What
IS A Missionary?
Acts 13:1-3
Though
the word "missionary" is not used in the Word of God, that fact does
not mean that it is either antibiblical, or unbiblical. The word
"trinity" is not used in the Bible either. Yet, the doctrine of the
trinity is taught explicitly (1 John 5:7).
A
missionary is one who is sent, particularly one who is sent on a mission. That
is what Luke describes in Acts 13:1-3. Paul and Barnabas were missionaries from
the Church at Antioch, sent out to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
The
precise, biblical term for missionary is "evangelist." An evangelist
is a herald of the gospel, a preacher of good news. Pastors are to do the work
of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5); but the evangelist he is not a pastor. He
certainly is not a roving, free-lance preacher! An evangelist is a missionary.
Philip, the evangelist, was a missionary (Acts 21:8). Our Lord has given some
to his church who are specifically called to be evangelists, or missionaries
(Eph. 4:11), who are to be supported and maintained in their work by the
churches. What is a missionary?
First, A MISSIONARY IS A MAN. No woman can serve as a missionary, anymore
than a woman can serve as a pastor! God does not call women to preach the
gospel, ever (1 Cor. 14:35; 1 Tim. 2:11-12). The fact that a woman is a
missionary's wife no more makes her a missionary than being a pastor's wife
makes a woman a pastor. God calls men to do his work and directs their wives to
follow.
Second, A MISSIONARY IS A MAN WITH GOD'S MESSAGE. Missionaries are
preachers. If a man is not gifted of God to preach the gospel, no matter how
sincere he is, he cannot serve as a missionary. And the message he preaches is,
and must be, the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ, the sinner's
Substitute.
Third, A MISSIONARY IS A MAN WITH GOD'S MISSION. He is a man called and
gifted of God to establish churches, train pastors, and help to establish those
pastors and churches in the gospel of the grace of God, so that they might
carry on the work of the gospel for generations to come. "Medical missionaries",
"educational missionaries", "cultural missionaries", and
"construction missionaries" are not missionaries! Missionaries are
men sent forth into the world to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, to
gather in the harvest of God's elect scattered throughout the world.
Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For
Today Radio Message #711
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S. Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net