Purpose: To convince the audience to resist the impact of culture on us so we can stand firm in the Word.

Introduction:

1. Living in a hostile culture has always been the challenge of God's people.

 
1. Think of the pressure on Noah and his family to conform to those around them.

 
2. Moses refused to accept the culture in which he was raised as the son of Pharoah's daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God.

 
3. The people of Israel in the wilderness, remembered the Egyptian worship of idols and made themselves a golden calf.

 
4. God warned the Israelites to drive out the inhabitants of the land so they would not be caught up in their idolatry. But they did not drive them all out and they learned their idolatrous ways.

 
5. Israelites in Samuel's day said they wanted a king to be like the people around them.

 
6. Paul--I Cor. 1:21-24.

 
2. We know, then, that we are challenged, like God's people always have been, to understand the culture around us but to stand our ground against anything in that culture that would lead us astray.

 
3. Over the past two or three decades, significant changes have been taking place in the culture of which we are part. As Cal Thomas put it, "In one generation, we have passed from the free distribution of Gideon Bibles to the free distribution of condoms." Not everyone has adopted this new way to think about things: Bork, Bellah, Bennett. But many have adopted it. This new worldview is widely taught in our schools and is spread through TV, movies, books, magazines, and music.

 
Subject Sentence: We must resist pressure from four elements of our culture that are impacting the church.

(transition--as we look at these four views, we will ask (1) what do they say, (2) how are these views impacting the church, (3) how shall we deal with each, and (4) what can we learn from each.)

Body:
 

1. Relativism.
1. What does relativism say?
1. Nothing is absolute. Nothing is fixed or certain. There are no absolute moral standards. No right or wrong. No rules. Certainly no divine revelation with absolutes. No objective truth. A statement means what I say it means.

 
2. Only 28 % of Americans now have a strong belief in absolute truth.

 
3. This affects our stance on morals. Since no absolutes, who is to say anything is wrong. If two want to live together without being married, who is to say it is wrong? Homosexuality. Integrity.

 
4. This relativism the foundation of post-modernism. Modernism, in this concept, is the philosphy that said we can reason our way to what is right and we can find the truth. Post-modernism says there is no absolute truth to find.
2. How does relativism impact the church?
1. When we evangelize, many will be less likely to accept at face value what the Bible says.

 
2. Many will say you cannot be sure when you interpret scripture. Like abstract art--the Bible means whatever you want it to mean.

 
3. If we accept relativism, how can we call people back to the church of the New Testament as an absolute standard to guide us? There is no absolute standard.

 
4. More in the church are becoming involved in violations of the moral standards of the Bible--sex outside of marriage, divorce, drinking, homosexuality, gambling, lying, pornography. The world around them says these are acceptable and that is showing itself in the conduct in the church.

 
5. Some among us are proposing a "new hermeneutic" which is less specific, with more left open, with less use of logic. It looks on epistles as love letters, sees the scriptures as narrative to be absorbed rather than as commands to be obeyed.
3. What is our response to relativism?
1. We should stand on the scriptures as an absolute.
1. If we give any credence to Bible cases, written for our admonition, we would have to say that God expects His commands to be followed.

 
• Adam and Eve

 
• Abraham

 
• Moses at the rock

 
• Saul

 
• David

 
• Corinthians--I Cor 11:23

 
2. We, like Jesus, must say, "It is written."

 
3. We interpret all of scripture as New Testament writers interpreted the Old Testament, as authoritative, specific, and absolute.
2. We should reject the "new hermeneutics" as inadequate. Those advocating this have, in my opinion, badly misstated what our view of hermeneutics as been over the years. They have attributed our use of "command, example, and inference" to the American Restoration Movement when the Bible urges us to use all of these. They ask us to abandon a "flawed hermeneutic" but have given us little in the way of a new system and have been vague about what practices we have mistaskenly derived from scripture.

 
3. We should recognize that relativism as a philosophy has failed. It has not been good for our country--would anyone contend that moral relativism has given us a better country. Do we have less crime? Are our homes happier? Are our government institutions stronger? Are we safer? 1000 teen-age girls become pregnant every day in America. More than 4,000 teens contract a sexaully transmitted disease daily. Ask Frank Gifford, Marv Albert, Mike Tyson, or Magic Johnson, the Kennedys or the Clintons. Relativism has failed our country, let's not let it become our philosophy in the church.

 
4. What can we learn?


We can accept the challenge to re-examine our foundations. We must find the absolutes of scripture and stand on them. Scripture defines these as what it says will save or condemn. Have we made some traditions into absolutes? Somtimes. If so, we should change that. But we must not accept the relativism as our approach.
 

2. Pluralism.
1. What does pluralism say?
1. Do not condemn anyone or anything. Be tolerant. All views are equally good; be open to everything.

 
2. Two factors have contributed to this view. (1) Relativism, which says there are no absolutes, and (2) the growing diversity in our society. If no view is objectively right or wrong and there are so many views around, then we should accept all as equally good.

 
3. Those who would debate or argue about religion are too narrow.

 
4. Whatever is right in your community must be right.
2. How is pluralism impacting the church?
1. We should not say that other religions are wrong. We may continue to practice what we think is right, but we should not condemn anyone else. In the past when our brotherhood debated others and said others were wrong, we were being too narrow.

 
2. At a meeting of the Evangelical Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion convention in San Francisco in November of 1992, Clark Pinnock said, "I am appealing to evangelicals to make the shift to a more inclusive outlook, much the way the Catholics did at Vatican II." (Chr Apol, p. 85)

 
3. Not only should we accept others as saved, we should accommodate our doctrine to allow this. We have been too exclusive. Surely Mother Teresa and James Dobson and Billy Graham are not going to hell, so we must revise our view of the plan of salvation so we can consider these and other religious friends to be among the saved. So let's accept salvation by faith only, baptism for any purpose is suitable, we no longer consider ourselves undenominational and other as denominational, we should not condemn the use of instruments, we should exchange pulpits with those of other religions and we should join with them in joint services.
3. What is our response to pluralism?
1. Accepting all views as equally good is not the teaching of scripture. In the Old Testament, God did not say to Israel, anything in religion is OK--worshipping an idol is as good as worshipping God.

 
2. In the New Testament, frequent passages condemn false teachers--religious but wrong. Matt. 7:21. Paul often warned of false teachers and confronted them and tells us to withdraw from them


--Gal. 1:6-12. John says that if anyone comes not teaching properly about Christ, do not receive him--2 John 9-10. And Jesus, in the seven letters to the churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3, is particularly strong about standing firm in the doctrine delivered to them. He commends Ephesus, for example, because they held fast and would not accept those claiming to be apostles while He condemns Pergamum and Thyatira for allowing false teachers.
 

3. Paul and John are both very strong in warning against a falling away. I Tim. 4:1-4--The Holy Spirit says some shall depart.

 
4. Acts 4:12 and John 3:36.

 
5. Christianity was born in a time of pluralism and but early Christians refused to consider all views as equally good. Neither should we.
4. What can we learn?
1. We must accommodate our approach but not our message.

 
2. We must not bash the church of the past. They lived in a different culture and we should appreciate their stand for the truth. If some were too bold or were harsh, we must not condone such behavior.

 
3. We must recognize that we are called to teach and not to judge. Will God treat Hitler and Mother Teresa alike in the judgment. I don't know how God will make such judgments but it will be right. We don't have to know. God called me to be a teacher and a preacher of what I find in the Word. He has said to take the gospel to everyone. If one who is not following the truth would not be better off with it, God would not tell me to take it to him. So we must continue to be evanagelistic here and around the world.

 
3. Emotionalism.
1. What does emotionalism say?
1. Since nothing is certain (relativism), we cannot trust reason to reach a conclusion. Feelings, therefore, are a better measure for what is good than logic. So let's not try to draw careful conclusions from scripture. Rather, let's do what feels right.

 
2. So if I feel I have a message from God, I will follow it regardless of what the Bible says.

 
3. I want to worship where it feels right and where my emotions are stirred. I want to feel good and be entertained. If I want to fall on the floor or shout or bark, then I should be free to do so. And I will attribute this to theleading of the Holy Spirit.

 
4. I want to believe in modern day healing and other spiritual gifts. We must not deny the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. How is this impacting the church?
1. Rely more on feeling and less on reason.

 
2. Calls for changes in our worship style. More emotional. Clapping, swaying, different songs. If we are going to reach the unchurched, we must have more outward emotion.

 
3. Some are saying we must include charismatic gifts of prophecy, healing, tongues.

 
4. We should allow Holy Spirit experiences--tongues, healing, shouting, falling.
3. What is our response to emotionalism?
1. We should not make emotion more predominant than reason--that is not the way of scripture. On Pentecost, Peter gave reasons for believing in Jesus as the Christ and called for a reasonable response. John wrote his gospel to give evidence on which to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing we might have life in His name. God worked miracles through Jesus and the apostles and others so through them He could reveal His word and through the miracles their words could be confirmed. Nicodemus. Since the faith was long ago delivered, we no longer need miracles of revelation or of confirmation. Even when these were happening, Paul was warning those who had them not to make them central--even then love was a better way, and still is.

 
2. We should worship as the scriptures guide and in no other way. Worship is our attempt to communicate with God in ways He has directed. We are not free to devise our own methods and should never turn worship into entertainment for ourselves. There is no indication anywhere in scripture that any Christian barked like a dog or fell to the ground and could not get up as some are doing in worship today.

 
3. The scriptures teach that the use of miracles by New Testament Christians was a temporary phenomenon made possible by the laying on the of the apostle's hands. People claiming those powers today are not doing Bible miracles and we should not follow them into these so called "miracles."
4. What do we learn?
1. We certainly should teach the right place of emotion in our lives and in our worship. In our worship--we must sing with the heart (Eph. 5:19), we are to take the Lord's Supper with deep examination and reflection on Jesus's sacrifice, sometimes we pray in deep agony as Jesus did. Of course there is a place for emotion in our worship. But it is emotion that expresses our deep feelings toward God and is not in some outward manifestation for others to see.

 
2. We learn that some of those we are seeking to reach will respond more to emotion than to logic and that will affect the way we explain the gospel story to them, emphasizing the life of Jesus and his death on our behalf. We will talk of grace and of our response to it. We will tell the stories of early Christians and of their struggles. While we may not lead out with controversial doctrinal issues, we must be certain that those we are leading to Christ are well grounded in the truth of the gospel.

 
3. Take a scriptural view of the Holy Spirit and claim the benefits of His indwelling.

 
4. Individualism.
1. What does individualism say?
1. I am the measure of life. "Self" is the source of truth and reality. Since there is no absolute right or wrong, I will do as I please.

 
2. I have a right to be happy. Self-improvement is my goal.

 
3. Anything, including the Bible, means what I say it means. I don't want anyone else telling me what to do.
2. How does individualism show itself in the church?
1. Let's talk about ourselves in Bible class.

 
2. Let's emphasize relationships not doctrine.

 
3. I will insist on my rights.

 
4. Don't tell me what to do.

 
5. God wants me to be happy.
3. How do we respond to individualism?
1. We recognize that the Bible does not teach that I should put myself at the center of my universe--Christ belongs on the throne of my life.

 
2. Unselfishness not self is the key teaching of Jesus.

 
3. I should forgo my rights if it will make for something better.

 
4. We must teach the place of sacrifice as well as the place of benefits of Christianity.
4. What do we learn?
1. We can capitalize on the desire to improve self. We have the greatest self-improvement methods in the world.

 
2. We can appeal to "felt needs" if we keep these in balance with unrecognized needs and deal with these too.

 
3. We can learn from scripture that the great challenge of life is to remove self from the throne of our lives and put Christ there.

 
4. Give people involvement and responsibility.

 
Conclusion:
1. We must not let culture determine our stand. It must come from the Word. The Bible is not a source from which to pick and choose. We either take Jesus as the divine Son of God or we must reject Him. We either take the Bible for what it claims to be, a revelation from God, or we reject it as a fake.

 
2. We understand the thought processes and worldview of some around us and make the best appeal we can to them. Especially those who view life as described are attracted by the living testimony of those who are living good, happy, contented, constructive lives. This will give openings.

 
3. We must realize that while many intellectuals and the media are pressing this agenda, not everyone has accepted it. Let us not over-react.

 
4. We must not join the enemy but conquer him.