W
hat is the
passion and
priority of
your life? Only One
Person is worthy of
your passionate
devotion; only his
mission is worth living
and dying for.
For over thirty years Appalachian
Bible College has summarized
its purpose in a concise yet bold
³¾“Ē³Ł³Ł“Ēā
Because Life is for Service
.
What reality could support such
a sweeping and consuming
declaration? Simply put, life is for
service because The Servantāthe
supreme Servant, Jesusāis our life
(Col. 3:4).
Therefore, a life of loving
enslavement to ChristāGodās lowest
and greatest Servantāwill be a life
surrendered to his mission. In other
words, if we are truly passionate for
Christ, then his gospel service will
be our priority (Phil. 1:20ā21, 3:8).
The Servant: Our
Passion
For God so loved the world...
These
familiar words from John 3:16
introduce Godās radical rescue
mission into the worldāthe self-
sacriļ¬ce of his beloved Son, Jesus.
Although many in the world reject
Godās Son, those who do receive him
are supernaturally born again by
his Spirit and brought into a loving
relationship with him (John 1:10ā13,
3:5ā8, 17:26).
Several places in Johnās Gospel
describe this personal relationship
to Christ in terms of a relationship
to his word. For example, although
many turned back, Jesusā followers
confessed their genuine belief: āTo
whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal lifeā (6:66ā69).
True disciples like this āabide inā
Jesusā word (8:31), and his āwords
abide inā them (15:3, 7). These
fruitful branches show their love
for the true Vine by keeping his
commandments, which ļ¬lls them
with his joy and sets them apart
from the world for Christās mission
(14:15, 15:9ā14, 17:17ā18).
Is Jesus your passion? Perhaps, in
alignment with Johnās Gospel, we
should ask: āDo you love and keep
Jesusā words?ā A fervent love for
Christ, demonstrated by abiding
in his word, is the wellspring of
a fruitful passion for his global
mission.
His Mission: Our
Priority
True disciples, who love Jesusā word,
will ļ¬nd that his mission is their
priority. So, what is the mission of
Jesus for his Church, as found in the
Bible?
Christās doxological mission for this age
is to build his Church by the advance of
his gospel, realized in the maturation
of converted sinners who are gathered
in reproducing local churches and sent
to make disciples among all nations.
Letās develop the parts of this
»å±šļ¬n¾±³Ł¾±“Ē²Ō.
1)
Christās doxological mission for this
age:
In this Church age, Christ is
glorifying the Father (doxology) by
giving eternal life to as many as the
Father has given him (John 17:1ā5,
Eph. 3:21).
2)
To build his Church
by the advance of his gospel:
Jesus promised to build his Church,
founded on his divine identity,
death, and resurrection, and
proclaimed through the dedicated
cross-bearing of his followers (Matt.
16:16ā28).
3)
Realized in the maturation of
converted sinners:
The Lord builds his
Church as sinners repent and believe
the gospel and as these saints grow
THE SERVANT & HIS MISSION
Our Passion and Priority for Gospel Missions
By Jonathan Rinker
ā...if we are truly
passionate for
Christ, then his
gospel service will
be our priority.ā