THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR’S HOUSE, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, NOR ANY THING THAT IS THY NEIGHBOUR’S. –Exodus 20:17 (KJV)–
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an HOUSEHOLDER, which went out early in the morning to HIRE LABOURERS INTO HIS VINEYARD. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. –Jesus Christ in Matthew 20:1-2 (KJV)–
The end justifies the means. —Sergei Nechaev, Russian atheist, nihilist, communist, and Bolshevik revolutionary–
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Dr. John R. Rice, False Doctrines Answered (Sword, 1970), pp. 380-382.
There’s several lessons we can learn from this man of God:
1. Although he was raised Methodist, he worked with Baptists and Open Brethren. What he called the “Gospel” was a shared vision of salvation held by both Wesleyans and Calvinists–both camps spoke to him. And so he developed a non-denominational evangelical vision for the China Inland Mission.
2. The top English missionary organizations to China all rejected him, because he wasn’t educated enough in theology and medicine; and his ideas were too “zealous” and unconventional. For example, he was the type of guy who decided to dress like the Chinese people in order to fit in with them; and so become less of a stumbling block to sharing the Gospel message. So he got rid of his Western clothing styles, because the Chinese found them distracting. The missionary organizations didn’t like him and so they rejected him entirely. They also had no interest in doing any missionary work in the interior part of China; only on the outskirts by the beaches. He felt like God had called him to the unreached people of inner China; and so what did he do about it? He just went in there without a denominational covering, without the typical affirmation sought from a board of elders at some local Southern Baptist church. He became an independent missionary when he saw that no church leaders would affirm him, support him, and ordain him with a ministerial license and church paycheck. He just went in there by himself. And then over time, God sent him ministry friends, donors, and connections.
3. Missionaries need shots or immunizations, especially against cholera and dysentery. These took the lives of his first wife and their children. Today, missionary immunizations are much more comprehensive, and almost always involve COVID-19 shots. Its foolish, very dangerous, and even life threatening to go on any foreign mission trip, whether short-term or long-term, without the right shots.
4. Last but not least, he showed that charismatic experience of the Holy Spirit is possible in our times, even if you’re not a Pentecostal or NAR person. A stripped down, undistracted life characterized by simple thought patterns, quiet devotional times, deep meditative study of the King James Bible and prayer, can lead to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit enter your mind to give you direction, peace, and encouragement. –J.B.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope. –1 Timothy 1:1 (NIV)–
Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. –Ephesians 4:11 (NIV)–
Evangelists and missionaries that operated more like independent Spirit-led apostles, with or without the current approval, oversight, and licensure of local Baptist elders: Amos (“I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son,” 7:14), John the Baptist and Jesus Christ our Lord (“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things,” Matthew 21:27), Apostle Paul (“Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus,” Galatians 1:17), Barnabas, Philip, Hudson Taylor, Saint Patrick, Saint Columba, John Wesley, Charles Finney, George Müller, Leonard Ravenhill, Amy Carmichael, C. T. Studd, William Booth, and David Wilkerson (last ten years). –J.B.
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WesleyGospel, “Debunking Cessationism.” 1. Galatians 1. An apostle is directly sent by Jesus, through a vision, dream, or other such prophetic experience (1:1, 12). He has received a revelation about the Gospel of lordship salvation (1:4); and he does not receive his preaching ordination from men, but only directly from God (1:17-20). 2. 1 Corinthians 4. An apostle suffers so much that he feels he has been given the death penalty; and made a spectacle of suffering to both men and angels (4:9). They are made to look like fools for Christ, because of their walk of faith, and desire to be guided by the Holy Spirit in their decisions (4:10). They are hated; they suffer hunger, thirst, poor clothing, beatings, and homelessness (4:10-11); they do manual labor; they are made fun of and are persecuted (4:12); and their reputations are defamed by slanderous lies (4:13). 3. 1 Corinthians 9. An apostle has seen Jesus at least once in a vision or dream (9:1). He may not be viewed as an apostle by all Christians, but he will be to those who have been blessed by his influence and ministry (9:2). He can be married (9:5); and can quit work and live off of ministry donations (9:6-11); but he also realizes that living 100% from ministry donations is likely going to hinder people from receiving the Gospel (9:12): but not in all cases (9:13-14). The overall sense that apostles feel is that preaching the Gospel should be free of charge (9:15-18), because there is more reward in that; and its considered an abuse to charge money for preaching the Gospel. Apostles are interracial in their ministry scope (9:20-23); and they make quality friendships with the poor (“the weak”) so they can be saved (9:22). They understand conditional security, so they discipline their lives, and embrace their sufferings as from God (9:27). 4. 2 Corinthians 12:12. They exhibit all of “the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.”
Mack Tomlinson, In Light of Eternity: The Life of Leonard Ravenhill (Granted Ministries Press, 2019). It could be said that Ravenhill sat under the teaching of “Dr. Tozer” and David Wilkerson at different points, being employed by them in the Alliance and Assemblies of God, but not all the time. Ravenhill got his own leading from the Holy Spirit and was often an independent evangelist. Although Wesley kept his preaching license under the “covering” of the Church of England; and Wilkerson did so with Assemblies of God for most of his life–both men rejected their licenses in the last ten years of their lives, when they decided to found the Methodist Episcopal Church in America and Times Square Church respectively.
The Confession of Saint Patrick (Image, 1998).
J. Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor (Bethany House, 1987).
William Hendriksen, 1&2 Timothy and Titus (Banner of Truth, 1972).
WesleyGospel Ministries 