The Church and Culture

I recently read an article by Ken Meyer in Touchstone magazine (March/April 2010, pages 10-11) entitled, "Contours of Culture." Meyer discusses the relationship of the church with culture, and he notes that there are some important changes in the development of culture in our day.

First, the rate of cultural change is rapidly increasing. And this is continuing with each succeeding and passing generation. I remember reading in the early 1970s a book by Toffler entitled, "Future Shock". In this book Toffler postulates that this kind of rapid change would occur. One of his theses was that change would ultimately occur so fast that people could not adjust, thus creating a social and cultural crisis. Meyer agrees. As a result of this rapid cultural change the church is losing its ability to assess culture; we simply have no time to analyze and evaluate it. Thus, the minister and the church loses its ability to be prophetic with the culture.

Second, the predominating cultural feature of modern culture is that culture is meaningless. According to modern thinking culture is meaningful only as we impose meaning upon it. This is a direct influence of Nihilism and Evolution upon cultural thinking. In the pre-modern era people generally began their meaningful contemplation of reality with the existence of God and the creation of material reality. This gave a foundation for meaningful pondering concerning life and all that exists. We have lost this in the post-modern culture. The sovereignty of the individual and meaningless meditation in cosmology leaves us barren and empty. If the universe is simply a bunch of meaningless stuff, and we ourselves are meaningless stuff going to a meaningless destiny, I mean, what's the point?

The church must rise in our day to proclaim the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of all of this type of thinking. Our thoughts are rooted in the time-tested wisdom of ancient biblical thinking and teaching. We seek to apply in a fresh and modern context the truth of eternal wisdom and knowledge. We assert that epistemologically we are created to "know" that which is "knowable" in the universe, and this knowingness is from God in His revelation. "Knowing" is not related to modern instruments of knowledge; accessing information is not the same as assessing information. May God help us to see the ancient, yea the eternal, for our present time.

God's Competitor

John 19:15, "We have no king but Caesar."

In the context of the passage Pilate is now trapped; in order to survive politically (and perhaps physically) he must condemn Jesus. The Jewish leaders have coerced the crowd in their devious complicity so that the cross is now just a matter of time. Pilate has no where to go intellectually except to condemn Jesus. How did this occur? The issue of ultimate authority has become the apex of discussion. The final discussion ended when the crowd said, "We have no king but Caesar." Pilate, who represents Caesar, then was required to capitulate.

It is interesting in the world of human affairs how often this very question becomes the primary center of debate. The question of ultimate authority is the ultimate question of all. Who is in charge, and is this power just and right? All through human history the story of this issue is prominently displayed, and the conflict between competing options is all the more obvious. Hitler, Stalin, and all other tyrants demanded capitulation from the dominant religion of their day. If the religious institution in question did not acquiesce, then it would be destroyed by the state. The state would not allow for another competing power.

It is the same today. The state, in the minds and logic of many people, is the lord and savior of the people. Notice how many times the state is presented as solving problems, correcting injustices, and granting favors. How can a state assume to do such audacious things? There is only one way to do all of this - BE IN CHARGE AS THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY. All others must bow in obedience to the state. The state becomes enthroned as the merciful bestow er of gifts or the punishing avenger of all competitors. And the single solitary competitor of the state is religion.

The United States of American was born in a pristine vision in this regard. Our national documents seek to protect both the state from the tyranny of religion, and they seek to protect religion from the state. Can these two (state and religion) be held in constant and continuous tension? Can they seek to co-exist without one imposing on the other? The Founding Fathers of the USA thought so, and they sought to make it so.

Let us pray, as the state seems to grow in power and assertiveness, that our original American vision rises in the hearts and minds of the people to protect religious people from the restraints and the demands of Caesar. Let Christian people never join in the chorus, "We have no king but Caesar."

Jesus before a Truthless Culture

John 18:37-38, "Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?"

The text before us here is stunningly applicable to our own culture. Here we have the Lord Jesus standing before a governmental representative who rejects and questions Jesus' self assertions. Jesus admits that He is a king of another heavenly kingdom and that He has come to bear witness to the truth. Jesus then declares a very remarkable thing - everyone who is of the truth listens to Him. I can hear our culture howl with angry voices, "bigot!" How dare Jesus challenge our radical individualism and self-autonomy? "Does Jesus not know", squeals our truth less culture, "that we create our own reality, our own truth, by our powerful and all-important choices?"

And there stands Pilate, alone in his struggle and truth less foundation. Is his problem an epistemological one? Is he stating that he thinks there is truth but he doesn't know it (agnosticism)? Or, is he asserting that he does not believe in truth (atheism)? Or, is he simply expelling his own personal, bitter, and angry feelings of one who has lost all hope and meaning in life (nihilism)? Such is the sequential paradigmatic journey of culture. First, there is an uncertainty about truth, then there is a denial of truth, and finally all meaning in life is lost altogether. Such is the case in our day. The secular, pagan culture of American vacillates between "no truth" and "self-idolatry creating truth."

In this setting and challenge the church of Jesus Christ is planted. What is our task? What must we do? What does God call us to do? We have come to bear witness to the TRUTH, to Jesus Christ and God's revelatory truth about redemption in Christ. We do so using the only means God has given - the proclaiming of the Scriptures. "Lord God, please raise up a generation of proclaimers who stand tall and strong against the winds of an anti-Christian culture. May they speak with a clear, loving, yet firm voice informed by the truth and revealing a love for the truth. Amen."

Getting a True Picture of Treasure

Oh, Lord, help me to have a true picture of what truly counts in this world. So much seems so important, but in the end it all turns to dust and is no more. Lord, grant to me the wisdom and discernment to see eternity when temporality is swirling around me like a vortex. Lord, this is my prayer today.

How much did he leave?

(J. R. Miller, "Counsel and Help" 1907)

"Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle." Proverbs 23:5

People are badly cheated in this world. They imagine that the things they can see are the real things--that the gold, lands, and stocks are the true treasures. So they toil for those things and gather them into their possession, piling up what they suppose to be wealth. Thus they live in pomp, with their fine houses, and all their brilliant show. But one day their supposed riches sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Or they may keep their wealth, perchance, and die at last in the midst of it, and have a great funeral; but they find that they cannot carry a penny of it with them. "How much did he leave?" was asked about a rich man who had died. "All of it!" was the answer.

If only people knew that there are things which will never fly away--they would no longer live for fleeting worldly wealth. They would pass by the glittering unrealities, to lay hold of the true riches. He who is rich toward God--is the truly wealthy man.

He Has Done All Things Well

There is a statement made about Jesus in Mark 7, and this statement is astounding to me. This is one of those statements that encompasses a great deal; it is an extensive and comprehensive assessment. It can be applied to Jesus in any way possible, and one will see that is true in every respect. “He has done all things well.”

The context of this statement is described both historically and humanly. The historical context is healing. Jesus had healed a deaf man who spoke with a great impediment. The text specifically references in Mark 7:37 the fact that Jesus healed the deaf and the mute. But the text also says that the obvious power and supernatural ability that was evidenced here in this healing caused the people to be “utterly astonished.” The people saw this unbelievable miracle, they were utterly astonished at what they saw, and they responded and said of Jesus, “He has done all things well.” But I would suggest that when all is said and done, when all has come to an end, everyone would testify that Jesus has done all things well.

1. This is the testimony of those who knew Jesus and observed His life.

2. This is the testimony of those who opposed Him.

3. This is the testimony of Pilate.

4. This is the testimony of the Heavenly Father.

5. This is the testimony of the sinner saved by grace.

6. This is the testimony of God’s pilgrims in eternal glory.

· “There were times when I sinned…”

· “There were times when I hated myself…”

· “There were times when I was confused…”

· “There were times when I was disappointed with life…”

· “There were times when I was burdened and overwhelmed…”

· “There were times when I was worried…”

· “There were times when I was sorrowful…”

· “There were times when I was sick…”

· “There was a time when I came to death…”

But no matter what happened, what I felt, and what was going on around me, in the end I have come to know that JESUS DID ALL THINGS WELL.

God Speaking in Life's Whirlwinds

Job 38:1 NASB “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind…”

Job 38:1 NCV “Then the Lord answered Job from the storm.”

Storms and the Scripture

Storms, like mountains, are copiously used in the Scriptures. Elijah experienced a storm before the Lord spoke to him in a still, small voice in the cave. Jesus calmed the storm, and thus, demonstrated who He was and the power with which He manifested His divine glory. In this case in the Book of Job, the Lord is speaking to Job out of a storm in order to address the questions and issues that have confronted Job in the storms of his life.

Life’s Troubles are Storms

Life’s troubles are like storms. They sometimes come upon us suddenly and unexpectedly. They sweep down upon us with terrible ferocity and great power. Life’s storms of trouble can sweep us away; they can take the very lifeblood of hope out of our hearts. They are both awesome and awful. God’s people are not immune from life’s problems and hardships. They are not exempt from life’s great tragedies. These storms, though not inherent within the material universe, which God created, are now normal and natural because of the sin-broken nature of the world in which we live.

Job’s Storms

Job had been living in a storm for a long time. Job’s life had been decimated by the tragic and painful events of his journey. He had, quite literally, lost everything except God. God in the days and weeks of pain’s shadow, Job could not see or find God. He would cry out, “Oh, that I might find Him.” Eventually Job’s perception of everything became warped: he had a warped perception of himself (thinking he was righteous), he had a warped perception of life (he thought life was not worth living), and most of all he had a warped perception of God (he thought God was angry with him, and thus God abandoned him). But Job was wrong on all accounts. When we are hurting we become horrible philosophers. In pain our spiritual vision is clouded, and our mind is dulled to the truth. In moments of hopelessness apparitions of horror will fill us with a terrible dread.

God Speaking from the Whirlwind

God begins speaking to Job in Job 38 and He speaks through chapter 41. What does God say? What does God not say? What is God doing for Job in this section? What does Job really need from God?

· God does not answer Job’s questions.

· God does, by asking His own questions to Job, re-orientate Job to life, reality, and God.

· By doing this, God awakens Job to a deeper understanding of God, life, and even Job’s experiences, and by doing this God gives Job the greatest gift ever – illumination to the truth with eternal application for living.

Comforted by God

Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

First, I want us to think about the true assertions made about life in these verses. These assertions deal with suffering and comfort in suffering:

1. It is normal and even expected for Christians to suffer in this world of sin.
2. God is the God of all comfort. All comfort comes from Him.
3. God wants Christians to be comforted by Him.
4. God also wants to pass comfort along to others through the ones whom He comforts, so that the comforted Christian becomes the conduit through whom divine comfort flows to others. However, this is processed and accomplished in such a way so that the hurting person receiving comfort from a comforted Christian turns to the Lord for more comfort. All true comfort comes from God Himself!

Second, I think it is vital that we understand that this passage is not teaching that we should turn to people for comfort when we hurt. This is the common mistake made by many people when they hurt. Many people unfortunately turn to other people when they turn. Why do we do this?

• Because it is easy to do.
• Because we falsely think that is where real comfort is found.
• Because when we turn to people for comfort it is an attempt (perhaps inadvertent and unintentional) to pass off to others the responsibility that we bear for our own decisions and comfort. Turning to others takes the pressure off of us.

If we turn to people for comfort when we hurt rather than to the Lord, then we will never grow in our understanding of life's depths. The richness of spiritual truth that could have been learned in the vortex of suffering, will never be perceived if we turn to people instead of the Lord. If we turn to people for comfort instead of the Lord, we will never truly experience comfort, and we will never be able to comfort others with the comfort God gives to us.

Does God want to comfort His hurting people? Sure. Does God want comforted Christians to pass that comfort along to others who hurt? Again, absolutely right. But let's remember that if by sharing God's comfort we turn people to ourselves rather than to God, then we do them a disservice, and they will not have learned to be comforted by God.