Category: Kingdom Theology

A Chinese Testimony (Illustrating What Missionaries Are)

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman6 Comments

(In this post I want to share a testimony of one of the disciples that was raised up in our church in Jakarta in order to illustrate the conclusion of my last post “Defining Missions – What is a Missionary?” The brother’s name has been changed in order to protect his family and his labors in China)

A Chinese Testimony

XiaLanfeng grew up in a small village in southern China. Like most children in rural China he was told that if he studied hard he could improve his lot in life. So from childhood this is what he sought to do. After graduating high school he was fortunate to be accepted to a university in the modern city of Guangzhou. While in college he continued to focus on his studies and in this way avoided many of the trappings Guangzhou had to offer.
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Defining Missions – What is a Missionary?

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When I visit churches in America I am always interested to hear how the pastor will introduce me from the pulpit. I usually hear something like “Today we have with us Brother, uh… Missionary, uh… Pastor Chris.” I can’t count the number of times that I have been approached by good hearted and humble disciples in the stateside churches with the question, “What should I call you?” I might be mistaken, but I can’t imagine that any of our American pastors are used to hearing this question. I’m not keen on titles, so it really makes no difference to me what people call me. In fact when faced with this question I usually grin and say, “My mom named me Chris.” But this confusion on what to call a missionary sheds light on the vague understanding we have about what a missionary actually does. For many, what a missionary does is as mysterious and strange as the lands in which he ministers. I am convinced that the vagueness of the term “missionary” is partially to blame for this mystery. And I believe that this mystery causes some real and practical harm to both the missionaries that are sent and the churches and pastors that send them.
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My Salvation Testimony (An Illustration of Domestic Missions)

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman18 Comments

I want to share the testimony of how I came to Christ for 2 reasons. The first is that I wish to magnify the kindness of God in my life. The second is as a way of illustrating the importance of understanding that missions is defined by the mission we are fulfilling, not where we are fulfilling it. Click here for the previous post “Defining Missions – Where is the Mission Field?”

An American Testimony

I grew up in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. My family weren’t church-goers, but my parents raised me with the assumption that Christianity was true. So as a child I believed that Jesus was God’s Son and that He had “the whole world in His hands” and that he loved “all the children of the world; red, yellow, black and white,” including me. Come to think of it, that is not a bad starting point for understanding of the Christian faith. But that beginning was as far as it went for me. And the ideas I had about God and His Son, didn’t come up very much in my thoughts or life, as I went about the business of growing up.
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Defining Missions – Where is the Mission Field?

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman3 Comments

What is mission work? It seems almost too elementary to ask such a question. But when we really look at it, the answer is not what we would expect to find. I think we would all agree that we want our definition of “mission work” to be a biblical one. So let’s consider the common understanding of this subject in light of its biblical origin and see if it stands the test.

We usually define missions as doing Christian work in a foreign country. This is the common understanding of the word in most Christian circles. According to this definition anyone who buys an international plane ticket and travels to a foreign land to do some sort of Christian outreach is involved in mission work. If we take an outreach team from Dallas to Indonesia, or a team to Mexico from San Diego, that also fits under the category of “missions.” We could also say that if someone from Canada moves to Africa, India or the United States of America to do Gospel work, they are involved in missionary outreach. This common definition is basically correct and all the examples we just mentioned deserve to be called mission work. But according to biblical standards it is too limited.
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Understanding and Overcoming the Flesh – Part 2

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman3 Comments

For part 1 of this 2 part series click here.

Some Definitions and the New Man

The Bible uses the term “flesh” in different ways. The term “flesh” can be defined in the following way when referring to the wayward and sinful inclinations of Man:

Flesh (sinful): The deformed desires of the body and mind that have been perverted by living separated from God and His righteousness

At other times the term “flesh” just means:

Flesh (natural): The earthly nature of humanity

In John 1:14 we are told the Word became flesh. We know that Jesus took on humanity and lived and died as a man. But we also know that he walked in fellowship with God from his mother’s womb. In the famous Messianic Psalm that prophesies the crucifixion of Christ, we read, “Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breast” (Psalm 22:9). Since he lived in continual fellowship with God the Father, his human desires never became unbridled or perverted. The desires of his body and mind were always kept in perfect submission to the will of the Father; he walked righteously and remained righteous.
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Understanding and Overcoming the Flesh – Part 1

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman8 Comments

In the next two posts we want to clarify what the Bible means when it refers to the Flesh. We will start by looking at the definition the Bible itself provides for us in the book of Ephesians.

In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, we are told that all unbelievers are dead in sin, and follow the course of this World and the “Prince” of that system, namely Satan. People who are spiritually dead (i.e. alienated from God) are being led by Satan via the World system. Verse 3 goes on to say that these people live in the passions of their Flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. Flesh, in its negative sense, is defined in this verse.

Flesh: The desires of the body and the mind

So are the body and its desires evil? Are the various desires of the mind evil? Jesus had a human body and a mind with all the natural desires that accompany them, so was he sinful? These and many other questions must be addressed, and we will seek to address them. But before we describe the Flesh in technical terms let’s first look at the picture painted for us in the book of Exodus.

An Ingrained Culture

After being led through the Red Sea, the Hebrews were a free people. They were no longer subject to the slavery of Pharaoh. They were brought out into the wilderness to become a new people that would be reorganized under the Law of Moses. This was a fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham that he would be made into a great nation (Gen. 12:2). The taskmasters were back in Egypt collecting the straw that the Hebrews would never collect again; and Pharaoh’s top henchmen lay dead at the bottom of the Red Sea. The Hebrews were a free people!
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Understanding and Overcoming the World – Part 2

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For part one of this topic click here.

Conformed or Transformed

Romans 12:2 instructs “Do not be conformed to the World.” Jesus makes clear to us that we are in the world but not of the World (John 17:11-18). That is, we are living in the midst of this wicked World system, but we are not to be conformed into its image. We are not to accept its values as our own, but are to resist the pressure of the godless society around us. Instead of submitting to this World’s mold, we are supposed to be transformed into the image of Christ by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 8:29 & 12:2).
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Understanding and Overcoming the World – Part 1

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When we look at the book of Exodus we see the Hebrews enslaved in Egypt. They are the bondservants of Pharaoh, just as unbelievers are slaves to Satan. In order to understand what role the World plays in temptation and bondage we must again consider the situation of the ancient Hebrew people. Just as Pharaoh ruled Egypt, so Satan rules the World.

Pharaoh was not omnipresent; he wasn’t all over Egypt at the same time. He was limited to being in one place at a time just like any man. Even his henchmen couldn’t see all and be in every Hebrew home. But from his throne he created a system of slavery that continually reinforced his lordship throughout the land.
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Ground Rules of Biblical Interpretation – Part 2

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman3 Comments

(This is the second post in a 2 part series,click here to read part 1.)

Scripture Interprets Scripture (in context)

The second principle we want to look at is that “scripture interprets scripture.” This principle is just what it sounds like. When we face a passage or verse that is hard to understand, we can look elsewhere in God’s word to gain clarity. Since the entire Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit, its teachings do not contradict one another but complement one another. Something in the Gospels might be clarified by a passage from the letters of Paul, and vice versa. Whenever Calvinism is discussed this principle is often abused. Not just by Calvinists but also by those on the other side of the issue.

That scripture interprets scripture is a very basic rule of how to find out what the Bible is trying to say. Some passages have a clearer context than others. The more complete the context, the more confident we can be that our understanding of a particular verse or passage is correct. But it is often abused by those seeking to defend Calvinism from scripture. We must make it very clear that scripture interprets scripture, but scripture does not overrule scripture. Often the verses that speak of God’s sovereign rights are used to explain away the genuine responsibility (i.e. “ability to respond”) and choices of men.
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Demonic Temptation & Satan’s Kingdom

Published on by Christopher C. Chapman3 Comments

The uncontested ruler of Egypt was Pharaoh. He was not only considered the almighty king, but was even considered a god. He didn’t just rule Egypt, he owned it. Everyone and everything in Egypt belonged to Pharaoh and was under his control. Of course Pharaoh couldn’t rule Egypt by himself. He had to have loyal subjects that became his hands and feet throughout the kingdom. These co-laborers of his could bring his attention to any “rebels” they found and could keep things in “proper” order.
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