愛戀 ‧ 情曲 ‧ 神の語

Biblical Philosophy of Missions

        In
terms of religious connotation, the English word “missions” is simply defined
as “organized missionary work” in common Christendom and secular understanding.[1]
It came from the Latin word mittere,
which means “to send,” or “to send off.”[2]
The word “missions,” or its singular form “mission,” appears only a few times
in most English translations of the Bible, and not once was the term used in
the definition given here.[3]
Nevertheless, just as the word “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible, the idea
of these terms is inherent in the whole Scriptures to an overwhelming degree.
The meaning of missions is to send believers off to propagate their faith,
which is one of the major themes in the Word of God. From the biblical perspective,
this missiological expression could refer to both missionary endeavor in
another geographical region or to another cultural group. The Great Commission
of the Lord to the Church is recorded at the end of the four Gospels and the
beginning chapter of the Book of Acts. In Matthew and Luke, the emphasis is to
go, preach, and make disciples of all
nations (Matt 28:18-20; Luke 24:47-48).[4]
It can be argued that this is not just stressing the evangelization of all the
countries marked with physical boundaries. For the Greek word translated as
“nations” in these passages, ethnos,
could also mean “people group,” in which we derive the English term “ethnic.”[5]
In the Markan and Johannean accounts, more prominence is given to every single
individual in the world (Mark 16:15; John 1:1-12; 3:16; 20:30-31). In Acts, the
same mandate is given not just from the geographical viewpoint, but the Lord of
the whole earth also commanded the disciples to cross cultural confines to the
end of the world (Acts 1:8). In the New Testament, the Koine Greek word apostello is the main word used for “to
send away” or “to order (one) to go to a place appointed.”[6]
It is where the English term “apostle” is derived, which in the Greek means “a
delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.”[7]
Therefore, apostello can be seen as
the counterpart word for missions in the New Testament since it carries exactly
the same notion. It has been used numerous times in reference to the Father
sending Jesus to the world, and Jesus sending the disciples to preach Glad Tidings
to both the Jews and Gentiles (Matt 10:16; John 17:18; 20:21; Acts 28:28).

Theologically, the concept
of missions started from Genesis and continues into Revelation. The Genesis
story reveals that God is the Father of all the Adamic Race and that He desires
to save all regardless of their skin color and ethnicity (Gen 2:7; 3:15). He
chose the Hebrews because of Abraham, but His intent was that through him and Israel, “all
the families of the earth shall be blessed” via the promised Seed (Gen 12:3;
26:4). This Promise-Plan centered on the Messiah is the overarching thesis of
the Bible (Luke 24:44; Acts 28:23). Thus, while the Old Testament seems to
focus on the nation of Israel,
God in no way forbade Gentile proselytes (Ex 12:48-49). The narrative of Ruth,
a Moabitess, suffice to confirm the fact that even in the Old Testament, God shows
personal favoritism to no man or a particular cultural group of people (Gal
2:6). In fact, Ruth was not only a God-worshipper and Gentile convert, but she
was the great-grandmother of King David, in which is the genealogical line of
Jesus Christ (Ruth 3:18-22). The purpose of God establishing a covenant with Israel was so
that she could be a “light to the Gentiles” (Is 42:6). In this the prophets and
psalmists affirm time and again through out the Old Testament (Ps 22:27; 67:2-4;
72:11, 17). Unfortunately, the Israelites failed miserably as she relied on her
self-righteousness, which were but filthy rags (Is 64:6), and forsook the Lord.
When the Messiah had finally walked on the earth, died on the Cross, and
ascended back to the Father, He had accomplished what the Israelites had fallen
short (Rom 8:3). Thenceforth, therefore, the Gospel is to be preached to all
nations, tribes and tongues and every living human creature (Matt 28:18-20;
Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). To the exclusive mindset of the Jews, this universal
missions directive was not easily accepted and practiced by the early church’s
predominantly Jewish congregation until the First Jerusalem Council, in which
Peter and Paul testified on how God’s Spirit had been poured on the Gentiles
just as on the Jews (Acts 15:6-29). In the Throne Room scene in the Revelation
7:9-10, John the Beloved Apostle saw “a great multitude which no one could
number, of all nations, tribes, peoples,
and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with
white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud
voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the
Lamb!’” (Italics mine). The Bible is frank and unequivocal in the portrait of
God in this aspect, who “desires all men
to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4—italics
mine). He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” for God “so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (2 Pet 3:9; John
3:16—italics mine).

If missions is so important
as it is interwoven throughout the Scriptures, the church of Jesus Christ
should deem it as highly as the Word of God does. The simple reason is that,
God loves people and He uses human vessels to advance His Kingdom as part of
His plan for this dispensation (Is 6:8). If no one is sent, the Gospel will not
reach to those who have never heard about Jesus Christ. Under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, has expressly penned:

“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? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring
glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For
Isaiah says, ‘LORD, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:14-17).

        This
understanding also begets the question concerning the fate of those who have never
heard about Yahweh, or Jesus and the Gospel in any form. The fact is, there are
a vast amount of people belonging to this category, both before Christ as well
as in this post-Christian era. The solution must come from a holistic and
balanced approach from the Scriptures. Since the absolute justness of a holy
God demands that He would not “slay the righteous with the wicked” because the
“Judge of all the earth” shall do justly (Gen 18:25), those who have never had
the opportunity to come in contact with the Gospel will not be altogether
condemned for being ignorant of a way out of the sinful state. All through the
Bible, people are condemned in the end because they are given many chances but
have not responded to the salvation message properly, not by merely being a
sinner, in which all people are (Rom 3:23). The reason why Adam and Eve, and
all their descendents, are still savable is exactly because they fell and are
born as sinners involuntarily—it was the Devil who tempted them to
transgression (Gen 3). In contrast, the Adversary and all his minions were not
given the same grace because they willfully rebelled against God in
unprecedented measures on purpose (Is 14:12-15). The crucial passage that sheds
light on this intensely relevant subject is Romans 2:13-16. These verses
explain that although the Gentiles did not receive the special Mosaic Law like
the Israelites, they have a general innate awareness of God’s law in their
hearts discerned through their conscience. John describes this instinctive
inner revelation of God and His laws as the light of Christ that “gives light
to every man coming into the world”
(John 1:4, 9—italics mine). In other words, everyone born onto this planet
earth has a measure of revelation of God’s existence and attributes. This
inward witness of their conscience coupled with the external creation evidence
will enlighten them of an inherent knowledge of God and His divinity (Rom
1:20). In principle, every individual is judged by God according to their
response to the degree of revelation they have received (Rom 2:15-16). Jesus’
parable of the faithful steward in Luke 12:41-48 illustrates this point clearly:

“And
that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do
according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not
know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For
everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom
much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:41-48).

Besides the general
revelation of God that is in the possession of every soul, the Israelites
further received additional revelations of God since they were His chosen
people under the Old Covenant (Rom 3:1-2). Hence, they are saved in the Old
Testament times if they believed and looked forward to the coming of the
Messiah, which would imply obedience to God’s laws from a clear conscience. For
those under the pre-Christ dispensation who did not have the privilege as the
Hebrews, they were judged on the basis of whether they have been faithful to
the general light of revelation of God in their hearts through their
conscience. This principle is the same for those in the Church Age. First and
foremost, however, before one can aptly discuss the fate of those who have
never heard the Gospel, this category of people must be well-qualified. Many in
the world today have simply never heard anything concerning Christianity.
Nevertheless, there are droves of people who either grew up in so-called
Christian societies or have some familiarity with the Gospel, but have never
fully understood or misapprehended it. For example, there are countless common
folks who have a view of an unjust and angry God due to misunderstanding and
misrepresentation by Christians and the church. They have not known the true
Gospel of Christ, but have sensibly rejected a perverted version of the Christian
faith. This Romans two class of people will be judged on the same grounds, that
is, how much they have lived according to their conscience in proportion to the
amount of spiritual light they have received. God is the ultimate Arbitrator capable
of executing just verdicts, for only He knows the hearts of men (Ps 44:21). No
matter how religious or irreligious a person may seem on the surface, behaviors
in themselves are not the sure indicator of one’s relationship with God (1 Cor
13:1-3). Sometimes those walking closely with the Lord could discern by the
Word of God and the Spirit of God a person’s heart condition (Matt 22:18; Acts
8:20-23; 14:9; 1 Cor 2:15; 12:8-11), which can be quite accurate at times, but
in the overall and final analysis of life, only God is the definitive Judge who
also has the power of implementing the consequences thereof (2 Tim 4:8; 1 Pet
2:23). Thus, not everyone who claims to be a Christian outwardly is a believer,
and not everyone who does not attend a church or has not prayed the sinner’s
prayer with his lips is lost (Is 29:13; Mark 7:6), although there are certainly
tremendous benefits that they would miss by being ignorant of the blessings of
the Lord such as fellowshipping and committing to a local body of believers (1
Cor 3:15; 12:27). In all cases, Jesus Christ is still the only way, truth, and
life, but this verse needs to be balanced by all the other Scriptures, which
means that one will be judged in accordance to the level of received revelation
of Christ as the exclusive pathway to the Father and eternal life (John 14:6). There
is a way that believers can be assured of their sonship in God by the Holy
Spirit bearing an inward witness with their spirits (Rom 8:16), though some
bona fide Christians have not yet taken advantage of this blessed security that
is available to them.

        The
scope of the missionary task, as stated by Jesus Himself in the Great
Commission, includes all the nations and people groups of the entire world
(Matt 28:189-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8). Regardless of one’s racial
background or ethnicity, every single individual is equally important. Jesus
also predicted the fulfillment of this great global assignment (Matt 24:14).
The end of this present age will only conclude when the Gospel has been
preached in all the world. The context of Matthew 24 speaks of all the
obstacles that would come against the advancement of the Gospel, such as
natural disasters, wars, persecutions, and apostasy. However, God is never
without a witness, the Evangel will eventually penetrate every part of planet
earth. Dispensationalists believe this passage specifically refers to the
seven-year Great Tribulation of the Jewish people leading to Christ’s Second
Advent, while Covenant Theology espousers see this return of Christ as the grand
finale of the Church Age and for everyone.[8]
Notwithstanding either view, both agree that the Great Commission will finally
be completed in the name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit (Zech
4:6; Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). In terms of progress quantification, I believe
there would be a general presentation of some facets of the Gospel to all the
nations and peoples in various degrees through different means. Each person’s
perception and reception of the light of Christ would vary, as each case must
be considered on its own merit and particular circumstances.

After the definition,
biblical basis, purpose, and the scope of missions have been clarified, it is
necessary to construe the Scriptural concept of missionaries. Merriam-Webster’s
Dictionary defines it as “a person undertaking a mission and especially a
religious mission.”[9]
The broad understanding among Christians and secular seems to be that of a
person sent to another country to engage in church works.[10]
The word “missionary” does not appear in most literal or dynamic equivalence
English translations of the Bible, such as the NKJV, NIV, NASV, KJV, NRSV, ESV. It rarely appears even in
contemporary and paraphrase versions, such as the NLT, CEV, TNIV, and NIrV. The few occurrences such as in The Message describes Paul’s
work of building establishing churches abroad as “missionary assignments” (1
Cor 9:3—The Message). The Amplified Bible square brackets in Acts
16:3 and 3 John 1:10 as additional explanatory notes. Many translations along
with church traditions, however, describe Paul’s apostolic journeys to the
Gentile nations as “missionary journeys.”[11]
Indeed as discussed previously, the matching term of the idea of missions in
the New Testament is the Greek word apostello,
which is the chief word used for “to send away” and where the term “apostle” is
derived. It is no surprise then to see commentators and translators equating
Paul’s apostolic ministry to that of a missionary work, which is acceptable to
me. Yet a careful student of the Word must remember that definitions must not
come from etymological studies alone, but a thorough examination of the content
of the whole Scriptures on the subject. “Missionaries” in the contemporary
usage seems to describe the natures
of the ministry and not the ministry offices in themselves. In this view,
“missionaries” are not synonymous with present-day “apostles” or vice versa.
Apostles are those called and sent by God to a nation, tribe or race to
establish churches (Gal 2:8; 1 Cor 3:6, 10). However, not all who are sent out
stand in the apostolic office (Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:29), thus, a “missionary” is
not necessary equivalent to a modern-day “apostle.” In other words, being sent
out to another country, ethnic group, or race, apostles by definition will
function in missionary type of labors. This is to say that all apostles may be
properly called a “missionary” in today’s terminology, but not all missionaries
stand in the apostolic ministry. In the same way, all believers can “all
prophesy one by one” (1 Cor 14:31), including prophets, but it is apparent that
not all who prophesy are qualified as a fivefold prophet (1 Cor 12:29). The
same logic applies to evangelists, pastors, and teachers and all secular jobs.
Not all who preaches the Gospel, doing pastoral work or teaches are called to
the particular ministry offices, just as not everyone who is able to type well,
have good administrative and computer word processing skills are secretaries, although
the opposite is true.[12]
The underlying principle is that those called to a particular spiritual office
would have the gifts and talents for it (Eph 4:8-11), but merely being endowed
with abilities will not sanction one into certain ministries if God never
called one to such in the first place (1 Sam 13:8-14).

In strict terms, therefore,
I would define a missionary as any
fivefold with a special call to another country or cultural group for missions
work on a long-term basis. The norm would be that this fivefold is sent out
by a church or a mission agency, and that the majority of his time would be
devoted to ministerial work, although it is possible that he or she also holds
a secular occupation like Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla as tent-making
missionaries (Acts 18:4). There are exceptions when one is not commissioned by
a church or missionary organization due to legitimate circumstantial reasons,
but journeys on his or her own initiatives under the guidance of the Spirit, he
or she is still an authentic missionary since there is a genuine predestination
from God and not men. No churches or any Christian groups can ever ordain
someone to a spiritual office outside of the will of God for the individual
(Gal 1:1), or vice versa (Rom 11:29), as the biblical idea of ordination is to
confirm and bless in recognition of God’s call (Acts 13:1-3). It is most
essential and beneficial that this one be in fellowship with a group of local
believers or a missions agency in the region where he ministers, however, it is
also crucial to know that callings originate from God and Him alone (Rom
12:1-2). From a broader panorama, some who are not called to the fivefold may
still have a market-place missionary call to another nation or people while
working in the secular realm. It is acceptable to refer to them as a different
type of missionary. In summary, missionaries in the most precise sense to me
must meet the following qualifications: 1) a fivefold calling to cross national
geographic or cultural lines, 2) their tasks are dealing specifically with
missions, 3) the duration of work there must be a long-standing one. All
believers can go on short-term mission trips, but they are not missionaries.
National missionaries are those who fulfill the above three requirements in
ministering to a different cultural group within one’s own country. Mobilizers
are those who help set up long-term and short-term missionary endeavors. It
would be valuable if mobilizers have missionary experiences, but it should not
be a prerequisite as other ministry skills are also indispensable.

As to the state of the
world, according to Bryant Myers, Christians account for about one-third of the
world population, roughly 2.1 billion people. It is estimated that there will
be 1.2 billion Muslims in the year 2000, over one billion people who are
Buddhist or who practice Chinese traditional religion, 850 million Hindus, and
230 million people who identify themselves as atheists.[13]
Many of these non-Christians reside in Asia, India,
the Middle East, and North Africa. The
majority of the Christian population are in Europe, North and South
America, Russia,
Australia, and some part in Africa, though many who label themselves as Christians
may be nominal believers. The term “Christian” in this study includes both
Protestants and Catholics, the latter makes up 54% of the figure.[14]
Crossing cultures and contextualization, therefore, are critically central and
in it hinges the success or failure of world missions. The standard biblical
instruction for cross-cultural evangelism is adaptation and to train up
indigenous believers to reach their own peoples (Acts 6:1-7; 1 Cor 9:20). Many
times this would entail learning a new language and drastically adapt the
customs of the people group. Each missionary venture would be approached
differently in the overall scheme and methodologies, but all would rely on the
power of the Holy Spirit and not just in the strategy (1 Cor 2:4).

The role of the local
church cannot be underestimated. The Lord Jesus Christ has instituted the Church
as the foundational vehicle in which the Gospel is disseminated to the whole
world (Matt 16:18; Acts 2:47; 1 Tim 3:15). Their responsibility and privilege
are discerning those among their congregation who have a destiny to serve God as
missionaries, then train and send them out under the direction and timing of
the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1-3). Intercessory prayers for them should be a normal
part of the church life, and the local church would function as the base for
the missionaries. Being the spiritual home, the local church can supply many of
the necessary elements needed in a missionary work: accountability, counsel,
encouragement, financial support, fellowship, credibility, continued training,
etc. The senior pastor and the leadership team of the local church must be
biblically mission-minded and soundly grounded in the Word of God and the
Spirit of God in order to encourage the congregation to fulfill the Great
Commission locally and worldwide. Mission
agencies are para-church organizations that complement local churches in regard
to missions. They neither replace nor are in conflict with the local churches.
The church is still the principal infrastructure of the Christian life and
ministry, no missionary organizations can ever substitute this divinely
appointed Living Organism. Still, oftentimes local churches do need external
assistance in specialized or technical areas to help further maximize their
potential. Missionary organizations, or any legitimate parachurch ministries,
do not contradict biblical teachings, as long as Christians recognize their
role as secondary to the Body of Christ.

With regard to mission
priorities, I do believe spiritually rich countries should dispatch more aid to
spiritually poor regions in the world (1 Cor 12:22-26). This would certainly
include the unreached peoples, the 10/40 Window, etc. This is especially in
dire need in areas where Christianity is suppressed and believers persecuted,
such as China, many Middle East and African nations. The dichotomy of
“spiritual rich” and “spiritual poor” is a very general one. It refers to
nations with religious freedom and a higher percentage of Christian communities
and organizations. This does not imply that these Christian nations are more
spiritual in all aspects, as often is the case that the persecuted Christians
have a much higher commitment to Christ and spiritual quality than the lukewarm
Christians in politically safe countries. Local churches, denominations, and
mission agencies should not just blindly send missionaries to these regions.
They should first seek and discern the times and seasons of God for spiritual
harvest. An open door is where the people have a greater spiritual propensity
towards the Gospel, thus, more missionaries should be sent to places with more
open doors first. Although missionaries with a call to pioneer spiritually
darker domains should still go forth under the injunction of the Spirit, an
abundance of intercession should be the primary strategy for these territories
to soften and prepare the hearts of people in spiritual warfare (Matt 7:6; Acts
16:7). Once the spiritual battles have been won through travailing prayers and
evil powers bound, more spiritual forces can be mobilized physically (Eph 6:12).

        Every
single believer can and should be involved in missions. Though the majority of
Christians do not have a missionary appointment from God, but He wants all of
His children to have a missionary heart and vision (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). On
a personal level, I do not believe I am charged with a missionary mandate. Even
though I was raised in Taiwan and moved to Canada at the age of twelve, and having
experienced both Oriental and Western culture and served in both Asian and
Caucasian congregations for over eight years in different ministries, but my
calling (as of Jan 2009) is pastoral and teaching. However, there are a great number of ways in
which I can be involved in missions indirectly. First of all, I have been in
several short-term mission trips to different countries in the past. I have
also worked as a fulltime church worker in Taiwan for about a year. If
opportunities arise in the future, I will consider going on short-term missions
in the will of God. Secondly, I receive a monthly missions booklet with prayer
directives for different people groups each day. Prayer is one of the most
common but vital means that every Christian can participate in world
evangelism. Thirdly, I can also share with others and pass on the vision and
biblical teaching on world missions through my ministry and private life. Being
in the ministry, I can help discern, prepare, send out, and mobilize those who
have a missionary call. Last but not least, I can contribute financially, as
missionaries, local churches, and mission agencies are often in need of
monetary support to continue their ministry.

        Having discussed the key
concepts in regard to missions from the biblical and personal perspective, I
believe the most important fundamental principle is the love of God. It is
Father’s love that moved Him to send His one and only Son Jesus to the world as
the sacrificial Lamb of God. This same kind of divine love should be the sole
motivation in whatever principles and strategies we have for world missions. When
every biblical philosophy boils down to one core, it is the love of God. The
reason for discussing missions is because God loves people in an intimate,
intense, and most personal fashion. Therefore, He calls everyone to partake of
this privilege task of love. While some are called to the front lines as
missionaries, all others are to equally important helping in the background
with prayers, teaching, mobilization, encouragement, and accountability. In
conclusion, world missions does not start and end with going to the end of the
earth, but it starts in a heart that is full of the love and compassion of Jesus
Christ for a lost, dying, but redeemable world—the true Gospel of Christ is the
only answer. 

“For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)

“For I
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom
3:16).

 
“By
this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to
lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).