Sermon: Go to the Nations, Pt 3

Go to the Nations:  Our Responsibilities in Missions
3 John
June 24, 2018

It has been suggested that Acts is the best manual for missions that the church has. We learn a tremendous amount about missions by reading Acts. But many of the principles of missions we glean in Acts are also present in 3 John, but in shortened form. If Acts is the missions manual, then 3 John is the synopsis of that manual.   If Acts is the novel, then 3 John is the short story.

How will we summarize our commitment to missions?

The goal of GBC Missions is to cultivate a network of missionaries that will expand our global involvement and see people from all the nations trust Christ, love Christ, and live for Christ’s glory.

To say it more simply, our goal is to be involved in taking the gospel to other parts of the world so those who don’t know Christ will come to know Christ.

We have previously asked and answered four questions about missions —

• What is missions?
• Why is missions important?
• What are GBC’s priorities in missions?
• What are the responsibilities of missionaries?

This morning we want to address one final question about missions: what are our responsibilities in the missionary endeavor? What are our commitments to missions and missionaries?

1. We Commit to Sending Purposefully (v. 6a)
2. We Commit to Acting Worthily (v. 6b)
3. We Commit to Giving Generously (vv. 7-8)
4. We Commit to Defending Truthfully (vv. 9-12)
5. We Commit to Communicating Regularly (vv. 13-14)
6. We Commit to Praying Consistently (vv. 1-2)

Context: Because the name Gaius was as common in the Roman world as John is in ours, we don’t know who Gaius is — the name is used four more times in the NT and we don’t know if any of those men are the Gaius mentioned here (or if those references refer to one man or several).

We do know that John had high regard for this Gaius, and we know he evidently held a position of influence in one of the churches in Asia Minor; perhaps he was converted through John’s ministry or was even an elder working under John’s authority in some way. And given his generosity to the unnamed missionaries, it appears he was a wealthy and influential member of the church. John’s letter affirming his relationship to this group of missionaries gives us great insight about how we are to relate to our missionaries.

Download the rest of this sermon on missions.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by tomorrow.