A Christian Response to a Changing Culture

Forty years ago, theologian Francis Schaeffer, said, “Whatever the world is doing today, the church will be doing seven years from now.” This statement speaks to our culture as though it were written yesterday. These are changing times. That which was considered wrong a few years ago is accepted and applauded today. Many Christians say we need to love the sinner and hate the sin. Others say we need to love the sinner and hate our own sin. However, those pithy statements do not deal with the serious matter of how Christians are to respond to the changing values in their world. I believe there is a biblical, four-step response.

A.  Stand in truth. Surrendering truth for peace or to avoid confrontation is compromising our witness. If people do not act in truth, they are at a disadvantage in life. We are to be the bearers of that truth. Trying to change the meaning of Scripture may help people feel better in the moment, but, in the long run it will hurt the ones who are walking in sin. Plus, you cannot change the truth. We owe it to those we love to tell them the truth.

B.  Offer grace. Jesus came to us in truth and grace (John 1:17). When we look down on others because of their sin, we are saying that we somehow contributed to our own salvation. We come to think, “Jesus died for me but it really helps that I am a good person, born to a good family, and not involved in great sin.” When we operate in grace, we are acknowledging our own sin and our need for a Savior. This helps us to relate to others in that same grace. Grace, however, is not about ignoring sin. Grace in the New Testament does not change the way God feels about sin, only how He deals with it. We  often hear ”hate the sin and love the sinner.” But I am afraid that we are guilty of hating the sin and ignoring the sinner.

C.  Expect rejection. As Christians we will be rejected by those who feel we are judgmental. We will be called intolerant and be viewed as unreasonable or foolish. We must be prepared for this rejection or persecution.

D.  Endure. We must be willing to be misunderstood. Jesus was misunderstood and He was killed for it. But in His death He brought forth redemption. We may be persecuted and suffer for our faith, but we must have faith that God is going to bring about redemption through our circumstances. All of us want to be loved, but if being loved or accepted becomes more important than our ability to witness, we will never be able to lead people in our culture to the truth.
I hope these thoughts help.  
What do you think?