Reason number two for why Christ-followers need to continue to engage in mission through personal going, sacrificial giving, and fervent praying is:

“Mission remains the only answer for humanity’s greatest and most urgent problem—it’s lostness.”

Why Mission? Humanity’s Only Hope.

Let’s be reminded of a few fundamental theological truths . . .

1.       Sin is universal.

Lest we forget, we are all sinners.  Now, what that means, to put it simply, is that none of us is perfect, we all fail.  Fact is, if we are honest, we will admit to great tendencies towards selfishness, hatred, pride, lust, envy, greed, and more.  I won’t even begin to talk about the good we fail to do out of our own self-centeredness. The Bible is clear and correct, “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (Rom. 3:23).

2.       Hell is real.

No, I’m not going to try to demonstrate empirically the reality of Hell.  I’ll leave that to others.  In various places in the Bible however, the fact is made clear that those who choose to live separated from their Creator in this life will continue to be separated from Him into eternity.  In particular, “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his might” (2Thes. 1:9).  Of course, I know that a lot of people hate this doctrine.  That’s fine, we can talk about it.  But we should all acknowledge that the doctrine is thoroughly Biblical.  Thus, if you want to believe the Bible, you’ve got to take Hell seriously.

3.       Jesus is the only way.

I know I’m getting really controversial now, but I’ll take my chances.  Besides, Jesus said it himself.  In His words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).   Some of His earliest followers said this about Him, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given to humanity by which we may be saved” (Acts 4:12).  I like that phrase, “Salvation is found is no one else.”  It’s almost like a challenge.  Go ahead and look.  Knock yourself out!  You won’t find salvation anywhere else.

4.       Proclaiming the message of Jesus is key.

The Apostle Paul asked, “How can they believe in whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear unless someone preaches to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:13-15).  Sounds so simple, I know.  The fact remains, God could have chosen any number of ways to get the message of Jesus out.  He could have written it in the sky, sent angelic messengers, or tattooed it on your chest.  Instead, he chose to spread the message through word-of-mouth.  He sent people like us.  He continues to send people like us.

5.       Missional living is commanded not suggested.

The final theological truth to consider here is that Jesus didn’t simply suggest that we engage in mission.  He commanded it.  The “Great Commission” (Matt. 28:18-20) is a command.  Christ commands us to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”

Of course, it’s one thing to say and affirm these Biblical truths, it is quite another to obey them and really care about those who don’t know Jesus Christ in a personal and saving way.  And since this post is already getting a bit long, I’ll leave that for another time.