Dave Marriott shares how Hudson Taylor's missionary work in China demonstrates the importance of adopting a missionary mindset that prioritizes the gospel over cultural preferences and personal comfort.
Scripture Text
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Main Points or Ideas
If we will think like missionaries, we must have three components:
- A Missionary Goal - Paul's consuming passion was to "win" people for Christ's kingdom. The word "win" means to acquire by effort or investment. Paul wanted to leverage his resources and labor to reach as many people as possible for salvation, recognizing he wouldn't reach everyone but desiring to "save some."
- A Missionary Strategy - Paul demonstrates flexibility and sacrifice through four examples: becoming a servant to all by giving up financial support when it might hinder the gospel; adopting Jewish customs when ministering to Jews; living like Gentiles when reaching Gentiles; and becoming like the weak in socioeconomic status to reach the poor. His strategy involved stepping outside his comfort zone and changing his approach based on his audience.
- Missionary Boundaries - While being flexible, there are lines that cannot be crossed: we must preach the true gospel without changing or diluting it; we cannot add requirements to salvation even subtly; and we cannot sin in order to try to save people. Paul remained under Christ's authority even while adapting his methods.
Conclusion
We must cultivate relationships with lost people, use understandable language, avoid unnecessary offenses, and remove as many obstacles as possible while adopting mainstream cultural customs that our faith allows.
