INT-310 - Topic 5 - Benchmark - Theology

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Benchmark —Theology of Mission Elias Ruiz College of Theology: Grand Canyon University INT-310 — Christianity in a Global Context Professor: Ryan Shockey February 02, 2024 We believe the Bible to be the groundwork or anchor of our Christian faith, and it teaches us what God has done for us. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, 2001/2016, 2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is faithful theology and God’s divine truth. The missional component of faith in Jesus and expanding the Word of God throughout the world is very profound and mostly overlooked. Mission is an important practice of God’s work to Mission Dei and the implementation of God’s purpose and will. It is the truth and given by God; its theology must be faithful to God’s will. It professes who God is and how humanity can be saved through His work. Jesus came to a local culture, and he adapted to a local lifestyle, so the Word of God must be contextualized to be able to adapt to every culture. Scripture translates and “accommodates to a language and worldview. Local people absorb it and begin to live it out in their context” (Adeney, 2015, p. 72). The message of the Gospel is an unchanged message that can be contextualized for all people. Contextualization is the main key so any “audience can understand the message from within their own environment” (Moreau et al., 2015, p. 389). Theology of Mission is vital to all of theology, and it is important to expand and allow us to call on God. The theme that has been selected for Theology of Mission is personal evangelism. The motifs pursuing the theme of personal evangelism are the Kingdom of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and the church. Scripture Analysis As previously explained in other assignments, Scripture is critical for theology of mission, being it is God’s fundamental truth and leads us to follow His will. Mattew 28:16-20, explains a passage that is a key to the Theology of Mission, know as the Great Commission. In this passage there are three significant points that connect to Mission: A call for a constant 3 ministry. Furthermore, the Gospel is able to be contextualized and called to disciple people instead of converting them. God’s command to ‘go forth’ is “a clear designation of the duty of an aggressive ministry” (Abbot, 2012). The role of a believer is accomplished, and their destiny is at risk, and the Gospel must be received. Also, we see in this passage that the Gospel can be “adapted to all nations and all classes” (Abbot, 2012). "The Great Commission stands at the heart of Christian mission and sets out the task of the church to make disciples of all nations. It also underscores the importance of obedience to Jesus' commands as a key element in discipleship." (Grappe, 2008). Acts 11:19, explains how the Gospel spread to the Gentiles after Stephen was martyred. “Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, 2001/2016, Acts 11:19). This persecution forced the believers to scatter to many other regions where they preached to Jews and Gentiles. In this passage, we

see the missional nature of these Christians and how they were willing to spread the Gospel to all people, from whatever culture or background. "The missionary impulse was inherent in the church from the beginning and is evidenced in the bold witness of these believers who were scattered" (Grappe, 2008). Ephesians 2:17-18 talks about the reconciling work that Christ did as He brought Jews and Gentiles together, “And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father,” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, 2001/2016, Ephesians 2:17-18). This Scripture highlights the Universal and complete nature of ‘Missio Dei,’ and how God’s mission involves joining all people in a relationship with God. "The message of the gospel is one of reconciliation and peace, 4 not only between individuals and God but between people of different races and cultures." (Hoehner, 2002). Revelation 21:1-4 shows us a glance at the coming Kingdom of God. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. Moreover, I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Furthermore, I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, 2001/2016, Revelation 21:1-4). He will live with us, and every tear will be wiped away, this being the definitive goal of ‘Missio Dei,’ the restoration of all things and redeeming His people. "The final vision of the new heaven and earth shows that God's mission is ultimately about creating a perfect and eternal dwelling place for his people" (Beale, 2015). These have been highlighted scriptures from all major groups of texts within the Scriptures and are recurring themes throughout each one. We see in Matthew how Jesus calls his disciples to a life of mission away from their comfort zones when Jesus is not with them. Jesus asks them to trust Him because the Holy Spirit would follow. In Acts, the early church was facing persecution, and were combating trials and many doubts. ‘Missio Dei’, the Mission of God, delivers them from persecution to missional living by faith. In all these passages, there is a theme amongst them in all the instances with a huge impact on missional theology. 5 Guiding Theme Mission is God’s partnership with humanity to His calling and the vision for humanity. Mission is “referring to everything the church is doing that points towards the kingdom of God” (Moreau, et al., 2015). In Theology of Mission, the guiding theme is mission as personal evangelism. Evangelism, then, is preaching the Gospel with the purpose of sharing God’s message of hope and teaching about Jesus Christ. Specifically, personal evangelism is to be relational as you share the good news, as you spend time with each other, and live with them. Personal evangelism comes from the calling to “go make disciples” (Matthew 28:16-20). As we see in our society, those who are unsaved do not come to church. Therefore, they are not hearing the message of salvation, and they will “never be evangelized unless they are gone after personally” (Green, 1945).

God’s greatest power in the world is the human personality, which is totally dedicated to God’s service. With personal evangelism, we use our experiences in coming to Christ so we can reach people in an authentic way. This is done using our personal experience and the scriptures. The use of personal experience conveys the way the Kingdom of God influenced us, therefore being more relevant to others with the hope of reaching them with the power and truth of the Gospel. . Missional Motifs’ Motif 1 —Kingdom of God: Kingdom of God visions are connected to the end times. The Bible is explicit that the Kingdom of God will not appear until the world has been evangelized. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, 2001/2016, Matthew 24:14). The call to evangelize should be stirred by the anticipation that by the evangelism of the world, the 6 Kingdom of God will fully appear upon the earth. Jesus’ disciples “relied heavily upon personal evangelism for carrying forward the work of the Kingdom” (Green, 1945). Jesus also told the crowds, “But he said to them, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43, ESV). Evangelism is the call of Mission, so all can repent and believe in Christ and that the Kingdom of God will fully come to earth. Motif — 2 Jesus: Jesus has enabled Mission by His sacrificial death and has identified all mission-oriented Christians to be “witnesses through the Spirit in their own Jerusalem’s, and Judea’s, and Samaria’s —to the very ends of the earth” (Moreau et al., 2015). Personal evangelism is conveyed as the voice of believers called to spend time with those unreached, to reach them with the Gospel. Jesus spent time having dinner at Levi’s house with tax collectors and other sinners in order to reach them (Mark 2:13-17). Motif 3 — Holy Spirit: The role of the Holy Spirit is a vital Motif. It is He who empowers Christians through evangelism and intercedes for them. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom as to what to say in defense of the Gospel. Jesus told His disciples not to “be anxious how or what you will answer, or what you will say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say” (Luke 12:11-12). The Spirit is also the counselor and helper to believers. The Holy Spirit intercedes “in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26-27). 7 Motif 4 — The Church: The church is the body of believers, and Christ is the Head. It is the church's role to “preach salvation and nurture Christians” (Moreau et al., 2015). Walls should not limit the Holy Spirit. However, it equips the church to step out and reach the lost. The church is the agent chosen by God to call the world to repentance from their sins and come to Christ. “The manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10-11). Contextualization:

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Contextualization is an important key as it relates to the mission of evangelism. As mentioned before, evangelism is done by preaching to others about the Gospel and Jesus' teachings. The Gospel can be translated to any culture, and this was exemplified by Paul when he chose to live as he did to be able to share the Gospel. “He did not change the Gospel message from group to group, but he changed how he lived or behaved while in different groups as he communicated the changeless gospel message” (Moreau et al., 2015). The missional motifs of God’s Kingdom, His church, and Eschatology give us a background for contextualizing the message of the Gospel within different cultural contexts. Also, understanding the mutual nature of God's mission through the church will assist missionaries in connecting with local believers and laboring toward the goal of launching ethnic churches. By evaluating the influences of local believers and integrating their cultural languages into the worship and life of the church, missionaries can help improve the growth of the church in culturally diverse settings. 8 REFERENCES Abbott, L. (2012). An illustrated commentary on the gospel according to Matthew: for family use and reference, and for the great body of Christian workers of all denominations. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7155747M/An_illustrated_commentary_on_the_gospel_ according_to_Matthew Adeney, M. (2015). Kingdom without Borders: The Untold Story of Global Christianity. InterVarsity Press. https://books.google.ie/books?id=4i- 1CgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Kingdoms+Without+Borders&hl=&cd=1&sour ce=gbs_api#v=onepage&q=Kingdoms%20Without%20Borders&f=false Beale, G. K. (2015). Revelation: A Shorter Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Grappe, C. (2008). R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2007. Revue D’Histoire Et De Philosophie Religieuses, 88(3), 366. https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhpr_0035- 2403_2008_num_88_3_1352_t6_0366_0000_1 Green, J. L. (1945). Personal Evangelism. Review & Expositor, 42(1), 68–75.

https://doi.org/10.1177/003463734504200110 Hoehner, H. W. (2002). Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA62104891 9 Moreau, A. S., Corwin, G. R., & McGee, G. B. (2015). Introducing world Missions (Encountering Mission): A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey. Baker Academic. https://books.google.ie/books?id=DZIQBgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Introduci ng+World+Missions&hl=&cd=1&source=gbs_api#v=onepage&q=Introducing%20Worl d%20Missions&f=false The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2016). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/English-Standard-Version-ESV-Bible/#copy (Original work published 2001)

INT-310 - Topic 5 - Benchmark - Theology

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