Apr. - Jun. 2012
Mission Truth For The World
Taking Souls from Hearing to Heaven
The Faulty Measure of Success in Mission Work by Phillip Vanwinkle The writing teacher in elementary school was frustrated with her student. We will call that student “Bill.” The teacher was constantly sending home assignments to be done; she would assign papers for Bill. Bill couldn’t understand why the marks on the papers were constantly bad. His parents were also confused and frustrated as to why his papers weren’t getting higher scores. His paper on John F. Kennedy was 20 pages long. His paper on Malcolm X was 18 pages long, and his writing piece on Unicorns turned out to be 25 pages long. The report card came, and sure enough, Bill got very poor grades in writing class. He was frustrated, his parents were frustrated, and soon little Bill wanted to quit. He just didn’t understand why he was not succeeding, when his papers were by far the longest in the class. At the parent conference a few weeks later, the answer was revealed. An exasperated teacher explained: “Yes! Bill’s papers are long. But, there is no substance to any of them. They are done on time, they are presented on nice paper, and the penmanship is quite nice, but there is absolutely no substance to what is inside the papers.” She went on to explain, “He is not being judged by how long the paper is. He is not being graded on how beautiful his handwriting is. He is being graded by the substance of the paper, by what the paper actually says.” And once that was established, the frustrations were over. Now, apply that principle to success. When people have a faulty view of success, then no matter how hard they try, they will live in constant frustration. Such is the case with many missionaries today. Many in the church, and even some missionaries, are being held up to a faulty standard. Mission work is seen as successful if the missionary has baptized “x” amount of people. But, does God view success the same as man does? If a person were to ask, “Which is more important - for a missionary to baptize 20 people who, in a year’s time, 18 of them will be back in the world? Or, is it more important for a missionary to preach to the saved, to water and to cultivate the church, so that it can grow in faith, mature and then it can then reach out to its community?” What would your answer be?
Obviously, they are both very important. Both planting and watering are very important. Both need to be done, but I suggest that missionaries are constantly planting, planting, planting. People are being “pressured”’ to be baptized, and the missionary can write home and say, “We had “x” amount of baptisms this month.” The supporting congregation will be ‘happy’ thinking he has succeeded, because such a number of people were added to the kingdom. I know that it is “natural” for men to look at numbers to determine the success of the missionary. And yet, while it might be natural, it is not Godly. I am NOT saying that baptizing people is not important. It is. There is no question that reaching the lost is incredibly important for all men, missionaries included. And yet, planting is only part of our jobs as Christians. We are also responsible for watering. The building up of the faithful, keeping men and women motivated and encouraged and growing, is just as important as the reaching out to the lost. Paul would write in 1 Corinthians 3:6: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” I learn a few things from that. First, both Apollos and Paul are equally responsible for working with the church in Corinth. And yet, in reality, it is God who ultimately is responsible for the growth of the church. Yet, if some of our churches were to judge the situation, they would say that Paul was successful because he had gained “x” amount of converts, Apollos was lazy because all he did was preach and teach to the brethren who were already Christians, and only Paul had any “increase.” But, such is not the case. Both were important, and it was God who gave the increase.
God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.
If you can recall the time when David was to be chosen as king, you will remember that in 1 Samuel 16, the man of God, Samuel, brought the different sons of Jesse to anoint one of them as the new king of Israel, after God had rejected Saul. Even Samuel thought that Eliab would be the best choice as king. But, it was God who chose whom He wanted. And then this phrase is spoken by God. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart,” 1 Samuel 16:7. God does not look on the outward appearance. God does not think the way we think. His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8.) The principle still applies today. Church growth is not determined strictly upon the number of people who sit in the chairs week after week. True church growth is determined by what is on the inside. It is the case that what is on the inside will affect what is on the outside. As is stated in Romans 12:2, we are to be transformed from the inside out. That being the case, why do we place so much emphasis on the outward appearance (i.e. numbers) to determine the success of the church?
Taking Souls from Hearing to Heaven
Were “numbers” what pleased God in the Bible?
It has been estimated that at the time of the flood, there were millions, and some have speculated billions, of people on the face of the earth. I have no idea how many people were on the earth during the days of God’s great flood. But I do know this. If we looked at the numbers to decide whether or not Noah was a successful missionary, he would have been a terrible failure. Out of the millions of people living in the days of Noah, he only managed to “save” eight souls. Was Noah a failure? We know for a fact that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, according to 2 Peter 2:5. We know that God wanted the people of the world to repent. And yet, they refused. Noah preached for around 100 years, without a single convert - outside of his own house. Was Noah a success or not? Did Noah preach righteousness or not? Did anyone outside of his family obey? If Noah were a missionary today, some in the church would call him a failure. Sadly today, many congregations do not judge success the same way that God does. I suggest that Noah was indeed successful, for it was he who “condemned the world and became heir of righteousness by faith” (Hebrews 11:7). God was not concerned with numbers, but with the faithfulness of Noah in sowing the seed in preaching God’s word. What about the numbers of men who died in Sodom and Gomorrah? Remember how that Abraham pleaded with God, that if he could find 10 righteous souls, that God would save the city? How many were saved? Lot, his wife (initially) and his two daughters. Fewer souls than a person has fingers on one hand. Was Lot a success? Was he by his life and his words obeying God successfully, or was he not? Was he considered “just?” Was he called righteous? Let us find out what God thought of Lot. “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds),” 2 Peter 2:7-8. God considered him to be righteous. That is, he was doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. God was pleased with Lot, regardless of how many “converts” he was able to “get.” What about Israel? Why did God choose her? If God was so concerned with numbers, why not choose Babylon or Persia? Why not choose the masses of men in Egypt? Notice Deuteronomy 7:6-7. “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon
Taking Souls from Hearing to Heaven
the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people….” Remember Gideon’s battle? How many Israelite soldiers did God send to battle against the mighty Midianites? 300. Why? Because God does not view success in the same way that men do. What about the “success” of our Lord? How many men did Christ save? We do not know, but was he able to convert the whole world? Was he sucessful every time he went to preach a lesson? Some in the church would even have to conclude that Jesus was not successful, if we were to judge him by the number of men He saved. (Matthew 7:14.) How many men in Acts 2 were saved? The Bible records that 3000 men obeyed the truth. Most Christians will quickly say, “Yes, the Day of Pentecost was a resounding success.” Now, numerically speaking, were the apostles successful or not? Just how many men were in the city of Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost? Scholars have estimated that somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 million Jews were there celebrating the festival. Now, supposing that even half of that estimation heard of the events that went on that day, that is roughly (based upon the center, which would be 2 million) 1 million people, and only 3000 obeyed. That is only 0.3 percent “success” rate. Twelve men miraculously endowed with power from the Holy Ghost, preaching the Word of God to the lost of Jerusalem that day, were able to “save” 0.3 percent of the people there that day. That is 3 out of 1000 people. Yes! The Day of Pentecost was indeed a resounding success, but not because of the numbers of people who obeyed. It was because the Apostles did what God said. They were faithful to the words of Christ; they preached the Word of God. They planted indeed, but God gave the increase. The increase to the tune of (if the numbers are correct) 0.3 percent.
Is it the missionary’s job to save the world?
Is it the missionary’s job to save the world? Well, as much as it is any man’s job to save the world. Are we “responsible” for the saving of others? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, if you are asking if it is his job to teach the lost. But, ultimately, it is my opinion, that it is not our job to “save” the world. Our job is to sow the seed. To cast as much seed as we can out onto the different soils. But, I cannot control how many This contribution is made by: I would like this donation to be Name:__________________ listed in the Mission as Address:________________ (circle one) ________________________ Appreciation-Honor-Memorial Birthday-Anniversary I would like to help spread the other ________________ In the name of: ______________ Gospel with a donation Monthly - Quarterly - Annually Please send acknowledgement to: Name:_____________________ Address:___________________ Mail to: Truth For The World-P. O. Box 5048-Duluth, GA 30096
Taking Souls from Hearing to Heaven
people will obey. Now, before you get your stones out to throw at me, let me clarify. All Christians are responsible for saving the world, in that it is our job to stand and warn; it is our job to proclaim the glorious Gospel of Jesus to all that we can. We indeed take an active role in “saving” the lost, but, ultimately it is not my decision to make, as to whether someone else obeys the Truth or not. How encouraged I have been through the years to read Paul’s statement as found in 1 Corinthians 1:17, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel….” Please understand, I am not de-emphasizing the importance of baptism. Without baptism in order to have his sins remitted, no man can be saved (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:15-16; 1 Peter 3:21). The point I am making is that Paul was sent to preach. It was up to the individual who heard his words to obey or not obey. Paul could not MAKE anyone obey. How could Paul be held responsible if he went to a city to preach, and yet not a single soul would obey? Was Paul successful as a missionary? Indeed, but not based upon his “numbers.” Rather his success was based upon his obedience in preaching the Gospel. Jesus himself could not MAKE anyone obey. Did Jesus preach to the Jews? Was he considered successful in his ministry on this earth or not? Notice what Jesus said concerning the Jews. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!” Luke 13:34. Jesus wanted the Jews to obey. He preached to them; He had “Bible Studies” with them, and yet, He says they simply refused to obey. I dare say, that if Jesus were a missionary in some churches today, that even He would be considered a failure by them. Friends, brethren, if our Lord could not make anyone obey, if inspired Paul could only preach the Word of God and leave it up to the people to obey or disobey, then how can we expect even more from our missionaries? The fact is that we cannot MAKE anyone do anything. I know of parents who (when they are honest) will admit that they cannot even make their children obey. A spouse cannot make his or her significant other stay faithful to him. So, how can we as a church send out a missionary and expect that he needs to have “x” amount of people to obey, or else he is not “successful,” and we end up dropping his support? When we place ungodly expectations on our missionaries, we end up being frustrated with them, they end up being frustrated, and in the end, souls are lost because we have set up a false standard of success. It is the missionary’s job to preach the gospel, to sow the seed (the Word of God, Luke 8:11) when and where he can, and to water the plants that are already in his “garden.” And leave it to God to give the increase. May God help us to better understand the truth concerning our missionaries, their work, and the struggles they go through. And may we never hold them to a different standard than the standard that God has established in His Holy Word.
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Taking Souls from Hearing to Heaven
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Polishing the Pulpit
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PTP 20 1 Augu 2 s t 1 7 -23
We will be at Polishing the Pulpit in Sevierville, TN. Mark your calendars for August 17-23 and make sure you come by our booth! See some of our equipment, pick up tracts and other material, and maybe even win a giveaway. Check out our Facebook page for more details as August approaches!
Taking Souls from Hearing to Heaven