Bridging the Gap Between Doctrinal Purity and Christlike Compassion

Introduction: A Word for Clarity’s Sake

For those who know me personally, especially those who have served with me, my convictions are no secret. I hold a deep, unwavering love for the Lord Jesus Christ, a profound reverence for the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, and a relentless passion for the beauty of God glorifying sound theology. My commitment to the purity of the true Gospel of grace is a hill I am willing to die on, and I will always be among the first to stand and fight for doctrinal integrity.

However, as I have matured in this walk, I have realized that in our zeal, we are often tempted to jump from one extreme to another, losing our balance, and even some expressions of love and grace in the process. It is out of this concern—and for the sake of clarity—that I wanted to share these few words. My goal is not to lower the standard of Truth, (God forbid!), but to ensure that our defense of that Truth is marked by the same grace that has saved us. I am writing this to address how we view our brothers and sisters in developing nations, and to call us toward a posture that reflects the heart of the Master we serve.

– Antonio Salgado

---

The Theological Timeline: A 400-Year Head Start

To understand the current state of the global church, we must first acknowledge the historical timeline. The United States and much of the English-speaking world have benefited from nearly four centuries of post-Reformation biblical literacy. The Protestant Reformation began in 1517. From the 1600s onward, the West was built on a foundation of rigorous theological study, the availability of the Bible in the common tongue, and established church traditions. Having this several-hundred-year head start means that America has an abundance of resources, world-class seminaries, and large, well-funded ministries.

However, we must consider this carefully: despite having all these resources, the church in America is not necessarily in the best shape itself. In fact, some of the very false doctrines and heresies we rightfully despise in the developing world were actually exported from the United States to them. We have sent out the “Prosperity Gospel” and various legalistic or man-centered movements just as often as we have sent out sound doctrine. We must be humble enough to realize we have often exported the very poison we now criticize.

The Legacy of Abandoned Foundations

We must acknowledge that there were rare, early pioneers like the Moravians, who reached Latin America and the Caribbean even before they established roots in the United States. Key historical milestones include their arrival in St.Thomas in 1732 and Suriname in 1735. These missionaries were known for a radical, Christlike compassion; while the missionaries in St. Thomas were barred by law from actually becoming enslaved, they did formally resolve and attempt to sell themselves to reach the local population. Later, in 1849, they established a significant presence in Nicaragua, practicing the long-term oversight we often miss today—staying for centuries to translate Scripture and build people, not just monuments.

Yet, despite these early lights, the true, biblical Gospel of grace did not begin to reach the interior of Latin America and many developing nations in a widespread way until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In many regions, the first generation of “Bible-believing” Christians is still within living memory. It is an error to expect a country that effectively received preaching and teaching with an open Bible hundreds of years after us to be at the same level of spiritual maturity. We cannot expect a tree planted 50 years ago to have the same deep root system and structural stability as a forest that has been growing for 400 years.

Much of the confusion we see today is the direct result of a specific kind of missionary work. There were many who came to “plant,” stuck around for a short season, and then took off for other places. In these cases, there was no long-term oversight, no deep commitment to the future, and no ongoing direction for the good of those believers. In many instances, missions organizations viviting churches acted as if putting up a physical building was the ultimate goal. They helped raise the walls of a sanctuary and then moved on, as if the building were the most important thing. It is not. Without a committed presence to teach the people how to properly study and understand the Bible, a vacuum was left behind. Naturally, it didn’t take long for false teachings, misunderstandings of difficult texts, and leadership changes to occur—and from there, it was all downhill.

The Reality of the Landscape

We must acknowledge that there  are some solid, biblical churches in these contexts. Usually, you can find them in the larger cities where resources and education are more accessible. However, in comparison to the vast population and the sheer number of scattered communities, these healthy churches are very few and far between.

There is still an immense amount of work to be done. For many people, even if they could recognize they are in a bad church, there simply isn’t a sound one nearby for them to move to. They do not have the luxury of “church hopping” to find a better fit. Many don’t have sound, healthy churches around where they could simply change churches if they wanted to. Yet, they at least have the conviction that they should be part of a local body, and so they stay having no other options around.

Biblical Context: The Warning to the Ephesians

As we seek to be a people who fight for the purity of the Gospel, we must look at the warning given to the church at Ephesus:

“I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. I know that you have persevered  and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.”  

—  Revelation 2:2–4

A Short Explanation:

The Ephesians were a model of doctrinal vigilance. They were experts at discernment; they could spot a “fake apostle” from a mile away. They were hardworking, enduring, and had zero tolerance for evil. By all outward theological standards, they were an “A+” church. Yet, Jesus gives them a terrifying rebuke: they had “abandoned their first love.”

They became so obsessed with protecting the truth that they forgot to love the people the truth was meant to save. Their orthodoxy had become cold and mechanical. This is the danger we face: we can be right about every doctrine and yet be completely wrong in our hearts. If our defense of the Gospel makes us cynical, arrogant, and lacking in compassion for the struggling sheep, we have become exactly like the Ephesians that Jesus warned.

Despising the Error, Loving the Sheep

I am striving for a balance that allows us to despise false teaching—as we rightfully should—while understanding the reality of those caught within it. We should not have the same expectations for those who were taught incorrectly and simply don’t know better. They haven’t been taught how to properly study and understand the Bible.

When these people finally hear Christ-centered teaching and the true biblical Gospel, they describe feeling something refreshing in their souls that confirms it. There are some who are moved to tears because they suddenly realize that something vital has been missing all this time. These are not scammers; they are people yearning for something real. They want to see the actual power of the Gospel changing lives.

Defining the Family: Knowledge vs. Reality

Many of these people are our true brothers and sisters in Christ. We must guard against the extreme of writing them all off simply because they belong to a different “tribe” or because they lack theological polish. We must remember that a misunderstanding of the mechanics of the Gospel of grace does not mean the grace has not been applied to them.

Paul Washer tells a story that illustrates this well regarding true spiritual reality versus mere academic knowledge. He was out to lunch with a group of academically trained pastors and theologians. A young, new believer—most liekly from a rough or uneducated background—was thier waiter. During the meal, the young believer asked if they were pastors and began to express his deep love for Jesus, and the joy he felt since being saved.

However, because he was new to Christianity, he used clumsy, unrefined, or technically inaccurate phrasing to describe his experience. Hearing the improper phrasing, the trained theologians began exchanging smirks, rolling their eyes, and mocking the young man’s lack of precise doctrine. Noticing their arrogance, Washer cut through the condescension to rebuke the pastors. He insinuated that while the pastors possessed the correct vocabulary, they lacked something vital. Meanwhile, the young man seemed to possess a genuine, vibrant relationship with God, even if he didn’t know the formal theological labels for things yet. As Washer said:

“There are many who know what it is called, but they do not have it. And there are some who do not know what it is called, but they have it.”

Having everything figured out and knowing the names of many theological terms and articulating what they mean is good, indeed very good, but that is not the Gospel. We must start somewhere and meet these people where they are, just as God did with us. This would reflect the Gospel more than overgeneralizing and automatically writing them all off.

The Opportunity for Fellowship

The fact is that many places labeled “reached” by large organizations are actually far from it—they are actually starved.  There are humble leaders and many sheep who know they are starving and desire help. Writing them off reflects a lack of understanding of the very Gospel we claim to protect.

There is an opportunity to extend the hand of fellowship to those who are willing to learn and grow in thier walk with Christ and true biblical doctrine. There should be patience and compassion for many of these. I do not refer to flat-out false teachers and scammers, but some of the humble leaders and many sheep that yearn for something deeper, something real. Let us have the patience and compassion to lead them toward the same Truth that has so graciously set us free.

---

Thought-Provoking Questions for Examination

The Source of Pride: Am I tempted to look down on believers in developing nations because they lack my resources, forgetting that my theological “wealth” is an unmerited gift?

The Export of Error: When I see false teaching in other countries, do I recognize the “Made in the USA” stamp often found on those doctrines, or do I blame the victims of those teachings?

The Ephesian Mirror: If Christ were to write a letter to me today, would He commend my discernment but warn me that I have become “theologically correct but spiritually cold”?

Vocabulary vs. Vitality: Am I more concerned with someone using the correct theological label, or with whether they have been born again and possess actual life in Christ?

---

Helpful Takeaways for the Sound Church

Move Beyond Buildings: If you support missions, prioritize the training of local pastors and long-term discipleship over mere construction projects. A building without a biblically trained leader is an empty shell.

Discern the “Wounded”: Learn to distinguish between the  false teacher (who should be exposed) and the starving sheep  (who should be fed). Do not treat the victim like the perpetrator.

Practice Christlike Humility: Use your resources to serve, not to condescend. If by grace you have been given the blessing of being born in a country with a few hundred years of a theological head-start, you are a debtor to those who are just now starting their journey.

Invest in Presence: Reformation doesn’t happen through a one-week trip; it happens through, prayer, a long-term oversight, commitment, and the slow work of teaching people how to handle and obey the Word of Truth.

Bibliography & for Further Study

Primary Theological Anchor (The “First Love” & Grace)

Washer, Paul. The Gospel’s Power and Message. Reformation Heritage Books, 2012.

Washer, Paul.The Gospel Call and True Conversion. Reformation Heritage Books, 2013.

MacArthur, John. First Love: The Joy of First-Year Christianity. Thomas Nelson, 1995.

Stott, John. What Christ Thinks of the Church: An Exposition of Revelation 1–3. Baker Books, 2003.

Missiological Oversight & The “Export of Error”

Conn, Harvie M. Eternal Word and Changing Worlds: Theology, Anthropology, and Mission in Trial. Zondervan, 1984.

Escobar, Samuel. The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone. IVP Academic, 2003.

Baucham, Voddie. Fault Lines. Salem Books, 2021.

Historical Pioneers: The Moravian Legacy

Hutton, J. E. A History of the Moravian Missions. Moravian Publication Office, 1922.

Lewis, A. J. Zinzendorf, the Ecumenical Pioneer: A Study in the Christian Evangelical Unity. SCM Press, 1962.

Sensbach, Jon F. Rebecca’s Revival: Creating Black Christianity in the Atlantic World. Harvard University Press, 2005.

Ecclesiastical Stewardship & The Body of Christ

Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Crossway, 2013.

Wells, David F. No Place for Truth: Or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?. Eerdmans, 1993.

SOLI DEO GLORIA