The OT and Christian Missions

 Christopher Wright’s The Mission of God is an outstanding contribution to the fields of hermeneutics, biblical theology, missions, and evangelism (among others).  It is a unique and amazing resource for pastors, church planters, missionaries, and any Christian interested in a detailed yet readable study of the mission of our Triune God.  Here’s one short quote that I highlighted as I read through it last year.  It comes in the chapter entitled, “God and the Nations in Old Testament Vision.”

“All stand under YHWH’s judgment.  All can turn to YHWH and find his mercy.  This surely has to be one of the most foundational elements of the Old Testament contribution to our theology of mission.”

“1) If it were not the case that all nations stand under the impending judgment of God, there would be no need to proclaim the gospel.”

“2) But if it were not for the fact that God deals in mercy and forgiveness with all who repent, there would be no gospel to proclaim.”

Christopher Wright, The Mission of God (Downers Grove: IVP, 2006), 462.

rev. shane lems

A Summary of Paul’s Evangelistic Preaching (Roland Allen)

This is another book that all missionaries and evangelists should read carefully; pastors who minister in culturally diverse areas will also benefit from it.  The book is by Roland Allen and it is called Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?  It was first published around 50 years ago.  I liked Allen’s summary of Paul’s evangelistic preaching.  I’ve separated one longer paragraph into a few smaller ones to make it easier to read.

“We can easily understand how such a gospel would appeal to the minds of St Paul’s hearers.  To those who, among the conflicting claims and confused teachings of polytheism, were seeking for some unity in the world of nature and of thought, St Paul brought doctrine, at once simple and profound, of one personal God living and true, the Creator of all.

“To men who sought for some intelligent account of the world, its nature and its end, St Paul revealed a moral purpose in the light of which all the perplexities, uncertainties, and apparent contradictions, resolved themselves into a divine harmony.”

“To men of high moral instincts, appalled and dismayed at the impurity of society around them, St Paul offered the assurance of a moral judgment.”

“To men oppressed by the sense of sin he brought the assurance of pardon and release.”

“To the downtrodden, the sad, the hopeless, he opened the door into a kingdom of light and liberty.”

“To those who were terrified by the fear of malignant spirits he revealed a Spirit benignant [gracious], watchful and ever present, all-powerful and able at a word to banish the power of darkness.”

“To men dissatisfied with the worship of idols he taught the pure service of one true God.”

“To people whose imaginations were overwhelmed by the terrors and darkness of the grave he gave the assurance of a future beyond the grave in the bliss and peace of the Risen Lord.”

“To the weak who needed support, to sinners bound with the chain of vice, to people unable to cope with the depressed morality of their heathen surroundings, he brought the promise of an indwelling Spirit of power.”

“To the lonely he offered the friendly warmth of society of a company all eagerly looking forward to a bright day when Grace would come and this world with all its perplexities and troubles pass away.”

“It is no wonder then that this gospel of St Paul appealed to men, fired their imaginations, filled them with hope, and strengthened them with power to face persecution.”

This excerpt can be found on page 70 of Missionary Methods.  Again, even though the book and language are a bit dated, it is one of those “must reads” for those interested in missions, church planting, and evangelism.

shane lems

The Apostle Paul Confronting Idolatry

Here’s a helpful summary of how Paul confronted idolatry in his epistle to the church in Rome compared with his interactions with Gentiles (recorded in Acts by Luke).

“Comparing Paul’s theological argument to Christians in Romans 1 with his evangelistic preaching to pagans recorded in Acts, there is a marked difference of tone, even though there is certainly no clash of fundamental conviction.”

“Romans, written to Christians, highlights the wrath of God.  Acts, referring to speeches made to pagans, highlights God’s kindness, providence, and patience.  Both, however, insist on God’s judgment.

-Romans portrays idolatry as fundamentally rebellion and suppression of the truth.  Acts portrays it as ignorance.

-Romans portrays the wickedness that idolatry spawns.  Acts portrays idolatry as ‘worthless.’

-Romans points out how perverted the idolater’s thinking has to be.  Acts points out how absurd it is when you stop and think about it.

-Paul could excoriate idolatry as ‘a lie’ before Christian readers, but did not blaspheme Artemis before her pagan worshipers.”

“So there is a difference in tone and tactic in Paul’s confrontation with idolatry, depending on the context of his argument.  However, we should be clear that in both cases, he is building all he has to say on very solid scriptural foundations, for every one of the points mentioned above, even though they have differing and balancing emphases, can be related to the Old Testament’s rhetoric against idolatry.  It is particularly noteworthy that although Paul nowhere quotes Old Testament texts in his evangelistic preaching among Gentiles (as he so profusely does when speaking among Jews in synagogues), the content of his message is thoroughly grounded in and plainly proclaims the monotheistic creational faith of Israel.”

This is (obviously) a summary of a larger argument, but it is a helpful one.  For more on this topic, be sure to get Christopher Wright, The Mission of God.  The above quote is found on page 182 of this book.

shane lems

Evangelism, the Church, and the Holy Spirit (Newbigin)

Here’s a great section from a great book: A Word in Season by Lesslie Newbigin.

“We have good news to tell.  Before we begin to think about how it is communicated, it is well that we begin with a negative point.  It is not communicated if the question uppermost in our minds is about the survival of the church in the inner city.  Because our society is a pagan society, and because Christians have – in general – failed to realize how radical the contradiction is between the Christian vision of what is real and the assumptions that we breathe in from every part of our shared existence, we allow ourselves to be deceived into thinking of the church as one of the many ‘good causes’ that need our support and that will collapse if they are not adequately supported.  If our ‘evangelism’ is at bottom an effort to shore up the tottering edifice of the church (and it sometimes looks like that), then it will not be heard as good news.  The church is in God’s keeping.  We do not have the right to be anxious about it.  We have our Lord’s word that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  The crux of the matter is that we have been chosen to be the bearers of good news for the whole world, and the question is simply whether we are faithful in communicating it.”

“Evangelism is not some kind of technique we use to persuade people to change their minds and think like us.  Evangelism is the telling of good news, but what changes people’s minds and converts their wills is always a mysterious work of the sovereign Holy Spirit, and we are not permitted to know more than a little of his secret working.  But – and this is the point – the Holy Spirit is present in the believing congregation gathered for praise and the offering up of spiritual sacrifice, scattered throughout the community to bear the love of God into every secular happening and meeting.  It is they who scatter the seeds of hope around, and even if the greater part falls on barren ground, there will be a few that begin to germinate, to create at least a questioning and a seeking, and perhaps to lead someone to inquire about where these germs of hope came from.  Although it may seem simplistic, I most deeply believe it is fundamental to recognize that what brings men and women and children to know Jesus as Lord and Savior is always the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, always beyond our understanding or control, always the result of a presence, a reality that both draws and challenges – the reality who is in fact the living God himself.  And his presence is promised and granted in the midst of the believing, worshiping, celebrating, caring congregations.  There is no hermeneutic for the gospel but that” (p. 41-42).

Lesslie Newbigin, A Word in Season.

shane lems

Unconditional Election: A Motive to Missions

 Sometimes people say that the doctrines of grace (aka Calvinism) are a hinderance to missions and evangelism.  The reasoning goes like this: why share the gospel with someone if he might not be elect?  Why share the gospel with someone if Jesus didn’t die for him?  While hypercalvinists might say “Good point!” to those questions, biblical Calvinists answer those questions something like J. M. Boice did:

“People suppose that if God is going to save certain individuals, then he will save them, and there is no point in our having anything to do with it.  But it does not work that way.  Election does not exclude the use of the means by which God works, and the proclamation of the gospel is one of those means (1 Cor. 1:21).”

“Moreover, it is only the truth of election that gives us any hope of success as we proclaim the gospel to unsaved men and women.  If the heart of a sinner is as opposed to God as the Bible declares it to be, and if God does not elect people to salvation, then what hope of success could we possibly have in witnessing?  If God does not call sinners to Christ effectively, it is certain that we cannot do so either.  Even more, if the effective agent in salvation is not God’s choice and call – if the choice is up to the individual or to us, because of our powers to persuade people to accept Christ – how could we even dare to witness?  For what if we make a mistake?  What if we give a wrong answer?  What if we are insensitive to the person’s real questions?  In that case, people will fail to believe.  They may eventually go to hell, and their eternal destiny will be partly our fault, and how could any thinking, feeling Christian live with that?”

“But on the other hand, if God has elected some to salvation and if he is calling those elected individuals to Christ, then we can go forth boldly, knowing that our witness does not have to be perfect, that God uses even weak and stuttering testimonies to his grace and, best of all, that all whom God has chosen for salvation will be saved.  We can be fearless, knowing that all who are called by God will come to him.”

This excellent quote was taken from Boice’s chapter on unconditional election in The Doctrines of Grace (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009).

shane lems