A Biblical Theology of Missions

Top Highlights

“True and successful missionary work, therefore, can only be done by men of faith, men who know God and have learned to appropriate the promises of God, to whom answers to prayer do not come as pleasant surprises but rather as from a God who is true to His Word and who cannot lie, men who know their God and who are able without hesitation or fear of heart to undertake tasks for God humanly impossible.” (Page 162)

“The emergency is the fact of sin in the world which has overpowered and infected the human race and which threatens the very existence of mankind. There would be no need for Christian missions if sin were not a serious reality.” (Page 15)

“The theocentric emphasis may sound strange to the American ear tuned to pragmatism and to success reports from the mission fields. A rethinking of our missionary premises is therefore imperative. Not the welfare and glory of man, not the growth and expansion of the church, but the glory of God forms the highest goal of missions because the being and character of God are the deepest ground of missions ‘for of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever.’” (Page 57)

“Sin is written in bold letters upon the pages of the Bible. Only four chapters are exempt from this evil. According to Genesis 1–2, sin was not a part of original human history. Neither is it found in Revelation 21–22. There is thus a brief pre-sin history (Gen 1–2) and a post-sin history (Rev 21–22). The rest of the Bible (Gen 3–Rev 20) is a record of human sin and divine intervention, preparation, accomplishment and actualization of salvation.” (Page 15)