Day Thirty-Six - Made for a Mission
Mr. Warren speaks of his purposes as though each one were most important. This trend is continued now as he takes up discussion of his fifth purpose: missions. “You were made for a mission,” he declares (p. 281). “Nothing else you do will ever matter as much…” he assures us. (p.284) Throughout this book we have been presented with a series of various things, each one of which in its turn was presented as the “most important” thing, than which nothing matters more. Such a procedure guarantees the deficiency of the presentation, for the accuracy of any one assertion of preeminent importance only proves the spuriousness of all other such assertions. Of course, it is possible that all such assertions are mutually inaccurate. Mr. Warren’s current assertion is that our mission is that which matters most, indeed, that our mission is that for which we were made.
By mission Mr. Warren means outreach to the world. He explains, “Your ministry is your service to believers, and your mission is your service to unbelievers.” (p. 281) There is no doubt that Christ has mandated the church’s mission to the world. However, considerable discussion may be undertaken concerning the particulars of this mission. Of what does such a mission consist? What is its nature and message? Mr. Warren elaborates his view of the mission of the church. “The mission Jesus had while on earth is now our mission because we are the Body of Christ. What he did in his physical body we are to continue as his spiritual body, the church. What is that mission? Introduce people to God!” (p. 282) Again he says, “Your mission is a continuation of Jesus’ mission on earth. As his followers, we are to continue what Jesus started.”
In Mr. Warren’s view there is a single mission of the church, which is the continuation of the single mission of Jesus. This mission he describes in the most nebulous terms as, “Introduce people to God.” However, there is a problem inherent in this presentation of the matter. It was Mr. Warren’s concern to characterize Jesus as devoting His whole life to His mission, as he now calls the church to devote herself to this same mission. In this connection he cites Jesus’ saying in John 19:20, “It is finished,” as a concluding “bookend” of a “well-lived, purpose-driven life.” (p. 282) Such a text is very useful in demonstrating that Jesus was occupied with His mission to the very end, however, it suggests to the reader that His mission was “finished,” i.e. accomplished. How, then, can the church be charged with continuing a mission that is “finished”? Mr. Warren does not entertain such a question. At the top of page 282 he cites Jesus declaring that His mission is “finished,” and near the bottom of the same page he urges the church “to continue what Jesus started.” Was Jesus’ work finished, so that we cannot possibly continue it? Or, did Jesus begin a work that now is our responsibility to continue? This dilemma is guaranteed by an outlook that presumes a simple singularity of Jesus’ mission. But, is this singularity warranted? A survey of the biblical texts reveals the plurality of Jesus’ works. In one sense He started a work that we are to continue. In another sense He completed a work that is utterly unique in human history and that cannot be replicated or continued. Mr. Warren’s discussion suffers gravely from his failure to acknowledge this distinction.
First, let us look at the sense in which the church must continue the work that Jesus started. As we survey the Gospels, we see a variety of activities in the life of Christ. He taught the multitudes, performed signs and wonders, proclaimed the Kingdom of God, healed diseases and infirmities, debated with Scribes and Pharisees. Peter summarized such activity by saying that Jesus “went about doing good.” (Acts 10:38) Peter also said that Jesus was an example, and that we ought to “follow in His steps.” (I Pet. 2:21) Jesus Himself said, “…he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.” (Jn. 14:12) Surely, not only is it possible that we continue this work of Jesus - we are commanded to do so. The church, like Jesus, must “go about doing good.” There is much good that can and must be done in teaching, healing, proclaiming, and even in debating with the established religious and political leaders of the day. This Jesus did, and He calls us to do these works and even greater works. Supremely, there is the work of the church in bearing witness to Christ and proclaiming His Gospel throughout the earth. (Mat 28:18-20, Acts 1:8) It is in contemplation of this latter work that we turn to consider the unique work of Jesus, that is finished, accomplished, and cannot be continued.
Jesus spoke at length with His disciples at the last supper, instructing them and encouraging them in many things. Just prior to going out and being apprehended by the Roman cohort, He concluded with a lengthy prayer to the Father on their behalf. John 17:4 is in the preamble of this prayer. Jesus prayed, “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do.” Here there can be no mistake. Jesus plainly declares that the work itself is finished. It is “accomplished.” The term in the original Greek is a derivative of telos, which means end in the sense of fulfillment. Another derivative of telos occurs also in John 19:28, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I am thirsty’” It is two verses later that He utters “It is finished,” which also employs a derivative of telos. Clearly, Jesus refers to a finished, completed, fulfilled, accomplished work - a work that the Father had given Him to do, and that He glorified the Father by accomplishing. There is no sense in which His followers will “continue” this work. What is this work? It is His work of Atonement whereby He redeemed us from our sins.
Mr. Warren speaks only generally, singly of Jesus’ work in the body. Says he, “What he did in his physical body we are to continue as his spiritual body, the church.” (p. 282) As noted above, there is much good that Jesus did in the flesh that He calls us to continue doing. However, consideration of such things hardly exhausts the works He accomplished in the flesh, and disregards that work for which the Father sent Him into the world: the redemption of His people from their sins. In speaking of the works that Jesus accomplished in the flesh, it is a grave injustice to omit propitiation for sin. Paul said, “He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death.” (Col. 1:22) Peter said, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.” (I Pet. 2:24) The finished work that Jesus accomplished in His body was to bear our sins upon the cross. This is a completed work, meaning that redemption is an accomplished fact. There is no sense in which the church may “continue” this work, meaning that there is nothing the church or any man can add to the work of redemption.
In the most charitable light, a call for the church to “continue” the work that Jesus “started” has reference to various relief efforts of teaching, feeding and healing. However, in support of his call, Mr. Warren cites five texts of Scripture (Mat. 28:19-20, Mk. 16:15, Lk. 24:47, Jn. 20:21, Acts 1:8) in which Jesus charges His disciples with bearing witness to Him throughout the world and making disciples of all the nations. This preaching of the Gospel is not a work that Jesus “started” and that we are to “continue.” Rather, it is predicated upon the work that Jesus “finished” upon the cross, in testimony whereof He rose up from the dead. Mr. Warren’s idea of church missions is so ill-defined that everything the church might do, as everything he characterizes Jesus as having done, falls under the single umbrella of “introduce people to God.” Such a view necessarily fails to understand the biblical truth of these things, for it either suggests that Jesus’ mandate to the Apostles was to “go about doing good,” or else it suggests that He began a work on the cross that now we are to continue. Either way, the truth of the matter cannot be rigorously understood or applied. Mr. Warren’s nebulous generalities fail properly to distinguish the work that the church continues to do from the work that Jesus accomplished and completed.
The basic premise that is implied in the phrase “introduce people to God” is that some kind of estrangement exists between Man and God such that both mutually yearn for the other and such that both would benefit from an introduction. Repeatedly, we have seen Mr. Warren suggest just such an estrangement in prior passages of this book. We have seen that he represents Man’s basic problem as being “disconnected” from God and thereby wandering through life without a purpose, but that God wishes to give us a “fresh start.” (p. 28) He represents God’s word as a “view of life” that the Bible “offers” for our consideration. (p. 42) He told us that the reason Jesus came to earth is so we could “fully understand God’s glory.” (p. 54) He told us that the only way of pleasing God is by being ourselves. (p. 75) He told us that God so benefits from the enjoyment we provide that He would rather die than to live without us. (p. 79) He assures us that, “God doesn’t expect you to be perfect,” (p. 92) and instead maintains that, “God is not mad at you; he’s mad about you.” (p. 98) Eventually he comes around to saying that our estrangement from God is “normal” and even “absolutely vital for the development of your faith.” (p. 109) Of course, Mr. Warren assures, God is not really distant, but only seems distant. But we have the power to block his grace, he tells us. (p. 148) And so, he maintains, “God waits for you to act first.” (p. 175) After all, he asserts that God is dependent upon circumstances. (p. 193) Further, he declares that the core of Christianity is “thinking of others” (p. 183) and that the significance of the Incarnation was that Christ “enters into our suffering.” (p. 199)
The sort of world that Mr. Warren imagines is one in which God and Man share an essential correlativity as they struggle to establish and to develop a “relationship.” Mr. Warren assures us that, “God wants to be your best friend.” (p. 85) He characterizes the man without God as wandering aimlessly through life nobly searching for something to fill the void. He characterizes God as yearning for a “relationship” with such a Man, but able to help him only so far as Man will “allow” Him to do so. According to this outlook, Man, the searcher, eagerly would embrace the truth if it should come along, and needs only an “introduction” to a “god” who equally eagerly awaits Man to act first, so his power can be “released.” In Mr. Warren’s scheme of things, Jesus was the expert in making these “introductions.” This is the work that Mr. Warren says Jesus “started” and now the church must “continue.” But, such an outlook does not faithfully embrace the identity of Christ or the purpose of His coming. In order to speak truly of Christ’s mission on the earth, one must emphasize His supreme purpose to bear the sins of His people in His body upon the cross. Omission of this emphasis in this chapter is consistent with Mr. Warren’s failure to come to terms with sin at many points throughout this volume. To be sure, mention of sin in various contexts is sprinkled here and there in the text. On page 112 he declares that, “Jesus took all of mankind’s sin and guilt on himself.” However, what Mr. Warren has to say about sin in this book does not fit systematically into the bulk of his remarks, which represent a studied avoidance of the subject.
In reality, the work of Christ is markedly different from what Mr. Warren portrays. Biblically, God is the Creator of all reality and so providentially controls whatsoever comes to pass in reality. The estrangement of Man from God came about as the result of sin, which is defined as the breaking of God’s covenant and violation of His law. As sinner, Man does not merely miss out on the benefits of a “relationship” with God - he comes under the wrath of God for his sin. As a result of sin, Man not merely becomes estranged from God - he becomes the enemy of God. The work of God in Christ was to redeem His people from their sins, which He accomplished in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We, who were God’s enemies, have been reconciled to God. Rather than something to avoid mentioning - or to mention only terms of sentimental platitudes - the fact of sin is something that ought to be faced squarely. Because of the fact of sin, our state of corruption, decline, decay, and eventually death is not a normal condition that is to be accepted as just “a part of life.” The only way of struggling against disease, moral corruption, and death is to acknowledge that these things are no part of the original Creation ideal, and have reality now only as a result of sin. Apart from acknowledging the fact of sin, things such as disease, corruption and death can only be regarded as aspects of the normal human condition. Avoiding or denying the fact of sin leaves one in no position to embrace the remedy for sin in the work of God in Christ. What God did in Christ was to avert His wrath - due us because of our sin - away from us and onto Christ. This was the work that Christ accomplished in His body. To characterize such as work as “introduce people to God” not only fails to honor the true deepness and seriousness of this work, but it also cheapens this work in the most worldly way. To suggest that this was a work that Jesus merely “started” and is up to us to “continue” is to misunderstand this work on the most fundamental level. To omit contemplation of this work in deference to those other works of Christ that the church indeed must continue is to misunderstand on the most basic level the ultimate reason for the incarnation of Christ.
By mission Mr. Warren means outreach to the world. He explains, “Your ministry is your service to believers, and your mission is your service to unbelievers.” (p. 281) There is no doubt that Christ has mandated the church’s mission to the world. However, considerable discussion may be undertaken concerning the particulars of this mission. Of what does such a mission consist? What is its nature and message? Mr. Warren elaborates his view of the mission of the church. “The mission Jesus had while on earth is now our mission because we are the Body of Christ. What he did in his physical body we are to continue as his spiritual body, the church. What is that mission? Introduce people to God!” (p. 282) Again he says, “Your mission is a continuation of Jesus’ mission on earth. As his followers, we are to continue what Jesus started.”
In Mr. Warren’s view there is a single mission of the church, which is the continuation of the single mission of Jesus. This mission he describes in the most nebulous terms as, “Introduce people to God.” However, there is a problem inherent in this presentation of the matter. It was Mr. Warren’s concern to characterize Jesus as devoting His whole life to His mission, as he now calls the church to devote herself to this same mission. In this connection he cites Jesus’ saying in John 19:20, “It is finished,” as a concluding “bookend” of a “well-lived, purpose-driven life.” (p. 282) Such a text is very useful in demonstrating that Jesus was occupied with His mission to the very end, however, it suggests to the reader that His mission was “finished,” i.e. accomplished. How, then, can the church be charged with continuing a mission that is “finished”? Mr. Warren does not entertain such a question. At the top of page 282 he cites Jesus declaring that His mission is “finished,” and near the bottom of the same page he urges the church “to continue what Jesus started.” Was Jesus’ work finished, so that we cannot possibly continue it? Or, did Jesus begin a work that now is our responsibility to continue? This dilemma is guaranteed by an outlook that presumes a simple singularity of Jesus’ mission. But, is this singularity warranted? A survey of the biblical texts reveals the plurality of Jesus’ works. In one sense He started a work that we are to continue. In another sense He completed a work that is utterly unique in human history and that cannot be replicated or continued. Mr. Warren’s discussion suffers gravely from his failure to acknowledge this distinction.
First, let us look at the sense in which the church must continue the work that Jesus started. As we survey the Gospels, we see a variety of activities in the life of Christ. He taught the multitudes, performed signs and wonders, proclaimed the Kingdom of God, healed diseases and infirmities, debated with Scribes and Pharisees. Peter summarized such activity by saying that Jesus “went about doing good.” (Acts 10:38) Peter also said that Jesus was an example, and that we ought to “follow in His steps.” (I Pet. 2:21) Jesus Himself said, “…he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.” (Jn. 14:12) Surely, not only is it possible that we continue this work of Jesus - we are commanded to do so. The church, like Jesus, must “go about doing good.” There is much good that can and must be done in teaching, healing, proclaiming, and even in debating with the established religious and political leaders of the day. This Jesus did, and He calls us to do these works and even greater works. Supremely, there is the work of the church in bearing witness to Christ and proclaiming His Gospel throughout the earth. (Mat 28:18-20, Acts 1:8) It is in contemplation of this latter work that we turn to consider the unique work of Jesus, that is finished, accomplished, and cannot be continued.
Jesus spoke at length with His disciples at the last supper, instructing them and encouraging them in many things. Just prior to going out and being apprehended by the Roman cohort, He concluded with a lengthy prayer to the Father on their behalf. John 17:4 is in the preamble of this prayer. Jesus prayed, “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do.” Here there can be no mistake. Jesus plainly declares that the work itself is finished. It is “accomplished.” The term in the original Greek is a derivative of telos, which means end in the sense of fulfillment. Another derivative of telos occurs also in John 19:28, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I am thirsty’” It is two verses later that He utters “It is finished,” which also employs a derivative of telos. Clearly, Jesus refers to a finished, completed, fulfilled, accomplished work - a work that the Father had given Him to do, and that He glorified the Father by accomplishing. There is no sense in which His followers will “continue” this work. What is this work? It is His work of Atonement whereby He redeemed us from our sins.
Mr. Warren speaks only generally, singly of Jesus’ work in the body. Says he, “What he did in his physical body we are to continue as his spiritual body, the church.” (p. 282) As noted above, there is much good that Jesus did in the flesh that He calls us to continue doing. However, consideration of such things hardly exhausts the works He accomplished in the flesh, and disregards that work for which the Father sent Him into the world: the redemption of His people from their sins. In speaking of the works that Jesus accomplished in the flesh, it is a grave injustice to omit propitiation for sin. Paul said, “He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death.” (Col. 1:22) Peter said, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.” (I Pet. 2:24) The finished work that Jesus accomplished in His body was to bear our sins upon the cross. This is a completed work, meaning that redemption is an accomplished fact. There is no sense in which the church may “continue” this work, meaning that there is nothing the church or any man can add to the work of redemption.
In the most charitable light, a call for the church to “continue” the work that Jesus “started” has reference to various relief efforts of teaching, feeding and healing. However, in support of his call, Mr. Warren cites five texts of Scripture (Mat. 28:19-20, Mk. 16:15, Lk. 24:47, Jn. 20:21, Acts 1:8) in which Jesus charges His disciples with bearing witness to Him throughout the world and making disciples of all the nations. This preaching of the Gospel is not a work that Jesus “started” and that we are to “continue.” Rather, it is predicated upon the work that Jesus “finished” upon the cross, in testimony whereof He rose up from the dead. Mr. Warren’s idea of church missions is so ill-defined that everything the church might do, as everything he characterizes Jesus as having done, falls under the single umbrella of “introduce people to God.” Such a view necessarily fails to understand the biblical truth of these things, for it either suggests that Jesus’ mandate to the Apostles was to “go about doing good,” or else it suggests that He began a work on the cross that now we are to continue. Either way, the truth of the matter cannot be rigorously understood or applied. Mr. Warren’s nebulous generalities fail properly to distinguish the work that the church continues to do from the work that Jesus accomplished and completed.
The basic premise that is implied in the phrase “introduce people to God” is that some kind of estrangement exists between Man and God such that both mutually yearn for the other and such that both would benefit from an introduction. Repeatedly, we have seen Mr. Warren suggest just such an estrangement in prior passages of this book. We have seen that he represents Man’s basic problem as being “disconnected” from God and thereby wandering through life without a purpose, but that God wishes to give us a “fresh start.” (p. 28) He represents God’s word as a “view of life” that the Bible “offers” for our consideration. (p. 42) He told us that the reason Jesus came to earth is so we could “fully understand God’s glory.” (p. 54) He told us that the only way of pleasing God is by being ourselves. (p. 75) He told us that God so benefits from the enjoyment we provide that He would rather die than to live without us. (p. 79) He assures us that, “God doesn’t expect you to be perfect,” (p. 92) and instead maintains that, “God is not mad at you; he’s mad about you.” (p. 98) Eventually he comes around to saying that our estrangement from God is “normal” and even “absolutely vital for the development of your faith.” (p. 109) Of course, Mr. Warren assures, God is not really distant, but only seems distant. But we have the power to block his grace, he tells us. (p. 148) And so, he maintains, “God waits for you to act first.” (p. 175) After all, he asserts that God is dependent upon circumstances. (p. 193) Further, he declares that the core of Christianity is “thinking of others” (p. 183) and that the significance of the Incarnation was that Christ “enters into our suffering.” (p. 199)
The sort of world that Mr. Warren imagines is one in which God and Man share an essential correlativity as they struggle to establish and to develop a “relationship.” Mr. Warren assures us that, “God wants to be your best friend.” (p. 85) He characterizes the man without God as wandering aimlessly through life nobly searching for something to fill the void. He characterizes God as yearning for a “relationship” with such a Man, but able to help him only so far as Man will “allow” Him to do so. According to this outlook, Man, the searcher, eagerly would embrace the truth if it should come along, and needs only an “introduction” to a “god” who equally eagerly awaits Man to act first, so his power can be “released.” In Mr. Warren’s scheme of things, Jesus was the expert in making these “introductions.” This is the work that Mr. Warren says Jesus “started” and now the church must “continue.” But, such an outlook does not faithfully embrace the identity of Christ or the purpose of His coming. In order to speak truly of Christ’s mission on the earth, one must emphasize His supreme purpose to bear the sins of His people in His body upon the cross. Omission of this emphasis in this chapter is consistent with Mr. Warren’s failure to come to terms with sin at many points throughout this volume. To be sure, mention of sin in various contexts is sprinkled here and there in the text. On page 112 he declares that, “Jesus took all of mankind’s sin and guilt on himself.” However, what Mr. Warren has to say about sin in this book does not fit systematically into the bulk of his remarks, which represent a studied avoidance of the subject.
In reality, the work of Christ is markedly different from what Mr. Warren portrays. Biblically, God is the Creator of all reality and so providentially controls whatsoever comes to pass in reality. The estrangement of Man from God came about as the result of sin, which is defined as the breaking of God’s covenant and violation of His law. As sinner, Man does not merely miss out on the benefits of a “relationship” with God - he comes under the wrath of God for his sin. As a result of sin, Man not merely becomes estranged from God - he becomes the enemy of God. The work of God in Christ was to redeem His people from their sins, which He accomplished in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We, who were God’s enemies, have been reconciled to God. Rather than something to avoid mentioning - or to mention only terms of sentimental platitudes - the fact of sin is something that ought to be faced squarely. Because of the fact of sin, our state of corruption, decline, decay, and eventually death is not a normal condition that is to be accepted as just “a part of life.” The only way of struggling against disease, moral corruption, and death is to acknowledge that these things are no part of the original Creation ideal, and have reality now only as a result of sin. Apart from acknowledging the fact of sin, things such as disease, corruption and death can only be regarded as aspects of the normal human condition. Avoiding or denying the fact of sin leaves one in no position to embrace the remedy for sin in the work of God in Christ. What God did in Christ was to avert His wrath - due us because of our sin - away from us and onto Christ. This was the work that Christ accomplished in His body. To characterize such as work as “introduce people to God” not only fails to honor the true deepness and seriousness of this work, but it also cheapens this work in the most worldly way. To suggest that this was a work that Jesus merely “started” and is up to us to “continue” is to misunderstand this work on the most fundamental level. To omit contemplation of this work in deference to those other works of Christ that the church indeed must continue is to misunderstand on the most basic level the ultimate reason for the incarnation of Christ.
posted by S. C. Mooney at 9:32 PM
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