The dictionary defines culture as the “customary beliefs, social
forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.”
1 People in every culture reject the gospel (remember that Satan is active
Ephesians 2:2–3 and
1 Peter 5:8).
If we as believers intentionally seek out nonbelievers to share the
gospel with, we must learn to have a balanced approached in penetrating
the cultures that reject the gospel while relating to people without
compromising our moral integrity. Three general ways Christians approach
the culture are; running away and hiding; diving into and sinking; and
studying, relating, and impacting.
Running away and hiding is the choice to remove yourself from
any interaction with anyone outside of your local Christian community.
Some have taken this to an extreme and have very little interaction with
and impact on nonbelievers. The Bible calls believers to live a life of
separation, meaning a distinct lifestyle that chases after the things
of God and not the things of this world
Romans 12:1-2 and
1 John 2:15-17).
But living a holy lifestyle doesn’t mean we should separate ourselves
from everyone who isn’t like us. Living in total isolation from sinners
is counter-gospel and the Great Commission.
Diving into and sinking means lowering the standard of our
biblical convictions, sometimes even to the point of sinning in order to
be accepted by the non-believing culture. When this takes place there
is no longer a distinction between the Christian and the non-Christian
in speech, attitude, and action. An example of this is a Christian who
dates a nonbeliever in order to “witness” to them. Before too long they
move in together and start living in sin. From the outside looking in,
the Christian is living in sin and their lifestyle can no longer be
distinguished from that of the sinner. Unrepentant sin (that is
biblically identified) should then be corrected by the elders of the
local church the Christian is in fellowship with (
Matthew 18:15-17 and
1 Corinthians 5:1-13).
Studying, relating, and impacting is looking at the culture
through the lens of the Bible before entering in. The culture’s belief
system, language, and practices are examined in light of Scripture,
allowing the believer to find ways to relate to the culture. The
Christian will use vocabulary and concepts the culture can understand to
build relationships, but won’t commit acts of sin in order to gain
approval (
Acts 17:16-34).
Relationships are developed, the gospel is shared, and follow-up
becomes the focus. Think of music. Christians are free to use their
gifts and talents to preach the gospel through various forms of music.
The Christian would stay away from certain elements of the music genre
they are targeting and the lifestyle that is associated with it (e.g.,
clubbing, drugs, the abuse of alcohol, obscene language, and
fornication), so that they are involved with the culture but yet
distinct from all that the culture has to offer in the realm of sin.
As God has called us as a movement to Live it Up, let’s be mindful of
how we can, under the accountability of our local church leaders, seek
to study, relate and impact the campuses, barbershops, offices and
stores He’s called us to reach for His glory. Remember the goal is not
acceptance earned by paying the price of compromise rather it’s being
found faithful to the call has placed on our individual lives.
