Marked with the Spirit
The Dinangat believers had blended some of their old beliefs with Bible lessons, but when missionary Gary Smith was checking a lesson from Ephesians 1:13 with his Dinangat co-worker, Ronnie, the Dinangat man’s eyes of understanding opened.
The verse reads, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were marked with the Holy Spirit of promise."
When he heard that Ronnie sat up and said, "Wait, you mean it’s not with water? The Dinangat religious leaders had always said that by baptizing babies with water they would be protected from illness, evil spirits and even death. So we thought they were marked with water."
Gary had not realized that the Dinangats had tried to blend old beliefs with new truth so he wanted to put a paragraph or two of explanation into the lesson. But Ronnie said, "Oh no, just say it’s not with water or anything."
So Gary agreed to leave the Scripture just as it was without any extra explanation. On Sunday when he was teaching he came to that passage and said, "God has marked us with the Holy Spirit -- not with water or anything else."
Suddenly clicking of tongues and shaking of heads rippled through the crowd. They were whispering excitedly to one another. Then, as Gary sat down, applause broke out.
"They did something they never do," Gary wrote, "they applauded! The applause wasn’t for me, it was in sheer joy and thankfulness to our gracious and loving Father. They are learning more and more of the freedom He desires for them."
After the service one of the key leaders, Esingke, gave a strong exhortation against other kinds of marks they were using to manipulate God such as praying over an item and giving it to someone for protection.
Esingke challenged everyone to listen to the truth in the Scripture and believe that God has already marked us with His Spirit, not with anything else, and we should rest in His promises.
Pray that the Dinagat people will continue to embrace the truth of God’s Word and understand His message of freedom for them.
The verse reads, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were marked with the Holy Spirit of promise."
When he heard that Ronnie sat up and said, "Wait, you mean it’s not with water? The Dinangat religious leaders had always said that by baptizing babies with water they would be protected from illness, evil spirits and even death. So we thought they were marked with water."
Gary had not realized that the Dinangats had tried to blend old beliefs with new truth so he wanted to put a paragraph or two of explanation into the lesson. But Ronnie said, "Oh no, just say it’s not with water or anything."
So Gary agreed to leave the Scripture just as it was without any extra explanation. On Sunday when he was teaching he came to that passage and said, "God has marked us with the Holy Spirit -- not with water or anything else."
Suddenly clicking of tongues and shaking of heads rippled through the crowd. They were whispering excitedly to one another. Then, as Gary sat down, applause broke out.
"They did something they never do," Gary wrote, "they applauded! The applause wasn’t for me, it was in sheer joy and thankfulness to our gracious and loving Father. They are learning more and more of the freedom He desires for them."
After the service one of the key leaders, Esingke, gave a strong exhortation against other kinds of marks they were using to manipulate God such as praying over an item and giving it to someone for protection.
Esingke challenged everyone to listen to the truth in the Scripture and believe that God has already marked us with His Spirit, not with anything else, and we should rest in His promises.
Pray that the Dinagat people will continue to embrace the truth of God’s Word and understand His message of freedom for them.