George Scott was a one-legged school teacher from Scotland. He once approached the legendary missionary J. Hudson Taylor and offered himself for service in China. “With only one leg, why do you think of going as a missionary?” asked Taylor.
Scott simply said, “I don’t see those with two legs going,” He was immediately accepted to serve with the China Inland Mission.
Arriving in Shanghai on February 6, 1866, Stott quickly relocated to the port city of Wenzhou province, where Christian teaching had been previously unknown. As a result of the ongoing influence of the message of Christ first brought there by Stott, Wenzhou is known today as the “Jerusalem of China” because of the six million inhabitants, there are more than 600,000 Christians—10% of the population.
With the physical limitations that came from having only one leg, maybe George Scott wasn’t the perfect candidate, but no one could doubt that he had the same heart for Christian missions as the Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary in the history of the church. We can read the stories of Paul’s missionary journeys in the Book of Acts, but we also gain a glimpse of his heart for Christian missions right here in Romans 15:22-33. This text reveals three aspects of Paul’s heart for missions that should inform and inspire our hearts for Christian missions today!
1.) A Heart for Unreached Peoples (22-24)
In verse 22 Paul picks up right where he left off in the previous section where he affirmed that he fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum and now it was his ambition to preach the gospel where people have not heard Christ’s name. (19-20) Paul was not called to build upon someone else’s ministry foundation; he was called to be a pioneer to unreached peoples.
Paul identifies this as the reason why he had been hindered from coming to Rome thus far. But now that his work in the east was complete, he hoped that he would be able to visit the church in Rome. This would fulfill his longing to visit the Christians there, many of which were personal friends, and encourage them in their faith.
But Paul prefaces his desire to fellowship with his fellow believers in Rome by asserting his ultimate priority of taking the gospel all the way to Spain, which was considered the ends of the earth at the time of his writing. His priority was to share the gospel with the people there who never heard of Jesus before.
Furthermore, Paul planned to use Rome as a launchpad for this Spanish mission. For this mission to be possible, he would need financial support. He was already dropping hints in this letter, hoping that the church would be ready to help him when he arrived. Paul knew that Christian missions are impossible apart from the generous financial support of local churches. If the church at Rome would partner with him in this mission, he would be able to achieve his priority of taking the gospel to unreached peoples.
David Livingstone (1813-1873), a physician turned missionary had a similar heart for sharing the gospel with unreached peoples. At age 25, Livingstone was captivated by an appeal for medical missionaries to China. As he trained, however, the door to China was slammed shut by the Opium War. Within six months, he met Robert Moffat, a veteran missionary of southern Africa, who enchanted him with tales of his remote station, glowing in the morning sun with “the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary had been before.”
For ten years, Livingstone served as a conventional missionary in southern Africa. He opened a string of mission stations, where he preached the gospel, taught school, and superintended the community garden. But his desire was to press further into the jungles. His goal was to open a “Missionary Road”—”God’s Highway,” he also called it—1,500 miles north into the interior to bring “Christianity and civilization” to unreached peoples.
Livingstone become one of the most famous and fascinating figures in British society and was known for his witty quotes:
- “I will go anywhere, provided it be forward.”
- “If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.”
- “God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours.”
Like the Apostle Paul and David Livingstone, we must have a heart for Christian missions to unreached peoples. This is why our church must continue to support foreign missions. Its why we support missionaries like Rebecca Ashton in Prague, Czech Republic, Titus and Shannon Gilbert in Thailand, and Dave and Feruza Krason, who assisted in translating the Bible into the Uzbek language for the first time. We must never forget the millions of people around the world who have never heard Jesus’ name. God doesn’t call all of us to be foreign missionaries, but he calls all of us to support foreign missions with our prayers and our pocketbooks.
But we should also remember that some unreached peoples live right here in our own back yards. There are thousands of people in our communities, schools, and workplaces who know nothing about Jesus Christ. Who is going to share the gospel with them? Are you willing to share the good news with someone who doesn’t know? Will you help reach the unreached?
Unfortunately, I know many Christians who exhibit the attitude: “I just want to go to my church, sit in my pew, talk to the people in my section, and hang out with my Christian friends and family.” I know many believers who prefer the comfort of fellowshipping with the Christians in Rome rather than taking the gospel to the unreached peoples of Spain. Just remember that there are millions of people outside the church who are perishing without any hope of heaven. What is your Spain?
2.) A Heart for Poor Christians (25-29)
After Paul exposes his heart for unreached peoples, he goes on to highlight his heart for poor Christians. In verse 25, Paul tells the Romans that before he can visit them, he must first go to Jerusalem to deliver the offering he collected from the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia. The Christians in Jerusalem were suffering from a lack of resources due to a famine in AD 48.
In verse 27 we learn why this offering was so important to Paul. It is not just a charitable project; it is also designed to bring into closer fellowship Gentile and Jewish believers. The Gentiles, after all, have benefitted spiritually from the Jews. The Gentile Christians can now partially repay this debt by sharing with the Jews from their own material blessings. Of all people, the Romans could empathize with Paul’s desire to facilitate unity between these two groups. And after Paul accomplished this important mission of helping the poor Christians in Jerusalem, he would be on his way to Rome. (Moo 490)
Like Paul, we should all feel a sense of responsibility to help our brothers and sisters who are in need. Whether the need is caused by a natural disaster, an economic collapse, or some other unfortunate circumstance, the Christian church should be ready to respond by providing necessary resources.
There are multiple ways our church already does this. First, every year our church budgets money to help community members with unforeseen financial challenges. Over the years, we have helped people pay everything from their rent and utility bills to medical expenses and necessary home improvements. We have also taken up significant love offerings to support tsunami and hurricane relief.
We also partner with organizations like Samaritans Purse (an international Christian mission that intervenes when areas are struck by natural disasters) and Martha’s Kitchen (the mission in St. Albans that cares for the hungry and homeless in Franklin County).
Christian missions like these exist because of the compassion and generosity of local churches like ours. May we never lose our compassion for the impoverished in our communities. May we never lose our spirit of generosity toward those who have fallen on hard times. May we always have a heart for the poor!
3.) A Heart for Missions Despite Danger or Opposition (30-33)
As Paul proposes the Christian mission priorities of reaching unreached peoples and providing for the poor, he knows that both of these endeavors could be dangerous. Any time you are a stranger in a strange land, it poses certain threats and the fear of the unknown. Any time you try to help people, you never know how they will respond. Some people are awfully quick to bite the hand that feeds them. This is why Paul offers his heart for Christian service despite danger and opposition.
In verse 30, Paul appeals to his fellow believers in Rome to pray for his mission. But notice that is not a just a casual prayer; he strengthens his request by adding the words “by our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers…” Why did Pose his prayer request like this? He gives two answers to this question in verse 31: that he “might be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and that his service to Jerusalem might be acceptable among the saints.” Unbelieving Jews were especially hostile to Paul because of his ministry to the Gentiles. He is also concerned that the Jewish Christians might refuse the offering because it was tainted by the “unclean” hands of the Gentiles. (Moo 491)
If you read Acts 21, you will see that the Apostle’s fears were real. Even though it appears that the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem accepted the offering from the Gentile churches, Paul became a victim of mob violence. After he was beaten to a bloody pulp, soldiers bound him in double chains and falsely imprisoned him. But Paul was willing to suffer danger and opposition for the service of the gospel.
Even today, Christian missions sometimes entails danger and opposition. Some of you may be familiar with the story of Andrew Brunson, the American pastor who was just released from prison in Turkey last week.
Brunson was a missionary in Turkey for more than 20 years before he was arrested in October 2016 and falsely accused by the Turkish government of espionage and ties to terrorist groups. He was initially held in solitary confinement and later with 19 other prisoners in a cell meant for only eight. Isolated by language, culture, and religion, he said he grew increasingly concerned about his physical safety, given the accusations against him.
Upon his release and return to the United States, listen to what he told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News:
Our purpose in going to Turkey was to tell people about Jesus Christ. We did that very openly, and we were never involved in anything political…Even though this caused us a lot of hurt, I think that God is using this, was planning to use this to bring blessing to Turkey. Now, there are millions of people who pray for Turkey.
Like the Apostle Paul, pastor Andrew Brunson has a heart for Christian service despite danger or opposition. If missionaries are willing to risk their lives for the gospel, I wonder if we would be willing to risk a little bit of rejection?
The great missionary C.T. Studd once said, “Some wish to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” How about you?
As we read Paul’s words here at the end of the Book of Romans, I hope we will all develop a bigger heart for Christian missions! I hope we will have a bigger heart for unreached peoples and for poor Christians. And I hope that our heart for missions will be big enough to risk some opposition!