A friend suggested I do some writing on this theme -- how can be be both holy and missional? His question came out of the recent Desiring God conference and the interaction between Keller, Driscoll, Piper, Wells, and Carson. I will take a first jab at this here, with a very significant point in my mind.
Shall we be Missional or holy? That is the question many ask today. My simple response: It is a lie from the pit of hell to pose these two as opposites. "Wow, that is a strong statement," you say. Well, yes is it -- because it seems to force a choice between advancing the Gospel to the lost and advancing the Gospel in our hearts in the form of godliness. And those are not an either/or choice for the Christian.
Satan loves false dichotomies. Think of how they interrogated Jesus and tried to trap him by forcing false choices -- is it lawful to heal on the sabbath? -- is it OK to pay taxes to Caesar?. This one is at the top of his list. Pitting these two against each other has done more than most other errors to remove Christians from appropriate (note that word) relationships with non-believers for the Gospel. I have observed it for years and felt its temptations in my own heart.
God called us to be godly and to be in the midst of the world -- visible, in relationship. Until suburbia, no one thought it possible to live in Christian ghettos to the degree we do in the West. By Christian ghettoes I do not mean the wonderful depth of fellowship that can be experienced in a local church -- but the temptation of Christians to do everything with Christians only.
If The Evil One can create in us a tension betwen two commands, and a sense that we must be "balanced" and be "careful" about extremes -- he has paralyzed us. And that is precisely what has happened. The battle today over how Christians relate to culture is filled with false assumptions and people falling off either side of the horse.
Let me illustrate with a different question -- suppose I ask this: how can we both love our wives as Christ loves the church and wisely parent our kids? I am assuming there is a conflict between these. If I ask this question I place myself in an interior war that makes me weigh time usage, set priorities that may hinder my calling, and live with anxiety. These two are not enemies -- they are not even opposites. But by posing the question a certain way, I create a false dichotomy. Instead, the question is how can I love my wife and train my children at the same time?
Yes, I am called to both and part of loving my life is to lead our children and part of proper training of my children is loving their mother. They are of the same piece of fabric - I am not called to choose or to balance -- but to do both diligently. The Puritans called it universal obedience. Priorities are irrelevant at a certain point-- I am under obligation to all the Word of Christ. I cannot forsake one command in the name of the greater importance of another -- who says its more important? Suppose I show up at an IRS audit and day, "Paying taxes was not a high priority with me." Probably would not fly very far.
So, in relating to the culture -- it is not a choice of either holiness or mission -- it is a call to both. My mission is an expression of genuine holiness -- and how can I claim to be holy and be in direct disobedience to one of the clearest commands of Scripture? For believers to deliberately NOT plan some form of seeking the lost in their lives is an act of rebellion no different than adultery. For believers to compromise their godliness in the name of obeying the missional commands is also equally sin.
It is stunning how confused we/I can be and how self-deceived -- to think that I preserve my obedience to God by disobeying his command to bring the Gospel to individuals around me. I think it is our tendency to see sins of commission much more readily than sins of omission. It is not our pattern to say too often, "I have left undone the things I ought to have done."
So, for example, if I see that I am called to obey all of God's commands and not to prioritize them -- I will parent differently. I will seek to live a life of commendable godliness in every area -- my kids will see that Christ affects what I watch and what I read and what I listen to -- and that Christ compels me to seek those who are lost. They will see and hear me and my wife involved with bringing the Gospel to unbelieving people we have befriended. They will join us in prayer for them. It is not an either or option. I am called to be godly and missional.
A church is not to think it must choose between caring for its members or bringing the Gospel to the outsider. Pastors care for the total godliness of their flock by leading them into comprehensive obedience -- including dying to self and seeking the lost. It is false reasoning to say, "Let's first get our church and family life together and then bring the Gospel to the lost" -- that is false because you will never get there -- and it is false because you are not the message!
No, we must war against the false dichotomy and labor to be obedient in all things -- godliness includes missional living.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
John 17:21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17:23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
These passages I believe say at least 2 things regarding this topic:
1) They show how holiness (true holiness is seen in unity) relates to mission. We see this lived out in the first several chapters of Acts, where the transformed community is one of the most powerful apologetics for the Gospel (Oh that this were more true of churches today! Isa 62:1-5; 64:1-2). Connected to this I think that the passages show that:
2) The church is an integral part of the message. I certainly agree that if we wait until we have it all together, we will wait forever. But at the same time, the transformed character of the community of God's people is a real part of the message, "that the world may know that you really did send me and really do love them even as you love me!" Alongside this, openly modeling what it looks like to live in light of the Gospel as we process our sin struggles and conflicts shows unbelievers that the Gospel has observable relevance to all of life.
As always, Mark, thanks for your instructive blogs, you are a real model/mentor for me even though we haven't met.
Posted by: Howard | October 15, 2006 at 10:19 PM
Mark,
This is excellent pastoral wisdom. I needed to hear this. I loved this statement especially: "It is false reasoning to say, "Let's first get our church and family life together and then bring the Gospel to the lost" -- that is false because you will never get there -- and it is false because you are not the message!" I'm enjoying your blog -- thanks for all the work you are putting into it.
Blessings,
David Sunday
Posted by: David Sunday | October 13, 2006 at 12:29 PM