The Entropic State of Missions Part 4 of 4

Today, there is a danger that knowledge remains while power is forgotten. Theology itself is not the problem; it is a precious gift from God. Yet separated from the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit, it becomes a sword lying idle upon a table—finely crafted, perfectly formed, and yet accomplishing nothing apart from the hand that wields it. Truth was never intended merely to inform the mind, but to transform it, and bring men unto Christ, who alone giveth life, and convicts then into action. Knowledge, by itself, profits little unless it be translated into obedience. For this cause the Scriptures continually call men not only to hear, but to do; not merely to learn, but to walk worthy of that which they have learned.

And in my experience I have seen that God is pleased to grant power chiefly in those doing. The strength to obey is often discovered upon the path of obedience itself. I have both seen and heard many desire power before action, certainty before obedience, and confidence before witness. Yet the Lord commonly calls His people to step forward in faith, and there to find that His grace is sufficient for the task appointed unto them.

Perhaps one of the great dangers of our age is that we have become exceedingly skilled at preparation while neglecting practice. We have spent countless hours refining our aim, discussing our aim, and perfecting our understanding of aim, yet too seldom have we fired. We have studied the mission, debated the mission, financed the mission, and systematized the mission, while keeping ourselves from engage in it. Thus knowledge accumulates, but fruit remains scarce. The church becomes rich in information yet poor in action. For truth attains its proper end not when it is merely understood, but when it is believed, obeyed, and carried into the world. Only then doth doctrine become life, and knowledge by experience become wisdom.

Attendees who join themselves unto a church chiefly because they were invited by friends, or because they have been attracted by its promotions and activities, or worse by its numbers, have often been attracted by the wrong reasons insufficient to account for true spiritual life. All it does is bring a man into a building, but it does not bring him into Christ. It sits him in the pew, not before the cross. For it is the Holy Spirit alone who quickens the dead soul and brings the same into the fold of the Good Shepherd. The church may proclaim the Gospel, and the saints may faithfully bear witness, but life itself proceeds from God. No program, however excellent, and no human persuasion, however compelling, can accomplish that which belongs exclusively unto the Spirit.

Yet there is a subtle danger in mistaking outward participation for spiritual vitality. We see a man attend meetings, join ministries, and involve himself in the activities of the church, and we are tempted to conclude that life is present. But activity is not life, any more than movement is resurrection. A corpse may be arranged, dressed, and carried from place to place, yet remain dead all the while. So too, we often mistake the reanimation of religious activity for genuine conversion. We are satisfied to see men occupied with ministry, when the greater question remains unanswered: Are they alive unto God? For there is a vast difference between a soul participating in the works of religion and a soul breathing the life of Christ. The one is produced by human effort; the other is the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit alone.

And so I understand why missionaries who are supported by sponsors are expected to send back field reports. First, for accountability. Second, so that financial support may continue. Yet, speaking from my own experience as a missionary who for a decade had no human sponsor, I would answer these things in another way.

First, my ultimate accountability is unto God, before whom I shall give an account on that great Day. Second, He alone is the Provider of His work. Doth money fall from heaven? No. Rather, God moves the hearts of men to give according to His will. I make my needs known unto Him, and He fills them by moving men. He is the Author of the work, and He shall also bring it to completion. Therefore, I do not divide my gratitude, giving part unto man and part unto God. Though God uses men as instruments, all thanks belong unto Him alone. He is the source; they are but the means. We are all accountable to God.

This, I believe, is one difference between a man who desires to enter the ministry and a man who hath been called unto it. The former may eventually retire from the labor, but the latter endures because God Himself sustains and enables him.

Are we therefore to cast a blanket condemnation upon every expression of Christianity that comes from the United States? If that be your question, then you have altogether missed the point. The issue is not nationality, but authority. Who is presently on the altar-turned-stage honestly? 

We are to approach God through the Scriptures, for He hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. God hath indeed given teachers unto His church, and we ought to receive such gifts with gratitude. Yet no teacher occupies the place of God. There are instructors, but God alone is our Teacher. There are masters in the earthly sense, yet we have but one true Master, even Christ.

The danger arises when we bestow upon men an honor beyond that which God Himself hath assigned unto them. When this occurs, the servant begins to eclipse the Master, and the gift obscures the Giver. Our attention becomes fixed upon personalities, institutions, and reputations until God Himself gradually recedes from view. In such moments we approach perilously close to honoring the creature above the Creator. (Matthew 23:8-10)

He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had offered incense to it; it was called Nehushtan.
2 Kings 18:4

The proper order is simple. We are to cherish the Giver and thankfully employ the gifts He provides. The teacher is a gift. The book is a gift. The ministry is a gift. But God alone is the source from whom every good gift proceeds.

This, perhaps, is not a truth we have failed to know, but a truth we too easily forget. The true question I ask is not whether our Christianity is doctrinally accurate, but whether it is alive. Does it move beyond theological information? There is only right or left. Black or white. Life or death. Narrow or wide. Christ or man. There is no middle ground for compromise. May we strip the glittering stage back down into a blood-stained altar.

Part 1