It has often been observed that the literature and creeds produced by the Protestant Reformation say very little about missions. If we were to rewrite the Reformation creeds today I am sure that we would want to deal more explicitly with missions than these creeds do. But I am convinced that we often overlook the encouragement to mission that the creeds in their present form already give us. When, for example, have you heard a mission sermon based on the Heidelberg Catechism? There are at least three questions and answers in the catechism that have a direct bearing on missions.

The Missionary Christian⤒🔗

Question and answer 32 of the catechism read as follows:

But why are you called a Christian?

Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a free con­science against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

This question and answer follow immediately on question 31 of the catechism: "Why is he called 'Christ' meaning 'anointed'?" The answer is that Christ is our chief prophet, our only high priest, and our eternal king. Answer 32 then adds this surpris­ing statement: "I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing." This means that every believer somehow shares in the work of Christ as prophet, priest, and king. This is called "the office of every believer." This office is taught in 1 Peter 2:9 and elsewhere in the New Testament. Peter says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

The part of answer 32 that applies directly to mis­sions is the clause that says, "I am anointed to con­fess his name." All Christians are called to confess the name of Christ in the ears of a listening world. They are called to act out their love for Christ before the eyes of a watching world. This is their prophetic office and it reflects the prophetic office held by Christ himself. In commenting on this an­swer Ursinus wrote:

Our Prophetical Office is:←↰⤒🔗

1. Rightly to know God and his will.

2. That every one in his place and degree profess the same, being correctly understood, faithfully, boldly and constantly, that God may thereby be celebrated, and his truth revealed in its living force and power.
   
   Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my father which is in heaven.(Matthew 10:32)(The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism, Eerdmans, 1954, p. 179)

If we take the catechism seriously at this point, we can never rest satisfied with inviting people to come to church in the hope that they will there hear and understand the gospel. We must ourselves pre­sent the gospel to them, for many will never come to church until after the gospel has already made an impression on their hearts and lives. Some will be more skilled than others at such presentations. But all Christians are called to attempt such witnessing as opportunity arises.

The prophet Joel, who was quoted by Peter on Pentecost, had predicted the prophetic office of every believer and its implications for missions when he wrote:

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy ... And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:17b, 18, 21

Christians, both young and old, are still called to bear prophetic witness to our generation. This witness must start at home, but must not stop until it has reached the very ends of the earth.

The Missionary Church←⤒🔗

Turning to question and answer 54 of the catechism we read as follows:

What do you believe concerning the holy catholic Church?

That the Son of God, out of the whole human race, from the beginning to the end of the world, gathers, defends, and preserves for Himself, by His Spirit and Word, in the unity of the true faith, a Church chosen to everlasting life; and that I am, and forever shall remain, a living member thereof.

Here we learn that the work of missions is really God's work. God, the Son, who is the Head of the Church, is at work in the world enlarging His body, the Church.

The Head and King of the Church uses two means to accomplish this expansion. He uses the Holy Spirit who works powerfully in the hearts and lives of men. And He uses His word which is contained in the Scriptures and which is proclaimed by His servants.

It is important to recognize that the word of salva­tion does not spread over the world automatically. It is conveyed by fallible men and women. It is trans­lated by them. It is preached by them. It is lived by them before the eyes of a watching world.

As this is done faithfully, Christ gathers His Church "out of the whole human race." Jesus said that the gospel will be preached "in the whole world as a testimony to all nations" (Matthew 24:14). The twenty-four elders in the vision of John praised the Lamb, who ransomed men "from every tribe and tongue and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9). This implies missionaries to all the 5,000 or more ethnic groups that presently live on our globe. It implies language learning and Bible translating as is done by the Bible societies and Wycliffe Bible Trans­lators. All this must be done because Christ wills to gather His Church "out of the whole human race."

And this activity is to continue "from the begin­ning to the end of the world." The Old Testament saints are saved in essentially the same way as New Testament believers. The message of salvation is being spread right now. It will continue to spread (even though there may also be fierce opposition) un­til Christ returns.

The Missionary Prayer←⤒🔗

Question and answer 123 of the Heidelberg Catechism also has direct bearing on missions. It reads like this:

What is the second petition?

Thy kingdom come. That is: so rule us by Thy Word and Spirit that we may submit ourselves more and more to Thee; preserve and increase Thy Church; destroy the works of the devil, every power that exalts itself against Thee, and all wicked counsels conceived against Thy holy Word, until the perfection of Thy kingdom ar­rive wherein Thou shalt be all in all.

Just as answer 54 of the Catechism defines the Church as an expanding, missionary Church, so answer 123 enlarges our vision still more. For here the Kingdom is explained, and the Kingdom is even broader than the Church. It includes both angels and men. It includes both the Church as organization and the Church as organism. It includes the rule of God wherever that rule comes to light.

The Kingdom begins with personal submission to God's mighty rule. We cannot pray, "Thy Kingdom come" and mean it, unless we ourselves want that Kingdom to come more and more in our own hearts and lives.

But prayer for the coming of the Kingdom also says, "Preserve and increase Thy Church." Here is church growth in the Heidelberg Catechism! Numer­ical growth, spiritual growth, and structural growth are all involved here. Otto Theleman, in his com­mentary on the catechism recognizes this when he says, "The spread of the Kingdom of God is ac­complished ... through missionary activity" (An Aid to the Heidelberg Catechism, Douma Publica­tions, Grand Rapids, 1959, p. 425).

Regarding the relation of Church and Kingdom, Herman Ridderbos says, "The one is inseparable from the other without, however, the one merging into the other" (The Coming of the Kingdom, Presbyterian & Reformed, Philadelphia, 1962, p. 355). It is regrettable that most church-growth writers have ignored the relation of Church and Kingdom, for many Kingdom parables speak of the expansion of the Kingdom. This Kingdom expansion necessarily involves church growth because of the organic relation of Church to Kingdom.

The catechism answer goes on to describe the struggle between the Kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of light. The advance of the Kingdom does not come easily. The servants of the Kingdom are called to throw themselves into the fray, to battle the forces of evil at all levels, to recover ground from the prince of this world wherever it can be done.

Good soldiers need preparation. Good soldiers must know what they are doing. Reliance on God's sovereignty is never an excuse for laziness. The ser­vants of the Kingdom are called to prepare, to study, to listen, to plan strategy, that they may be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." That is why we have colleges and seminaries that prepare both men and women for missionary service at home and abroad.

The final goal is, "the full perfection of Thy King­dom." When Christ, the King, returns, His Kingdom will have reached this state of perfection. The best way to prepare for Christ's return is not to camp on a hill and wait; the best way to prepare is to work for the Kingdom here and now with all the strength we have. This is a big order, but to the extent that the Spirit of Jesus Christ energizes and directs our lives, we can do it.

The catechism does not spell out all the principles of missions as we know them today. But it does give us a substantial foundation on which to build. This "mission testimony" of the catechism ought to be confessed and practiced.