Browsing Through Old Papers
Brother William Wallace has done excellent work in reproducing articles from papers of several years ago. These writings were composed by some of the staunchest defenders of the faith in the church and are timely just now. In reading through some of the papers of twenty to thirty years ago I have found some articles that are just as applicable now as they were when first published. William will not think that I am intruding in his field by submitting some of these for reprint now.
Brother F. B. Srygley was advertised on the front page of an issue of the GOSPEL ADVOCATE in 1931 as "Senior Staff Editor of the Gospel Advocate 'contending for the Faith'." In the issue of that paper of May 28, 1931 Brother Srygley wrote an article on the topic, "THE WORD 'MISSIONARY'." The writing is as follows:
"Every one who has carefully noted the fact knows that the word "missionary" is not in the New Testament at all. I know the word means one sent on a mission. In modern religious literature the word means one sent on a religious mission. God has told us all that is necessary for us to know about Christianity without using that word. We have not only adopted the words "mission" and "missionary" in this religious sense, but we have divided them into two classes by the use of the terms "home missionary" and "foreign missionary." But there is no distinction in religious work of this kind in the New Testament. The word "evangelist" is used in the New Testament, but the evangelist is not divided into the two classes of home evangelist and foreign evangelist. As best I can tell, the evangelist comes nearer standing for the missionary than anything else I know in the New Testament. The apostles were sent by the Savior, and they would fulfill that meaning of the word "missionary;" but, of course, we have no apostles now, except those that Jesus sent out, and they are still the apostles through their teaching. I have an idea that the apostle Paul had inspired men in view when he said: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?" Those that were sent were the apostles, who were not only sent by Christ, but were qualified by the Holy Spirit. It is all right to support a preacher while he goes, and support his family so he can go, bilk the man who makes no effort to go until some church sends him will perhaps do little good when he goes... But granting that a missionary is one who is "sent," and that a church is the only thing to send him, when he goes for a spell and returns to the place from which he was sent, is he still a missionary? He is not then "sent." How, then, could he be a missionary, seeing that a missionary is one who is sent? The man who is once "sent" and comes back, how can he continue to be a missionary Has one church the right to send a man to other churches to keep up something which he calls a "mission" or build up something called a "missionary spirit?" He would be sent all right, and he might be a missionary of that church, but would he be a Scriptural adjunct to that church? Even granting that a church has a right to send a missionary, has it the right to send a missionary to other churches? What right has one church over another? If a church needs stirring up on the missionary spirit, has its leaders not the right to select the man or the means by which it is to be done? What right has one church to send a man to other churches for that purpose? Has one man the right to appoint himself as an agent for other men and churches on what is termed the "missionary spirit?" Is any individual called and qualified to take charge of other individuals and churches on this question? There are so few people now, it seems, who can be satisfied with living a humble Christian and being a submissive worker in a congregation of saints.
"The word "mission" is used in the sense of a body of people sent to perform any work, and in this sense the church is a body of people sent by Christ on the mission of saving souls. Then all of God's people are missionaries with a mission to perform. This may account for the fact that the Bible does not speak of a missionary or the missionary. Christ came to the world on a mission, and that was to save the world, and his people are left here with the gospel and the same mission to perform. Every one should take that place in the kingdom in which he can do the most good in carrying out the mission of saving the world. This is the mission of the church."