MOTIVES IN FOREIGN 
 MISSIONS 
 
 GRIFFITH JOHN D.D. 
 
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MOTIVES IN FOREIGN 
 MISSIONS 
 
 / 
 
 BY REV. GRIFFITH JOHN D.D. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT 
 FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 
 1909 
 
Copies of this pamphlet may be ordered 
 from the Student Volunteer Movement, 
 125 East Twenty-seventh Street, New York 
 City, at 5 cents each ; 40 cents per dozen ; 
 $2. 50 per hundred ; express charges prepaid. 
 
Motives in Foreign Missions 
 
 By Rev. Griffith John, Hankow, China 
 
 HERE should the emphasis be 
 
 VV placed in our advocacy of the 
 missionary enterprise? Why should 
 men give of their silver and their gold 
 in order to carry on this enterprise? 
 Why should men be asked to devote 
 their lives to this work? What is the 
 grand motive which should be used in 
 our attempts to move the churches to 
 greater activity and the missionaries to 
 deeper consecration in this holy cause? 
 
 I. Should we place the emphasis on 
 the relation of the missionary enterprise 
 to the advancement of secular knowl¬ 
 edge? I have heard appeals made for 
 missions on this ground, and there can 
 be no doubt as to the great utility of 
 missions in this respect. It would be 
 impossible to say how much the various 
 departments of secular knowledge owe 
 to foreign missions. Take geography, 
 history, ethnology, philology, and such 
 subjects. The best and most reliable in- 
 
formation that we possess in these de¬ 
 partments has come to us through the 
 missionaries. Then, too, the heathen 
 nations of the world are indebted to the 
 missionaries for nearly all the knowledge 
 which they possess on these subjects. 
 This is a good thing in itself, and we re¬ 
 joice in the fact that foreign missions 
 have done so much to enlarge the sphere 
 of human knowledge on every subject 
 touching the world and its inhabitants. 
 But we dare not place the emphasis on 
 this fact in our advocacv of missions. 
 An individual here and there might be 
 touched by an appeal made on this 
 ground, but it would kindle no enthu¬ 
 siasm in the hearts of men generally. 
 Men will not become missionaries for the 
 sake of promoting the growth of secular 
 knowledge nor will the churches give of 
 their wealth for this purpose. 
 
 II. Shall we place the emphasis on the 
 relation of the missionary enterprise to 
 the advancement of commerce? I have 
 heard appeals made on this ground; and 
 there can be no doubt of the utility of 
 missions in this respect. The mission is 
 the friend of legitimate commerce always 
 and everywhere. While it sets its face 
 like a flint against trade in opium and 
 fire-water and all such abominations, it 
 joyfully welcomes the honest and hon¬ 
 orable trader and prepares the way for 
 
 4 
 
him. Missionaries are pioneers of trade 
 and commerce. They are the promoters 
 of civilization, learning, and education 
 wherever they may be, and these things 
 breed new wants which commerce sup¬ 
 plies. Look at Polynesia, Madagascar, 
 Africa, and other countries, and see what 
 missions have done for trade. But we 
 dare not place the emphasis on this fact. 
 The commercial motive is altogether too 
 weak, too low, too outward to move men 
 to consecrate themselves and their means 
 to the cause of missions. We must have 
 something far loftier, far stronger, and 
 far more inward. Men will not become 
 missionaries for the sake of advancing 
 the interests of commerce; neither will 
 the churches give of their wealth for this 
 purpose. 
 
 III. Shall we place the emphasis on 
 the relation of the missionary enterprise 
 to the advancement of civilization? I 
 have heard appeals made on this ground, 
 and I have heard of men subscribing to 
 missions because of their utility in this 
 respect. Darwin became a subscriber to 
 the work by reason of what he saw with 
 his own eyes of the civilizing effects of 
 missions. I have heard also of men re¬ 
 fusing to subscribe to missions in China, 
 on the ground that the Chinese were sup¬ 
 posed to be a civilized people. 
 
 That the missionary enterprise is a 
 
 5 
 
great civilizing agency is a fact which 
 cannot be questioned. Look at the 
 South Seas. There you see the wild can¬ 
 nibal turned into a lamb, the ferocious 
 savage sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed 
 and in his right mind, and the debased, 
 brutish pagan transferred into a heaven¬ 
 aspiring and God-loving man. That is 
 not only religion but civilization also. 
 Referring to the great change which has 
 been wrought in the moral and social 
 life of the natives of Tahiti and New 
 Zealand by the missionaries, Darwin 
 writes: “ In a voyager to forget these 
 things is base ingratitude; for should he 
 chance to be at the point of shipwreck, 
 on some unknown coast, he will most 
 devoutly pray that the lesson of the mis¬ 
 sionary may have extended so far.” 
 
 Turn to India. There, self-mutilation, 
 human sacrifice, the burning of widows, 
 and other cruel practices have been 
 swept away, and this is to be ascribed 
 in a great measure to the influence of 
 the modern mission. Speaking of the 
 missionaries in India, Lord Lawrence, 
 late Viceroy of India, said, “ However 
 many benefits the English people may 
 have conferred on India, the missiona¬ 
 ries have accomplished more than all 
 other influences combined.” There is 
 nothing in its line in the history of the 
 world that can compare with England’s 
 
 6 
 
secular work in India during the past one 
 hundred years, and yet Lord Lawrence 
 did not hesitate to speak of the work 
 of the missionaries in India as surpas¬ 
 sing all others in point of importance. 
 
 As for Japan, it was in 1854 that the 
 first treaty was concluded between it and 
 any Western power. Since then the 
 Land of the Rising Sun has been stead¬ 
 ily moving toward the civilization of the 
 West, and becoming more and more as¬ 
 similated to Christian nations; and this 
 is to be ascribed in a very great measure 
 to the influence of the modern mission. 
 The progress of Japan in Christian civ¬ 
 ilization has received a wonderful illus¬ 
 tration in the recent struggle with China. 
 I am not referring now to the material 
 improvements, as demonstrated by the 
 marvelous strength and efficiency of her 
 army and navy, though that must be ad¬ 
 mitted to be one of the great marvels of 
 the age. What astonishes one is the 
 wonderful moral progress brought to 
 light by this conflict. Their well- 
 equipped commissariat and thoroughly 
 efficient medical department; the careful 
 provision made, not only for their own 
 sick and wounded, but for the sick and 
 wounded of the enemy also; their Red 
 Cross Society, and the humane treatment 
 of the prisoners taken in battle—all these 
 things are new in Japan, and they are 
 
 7 
 
the things which fill the hearts of all 
 Christian workers in the Far East with 
 wonder and gratitude. When, 300 years 
 ago, the armies of Japan swept over 
 Korea, the spirit of carnage and plunder 
 was unrestrained. The ears of 3,600 
 victims, slain in a single battle, were 
 brought back to Japan and exhibited as 
 trophies of the cruel conflict. The same 
 spirit would have prevailed in this war 
 but for the influence of Christianity. I 
 do not mean to say that the Japanese as 
 a people have adopted Christianity as a 
 religion; that, as yet, they have not done. 
 And I do not mean to say that they are 
 likely to do so, either to-day or to-mor¬ 
 row. It is impossible to foresee what re¬ 
 ligious developments may take place 
 there in the near future. But they have 
 come into vital contact with Christian 
 methods; they have come under the in¬ 
 fluence of Christian teaching; the spirit 
 of Christianity is moving them; Chris¬ 
 tian ideas are taking possession of them; 
 and they are putting on Christian civili¬ 
 zation with a rapidity and a thorough¬ 
 ness which astonish the world. Again 
 I say that this is to be ascribed, in very 
 great measure at least, to the influence 
 of Christian missions. 
 
 “ Humanity,” says Colonel Denby, 
 formerly United States Minister at Pe¬ 
 king, “has not devised any better, or even 
 
 8 
 
as good, engine or means for civilizing 
 savage peoples as proselytism to Chris¬ 
 tianity. The history of the world attests 
 this fact. In the interest, therefore, of 
 civilization, missionaries ought not only 
 to be tolerated, but ought to receive the 
 protection to which they are entitled 
 from the officials and encouragement 
 from all other classes of people.” Thus 
 there can be no doubt as to the great 
 value of Christian missions in this respect. 
 It is getting to be seen more and more 
 clearly every day that “ among the cult¬ 
 ure forces of the world Christianity is 
 the most powerful,” and that the Chris¬ 
 tian missionary, instead of being an 
 enemy, is the best friend of science, of 
 commerce, and of civilization. For my 
 own part, I do not believe that apart from 
 Christianity there can be such a thing 
 as true civilization. Are the Chinese a 
 civilized people? No, and never will be 
 as long as they remain unchristianized. 
 The riots and massacres of recent years 
 go far to show that their much-vaunted 
 civilization is little else than veneered 
 barbarism. This is an important fact, a 
 fact on which due emphasis should be 
 placed. Still the main emphasis cannot 
 be placed on this fact. The civilizing 
 motive, though a true one, is far too 
 weak to move men to lay themselves and 
 their property on the altar on behalf of 
 
 9 
 
the heathen. It is too weak in itself to 
 rouse the conscience and touch the hearts 
 of men. Men will not become mission¬ 
 aries for the sake of civilizing the heath¬ 
 en, neither will the churches give of 
 their wealth for this purpose. 
 
 IV. Shall we place the emphasis on 
 the moral and spiritual condition of the 
 heathen? This is a more important con¬ 
 sideration. The moral and spiritual con¬ 
 dition of the heathen world—its dark¬ 
 ness, its immorality, and its hopelessness 
 when viewed from the human standpoint, 
 is sad beyond description. The heathen 
 are living in sin and dying in sin. They 
 are without God, without Christ, with¬ 
 out hope. Now this is a solemn fact, 
 and the true missionary cannot but place 
 a solemn emphasis upon it. But even 
 this cannot be regarded as the grand, 
 central motive. It is a strong motive; 
 but it is not the strongest. It is not pow¬ 
 erful enough to carry us on to the end 
 and to victory. 
 
 (i) It is not strong enough in itself 
 to take the missionary to the field; it is 
 certainly too weak to keep him there. 
 The moral and spiritual condition of the 
 heathen often creates strong aversion, 
 deep loathing, and an intense desire to 
 retire to a safe distance from the abom¬ 
 ination. In itself it tends to repel rather 
 than attract. What, think you, would be 
 
 10 
 
the effect of an attempt on the part of 
 the missionary in China to fix his eyes 
 on the bad and vile in Chinese life and 
 character? Would it not be the creation 
 within his breast of a strong sentiment 
 of distrust, contempt, aversion, detesta¬ 
 tion, despair? Would it be possible for 
 him to go on and work for them? Pity 
 for the heathen is a good motive; but 
 the missionary cannot depend upon it as 
 a permanently operative, motive. There 
 are times when love and pity seem to die 
 down in the heart of the missionary as 
 he comes into close contact with the bad¬ 
 ness of heathenism. What holds him fast 
 in the midst of so much that tends to dis¬ 
 gust and repel? I will answer that ques¬ 
 tion hereafter. In the meantime I will 
 relate a little anecdote. “ Let me give 
 you a piece of advice,” said a missionary 
 of some years’ standing at Hankow to 
 a young brother who had only just ar¬ 
 rived at the place; “ I advise you to try, 
 as fast as possible, to learn to love the 
 Chinese for Christ’s sake, for you will 
 find it very difficult to love them for their 
 own sake.” That was sound advice, 
 based upon practical experience. Please 
 do not misunderstand me. I do not 
 mean to say that it is impossible to love 
 the Chinaman for his own sake. There 
 are men among the converts for whom 
 I feel the deepest personal affection. I 
 
 11 
 
love them, and they love me, and, thank 
 God, the number of such is increasing 
 every day. Still, what I have just said 
 is perfectly true. 
 
 (2) Moreover, the moral and spiritual 
 condition of the heathen does not pre¬ 
 sent a motive strong enough to move the 
 home churches to do their duty. “ How 
 is it possible for me to bring myself to 
 love and pity the Chinese? They are so 
 far away, and I know so little about them. 
 How can you expect me to feel an in¬ 
 terest in them, and make any sacrifice 
 on their behalf? They may be morally 
 and spiritually in a state of great desti¬ 
 tution, but how am I to realize their con¬ 
 dition? How can you expect my heart 
 to flow out toward them in love and 
 pity? ” So spoke one of the most 
 thoughtful of our Congregational minis¬ 
 ters to me when I was at home the last 
 time. I felt that there was much truth 
 in what he said and made an appeal to 
 him on another and a higher ground— 
 an appeal to which he quickly responded. 
 We must have something more than 
 pity for the moral and spiritual condition 
 of the heathen if we would carry on this 
 great missionary enterprise wth unflag¬ 
 ging energy and see it crowned with 
 success. The work must be done, and 
 the sacrifices must be made, not for 
 their sakes, but for the sake of Another. 
 
 12 
 
V. Shall we place the emphasis on the 
 success of the modern mission? The em¬ 
 phasis is often placed on this considera¬ 
 tion. The past triumphs of the Gospel, 
 and the success of missions during these 
 one hundred years, are often adduced as 
 the grand argument why men should 
 consecrate themselves and their substance 
 to the missionary enterprise. The cry 
 for success is loud and persistent, and 
 there are men who profess to give only 
 to success. That the Gospel has won 
 great triumphs in the past is a fact that 
 cannot be denied and this supplies good 
 ground for perseverance. Success in¬ 
 spires confidence, and it is quite right 
 that we should point to the success of the 
 modern mission in our advocacy of the 
 cause. But it is not the motive. The 
 apostles had to start on their glorious 
 mission without this motive. The fathers 
 and founders of our great missionary so¬ 
 cieties had to enter on their grand en¬ 
 terprise without this motive. Many a 
 missionary has had to toil on for years 
 without this motive. Carey had to 
 labor on for seven years before bap¬ 
 tizing his first convert. Morrison had 
 to do the same; and at the close of a 
 laborious career of twenty-eight years 
 he could not boast of ten converts. 
 Thank God for success; success is sweet 
 and inspiring, but we find that we have 
 
 13 
 
often to work without success, and some¬ 
 times in spite of failure. What is the 
 motive? What is the motive that impels 
 the missionary forward in spite of diffi¬ 
 culties, dangers, and adverse appear¬ 
 ances? 
 
 What is the motive with which to 
 arouse the churches to do their duty 
 apart from all considerations of success, 
 nay in spite of failures should they be 
 called upon to do so? Where shall the 
 emphasis be placed? 
 
 The emphasis must be placed, I think, 
 on the relation of the missionary enter¬ 
 prise to Christ. 
 
 (i) And, first, to Christ’s command. 
 “Go ye, therefore, and make disciples 
 of all nations.” “Go ye into all the world, 
 and preach the Gospel to every creat¬ 
 ure.” That is the Great Commission; 
 and that is our work. “Make disciples 
 of all the nations;” “preach the Gospel 
 to every creature.” That is the work 
 of the missionary; that is the work of the 
 Church. The missionary is in China, not 
 to promote the growth of secular knowl¬ 
 edge ; that will follow, but he is there not 
 for that purpose. The missionary is in 
 China, not to promote the interests of 
 commerce; that will follow, but he is 
 there not for that purpose. The mis¬ 
 sionary is in China, not to promote the 
 cause of civilization ; that will surely fol- 
 
 14 
 
low, but he is there not for that purpose. 
 The missionary is in China, not to pro¬ 
 mote the aggrandizement of any ism 
 whatever; and I, for one, cannot pray 
 that that may follow. The missionaries 
 are there, not to make Methodists, or 
 Baptists, or Congregationalists, or Pres¬ 
 byterians, or Episcopalians, or Luth¬ 
 erans. They are there to preach the 
 Gospel, to make Christians, to bring that 
 great people to Christ. 
 
 “Go ye, therefore, and make disciples 
 of all the nations.” Go conquer the 
 world for me. Carry the glad tidings 
 into all lands and to every ear, and do 
 not stop till all the nations shall have 
 embraced the Gospel, and enrolled 
 themselves my disciples. That is 
 Christ’s command, and that is our work. 
 
 Yes, and that is our argument also. 
 Christ commands; it is our duty to 
 obey; we have no choice in the matter. 
 As long as we acknowledge Christ to be 
 Lord, we are bound to go on with this 
 work. In defending the cause of mis¬ 
 sions, we dare not take any ground 
 lower than this. Neither is it safe to do 
 so. “Does it not strike you,” said Sir 
 Robert Hart to Dr. Virgil C. Hart, “in 
 reading the Chinese Classics, that there 
 is much good, and much to be admired 
 in the Chinese system ? Would it not be 
 well to leave well enough alone?” Dr. 
 
 15 
 
Hart replied that, “if this was so, then 
 the Chinese did not live up to their pre¬ 
 cepts.” That was a good answer in its 
 way; but it is by no means the answer. 
 If there were no other answer the mis¬ 
 sionary enterprise would soon come to 
 an end. But there is another answer, 
 and an all-sufficient answer. 
 
 As to the Chinese system being well 
 enough. I will not deal with that point 
 now, save to say that I utterly deny that 
 the Chinese system is “well enough,” 
 and that it is my firm conviction that 
 China will never be right while this sys¬ 
 tem lasts. But the right answer to that 
 question is this: “Would it be well to 
 disobey Christ?” That is the question 
 which the missionary has to consider. 
 It is not a question of letting “well 
 enough alone”; but a question of obey¬ 
 ing or disobeying Christ. Christ wills 
 it; and we dare not disobey. That is our 
 position. 
 
 “It is the will of God!” That is the 
 motive selected by Peter the Hermit 
 when he wanted to arouse Europe to 
 rescue the Holy Land from the hands of 
 the infidel. With that one sentence he 
 stirred the whole of Christian Europe 
 from its very depths, and kindled an en¬ 
 thusiasm such as history rarely presents 
 an example of. “It is the will of Christ!” 
 That is our motive. Let us put the em- 
 
 16 
 
phasis on that; and with that motive let 
 us arouse the church for a grander cru¬ 
 sade, and strengthen our own hearts for 
 new and nobler achievements. 
 
 (2) The relation of the missionary en¬ 
 terprise to Christ’s dominion and power. 
 “All power is given unto me in heaven 
 and in earth. Go ye therefore.” All 
 power in heaven is mine. All the re¬ 
 sources of heaven are at my command, 
 and shall be used by me for the further¬ 
 ance of your enterprise. All power on 
 earth is mine. The world is mine—the 
 whole of it. The heathen have been giv¬ 
 en to me for my inheritance, and the ut¬ 
 termost part of the earth for my posses¬ 
 sion ; and in order to conquer it by your 
 agency, all power in earth is given unto 
 me. I have power over all persons, all 
 possessions, all principles, all move¬ 
 ments. They are all in my hands, they 
 are all under my control, and they will all 
 be made conducive to this glorious ob¬ 
 ject—the evangelization of the world. 
 Go ye therefore. Let the emphasis be 
 placed on that glorious fact. Christ is 
 Lord of all. He sits on the throne 
 of the universe, and wields the scepter 
 of universal dominion. He must reign 
 till all His enemies become His foot¬ 
 stool. Let us rest on that fact. 
 
 (3) The relation of the missionary en¬ 
 terprise to Christ’s presence. “And lo, 
 
 17 
 
I am with you alway, even unto the end 
 of the world.” “I am with you all the 
 days.” You feel your weakness and in¬ 
 competence. I am with you to strength¬ 
 en you, to guide you, and to furnish you 
 with all necessary power. You will 
 have your lonely days. I am with you 
 to brighten the most lonely of your days, 
 and to fill your hearts with my peace. 
 You fear for the safety of the cause. 
 Fear not. Be of good courage. I have 
 overcome the world. The battle is mine, 
 and the victory is certain. You are 
 weak; but I am mighty. “I am with 
 you all the days.” Let us rest on that 
 great fact—Christ with us every day, 
 and every hour, and every moment of the 
 day. Let the emphasis be laid on that 
 promise. 
 
 (4) The relation of the missionary 
 enterprise to Christ’s love. “The love 
 of Christ constraineth us.” Paul was 
 the prince of missionaries, and such was 
 his experience as a missionary. With¬ 
 out the love of Christ he could have 
 done nothing; with the love of Christ 
 filling his heart he could do all things. 
 “The love of Christ constraineth us.” 
 (a) The love of Christ to me, personally, 
 constrains me to live to Him and for 
 Him. He died for me ; and I will die for 
 Him. He lives for me ; and I will live for 
 Him. I will work for His sake; I wil! 
 
 18 
 
suffer for His sake. There is nothing I 
 would not do to please Him. He is my 
 Lord and my Savior. He loved me with 
 an everlasting love. He gave Himself 
 for me. I owe Him an infinite debt, a 
 debt which is always due, and which I 
 can never pay. All I can do is to lay 
 myself on the altar, and say: Lord 
 Jesus, take me as I am, and use me for 
 Thine own purpose and glory. “The 
 love of Christ constraineth me.” That 
 is a grand motive. The love of Christ 
 to us, to each one of us personally. Let 
 us place the emphasis on that great fact, 
 (b) And then there is the love of Christ 
 for the world—for the Hindus, for the 
 Chinese, for the Japanese, for all men. 
 “God so loved the world that He gave 
 His only begotten Son.” “He died for 
 all.” “He is the Savior of all men.” It 
 may be hard sometimes to love the 
 heathen and make great sacrifices on 
 their behalf. You may not be able to 
 do it for their sake. Do it for Christ’s 
 sake. Think of the love of Christ for 
 them, and love them through His love. 
 Look at them through the eyes of 
 Christ; His eyes are all-pitiful. Feel for 
 them with the heart of Christ, which is 
 ever tender and compassionate. People 
 at home say that the heathen are so far 
 away; that it is difficult to feel a deep 
 interest in them and their concerns. Be 
 
 19 
 
it so. But Christ is near, and it ought 
 not to be difficult to feel an interest in 
 Him and in His great redemptive pur¬ 
 poses. “The love of Christ constraineth 
 me.” Let the emphasis be placed on 
 that great motive. Paul found it there. 
 Why should we not find it there also ? 
 
 I have often thought of Paul and the 
 Yang-tze together. On its way to the 
 sea, the mighty stream has to encounter 
 many obstacles, and flow in varied chan¬ 
 nels. In its upper courses, its bed in 
 many places is uneven and narrow. But 
 it never stops. Now it dashes against 
 the rocks like a mad thing, and now it 
 rushes through the narrow gorge at 
 a mill-race speed. Then it emerges 
 into a wide and even channel, and 
 flows quietly, calmly, and majestically 
 to the sea. But its flow is ever on¬ 
 ward, continuous, irresistible. Try to 
 turn it back, and you will find it 
 impossible. Ask it to stop—and it will 
 tell you that it cannot. Ask it why; and 
 it will reply: “A mighty law has taken 
 possession of me, and is carrying me on¬ 
 ward. I cannot help myself. The law of 
 gravity constraineth me.” So it was 
 with the great apostle. The love of 
 Christ, like a mighty law, had taken pos¬ 
 session of him, and was carrying him on¬ 
 ward. He could not turn back, he could 
 not stop, he could not help himself. 
 
 20 
 
“The love of Christ constraineth me.” 
 His was a wonderful life. One sentence 
 explains it all: “The love of Christ con¬ 
 straineth me.” 
 
 Christ’s command, Christ’s commis¬ 
 sion, Christ’s presence, Christ’s love— 
 these four combined make a mighty 
 motive. This must ever be the grand 
 central motive in the missionary enter¬ 
 prise. Other motives may come and go, 
 but this abideth forever. It can never 
 change, it can never grow weak, it can 
 never become obsolete. It is perma¬ 
 nently operative and all-sufficient. Let 
 the church of God throughout the world 
 place the emphasis on this motive, let 
 the motive become a living force in the 
 hearts of all the missionaries, let it be¬ 
 come a living force in the hearts of 
 Christ’s disciples generally, and the re¬ 
 sult will be universal triumph. It will 
 be triumph in Africa, triumph in India, 
 triumph in China, triumph in Japan, tri¬ 
 umph everywhere. Before the close of 
 the twentieth century, great voices will 
 have been heard in heaven saying, “The 
 kingdoms of this world are become the 
 kingdoms of our Lord and of His 
 Christ.” 
 
 21 
 

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