PI #3: Scripture Must Control the Practice of Missions
January 23, 2009 – 12:01 pmMissions work that is not God-centered is not really biblical missions; to lose God as the focus of missions is to lose the motivating and governing element. In chapter 3 of For the Sake of His Name, Pastor David Doran addresses four practical implications of God-centered missions. [see intro to the 4-part Practical Implications series] Here is implication three:
Practical Implication 3: The Practice of Missions Must Be Controlled by Scripture, Not Traditions or Trends
In 2 Corinthians 2:16, Paul made it abundantly clear that he lacked any sense of fleshly self-confidence when he asked the question, “And who is adequate for these things?” The question assumes a negative answer. Implied in these words about his personal insufficiency is the principle that the manner in which we practice missions is subject to God’s authority in the Word. That principle means that the standard for what we do is not what we have always done (tradition) or what everybody is doing right now (trends).
This is not to suggest that there is no flexibility in the ministry applications we make on the various mission fields of the world. It is to argue that there is no flexibility on the biblical principles that are to be applied. The arguments “it has always been done this way” and “this is how every one does it” should not satisfy us nor stand against Scripture.
We have allowed many traditional practices to become entrenched to the point that we act as if they are biblical. No one likes raising questions about the way well-intentioned, godly people have and are serving the Lord, but we also must have a higher allegiance to God than to people. In light of the missionary challenges that confront us at the start of the twenty-first century, I believe we should be fully prepared to evaluate what we are doing by God’s Word so that we can move forward with confidence that we are doing by God’s Word so that we can move forward with confidence that we are obeying Him, not the false confidence that we can do it better than He instructed us.1
1David Doran and Pearson Johnson, For the Sake of His Name. (Allen Park, MI: Student Global Impact, 2002), 64-65.
Next implication: The Power for Missions Must Be Divine, Not Human.
