WHAT IS OUR MISSION? (5)

Evangelism relates to people’s eternal destiny, and in bringing them good news of salvation, Christians are doing what nobody else can do. Seldom if ever should we have to choose between…healing bodies and saving souls…Nevertheless, if we must choose, then we have to say that the supreme and ultimate need of all humankind is the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and that therefore a person’s eternal, spiritual salvation is of greater importance than his or her temporal and material well-being.

Social action not only follows evangelism as its consequence and aim, and precedes it as its bridge, but also accompanies it as its partner. They are like two blades of a pair of scissors or the two wings of a bird, as they were in the public ministry of Jesus. The partnership is in reality a marriage. All followers of Jesus Christ have the responsibility, according to the opportunities which are given them, both to witness and to serve. Mission describes everything the church is sent into the world to do, namely Christian service in the world comprising both evangelism and social action. Each missionary must be true to his or her particular calling. Some are called to primary evangelism, and some are called to educational, medical or social work.

The biblical basis for this partnership is to be found first, in the character of God who is both Creator and Redeemer. He calls all people to repent and believe. He also cares for the poor and the hungry, the alien, the widow and the orphan. He denounces oppression and tyranny and calls for justice. The two great commandments are to love God and our neighbor.

Secondly, it is to be found in the ministry and teaching of Jesus. Words and work went together in his public ministry. He went about preaching and doing good and healing. His words explained his works, and his works dramatized his words. In the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan there is a portrayal of a victim, of himself and of others. There is also a rescue. In both cases love triumphs over prejudice. By contrast the elder brother and the priest and Levite refuse to get involved. Stott cites the example of General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army who said that it was no use just preaching the gospel and leaving people in misery.

Thirdly, the biblical argument for the partnership of evangelism and social action concerns the communication of the gospel. Verbal communication is not enough. The Word became flesh. We cannot announce God’s love with credibility unless we exhibit it in action. Good news and good works are inseparable.

Let me recapitulate what Christ’s saving career says to us about mission. The model for mission is his incarnation (identification without loss of identity), its cost is his cross (the seed which dies multiplies), its mandate is his resurrection (all authority is now his), its motivation is his exaltation (the honor of his name), its power is his gift of the Spirit (who is the paramount witness), and its urgency is his Parousia (we will have to give him an account when he comes).

It seems to me that the church needs to keep returning, for its inspiration and direction, to this Christological basis of mission…..If only we could gain a fresh and compelling vision of Jesus Christ, incarnate and crucified, risen and reigning, bestowing the Spirit and coming again! Then we would have the clarity of purpose and strength of motive, the courage, the authority, the power and the passion for world evangelization in our time. John Venn described a missionary in the following terms. His eloquent portrait is equally applicable to every kind of Christian witness:

With the world under his feet, with heaven in his eye, with the gospel in his hand and Christ in his heart, he pleads as an ambassador for God, knowing nothing but Jesus Christ, enjoying nothing but the conversion of sinners, hoping for nothing but the promotion of the kingdom of Christ, and glorying in nothing but in the cross of Jesus Christ, by which he is crucified to the world, and the world to him.

(Ted Schroder, John Stott: A Summary of his teaching, pp.98-100)