Why Missions?
(Scripture Reference: ESV)
The best reason I can think of, and that it is Biblical, is our God is a missionary God and he wants us to follow Him in that endeavor.
In John 17:18, Jesus is praying and talking to the Father and He says “As you sent Me into the world, I also have sent them (us) into the world.” We have a missionary God and a missionary Savior and they want us to be missionaries in this present world.
In Romans 5:12 we read “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam) and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Every human being from the time of Adam has been and is a sinner by nature and by practice.
The Apostle Paul, in Romans 6:23 wrote “For the wages (penalty) of sin is death (separation from God) but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.” In John 10:10b, Jesus said “… I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
Think of it – Jesus takes our sin and death, forgives us and in return gives us eternal life. He is the only answer to mankind’s need for salvation and holiness. In John 3:16, Jesus tells us “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
In Acts 4:12, Peter wrote “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.”
The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:21 wrote, “He (the Father) made the One (Jesus) who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Folks – don’t miss this fact … In Isaiah 59:1-2 “Indeed the LORD’s hand is not too short to save, and His ear is not too deaf to hear. But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen.”
SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD WHO IS HOLY. JESUS CAME TO TAKE OUR SIN AWAY. FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, WE MUST REPENT OF OUR SIN, AND PUT OUR TRUST IN CHRIST AND WHAT HE DID FOR US ON THE CROSS.
How grateful we should be to God for our Bibles. He gave us this book so that we might come to know Him and then make Him known. Making Him known is what missions is all about.
“One of the big challenges we face as Christians is Humanism. The philosophy of this movement is that man is the measure of all things. The conviction of humanism is that Man is capable of solving his own problems apart from any supernatural intervention by God. Man is the focus and Man is exalted. Man is considered to be capable of perfection through education and reliance on reason. Faith is condemned. Reason is worshiped.” (Dr. David Reagan)
As you look at our nation today, would you say that man is doing quite well and that the nation is healthy? I want to be fair and say that man has succeeded in many ways that make life better for the world. But there are other things happening that could sink this ship.
Psychology professor, David G. Myers gives us a statistical perspective of the changes that took place between 1960 and 2000. Over that forty-year period, America has witnessed:
· The divorce rate has doubled.
· The teen suicide rate has tripled.
· The rate of violent crime has quadrupled.
· The prison rate has quintupled.
· The number of babies born to unmarried parents has sextupled.
· There has been a seven-fold increase in co-habitation.
· The rate of depression is ten-times what it was pre-World War II.
· 55 million babies have been aborted since 1973. (The population of Canada is 35 million.)
I believe God, who loves us has been trying to get our attention in many ways. We have just ignored Him and are continuing on in our self-destructive ways. More and more the humanists are trying to silence the voices of Christians. When we share what God has to say about some of the ills of society, we are accused of being hateful.
I want to say, as clearly as possible, and with absolute conviction … if we, as Christians, are going to get serious about —
1. The Great Commission – Matthew 28:19-20
2. The Great Commandments – Matthew 22:33-40
3. The Great Compassion – Mark 6:34, Luke 19:10
…we must listen and commit to these scriptures.
In the Great Commission, Jesus challenges all of His followers to go and make disciples of all nations by going to them, winning and baptizing them and teaching them to obey all of his commandments.
The Great commandments teach us to love God and our neighbor. If we love our neighbor, we will want him/her to know Christ and have eternal life.
In the Great compassion, we find Jesus showing concern for the people. He healed them, taught them, clothed them, restored them, and in many ways showed compassion to them. He wants us to do the same.
So, that is why missions is very important. Will we rise up and be the heart, the eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet of Jesus to those still in darkness?
In Romans 10:14-15, we have Paul, a missionary, saying “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!’”
Do you have beautiful feet?
Pastor Leonard
