Missiology Through Scripture: Declaring God’s Perfect Rule
“Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.’”
– Psalm 96:10
This passage was once used to assert the earth (and not the sun) is at the center of the universe. Instead, this verse contrasts the instability of life apart from God and the stability found only in Christ. The unchanging nature of God provides our certainty. Our lands are not established on a moral or ethical foundation, but on the never changing characteristics of the immutable Yahweh.
God has created the nations, governed the nations, and will judge the nations. Through his purposeful actions Christ will create stability and peace. God’s perfect justice will be the ruling force over all the nations. John Wesley said, “God hath now set up his kingdom in the world. The nations of the world shall by the means of it enjoy an established and lasting peace.” The psalmist declares the kingship of God over all the nations. Through God’s judgment and rule the nations will enjoy the perfect harmony found only in Christ.
The Lord has called his missionaries to go into the world and proclaim God’s perfect rule always has and always will be in place. The people are not to seek the fairness and goodness as determined by the world. The fairness which can only be found in the perfect rule of Christ is our eternal goal. A missionary is not to enter a new culture and declare to the people their culture and lifestyle is acceptable and perfectly laudable. Every culture, every government, every lifestyle which is void of Christ is detestable and sinful. Disciples of Christ do not seek to infuse Jesus into someone’s life to make it a little better. Our missionaries are to learn cultures, so they can reach the people within and teach their lifestyle, as it is, is an affront to the perfect God. Christ must not be a part of our life but must reign over every facet of our lives.
Mike Pettengill is a veteran MTW missionary and the director of MTW West Coast.
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SEE MOREPray for missionaries as they face a wide variety of stressors related to living and serving cross-culturally on the mission field.
Pray for current missionaries, future missionaries, sending churches, and donors to be willing to ask the question, "How could God use me?"
Pray for the church plant in Uganda and the many lives being changed there as people hear the the gospel of grace clearly for the first time.
Pray today for specific missionaries you know or who your church supports.
Pray for the lost in Sydney, Australia, a city filled with people from many nations. Pray for Koreans, Indian, Nepalese, Lebanese, Vietnamese, and others who live in Sydney and don't know Jesus.
Give thanks that God still calls workers into His harvest! Pray today for Chris Claburn, as he serves on a church-planting team in Bangkok, Thailand.
Pray for missionaries as they struggle with all the what-ifs of living abroad. Pray that God would alleviate fear and that they would remember He is with them.
Give thanks for and pray for MTW's ministry in Krakow, Poland. Thank God for the opportunity to open a field there.
Pray that churches would care well for missionaries on home ministry assignment, and that missionaries would tangibly feel God's love.
Pray for a new parish-style church in Bangkok, Thailand, where the missionaries and church members are able to live in close proximity to one another and more easily minister to the community around them.
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