Because the heart of Christian missions, whether at home or abroad, has to do with the message it is inevitable that Satan will do everything possible to divert, distort, dilute or deny that message, and in its place substitute anything which omits the Cross and the Resurrection.
Christian missions have ever been in a state of crisis because of opposition, ignorance and indifference. There is always the wall of opposing forces, different and yet the same, forces which are totally opposed to the claims of Christ. The Apostle Paul confronted these forces on every hand. Many times there must have been those who looked on him and his efforts as having failed. Judging by worldly standards it must have seemed that his efforts were weak and pitiful in the face of established religions, cultures and national alignments.
The things of God, eternal in their implications, are not seen except with insight given by him. When the church ignores the power and work of the Holy Spirit it has always been possible for the world to belittle the missionary efforts of individuals and churches.
We may also err in looking for outward permanence as a token of evangelizing success. Dare we say that because today there probably are no more than 200 professing Christians in one area of Paul’s endeavors—the part of present-day Turkey where the “Seven Churches” of Revelation were located—that his work was a failure?
Or dare we say that Christianity has failed because the simplicity of the early Church has been followed by accretions of ecclesiastical pretensions, shifting of emphasis from the message to organization, and failures in every generation faithfully to follow the Great Commission?
Today world missions are in crisis while at the same time emerging churches in many lands bear active testimony to the power of the Gospel.
But the major crisis of today, as has always been the case, does not center in missionary methods and policies, as important as these always are, but in the nature of the message being preached, taught and lived. It is this vital point that must be guarded at all costs.
Methods become meaningless without the basic message. Policies but add to the confusion unless based on a clear understanding and faithful proclaiming of the message itself.
It is always necessary to distinguish between corollaries to and developments proceeding from the Gospel message and the content of that message; between the fruits inherent in Christianity, and those which have their roots in Christian doctrine itself. To confuse the fruits of Christianity (and this is frequently done) with the root from which these fruits proceed is a fatal error. Nor is it possible to produce fruit where there is no root.
It is for this reason that the essential Christian message must at all times be kept in view as we face changing conditions, meet new diversions, and appropriate new methods of proclaiming the message itself.
For missionary endeavor to remain static in a changing world would be tragic. For changes in method, policies and approach to be coupled with a change in the message itself would be more than tragic; it would be fatal.
The Apostle Paul was certainly the greatest missionary of the first Christian century. Fortunately for each succeeding generation not only are the accounts of his missionary journeys preserved but through his letters to the young churches we know the message which he preached, a message on which there rested the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit.
In his letter to the Corinthian church Paul gives a thumbnail sketch of the heart of that message: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:1–4).
In this short space Paul affirms man’s need of salvation; Christ’s death for sinners; the fact of his burial and resurrection—all in accord with the Old Testament plan and prediction.
A study of Paul’s message reveals his abiding conviction as to the uniqueness and exclusiveness of Christ and his claims. He did not doubt that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and that man’s only access to God is through his Son. He did not question Peter’s assertion that there is no other way of salvation other than in the name of Jesus Christ.
In every generation there have been “other gospels” which deny the unique Person and Work of Christ and this generation is no exception.
Probably outstanding among the various types of divergence from the Christian message today is the siren voice of universalism, so appealing and at the same time so deadening.
If it is not true that those who believe on the Son have everlasting life while those who reject him shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on them, then the heart of the Christian message has been removed and in its place a wishful, speculative philosophy substituted which cuts the nerve of evangelistic zeal and missionary endeavor.
Wherever the lost condition of the sinner is reduced to a mere ignorance of the fact that he is saved, the whole thrust of preaching is changed. Paul never made that mistake; salvation was on a “whosoever” basis but it was attained by faith and in no other way. To the Philippian jailer Paul used neither nondirective counseling, nor a warning to take care because he was confronted with an emotional crisis. To the question as to the means of salvation the answer was equally direct, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …” (Acts 16:31).
Furthermore, both the integrity of the Old Testament record and its authority were held up to the early Christian Church. The Berean Christians were “more honourable” because by the Scriptures they evaluated the preaching they heard to see whether its message was true.
Humanitarianism, social progress, physical healing, educational advance and multiplied techniques have their definite place in Christian missions, but whether these shall serve the body and mind alone depends on the message behind such work.
The preaching of the Cross is still foolishness to the world in general, but the Cross and its implications are central to the missionary message.
It is a message of an occupied Cross and of an empty Tomb and they must come first.
L. NELSON BELL
