Nothing to Win But the World

Simply stated, the Christian’s responsibility was to make all men know the unsearchable riches of Christ. Missions was not an elective but an imperative, not an option but an obligation — a privilege and a responsibility. To direct the worshipful eyes of the world upon Christ was the goal.

Nothing to Win But the World by Clay Cooper is not an easy book to read. If you’re looking for a comfort read, this book’s incessant prodding to action will make it hard to relax. But if you want a book that will give you an urgent passion to share the Gospel, this is the perfect book for you.

Each of the 27 chapters corresponds to a book of the New Testament, taking a verse and withdrawing a truth about missions. Cooper holds nothing back in telling the reasons why Christians don’t evangelize, and why they should. While I felt that the later chapters repeated themselves much, as if the author were running out of things to say but had to hit all 27 books, I’d still highly recommend this to any Christian.

Since the chapters don’t shift topics in an organized way, but follow the verse chosen as a topic, I’ll just be highlighting some of the chapters I liked the most.

The Saboteur

Cooper opens his book by discussing a saboteur that kills many missionary efforts before they leave the ground—fear. He uses the parable of the talent, specifically the fearful servant who received one talent, as an example.

Christians have been entrusted with a great gift. The Gospel changes everything, and along with giving us hope for eternity, it also makes our lives on Earth meaningful. Why wouldn’t we want to share this with others?

But fear overrides all logic. The mere possibility or rejection or scorn is enough to halt many evangelistic encounters before they start. Even legitimate, life-threatening fears are nothing compared to the power of God.

The book admits that there are many things to fear in the world. The night is dark monsters hide in every closet. He concludes:

But our mission is not to lie down and shake but to stand up and “shine as lights in the world”.

-pg. 18

This chapter was especially convicting for me and is quite relevant considering the fear easily producible by the current trends in the news. It’s a fundamental obstacle that must be overcome regularly if the remainder of the book is to be followed.

Blast-Off

The third chapter compares the launching of the disciples on the day of Pentecost to the launching of a rocket. It says, “The launching pad was an upper room in the city of Jerusalem, and the orbit was the then-known world.” The rockets being launched? The disciples themselves. And their fuel was none other than the Holy Spirit.

The lack of the Holy Spirit’s power is another crippling problem with many modern mission efforts. In fact, missions aside, it’s a crippling problem with most Christians as they go through the monotony of life.

With the Spirit of God inside them and empowering them, the disciples evangelized the entire known world. Death posed no threat, rejection was hardly a consideration, and persecution encouraged them. If the church today is to “blast off” as the early church did, it must be filled with the same fuel Peter and Paul were. Otherwise, it’ll continue to sit on the launching pad.

Spontaneous Christianity

Some Christians think, “Let the missionaries share the Gospel. Let the pastors study and teach the Word. I’m just going to live my life.” But this is not a Biblical view.

Cooper, looking at the story of the woman at the well in John 4, refutes the dismissal of evangelization as only something for those in “ministry”. After accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the Samaritan woman immediately ran into the city to tell others. No need for years of Bible college or missionary training, no need of even a Bible (obviously, none of those things are wrong to use in doing missionary work). All she needed was her own testimony to direct others to Jesus, and He would do the rest.

Sharing the Good News doesn’t require a calling or degree. “He needs no call who has a command,” Cooper says. And even a command isn’t necessary. Gratitude, not duty, should motivate us. And the mission field starts not in an exotic country, but on your own street.

The Logistics of Going

Many chapters focus on the subject of giving to missions, both financially and otherwise. The latter portion of the book looks at this idea from many angles.

Sacrificing time and wealth to God is a great paradox—sending money to missionaries does not decrease one’s own resources, but increases them. Giving up one’s life in service of the Gospel saves many other souls.

God doesn’t send everyone to a far country to tell a primitive village about Jesus. But He does want everyone to support those who do. While this isn’t brought up in the book, it is true that most missionaries cannot get jobs in the countries they serve. Sure, God can and does miraculously provide for their needs, but He’s also determined that the heartbeat of these front lines workers will be the gifts of those at home.

Overall

Nothing to Win But the World was written in 1965, which gives a unique flavor to the prose. For one thing, consistent with the preachers of the era, Cooper holds nothing back in his exhortation. There’s no fluff, no niceties. Just a stark wake-up call to the reality of the apathy of the church at large.

Political events of the time also influence the book, with the Cold War and Space Race at fever pitch. In a chapter I looked at earlier, he uses a rocket launch as an analogy for the day of Pentecost. In the preface, he includes an article of his that advocates for a focus on winning the world rather than the moon. Communism and quotes from Communists become frequent illustrations for points he makes.

It would take many more words to discuss all that Nothing to Win But the World says about world evangelism. But conveniently for me (and you), all those words already exist—in the book itself. It will bring you to a crossroads, a decision between obeying and disobeying God, a decision between miserable mediocrity and world-changing works.

The book’s forward, written by the then-governor of Oregon, Mark Hatfield, says it this way: “One cannot but become agitated by these chapters.” I heartily agree.

This book is, understandably, out of print, but you can find it second-hand on Amazon and several other sources.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll write you in the next one!