of reason.

The idea of preaching the gospel to the heathen "for a witness," in the
ordinary acceptance of that term, does not constitute a worthy Christian
motive. Dr. W. N. Clark well analyzes this thought in the following words,
(page 53, in "Study of Christian Missions"),--"At the outset, there is one
motive, often, though not necessarily, associated with the theory of
heralding, that must be rejected as no Christian motive. It is often held
that in this rapid work the gospel is not to be preached mainly in order
that it may be believed unto salvation, but rather 'for a witness,'--which
is taken to mean 'for a witness against,' the hearers when they meet the
judgment of God. The hearing of the gospel marks a turning-point, both in
experience and destiny. When once men have heard the gospel, they will be
saved if they believe, and justly condemned if they do not. Only a few
will be saved by the missionary preaching; the elect will be gathered out
of the mass, and the many will remain indifferent. But the blame of their
ruin will be upon themselves, not upon God or the Christian people; and it
is to insure this result that the gospel is preached to them for a
witness. But this is no _Christian truth_. Such teaching cannot truly
represent the motive of God the Saviour. We must maintain that God acts in
good faith in the offers of His grace, or Christianity becomes a delusion.
We must preserve our own good faith also in conveying the offer of grace,
or our hearers will rise in the judgment to condemn us. No allowance
should be made for any such unchristian motive in our plans for Christian
missions, and we must hold no theory of missions that implies it."

Moreover the view is thoroughly pessimistic, so far as this dispensation
is concerned, and fails to realize the power and the glory of Christian
truth and of the kingdom of Christ as inspired by the Holy Spirit. A
theory of missions which is pessimistic at the core can hardly be a safe
or an inspiring one.

It should be remembered also that missions are not an end in themselves.
They should aim at making themselves unnecessary by the establishing of
vigorous churches which shall become self-extending and indigenous in all
the lands of the earth. The hope of missions, and the hope of the world
through missions, lies not, ultimately, in the missions, but in the
churches which they establish. Therefore they should be well established
and patiently developed. The Church