Why should we prioritize reaching the unreached?

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him." And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand." This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. - Romans 15:8‭-‬24 ESV

Rev. S.Ewing

Why? God has a mission to reach all the people for his glory. So the church must prioritize the mission of God.

God has a mission to reach all people's for his glory and the church is called to the same mission

Paul was calling both Jews and gentiles to unity in the church. He tells them that they are both needed. First he speaks of how the word first came to the Jews. Then he calls for the fulfillment of the word in bringing the gentiles into God's family/kingdom. Paul speaks of the gentiles six times in six verses. He references the Old Testament which both gentiles and Jews use. Missions isn't a personal hobby. It comes from God. The bible is a missional book. So the church must be on mission as well. The verses speak of God subduing the nations and then calling them into worship. How? This is only possible by the sacrifice of Jesus. From rebels, to saved, to worshippers... This is the theme, this is our story. Not only just the gentiles, but also the Jews. It is the story of every Christian. God wants to win our hearts and receive our praise & worship. Missions isn't primarily about salvation, it is about God's glory. Salvation of people is important, but God's glory is ultimate.

We cannot go on missions on our own power. Going overseas is difficult. How then? We are first objects of God's mission before we are the means of God's mission. Worship and missions are married. They are not in conflict. Paul's worship is bringing more worshippers to God.

We must prioritize the unreached

The church must prioritize the unreached because God is on a mission for those who don't know him. Paul says that there are places where people don't know God and places with no foundation. What does that mean? It means places with no Christian witness. A foundation is coded language to mean a church. So places where there is no church. This is what we understand as unreached people. There is no one actively working for the resurrection of those people.

We must use God's resources

Paul wants to go to Spain. Not Spain like today, there are no Christians there. Paul asks for help on his journey. What does that mean? In that day and age, it means to pave the way to send someone with them. It means to provide resources, maybe even send people to go with them, to be refreshed & encouraged for their journey. So let's summarize, it means material, financial, & spiritual support. We don't just send them and say bye. It means sending short term teams. It means sending long term missions team members. It means praying for them as the missionaries go thru hardship.