As convinced Christians, we should be penetrating the meaning of mission, and of the part we are called to play in it.
Is it possible that the mission on which we have been is simply for the enlarging of the number of Christians in the world, or does it go more deeply than this? Is Christian mission genuinely seeking to redeem human beings out of every society so that they may gain eternal life? Is it so that the plan and purpose of God for all history may be fulfilled according to His sovereign will? Are we partners with God in these actions? Are our churches oriented to this wisdom of God? Or are we little more than social clubs, held together by the desire to maintain ourselves, our culture and our numbers? Are we ashamed of our beginnings, and even more so of the mistakes we have made along the way?
Whatever the case, we should be seeking answers to all these questions, for they will certainly stab us awake to the manner in which the Church should be acting in the world today. It is essential that we know God’s will in the matter of mission and be strengthened by fulfilling it. Paul’s words here are apt: ‘Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is’ (Ephesians 5:17).
The matter is clear. Every Christian ought to: understand the matter of mission; know to what degree the ekklesia (the Church) of God is involved in mission; discern whether or not the manner of going about mission is in conformity with biblical principles; and assess whether or not he or she is appropriately on mission.
from "God and Man in the Mission of the Kingdom", by Geoffrey C. Bingham, Redeemer Baptist Press: North Parramatta, 2003, pp.1-2
Is it possible that the mission on which we have been is simply for the enlarging of the number of Christians in the world, or does it go more deeply than this? Is Christian mission genuinely seeking to redeem human beings out of every society so that they may gain eternal life? Is it so that the plan and purpose of God for all history may be fulfilled according to His sovereign will? Are we partners with God in these actions? Are our churches oriented to this wisdom of God? Or are we little more than social clubs, held together by the desire to maintain ourselves, our culture and our numbers? Are we ashamed of our beginnings, and even more so of the mistakes we have made along the way?
Whatever the case, we should be seeking answers to all these questions, for they will certainly stab us awake to the manner in which the Church should be acting in the world today. It is essential that we know God’s will in the matter of mission and be strengthened by fulfilling it. Paul’s words here are apt: ‘Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is’ (Ephesians 5:17).
The matter is clear. Every Christian ought to: understand the matter of mission; know to what degree the ekklesia (the Church) of God is involved in mission; discern whether or not the manner of going about mission is in conformity with biblical principles; and assess whether or not he or she is appropriately on mission.
from "God and Man in the Mission of the Kingdom", by Geoffrey C. Bingham, Redeemer Baptist Press: North Parramatta, 2003, pp.1-2
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment