Edgework

“Along with many Christians through the ages, I believe the news Jesus brings is ultimately good for all humanity” (Robert Corin Morris in “Provocative Grace, p. 106).

One of the first reactions people generally have when they hear about a gospel devoid of eternal damnation is that then there is no reason left to do mission in the world.

If that is how we think, have we caught the grand vision that God has for his world? Have we dared to believe that the message of the gospel is, in fact, about good news?

In “Surprised by Hope,” N.T. Wright summarizes both the content of the good news and our response to it as follows:

“I know that God’s new world of justice and joy, of hope for the whole earth, was launched when Jesus came out of the tomb on Easter morning, and I know that he calls his followers to live in him and by the power of his Spirit and so to be new creation people here and now, bringing signs of hope and symbols of the Kingdom to birth on earth as in heaven” (p.209).

In choosing to focus our attention on escaping this world, assigning it and its occupants to destruction, are we not aligning ourselves with the forces of sin and death? Without a vision of cosmic redemption, is our hope not diminished and our work for the Kingdom of God trivialized? And do we have anything to say or demonstrate to the world but doom and gloom?  That in the end Satan will mostly win? That individuals should prepare to escape the coming calamity?

I question whether it is acceptable to adopt such an orientation. If we do, we fail to see how those of us who believe fit into the grand scheme that God is bringing to fruition – when every knee shall bow to him and the whole world will find its default position in line with the original plan of God.

Robert Corin Morris says it this way in “Provocative Grace”:

“Salvation is not first and foremost about the afterlife but about gradually growing into God’s image and likeness, so that we can participate in the movement of God’s grace through the world” (p 108).

In a sense our personal destinies get swallowed up in this larger and grander vision. And our message to the world is that of a contemporary worship song:

“One day every tongue will confess you are God; One day every knee will bow,
Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose you now.”

So we call out to the world to join with us in experiencing the greater treasure of living kingdom lives for our God in anticipation of the restoration of all things in the future. We do not go around pronouncing damnation upon those who don’t come join us. We simply invite them to get in on the future blessing starting right now, even before the resurrection at the end of time.

N.T. Wright says that our message is clear and simple: “God is God. Jesus is Lord. The powers of evil have been defeated. God’s new world has already begun” (p. 227).

In his book, “Evangelism in a Multi-Faith Society,” Michael Green points out that even though first century Christians did not have a preoccupation with hell as eternal torment for the many, they nevertheless “…poured themselves out in preaching and teaching, in dialoguing and in persuading. Their zeal is one of the most wonderful things the world has ever witnessed” (p. 77).

So what motivated them if it was not the specter of eternal damnation for the many? Clark H. Pinnock, in “A Wideness in God’s Mercy,” suggests that their deepest motive was to see the kingdom come and God’s rule established. He states further that

“The fear of hell is not the primary motive for missions. The deepest motive of all is to see the kingdom come and God’s rule established” (p. 178).

Beyond that, many writers who hold out for a cosmic redemption in the end agree on at least four things that motivated early disciples to be involved in mission and recommend them as valid for us today as well.

1. Jesus gave his followers a clear command to go and make disciples. It is important to note that he did not send them out to rescue people from hell, but to make disciples of Christ who understand that Jesus is Lord and that they represent the future hope of the world.

2. Another reason was that the followers of Jesus were keenly aware of the devastation that accompanies those who do not follow Jesus. They understood that judgment is already present in a life alien to God and that there is the prospect of future judgment as well that would not be pleasant. They offered a better life both now and in the future.

3. There was a profound sense of indebtedness to preach the gospel of good news to Jews, Greeks and barbarians, as Paul put it in Romans 1:14-15.

4. Finally, Paul makes it abundantly clear in 2 Corinthians 5:14, that the supreme reason for being in mission is because of our love for Jesus. As Michael Green says, “They go because they have fallen in love with the great Lover. They go because they have been set free by the great Liberator. They love Him, and they want that love to reach others. It is far too good to keep to themselves” (p.81).

And finally, in “What the Bible Really Says About Hell,” Randy Klassen argues against using the threat of hell as a motivation for missions because it turns many away from the true gospel. He suggests that “Evangelism does better with a presentation of the God Jesus revealed as the Father of grace and love. This is the God I want to follow and will present to others” (p. 104).