SUMMARY: Christian mission in the modern world

Book Summary: Christian mission in the modern world
by John R. Stott



Christian mission in the modern world

by John R. W. Stott

InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1975


Summary by Arlene Klink

In recent years, the mission of the church has been defined in two almost exclusive ways. On the one hand, there are those who say the church’s business is evangelism and discipleship only; on the other hand, there are those who advocate concentrating almost solely on social welfare.

The author, through a careful definition of five terms – mission, evangelism, dialogue, salvation and conversion – attempts to bring these two groups together and show that the mission of the church really includes both.

Words and Their Meanings
Time changes the meaning of words – what a word means today is probably very different from what it meant yesterday. Stott took these five words – mission, evangelism, dialogue, salvation and conversion – and attempted to define them biblically. That is, to study these words in both their grammatical and their historical setting to determine their true biblical meaning.

Mission

There are two extreme views of mission. The traditional view has been to equate mission and evangelism. At the opposite extreme is the concept of mission as seeking to serve according to the world’s contemporary sociological needs, i.e. social renewal.

But the bottom line question: what did Jesus commission his people to do?

In John 20:21, the Great Commission of Jesus is: ‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.' Jesus modeled our mission. Therefore, our understanding of the church’s mission must be deduced from our understanding of the Son’s. The mission of Jesus included proclaiming the good news of God's Kingdom.

But he served in deed as well, feeding the hungry, healing the sick and comforting the sad. Therefore, our mission is to be one of service. In our servant role we can find the right synthesis of evangelism and social action.

If we accept this broader definition of mission as comprising both evangelism and social service, then Christians, led by the Holy Spirit, could have a far greater impact on society.

Evangelism

Mission includes both evangelism and social responsibility. However, in the church’s mission evangelism is primary. Evangelism is sharing the good news of Christ with others. How did the apostles present Jesus?

Their good news contained at least five elements:

1) The gospel events – Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead.
2) The gospel witnesses – The evidence to which the apostles appealed for the authentication of the gospel was twofold. The first was the Old Testament scriptures in which it was demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ of Old Testament expectation. The second was the evidence of the apostles’ own eyes.
3) The gospel affirmations – The two great gospel affirmations are that Jesus is Savior (with authority to bestow salvation) and that he is Lord (with authority to demand submission).
4) The gospel promises – If people repented and were baptized they would receive two free gifts from God, ‘the forgiveness of sins’ and ‘the gifts of the Holy Spirit.’

Dialogue

Is there any room for dialogue between Christians and non-Christians in the proclamation of the Good News? Some would say no, agreeing with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones who states: ‘Believing what we do about God, we cannot in any circumstances allow him to become a subject for discussion or debate or investigation ... as if he were but a philosophical proposition.'

Others, including Stott, say there is an important place for dialogue with other faiths, noting that the God of biblical revelation himself frequently enters into dialogue with people. He not only speaks but also listens. Therefore, when approaching non-Christians, we also need to be personal, humble and relevant. We need to learn about the person, his convictions and respect those convictions.

We still want to share the Good News with him, but we also care about him. True dialogue with a person of another faith requires a concern both for the Gospel and the other person. Dialogue puts evangelism into a human context.

Salvation

The author argues from Scripture that salvation is neither psycho-physical healing or socio-political liberation. Rather, the salvation that Christ died to win and offers to people is personal freedom. It is freedom from the just judgment of God upon sin and it enables us to be adopted into God’s own family. It is liberation from the shackles of our own self-centeredness into the freedom of service to God and others. It is freedom to attain ‘the glorious liberty of the children of God.'

Conversion

Conversion means to turn from one direction to another, or to return from one place to another. Since the turn from idols and sin is ‘repentance’ and the turn to God and Christ is ‘faith,' we reach the biblical equation that ‘repentance + faith = conversion.’ This conversion cannot be accomplished by our own willpower. Only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes, enlighten the darkness, liberate us from bondage, turn us to God and bring us out of death into life.

Conversion is only a beginning: before us lies a lifetime of growth into the maturity of Christ, of transformation into the image of Christ. As the President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, once stated: "I sometimes ask people who call themselves 'committed Christians' what they are committed to; Christ was committed to people; we should be also."