Theology and Missions
by Dr Jeffrey Khoo
The Lord Jesus Christ—the Lord of the harvest—in Matthew 28:18-20 says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
No Theology, NoMissions!
No Theology, no missions! Theology is the study or the knowledge of God. Biblical Missions have to do with telling people who and what God is, and that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of the world and the only way to heaven.
Missions must always be Word-centred. It is not man’s intelligence or methods but God’s Word and God’s Word alone that will transform hearts and change lives for eternity. That was why Jesus commanded His disciples to “teach all nations … teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Note that the word “teach” occurs twice. The Great Commission is a Didactic
Commission.
Not Social But Spiritual Gospel
The Church is not called to feed the world with a social gospel of bread and butter. Such a gospel of bread and butter can satisfy our body but it cannot satisfy our soul. The bread of this world can satisfy us temporarily but not permanently. That is why the Church is called to feed the world not with a social gospel but a spiritual gospel, not the bread of flesh which lasts for a moment but the Bread of Life which lasts forever.
Jesus says, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). The Bread of Life refers not only to Jesus Christ Himself who died for our sins and rose again from the dead according to the Scriptures which is the good news of salvation to the world, but also the Holy Scriptures—the words of eternal life (John 6:68). We must tell the world about the (1) Living Word—Jesus Christ, and His (2) Written Word—the Holy Scriptures.
Who can save me from my sins? Only Jesus Christ! What can wash away my sins? Only the Blood of Christ! Christians have truly good news for this sin-cursed world. That was why the Apostle Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16).
Bible College First, Not Mission Field
If the Word of God is that which is essential and vital for missions, it goes without saying that those who wish to enter into ministry and missions must be thoroughly trained in and equipped with the Word of God. Some may have the zeal to go to missions but do not wish to be trained first; such become dangerous people, for zeal without knowledge can be deadly. Saul of Tarsus hurt the church badly with his great zeal that was not according to knowledge (Rom 10:2). Saul the zealous must become Paul the learned if he is to be effective for the ministry of the gospel.
It is no wonder that Paul should speak of the Scriptures as being indispensable for the spiritual life and growth of a believer, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17). It is no wonder that Paul should seek to declare the whole counsel of God in his work of missions and evangelism, “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27).
If there is anyone who desires to enter into full-time ministry or missions, the first place to go is not the mission field, but the Bible College. It is not our zeal for lost souls but our faithfulness to God’s Word that will determine our success in ministry and in missions. That was why Paul told Timothy, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15).
Needed: Faithful Not Faithless Missioners
“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matt 9:37-38). Pray for more to enter into fulltime ministry, but first to be trained in the Bible College. Indeed, “the trend is toward the trained.” But be sure that your training be gained from a Bible-believing and Bible-defending school. Seek a faithful school and not a faithless school. Biblical Missions must be entrusted to faithful and not faithless men as Paul told Timothy, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2).
Who will answer God’s call to Biblical Missions? Will you be like the prophet Isaiah? “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isa 6:8).
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Ladies Fellowship
A Word of Thanksgiving by Sis Jenny Kan at the LF 2nd Anniversary, Jan 31, 2006
Greetings in the name of our Living and Loving Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord that He has seen us through two years in True Life B-P Church. We also thank our Heavenly Father for His grace toward us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Quek for hosting our meetings at her home on the first Wednesday of every month for the past two years. As from this year, we would like to hold our meetings at the homes of different sisters or rent a room at the RELC. We pray for God’s guidance and also for sisters to come forth to open their homes. We thank God for Dr Jeffrey Khoo who will be teaching from the book of Esther for the following six months.
The Ladies Fellowship, as the name suggests, is for ladies and not for married women only. So we urge all ladies, young and old, married or unmarried to join us. Like the ladies whom we read about in the early church, we hope, like them, we can be the “backbone” of the church, to serve one another, to care for one another and most importantly to learn at the feet of Jesus how to be what He wants us to be.
We understand that many of our ladies are busy with their work, but if they can avail themselves at the meeting, just one Wednesday each month, they will realise how the Lord will refresh their tired minds and body through the preaching of His Living Word. Many ladies have testified on how they have come away from the meetings feeling refreshed and blessed. We pray more ladies will come to join the fellowship and receive the manifold blessings from our Heavenly Father. God Bless.
Ladies Fellowship & Family Bible Study Fellowship Combined Meeting, Jan 31, 2006
We thank God for good progress of Joshua Wong, MrsHelen Eio’s nephew. Continue to pray for his spiritual,mental and physical development.
