Quote 715
There are two things in the entire history of missions that have been absolutely central. One, obviously, is the Bible itself. The other is the printed page. There is absolutely nothing else, in terms of mission methodology that outranks the importance of the printed page. Meetings come and go and personalities appear and are gone. But, the printed page continues to speak.
Ralph Winter
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/if-truth-be-not-diffused-error-will-be2.5K
Other Quotes from the Author & Topic
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't.
Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak. Churches that are not centred on the exaltation of the majesty and beauty of God will scarcely kindle a fervent desire to declare his glory among the nations (Ps 96:3)Let the Nations Be Glad (36)
Missionary work is church work. It is not a
steady stream of glamorous and exciting events, but a slow and steady perseverance in preaching, teaching, evangelizing, and shepherding.HC Issue 62
The chief end of missions is not the salvation of men but the glory of God.
Instead of asking how we can reach the unreached, we ought to be asking, "How can the unreached be reached?"Beyond Ourselves
If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is in the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world.
Less than one penny of every dollar of Christian giving to all causes goes toward pioneer church planting among the least-reached people groups.Beyond Ourselves
Remember, Jesus never lies. As surely as he is God, he will finish the mission.FinishTheMission
The New Testament does not present a come-see religion, but a go-tell religion.Let the Nations Be Glad (29)
If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die.
and though we living in a civilized country where Christianity is protected by law, are not called to suffer these things while we continue here, yet I question whether all are justified in staying here, while so many are perishing without means of grace in other lands.
We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.
This substitute for the Great Commission is a deception cooked up by the god of this world. Satan's half-truths often cause guilt and even compassion. Yet this lie has caused millions to believe that meeting physical needs is somehow equated with preaching the Gospel of Christ. Regrettably, many missions today are doing just about everything to help the human race except preaching and making disciples
Missionary service is based on intimate resting in God. Only as we rely on God to do the work is the task accomplished-for it is not our work, but His!Come lets reach the World (93)
Ministries of compassion are temporal remedies at best. The Church is not here to make this present world better, because this present world is condemned. And Jesus never commissioned His Church to clean up this world. He commissioned His Church to snatch men's hearts out of this world and set them on a path to another world-an eternal, spiritual world.Because Jesus Did
The Great Commission, repeated five times in the Gospels and Acts, stresses preaching and teaching as the main activities of the first missionaries. Obviously, social action and compassionate ministries should not deviate us from the priority of preaching the Gospel and calling sinners to repentance.Come, Lets reach the world (73)
The Great Commission is not a mandate for political liberation. Disciple making is not charity, although it may involve charity part of the time. So, although we as individuals and local churches must speak out and be involved in the work of reconciliation and compassion, that doesn't mean we should call it 'missions'.Come, Lets Reach the World
'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face -- whose mercy you have professed to obey -- and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.
Biblical missions is incarnational. It is about sending people to people. When God desired to reach out to humanity, He did not write the gospel in the sky or send archangels to carry it to every corner of the globe. He robed Himself in flesh and became a man. Now He sends us in similar fashion: flesh and blood to flesh and blood.Heart Cry Magazine Issue 70
It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home.
Answering a student's question, "Will the heathen who have not heard the Gospel be saved?" thus, "It is more a question with me whether we who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved."
The printed page is a missionary that can go anywhere and do so at minimum cost. It enters closed lands and reaches all strata of society. It does not grow weary. It needs no furlough. It lives longer than any missionary. It never gets ill. It penetrates through the mind to the heart and conscience. It has and is producing results everywhere. It has often lain dormant yet retained its life and bloomed years later.http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/if-truth-be-not-diffused-error-will-be
America today is a "save yourself" society if there ever was one. But does it really work? The underdeveloped societies suffer from one set of diseases: tuberculosis, malnutrition, pneumonia, parasites, typhoid, cholera, typhus, etc. Affluent America has virtually invented a whole new set of diseases: obesity, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, strokes, lung cancer, venereal disease, cirrhosis of the liver, drug addiction, alcoholism, divorce, battered children, suicide, murder. Take your choice. Labor-saving machines have turned out to be body-killing devices. Our affluence has allowed both mobility and isolation of the nuclear family, and as a result, our divorce courts, our prisons and our mental institutions are flooded. In saving ourselves we have nearly lost ourselves.
Top Authors
1. Charles Spurgeon (115)
2. J.C. Ryle (111)
3. Thomas Watson (108)
4. John Calvin (83)
5. John Piper (82)
6. J.I. Packer (76)
7. George Swinnock (69)
8. Louis Berkhof (62)
9. A.W. Pink (60)
10. C.S. Lewis (51)
11. Francis Schaeffer (48)
12. Gerald Bray (47)
13. B.B. Warfield (45)
14. John Owen (44)
15. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (43)
16. Tim Keller (42)
17. Joe Boot (42)
18. Abraham Kuyper (40)
19. John Flavel (38)
20. Thomas Brooks (36)
2. J.C. Ryle (111)
3. Thomas Watson (108)
4. John Calvin (83)
5. John Piper (82)
6. J.I. Packer (76)
7. George Swinnock (69)
8. Louis Berkhof (62)
9. A.W. Pink (60)
10. C.S. Lewis (51)
11. Francis Schaeffer (48)
12. Gerald Bray (47)
13. B.B. Warfield (45)
14. John Owen (44)
15. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (43)
16. Tim Keller (42)
17. Joe Boot (42)
18. Abraham Kuyper (40)
19. John Flavel (38)
20. Thomas Brooks (36)
Top Topics
1. Sin (161)2. Prayer (117)
3. Scripture (106)
4. Preaching (103)
5. Faith (94)
6. Gospel (76)
7. Church (65)
8. Suffering (63)
9. Law (58)
10. Justification (49)
11. Truth (47)
12. Salvation (40)
13. Love (36)
14. Theology (36)
15. Grace (34)
16. Creation (33)
17. Children (31)
18. Holiness (31)
19. Sanctification (31)
20. Apologetics (30)
21. Fear (30)
22. Unbelief (30)
23. Marriage (29)
24. Pride (28)
25. Christ (27)
26. Government (27)