All Nations Must Bow Down In Worship
Love is what most people see as the most important value that an individual must be able to provide to other people. Most of the songs we hear are about love and everything an individual or a group of people could do for love. Majority of lyrics contain the theme of sacrificing oneself in order to make his or her loved one happy. Thus, loving is connected to the concept of giving one’s self for another or for others in order to give them a better life. Therefore, loving is an act that involves sacrificing and providing for another person’s or other people’s needs.
In the chapter entitled Supremacy of God, the concept of love is related to the situation of having a mission. Definition of Mission In the chapter, a mission is compared to a situation in which an individual is caught up in a shipwreck incident wherein a huge group of people who are asking for help are already drowning. The individual must be able to save them all amidst the panic and in the process, he or she may possibly have to sacrifice him- or herself.
This metaphor is utilized to primarily define the mission that God has entrusted to us. The mission for God is an activity that must be done in order to save various people from drowning from all aspects of this world. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines mission in three different aspects such as a group of people, the military and a religious ministry: People: “a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity” Naval/Military: “A specific task with which a person or a group is in charged”:
Religious Ministry: “A ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate faith or carry on humanitarian work; a course of sermons and services given to convert the unchurched or quicken Christian Faith” (“Mission,” 2009). Hence, all the definitions of mission pertain to the importance of providing service to the people who are in need of help. In terms of religious missions, it is correct to say that mission is the act of providing individuals with the teachings of God and knowing the truth. The truth is regarding with the word that He wants us to learn about Him.
In terms of the definition of God’s mission, it is evidently stated in Matthew 28:18-20 that the mission is one of the most important duties of human beings. The Great Commission is made in order to make individuals realize that there is a need to share the word of God to other people and not simply keep such truth to oneself. It involves sharing and giving out missions that the Bible intends for people to know. If the whole book of Matthew would be read, one could notice that there are different passages that may be connected to the duty that individuals must do, such as in verses 13 and 20 which highlight the second coming of Christ.
In these verses, Christ is speaking to the apostles. In the current era, there are no acknowledged apostles; therefore, it is the duty of His people (the ones who had been saved) to assume the task of promoting and sustaining the teachings God has given. One of the manifested evidences of the desire of God is the Holy Bible. In addition to this, the sustained believers of God must create branches and fruits of their efforts in sustaining the teaching of Christ.
Therefore, the church is the most relevant mechanism to fully attain the “mission” that the bible states. In the Book of Matthew, it was stated that “[Jesus] will build [His] church” (Matt 16:18), as he said that “it is written , Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). As stated, individuals must remember that the church is the mediating factor to make people realize the importance of God in their lives. Thus, the word of God provides the importance of having the mission and the church.
Reflecting on the statements provided by the Great Commission, that we as individuals must “make disciples of all nations,” it can be inferred to refer to the different groups of people all over the world, although the Bible states that most of the statements are made only for the Jewish people. Nevertheless, if such statements are linked closely, one can observe that the statements do apply to the current world. Thus, missions are not only be limited to Jewish people but to all the communities that could be reached. Salvation and the Promise of God: In the bible, the concept of salvation is highlighted in many different ways.
The most important verse in the bible is written in John 3:16 which states that “For God so loved the world that he have his only begotten son and who so ever believe in Him shall not perish but have an everlasting life. ” The verse does not only send the concept of salvation due to the love of God, but it also provides a promise of having an everlasting life. Therefore, salvation should be shared to many people due to the importance of His word. Chapter five cites the Old Testament stating that there are verses which express that there is a great expectation of people worshipping God not only in one nation but in all.
Thus, the New Testament is proclaiming the foundations that must be done in order to attain the vision that must be done. In the following passage of Genesis 12:1-3, it is directly stated that: Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Thus, the biblical passage states the need to expand the scope of the missions not only in the land of Abraham but in all the lands that are present. As a proof, the book of Joshua states that the promise of God to Abraham is not only for the small groups of people to which the promise must be given, but also for the bigger communities outside the family of Abraham. In fact, such statements are present in the verse of Acts which states that “You are the sons of prophets and covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘and in you offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed’’’ (3:25).
However, in the book of Galatians, Paul wrote that “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him righteousness. Know then that is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel before hand to Abraham, saying ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’. ”(3:6-8) Countries and their Beliefs about God and Religion: Around the world, it is known that there are very diverse religions which any individual could find interest in. Such religion includes Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Christianity, and Islam, to name a few.
All of these religions have their own set of beliefs and traditions. However, due to the statements given by God in the Great Commission enabled the individuals who have already saved the world to share the word of God to different people around the world. In the regions of Asia, many of the countries have a Buddhist, Hindu, and Islam religion. There have been efforts to reach out to these different countries due to the fact that different churches have reached out to several regions in Asia in order to retain the statements written in the Great Commission.
Thus, programs to reach out communities such as those in Malaysia, Cambodia, China, India, Thailand, Philippines, and the likes are being continuously followed up in order to create a change for the better.. Specifically, the Philippines are the only Christian nation in Asia. Given such, many missionaries coming from different parts of the world visit and provide encouragement and faith to enlighten them about the word of God. In fact, many Christian churches have been, already been built due to the efforts made by different missions and missionaries who had made an effort for preach the word.
Thus, the Philippines are a country that best exemplifies the progress of missions. (“Christianity in the Philippines”, 2009) However, not all the people were assimilated with the same belief of God; there are places which could not be reached due to transportation issues as well as the locked perspective that their (unsaved) religion is and must only be the religion they should abide by. Due to this, hardships and dangers face the missionaries. Some even face life threatening experiences in order to preach the word of God.
In other countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, conservatism regarding religion sometimes led to violence (US Department of State, 2007). It is known that individuals who will not abide by the law of the state and the Qu’ran. Thus, missionaries are placed to prison and are even subjected to abuse due to the missionary activities. In many email messages spreading around the world, there are different missionaries who are kidnapped by rebel groups. Thus, missionary activities are indeed a form of sacrifice due to the threats that they could possibly encounter.
The Reach and the Unreached In most parts of the paper, the concept of mission has been provided. Based on the scriptures of the Bible, there is a need to spread the gospel and preach it to the whole world, for it is a responsibility placed to the believers, a duty that must be done. However, there is a concept of reached and unreached man which has also been discussed. “The Unreached Peoples Meeting” during 1982 is said to be “a people group within which there is no indigenous community of believing that Christians are able to evangelize this people group” (Piper, 2003, p.
192). On the other hand, the reached people comprise the “people group” wherein mission efforts to establish indigenous churches have the capability to evangelize the rest of the community. In an elaboration of this concept, Patrick Johnstone points out that being able to reach is different from the response from the community which would hold the mission. Thus, the concept of reaching is the sign of the superiority and the effort made in order to evangelize the community or the whole region.
However, Johnstone stated that “because of popular usage, we have to extend [the meaning of] reachedness” (cited in Piper, 2003, p. 193). In the Bible, both the books of Mark and Matthew discuss the same statements regarding evangelization. Mark 16:15 stresses that the world of God must be proclaimed to every creation present. Matthew, on the other hand, states in chapter 24 verse 14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and the end will come.
” Thus the verses evidently affirm that only when the words in the Bible are proclaimed and responded by communities that the end of time will come upon us. Clearly, the scripture is stating that the end will only come if the responsibility of nations will be done and exactly pursued. Conclusion In the end, love is the most important value that a person can give to his or her loved ones. Love is known to be the root of all kinds of beautiful things in the world, and it is the only way that we will be saved.
For unreached people, missionaries must be able to penetrate these communities in order to enlighten them with Christian beliefs and teachings concerning the love of God. Being reach or unreached must not be the basis of how the mission should continue. It is the effort of the people which must be important for the unreached to be reached. As stated in the earlier paragraphs, Asia is one of the most difficult locations that could be reached as well as the Middle East due to the locked perspective of people. However, as expressed in the Biblical passages, God is providing enough time for the world to worship and praise His name.
Thus, the end will not come if people do not know the reason or even the concept of salvation. Moreover, missions are evidently an important activity that must be done by any church or individual in order to respond to the responsibilities given by God. Although there are challenges such as diversity which is definitely difficult to battle, acting on one’s desire to serve and follow the teachings of God would be enough to conquer all the differences and the disputes that shall be encountered in the missions. References
Mission. (2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/mission Northern Illinois University. (2009). Christianity in the Philippines. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www. seasite. niu. edu/crossroads/russell/christianity. htm. Piper, J. (2003). Let the Nations Be Glad!. Michigan: Desiring God Foundation. US Department of State. (2007). Saudi Arabia. Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www. state. gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90220. htm.
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