As Christians, we ought to mind our own business.
Some church members have never received Christ as Savior. We would not expect them to believe in missions outreach or even in evangelism. However, though it seems to be in the category of an oxymoron, some Christians do not believe in missions. I won’t discuss possible reasons for this phenomenon. Instead, I will offer, in the course of a few articles, some thoughts to help such Christians change their hearts and minds and/or help missions-minded Christians in presenting a convincing “argument” for what our Lord has called us to do.
Pastor W. T. Holland said that while he was a seminary student he taught a Sunday School Class. One Sunday he was presenting the lesson on missions when a member of the class made a remark that shocked and upset him. The member said, “People in those other countries have their own religions, their own way of life, their own cultures. We have no business going to other countries trying to force our religion on them. Why don’t we just run our church affairs here and mind our own business?” Few church members would openly say that, but too many feel that way. The man did have a point, at least in part of what he said. We really ought to mind our own business as a church and as individual Christians, but first we had better know what that business is.
It is not very difficult to discover the business we ought to mind. Jesus stated clearly in all four gospels and the book of Acts what our business is as His followers:
- Matthew 28:19-20: “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”
- Mark 16:15: “‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”
- Luke 24:46-48: “‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’”
- John 17:18: Jesus prayed to His Father, “‘As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world….’”
- John 20:21: Jesus said to His disciples, “‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’”
- Acts 1:8: “‘… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Jesus made it plain that as His Church, our place of business is the world. Our business is to take to the world the gospel truth that Jesus Christ through His life, death, burial and resurrection provides salvation and eternal life for all who believe. As His Father sent Him into the world, even so He has sent us into the world. You may refuse to obey what He said, but you cannot deny that His word tells us what our business is. As Oswald J. Smith (1889-1986), founder and pastor of The People’s Church in Toronto, Canada put it, “The supreme task of the Church is the evangelization of the world.”