Even from the time of Augustus, Paul used the Roman Empire as his stage and contextualized the Gospel message in both Europe and Asia and developed leaders through pioneering churches. It is safe to suggest that Augustus had in fact set the foundation for Paul’s ministry. Despite these positive notes, Augustus also strengthened imperial authority and spread the idea of emperor worship, and was referred to as kurios which literally means Lord, a title that the Christians used to refer to Jesus Christ, giving the Romans an excuse to persecute them.
All of Paul’s missionary work takes place during the emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. The apostle records that he recognizes the political authority of the empire and urges his followers to submit to Roman power in his book of Romans. --- p.43

Paul’s mission theology was fulfilled in every area of the apostolic community and bore fruit. He succeeded in apostolic contextualization to effectively communicate the Gospel to all peoples in all places without tarnishing the central message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation. In addition, the apostle poured all his energy into training leaders from the believers who responded well to the Gospel ? this is his leadership development ministry.
The apostle’s missional efforts formed the apostolic ecclesiology and it appeared in his community. He expressed the attributes and functions of the church as the body of Christ, the incarnation, Kerygma, Didache, Diakonia, Oikos, a Spirit-filled community, and as a community of love that is centered round relationships. This is because the church is the community of Jesus Christ the greatest missionary and is therefore “genetically”missional. The church exists because of God’s mission. --- p.131

The apostolic church had a fully-fledged apocalyptic atmosphere about it and continued to develop this while working to fulfill the Great Commission. In particular, Paul acknowledged the authority of apostleship and considered it grace
from God. The apostles received the calling for mission and Paul claimed he was called to be the missionary to the Gentiles. Apostolic ministry does not only involve setting the foundation for the church, but also contributing to actually building the church on the foundation. Jesus, the apostolic church, and mission share the same roots and can be understood in the same context. --- p.205

Therefore, the Great Commission is the bridge that links these two worlds. The apostle had experienced the profoundness of what Judaism could do for mankind. On the one side of his life, he was born with a Jewish background and received a Jewish education while on the other side he was outside the borders of Judea and the Jewish bubble and understood and experienced the Greek world. Paul was an unrivaled candidate for a man to connect the two very different worlds through the Gospel. He took the Gospel message and loyally exercised his calling as a missionary to the Gentiles, contextualizing the Gospel for the whole Roman Empire.
Even for today’s missionaries and their missional work, contextualization is absolutely essential. For Syncretism, Pluralism that is rampant in the modern world should never be permitted to cause alterations to the Gospel message. We all must incorporate the ministry of Apostle Paul, the man who globalized missional work. --- p.282

Paul presented a paradigm for missional contextualization through his work in Europe and Asia. The Gospel is always connected to the contexts and causes reactions and whilst the contents of the message do not change, it must change its surroundings. One must approach contextualization with a general understanding of all theology. In addition, it is deeply related to biblical analytics and demands intense research into the relationship between contextualization and the Scriptures. The entirety of Paul’s mission is contextual ministry and his ministry is contextual theology that bridges man and the Gospel.
The Apostle Paul’s contextualization was inspirational, flexible, it sparked change, it was systematic, and apostolic which makes it the perfect alternative for proclaiming the Gospel in the modern world without falling into the trap of Syncretism and Pluralism.

<b>추천사</b><br/><br/>Dr. Jung offers a comprehensive introduction to both the theories and practical application of Mission Theology as a subdivision of the Theology. He effectively presented a biblical theological definition of the Apostolic Church based on Paul’s own apostleship and his revelation, and succeeded in balancing theology and action without compromising academic professionalism. In addition, he has provided scholarly evidence that missionary principles took two separate directions in Paul’s own life. This volume is an outstanding work that could reveal the true value of Mission Theology to both church leaders and active missionaries. <br/>Sung-Tae Kim Ph.D. | Professor of Missiology at Chongshin University