instrumental in the spread of Christianity. As Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians:

“And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow workers, whose names are in God’s book of the living.” (Philip. 4:3, Today’s English Version)

And to the Thessalonians, he said:

“For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere.” (I Thess. 1:8, Ibid.)

As it was in the past, so it is in the present. In today’s Church of Christ, the entire membership, following the Church Administration’s lead, is mobilized for evangelism. And it is truly heartening that our enthusiastic response and enormous efforts, coupled with God’s continuing guidance, yield bountiful harvest. The message about the Lord’s salvation is going out into the world and people are joining the Church in droves! Praise be unto God!