The latest Master’s Seminary Journal has been posted online. According to the Editorial, the focus of the current issue ‘is global missions and the biblical charge to take the gospel to the ends of the earth’ (2).
A pdf of the journal can be downloaded here.
Iosif J. Zhakevich
Editorial: Proclaiming Christ to the Ends of the Earth
M. Scarborough
A Missions Imperative: Developing a Mature Church
Global missions has a unique place in the life of the Church and should not be deemphasized or confused with other Christian activities. Regrettably, even when the distinctness of the missionary calling is maintained, the importance of helping local churches develop to maturity is often overlooked. It is imperative that missionary candidates and their sending churches grasp the value of helping national churches become mature. However, not all who are called to overseas ministry will be suited to this unique and challenging role. Those who desire to minister to the local church and assist her in becoming healthier need to plan and prepare well. The missionary who can serve as a professor-pastor may be uniquely positioned to contribute to the development of mature churches.
Kyle C. Dunham
The Abrahamic Covenant as the Foundation for Missions
The strategic role played by the Abrahamic covenant as the expression of God’s saving intention for the nations is commonly accepted. Questions remain, however, as to the nature of the Abrahamic covenant and as to how the Abrahamic covenant relates to the task of missions. This study assesses the covenant in its linear disclosure across Genesis by positing four covenant stages that range from promise to confirmation with a concluding emphasis on blessing. Alongside this, the author suggests the terminology for the covenant within dispensational interpretation should move beyond the conditional/unconditional framework to understand it as a regulated royal grant guaranteed by God. In that the covenant carries direct and indirect relationships with other biblical covenants, this understanding sets the stage for the Abrahamic covenant’s role in later Scriptural revelation. As the foundation for God’s unfolding plan of redemption through its particularity, agency, and intention, the covenant serves as an impetus for Christian missions and affirms a continued role for Israel within a dispensational missiology.
Chris Burnett
The Missionary’s Guide to the Great Commission: An Exegetical Analysis
Few would dispute the foundational nature of the Great Commission to missions and missiology. This article seeks to provide a clear exegetical analysis of the Great Commission passages in the New Testament, focusing on Matthew 28:18–20 and supplementing it with the other texts. By considering these passages, Christ’s mandate to His Church becomes clear: to make disciples in the image of Christ with the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. This underlines the primacy of the Word of God, indispensable to the missionary’s task as he fulfills the mission appointed for him by Christ.
Jason S. DeRouchie
“Him We Proclaim!”: Paul’s Motivation, Means, and Mandate for Missions in Colossians 1:24–29
Cherif Arif
The Isaianic Influence on Paul’s Understanding of Israel’s Salvation and Restoration in Romans 11:26–27
This article explores the influence of Isaiah upon Paul’s theology of Israel’s future salvation and restoration. As Paul describes Israel’s rejection of the gospel, he details that this is a partial hardening, an observation he makes in light of Isaiah 24–27 and 59–60. These texts which recount the glorious future for Israel are woven together in Paul’s writing as he envisions a future hope because of God’s gracious choice. God will not abandon the people He has chosen but will redeem them and bring them to Himself. This glorious future stirs Paul to preach the gospel and devote himself to prayer, the essential tasks of the biblical missionary.
Brian Kinzel and Oleg Korotkiy
The Biblical Perspective on the Hatred of Israel and Its Implications for Antisemitism: To Be the Enemy of Israel Is to Be the Enemy of God
Hatred of Israel and modern-day antisemitism is anything but a new phenomenon. Though its presence has ebbed and flowed throughout history, it is as old as the nation of Israel. Understanding the biblical testimony about this malevolent hatred is essential. This analysis explores the biblical perspective on the hatred of Israel, asking and answering the fundamental question: Why has the nation of Israel been subject to such hatred throughout history? The Old and the New Testaments present both the historical and the spiritual roots of this hatred against God’s chosen people.
E.D. Burns
“The Conflict Is Upon Us”: Resisting Ecumenism and Hyper-Contextualization
Recent cultural trends have increased pressure on missionaries to contextualize the gospel in an ecumenical fashion that minimizes sound theology and does injustice to the Word of God. This article examines the origins of these trends and their impact upon missions theology today. Rather than giving way to societal pressures, missionaries are called to prioritize the work of evangelistic proclamation in a manner faithful to Scripture. Missionaries should live out the exhortation given by the Apostle Paul in their preaching of the truth: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor 16:14).
Dave Deuel
Disability, Weakness, and Prayer in Mission
Why would God give missionaries weakness? Should disability be viewed as limiting involvement in missions? These questions arise in the fallen world that we inhabit. However, a biblical missiology recognizes the inherent value of weakness to the pursuit of missions according to the plan of God. Weakness humbles the proud and self-dependent missionaries, forcing them to rely upon God alone. It is a means of success, not failure; for when Christians are weak, then they are strong. This article examines the role of disability and weakness in the God-exalting work of missions.
Scott N. Callaham
A Biblical Proposal for Theological Education in Mission
Theological education is essentially absent from most missiological discussion, despite standing at the center of the Great Commission. In response, founded upon trust in the full authority and sufficiency of all of Scripture, this article presents a biblical proposal for theological education in mission. This call to action lays out a biblical vision for the theological education of missionaries and those whom they serve on the mission field. May the church return to its mission and teach all the nations to keep all the commands of Jesus, to the end of the age.
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