TO A HAMMER, EVERYTHING IS A NAIL?

Have you ever heard or thought that? “Everything is a nail to a hammer”? That may be what I have become when it comes to The Mission of the Church, but I hope that is not the case. (before going further, please click on the word, Church, for an accurate Biblical definition and description).

The Church is the Bride of Christ, made up of the children of God – Christians. And, the Church is on a mission.

If I asked YOU, what is the mission of the Church, what would you say?

Here is what some are saying:

The Gospel Coalition says, for the Evangelical, “The mission of the church is the task given by God for the people of God to accomplish in the world. In simplest terms, the mission of the church is the Great Commission.” (Kevin DeYoung, Presbyterian, PCA).

Bible.Org says, for the Evangelicals, “The Church’s Mission Is to Worship God; the chief mission God has given the church is to praise and worship him”. (credit, Gregory Brown, chaplain and professor at Handong Global University and the teaching pastor at Handong International Congregation.)

GotQuestions.Org (a prevalent Reformed view) says, “First, the mission of the church is to make disciples;  

“secondly, the mission of the church is to glorify Christ;

 “thirdly, the mission of the church is to build up the saints;

 “finally, the mission of the church is to know and love Christ so supremely as to represent Him and His values accurately and vividly to the world and serve people’s deepest needs in the way Christ Himself would meet them.

GOD HAS A PLAN AND A PURPOSE

God’s plan and purpose is revealed throughout scriptures. But you will have to step back from a myopic view of the Bible and study the long-view. What I mean is see the entire Bible as a panorama of what God has done and continues to do. The Purpose of God’s Eternal Plan is Perfection.  He is maturing and perfecting His people into His image, ultimately to live in Perfect harmony with Him and with one another, in a New and Perfect heaven and earth. This is not to be confused with the Mission of the Church.

Jesus explained the Mission, set the example, trained His disciples and sent them on His Mission.

Hear what Jesus says:

John 5:17, “But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

John 5:19, “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”

John 5:30, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent me.”

John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

BUILDING AN ARMY

Some say that Jesus has built an ‘army of the cross’. True enough, but it must be kept in the context that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (see Ephesians 6:12).

Jesus called His disciples and trained them in His ways.

Then, He sent them to call others to do the same. From these few,

God has raised up a Christian army of millions who have engaged the Mission.

From these few uneducated, common men, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, Jesus began His Church.

THE EARLY CHURCH WAS A MOVEMENT

From these humble beginnings, in or around A.D. 29 The Church of Jesus Christ, The Body of Christ, had no buildings, little money and no wealth. The Church was a Movement.

Matthew 16:18, says, “And, I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. verse 19. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” verse 20. Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ. 

Jesus said to make disciples; collect no money except to make your journey. Although the penalty for becoming a Christian was often death. The Church grew exponentially.

A.D. 49. The Church expanded into Greece. The Church became a philosophy to many. The Church grew and size and influence.

A.D. 313.  The Church expanded into Rome and it gained recognition. It grew in power and popularity. It obtained wealth, buildings, property and influence. It became an institution.

A.D. 380.  The Church expanded into Europe. It was becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It grew in wealth, stature, power and influence. It had become a culture.

A.D. 1607.  The Church reaches America.

Era	Estimated Christians
First century	500,000
Second century	2,000,000
Third century	5,000,000
Fourth century	10,000,000
Fifth century	15,000,000
Sixth century	20,000,000
Seventh century	24,000,000
Eighth century	30,000,000
Ninth century	40,000,000
Tenth century	50,000,000
Eleventh century	70,000,000
Twelfth century	80,000,000
Thirteenth century	75,000,000
Fourteenth century	80,000,000
Fifteenth century	100,000,000
Sixteenth century	125,000,000
Seventeenth century	155,000,000
Eighteenth century	200,000,000

 

The year 1900                                   558,000,000 (million)

The year 1970                                    1,216,131,000 (billion)

The year 2000                                  1,988,770,000 (billion)

The year 2023                                   2,604,381,000 (billion)

(reference since 1990 – from Gordon Cromwell University)

Nowadays, however, I see many church slogans, (i.e., their mission statements), that say things like “to know Jesus and to make Him known”, or “Give, Grow, Go”, or “To love Him and to be loved”, all good things. But the practice of these ‘mottos’, or slogans, are reflected in their dearth of making disciples via leading by example.

(Two small examples for you to consider: I was in a ‘discipleship training class’ in a local church and the ‘teacher’ made this remark, at the end of the class: “We are to go and make disciples, but if they don’t come to church they won’t get saved.” This reflects that the real attitude of most Christians is to ‘leave it up to the preacher. Another time in another church, the prevalent answers from a similar class was, “I would, but that is not my gift”. (Both now have declining memberships, which is sad. But is worse is they are not following the example and commandments of Jesus.)

If, by chance, you think or behave like the examples I have given, here is a ‘pin to burst your bubble’: Jesus says to ALL CHRISTIANS, that is, ALL HIS DISCIPLES, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Yes. Perhaps I am guilty of being that hammer, and yes, perhaps I do see all things as the nails that have the calling and the potential of evangelizing the entire world, until He returns – which is perhaps sooner that we might think.

Please listen, dear friends, the ‘glory days’ of America are coming to a rapid end. The safety and sanctuary of living in a predominantly Christian nation are over. If you doubt that or are hanging on to a hope that somehow some preacher or politician is going to lead us to revival, you will be grievously mistaken.

God says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Within this call to repentance, also is the inference for obedience to Him and His Word. James has reminded us that “faith without works is dead faith.” In other words, we must not just be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word, for it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Let’s pray for one another that we will find the courage, strength and willingness – each one of us as individuals – to join Jesus in the harvest fields, which are indeed ripe for the harvest in these last days!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young