BIBLICAL BASIS FOR WORLD MISSIONS

__________________

A Paper

Presented to

John Massey

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

__________________

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for MISSN 4353A

__________________

by

Wilson Fernando Dantas Soaris

December 3, 2014
 BIBLICAL BASIS FOR WORLD MISSIONS

Introduction

Normally, the ministry of missions is understood by the Church, as a task for

those valiant who dedicate their lives to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a foreign

and remote nation, willing to suffer and even die for God.

Many are the missionaries who visit our churches sharing the adventures and

situations they experience in the mission field. Missionary festivals and conferences are

organized to show the local Church, what is happening in the world in terms of

evangelization. Hearts are touched and admiration towards those brave missionaries

arises while tears comes out, but as people goes back to their confortable homes and daily

life activities, the emotions are easily gone and most of them will not feel anything

towards missions until the nest year’s conference.

This reality isn’t something that only happens in our days. The history of the

Church, especially after the great persecution of the first few centuries, shows the lack of

interest of many Christians towards world missions. The reason for that is the lack of

understanding of what scriptures teaches about it. Of course that commitment is

important but most of us will never commit to something we don´t know or are not sure

that it’s what we are suppose to do.

That’s why this paper is written! To give, a glance of what the Word of God

says about missions and how we are called by God to be part of this movement to reach

the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1
 2

Missions in the Old Testament

The “Protoevangelium”

Genesis 3:1-7 shows how sin entered through the life of Adam and the

consequence of it was death and separation from God to the whole humanity. This sad

event is followed by the best news ever, found in Genesis 3:15 “I will put hostility

between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your

head and you will strike his heel.”(HCSB). This is the first promise of redemption that

brings the understanding that God is a missionary God! In the darkest moment of all

human history, God announces his plan to save all peoples from all around the Globe.

Dr. George W. Peters says that there are six elements about salvation found in

Genesis 3:15: (1) God works Salvation. He is the only one capable of giving salvation

freely. This erases any humanist attempt of self-redemption. (2) Salvation destroys Satan.

God triumphs, saves and ends with the Devil. This erases the misleading Eastern theories

of dualism and cyclical history and experience. (3) Salvation affects all humanity. This

does not mean that all people of human race will be saved, but that of all mankind there

will be saved. (4) Salvation comes through a mediator. He was born of the seed of the

woman, being true man; Christ lived and died as a man. (5) Salvation is linked to the

suffering of the Redeemer. The enemy must hurt his heel. (6) Salvation will be

experienced throughout history. Mankind will have the promise, provision, purpose and

potential.1

1
Peters, George W. A Biblical Theology of Missions. Chicago: Moody Press,
1972. pp. 104-105
 3

The Covenant with Noah

After the fall, as men multiplied around the world, “The Lord saw that the

wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his

heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5 ESV). God saw the results of sin and decided

to erase men from the face of the earth, “but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord”

(Gen 6:8 ESV). Because of God’s mercy and love, he made a covenant with Noah

saying: “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with

every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth

with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my

covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood,

and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Gen 9:9-11 ESV).

Even in an episode of destruction and sin, God promised blessings to Noah and

his future generations. The word “sons” appears 3 times and in the plural (Gen 9:1,8,9),

showing that his redemptive plan was to all mankind. God also assured him that He

would “never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is

evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have

done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,

day and night, shall not cease.” (Gen 8:21-22).

The promise to Abraham

God called Abraham and said to him: “all the peoples on earth will be blessed

through you”. (Gen 12:3b). God had the world in mind when he promised Abraham to

bless the nations. To see how important this event in Genesis 12 is, there are many
 4

mentions of Abraham in the New Testament regarding faith and redemption.

God formed a nation to bless all other nations. The name Abram means “the

father is exalted” but God changed his name to Abraham meaning “father of a

multitude”. Just by changing Abraham’s name, God already showed his heart to reach

and bless the nations.

A man from a pagan background is now used to be the channel of blessings to

the whole world. The blessing didn’t stop in him but was visible through his son Isaac

(And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these

lands. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Gn. 26:4 ASV) and

also his grandson Jacob (And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt

spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And in thee

and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Gn. 28:14 ASV).

The Mosaic Era

God now have a people called to be his own with a purpose: “To be the light to

the world”. He invested in Israel, released them from the power of the Egyptians,

provided from them in every area and showed them His power. It doesn’t mean that God

was focused only in Israel, in fact, the focus was in the nations and Israel was the way

God would use to reach the lost around the world.

When Moses died, God raised Joshua to carry his ordinance of being among

the nations2. Joshua 4:24 says: “This is so that all the people of the earth may know that

2
Bosch, David J. Missão Transformadora: Mudanças de paradigma na
teologia da missão. São Leopoldo, RS Brasil: Editora Sinodal, 1998. pp.134
 5

the Lord’s hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.” The

calling was still there, nothing changed and God kept showing to Israel, his concern to

the nations of the earth, wanting them to have the same concern, fulfilling then, their

calling to show God’s glory among all peoples.

The Kings Age

David was one of the kings that focused the most in the interest of God in the

nations, but we will see more details about his missionary understanding, when we

exposed “missions in the book of Psalms” later in this paper.

Without doubt, the building of the temple when King Salomon was ruling was

one of the most important events in the Jewish history. At first as we read the text we can

see the building as a internal and religious mark only for the people of Israel. “And let

these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh unto

Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause

of his people Israel…” (1 Kings 8:59 ASV, emphasis in bold mine). Of course that the

main reason that the temple was built, had to do with Israel and it’s religion and service

to God but if we go deeper in our view of the temple, we will see that God had more in

mind when the ordained Salomon to build the temple. “that all the peoples of the earth

may know that Jehovah, he is God; there is none else” (1 Kings 8:60 ASV). Those were

the last words of Salomon when he dedicated the temple to the Lord3. After a long time

of construction, all the people of Israel involved, a new season about to start, God shows,

3
Mock, Dennis J. Misiones, Evangelismo y Discipulado: Manual del Curso.
Atlanta, GA. BTCP, 1994. pp.29
 6

one more time, his heart to “all the peoples of the earth”.

Missions in the book of Psalms

The book of Psalms was not only a book inspired by God but also a hymnbook

to Israel. It’s a book with an amazing theological content, especially systematic theology.

Most of God’s attributes described in the Bible are found in this book, that’s why it’s a

wonderful manual for worship.

God wants all nations to worship Him and in the psalms, He revels himself as

the Sovereign King over all the earth. There are more than 175 references in the psalms

that are related to the nations and many of them lead to the hope of salvation4.

The psalm 86:9 and 67:1-7 gives us a beautiful view of the calling of God to

all Nations:

God be merciful unto us, and bless us, And cause his face to shine upon us;

Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy salvation among all nations. Let the

peoples praise thee, O God; Let all the peoples praise thee. Oh let the nations be glad

and sing for joy; For thou wilt judge the peoples with equity, And govern the nations

upon earth. Selah. Let the peoples praise thee, O God; Let all the peoples praise thee.

The earth hath yielded its increase: God, even our own God, will bless us. God will bless

us; And all the ends of the earth shall fear him. Psalm 67:1-7 ASV

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O

Lord; and they shall glorify thy name. Psalm 86:9 ASV

4
Peters, George W. A Biblical Theology of Missions. Chicago: Moody Press,
1972. pp. 141
 7

So many more verses could be exposed showing Gods love for the Nations,

but I will give just some references as we have many other topics to discuss in this paper.

Psalm 9:7-11, 33:8-15, 96:1-13 and 117:1.

Missions in the Prophets

The Prophets also reviewed God’s plan to the nations. Isaiah, the most

messianic book of all the prophet books, has a huge missionary content. The focus on

God sending the Messiah wasn’t directed only to save Israel, but all the nations of the

earth. “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will

keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”

(Isaiah 42:6 NIV). “Light to the gentiles” refers to all the ones who are not part of the

chosen people of God (Israel). They will also receive the light of the Gospel.

Jeremiah had a specific calling to be the “prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5b

NIV). Although his role was more towards bringing judgment to the nations, in chapter

18 we see that God wanted to give them an opportunity but they were the ones rejecting

Gods grace.

Ezekiel says, in chapter 18 verse 32 that death comes as consequence of sin but

he brings a message of grace and call people to repent: “For I take no pleasure in the

death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” (NIV)

Amos, in a scatological prophecy says that the Lord will raise Israel to conquer

for him, all Nations.

Jonah was the missionary prophet sent by God to the great city of Nineveh.

The inhabitants of this great city, didn´t deserve any grace of mercy, but God showed
 8

love and kindness towards them. God wanted to give them an opportunity.

Even though seems that the focus of the OT is only on God dealing with Israel,

the truth is that God is calling Israel as a nation to be the light to all nations. God’s heart

is to reach people from all the Earth and He reveals it clearly throughout the 39 books of

the OT5.

The Missionary Theology of Christ

Christianity is centered in Christ, as He is the supreme example of conduct,

service, attitude and orientation in life. If we analyze his life we can see that He was not a

nationalist or regionalist but a worldwide visionary, meaning that his mission was not

only local but also at international level.

The Son of Men

In the Gospels we find 84 references that refer to Jesus as "son of man"6 (32 in

Matthew, 14 in Mark, 26 in Luke and 12 in John). The relationship between the

mentioned and our study is that Jesus wanted to transmit something to his listeners when

he referred to himself as the Son of Man and this has profound relationship with the

intention of showing his relationship, affection and love for the human race. "Son of

Man" is a Hebrew expression denoting possession of the true human nature.

5
Content extracted from the Mid-Term Exam on Missions in the O.T
submitted on October 15th by Fernando Dantas for the class MISSN 4353A. pp 3-4
6
Hayd, Wayland. The Teaching of Jesus Conserning His Own person. New
York. American Tract Soc. 1907
 9

The Christ's humanity expresses his relationship with man, his concerns in the

affections and human interests, his temptation, his exposure as any other man in hunger

and thirst, suffering and death. Jesus is the ideal man in whom humanity finds its

fulfillment, hope and example. As the "son of Adam ... of God" (Lc. 3: 23-38), He is the

true son of the man. This is the title that makes Jesus stop being only Jewish and starts to

have a complete relationship with the human race.

Finally, based on the Psalm 80:17 and Daniel 7: 13-14 the “son of man”

became a title among Jewish scholars to the promised Messiah.

Although in the term "son of man" there is an eschatological and soteriological

relationship with a messianic authority, we see that it also relates to Christ with humanity

showing them the savior of the world.

The Reconciling Death and Resurrection

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb

of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 HCSB). What John the Baptist

expressed, is in accordance with the purpose declared by Jesus when He said: “I am the

good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”. (John 10:11 HCSB).

This is the true purpose of Christ, the essence of the incarnation. Christ came

to deal directly with sin, to become the atonement and to destroy man's guilt.

The Great Commission that Jesus gave after his resurrection can be found in

the Gospels and has an unquestionable missionary approach. The expressions "every

nation", "all creation," and "ends of the earth", leaves us with no doubt that Jesus was not

nationalist or particularistic. Jesus sent his disciples, ordering them to disciple all nations.
 10

Missions in the New Testament

In the same way we did an exposition of what the Old Testament has to say

about missions, we will see the Gospels of Mathew and Luke, the books of Acts and

finishing with the life of Paul the Apostle.

Missions in the Gospels

Matthew was the writer who most emphasized the activities of Jesus towards

the Gentiles. Only when we go through the whole book, we can understand why Mathew

wrote at the end the words of Jesus saying: "Therefore go and make disciples of all

nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit". (Mt

28:19 - NIV). Using only this verse as an argument for missions is incorrect, since

according to the guidelines that we received about the proper hermeneutics, we must

study the immediate context, author of the letter or book, for whom it was written,

historical, cultural context, etc.

Mathew mentioned the 4 non-Jewish women in the genealogy of Jesus (1:2-

16), the visit of the wise men (2:1-12), the Centurion of Capernaum (8:5-13), the

Canaanite Woman (15:21-28) and the reaction o the Roman Centurion at the crucifixion

(27:54). The summary of the activities of Jesus in chapter 4 says: “Then the news about

Him spread throughout Syria”.(4:24 HCSB). And in chapter 5, Jesus says to the disciples

that they should be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. (5:13-14).

Luke expressed the Great Commission in 4 fundamental verses. “He also said

to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the
 11

third day, and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to

all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am

sending you what My Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are

empowered from on high.” (24:46-49). The mentioned words of Jesus, reflect the

understanding of Luke on the Christian mission. It is the fulfillment of scriptural

promises; becomes possible only after the resurrection of Christ; its fundamental aspect is

the message of repentance and forgiveness; is intended to "all nations"; should begin in

Jerusalem; must be performed by "Witnesses" (which comes from Greek “martus” and

means martyr); and will be fulfilled in the power of the Holy Spirit. These elements are

the fibers of Luke's theology of missions7. The third Gospel testifies to the Roman

Theophilus, the security of the fulfillment of salvation through the divine promised

Messiah (Luke 1:1-4; 24:46).

Missions in the book of Acts

The book of Acts, also written by Luke, shows the "applied salvation" offered

by the Messiah to the different ethnic groups. Despite being extremely thorough and

exhaling a deep Jewish knowledge, Luke was Gentile (Col 4: 10-11) and shows it in a

very expressive way when writing Acts. The mission to the Gentiles is not an illegitimate

offshoot of renegade Christian, but is deeply rooted in the old covenant of God. The text

of Luke 24 mentioned earlier, it’s similar to Acts chapter 1 verse 8 when he says: “But

you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My

7
Bosch, David J. Missão Transformadora: Mudanças de paradigma na
teologia da missão. São Leopoldo, RS Brasil: Editora Sinodal, 1998. pp.203
 12

witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

(HCSB). Spiritual power, witnesses, Jerusalem and the Nations are concepts repeated that

demonstrate the foundational issues to the Church of Christ.

Most scholars and theologians8 that deepened their studies in the field of

missions and world evangelism, are in agreement that the missiological content found in

the book of Acts, was premeditated by Luke. He not only wanted to write with an

evangelistic focus but also made clear in every line, his desire to bring a divine

perspective of the reach of all nations with the Gospel of the Savior.

Missions in the life of Paul

From the time Paul was sent by the Antioch church (Acts 13: 1-3), until his

arrest in Jerusalem (Acts 21:33), the one once Pharisee, became a key player in the

expansion of Christianity in the urban centers of the East Coast the Mediterranean9. This

intense period of missionary activity brought Christianity beyond the borders of Judea,

reaching great Greco-Roman centers. With a total surrender, Paul devoted his life to the

mission believing that God was the one calling him.

Paul understood that the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be

his mission for life, but he was not just an ordinary evangelist. His goal was to bring the

Gentiles to a place of obedience in faith (Rom 1: 5) and organize the converts to form

8
Williams, J. F. and William J. Larkin Jr. Mission in the New Testament: An
Evangelical Approach. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 1998.
9
Howell, Don N. The Theocentric Character of Pauline Theology. Thesis (Th.
D.). Dallas Theological Seminary, 1992.
 13

self-governing churches. Paul did not work hard to earn large crowds of converted

isolated but to be mature Christians in Christ (Col 1: 28-29). This maturity was nourished

for the congregational unity of the believers as all exercised their gifts for the edification

of all (Eph. 4: 11-16). In short, Paul was a missionary, a pioneer, an evangelist and a

church planter.

The central message of Paul's preaching included: 1. Difference between the

idols and the one true God (Systematic Theology); 2. The death and resurrection of

Christ, the Son of God (Christology); 3. The return of Christ to judge the unbelievers and

redeem his people (soteriology and eschatology); 4. Leave the idols (repentance); 5.

Serve the true God (obedience and faith). His proclamation was direct and clear with the

purpose to see the conversion of people.

Paul preached the gospel with the same intensity regardless of their physical or

emotional condition. The content was the same, but the way was quite varied. For Jews

and Gentiles who feared God, he had a speech (Acts 13: 16-43), for the Greeks, a

philosophical touch (Acts 17: 22-31) and some animists of Ephesus an authenticated

Gospel by the power (Acts 19: 11-20). The creativity of Paul was visible and worthy of

admiration, but in no time he lost the focus and the reason why he preaching and

proclaiming the Gospel.

The missionary work of Paul was not only in the proclamation of the Gospel.

The pastoral side and care was visible. In his letters (epistles), there was a pastoral

targeted content to the church's needs with the intention that it would grow in maturity to

also proclaim the gospel of salvation that they themselves have been reached.

W. P. Bowers states that Paul preached in a personal way seeing multiple

conversions, but the individual conversions were part of the missionary vision of

forming faith communities in different regions. Paul was not primarily a brick builder,

but build building (1 Cor 3:10). He was a pioneer who gave continuity to the pastoral

vision.

The secret of success of the missionary ministry of Paul was in his trust in the

Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3: 7-18; 1 Thessalonians 1: 5-6) and in prayer, not only him but from

the Church for him (Rom 15: 5 ; 1 Thessalonians 3: 11-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:25).

Conclusion

There is a God, sovereign, powerful, present, real and personal that longs and

wants to reveal himself to all, men and women of all tribes, peoples, races, ethnic groups,

nations, islands, towns, villages, continents, finally, of the entire planet. There is a God

who loves the world so much that He sent the Savior to pay the price (amount that no

human being could pay) so that all the earth had access to him.

There is a command to reach the lost ones of the earth, that have not heard the

Good News of the Gospel, haven’t know the path to follow. There is a command that

points to many of the world, of different dialects, with different lifestyle and beliefs that

mislead them. There is a divine mandate for citizens of the Celestial Kingdom to stand in

unity to be light in the darkness and to rescue the lost.

As we see in this paper, there is a God who wants to reach, a people to be

reached and a command and order to be obeyed in order to reach these people.

We have all the ingredients to bring salvation to the last of the earth? The

church has everything needed to fulfill the Missio Dei. It's been 2000 years and the
 15

mission yet was not completed, what is missing? Where the church is failing? At what

point we’ve lost the perspective of the evangelization of the world?

May God help us to understand His word, obey his command and reach the

world.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Peters, George W. A Biblical Theology of Missions. Chicago: Moody Press, 1972.

Bosch, David J. Missão Transformadora: Mudanças de paradigma na teologia da

Mock, Dennis J. Misiones, Evangelismo y Discipulado: Manual del Curso. Atlanta, GA.
BTCP, 1994.

Hayd, Wayland. The Teaching of Jesus Concerning His Own person. New York.
American Tract Soc. 1907

Dantas, Fernando. Mid-Term Exam on Missions in the O.T. submitted on October 15th by
Fernando Dantas for the class MISSN 4353A

Williams, J. F. and William J. Larkin Jr. Mission in the New Testament: An Evangelical
Approach. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 1998.

Howell, Don N. The Theocentric Character of Pauline Theology. Thesis (Th. D.). Dallas
Theological Seminary, 1992.

16