God Opens the Door of the Gospel for Us

 God Opens the Door of the Gospel for Us

When we do God’s work, we often feel that it is us making plans and taking action. But I often sense that it is God who is opening doors for us. Recently, through spiritual education, many people around the world have received grace. In ways we never expected, God opened the door of the gospel. Last year, when I visited South America, a priest from São Paulo Cathedral in Brazil contacted me, expressing his hope that the Gracias Choir could perform a thirty-minute program at the cathedral. He also invited me to share a twenty-minute message.

That day, I visited the cathedral with the choir. After the choir finished performing, I delivered the twenty-minute message. After the official schedule ended, we spent a long time talking with the priest who invited us. I carefully explained to him how the blood of Jesus cleanses our sins. The priest was deeply moved.

After returning to Korea, the priest sent me a letter of thanks, saying that soon he hoped to come with over seventy of his fellow priests to hear the message again. He also mentioned that the Vatican had permitted them to communicate with us. We were all very happy. In 2024, when I visited South America again, I went back to São Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral. I expected about seventy priests to attend, but to my surprise, over two thousand people came in addition to them. I passionately shared with the congregation how the blood of Jesus cleanses our sins. The next day, more than three thousand people came to the cathedral; some could not even get in due to the crowd and had to return home. That day, I preached the gospel and felt especially grateful and moved.

After returning to Korea, the priest emailed me again in Korean. He expressed how blessed he felt and thanked me, hoping that we could continue to exchange and communicate in the future.

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Preaching the Gospel Wherever I Go, to Whoever I Meet

Before being born again, I was truly a person of no worth. As a child, I often went to other people’s fields to dig up potatoes or pick apples to eat. When I was burdened by sin and deeply distressed, troubled by my inability to have my sins forgiven, I found the way of forgiveness through reading the Bible. Through the words about the sin offering recorded in Leviticus 4, I learned that the blood of the offering could atone for sins. I clearly realized that the blood of Jesus indeed cleansed my sins, and I was immensely grateful. Jesus cleansed my filthy sins and dwelled in my heart. From then on, I lived with a heart of gratitude to the Lord.

Later, I attended missionary school and received training, stepping onto the path of pastoral ministry. When preaching the gospel, I often felt heartache. Many people attend church, yet most live in false faith. The Bible clearly records that the precious blood of Jesus shed on the cross completely cleanses our sins, yet almost everyone still says they are sinners. If one continues this way until death, how many will tremble in fear because of sin? Naturally, I began continuously proclaiming the message that Jesus forgives our sins.

No matter which country I go to or who I stand before, I preach the gospel. When I open the Bible and share the fact that Jesus completely forgives our sins, even Christian leaders in a nation are astonished. When I preach the gospel using the words recorded in the Bible, people around the world believe that our sins have indeed been forgiven. People who have received forgiveness arise everywhere. Seeing their moved faces fills me with deep joy as well.

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Nothing is More Precious Than Believing in the Gospel of Forgiven Sins

Looking back, before being saved, I committed many sins and felt that I was surely destined for hell. I truly did not want to go to hell. I thought a lot about how to avoid it and earnestly wanted to find the way. Through reading the Bible, I found it. The Bible clearly states that the blood of Jesus washes away our sins:

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23–24)

Knowing that all my sins were washed away, I was filled with indescribable gratitude. With great joy and thankfulness, I would tell people in the church I attended, “My sins are forgiven; I am without sin.” Yet people scoffed at me. “The pastor says he is a sinner, the elders say they are sinners; what do you know? How can you say you have no sin?” Even though people mocked me, the Bible clearly says that the blood of Jesus cleanses my sins. I could only believe the words of the Bible as they are.

Later, many called me a heretic when I preached the gospel. But seeing Jesus alive at work, forgiving many people’s sins, brought me immense joy. Sadly, today, countless people attend church yet do not believe that Jesus has already washed away our sins, still calling themselves sinners. To call oneself a sinner is equivalent to saying that Jesus died in vain. It is a serious insult to Jesus, yet many mistakenly think that calling oneself a sinner is humility.

The Bible says that all have sinned but are justified through the redemption of Jesus. I pray that God will open people’s eyes so that countless souls may understand that their sins have indeed been cleansed. In this world, there is nothing more precious than believing in the gospel of forgiveness accomplished by Jesus Christ. I am grateful to be saved and to see the saints of our church living a joyful faith-filled life.