A. What Is Biblical Mission? “Biblical mission means more than simply going overseas to plant churches or spread civilization. It means the church participating in the ‘mission of God (Missio Dei)’ and seeking the restoration of God’s rule and glory throughout the whole earth. Mission is not a program that begins with human enthusiasm; rather, it is the heart of God that runs throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and is a fundamental reason for the church’s existence. Let me clearly summarize five essential principles of true mission as presented in Scripture. 🌍 1. The Mission of God (Missio Dei) The subject and initiator of mission is not human beings but God. In order to save fallen humanity, God first comes to us, sends His Son, and sends the Holy Spirit. He is the “missionary God” who sends. Biblical basis: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” (John 20:21) Key meaning: The church acknowledges that God has the initiative in mission and serves as His agent, obed...
Seven words on the cross (2) [Luke 23:34-43] This is the second words of Jesus on the cross: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43). Who was the “you” Jesus is talking about here? In other words, to whom did Jesus say, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”? He is one of the two criminals (v. 39) and two robbers (Mt. 27:38) who were crucified with Jesus. We do not know whether that one was the robber who was hanged on Jesus' right hand or the one on Jesus' left (Lk. 23:33). Although the punishment that robbers received at that time was not only crucifixion, when we see these two robbers crucified with Jesus, we can guess that they were robbers among robbers. These two robbers insulted the crucified Jesus. Look at Mat...