Bethel PRC Global Outreach

Click Here to download our missions tract.

The Great Commission of our Lord is expressed in Matthew 28:19, 20, "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." See also Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:46,47.

From this Great commission we can already draw some definite conclusions concerning missions as the calling of the church.

The word "mission" means "to be sent," thus, to be sent by Christ. The name "apostle" means "one who is sent out." The apostles were appointed to their special office by the One sent of the Father, by Christ. He breathed on them His Spirit as the Spirit of the resurrected Lord thus qualifying them for the work of the apostleship. John 20:22. On Pentecost they were more fully enlightened for their ministry by the outpouring of the Spirit upon the church. But the point that must be stressed here is that the apostles, the eleven, were particularly called of Christ and qualified by the gift of the Holy Spirit to perform the work of proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth. Later this same calling comes through the church to others, as we shall see. But the apostles were the first to be called and to be sent out as "fishers of men."

Jesus further tells us in the Great Commission that he who is sent must teach. Literally this can be translated as "make disciples," that is, to make disciples of those who hear the Word. They must not be made disciples, followers, or pupils of some particular man, but of Christ. No one may say, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Cephas," but each must be a disciple of Christ, taught by Him, and therefore ready to take up His cross and to follow Him. See I Cor. 1:12,13; Matthew 16:24.

This is confirmed in Mark 16:15,16, "And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Mark speaks of preaching the gospel. The gospel is the "glad tidings," but then the glad tidings that Jesus brings through His ambassadors. It is the glad tidings as we now have it in the Scriptures, the infallible, authoritative Word of God. It is that Word which is the power of God that makes disciples from all nations.

Here Jesus once more stresses that those who do mission work must be called and be sent. And they must go into all the world, even to every creature. While the preaching of the gospel was limited to a great extent to Israel in the old dispensation, and Jesus restricted His preaching almost entirely to the Jews, in the new dispensation the gospel must reach out beyond the established church, even to every nation and to all peoples, even to the uttermost parts of the earth. For Jesus says in Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come."

No one has the right to impose himself on that office as a self-appointed preacher. He must have the same respect for the office that Paul showed, and at the same time must be aware of the unworthiness and unfitness that Paul often expressed. He considered himself the least of the apostles and unworthy to be called an apostle. His confidence lay in the fact that he was called of Christ Himself to the apostleship. Romans 1:1. But Paul also held in high esteem the church institute with its ministers, elders, and deacons. He spoke of ministers as ambassadors of Jesus Christ, through whom Christ Himself speaks.(II Corinthians 5:20). Through these officebearers Christ baptizes and administers the Lord's Supper. Through them He exercises the keys of the kingdom, opening and closing the kingdom; declaring believers inside and unbelievers outside of that kingdom. For what is bound on earth is bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven. It is as serious as that! Matthew 16:19. From this necessarily follows that also missionaries must be called and sent out by Christ through His church. No individual, no society, not even a denomination can perform the ministry of missions, but the church must fulfill that mandate through missionaries properly called and ordained.

With this in mind we ask ourselves: What is the purpose of missions? Is it to create a kingdom of Christ here on earth? Or is it to win souls for Jesus? Some of these expressions are used so often that we have come to accept them without question. But where in Scripture are we taught to seek an earthly kingdom? Where do we read of doing something for Jesus, such as winning souls? Was that the purpose of the prophets in the old dispensation? Was that the purpose of Jesus Himself in His earthly ministry? Is that what the Great Commission means?

You will find the very opposite in Scripture.

Jesus speaks of "teaching" all nations, or of making disciples from all nations. Here already we have the key to true mission work, and an important one at that. On the day of Pentecost the small band of disciples, numbering a mere hundred and twenty souls, was increased to more than three thousand. Daily others were converted and added to the group of disciples of Jesus. Acts 2:47 informs us: "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." And in Acts 13:48 we read that "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." 'The apostles were sent out to preach the Word. They were God's witnesses, proclaiming the gospel of salvation in the name of their risen Lord. And through their preaching the church was gathered. The gathering of the church, that is, of God's elect, is obviously the purpose of all mission endeavor.

For more information about our view of missionary work, click here: