Lord’s Day, Vol. 4 No. 43

God’s Call to Christian Missions

Matthew 16:18-19 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven to open the gospel door in progression, first to the Jews (Acts 2), then to the Samaritans who were half-Jew and half-gentile (Acts 8) and finally to Cornelius, an Italian Gentile (Acts 10).

With the opening of the gospel door to the Gentiles and the scattering of the Jews throughout the Roman Empire, the scene was set for the enactment of God’s redemption plan by His chosen vessels, Paul and his companions.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:9-11 wrote thus of his life story as a missionary for Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:9-11 “For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

Since the Apostle Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus in A.D. 37, his life was energized with a dynamite power that burst forth in the incessant preaching of his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, unparalleled in biblical history.

The Apostle Paul’s preaching were recorded in a large portion of the Acts of the Apostles (chapters 9, 11, 12:25, 13-28) and in the Pauline Epistles (chronologically 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 Timothy, Titus and 2 Timothy) and possibly the Epistle to the Hebrews, 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament Scriptures.

There were the Apostle Paul’s seemingly tireless missionary journeys and the fruitful captivities for gospel advancement from A.D. 47 to A.D. 63, a period of 16 years before his martyrdom in A.D. 68. The term “Missions” is derived through the Latin, misso or mitto, meaning “to send.” The Christian missionary is sent forth with the Gospel message as an ambassador of Jesus Christ to evangelize and gather believers into churches in obedience to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:44-48, John 20:21-23, Acts 1:8). A missionary, from the same root word, is one who is sent as a spiritual ambassador to those who have not heard the gospel.

Morris MacDonald aptly said, “This word “missions” does not appear in the Bible, but we consider Paul to have been a missionary. When Paul said, “Do the work of an evangelist” in 2 Timothy 4:5, he was referring to his missionary work. An ordained missionary is one who is called as an evangelist. Harold Cook suggests, ‘The New Testament pictures for us a faith which is by its nature missionary (An Introduction to the Study of Missions, Moody Press, 1954, p. 20).”

George Peters gave a clear biblical definition of missions gleaned from the Acts of the Apostles. He wrote, “…“Missions” is not a happening; it is a movement. It is not an enthusiastic leap and haphazard beat; it is an orderly enterprise. It is the progressive realization of the plan and purpose of God for our age. It is warfare against the powers of darkness and the kingdom of the Evil One. It is salvation movement designed to be as broad as mankind and as deep as man’s need.

Its ultimate goal is the glory of God in the welfare of mankind; its foundation is the finished work of Christ accomplished on Calvary’s cross and His triumphant resurrection; its dynamic and Superintendent is the Holy Spirit; its means is the gospel, which unfolds the free gift of God for all who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord; its instrument is the church of Jesus Christ, the body of Christ, the bride of the Lamb, the habitation of God through the Holy Spirit, the pillar and ground of truth.”

It was 17 years after Jesus’ ascension in A.D. 30 that the church at Antioch sent its first missionaries in A.D. 47. Paul was actively at the church in Antioch since A.D. 44. He served as a teacher at the church in Antioch, preaching the Word of God until the call came when the church sent him and Barnabas as their first missionaries (Acts 13:2). Paul described his calling thus in Romans 1:1-5:

 Romans 1:1-5 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.

May God raise up missionaries to serve Him in our generation. Amen.

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee