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TL;DR:
Missiologist Ralph Winter argued that world evangelism is not merely one biblical command; God’s mission provides the context in which Scripture came into being. The Bible portrays God as one who seeks and sends, inviting His people to participate in His redemptive mission. From God’s compassion for Nineveh to the sending of the Son and the church’s cross-cultural expansion in Acts, Scripture reveals God’s concern for all peoples.
Slogans to Awaken the Church: More sayings about world evangelism that stir hearts and move people to action. This 500-word blog series originally appeared in Engage magazine.
“The Bible is not the basis of missions; missions is the basis of the Bible”—attributed to Ralph Winter, missiologist
Most believers know that the Bible contains some statements about world evangelism. For missiologist Ralph Winter, treating world evangelism as merely one subject addressed by the Bible was putting the cart before the horse. Winter saw the biblical call to world evangelism as far more than just one divine command among many. In his understanding, God’s redemptive mission was central to why the Bible came to be written. The statement attributed to him describes world evangelism as “the basis of the Bible.”
Think about it: Doesn't what the Bible says about Yahweh portray Him as the God who seeks and sends? Isn't the idea of the Father sending the Son a central theme of Scripture? Doesn't the Bible describe God going to great lengths to seek lost people, all the while encouraging His people to join Him in that quest?
Hasn't the book of Jonah been called “the missionary book of the Old Testament”? Do the Gospels—especially their presentation of Jesus’ message for diverse audiences—help carry the good news across cultural boundaries? Isn't much of the Book of Acts about the Church expanding across geographic and ethnic boundaries? Don't the Apostle Paul's letters spring from what we call his missionary journeys, during which he engaged in cross-cultural church planting?
Affirmative answers to those questions help illustrate Ralph Winter’s point about mission being the basis of the Bible. His statement challenges the conventional assumption that global mission is simply one activity founded on biblical commands.
To be sure, scores of Bible passages do speak to the subject of world evangelism. However, the importance of world evangelism grows out of more than just the number of biblical references to it. The mandate for global missionary outreach grows out of God's passion for all peoples. In Winter’s understanding, that divine passion underlies the writing of Scripture.
Seeing God’s mission as the basis of the Bible helps us understand global missionary activity as more than one command among many in Scripture. God is portrayed in the Bible as the One who seeks and sends. World evangelism therefore does not appear merely as an isolated directive. Rather, the theme appears throughout the Bible.
Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, there are statements about God's concern for all peoples. His desire that all come to know and worship Him is stated repeatedly. From God's covenant with Abraham—“all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3, 2011 NIV)—to the vision of every nation, tribe, people, and language worshiping before God's throne (Revelation 7:9), the Bible consistently presents the universal scope of God's redemptive plan.
Furthermore, the New Testament describes the early Christian church as marked by missionary zeal. Apostles and disciples traveled far and wide to spread the message of Jesus Christ. The Book of Acts, in particular, provides numerous accounts of evangelistic efforts to reach diverse peoples around the Mediterranean basin.
Read more articles in the “Slogans That Awakened the Church” series.
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