The Church

When Guilt Drives Missions

/ Marcus Glover / Leave a comment

“Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”[1]

These are the words of John Piper in his book Let the Nations Be Glad!: The Supremacy of God in Missions. The above quote is the essence of Piper’s thesis for the book—namely, that mission is not an end in itself. Rather, missions serves as the means to a greater end—the worldwide increase of worshipers for God—and therefore must  be undertaken in the spirit of pleasing God.

Indeed, the centrality of worship in missions is a thoroughly biblical idea. Consider, for example, Jesus’ words to his disciples just before he ascends to heaven:

And Jesus said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you to the end of the age.”

– Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

In this passage, famously known as the Great Commission, we see Jesus setting before the church its essential mission in the world. The church is to proclaim the gospel to those who don’t believe, train and equip disciples, and send them out to do the same thing in all parts of the world. But did you notice what Jesus says about himself? Two things:

  1. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth.
  2. Jesus is with his disciples to the end of the age.

Here Jesus bookends the imperative command with indicative statements about himself. And these two facts about Jesus are crucial because of how they inform and motive the church’s imperative calling to go into all the nations with the gospel message. Specifically, this reveals that what motivates Christians to take bold, radical, death-defying action in gospel mission is Jesus’ supreme authority and ever-present care. Indeed, Jesus’ divine authority and care are the very foundation of missions. Apart from knowing and cherishing Christ’s authority and care, the Christians would be left to their own devices in pursuit of their mission. And that would be a very bad thing.

It is clear in the above passage—as well as many others in the New Testament—that the ultimate fulfillment of the Great Commission depends entirely on God himself. However, it seems that many Christians—in their zeal for the church’s active pursuit of the Great Commission—are in danger of losing sight of God’s authority to accomplish it in his own power. One of the subtle ways in which God’s gospel power is often undermined is through guilt-inducing appeals for missions involvement.

If you have ever attended a church in which there is a high priority on global missions, then you have almost certainly seen this at work. During the church service, a visiting missionary is invited to come forward and speak to the church about his ministry in [insert closed country/region]. Right out of the gate, he bombards the congregation with a litany of breathtaking statistics: thousands of unreached people groups; billions of people dying every day without knowledge of Jesus Christ. And so on. Next, our missionary friend reminds the congregation of how blessed they are to have such embarrassingly-abundant access to the gospel: a church on every corner; hundreds of English-language Bible translations. And so on. He then proceeds to inform the congregation that they are awful Christians if they somehow fail to possess his same level of enthusiasm for forsaking the American dream in order to rescue the poor, benighted people of [insert closed country/region].

While this hypothetical scenario is somewhat hyperbolic on some points, I have seen variations of it in evangelical circles. When it does happen, everyone applauds our missionary friend for his sacrificial zeal for the global advance of the gospel. Quietly, however, most congregants walk away feeling chastised, discouraged, and downright guilty.

As with many things, sometimes our intentions and expectations do not match the reality. While we may think we are doing well to raise awareness and challenge fellow believers to action, the danger is that our message may end up bearing all the classic marks of a guilt trip. If we fail to be properly nuanced in our approach appeals for missions involvement, we may miss the high calling of joy-filled sacrifice while settling for guilt-driven duty.[2]

Sovereignty in Missions

One of the reasons guilt-driven missions is so dangerous is that it undermines the Christian’s robust confidence in the sovereignty of God in missions. As we mobilize Christians to take the gospel to all the nations of the earth, we do so with the core conviction that God himself has already secured salvation for his elect. Accordingly, Christians are reminded in Scripture that humans’ salvation through faith in Christ “does not depend on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Rom. 9:16) But that’s not all. Scripture also assures us that God’s normal means of bringing saving faith to his elect is through proclamation of the gospel. (Rom. 10:14) Living, breathing humans explain the gospel to other living, breathing humans who believe the gospel, turn from their sins, trust Christ, and receive the salvation of God.

Consequently, our understanding of God’s divine prerogative in conversion of sinners should be the driving force which motivates us to actively engage in the task of evangelizing the world. We courageously go to uncomfortable places and take great risks in order to proclaim the gospel message to people who do not want to hear it. Why? Because we know that God has secured the victory of his church in the missions enterprise. Though many will resist us, many others, whom God has chosen, will believe and be saved. We know that God will win, and so we faithfully pursue our mission.[3]

Some have wrongly suggested that an insistence on God’s sovereignty actually hinders Christians’ motivation to go and send on mission. This assumption is based on the idea that since God will only save those whom he has already chosen, he doesn’t need our help. In fact, we would only be getting in God’s way. As such, those who spend much time and energy on missions efforts are necessarily—or by implication—failing in their trust of God in his sovereignty. In reality, this could not be farther from the truth. God’s sovereignty, far from diminishing our zeal for missions involvement, actually fuels it! [4]

A Positive Example

I am thankful for the example of my own church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church. When our congregation hears about missions, we seldom hear numerical statistics. But whenever we do, there is great care given to make sure it is within the context of the reality of Christ’s finished work and his supreme authority. Our people are continually reminded that God himself has guaranteed the success of our mission if we remain faithful to his Word. And we have seen the emboldening effect that God’s sovereignty has wrought in our midst as members joyfully sacrifice much to reach our neighborhood, our city, and our world. We see the urgency of our missionary task, but we are not guilty and riddled with anxiety.

Of course, our church is far from perfect. But I am encouraged by God’s faithfulness, and I am convinced that God’s sovereignty, rather than guilt, is the greatest incentive to boldly take the gospel to all the nations.

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[1] John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!: The supremacy of God in missions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), p. 17
[2] Let me to offer an example. David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, has done much good in calling Christians to sacrificially engage in the cause of global missions. He is a faithful gospel preacher, and I am thankful for his ministry. However, he often appeals to missions statistics in a manner that runs the risk, though unintentionally, of producing guilt and anxiety rather than hope. Still, Platt possesses a very important and powerful voice when it comes to missions, especially for young Christians and churches who do not yet have categories for biblical missiology and a commitment to going and sending in missions. For more of Platt’s thoughts, see his book, Radical (Multnomah, 2010).
[3] On this point, David Platt has spoken quite helpfully. See his message at Together for the Gospel 2012 entitled “Divine Sovereignty: The Fuel of Death-Defying Missions.” I think Platt earnestly believes this, and I wish his missions appeals more frequently included this nuance and explicit teaching on God’s sovereignty.
[4] For further reading on this, I recommend J.I. Packer’s book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (IVP, 2012).

Our Counseling Must Be Biblical

/ Marcus Glover / Leave a comment

Sometimes, Scripture just isn’t enough for us.

Even for those of us who are Christians—and therefore consider the Bible to be the perfect, powerful, infallible words of God himself—sometimes even the most well-meaning citation of a passage from the Bible does little or nothing to console us when we’re hurting or give us understanding when we’re confused. We need more than the Bible, we say. We need something real and practical.

Sadly, some pastors and professional counselors are prone to make the same mistake. Don’t beat people over the head with Scripture, they say. Listen. Encourage. Help. The Bible is not the main thing that drives our counseling. In fact, quoting verses from Scripture, it is said, might actually do more harm than good.

Yet have you ever stopped and wondered why this is the case? What is going on in our hearts and minds that we would judge God’s Word to be of little use in our greatest times of despair? As I’ve considered this myself, I have found in my own heart—and have often seen revealed in others—that such a low esteem of Scripture is rooted in a prideful, idolatrous dependence on ourselves and on the wisdom of this world rather than God.

As such, I want to offer two suggestions to help you depend more on God’s Word for help in troubled times. First, an encouragement: God’s Word has real power to save us, comfort us, and give us wisdom. And second, a warning: It is dangerous and foolish to disregard God’s Word.

God’s Word has real power to save us, comfort us, and give us wisdom.

First, we need to understand that the Bible has real power to save us, comfort us, and give us wisdom. The Bible is God’s inspired, infallible Word, and it is his primary means of revealing himself and speaking to us. Therefore, the Bible is always relevant.

Consider the apostle Paul’s counsel to his young disciple Timothy:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

– 2 Timothy 3:16

Notice the comprehensiveness of Scripture’s usefulness in Paul’s view. All Scripture is useful for all aspects of ministry—whether it be teaching, rebuking, or counseling. And why is Scripture so useful? Because it comes directly from the all-powerful, all-sufficient God himself. The words of the Bible are the words of God.

It is helpful also to note that Timothy is a pastor. Why is this important? Well, the ironic fact is that many pastors today are the ones who functionally have the least trust and dependence on God’s Word in matters of everyday ministry. Instead, it’s so easy to rely more on ministry models and techniques learned from a book or a seminary classroom. But here is something that far too many pastors miss: While textbooks and seminars can be useful aids, they can never be a replacement for the real thing—God’s inerrant Word, the Bible.

So much did Paul believe this, that he also wrote this 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.”

– 2 Timothy 4:1-2

Pastor, give yourself to studying, understanding, and preaching God’s Word. Don’t flinch from it. Do it continually and well. Christian, expect this from your pastor. Demand it from him. Keep him accountable in it. Faithfully teaching you God’s Word is his primary job.

But this lesson is not just for pastors. It’s for all Christians. As God’s people, we must understand that our greatest and most important resource for teaching and encouraging one another is God’s Word. When we rely on our own wisdom and techniques, we undermine our own claims that we trust God.

Do you really trust God? Then humble yourself, and rely totally on his perfect wisdom. Preach the Word!

It is dangerous and foolish to disregard God’s Word.

The second lesson, then, deals with how we receive counsel and encouragement: It is dangerous and foolish to disregard God’s Word. Again, let’s take a look at what the apostle Paul says to Timothy on this matter:

“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.”

– 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Paul’s observation here is, sadly, the reality of the human heart. We don’t naturally want truth. We want what sounds good to us. The problem is, our rebellious posture against God’s laws often gives us terrible discernment. The things we want to hear are sometimes not the things we need to hear. In order to get the help our souls really need, we must be reminded of God’s holiness, our sin, Christ’s death and resurrection for our forgiveness, and our need to trust him.

The reason Paul so adamantly charges Timothy to preach the Bible is that he recognizes our sinful proclivity to pursue false teaching.

Essentially, Paul is telling Timothy: “Look, the deck is stacked against you. The people you are shepherding do not naturally love the truth. In fact, many of them love falsehood so much that they will beg you for it. But don’t do it. Don’t give them what they want. Give them what they need. Give them the one thing you know is absolutely true and unfailing. Give them the Word of God.”

The implications here couldn’t be clearer for us. We must rely totally on God’s Word. The Word of God is the best medicine for your own hurting heart and the hearts of those you are ministering to.