The Gospel: A Rock In Fluid Culture

Often times I find myself defending the Gospel against “Christians”.  I know this might sound paradoxical, so I will explain in a few key points. But like I said, often times I find myself defending the Gospel against “Christians”. The problem is that many Christians have so married a specific culture with the Gospel that any attempts to separate the two can be as tragic as separating conjoined twins.  I usually end up walking through the basics of redemptive history, the atonement, justification, glorification, adoption and the Cross. 

Even what I have seen from history and the few things I have read on missions is that one of the greatest barriers to missions is the fact that the missionary often attempts to impart his/her culture along with the Gospel thus calling one culture inferior and tainting the Gospel in the process.

What Is Culture

the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another; the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group

Above is how Webster’s define culture. And this is what I want to tackle today. There is no such thing as “Christian Culture” so to say. Unless that culture is a person. Christ likeness is the only culture that Christians are to defend, any other culture maligns the Gospel. For example, lets take the young urban culture. The young urban culture can be defined by its musical preferences, its hobbies, what it invests in, dress code and language (usually euphemisms and/or slang).  Technically I could be considered part of this culture.

Now lets take a more broader approach. Kenya, has a certain culture. Foods, dress, music, familial relationships, sports, hobbies and politics. These cultural distinctives may not reconcile with ours, what they believe to be modest we may not, what they believe to be acceptable ways to relate may not be for us, the way they define political boundaries may not work with our form of democracy and so and so forth. Most of these things are neither good nor bad; however, because of our views we may believe that something they are doing is inherently “wrong”. That moves us to the Gospel.

The Gospel Alone

The Gospel is objective, unchanging, unmovable, unshakable, and eternal. The Gospel is the “power of God unto salvation”. The Gospel is what Christ accomplished on the Cross, the Gospel is what was determined in eternity past and set forth through redemptive history, beginning with the fall and ending with the second coming of Christ when all things will be restored to God. The Gospel my friend is what Jesus, His Apostles and many others have died for. Paul says in 1 Corinthians:

23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings

Most of us affirm this, but then we begin to defend what type of education people should have, which way they should wear their hair, we decide what type of music is acceptable, what type of dance, we add what you can eat or drink, we add what type of political alignment one should have, how many children, what type of marriage, what type of hobbies………. The funny thing about this is that Jesus nor Paul was concerned with any of this stuff. Jesus never attempts to change the culture of the Gentiles and only holds the Jews to the standard of their law (that is until He fulfills it). Paul in his journeys doesn’t try to influence the Gentiles with Jewish culture or vice verse. He simply proclaims the message with no cultural baggage attached (not saying that he was perfect in this because he is still human).  What am I not saying?

When the Lines are Crossed

Sometimes the lines get crossed. Or in other words, sometimes culture is sinful. For example a culture who allows the mistreatment of women and children has to be challenged with the Gospel. A culture that is neck deep in immorality (scriptural immorality) has to be challenged with the Gospel, culture that allows the mistreatment of the marginalized is to be challenged with the Gospel. Let me make sure I am clear here. THE CHALLENGE IS THE GOSPEL. We don’t try to change the culture then insert the Gospel, we change the culture that is antithetical to the Gospel with the Gospel which changes the heart and gives people the mind of Christ. Often times we are comfortable with mere culture changes better known as empty morality. Most people believe that America was more Christian 100 years ago than today, we only need to look at the Gospel and look at culture to realize that this is very far from the truth, the sins have just been exchanged. Too often Christians in this nation have wanted to change the culture (abolition of Alcohol, pornography, gay marriage, homosexuality in its entirety…) while leaving the Gospel on a shelf. Christianity through history has wanted to change hearts by removing heads and we have seen how successful that was right?

But often times we want the culture to change so that it looks like what we are comfortable with. I am not talking sinful things, just things we are not comfortable with. So for example when I was growing up jeans in church was unacceptable. If you were not wearing slacks and a button down shirt you were “dishonoring God’s house” (as God is relegate to a building). Or you couldn’t chew gum in church (others breath should be a sin). I remember you couldn’t wear pants if you were a woman. Today there is certain type of music that the church rejects as “Christian Music”. Christian Rock or Christian Rap is unacceptable, but Euro-centric melodies is the only music Jesus would listen to right? I know a bible teacher (very popular) who says that Homeschooling is the Christians standard and that Christians are to never use birth control (though many who agree with this still use more natural methods) and to do so is to trump the sovereignty of God (that’s an oxymoron). I have heard from Christians that African dancing or Indian use of words or a Muslim using Allah over “God” is unacceptable. Or better yet in Muslim countries many believe the women should uncover but I am sure that Paul would say “stay covered up for the Gospel”.

In All

Culture is fluid and it moves around the Gospel as it pleases, we are to discern the culture see where it impedes upon the Gospel and begin to teach the new disciples of Christ that this culture is to repented of if necessary. We are also to humble ourselves to determine if some particular culture even impacts the Gospel or is it just something we personally don’t agree with and set those differences to the side in order to proclaim the Gospel with conviction. This is very difficult for many people. Entire denominations our built on culture and not the Gospel and how shameful is that? Christ didn’t die to redeem “culture” He died to redeem humans. Paul says “I became all things to all men that I may win some” in  1 Corinthians 9. Whenever we begin to make judgment calls we have misplaced the Gospel and are no longer endorsed by the Spirit. Religion hinders the Gospel like nothing else. As a matter of fact religion may be the biggest hindrance to the Good News. Often I hear, man I got to stop smoking cigarettes then I will become a Christian, or man I have to get some “church clothes” or “I have to stop drinking” or “I have to _____”. The only thing we need to do is proclaim Christ crucified and teach the scriptures.  The Spirit through the Scriptures will point out sin and begin to shed those things from them, all other things are not to be worried about.