In this vein, we now return to the fundamental mission of the Covenant.
Christ commands us to go into all of the world and demonstrate the gospel. The problem is that this statement in English is weighed down with a burden of sheer nonsense. Western churchianity sees it as a form of cultural conquest. It constitutes an invasion of a foreign and non-Christian lifestyle.
Aside from some of the wording, what has passed for “missions” up to now bears no resemblance to the Covenant. Churchianity has displaced the genuine gospel mission, just as Judaism displaced genuine ancient Hebrew faith. The single biggest threat covenant people face today is the mainstream churches, even while that is our also our primary mission field.
The mainstream churches are all over the world. While our particular methods might be different from Paul’s, the mission will inevitably center on reaching out to them first, rather like Paul hitting the synagogues wherever he went. For us, the church folks are our first target, and we would expect the same basic mix of reactions Paul faced in the synagogues.
In the wider context, our hand is very weak right now. We have be careful; our methods must reflect that. Our public profile is virtually nonexistent. We would be lumped in with a rather small collection of weirdos who defy explanation, if we were noticed at all. We should be grateful for any publicity at all, good or bad, so long as it distinguishes us.
Let’s return to an issue that keeps coming up in the minds of many: Living the gospel message in front of every human on the planet is a mandate from the Creator. This is not an optional activity. Nobody in the world has a “right” to be left alone. They can ignore our message, but they cannot choose to keep us out of their community.
I’ll grant that God has made it clear there are times and seasons when His servants will avoid certain places and peoples. Those limitations are tactical and temporary. Long term, no place where humans live is exempt from our witness. The context defines what it means to “boldly proclaim the truth”, and the context determines how that message might be portrayed so that it can be received. We do not take our culture to them, but our faith in Christ. We bear a heavy burden of making sure we understand the difference, and that we understand the culture of the people to which we go. But go we must.
To the degree they strive to block our message, to that degree their lives are forfeit, right where they stand. Whose hand wields the sword against them is not the point here. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are appointed to this world, and living in peace is simply not an option without the Covenant. God reserves for Himself the authority to decide whom to send, where and when, to represent Him for either compassion or the sword.
But we do not go to conquer politically; the Covenant of Christ is quite unlike that of Moses in this one thing. We conquer spiritually. Our Elect brothers and sisters are out there, and it is our duty to find them and give them their just due opportunity to choose the Covenant. That’s what “divine justice” means.
When Jesus swung that whip in the Court of Gentiles, He had the authority of His Father, whose house stood within those courts. The foul and corrupt market was under His Father’s authority de jure. They had dared to step inside those boundaries with their evil. This placed their activities under Jesus’ covering.
You must first understand the feudal vassalage that God has placed in your hands. When you take any action at all, it must be in accordance with that grant from Heaven. Exercise your covering with vigor and persistence. Learn to recognize the movement in your convictions, and don’t let any human draw boundaries for you — unless you are under their covering. You will know in your heart when the Sword of the Spirit must manifest as a sword in the flesh.
If you are going to know God, then you will know Him first by His priorities in the context of your existence. The mission is to demonstrate those priorities and bring Him glory. Stop listening to the principles of men, and learn to hear the voice of God in your convictions. Christian faith and mission is not what the mainstream churches say it is. And by no means is it what the broader human authorities claim it should be. If God does not lead you personally, then you have no mission.
