Gospel Missions

After Christ ascended to heaven, the newly-formed Christian church spread rapidly, like growing vines. The apostles traveled the world, making disciples and church-planting wherever they went. Charles Spurgeon (a British pastor who lived from 1834 to 1892) looked at the zeal of the apostles and then the apathy of the Christian culture of his time and mourned. Throughout his ministry, Spurgeon preached many sermons relating to missions, one entitled “Gospel Missions” in early 1856 to his congregation. His text was Acts 13:49, but his focus was on the mission and evangelism endeavors of the apostles and how greatly we have failed in comparison to them.

Nearly 200 years later, not much has changed. We do missions, but where is our zeal? Where is our whole-hearted reliance on the Holy Spirit to do the heavy-lifting of converting hearts? Spurgeon’s passionate sermon still should cause us today to ponder what happened to apostolic missions?

The following text has been trimmed for length. The full sermon can be found here. 

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“And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.” –Acts 13:49.

…Our doctrines, although they are supposed to lead to apathy and sloth, have always proved themselves to be eminently practical; the fathers of the mission were all zealous lovers of the doctrines of the grace of God; and we believe, the great supporters of missionary enterprise, if it is to be successful, must always come from those who hold God’s truth firmly and boldly, and yet have fire and zeal with it, and desire to spread it everywhere.

But there is a point on which we have great division of opinion, and that is as to the reason why we have had so little success in our missionary labour…We have not been successful to the extent we might have expected, certainly not to an apostolic extent… we must also see what is the difference between ourselves and the men of Apostolic times, and what it is that renders our success so trifling in comparison with the tremendous results of Apostolic preaching. …In the first place, we have not Apostolic men; in the second place, they do not set about their work in an Apostolic style; in the third place, we have not Apostolic churches to back them up; and in the fourth place, we have not the Apostolic influence of the Holy Ghost in the measure which they had it in ancient times.

First, we have few Apostolic men in these times…In the first place, we have not men with Apostolic zeal. Converted in a most singular way, by a direct interposition from heaven, Paul, from that time forward, became an earnest man… His zeal was so earnest, and so burning, that he could not (as we unfortunately do) restrain himself within a little sphere; but he preached the Word everywhere…We have no eyes now like the eyes of the Saviour, which could weep over Jerusalem; we have few voices like that earnest impassioned voice which seemed perpetually to cry, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not.” … we cannot expect it while we go about our work in a half-hearted way, and have not that zeal, that earnestness, that deep purpose which characterized those men of old.

…How many there are who preach a gospel, which they are afraid will not save souls; and, therefore, they add little bits of their own to it in order, as they think, to win men to Christ!…That is one reason why we do not succeed: we have not faith in the gospel…We are not to seek to be clever in order to meet them. Leave the men of the world to combat their metaphysical errors; we have merely to say, “This is truth: he that believeth it shall be saved, and he that denieth it shall be damned.” 

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I think one of the greatest disgraces that ever was cast upon the church in these days was that last mission to Ireland. Men went over to Ireland, but like men who value their better part, brave bold men, they came back again, which is about all we can say of the matter. Why do they not go there again? Why, they say the Irish “hooted” them. Now, don't you think you see Paul taking a microscope out of his pocket, and looking at the little man who should say to him, “I shall not go there to preach because the Irish hooted me?” “What!” he says, “is this a preacher?—what a small edition of a minister he must be, to be sure.” “Oh! but they threw stones at us; you have no idea how badly they treated us.” Just tell that to the Apostle Paul. I am sure you would be ashamed to do so. “Oh! but in some places the police interfered, and said that we should only create a riot.” What would Paul have said to that? The police interfering! I did not know that we had any right to care about governments. Our business is to preach the Word, and if we must be put in the stocks there let us lie; there would come no hurt of it at last. “Oh! but they might have killed some of us.” That is just it. Where is that zeal which counted not its life dear so that it might win Christ? … How did the gospel prosper aforetime? Were there not some who laid down their lives for it; and did not others walk to victory over their slain bodies; and must it not be so now? If we are to start back because we are afraid of being killed, heaven knows when the gospel is to spread over the world—we do not. What have other missionaries done? Have they not braved death in its direst forms, and preached the Word amid countless dangers?

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Let us stand out and say, “We are the servants of the living God; we tell unto you what God has told us, and we warn you, if you reject our testimony, it shall be better for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.” If the people cast that away we have done our work. We have nothing to do with making men believe; ours is to testify of Christ everywhere, and to proclaim and to proclaim the gospel to all men.

I have one more remark to make here with regard to the style in which we go to work. I fear that we have not enough of the divine method of itinerancy… We, now-a-days, go and settle in a place, make a station of it, and work around it by little and little, and think that is the way to succeed. No, no! ravage a continent; attempt great things and great things shall be done. But they say if you pass over a place it will be forgotten like the summer shower, which moistens all, but satisfies none. Yes, but you do not know how many of God's elect may be there; you have no business to stop in one place; go straight on; God's elect are everywhere. 

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But I have a third thing to say which will strike home to some of us: that is, we have not Apostolic churches. …Now, where is our prayerfulness compared with theirs? I trust that we know something of the power of prayer here, but I do not think we pray like they did…Oh! if we prayed as deeply and as earnestly as they did, we should have as much success… Let other ministers have as prayerful a people; let missionaries have as many prayers from the Church, and, all things being equal, God will bless them, and there will be greater prosperity than ever.

We have not the Apostolic mode of liberality. In the Apostles' days they gave all their substance…A great many of us give I hope, because we love the cause of God; but many of us say, “There is a poor bricklayer, working hard all the week and only earning just enough to keep his wife and family: he will give a shilling; now, I have so many pounds a week—I am a rich man—what shall I give? why, I will give half-a-crown.”…My brethren, we are not half Christians; that is the reason why we have not half success. We are Christians indeed, but I question whether we are thoroughly so. The Spirit of God hath not entered into us to give us that life, and fire, and soul, which they had in these ancient times.

IV. But lastly,…we have not the Holy Spirit in that measure which attended the Apostles. I see no reason whatever, why, this morning, if God willed it, I should not stand up and preach a sermon which should be the means of converting every soul in the place…My brethren, if we had the Holy Spirit upon our ministry, it would signify very little about our talent…It is extraordinary grace, not talent, that wins the day; extraordinary spiritual power, not extraordinary mental power…We want spiritual power…Spirit of the living God! we want thee. Thou art the life, the soul; thou art the source of thy people's success; without thee they can do nothing, with thee they can do everything.

Thus I have tried to show you what I conceive to be the causes of our partial non-success. And now permit me, with all earnestness, to plead with you on behalf of Christ and Christ's Holy Gospel, that you would stir yourselves up to renewed efforts for the spread of his truth, and to more earnest prayers, that his kingdom may come, and his will be done on earth even as it is in heaven. Ah! my friends, could I show you the tens of thousands of spirits who are now walking in outer darkness; could I take you to the gloomy chamber of hell, and show you myriads upon myriads of heathen souls in unutterable torture, not having heard the word, but being justly condemned for their sins; methinks you could ask yourselves, “Did I do anything to save these unhappy myriads? They have been damned, and can I say I am clear of their blood?” …Oh! put this question to your hearts; shall I be able to say to the damned spirit if he meets me in hell, “Sinner, I did all I could for thee?” I am afraid some will have to say, “No, I did not; it is true I might have done more; I might have laboured more, even though I might have been unsuccessful, but I did not do it.”

Ah, my dear friends, I believe there is great reason for some of us to suspect whether we believe our religion at all. An infidel once met a Christian, and said, “I know you do not believe your religion.” “Why?” asked the Christian. “Because,” said the other, “for years you have passed me on my way to my house of business. You believe, do you not, there is a hell, into which men's spirits are cast?” “Yes, I do,” said the Christian. “And you believe that unless I believe in Christ I must be sent there?” “Yes.” “You do not, I am sure, because if you did you must be a most inhuman wretch to pass me, day by day, and never tell me about it or warn me of it.” …Did you ever think of the tremendous value of a single soul?…Ye who have been broken by conviction, humbled by the Spirit, and led to cry for mercy through the covenant Jesus; ye know something of what a soul's value is, but many of my hearers do not. Could we preach carelessly, could we pray coldly, if we knew what a precious thing it is about which we are concerned?…God helping us we will [succeed]; God helping us by his Spirit we will see greater things than this, at any rate, we will never let God's Church rest if we do not see it prosper, but we will enter our earnest hearty protest against the coldness and lethargy of the times, and as long as this our tongue shall move in our mouth, we will protest against the laxity and false doctrine so rampant throughout the Churches, and then that happy double reformation—a reformation in doctrine and Spirit, will be brought about together. Then God knoweth but what we shall say, “Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows,” and ere long the shout of Christ shall be heard. He, Himself, shall descend from heaven; and we shall hear it said and sung, “Alleluia! Alleluia! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”

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