The Word of God written has for its purpose the unveiling of
240 THEORY OF THE MISSION
Those who believe in an inspired Scripture acknowledge that the Bible was not entirely given by revelation (i.e., directly to men) through supernatural media even though parts of the Bible were so given. Rather it is a historical record and is thus not suprahistory but a record of God's dealings with men in concrete life situations. It contains all that man needs for salvation, providing a faith to live by, and commandments to be obeyed. The Bible is not only to be understood existentially, but also as a document which conveys propositional truth. This truth is above and beyond man. It stands outside of man so that its truth remains unchanging whether man bows before it or experiences it.
The Bible projects a world view. It is the source book from which man derives God's absolutes, which come from above and not from beneath. Its precepts are binding upon man and particularly upon those who are related to God in and through Jesus Christ. Thus any conservative philosophy of the Christian mission finds its rationale within the revelation of God in the Scriptures. Derivative truths, logically inferred from Biblical principles, are acceptable only as they find their ultimate validity in the Word of God written.
2. The Gospel of Christ
The Word of God written has for its purpose the unveiling of Jesus Christ to men. This means, of course, that propositional truth and one's assent to it has no meaning unless it leads to the person of Jesus Christ. The foci around which the plan of God unfolds are the two Words—the Word of God written and the Word of God incarnate, Jesus Christ. The incarnation of Christ had for its primary purpose the reconciliation of men to God. This reconciliation was effected in Christ through the Gospel. Thus the Gospel is the second presupposition underlying conservative missionary endeavor.
The Gospel itself has definite content; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 is most frequently alluded to as defining the content of the Gospel. At the heart of the Gospel is the death of Christ. His death is looked upon as more than an example. Intrinsic in that death is the idea of atonement. The atonement itself embraces several elements. The
first is the idea of satisfaction. An offended God whose being had been transgressed against by sin demanded that guilt be expiated. Christ, by his shed blood, did this very thing. He rendered satisfaction to a holy God who, in turn, was now able to forgive sin.
O ee
Philosophy of the Christian Mission 241
Paul expounds this theological concept when he speaks of God
as the "just and the justifier" in Romans 3:26. The problem, of course, is posed by the nature of God when the question is asked, "How can a holy God forgive sin and let the sinner go free unless
the demands of justice are met and satisfied?" Conservative theology
believes that Christ's atonement on Calvary fulfilled these necessary
conditions so that satisfaction was rendered which made possible
the forgiveness of the sinner. The atonement of Christ was effective
because Christ was the sinless Son of God of the same essence with
the Father. Therefore the value of his death was infinite.
The second idea intrinsic in the Gospel is the fact of Christ's resurrection from the dead. Paul argued cogently that if Christ did not rise from the dead then there is no hope, no salvation, no eternal life (1 Cor. 15). Christ was "raised again for our justification." Thus resurrection and justification are inextricably linked together. If there was a resurrection there can be justification. But
if there was no resurrection there can be no justification. The be-
lief in the physical resurrection, then, leads to several conclusions. =
First, Christ is not a dead saviour but a risen and living Lord. Secondly, the resurrection is prima-facie-evidence that his atoning work on Calvary was effective. It truly satisfied the justice and righteousness of God. Third, it demonstrates that there is victory over death and sin. Because Christ lives we shall live also. He is the
first fruits which guarantee that we, like him, shall be raised from the dead incorruptible.
The Gospel does not simply comprise a set of doctrines. At its heart lie the death and resurrection of Christ. But the preaching of these doctrines will never bring spiritual life to man. Indeed unless the other two components of the Gospel are pressed into use the preaching of the first two will be sterile. When the facts of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection have been presented, man must then be faced with his great decision. Missionaries must confront him with the person of Jesus Christ and show him what action he must take. _ Simply, it is to urge upon man the necessity of Gospel repentance. — Repentance consists in recognizing one's lost condition, having a godly sorrow of heart for sin, turning from that sin, and looking to Jesus Christ in faith for justification. ae The preaching of the Gospel is only complete when the fourth a aspect of that message has been presented. Knowing that Christ died and rose, and having repented, man is to be acquainted with the
242 . THEORY OF THE MISSION
fact of the forgiveness of sins. The announcement of the forgiveness of sins when man has met the conditions of Gospel repentance is the capstone to the structure of the missionary message. Its inclusion makes possible a full-orbed Gospel. The significance of the last two constituent elements of the Gospel cannot be overstated. To preach Christ's death and resurrection alone is to emasculate the Gospel. These primary facts are designed to bring man to a place of decision. Alternatives are placed before him. Moral choices are propounded. Volition is called into play. He is informed of what he must do and what the results will be if he does it. Then he is urged to make the proper choice.
Following hard upon the message underlying missionary endeavor is the method or the means by which the message is made known to man. The message is the "what" of the Gospel; the means is the "how." Obviously the supreme method of communicating the Gospel is through preaching. Conservative missionary strategy has been largely devoted to this aspect of making the Gospel known. It has exalted evangelism and has been rightly criticized at times for its neglect of the social aspects of the Gospel. While one cannot excuse this oversight, nevertheless it can be explained in the context of the driving desire to make disciples of unbelievers as quickly as possible. This preoccupation with evangelism has been modified considerably over the past two decades and many changes in method have taken place.
Traditionally, conservative missionary methods have included medical missions and educational work in addition to evangelism. These means have been expanded across the years. But their usefulness has been consciously kept within narrow confines. Thus it is true that in principle and practice these two methods of communicating the Gospel have never been looked upon as ends in themselves. The humanitarian aspect of medicine and education is not considered to be a proper reason for their use. It is an inci- | dental by-product of means which have for their primary objective : the conversion of men. In other words, medicine and education are
only means to an end. And the end in this instance is evangelism.
_ To the extent they are useful in accomplishing the primary objec-
tive they are valued and employed. This view, obviously, runs at ross currents with that expressed in Hocking's Re-Thinking Mis-
_ sions in which the humanitarian element of medicine and educa-
Philosophy of the Christian Mission 243
tion was accepted as a desirable goal and divorced from evangelism, as though the use of the former to attain the latter goal was an intrusion into the private lives of men. Conservative missionary theory assumes that the nature of the Gospel supposes proselytism and any good means to this end is justifiable and desirable.
The means of spreading the Gospel have not been exhausted by
the use of evangelism, medicine, and education. Translation work, colporteur endeavors, radio, tracts, Gospel trucks, book stores,
literature, magazines, and other means are employed. Through
these auxiliary means conservative mission agencies have performed
prodigious feats but always with the same end in mind—evangelism. The greatest single agency whose work is devoted exclusively to
translation work is that of the Wycliffe Bible Translators. More
than eight hundred people are engaged in this strategic ministry,
which is absolutely basic to evangelism proper. The work normally
involves learning the languages, reducing them to writing, forming
alphabets, translating the Scriptures, and then teaching the people
to read their own languages. Furthermore, conservative missionary
agencies have moved forward vigorously in the use of radio as a
means of spreading the Gospel. A chain of such stations covers
practically all the world, reaching even into Russia. Among the
newest means is that of magazine distribution. Coordinated by the
organization Evangelical Literature Overseas (ELO) publications
have been brought into existence in many parts of the world. The
Sudan Interior Mission publishes Africa Challenge, which runs into hundreds of thousands of copies for each edition. The substance oe
of all this is the conviction that, while the message remains un-
changed, the methods by which the message is communicated Se
change from generation to generation. The only valid tests for any
method are twofold: (1) Is it a legitimate means in itself; and (2)
does it have a useful function as a means to the evangelistic end.
In this discussion of the Gospel, the theological content of it and the methods by which it may be spread have been unfolded. That __-
1 An interesting exception to this generalization comes from the pen of sae R. Kenneth Strachan of the Latin America Mission who says: "... it becomes all the more important for true Christians to do good, to feed the hungering, to minister to the sick, without any other purpose than to express — the compassion within them." "Is the Medical Missionary Obsolete?" Mis-_ sionary Mandate (Chicago: Publication of the Student Forcign Missions Fellowship of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship), Dec. 1959—Jan. 1960
244 THEORY OF THE MISSION
leaves for consideration the third aspect of this second presupposition—the objective of the Gospel. What precisely does the conservative expect to do with the Gospel? What goal lies before him? When has the missionary obligation been fulfilled?
First and foremost, conservative missionaries distinguish between Christianization and evangelization. The former supposes the possibility that the world will become Christian even though this objective may be immediately unrealizable. It looks for the permeative influence of the Gospel to leaven culture until the objective is fulfilled. Evangelization, on the other hand, presupposes that the world will never become distinctively Christian. Rather it understands the task of missions to be that of making the Gospel known to every creature. It accepts the fact that there will always be those who will reject the Gospel as well as those who will accept it. But it never envisions the possibility that all the world will embrace Christ and his teachings. Basically the difference derives from a variance in eschatological viewpoint. Conservative theology accepts the premise that the second advent of Christ is a necessary prerequisite to the ultimate triumph of God. This advent is related to the missionary task in that the Gospel must first be taken to all the world for a witness. Christ's second advent will occur when this task has been completed. The obvious fact that Christ has not come indicates that the Great Commission has not been fulfilled as yet. When it has been fulfilled Christ will come again.
Within the context of this vision—that the evangelization of the world is the single objective of the missionary mandate—there are two questions which are left unanswered with respect to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. And the Bible provides no clear answers to.these questions. The first is the extent to which the Gospel must go before the mandate has been finished. Must every single person hear the Gospel or must there be simply a witness among every tribe and nation? The second is even more perplexing for this seeks to solve the problem, "When has a man heard the Gospel?" Has the Gospel been communicated when someone has
heard John 3:16? Has the commission been fulfilled when a man 3 has heard the Gospel once? Indeed, can we be sure that every time __ @ Missionary speaks he has given the Gospel? There are no ready solutions to these problems and they must be allowed to rest in
_ the hands of a sovereign God.