Theme:
How to… positively affect culture
It's
fitting that we talk about culture today, since this past week we celebrated
Independence Day in our nation. When we think of culture, we often think first
of something geographical – perhaps nationality or ethnicity. These are
certainly aspects of culture, but there’s so much more. Culture is essentially anything
that shapes a person and causes them to identify as they do. Sometimes culture
is chosen, sometimes it’s not.
Cultures
is like a lens through which you see the world. It has an impact on the meaning
you attach to certain things and what you choose to stand for. In terms of our
faith, it’s critical to understand that religion is a culture. Religion is
obviously something that shapes the way people think about the world. Religion
is one of the biggest aspects of culture to the human nature because it enters
into the unknown.
Therefore,
as we think about culture and its impact in our lives, we recognize that when
we speak of our faith we will be speaking of a culture as well. But we must
also understand that our faith is only as valuable as what it can do beyond its
cultural impact. What I mean by that is that faith has to be about more than
just how I see the world around me. It has to be more than just an influencer
of what I choose to do in life or how I choose to treat others. Ultimately, if
faith (religion) never becomes more than culture than I have no certainty in
eternal or spiritual matters.
Many
people today believe that all religions are nothing more than products of an
individual’s cultural identity. This is why we see increasing hostility toward
Christian witnessing and evangelism, because it’s seen as an attack on another
person’s cultural heritage. Christians are labeled as bigots and divisive when
they insist that Jesus is the only way to salvation – or in other words, that
Christianity is the only true and valuable religion. You see, when we lose sight
of that one single point that there’s more to our faith than a cultural impact,
we end up losing sight of the very meaning of our faith itself.
Today,
we seek to understand how to positively affect our culture.
Instead of letting the world run rough-shod over our faith, how do we display
Christ in all matters of life? Furthermore, instead of hastening after every
popular notion and opinion of our times, how do we maintain integrity and truth
in our faith? And on top of that all, how do we keep the love of the gospel in
Christ center in our actions with others, so as not to become puffed up and
conceited in the truth that God has given? These are all questions we must
wrestle with when we diligently consider how to positively influence our
culture by our faith. Let us take a look at a lesson from God’s Word that shows
us His path:
Acts
17:16-21 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked
within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the
synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every
day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic
philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this
babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of
foreign divinities"-- because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we
know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some
strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things
mean." 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would
spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. (ESV)
As
Paul waited for Silas and Timothy in Athens he encountered a scene very similar
to our nation. Athens was a melting pot of different cultures. We’re told that
Paul reasoned with the Jews and other devout (meaning religious) people. He
also conversed with the Epicureans and the Stoics. Along with these different
cultures came not only a variety of ethnicities but a variety of different ways
to seek the truth. Both the Stoics and the Epicureans both dated back to the
300s BC. Their founders both stood for the premise that personal human
happiness was the highest level of enlightenment on earth – but they sought
this goal in very different ways. The Stoics emphasized self-denial and service
yet under the guise of self-fulfilling satisfaction. Essentially, you help
others because it makes you feel good about yourself. The Epicureans were the
opposite, they strove for happiness by self-indulgence. Their philosophy was to
do whatever you want to make yourself feel better.
In
our age, many people would celebrate the great diversity of cultures that Paul
encountered. He didn’t. Rather he mourned at the false hope and vain morality
he witnessed. Paul was so moved that we’re told he was “provoked in his spirit”
to preach Christ. But that would mean cutting to the heart of these cultures.
In
Paul’s approach we see how believers can positively affect their culture. You
preach Christ. You declare the truth of God’s love in His Son – through
Christ’s death and resurrection, for all people. That sounds simple enough on
the surface and it’s intended to be incredibly simple so that all can believe
it. It’s something that we all know. But pay attention to the subtleties of
Paul’s approach. First, we see that he doesn’t care what others think of
him. This is one point that is do difficult to adopt into our thinking and
practice. We know the typical shame that the world heaps upon the Christian who
boldly proclaims his or her faith. No one enjoys being belittled or insulted.
As we mentioned earlier, many people look at Christians as cultural snobs for
sharing the love of the only Savior of the whole world with others. It’s hard
not to shy away from the witness of Christ for these reasons. It’s much more
attractive to blend in with the world, and their various religious identities,
than to be looked at as an outsider. As far as we know, Paul was the only
Christian present in these discussions, but he didn’t care about the shame of
standing for Jesus.
Notice
that the philosophies of the Stoics and the Epicureans endure to our present
age. So much of our culture in the United States is about achieving what I want
most of all. Follow your dreams. You do you. Don’t let anyone tell you no.
Don’t listen to the haters. All of these mantras are directed at serving the
self. Sure, there are many ways to do this, just as diversified in approach at
the Stoics and Epicureans were. But it’s all centered on the self – the “me
first,” “I” culture.
How
does our culture align with Christ’s own words when He said, "`You
shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your mind.' (Mat 22:37 NKJ) "And the second is like it:`You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (Mat 22:39 NKJ)
John
13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another."
“Seek
first kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Matthew 6:33
Philippians
2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out
not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (Phi 2:3 NKJ)
If
our faith is important to us – if Jesus Himself is important to us – we must
recognize the conflict between His Word and the world’s. Equipped with the
gospel in word and sacrament, there’s no need to fear what the world’s reaction
may be. By faith, you are safe in Jesus’ death and resurrection in any
circumstance, and that can change the “me first” attitude to one that looks out
for the interests of others and of God.
We
also see that to positively affect culture you must care more about truth than
opinion.
Another thing about culture is that it changes. It fluctuates according to
popularity and current style.
We’re
told that the Greek philosophers sat around in their debate chamber and waited
for something new to discuss. What they chose to focus on was shaped by trends,
not truth. They were excited to hear what Paul spoke because it was new to
them. By now, in our age, Christianity is old news. This is one of the negative
effects of being a predominantly Christian nation for so long – it falls out of
style.
We
have examples of this in Scripture too. Look no further than God’s people in
the OT, another Christian nation. We’re familiar with how Israel ebbed and
flowed in and out of faith. Most of the time unbelief started by wanting
something new. Consider Jeremiah’s words, when speaking to God’s people when
they had heeded false teachers who gave them false hope, Jeremiah instructs: Jeremiah
6:16 Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old
paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your
souls. But they said,`We will not walk in it.' (Jer 6:16 NKJ)
To
positively affect your culture toward Christ, you need to be invested in truth,
not opinion. Paul didn’t care about the fascination that the Greek philosophers
had in his message. He wasn’t there to win a popularity contest. A few verses
after these he would boldly call them to repentance. For Paul, the cultural
impact was on unashamedly declaring the truth of Jesus Christ as Redeemer and
Lord. It didn’t matter to whom he spoke. What Christ accomplished through His
death and resurrection transcends culture. It’s that element of our faith that
is above how we view the world around us. The love of Christ that is ultimately
why preaching the Word of God is loving, even if it causes a person to change
their culture. The Christian faith has flourished and spread across all the
nations of the world in this very way, not by destroying culture but by
transcending it, and it all starts with one individual who is willing to be
invested in the truth and to speak the truth.
Paul
was not ashamed. Paul wasn’t infatuated with flattery. But did he really
accomplish anything?
An
old man was doing his daily walk along the beach one morning, when he spotted a
young boy crouched by the water, scooping something up from the sand and
throwing it into the sea.
He
noticed that the boy kept on shuffling a little further down the beach, then repeating
this same action again and again – stopping, scooping, throwing, moving.
“What
are you doing there, boy?” the old man asked, walking closer.
“I’m
saving these starfish that are stranded” replied the boy, “if they stay on the
beach they will dry out and die, so I’m putting them back into the ocean so
they can live.”
The
old man was silent for a few seconds.
“Young
man” he said, “on this stretch of beach alone, there must be more than one
hundred stranded starfish. Around the next corner, there must be at least one
thousand more. This goes on for miles and miles and miles – I’ve done this walk
every day for 10 years, and it’s always the same. There must be millions of
stranded starfish! I hate to say it, but what you’re doing will never matter.”
As
the boy tossed another starfish in the sea, he replied “well it mattered to
that one”, and continued with his work.
Did
Paul accomplish anything? Do we accomplish anything when we try to affect our
culture? The philosophies of the Stoics and Epicureans flourish today.
What
we’ve seen from God’s Word is that you can make a difference even if you don’t
start a global movement. Changing culture to Christ starts with one person who
cares about the truth and is willing to share the truth. That truth is that
Jesus is Lord and Redeemer – victim on the cross out of love and victor through
the grave in glory. That truth transcends culture and bestows eternal life.
Theme: We don’t win
people by becoming more like our culture. We win them by becoming more like
Christ. It really doesn’t matter if you think the culture is good or bad,
staying focused on Jesus is what matters. We need to be cautious about
continually hastening after “something new”.
Preached
at Redemption, 7/7/19
No comments:
Post a Comment