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Missions |
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All sincere
Christians have a God engendered desire to take or send the gospel
to the lost peoples of the earth because they know that Christ is
their only hope for salvation from sin. Yet the question sometimes
arises in theological discussions as to the relevance of the
doctrine of election in the missionary enterprise. There are some
in the history of the church who have contended that a belief in
Calvinism, including one of its key tenets of sovereign election,
puts a damper on the missionary’s motivation to evangelize and
preach the gospel to the nations. Why go and preach, they say, if
God has already decided who he’s going to save and who he’s not?
However, nothing could be farther from a true understanding of
God’s sovereign grace than this. The scriptures teach that God
ordains not only who will be saved but the means by
which they will be saved, which is the preaching of the gospel.
13 But
we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief
of the truth: 14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the
obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess 2:13-14
KJV
It is the hearing
of the gospel message that resonates in the minds and hearts of
unbelievers and stimulates them, by the action of the Holy Spirit,
to repent of their sins and believe in Christ. The amazing thing
and the great encouragement to the missionary preacher is that the
elect will respond to the gospel message! In fact, they will
unfailingly respond at the appointed hour because God will so work
within them that they will respond most willingly and
gladly. This is the great promise of the Lord Jesus: “All that
the Father gives me will come to me…” (John 6:37).
So far from being
a deterrent to missions, a proper understanding of Sovereign
Election brings great confidence in our endeavors. It is because
of this that we in the ACRC place great emphasis on the missionary
enterprise. As you follow the links provided on this page you will
see some of the missionary work being carried out by the ACRC
membership as well as several areas of opportunity for the future.
If you have any questions about these or wish to contribute
support please contact us.
Click on links
below for additional information on ACRC member missions projects.
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