Theology of Missions - Report Example

Theology of missions Anthony Viglione Dr.Jeff Brawner LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY GLST 500, D11 Global Studies Survey April 3, 2015 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of GLST 500, D11 Global Studies Survey Table of contents Introduction 1 Part 1 1 Old Testament 1 New Testament 2 Part 2 3 Part 3 4 Part 4 5 Conclusion 6 Bibliography 7 Introduction From a theological perspective, mission refers to the undertakings of a church towards the kingdom of God. The term mission is used to refer to the specific task of making disciples of all the nations. Mission originates from God the creator who sends out people to spread the gospel. Jesus Christ lies at the heart of al missions, following His sovereign decision to restore a fall by His death on the cross and resurrection. 1This paper explores missions in detail, borrowing some texts from the holy bible, both Old and the New Testaments. Part 1 Old Testament In the Old Testament, the narration of Abraham is very significant in explaining the missions God sent His people to accomplish. Abraham was voiced by God to leave his homeland for a country that he was to be shown. The designated country was to remain a secret, only to be revealed when he accepted the mission. Out of his strong faith in God, he gathered his family, possessions, and followed God to an undisclosed location. The assignment required him to never return again to his homeland. On his missionary journey, he first settled in Egypt where he had to face Pharaoh. God released Sarah from Pharaoh, in a confrontation which ended in Pharaoh giving homage to God and blessing Abraham. Abraham’s journey contained several instances of true missions. For instance, he truly believed that going to another country was spatially different, spiritually different, as well as sociologically different, marking a true mission. On his part, Abraham proved to be a willing missionary.2 Another text in the Old Testament showing missionary work is that of Joseph. He was the second youngest son of Jacob and his favorite. Joseph found favor both in his father and in God. For instance, God showed him a number of dreams about his future and how his brothers would treat him one day; and bow down before him, and how his mother and father would pay him a voyage. This is what angered his brothers, resulting in them throwing him in a pit while in the wilderness. Once they had thrown him into the pit, they devised a way of convincing their father that he was dead. They later sold him off as a slave to the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites then sold him to an Egyptian by the name Potiphar, the chief guard of Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s wife approached him for sex to which he refused, resulting in his imprisonment after the wife cried of rape. He was called from prison when the king started having strange dreams which only Joseph could translate. The king was so happy with him that he was placed second in command of Egypt. After eight years, the land was hit by famine that he had prophesied earlier, concerning the seven years of lack3. His brothers ended up coming for food. At this point, they did not recognize him but he recognized them. When they finally recognized him, it dawned on them that they meant evil for him, but God meant good for him. The story contains all the aspects of missions. God sent him to Egypt so that he could help preserve a generation. He was thrown in a situation that was spiritually different. He was therefore a true missionary to Egypt. New Testament In the New Testament, Jesus forms the supreme example of someone doing missions. As it is found in the gospel of John chapter four, Jesus says he must go through Samaria. It is in Samaria that Jesus meets a woman at a well. The woman is unaware of who she is talking to and asks for physical water so she would not have to come back to the well again. Jesus informs her that if she knew who she was talking to she would have asked for the living water. The woman wanted to discuss ethnic background and Jesus’ theological bent pertaining to worship. She fails to understand how a Jew would ask for water from a Samaritan woman. She came to the recognition that Jesus was crossing the spatial barriers, of being a Samaria, spiritual barriers, of worship, and the sociological barriers, of her being a woman. The story therefore, shows all the markings of missions. Another passage in the New Testament is that of Peter, as found in Acts Chapter 10. In Caesarea, there is a man by the name Cornelius who was sent to Joppa to bring back with him Simon Peter. Cornelius was a God-fearing man with a strong affinity towards the Jewish God. He was however, not born again and God began the process of regaining Cornelius by giving Peter the invitation to come. Peter’s heart had to be softened, regarding the Gentile conversion, by the vision from God. That vision comprised of a sheet filled with unclean food items which God instructed Peter three times to rise, slay, and eat. Out of Cornelius’ work, Peter finally went back to Caesarea where he presented the gospel to Cornelius and his entire house. They were all converted, and believed in the Messiah. The story therefore, qualifies to be called missions. Peter was sent by God to someone who was spatially different, spiritually different, and sociologically different. Peter and Cornelius were different in so many ways that no one would have thought they could collectively participate in the mission of God. Part 2 The nature of God gives a good explanation of His mission to harmonize humankind. God desires love, peace, and unity in His kingdom. Out of His unconditional love for mankind, He would not allow them to perish in tragedies of sin. To prevent humankind from the full course of eternal destruction, He sent out His only son, Jesus Christ so that the humankind could get salvation. His holiness, love and justice are seen in the redemption and restoration of the fallen creation. In the Old Testament, His redemption and restoration of mankind is seen through His use of chosen people like Abraham and Jonah. In the New Testament, Jesus opines His disciples to go forth into the world and make disciples of all nations. The task of making disciples is the church’s work of missions (Matt 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:46-48). Part 3 Mission theology is related to other aspects of theology in a number of ways. An example of such an aspect is Trinity which refers to three beings in one. The three beings refer to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.4 In the sixteenth century, Jesus began using the term mission when preaching the gospel to people who were not Christians. The term mission was originally about God and His redemptive initiative. The Trinity forms the basis of mission. Theological mission is also related to the aspect of ecclesiology. Ecclesiology is a kind of a summa of any given theological tradition. Mission is basically the redemption of people from their sinful ways so that they can inherit the kingdom of God. The church focuses on a gradual growth in a sanctification which results in deification, and becoming like God. Based on ecclesiology, the church cultivates this tradition, which is in a big way a form of mission.5 Part 4 The key themes of mission include the scriptural teaching on mission. The teaching focuses on the underlying logic and unity in the biblical message. The Scripture is united by a primary purpose of tracing of God’s unfolding plan of redemption. The major theme is calling people to embrace Christianity. Being sent by God, Christian are obliged to call people to be reconciled and to come worship him by living lives that preeminently reflect His glory. The theme involves calling those who do not know Christ through the activities of evangelism and church planting. It also involves growing in the capacity to live as God-glorifying people who exercise lives of discipleship.6 The theme also advocates for reflection of God’s glory to a needy world through living lives of salt and light. The Christian faith is centered on a unique person and not on a set of ideals. This unique person is Jesus Christ, whose history is unique, and is so paramount that most of the globe splits its reckoning of time around his second coming. Jesus is central both to Christian faith and to the mission that is integrated into that faith. He was introduced into this world as an innocent baby and died on behalf of all humankind. He will return to gather his own. He enabled mission through his sacrificial death, and defined all mission-oriented Christians to witness through the Spirit in their own corners of the earth. The second important motif is the kingdom of God that runs through every layer in the focus foundational mission focus. This is increased by evangelistic and church-planting activities. It gives a representation of the attitude of life towards putting God first in all the undertakings of Christians. This ensures personal and corporate growth. The kingdom of God is also linked to acts of justice as performed in the name of Christ, as the initial fruits of the everlasting kingdom that God will establish.7 Conclusion From the discussion above, it can be seen that mission theology relates to a number of aspects in various ways. For instance, a missionary is the person who takes the initiative of going out to spread the teachings of the Scriptures. Like in the discussion, Jesus Christ takes the center stage in the rescue of sinners. He sacrificed His own life by death on a cross so that the entire human race could acquire salvation. In the present times, church leaders are also expected to act as missionaries. They should be in the fore-front of reaching out to people who do not go to church, and teaching them on how to prepare for the kingdom of God. Lay people in the full-time ministry are also not to be left behind in the mission work. They should work with the church leaders to reach out to people who have not yet seen the light. The lay people stand a better chance of reaching those people since they are the ones who interact with them in their places of residence and other public places. For missions to succeed there has to be cooperation and team work from the various players involved. Bibliography Glasser, Arthur F., Charles Edward van Engen, Dean S. Gilliland, and Shawn B. Redford. Announcing the Kingdom The Story of Gods Mission in the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2003. . Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2002. Moreau, A. Scott, Gary Corwin, and Gary B. McGee. Introducing World Missions. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2004. Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids: Baker Pub. Group, 2010. Tennent, Timothy C. Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-First Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2010. Wright, Christopher J. H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bibles Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2008. Read More