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...
Service that pleases God [Romans 14:13-23] We have already learned, based on Romans 14:1-12, that saints who seek maturity in faith must accept each other. We are taught that saints who are strong in faith must receive saints who are weak in faith, and saints who are weak in faith must also receive saints who are strong in faith. Why? Why should we accept each other? The reason is because God has accepted all of us (v. 3). How can we receive each other when we have different levels of maturity in faith? How can we overcome our differences? Three lessons have been learned. Those three lessons are (1) We should all have a grateful heart, (2) We should do everything for the Lord, and (3) We must all stand before the judgment seat of God and recognize that each of us must report to God all of our own works (including those we have done according to our conscience). With th...