The Great Commission and the Complacency of the Church

On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and by God’s grace, I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.

Carey begins with the words of Jesus: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). While Jesus’ words are clear, the church in Carey’s day had by-and-large come to believe that they had done enough to create a gospel-momentum in the world that would cause the gospel to spread throughout the rest of the world. Therefore, many key leaders believed that their focus ought to be on reaching their own people, and that they ought to leave global evangelism to the Lord alone.

But this logic did not satisfy Carey and thus he argued, “As our blessed Lord has required us to pray that His kingdom may come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it becomes us not only to express our desires of that event by the word, but to use every lawful method to spread the knowledge of his name.” Accordingly, Carey argued that the church should strive to be acquainted with the state of the nations of the world so that we’ll be moved to action by the words of Jesus, and by the very heart of Jesus for the nations. The presence of this compassion in our hearts, he urged, is a proof that the character and heart of God are at work in the lives of his people.

With this, Carey rehearsed the gospel, beginning with Adam and Eve, then moving to the flood, Abraham, and the formation of Israel. He argued that from the beginning, God’s intention has been to undo the power and persuasiveness of the devil by sending Jesus Christ into the world to live a righteous life, die a heinous death, raise from the dead, and send his church into the world with the gospel on their lips.

But while the Lord had been sending his people into the world for many centuries by all possible and legal means, “a considerable part of mankind [were] still involved in all the darkness of heathenism” and the church of Carey’s day was not entering heartily into the command of the Lord so that this situation might change. “Some think little about it, others are unacquainted with the state of the world, and others love their wealth better than they should of their fellow creatures.” In light of the Lord’s command and the church’s complacency, Carey went on to argue that the Great Commission still applied to the modern church and that they should indeed go into all the world. 

 

But before we consider his plea, we would do well to pause and ponder the state of our own hearts before the Lord regarding his Great Commission. Do we understand his commission? Do we have more passion for our lives in the world or for the nations of the world?

William Carey: A Heart on Fire

Despite all odds, William Carey (1761-1834) developed a great burden for global missions when he was still a young man. Although he was a Baptist, he had come under the influence of the Moravians and had become convinced that his own denomination lacked passion for and commitment to both local and global evangelism.

Shortly after he was ordained as a minister of the gospel, Carey shared his burden with some Baptist leaders. His plea was not well received. In fact, one of the older ministers interrupted his plea and rebuked him, saying, “Young man, sit down! You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he’ll do it without consulting you or me.”

This experience profoundly troubled Carey, and thus he began to pray about how he might articulate his thoughts so as to turn skepticism into passion, and complacency into sacrificial action. His passion was God’s passion, and nothing would be able to suppress it. To the contrary, the fire that had engulfed his heart would soon engulf much of the evangelical church in the West.

As Carey prayerfully organized his thoughts, he came to write a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. It was published on May 12, 1792 and many missiologists argue that it was the primary means God used to inspire the modern missionary movement. Not content with words alone, Carey also organized a missionary society and spoke these famous words at its inaugural meeting: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!” Carey uttered these words as a Calvinist, and as one who believed that God ordains the means as well as the ends of missions.

The editors of the periodical Christian History conclude, “His greatest legacy was in the worldwide missionary movement of the nineteenth century that he inspired. Missionaries like Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, and David Livingstone, among thousands of others, were impressed not only by Carey’s example, but by his words, ‘Expect great things; attempt great things.’ The history of nineteenth-century Protestant missions is in many ways an extended commentary on the phrase” (www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/missionaries/william-carey.html). 

 

Over the next eleven weeks I’ll be writing a series of devotionals on his little pamphlet for Glory of Christ Fellowship and then posting them here. I urge you to search for this pamphlet and read it. May the Lord use Carey to set our hearts on fire for his global mission in the world!

Why We Must Preach the Word

In his book, The Calling of the Ministry (Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA: 2002), William Perkins (1558-1602) gives a compelling argument for why pastors must preach the Word of God. Here he employs the word “angel” to mean “messenger,” which in the Greek language is its basic meaning. He writes: “You must understand your duty: prophets and ministers are angels; that is the very nature of their calling. Therefore, you must preach God’s Word, as God’s Word, and deliver it just as you received it. Angels, ambassadors, and messengers do not carry their own message, but the message of the lords and masters who sent them. Similarly, ministers carry the message of the Lord of hosts, and are therefore bound to deliver is as the Lord’s, not as their own" (85, emphasis mine).

If Perkins is right, and I think he is, then the “Doctor Phil with Bible verses” method of preaching which is so popular among evangelical churches today seems a great danger for at least two reasons. First, it is disobedient to the God who commands his leaders to preach his Word for the glory of his name and the good of his people. Second, it is harmful to God’s people, for our souls are meant to be nourished by the words of our Father as they are preached by our shepherds in the power of the Holy Spirit.

So instead of following the powerful tide in evangelicalism that is moving away from the straightforward preaching and teaching of the Bible, we ought to heed the simple and emphatic words of Paul to Timothy:

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:1-5).

Wolves and the Word

Lately I’ve been re-reading a book by William Perkins entitled, The Art of Prophesying (Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA: 2002). Perkins was a late sixteenth-century Puritan (1558-1602) who had an “enormous impact on generations of preachers” (foreword, vii). In the preface of the book he writes, “In keeping with its dignity, preaching has a two-fold value: (1) It is instrumental in gathering the church and bringing together all of the elect; (2) It drives away wolves from the folds of the Lord. Preaching is the flexanima, the allurer of the soul, by which our self-willed minds are subdued and changed from an ungodly and pagan life-style to a life of Christian faith and repentance. It is also the weapon which has shaken the foundations of ancient heresies, and also, more recently cut to pieces the sinews of the Antichrist.”

I was particularly struck by the idea that one of the chief functions of preaching the Word of God is to drive away the wolves and shake the foundations of ancient heresies. If this is true, then the opposite is also true: when the church exchanges the Word of God for politics, right or left, or psychology or sociology or anything else, it invites the wolves into its fold and sooner or later they will kill their prey.

So, how did the evangelical church come to distance itself from the straightforward preaching of the Bible in our day? The answer probably does not boil down to one factor, but I think that the main factor this: in the 1980s, much of the evangelical church exchanged the preaching of the Word of God for psychologically-based, felt-needs, topical messages. Instead of the Word of God being the meat of the church, it became the “book of quotes” that was used to prop up the points of the message and set up cute stories, alluring illustrations, and movie clips. And because the Word of God was not there to drive the wolves away, they have settled in and are sinking their teeth into their prey even as we speak.

In this way, many evangelicals have become so biblically illiterate and theologically ignorant that they cannot even spot heresy, and what is worse, when they do, their souls do not grieve over it and their mouths do not war against it. In fact, they sometimes argue for it and prop it up with conferences, coalitions, and a variety of resources. O Beloved, how desperate a time is this? Let us not pit church growth against the Word of God but rather let us appeal to the lost by the Word of God. Let us feed the sheep, allure souls to worship, and drive the wolves away with that great Sword of the Spirit.

The Glory of Christ and the Letter to the Hebrews

Gaining sight of the glory of Christ is the key to everything in life. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil [that covered Moses’ face] is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. [Freedom for what?] And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Christ set us free that we might see his glory, and that by seeing his glory we might be transformed into his image. This incremental dynamic is most often called sanctification, and it will come to its appointed end when those who believe in Jesus see him face to face. As the Apostle John wrote, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him [Jesus]. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he [Jesus] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1-2).

The unrestricted sight of the glory of Christ will radically transform our minds, hearts, and bodies so that we will become like the one we behold. We will never be Jesus, for he is God and we are not, but in some profound sense we who believe in Jesus will be like him when we are fully exposed to his glory.

For now, the will of God is that we would behold more of the glory of Christ each day and thus become more like Christ each day. Each new advance in the comprehension of Jesus is custom designed by our Father to shape us into the image of Jesus.

The primary way we gain a clearer sight of the glory of Christ is by meditating on the Word of God, not the least of which is the Letter to the Hebrews. For while this great letter is known for its theological depth and richness, that depth and richness is intended to help us see Jesus, worship Jesus, and become like Jesus.

To help the people of Glory of Christ Fellowship delight in this awesome Letter, we invited Mark Beck of Josiah's Hope to come and quote the entire text from memory - yes, from memory! You can listen to it at www.gcfmn.org/resources/sermons. Look for the message given on June 3, 2018.

May the Lord inspire you to memorize the Scripture as you listen to Mark, and may he reveal his glory to you!

Global Missions: Some Definitions, Stats, and Action Points

What is a People Group?

For evangelistic purposes, a people group is the largest group within which the gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance. An Unreached People Group is a people group within which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians able to evangelize this people group.

How Many People Groups are in the World?

World Population: approximately 7.6 billion

People Groups by Language: 10,900

People Groups by Language and Ethnicity: 13,000

People Groups by Language, Ethnicity, and Affinity: 24,000

Unreached People Groups: 7,078 (41.6% of the population)

How Shall We Reach Them?

We must proclaim the gospel by the power of God to the nations of the world in the following ways (developed by Dr. Ralph Winter):

What Can We Do?

1.  Pray to the Father in Jesus’ Name

2.  Learn about Global Missions

3.  Educate Others

4.  Serve in Practical Ways

5.  Give of Your Resources

6.  Go to the Nations