Engaging Our Culture

foreign
s are this morning you're not aware of
this but Paul's mission to Athens has
been the subject of a great deal of
discussion and debate among theologians
Scholars and commentators for many years
a difference of opinion
as to whether Paul's Ministry approach
in Athens
was good and useful
or whether his ministry approach
was simply wrong
and I'll explain it this way there are
those who believe that acts chapter 17
Paul's Ministry in Athens represents the
epitome of Brilliance in engaging a
secular culture being all things to all
men that Paul by all means might gain
some
there are others
noting the fact that the product of that
Ministry was only a few converts
and the fact that there's no mention in
his gospel presentation of the cross of
Jesus
there are those who say he made a bad
mistake he leaned upon human wisdom and
he should have just preached Christ
crucified and risen
and leave the results to go on in fact
such people will go on to say that when
he came to Corinth one of the reasons he
writes what he does in his letter to the
Corinthians is because he learned from
his mistake in Athens he says in one
Corinthians chapter 1 that he did not
come with eloquence or superior wisdom
but rather resolve to know nothing among
them while he was with them except Jesus
Christ and him crucified
there's been a great deal of discussion
disagreement about Paul's Ministry
approach in the city of Athens
I don't profess to know
the one versus the other
nor do I really care a law on
what I do know is that his ministry
approach in Athens was very different
from any Ministry approach that he had
engaged in up until this moment and the
reason for that I believe is for full
let me just walk you through that very
quickly number one Paul never intended
that slide can we move that forward
please
he never planned
to stay in Athens for any length of time
as I explained earlier he had been
chased out of Berea
he ended up in Athens waiting for Silas
and Timothy for some reason they had
stayed behind and that's why he found
himself in Athens his real purpose as
the gospel goes on to explain or The
Story Goes On to explain is he wanted to
go to Corinth because Corinth was the
commercial center of that whole region
he didn't plan to stay in Athens for
very long and number two again I can't
move in Athens was still a major
Cultural Center
it's Heyday was long passed but it was
still a significant place of religiosity
and it was still a significant seat of
philosophical thought
the fact that there were this many
altars including an altar to the unknown
God
uh is an indication of its religiosity
stirred Paul deeply as we'll see in a
moment
and the fact that this was home to the
epicureans and the stoics later on Lord
willing will talk about their school of
thought
but these people were a significant
presence and as we noted earlier a lot
of people had nothing to do but hang
around and have conversations about
virtually everything that they could
think of number three Paul engages in a
Marketplace Ministry remember most of
the time he goes to a synagogue preaches
to the Jews and he preaches to the
God-fearing Gentiles and that becomes
the nucleus of the new community while
here in Athens he is walking around the
city because he is waiting around for
Saul for Silas and for Timothy and so we
read in let's put up verse 16 the next
slide here he reasoned Paul was waiting
other verse first he reasoned in the
synagogue with the Jews and the
God-fearing Greeks as well as in the
marketplace day by day with those who
happened to be there so he went to the
synagogue but he wasn't content just to
be in the synagogue he started to mix
with the people in the Agora the
marketplace he began Street evangelism
and the reason for that is the next
verse shows us is because he was greatly
distressed to see that the city was full
of Idols that were distressed is the
Greek word paracchism
peroxism
I don't know it's a big word
but it's also English word
I had to look it up
it means having a big fit
and Paul had a big fit
when he looked all around and he saw
how
idolatrous these Athenians were so he's
on the marketplace
he's accosting people on the street
doing Street evangelism and the number
four he tries to build on their existing
belief
system
he tries to build on their existing
belief system remember these people are
pagans
they don't believe in the god of the
Hebrews they don't believe in the
authority of scripture they have their
own world and Life View
how do you engage people in that
situation how do you even begin to speak
the same language
well what Paul does is he builds on
their belief system and he starts with
the realization that they worship an
unknown God let me read you those verses
from Acts chapter 17 if we can put them
up Paul then stood up in the meeting of
the areopagus and said men of Athens I
see that in every way you are very
religious
for as I walked around and looked
carefully at your objects of worship I
even found an altar with this
inscription to an unknown God later on
not today but Lord willing some other
suddenly want to tell you the story that
Richardson describes in his book
eternity in their hearts this has an
historical occasion
that caused the Athenian people to build
this altar it's a fascinating story I'll
just hang that out there
the next verse is we can put that back
up now what you worship is something
unknown
I am going to Proclaim
to you so he's building
on their he's meeting them where they
are they've got all these gone
they wanted to make sure nobody got
forgotten because if you forget a God he
could come after you so they have this
altar to the unknown God and Paul comes
to them and he says this unknown God
that you're already worshiping I want to
tell you about him because his name is
Jesus
so
this is why his ministry in Athens was
different from any other Ministry he
didn't plan to stay very long it was a
huge Cultural Center he engages in
Street Ministry and he starts to build
on what they believe the closest other
example of that is back in Acts chapter
14 when he is preaching to listra and
there he says you're worshiping stupid
Idols that are worthless and he almost
got himself killed so here he's a little
bit smarter and he says this God that
you're worshiping that is unknown to you
I'm coming to present him to you so
here's the question what do we learn
from this
and we'll see how far we can get a
number of things first of all and you
guys have to move the slides up there
because our main media computer just for
the record
things you can pray about crash this
week or making do with an alternate
system and it's only the Brilliance of
that team up there that enables us to do
what we're doing this morning so you
should give them a hand just for the
record
the gospel is both attractional
and missional
attractional next slide up means
the world
comes to us
attractional means
that the light of Jesus shining in US is
appealing to the people around us who
don't know Jesus
and attractional is a very important
aspect of the Gospel it is what the
Bible talks about it's what Jesus means
in The Sermon on the Mount when he says
in Matthew 5 16 in the same way let your
light shine before men
that they may see your good deeds and
praise your father in Heaven
attractional is what Peter is talking
about in one Peter chapter 2 verse 12
when he says live such good lives among
the pagans that though they accuse you
of doing wrong they may see your good
deeds and glorify God on the day that he
visits us
attractional Ministry is when churches
like our church throws an event
and we invite people to the event
attractional is what we did over the
weekend when we had a marriage Ministry
and I have never seen as large a
percentage of community people attend
as I did this particular weekend thanks
to the fact that many of you invited
family and friends to come to the event
Stephen Deborah great event and an
example of attractional ministry Mission
all next slide out is just the opposite
of that instead of coming to us
we go to them
Mission all is the Good Shepherd
leaving the 99
to go find the one sheep that is lost
missional is the Lord Jesus coming from
heaven
being born into this world to save you
and me missional is what the Apostle
Paul does on his missionary Journeys
where he leaves the comfort of his own
community and he barges into an alien
and a foreign world to try to Proclaim
to them the good news of Jesus missional
is what Jesus tells us in the Great
Commission when he says in Matthew
chapter 28 19 and 20 go therefore and
Make Disciples of all Nations
baptizing them in the name of the father
and of the son and of the Holy Spirit
teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you
and lo I will be with you always the
passage goes on even to the End of the
Age so missional
is when Mike and Marianne go to Uganda
and they Proclaim Christ
on our behalf or Kathy Vandergrift or
Jeremy and Katrina as they gear up for
going to in it's what missionaries have
been doing for years and years and years
it's going to where the people are to
try to present to them the good news of
the Gospel now here's what I want us to
understand
the world
develops according to its own character
and the more the church develops
according to its own character
the more difficult
attractional Ministry becomes
and the more necessary
missional Ministry becomes let's put up
see what happens
when we first come to Christ
we're all part of this world system
where we share in worldly values that's
even true if you're raised in a
Christian home it's a specially true if
you're not raised in a Christian home
before you come to faith in Christ it's
all about yourself it's all about the
things you want to get it's all about
satisfying your own needs that's where
we all live that's where we find our joy
that's where we find our life
in the Providence of God when God Comes
To Us by his grace we get tired of this
life we see how selfish we are how much
conflict that it represents somewhere
along the line we hear the message of
the Gospel we hear the good news of
Jesus we come to faith in Christ and we
become as you know citizens of the
kingdom of God and we begin to embrace
Heaven's values of faith hope and love
now remember the parable of the wheat
and the weeds
when you first come to Christ
you're like
the wheat and the weeds they're very
hard to distinguish in fact somebody
will argue that oftentimes pagans live
better lives than Christians do you've
heard that argument I'm sure many times
that's not terribly surprising because
it's our Brokenness that brings us to
Jesus
so don't be surprised if people that
you're sitting next to in the Pew are
people whose lives is a mass
we're not a museum
of showpieces we are a hospital for
sinners
amen we're a hospital for Sinners that's
what makes the church the church
the world often doesn't understand that
and they say well how can you call
yourself a Christian when you're
I'm not a Christian because I'm so good
I'm a Christian because I know I'm bad
and I need Jesus that's what
distinguishes us so at first
you see these big overlap right at first
it's hard to distinguish between the
wheat and the weeds
but remember nobody remains static
if you're in the world and have the
world's DNA that seed is going to
continue to grow those values over here
will make you more and more selfish will
bring you more and more conflict your
life will get darker and darker
particularly when you make choices in
that direction
but similarly if you're in Christ and he
lives in You by his Spirit you're you're
getting you're absorbing his word his
Spirit lives in you drives you changes
you transforms you then your life begins
to change
and the things that you once said are so
much joy in you now have much less joy
in and the things that you you used to
hate
you now begin to embrace
I mean what Pagan loves prayer what
Pagan loves getting up in Sunday morning
going to church on a cold Sunday morning
and yet here you are why because your
heart is drawn to God your heart is
drawn to each other
so here's what happens
the more people grow as Christians
the less contact they have with the
world
you can see this in your own life
before some of you were Christians you
had all kinds of friends out there that
you used to hang around with
then he became a Christian your life
began to change and there's two things
that happen
probably at the same time you became
less and less comfortable with their
activities
and they became less and less
comfortable with you and your activities
so now pretty soon you've lost your old
friends hopefully in that process and
this is what church people really need
to understand hopefully you've made some
new friends because if you don't make
new friends you're going to go back to
your old friends real fast that's how
people wipe out
you need to become part of a new
community
but you see how that Gap develops
pretty soon it's all the Christians in a
holy huddle over here and all the pagans
in an Unholy huddle over here
and never the twain will meet
now how do you even begin to talk to
each other
I mean picture a friend who is
solidly pro-evolutionist
solidly pro-choice
solidly pro-gay
and here you are growing in biblical
pro-life values
wanting to deal with Biblical
understandings of gender issues
how do you even talk to each other
because every time you talk now it just
becomes a big fight
they write you off you write them off
you and you if you're going to have a
relationship at all you agree simply not
a talk about the hot topics of the day
isn't that true
so now we just live our own
where do you go with that
you see that's why we need to understand
that the gospel is both attractional and
missional
the less relationship we have with the
world the less unchurched friends we
have the less evangelism we're able to
do
and that's why most evangelism that
occurs in churches occurs with new
converts who still have friends out
there that they can have a connection
and a relationship with and try to bring
a law
so the bigger that Gap becomes the more
intentional the church has to be in its
Mission and it takes considerable skill
to be missional
how do you break through the bear how do
you communicate the gospel to people who
don't believe there is a God who don't
believe the authority of the Bible and I
don't believe in your understanding of
what is right and wrong you see that you
see the issue
now What flows out of this
is the second thing that we learn in
this and that is this
our culture
our culture now culture as you know
is the way a given group of people do
life
that includes things like the language
we speak the Customs we observe the
belief systems we Embrace and
and so on
and it used to be until about the mid
60s at least
that most of the western world
embraced
values that were essentially biblical
doesn't mean that everybody was a
Christian
but it does mean that the influence of
the Christian faith permeated all of
society
and so
people by and large believed in God
they had reverence for the Bible
they knew the difference between right
and wrong shaped by biblical values they
knew that Satan was breaking the Ten
Commandments they might break them all
the time but at least they're smarts to
know that they were breaking them
which is not where we find ourselves
today let me tell you
see so for a long long time that shaped
our culture and that was reflected in
our laws
and so
abortion was wrong
gay movement
was not countenanced
living together it happened
but people knew that it was in violation
of biblical morality and there was a
common understanding that
that euthanasia mercy killing
was not acceptable
because it wasn't part of a pro-life
value which had come out of the Gospel
so our laws were a reflection of values
that had been shaped by scripture you
see where this is going don't you
all of that has changed
profoundly
all of that has changed so profoundly
that you and I can't even begin to
understand what is driving the changes
in today's world
now Tim Keller and you've heard me
mention him before he is founding pastor
of reading the Presbyterian Church in in
Manhattan in New York City
a church that is managed very uniquely
to engage the very secular culture of
its day
goes on in one of his talks to make the
observation that there are three things
that have changed in our culture
that contribute to this change of values
I hesitate to share them with you
because they're so heady that I not even
sure that I understand them myself
hopefully you're smarter than I am
let me just run them by you and see what
you think
three values
that have changed in today's society
that undergird
these changes I mean isn't it true that
you and I we sit and we shake our heads
euthanasia you know nine justices of the
Peace
Supreme Court of Canada
just ruled
that a physician-assisted suicide law as
it exists today is unconstitutional
they've given the government one year to
come up with a new law they have now
decided it's against the charter rights
20 years ago they had the same
discussion they decided it wasn't
against the Charter of Rights
Charter rights hasn't changed so what
has changed
it's Society
that has changed our values are
constantly changing same thing with gay
marriage and same-sex marriage and and
all of the what lies underneath
why are those changes
adopted so wholesale across the board
around the world
well Tim Keller who's a lot smarter than
um
says there are three things
that have changed that you and I need to
understand let me try these out on you
and uh
if it doesn't click or register that's
fine
but let me try it anyway
first of all next slide up all truth
claims
are seen as constraints
and power plays
all truth claims are seen as constraints
and power plays now what he means by
that is this
it used to be
that Authority
was recognized as a good thing
there was a day when God was seen as the
ultimate Authority
he delegated that authority to authority
figures in the world
and his intention with authority was
that it would create a safe environment
under which life could flourish
government had authority to keep order
parents have authority over their
children to keep order to make it safe
teachers have authority over their
children to keep things safe right I
mean it's a no-brainer right
well no it's not a no-brainer today
because you see Authority is now viewed
as you're trying to tell me what to do
you are robbing me of my freedom
and the greatest virtue that we have in
today's society is not order and
authority and doing things God's way
it's getting rid of authority because
real Freedom consists of me doing what I
want to do
so the result of that
is that Authority is not seen as a good
thing it is always cast as a bad thing
and it feeds on itself because in a
broken World Authority gets abused
therefore it gets a bad rap therefore
the only way to be free is to be
yourself
and the result of that is chaos on every
front
I had one of her teachers here tell me
the other day
in the public school where she teaches
it is such chaos that when kids are
soiling themselves in her classroom or
in other people's classrooms nobody can
do anything of significance about it
because every student has a right to
education
imagine that
she tells me but one little girl who
poops herself six times a day I don't
know how she manages it
they assigned a teacher's aide to her
she manages to outsmart the teacher's
and that's a public school
and it's part of a broader culture
that says
everybody's got a right to whatever they
want and don't you try to tell me that
one thing is better than another because
all truth claims are equal
if you've ever been involved in a child
custody case you will know that a good
parent doesn't win over a bad parent
because nobody knows how to distinguish
between the two anymore crazy crazy
crazy but that's where we find ourselves
so
all truth claims are seen as constraints
and power plays secondly he says we have
redefined the nature of guilt
guilt used to be
breaking the law of God
guilt was defined by God says these
things are right these things are wrong
break the Commandments of God and now
you are guilty and again as I said
earlier our laws were based on that kind
of common understanding true
today
guilt has been redefined
so that it has been separated from the
vertical Dimension and guilt now is
defined primarily in the context of
horizontal relationships and so what
happens is that guilt is based on what
Society decides
is right and wrong
and you end up with a fascinating
situations where
the same people who proclaim the right
to kill babies are Marching on the
street to defend baby seals
you've noticed that have you not
at the same time you've got people
saying we've all got to be tolerant of
each other except we're not tolerant of
these intolerant Christian values
because in a world of Tolerance the only
people not tolerated are the people who
say oh just a minute there is right and
wrong to find by God as opposed to
defined by Society
and so it used to be sleeping around
committing adultery any number of things
were seen as wrong now remember I said
people have always practiced them
but remember how Romans 1 ends they not
only do those things they approve those
who do those things and you've heard me
say this before the latter is much worse
than the former
because I may do all kinds of things
wrong as long as I know that I'm doing
something wrong you could at least
challenge me and hold me accountable
but when I think wrong has become right
now where do you go because who decides
who's right and who's and who decides
who's wrong
you say well you know you think that's
wrong but I think that's right it all
depends on on what you bring to the
table
I don't know but you but I get these
spam emails in my inbox occasionally
that invite me to sign up to carry on an
illegitimate Affair outside of my
marriage without any guilt or without
any consequences
Ashley Madison some of you will have
seen it
and I say what world are these people
living in
what idiot in his right mind never
minded people commit adulterer of course
that happens
but most of us have the decency to feel
guilty
and if we don't we ought to
you but not today
because today
it's okay
you see we've redefined the nature of
guilt
so how do you hold people accountable
when their ideas of guilt their ideas
are right and wrong are miles and miles
apart
from where you find am I making sense
here
remember it's one thing to do something
wrong
it's another to do something wrong and
no longer have the decency to know that
what you're doing is wrong and that's
where we're finding ourselves in today's
society things that used to be wrong are
no longer viewed as wrong in fact they
will often get elevated
as being a good smart thing to do all
number three he says
we've lost confidence
in the meaning
of words now that's a tough one
that's a tough one because
it's hard to get your head around this
one
because what he's saying there
is that
words used to have meanings that were
generally understood and embraced
by everybody
but now we have altered the meaning of
words
one just very superficial example for
example is the word gay
the word gay used to mean
being happy
now gay refers to homosexual lifestyle
never mind whether that's a good or bad
thing we've changed the definition of
the word gay
and what Society does at every level
is it finds words to take away the
offensiveness
of a particular value or a particular
Behavior
so
you know the pro-life people used to say
well you're pro-abortion
no we're pro-choice there is a
difference and there is
but it's the redefining of terms
constantly that changes
everything in terms of how we
communicate and what we value
and you know I've hesitated to use this
because I don't want to sound like we're
reading the same drum all the time
but perhaps you've been aware of
information in the news of late about
the Hastings Prince Edward
District school boards poster campaign
any of you seen
let me put them up for you if we can put
that out
you can't read those
but this is a sampling of two posters
out of I think six maybe seven
that our local school board has produced
to
to change the way words are used
in the school system
and these two particular ones this one
deals with inclusive language
gender and this one deals with inclusive
language sexual orientation and gender
identity
and I don't want to make too much of it
but it illustrates the spirit of the age
their attempt is to make sure that
nobody feels excluded by the language
that is used in school
because it is all about making sure that
everybody feels they belong and nobody
feels that they are outside and that's
that's a very good thing in some ways
why use inclusive language to promote
respectful and accepting interactions
language should be accurate fair and
respectful language is not static notice
this it is constantly evolving and
language has a powerful impact on
shaping ideas perceptions and attitudes
all of which is true
but where does this end us up
it ends us up in a situation
where the content that is expressed in
language becomes increasingly confusing
and the differences between men and
women boys and girls and everything else
rapidly begins to disappear and so the
controversy that has been raging around
these posters has been the fact that
students are being advised not to use
terms like mother and father
husband and wife
and they're not to call their teachers
Mr and Mrs
instead they are supposed to say parents
and Guardians
and a partner or spouse
and they're supposed to call adults
including classroom teachers
by their first names
now those of us of an older generation
who think that the use of forced names
for adult is next to blasphemy are about
turning over in our Graves
because
of all the things that that implies is
it why
so while there's a lot behind it that
may be good intentionally
the product of this
is that values change meanings change
and the end result is that you have an
impossible time communicating biblical
truth
because
there is no truth
and everything means
what you choose for it to mean
and so the net result of that is
you'll be talking to somebody and you
will say the Bible says this don't
commit adultery or don't get drunk or
don't do this or the other and what's
people's reaction these days
who is to say what it really means this
is your interpretation of what it means
this is not my interpretation and who
are you to say that your interpretation
is better than my interpretation you see
where we end up
we end up in a situation where
communication
is virtually impossible
all right one more observation just very
quickly to wind this up
that mission is attractional and
missional
we need to understand our culture we
need to know the spirit of our times we
where are thinking lies and and please
understand this always starts at the
fringes of society
then it gets embraced by the
intelligencia at high levels of learning
who develop very profound arguments who
Now teach this to their students who Now
teach this to the rest of the population
through the media and before you know it
everybody
speaks the same language
and the language is no longer biblical
and don't ever make the mistake
of thinking that you and I are immune to
this
because one or two hours in church on a
Sunday morning is not going to offset
the bombardment of the media that you
and I experience at every level
and of the tide is it all to be stopped
and if the world was at all to be
convinced by the power of the Gospel you
and I have to at least understand what's
going on so very quickly on this and
then we'll wind up in a moment we need
to engage our
culture
that is to say having understood it
we now have to find a way of how do we
address them in ways that we can even
get a hearing
because understand how difficult this is
you're going to want to say to your
friends well don't go sleeping around
because the Bible says sleeping around
is not a good thing she's going to say
to you well I don't care what the Bible
says that's just your interpretation I
think sleeping around is a really good
thing because it makes me fulfill my
destiny and what are you going to say
now
you see the Dilemma
so engaging our culture
talking with your friends your sons and
your daughters who have imbibed this
Kool-Aid
where they can hear you and give you a
listening
and the argument of those who defend
Paul's Minister here in Acts chapter 17.
is that that's precisely what he does
when he says look at this unknown God
that you're serving I want to tell you
about this unknown God
and he gets a hearing they drag him
before the areopagus this is the council
where decisions and judgments are being
made by the full of the philosophical
systems of this country and
and he gets an opportunity to Proclaim
Christ
doesn't mean a lot of people come to
Faith but some do
and you and I may or may not bring a lot
of people to Faith but at least we will
have been heard and we will have found
an opportunity to engage and that's the
challenge
for the church
and that's what Tim Keller and others
have learned in this day and age to find
out where the heartbeat lies Tim
Keller's Church they've got all these
money managers and all these very
Sophisticated New York folks dropping in
at his church and coming to faith in
Christ because he's been able to find
those places where they do their living
and he's been able to punch through
their arguments and point them