Thesis 27/36 Missions

After having just finished a great missions conference, this essay ought to have been, and was, a bit easier to write -- now if only we live it...

DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH
Doctrine 27 / 36: Missions

The Bible is God's message to man about His plan of redemption of the whole world. It begins in Genesis 1-2 with His story of creation, followed in Genesis 3 by the Fall of man. Genesis 3:15 gives the redemptive plan, in terms that were quite vague at the time, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This was a prophecy about the cross, and also about when Jesus will return to the earth, Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire, and God's saints will be with Him. The rest of the story of the Bible between Genesis 3 and Revelation 20, is simply the unveiling of that great plan, in more detail.

In the present age, God has chosen to use His church to be the method for making His plan of redemption known to the lost world. Paul writes, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). This is God's desire, that men would call upon His name and be saved. However, as Paul continues in verse 14, "How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" It is true that faith comes ultimately through the hearing of the word of God (Romans 10:17), but somebody must deliver the word of God to the hearer, through preaching (Titus 1:2).

Jesus commanded His disciples to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). The responsibility for the church is to reach the entire world with the gospel. He gives the geographical structure for how this is to work: "And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Jesus was speaking literally of the order in which the gospel was to be spread in the first century AD, however the principle of using that structure can apply to any local church. Missions begins at home with evangelism. It spreads to the immediate neighbors around you, and then to the next area within reach, until the uttermost has been reached. It is not enough to only have impact on the local community; the whole world is the responsibility of all the church. At the same time, reaching the uttermost part of the earth is still an incomplete obedience if evangelism is not taken care of in the local area. The analogy of a lighthouse works great to illustrate this point. The lighthouse will only shine as far as the strength of light that it has. The local church is that lighthouse, and the stronger the church is, the further it will reach in the world.

The local church is responsible to work in world missions in at least three ways. First, it is to give of its human resources. The early church in Antioch was instructed by God to send out two of its finest teachers to leave the church and go on foreign missions (Acts 13:2-3). The local church's responsibility is not to consume all of its talent on itself, but rather to send it out to the world at God's instruction. Second, the local church ought to give financially to the foreign missionary inasmuch as he is laboring on their behalf, and the laborer is worthy of his reward (1 Timothy 5:18). And as the missionary has been a spiritual benefit to the church, it also should care for his physical needs (Romans 15:27). Third, the local church is given the task to pray. When the local church prays for the world missionary, the individuals in that church are said to be striving together with that missionary in their prayers to God for him (Romans 15:30). The sending church is actually said to have a part in the fruit of that missionary (Philippians 4:17).

The purpose of the world missionary is to give the gospel, to preach, to teach, to baptize, and to disciple (Matthew 28:19-20). This is all done by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not in his own power (Matthew 28:18, Acts 1:8). The missionary must be sure to not confuse his task. Some people are called missionaries who provide physical relief, whether it be in the form of medical aid, financial, construction, or any other physical benefit. While these people have their mission, and therefore can be classified as a missionary, the physical relief must not be confused with God's spiritual call to preach the gospel. Certainly, true religion gives to those in need (James 1:27), but God's sent ones, those sent to His mission, will be preachers of the gospel.

"As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."