A Community of Faith - part 18
Christians & the World
Whenever we talk about how Christians should relate to the world around them, in general three options emerge.
Christ against culture
Christ of culture
Christ above culture
These categories are, of course, malleable since each example of them in history may not fit exactly. But, my point today is simply this:
Our view of the relationship between Christ and our culture determines how our church will engage in missions.
If we have a “Christ against culture” mindset, then our view of missions will be antagonistic to those around us. Amish fall into this mindset in that they believe allegiance to Christ requires them to abandon any relationship to the modern world. Now, we may not decide to take the Amish road altogether, but many churches view the culture around them as hostile nonetheless. When they do so, they tend to hunker down holding on to the old traditions. Any idea of using modern methods or innovations is considered a lack of obedience to Jesus.
If we have a “Christ of culture” mindset, then our view is quite the opposite. New innovations, social media, and whatever hip trend is open for use in the church, because all these things can be “redeemed from the culture.” Churches will try just about anything to get lost people into the door so they can hear about Jesus. Church members will seek out the lost where they are and engage in missions. The trap, of course, is that sometimes the culture has things that are sinful regardless the Christian’s good intentions. If the church isn’t careful, it can begin to look too much like their surrounding culture.
In the “Christ above culture” mindset, Christians tend to view the culture, not as an enemy or a friend, but rather as “a work in progress”. There is goodness in Creation, and that goodness can be affirmed while seeking to transform what is corrupted by sin.
Now, these categories are borrowed from a guy whose work has been heavily criticized and heavily lauded—just depends on who is reading it.
Regardless about the book, it is healthy for a church to examine how they feel and relate to the culture around them. At the end of the day, the town we live in is still our town—warts and all. If we are to reach the lost within our community, we must be ready to engage with them without falling into the trap of sin.
Interestingly enough, the Baptist Faith and Message and Scripture teach this type of mindset.
Christ can transform the Culture
All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ.
XV. The Christian and the Social Order
First, we have to acknowledge that Jesus is in the transformation business. Christ came to transform us from death to life. He came to open the way toward true life and a better life. Once we surrender to Him, then we join in the Great Commission to make disciples. Once we have made enough disciples, then we will see the culture around us transform. But like any cultural change, it begins with the individual.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?Micah 6:8
This Old Testament verse is still true today. The Lord has already told us what is required of us. It has not changed. As we live out these requirements, others will take notice, and we won’t be able to help transforming the culture around us.
We will be at the forefront of promoting justice.
We will be known for our love and kindness.
We will remember we walk with the Lord who is truly sovereign over this earth.
These are actions that can’t help but cause others to take notice. Jesus said it this way:
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
Salt and light affect the things around them. Salt, as you know, purifies and flavors what it is sprinkled on. Light illuminates the way and the reality of the world.
As we surrender to the will of Christ, we will inevitably engage and affect the culture around us.
Christ convicts the Culture
As we consider what it means to be salt and light, we must also remember that we cannot fall into the same sinful traps of this culture. Just like you might have heard in elementary school, “What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular.”
James said it this way:
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 1:27
We can continue to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God without staining ourselves from the world. There are aspects of our culture that should be avoided…even if it makes us less popular. The Baptist Faith and Message continues:
In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick.
XV. The Christian and the Social Order
Notice that not everything listed in the BFM is actually against the law. We are not talking about sins that even the culture recognizes as evil, but rather things that the culture tends to laugh at or ignore.
Now, in the past, I might say something like “And you know these are sins, so we can move on,” but the fact is today’s world has influenced Christians so much that many Christians do not actually see the problem with them. I do not want to belabor the point, but turning to Galatians 5, we can see the contrast between Christianity and Culture.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:16-21
These things are not arbitrarily sinful. They go against the Spirit of God. They are not of God’s nature. Remember, we are made in the image of God and are called to exhibit the true character of God. When we engage with the corrupted world around us in the same corrupted activities, we are telling the lost that what they are doing is ok.
But it isn’t.
Instead, Paul says to walk with the Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24
We are to crucify the old way of living and not live that way any longer. Now, we should not expect lost people to act like Christians, but we should expect Christians to act like Christians. Only then will the lost see the difference Christ makes.
Also notice in the latter part of the BFM, it calls Christians to care for those who cannot care for themselves—the sick, the orphan, the abused, etc. Christians are called to care for those that society has cast out or would simply rather forget.
True Christianity demonstrates how the culture could improve for all its people.
It isn’t about yelling at those who are sinning and handing out food and clothing to the needy. It’s about showing a lost world that with Christ, this world can (and will) become a far better place.
Christ brings life to Culture
This aspect of improving the world around us reaches even to the unborn.
We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.
XV. The Christian and the Social Order
Far more than just an emphasis on the abortion issue, this sentence in the BFM reminds us that Christians should be salt and light from the very beginning of the individual to the very end.
But before you brace yourself for the “abortion is murder” rant (and it is), I would rather go back to Ezekiel 36. In Ezekiel 36, the Lord gives us a promise and a truth.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
It is a truth in that God is reminding us that our real problem is the heart. We can try to legislate against abortion, and quite frankly I’m surprised the Supreme Court recently ruled the way it did. I am not against politics, but I am against viewing politics as the end-goal. Our culture will not change when the politicians legislate correctly or the Supreme Court rules correctly, or any other political entity operates more Christianly.
Our culture will change when its people receive a new heart of flesh by surrendering to Jesus Christ.
I focus specifically on abortion to bring out this point, because for too long I have listened to Christians argue over how to end abortion. We end it by getting rid of the demand for it. We end it by telling others about Jesus and how they can find freedom, forgiveness, and eternal life through Him.
The BFM says it this way:
Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.
XV. Christians and the Social Order
We stay unceasingly and unmoved in our loyalty to Christ. And when others want to join us in the cause of doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our Lord, then we help them join us.
That is how our culture will transform.
Funny enough, it really isn’t as complicated as we’ve made it. Love God, Love People. If we get that right, then maybe we will see the difference in our culture that we want to see.