Christianity & Culture. Part 4: The Culture, Withdraw or Engage?

Transcription

1 Christianity & Culture Part 4: The Culture, Withdraw or Engage?

2 Introduction In our previous lecture, we examined the first of five ways in which Christians have understood the relationship of Christ to culture, namely, Christ Against Culture. We noted the meaning of the Greek word, cosmos (i.e., world), that sometimes it refers to the whole creation of God, but often Scripture uses the term to designate everything opposed to God. Jesus himself said that the world hated Him (Jn. 7:7), and qualified it by saying that it hated Me before it hated you (Jn. 15:18). Near the end of the first century, the Apostle John strongly warned his readers: Do not love the world, nor the things in the world (I Jn. 2:15f.). To love the world is, in fact, to refuse to receive Christ and to rebel against Him (Jn. 1:10-11; Is. 1:2-3).

3 Introduction Since the Scriptures categorically affirm that Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt. 28:18), is the Head over all rule and authority (Col. 2:10), and will reign forever and ever (Ex. 15:18), how should we then live? (as Francis Schaeffer asked). Our options, we noted, include accommodation (being conformed to the world), accepting pluralism (the belief that there are many ways to God, thus living without any normative standard), envy (longing for what others have), and confrontation (in love, challenging the culture s worldviews). At the end of the lecture, we heard from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The member of the Body of Christ has been delivered from the world and called out of it.he is called out of the world to follow Christ.

4 Introduction When taken literally, one can easily see why the notion of Christ Against Culture has led many to withdraw from the world during the last 2,000 years. Not wanting to be unequally yoked, tempted, infected and defiled by sin, scorned, or estranged from Christ in any way, the road of abandonment and withdrawal has seemed, to some, a sure and better way of avoiding conformity to the world. But what does the Bible teach about our relationship with (bad) culture? Should we protect ourselves and disengage, or risk the possibility of succumbing to temptation and dishonoring our Lord while we engage the world with the gospel? These are the questions we will seek to address today.

5 The Church s Greatest Challenge Os Guinness At the threshold of the third millennium of its existence, the church of Jesus Christ confronts the greatest challenge it has ever faced.what is the challenge? From one side, followers of Jesus Christ confront in the modern world the most powerful culture in human history so far, as well as the world s first truly global culture. This culture has unprecedented power to shape behavior, and its damage to faith has already proved far greater than the

6 The Church s Greatest Challenge malice and destruction of all the Christ-hating persecutors in history, from Nero to Mao Tse Tung. From the other side, followers of Jesus Christ confront a global Mount Carmel as the followers of new gods and newly awakened old gods openly compete with followers of Christ to direct and guide the course of the modern world. Richard Dawkins Evolutionary Biologist United States Supreme Court Building Occupy Wall Street

7 The Call to Separation I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty (II Cor. 6:16-18). Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures (Rom. 1:1-2).

8 Separation from the World A fundamental reason for separation from the world is the preservation of the holy community from corruption. H. Richard Niebuhr

9 The Ways of the World Its wickedness Its gods Its fame Its temptations Its philosophies Its pleasures Its character Its lifestyle Its bad habits Its speech Its power Its materialism Its beliefs Its blasphemy Its sexual perversions Its vanities He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (I Peter 2:9).

10 Conformed in the New Testament Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy (I Pt. 1:13-16). And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2).

11 Being Nonconformists A nonconformist is a person who fails or refuses to conform to a particular practice or course of action (OED). Matthew Henry uses this word in his commentary on Rom. 12:2. All the disciples and followers of the Lord Jesus must be nonconformists to this world. And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you (I Pt. 4:4). R.C.H. Lenski comments: There is danger that the Christian may adopt at least some of the world s ways, run with worldly men, especially when they mock us if we do not..our citizenship is in heaven.

12 The Apostle Paul s Argument II Corinthians 6:14-18 What partnership have righteousness and lawlessness? What fellowship has light with darkness? What harmony has Christ with Belial? (Christ and Satan cannot make music together). What has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

13 An Observable Form The Greek word is used only in these two passages in the New Testament. A compound verb, it means form or mold after something and, in the passive, be formed like, be conformed to, be guided by. The root word is schema (n., form, figure), from which we get our English word scheme. It always denotes the outward form or structure perceptible to the senses and never the inward principle of order accessible only to thought (Kittel). In the N.T., the noun form is found at Phil. 2:7 and I Cor. 7:31.

14 An Observable Form Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of God, and did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (Phil. 2:7). The reference is to His whole nature and manner as man. In this respect the outward bearing He assumes corresponds to His inner being (Kittel). But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on both those who have wives should be as though they had none.and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away (I Cor. 7:29,31).

15 The Origin of Monasticism From the very start Christians, instead of attempting to transform all society in accordance with the standards of the Gospels, formed themselves into groups more or less distinct from the world about them in which these standards could be observed. As larger numbers came into the Church and the descendants of converts remained in it, Christians tended to conform more and more to the social order in which they were set. Against this came protests in the form of efforts to organized communities which would live according to the precepts of Jesus and the Apostles. Of these, the monastic movement was the most widespread and the most persistent.to account for monasticism, both the Christian impulse and the non-christian environment seem necessary (Latourette).

16 The Monastic Ideal The monasticism which had been developed before the close of the fifth century continued to be valued as the highest Christian living. Additional orders and new forms of the monastic life appeared, particularly in the Latin Church, but complete chastity, the renunciation of all personal possessions, and the cultivation of the devotional life either in hermitages or in communities, now as formerly, characterized the monastic ideal (Latourette).

17 Vows & Religious Orders I now wish to speak up for the liberty of the church and the glory of baptism. I feel that, for the general good, I ought to give the counsel which I learnt under the guidance of the Spirit. With this in mind, I would suggest to those in high places in the church, firstly, that they should do away with all vows and religious orders; or at least not speak of them with Martin Luther

18 Vows & Religious Orders approval or praise. If they are unwilling to do this, I would urge all who wish to be more certain of being saved to refrain from taking any vows, especially those of great and life-long consequence, particularly in the case of youths in their teens and early twenties. My first reason, as I have said, is that this kind of life finds no testimony or support in Scripture, but has been made to look imposing solely by the works of monks and priests. However numerous, sacred, and arduous they may be, these works, in God s sight, are in no way whatever superior to the works of a farmer laboring in the field, or of a woman looking after her home. Rather, all are measured by Him by faith alone; as it says in Jeremiah 5:3, O Lord, thine eyes have respect unto faith.

19 Os Guinness on Monasticism Monasticism began with a reforming mission it sought to remind an increasingly secularized church that it was still possible to follow the radical way of life required by the gospel. But it finished with a relaxing effect the double standard reserved the radical way for the specialists (the aristocrats of the soul) and let everyone else off the hook. Thus the irony: Monasticism reinforced the secularization it originally set out to resist. In the end the monasteries themselves succumbed to the secularization and became a central carrier of elitism, power, arrogance, and corruption.

20 Withdraw or Engage? Calvin rightly points out that we who have been redeemed and rescued from the pollutions of the world are not meant to turn our back on life, but only to avoid all participation in the world s uncleanness. Christians, indeed, as our Lord taught, are the light of the world; this they cannot be if their light is hidden or withdrawn. Thus they are to let their light shine before men (Mt. 5:14ff.), though at the same time shunning the depravities of unregenerate society and of unchristian worship (Philip E. Hughes).

21 In the World; Not of the World Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation (I Pt. 2:11-12).

22 A Time to Pull Away Before the beginning of His public ministry: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Mt. 4:1; cf. Lk. 4:1). Before He chose the Twelve: In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God (Lk. 6:12). After exhausting work: And he said to them, Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat (Mk. 6:31).

23 A Time to Pull Away After a long night of ministering: And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed (Mk. 1:35). After healing the leper: But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray (Lk. 5:15-16). After the disciples had been ministering in the villages of Galilee: On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida (Lk. 9:10).

24 Withdrawal & Engagement The movement of withdrawal and renunciation is a necessary element in every Christian life, even though it be followed by an equally necessary movement of responsible engagement in cultural tasks. H. Richard Niebuhr

25 The Importance of Solitude In solitude, we purposefully abstain from interaction with other human beings, denying ourselves companionship and all that comes from our conscious interaction with others. We close ourselves away; we go to the ocean, to the desert, the wilderness, or to the anonymity of the urban crowd. This is not just rest or refreshment from nature, though that too can contribute to our spiritual wellbeing. Solitude is choosing to be alone and to dwell on our experience of isolation from other human beings (Dallas Willard). Without silence and solitude we re shallow. Without fellowship we re stagnant (Donald Whitney).

26 What Solitude Does Os Guinness Like the other disciplines of abstinence, solitude is vital for training us to stand against the excesses of our culture. Whereas normal life puffs up our sense of self-importance and locks us into patterns of thought and behavior dependent on others, solitude liberates us from these entanglements by carving out a space from which we can see ourselves and our situation before the Audience of One.

27 Reasons for Periodic Withdrawals To worship just to be alone with God To pray To be able to hear God s voice To find spiritual strength and peace To seek God s will To be restored, physically, spiritually, mentally, & emotionally To examine yourself & regain perspective To seek the renewing power of the Holy Spirit To intercede for those who do not yet know Christ

28 An Example: God s Calling for Wilberforce So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the Trade s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for Abolition. Let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition. - Speech to the House of Commons, 1787 William Wilberforce

29 The World Hated Wilberforce John Newton: Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. Admiral Lord Nelson: I will not allow the rights of the plantation owners to be infringed while I have an arm to fight in their defense or a tongue to launch my voice against the damnable doctrine of Wilberforce and his hypocritical allies. A Friend: I shall expect to read of you being carbonadoed by West Indian planters, barbecued by African merchants and eaten by Guinea captains, but do not be daunted, for I will write your epitaph!

30 Wilberforce: In the World My walk is a public one. My business is in the world; and I must mix in the assemblies of men, or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me.