MISSIONS-PERSPECTIVES
God is made
to appear frustrated by much modern preaching. This happens in missionary
appeals. The idea is left that God needs our help. We are not told that
He graciously offers us the opportunity to take part in the great missionary
enterprise. No, things have gone much beyond that; in fact, they have gotten
out of hand. There may have been a time when God could have made such an offer,
but that time is long past. Things are now desperate. A great deal that should
have been done for God’s cause has not been
done. And God is rushing around to make up for lost time. His love has worked
Him into a corner, and He needs us to get Him out of it.
A.W. Tozer
Quoted in: Tom Wells, A Vision for
Missions, Permission by The Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA.
p. 39.
Love is the
root of missions; sacrifice is the fruit of missions.
Roderick Davis
I fear that
if annihilationism is widely accepted by Christians, that
will hinder the missionary enterprise. Many people have devoted their lives to
bringing the gospel to the unsaved around the globe. Would they continue to do
so if they really thought that the worst fate awaiting those who reject Jesus
is final extinction? I seriously doubt it. Annihilationists
can argue that the obliteration of the wicked is a terrible fate if measured
against the bliss of the righteous. But when compared to suffering in hell
forever, it is simply not that bad to cease to exist.
Robert
A. Peterson
Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment,
P&R Publishers, 1995, p. 170. Used by permission.
[God]
may direct some to leave their homeland to go to proclaim the Gospel in a
foreign land. There is a great temptation in such circumstances for people to
revert to the legalism of thinking that they are being heroes for God because
they are leaving their homeland to endure the rigors of living in a foreign
land. Those who are directed to do hard jobs for God must remind themselves
that these rigors are simply for their health. As these difficulties help them
become more like Christ, they will sing a song of praise unto God, and as a
result “many will see it and fear and put their trust in the Lord”
(Psm. 40:3). People who regard themselves as invalids rather than heroes will
make excellent missionaries.
Daniel Fuller
Gospel and Law: Contrast or Continuum? Eerdmans,
1980, p. 119.