Seven Whos From the Book of PsalmsSýnishorn

Who Is the Reason for Your Mission?

From Genesis to Revelation, we see that God is a missionary God. God’s concern was never only with Israel, but with all the nations of the earth. Psalm 96 is one of the great mission passages in the entire Old Testament. In verse 3, we come to the very heart of God’s missionary purpose.

What is the driving motivation behind mission work? It is not our love for people, as important as that is. It is not our concern for people’s salvation, as essential as that is. No, the highest motivation for missions is God-centered, not man-centered. 

Missions must be fueled by a burning desire to see God’s name exalted across the world. Missions, first and foremost, are about the glory of God, not the salvation of people. Missions are about exalting the name, honor, and glory of Jesus Christ among all the people of the world. Every tongue, tribe, nation, and people must proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Pastor John Piper wrote: 

The final goal of all things is that God might be worshiped with white-hot affection by a redeemed company of countless numbers from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev. 5:9 and 7:9). Missions exist because worship doesn’t. When the kingdom finally comes in glory, missions will cease. Missions are penultimate; worship is ultimate. If we forget this and reverse the roles, the passion and the power for both diminish. 

Christian leader John Stott sounded a similar note:

We should be “jealous” for the honor of His name–troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed, and all the time anxious and determined that it is given the honor and glory which are due to it. The highest of all missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is), but rather a zeal—burning and passionate—for the glory of Jesus Christ. 

Before this supreme goal of the Christian mission, all unworthy motives wither and die.