The Zeal of the Pioneering Missionaries In India

Years ago I was given 7 thick books to read and write a review for each book within a week. It was a tough assignment that every seminarian must not be surprised by. They were about Indian Church History. As I read them, I admired the zeal of the pioneering missionaries for winning souls for Christ and the sovereign work of God throughout history. This post is a reproduction of the reflection I had taken then– the evangelistic zeal of the earliest missionaries to India, which we ought to imitate for the spread of the gospel and to fulfil (obey) the Great commissions more effectively.

Three areas we need to imitate:

Firstly, their passion for the spread of the gospel irrespective of their sound or erroneous doctrine. Jesus was the greatest missionary. He was so passionate that He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). Before his earthly ministry was over He commissioned that all believers must spread the gospel in one way or the other way (Matthew 28:18-20). Therefore, all of us must be passionate to spread the gospel. The earliest missionaries to India were very passionate. Francis Xavier would visit the sick, travel to many places to spread the gospel. He would even go along the street calling for people. Menezes based on his belief that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ (which of course is false) would do anything to bring the Malabar under the Papacy. William Carey came all the way from England, despite the denials and rejection of him by his church to preach the gospel to India. He was not highly educated but was never intimidated.

Secondly, their compassion for the lost soul enduring hardships and sacrificing their lives. Ziegenbalg and his friend had to endure the bad relationship they had with the captain of the ship even before they reach India. William Carey, despite his poverty and England’s forbidding of missionaries, risked his life to enter India. Christian mission is never an easy way (cf. Matthew 7:13-14). They not only endured suffering but also had suffered in seeing their loved ones suffered. Carey’s wife and daughter died in India. What a heartbreak that must be! Carey did not turn back. He continued to work – harder and more fruitful.

Our Lord Jesus Himself says that we must count the cost of following Him (Luke 14:25-33). It is to put God’s way before anything. These people of history endured suffering and hardship. The reason they did what they did is because they were compassionate for the lost souls. Jesus wept out of compassion in Bethany (John 11:35). Scripture tells us many times about Jesus’ compassion for people (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 20:34, etc.) We ought to do things because of our compassion. It is said that Carey would weep and weep for the lost sinners in his prayer. He helped abolish Sati. He established an institution to educate the people of India. Other missionaries gave away even their small salaries for the poor Christian. Why is our evangelism fruitless? Could it be because we have no compassion for the lost souls?

Thirdly, their reliance and confidence they have in God to fulfil (obey) the Great Commission. The reason and motivation for our evangelism is because God is interested in saving people (John 3:16-17; 1Timothy2:3-4). In fact, Jesus said that His sheepfold comprises all tongues, nations, and tribes. He predestined that the elect would be saved through the hearing of the gospel (Romans 10:17). Thus we do evangelism not because we have clever ideas or anything but that we trust God. No amount of hearing the gospel will save anybody; no amount of wise argument will convert anyone to Christ; no amount of gifts to poor people will lead them to Christ; if the Holy Spirit does not work (cf. John 3:8). We must rely on the Holy Spirit of God.

However, Jesus promised His disciples that He would be with them throughout the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20). For us that is true – we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have the Bible, the word of God which is living and active, converting the soul (Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 19:7). Thus we do evangelism knowing the power of God and His faithfulness (1Corinthians1:18). We cannot do God’s work without trusting God’s faithfulness. We cannot have confidence in our ideas or anything except in His word. That’s what the earliest missionaries to India did. They rely on God and trust God. They were confident in God. William Carey said, “Expect Great Things from God, and Attempt Great Things for God.’ History has given the verdict that William Carey indeed expected great things from God and attempted great things for God.

Carey came to India from a group of people who did not believe much in evangelism. Carey because of his reliance and confidence in God came to India despite the British government’s disapproval. He lived in India by faith without much help or no help at all from England for his survival. He worked in a factory. Then he tutored himself in languages. He became a professor. He established institutions. He translated the Bible into many Indian languages. He did that because he relied on God and had confidence in the power of the Word of God. Are you trusting God? Are you convinced that “… in it (the gospel) is the power unto Salvation” (Rom 1:16-17)?

Let us learn from church history and imitate them. Paul told us to imitate others who are worthy of imitation (1Corinthians11:1). We do not need to imitate them in all areas (and rightly so) but we must imitate their passion for the spread of the gospel, their compassion for the lost sinners, and their reliance and confidence in God of Salvation. Amen!

Jubilee: Proclaiming the Favorable Year of the Lord

Jubilee: Proclaiming the Favorable Year of the Lord 

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3 [NASB, emphasis added]

Nobody likes to miss Golden Jubilee. As I write this, I receive exciting phone calls telling me to come home for Jubilee. Indeed, any Jubilee is very exciting! However, I used to wonder what Jubilee is all about, didn’t you? Read along with me as I attempt to address it in this short article.

 What is Jubilee?

Nowadays, Jubilee is understood as many things. We even have Silver and Platinum Jubilee. The word Jubilee comes from Leviticus 25:8-10 which refers to the year after every seven sabbatical years, i.e. the 50^th year. The basis for this commandment is the Sabbath (meaning “rest”). God created everything in 6 days and rested on the 7^th day. Every 7^th day is a Sabbath, every 7^th year is a sabbatical year. Israelites shall work for 6 years and cease to work in the 7^th year. They don’t need to worry because God promises miraculous harvest in the 6^th year for them to survive till the harvest time of the 8^th year. Seven sabbatical years equal 49 years, and therefore the 50^th year (Sabbath of the Sabbatical Years) is known as the Jubilee.

 Significance of Jubilee

Long before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God gave this commandment to them through Moses on Mount Sinai to be taken seriously. However, there is no record in or outside the Bible about Israelites observing Jubilee. 2 Chronicles 36:21 indicates that the Israelites were taken to Babylonian exile because they failed to observe it. How they failed to observe it is not difficult for us to surmise as we have read the incident of Israelites going out to gather manna on Sabbath, even when Moses had commanded them not to (Exodus 16:22-36). They wouldn’t trust the power of God to sustain them.

 Jesus, our Jubilee

Apart from the themes of rest and trusting God, Jubilee is also to set captives free: free from slavery, free from debts, and allowing them to start afresh (Leviticus 25). This is what Isaiah is alluding to in Isaiah 61:1-3. In the book of Isaiah, we see him prophesying judgment and the coming Babylonian captivity of Judah. He also prophesied the Salvation of God to His people, especially in his last 27 chapters. He foresaw their mourning, and in effect is saying, “Rejoice for Salvation has come.” This passage is not exactly about the literal Jubilee of Leviticus 25, but in the words of John F.A. Sawyer, it is ‘a sermon on it.’

The phrase in v1, “to proclaim liberty” and in v2, “to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” is the essence of Jubilee. According to v1, this is what the anointed prophet (Messiah) would be doing at the end of the exile. He comes to comfort His people, which is likened to the joy of Jubilee. The actions described in Isaiah 61 is not something the nation had done, nor could a mere prophet like Isaiah accomplish it. In Luke 4:17-21, Jesus said that it is fulfilled in Him.

 What to Proclaim?

The ultimate purpose of this proclamation is the glory of God, and its effect is the joy of the people clothed with the garment of praise (v3). Let’s focus only on the phrase “to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” of verse 2.  The infinitive ‘to proclaim’ has the idea of drawing someone’s attention to establish contact. It is intentional and true for all, and accessible to all the hearers.

The message is the ‘favorable year’ of the Lord. It means it is the year acceptable and pleasing to God. There is no more condemnation, punishment or banishment. Isaiah foresaw their suffering and mourning in exile due to the judgment of God. Now, God is going to show His mercy on them. Isaiah contrasted their (present) suffering and (promised) joy in such a way that it looks nonsensical to neglect this proclamation. He pictured them as if they are yearning eagerly for this favorable year when they would come back to their land, rebuild their home and society. What a comfort for them at last!

This favorable year is ‘of’ the Lord. The people do not deserve, nor can they coerce or cajole God; it is the sheer acts of God’s Jubilee. God is the planner and He shall be the fulfiller too. Salvation is of the Lord.

 Why celebrate Jubilee?

First of all, our Jubilee is not that of Leviticus 25 for a few reasons. a) We aren’t Jews, but Christians; the Jubilee was good news to Israel, but not necessarily to non-Israelite. b) We aren’t under the Mosaic covenant, but the new covenant; we aren’t promised the miracles of the 6^th year. c) We don’t have any property assigned to us by God. Moreover, it also means we shouldn’t expect the blessing of Jubilee (cancellation of debts, returning of lands, etc.) without considering these facts.

We celebrate Jesus, the true Jubilee. In him is the forgiveness of sins, and the deliverance from slavery to sin and from the yoke of Satan. We are given the citizenship of heaven. We are made acceptable to the holy God. We are made sons and heirs of God. Our treasure is laid up in heaven. We are clothed with the righteousness of God. We are indwelled by the Spirit of God to live a just and godly life.

We Christians continue to proclaim this truth until the return of Christ that it is the favorable year of the Lord. As 2Cor. 6:2 reiterates, now is the acceptable time for salvation. If you have not received Christ, wouldn’t it be joyful to hear Him say, “Come to me you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out, but give eternal life” (Matt 11: 33; John 6:37; 10:28)? And must we not be faithful to His calling as He has been faithful to us all these 50 years? And when we pursue Christlikeness, all the significance and implications of Jubilee shall make sense to us and others!

Recommended Readings:

1.      Social Justice and the Poor by Kevin De Young

Mass Conversion In India - An Analysis

pictorial representation (not actual)

THE ANALYSIS OF MASS MOVEMENTS IN INDIA

I.                  Introduction

Mass conversion to Christianity is happening among both Roman Catholics and Protestants. The effectiveness of “mass conversion” must be a matter of serious concern for every church planter. A study done in 1928 by a team on mass movement is the major background for this article. That study was the first critical survey of mass movements in India. It was financially supported by the Institute of Social and Religious Research, New York in association with the National Christian Council of India. At the onset, a few definitions are given so that the terms are rightly understood in the context.

Mass-Movement is said to happen when a group (not necessarily everyone, but more than a family) is accustomed to exercise social and religious authority over the life of individuals that compose the group. It happens not just in Christianity, but also in Hinduism. Caste- It is not easy to define. Though it can be divided into four types, in practice it is more than hundreds. It is more than the ancestral occupation. For example, some Brahmin serves, and also some Sudras become warriors and kings. Outcast does not mean ostracized. It means untouchable by higher caste such as by a Brahmin. When somebody is ostracized based on defying caste, he is as good as dead. He can either take refuge in the lower caste or just be lost. A person cannot exist outside the group (caste) in a normal village environment.

Now the below discussion has been divided under various headings to trace from its inception and also to highlight the strength and weakness to serve as a guiding policy for future Church planting.

II.               How these Churches came into existence?

One person will be saved and on account of this person after a few months or a year, or a good amount of group will be converted. This is how Churches were founded. Such type of phenomenon can be noted with the Chuhras caste in Punjab, Karens in Burma, Gonda caste in Patna, Mehras in Bastar, Mala caste in Raghavapuram, Gara caste in Orissa, Uraons & Mundas in Chhota Nagpur, and the Chamars in Ghaziabad (The founders of the Indian Church by Dr. Donald A. McGavran). The powerful Christian testimony of the particular individual was the magnet that attracted others also to the Gospel.

III.           Social and Economic Background of the Converts

·        Social

The survey documents reveal that the mass converts are low caste people. They are poor, illiterate, and exploited by the higher caste people. They face untouchability, restriction of trading rights, service deprivations, difficulty in getting drinking water, discrimination in schools, and were enforcing themselves an attitude of inferiority. Initially, they faced lots of persecution for their conversion. This would also cause a few people to turn back to Hinduism.

·        Economic

Mass-movement seems to happen only among poor people. However, the survey documents show that a few well-to-do people are influenced after seeing the lifestyle of these converted people. The survey reveals the following pattern of the people. Caste places restrictions against acquiring wealth and so they were very poor. The sources of income of these people are like labor work in fields in villages, coolie, labor in town and cities, owning agricultural lands, cattle, goats, and poultry. People also emigrating from villages for better opportunities like sweepers, servants in hotels, domestic services, stone cutters, clerks, chowkidars,(a few teachers, doctor, nurse). They are in heavy debts and sometimes forced to do labor, work without pay. They struggle with the very basic need for food and also an average person has one or two meals per day.

IV.           Strengths of the influence of Mass conversion on the converts

The survey paints a good picture regarding mass-movement conversion for the following reasons.

·        Social

They have stopped responding to karma as they worship the “true God”. They have a desire to share the blessings with others. Social status has improved due to personal cleanness and education.

·        Economic

Mission agencies were willing to support the converts. They came forward to help depressed people through health service and better housing. The new lifestyle reduced wasteful expenditure and their education enabled better employment and more money.

·        Spiritual

In the church, believers were growing spiritually by practicing and memorizing creedal knowledge. The believers gave importance to Sunday for attending the church. The Church was very strict concerning family and marriage.

·        Witnessing

After getting converted evil practices were cut down in villages like gambling, eating dead meat, sorcery practices. Changes that took place, in honesty and changes of the temperament of convert are worth noting. New practices took over like– worshiping God, singing hymns, and church service. These allowed them to witness the Gospel. People of the villages noticed that changes in them. Thus they could witness through their good behavior as noted down earlier.

·        Schools

The initiative to start schools was a great blessing. The motives were to equip them to read the Bible, to train the next generation, and for the abatement of social oppression and poverty. Mass movements lead to the common idea of planting the Church and Schools. They were able to get a good education which led to their socio-economic growth.

V.              Weaknesses of the influence of Mass conversion on the converts

·        Social

The woman started taking the lead in certain settings even in Churches. The issue of child marriage still persisted. Westernization was adopted.

·        Economic

Imitational expenses were high.

·        Spiritual

Indiscipline was observed in Church services in the form of interruptions and distractions. Practicing Idolatry and the use of charms still continued among some. Church administration was in Chaos. Less instruction before baptism, baptism was given in the mass/mela, and also systematic teaching/discipleship was lacking after the mass conversion. Poverty in the initial days caused them to depend on the missionary agencies to support. Church Discipline was not firmly practiced and also the Pastor showed partiality in certain cases. Pastoral care also lacked leading to stunted Christian growth. This could be the main reason why the Sudra community mass converts engaged in remarriage and other vile things even though once they were boldly proclaiming  Jesus Christ.

·        Schools

The focus changed from evangelizing to the development of the community and the missionaries were heavily burdened. The literacy program was not also very successful.

VI.           What do we learn from Mass movements?

We live in a time where people criticize mass conversion movements. They criticize the motives underlying Mass-movement conversion. Some believe that it is a heresy and is entirely secular and most of them– unworthy. Some became Christian for materialistic gain. Mass-movement is not a missionary method. We cannot practice or create it. There are lots of incidents telling us to be very cautious about it. However, multitudes are coming to know the Truth as they bring along with their relatives and neighbors. Moreover, in Indian villages, the caste group is the chief center of influence for effective witnesses.

VII.       Conclusion

 We must be thankful that the mass conversions took place according to the sovereign will of God. However, as enlightened by the survey results we should not be satisfied at this point. If so, all our suspicion (nominal Christian, westernization, heresy, self-righteousness) would become true. We should be doing more. We should disciple the converted souls. They should be equipped with the sound doctrine for a strong conviction. The mass movement lacked proper Church administration. So it is highly mandated that this movement needs more pastoral care, fellowship and must be organized under proper leadership.

Will a million dollars make you 'feel' rich?

This post was originally texted (months ago) to a friend through WhatsApp for humor. It is posted here, unaltered and unmodified. Hopefully, it will make you think through many issues: true ultimate treasure (Christ), contentment, economics, saving, providence, rich-poor-middle, and even to appreciate good novels and movies. 

```RICHEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE (MATERIALLY)```

I saw a prediction that Elon Musk could be the world's first trillionaire. There are over 2816 billionaires and 46.8 million millionaires in the world. BTW, that's calculated in US dollars. We are from India, and most of us aren't even a lakhpati (that's just 1321 US dollars anyway). We have only a few thousands or hundreds in our wallet. Even some of our well-salaried friends couldn't maintain $1000 saving at any given time.

Last evening I was going through my diaries and journal to find out the richest moment of my life. I was richest last year, on February 03, 2019, I had 61,000 rupees (equals $806 only). But by the next day, 04 February, I was reduced to 20,000 because I paid my landlord 41,000 rupees as the rent fees. For someone who stepped into a ministry with less than 500 rupees (equals only 6 dollars) in his wallet, and the Lord providing thus far is indeed a story of providence.

Well, that's not a lot of  money, but do you realize that 21,000 people die every day without food in their stomachs? Hmmm, that puts things into proper perspective! In my school days, Slam Books were very popular. One of the most interesting ‘fill up the blanks’ was "If I were a millionaire, I would____." Now, in my almost 30s, methinks becoming a millionaire (7 figure) is not easy after all. Often it’s the 4 figure (that too in Rupees) is what many of us have.

There are millions of millionaires and millions of people dying out of hunger on our earth. Fortunately, we are neither of them, but that could make us Pharisees if we complain against the rich and not care about the poor. After all, no matter how much or little we have, we want more and not lesser. 

We treasure what we have. And in the word of our Lord, where our treasure is, there our hearts will be. The Lord of the Rings Movie demonstrated that graphically as Gollum, Bilbo and even Frodo adored the ring frequently and said "My Precious" throughout the movie. And like the Gandalf and Samwise we must be quick to act if and when we take pleasure (or take a breath of relief) in our possession.