Christians On Mission
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaims Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Philippians 1:12-18b
A group of Christians sit quietly together. Today, the songs of praise have been replaced with a tense silence. They whisper to each other. ” Do you think he’s alright?” The founder of their church had been imprisoned. Some speak morbidly of their recently departed leaders’ prospects; they wonder whether he will live or die. Others speak with resolve that he will be fine and say prayers that they will soon see him again. Still others, unable to sit and wait speak up, saying: “We must help him, no matter the cost!” This last idea strikes at the heart of each one of them and without delay they set about gathering supplies and funds to send to their hero of the faith, their spiritual father.
Together they equip young Epaphras to take the supplies to their endangered friend and pray that their great God would make His will and power known. They pray for their leader’s well-being and sanity. They pray for his condition, knowing that the soldiers guarding him would have despised him. They pray that this would not be the end of the once great missionaries’ travels. They pray and pray and pray until one day, Epaphras returns looking sickly and bearing a letter. A letter from their hero and mentor. Paul sent Epaphras back to the Philippian church with a small letter that speaks greatly of an infinitely big God. The entire letter to the Philippians is laced with Paul’s answer to their anxiety over his imprisonment, yet 1:12-18 contains the essence of his answer.
In his letter, it becomes clear why the Philippians were so worried about his condition. First, Paul writes of the likelihood of his execution throughout the letter. Second, the greatest missionary of the early church had been bottled up in a jail cell. This was most likely the greatest cause of their anxiety. It is possible that they feared the collapse of the religion, but certainly they feared that the faithful evangelist had been stopped for good. Lastly, Paul tells us that he was being opposed not only by pagan authorities but by Christians with a grudge! Externally, Paul was bound and condemned. Relationally he was fiercely opposed. And yet, Paul writes a letter containing the word ‘joy’ 15 times in only 4 chapters! How is this possible? What could cause such endurance in the face of the worst circumstances among the most vicious people? The answer is simple, Paul’s priorities were God’s priorities.
Recent studies have reminded us that if we treat the Bible with a sense of unity and read it as a single Text, it will speak to us as a whole and teach us the grand story of our God. Without any outliers, from Genesis to Revelation, the intention of our God has been to redeem and restore His people for His glory. This big picture is commonly called “The Grand Story of Redemption”. Many people use the helpful outline “Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation”. This is a useful outline, and yet we must take note that both Creation and Fall exist in the first three chapters of Genesis and Consummation only begins in the latter half of Revelation. This leaves the entirety of the Biblical history to speak of God on Mission to redeem His people for His glory.
Without any outliers, from Genesis to Revelation, the intention of our God has been to redeem and restore His people for His glory.
This Mission expands far beyond Israel and reaches the ends of the earth. Think of the promise to Abraham that his children would be a blessing to all nations. Think of the people in the Promised Land who were to be like a light amidst darkness. Think of Rahab and Ruth, gentiles that the Lord used in the line of Jesus. Do not forget that the premise of the story of Jonah is God calling an Israelite prophet to proclaim God’s will to an aggressive gentile nation. Our God has always been a God on Mission. In the world of theology, we refer to this as the “Missio Dei” and see it as not only the work God has sought to do, but the work He has always empowered and commanded His people to engage in.
Paul knew all of this well. Paul knew first and foremost that the one who determines our circumstance and environment is not Satan, but the Lord God! Paul shows his hand in saying that he was “put here for the defense of the gospel.” While the Philippian church feared that Paul’s circumstances and opponents were the assaults of Satan upon helpless Paul, it was in fact the sovereign orchestration of God that led Paul to a place the gospel had never had access to before. The second thing that Paul knew was that God’s Mission mattered more than his life. In fact, the ultimate call of a Christian is to give their lives at the altar, sacrificing personal gain, safety, and certainly comfort, for the Missio Dei! That is why only a few paragraphs later Paul wrote his most famous admonition: “To live is Christ and to die is gain!”
Paul trusted that God had ordained his circumstances and the people around him for the accomplishing of God’s mission here on earth. My point is this: Christians joyfully wave the banner of “to die is gain”. This is good. But how often do we dedicate ourselves to the great mission of “to live is Christ”? Paul right after this bold statement reminds them that Christ was the one who descended from glory into terrible circumstances around hostile people and died in submission so that many might be saved! In his words: “imitate me as I imitate Christ”.
I am constantly haunted by a statistic I once learned. 90% of Southern Baptist Church Members will die before they ever share the gospel. Only 2% of Southern Baptists will bring someone to church in any given year. How have we fallen so far from our God’s mission? How can we stand to be in church, fellowshipping with God and others, while the non-Christians wither away like dry grass? It does not add up. And I am the problem as much as the next Christian. What went wrong? Paul’s report speaks of two areas that we have neglected.
The first is our overall mission. We must as Christians see ourselves as “ambassadors for Christ”, literally “God making His plea through us”. Paul speaks of His life as the ministry of reconciliation following his God’s great plan throughout all history. Christ looked out upon the unsaved and felt great inner turmoil and grief at the sight of so many helpless sheep without a Shepherd. The first step to a renewed zeal for evangelism is realizing that this is our job. This is God’s intention for us in this world. Christ prays for the Father to keep His disciples in the world for this very reason. If the amount of effort that you put into evangelism was also the amount of effort you put into your job or school, how would you fare?
If the amount of effort that you put into evangelism was also the amount of effort you put into your job or school, how would you fare?
Secondly, we must get rid of our self-centered view of circumstances and people. In light of the life of Paul, why do we get so flustered and crazed at the turns of this life? Why do bad situations, uncomfortable places, and undesirable people throw us off so severely? Why is it that our typical response to ungodly behavior from ungodly people is to cross our arms and protect ourselves? Could it be, and I truly think it is, that we value our own priorities and our own self far greater than we value the Mission given to us by God to bring as many people as we can into contact with our own fount of salvation, Christ? The modern Christian responds to the average unbeliever with outrage, fear, indifference, or retreat. But in Paul’s words: “This is not how you learned Christ!”.
Everything I wrote above is hard to read. It was hard to write as well. I’m not proud of how I have handled the good news of Jesus. However, what motivates me as I receive the burden of this conviction is not guilt. My goal in writing was not for you to feel guilty either. Remember why it is so important that we share Christ. It’s because He is wonderful. His grace is unending even when we fail to acknowledge Him or proclaim Him. Our God, through Christ, has blessed us with every blessing, including unalienable grace and mercy. Do not end this article feeling guilty or depressed. End it realizing that even now, Christ has lovingly placed you among people who need the gospel and in circumstances that will further the gospel. The New Year has just arrived, so here is a resolution for you. Look at the people in your life: friends, family, colleagues, customers, waitresses, and many more, and begin to pray and plan to share with them the news of God’s grace in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our King. May the Lord strengthen our resolve in this.
