INTRODUCTION
The vast multiplicity of churches on this earth has impacted every aspect of theology, which includes how churches do missions. It also includes how they communicate and articulate the theology of missions. The different aspects of missions can include how the church body selects missionaries to who would be considered a missionary. The underlining question that must be answered is, “What is the foundational mission of the church?” This question has been answered in so many ways. Formulating an answer to this question can be quite difficult because the vast diversity of churches cause an incongruous and opposing goals, which makes everything less apparent. The purpose of this paper is to articulate the theology of missions from a biblical vantage point.
THE CHURCH AND MISSIONS
A question must be asked, “What is the center piece of missions?” The center of missions is the local and universal church. What is the mission given to the church? Jesus gave the church the “great commission” that has been plainly presented in all four Gospels. God gave mankind the responsibility to achieve tasks began in the Garden of Eden, which has been termed as the cultural mandate. One must understand that the great commission is not a substitution for the cultural mandate of humanity. It is a further mission statement for the Christian. Every aspect of the church is included in the mission of God to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, NKJV).” No one is expelled from this command from Jesus Christ. Therefore, in concordance with the theology of missions, the church to its entirety has the conscientiousness to be involved in missions. The mission supplies the fundamental function for all believers in Jesus Christ. Therefore, every Christian should participate in missions, whether by being sent or sending others.
REACHING THE WORLD
The next aspect that must be evaluated is to see if there is a geographical or cultural constraint to the mission of the church. When studying the commission of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, one must conclude that Christ had a global mission. In Mark 16:15 he states, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (NKJV).” In addition, in Acts1:8 it states, “…and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (NKJV).” The church must have fervor about reaching the unreached people of this world. Johannes Verkuyl points out that the God of Abraham has always been troubled with the world. “God chose Israel in preparation for the complete unwrapping and disclosure of His universal intentions.” There are abundant references to “the earth” and “the nations” that lead to the conclusion that the church’s purpose is to reach the whole world. When studying God’s Word to its entirety, one must conclude that the theological connotation of the scriptures about God’s love and Christ’s death for the sins of the world point to the global degree of the mission. The Church is called to reach the unreached with the Gospel. Anything less than this is outside the will of God. Johnston said it very well when he stated, “Our aim should be at minimum a church for every people.” The question is whether the church is living up to this statement.
THE MISSION UNTIL HIS RETURN
A question that must be answered is when did the mission begin? It began in the Garden of Eden when God promised that the seed of Eve would defeat Satan (Genesis 3:15). This is the first proclamation of the Gospel, which is often referred to as the “protoevangelium.” The line of Seth, which is one of the sons of Adam and Eve, would produce a king that the entire world would be blessed by. This king is Jesus Christ. In Genesis the gospel has not been preached to all the world. The world has not been blessed with the King’s existence on the earth. In concordance, the mission must continue until the King returns as promised. Just as missions was the priority and heartbeat of Paul, so should it be for the church today.
THE CHARGE OF THE MISSION
It is of great importance to understand what the mission is and its correlation to the church. Roy Zuck has described the mission of Israel well. He states: "The theology of the Old Testament finds focus in great measure in the nation Israel, the covenant people of Yahweh, whom He elected, redeemed, and commissioned to serve Him among the nations of the earth. As a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex 19:46), it was Israel’s task to model the dominion of God over His creation and to mediate His saving grace to fallen and alienated humanity." He describes the cultural mandate and something similar in many respects to the great commission in Israel’s mission. Israel failed the mission given by God and as a result was scatted among the nations (Dt 4:27, Am 9:9). As a result of this failure, God sent His Son. Jesus Christ came to complete the task in accordance to the Father. Jesus described His mission in Luke 19:10, which states: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” In John 17:4 it states, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” Jesus accomplished the will of the Father to glorify the Father. In correspondence, the church glorifies God through the harvesting of new believers. Paul received his mission form Jesus to be the primary missionary to the Gentiles. Galatians 1:16 and Acts 26:28 communicate Paul’s missionary mission of preaching the Gospel. Paul preached that faith comes by the Word of God. As a result, he was dedicated to the preaching of the Gospel (Romans 10:17). Paul understood that the Gospel is “…the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16 NKJV)…” The primary mission of the church is to the preaching of the Gospel. Dr. Yohannan, who is the founder of Gospel for Asia, reveals the preaching of the Gospel as the essential mission of any missionary. Those that are sent by God have a mission to take the Gospel to the unreached and to be a buffer in order that others come to faith in Jesus Chist Studying Paul’s methodology of missions provides a working model for any missionary. When observing his methods one can conclude that he preached, disciple, planted churches, and mentored church leaders. Glasser adds that “Paul felt that only through the deliberate multiplication of vast numbers of new congregations would it be possible to evangelize his generation.” One must take into consideration that Paul was not preoccupied by social exertion. The degree that a missionary must engage him or herself in social gospel tasks cannot be clearly defined, but these tasks must be parallel with the preaching of the Gospel and discipleship. In Mark 8:36 it states, “For what will is profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul.” If a missionary spends more effort in providing for the poor and less time preaching the Word of God, then they are missing the underlining purpose of the church and their purpose for being sent. Jesus Christ had a heart for the poor; therefore, all believers should have a heart for the poor. The missionary should not ignore the needs that around them, but it should not replace the mission of sharing the Word of God.
CONCLUSTION
The underling purpose of missions is the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Preaching the gospel, discipleship, baptizing, and church planting are the responsibility of the believer, either directly or indirectly. Jesus Christ gave the mission to the developing church after His resurrection and it must carry on until His return. Christ stated in Matthew 24:14 that the “…gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come (NKJV).” The church is the cornerstone is seeing the nations reached for the glory of God.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, T. Desmond “Genesis Notes,” ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, Crossway Bibles, 2008.
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Glasser, Arthur F. “The Apostle Paul and the Missionary Task,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement 4th Edition, ed. Ralph Winters and Steven C. Hawthorne 149-154. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2009.
Johnstone, Patrick. “Covering the Globe,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement 4th Edition, ed. Ralph Winters and Steven C. Hawthorne 551. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2009.
Piper, John. “Let the Nations Be Glad,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement 4th Edition, ed. Ralph Winters and Steven C. Hawthorne 64. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2009.
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Zuck, Roy B. A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.
