“There is a core difference between sharing the gospel with the lost and imposing a specific moral standard on the unconverted.”
– Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
Violence, raunchy movies, swearing, immodesty, drinking adds, liberal ideas, worldly messages, and worldly people. These are the things we run into on a daily basis. We see these things and our first response is to react, and then to hide. We stay in our churches and throw tracts at people in order for them to come in and be converted.
We see the fallen state and the continue depravity of man like a gathering storm. So we take shelters in our churches and with our Christian friends. We fear the storm. We fear the disaster it will cause on our lives. Self-protection of our spiritual lives and our moral lives become our number one priority when facing the World.
The ideas rage, the sin booms its thunder, and depravity rains down. Yet, we stay inside our shelter in the time of storm. Yet, we need to ask ourselves the question: is this biblical? Is this the way we should be acting towards the world around us?
The Heart of Interaction
When we look at interacting with the World, we must look at what the Scripture says.
Jesus, God himself, took a human body. He interacted with us. He interacted with your world, your sin, and your helpless state.
God loved you (and the world) so much that He came to interact with our world. He saw the storm from the beginning, and He needed to interact with it. He could not let you be damned for your sin. He could not allow you to die in your sin. He interacted with you.
The heart of interacting with the world is the Incarnation. Because God took on a body and kept it to interact with you at your level, He has freed us from the power of the World so you could interact with it. Without the Incarnation, we would have no faith. It is our faith in the Incarnate God which conquers the World (1 John 5:4).
The Forgotten Heart
But… Do we live like this? Do we find empowerment through the Incarnation to engage the World?
No. Instead, we try to save our own lives. We have made a Christ who sits in our churches and calls people to come. Yet, where was Christ found? He was accused of being the friend of sinners, because he ate with sinners. He was found at their tables. What does Jesus say in Mark 2:13-17? He did not come to call the righteous or who were healthy. Jesus wants the sinner and the sick.
This was the heart of Jesus. He came, took on a human body, died, and rose again for sinners. It is the sinner that needs this salvation. It is you that needs this salvation.
Why did we fall in love with Jesus? Was it because of the heart of Jesus? Yet, we have forgotten His heart. We have forgotten our first love: Jesus.
Do you remember when you saw your sin? It was like a storm that was going to kill you. You could not find shelter from the death sentence over your head. You could not find it in a church, or in a translation, or in following a list of obedience. You could only find it in the heart of Jesus who comes to sinners like you and shows you the way to salvation. Have you forgotten this? When we remember what Christ has done for us, we gain His heart and His mindset to engage the world (Philippians 2:1-18).
The Ignored Commission
Christ’s heart gives us a commission. Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).
When we first hear this passage we think of our missionaries across oceans living in weird places and learning languages to give the gospel. Do we ever consider this passage to mean our neighborhood? Our culture?
We tend to ignore this command when thinking about our current situation. We would rather hide in our churches throwing tracts at people and give them a moral standard as our fulfillment of the Great Commission. Sadly, this commission is the greatest omission of our Christian lives and in our churches.
Christ commands us to make disciples of all nations. You can’t make disciples when you are worried about your own life. Making disciples means you are worried about another person’s life. It does not have to be handing out tracts. Daily life evangelism is a better tool than handing out a tract. When the world sees you struggling and clinging to the hope of Christ, then they will be more open to hearing the gospel than off a piece of paper. Tracts can be effective, but only giving a “fire-insurance gospel.” The gospel transforms lives when it is engaged with lives. And, you have been given that gospel to make disciples of all nations. Are you going to continue to ignore Christ’s heartfelt command?
Engaging the World
Now, how do we actually work through the “storm of sin” we see in our culture? It is easy to run for shelter. However, there is a better route: Critical Thinking. It is not being critical and judgmental.
Critical Thinking is about evaluating the messages, ideas, and events around you. It is willing to listen to people you disagree with in order to understand them. Critical Thinking is interacting with what you are hearing, and then responding. A critical thinker does not react. Too often, we as Christians react to the world around us. We see sin dripping like slime off the wall and we decry it. Why are we surprised that sinners are acting like sinners? Did Christ react? Yes, he did. However, it was not just a reaction. It was a response. He knew how to respond to the people around him. Paul knew how to respond. For us, reacting never gives us an opportunity to give the gospel. Responding opens many doors.
Think through what is going on in our world. Seek to understand those around you. Engage in their lives. Be well read. Understand them in order to improve yourself as you seek to make disciples of all nations. Think critically how to respond before you react.
Acts 17:16-34 is an excellent example of critical thinking. Paul sees the culture around him in Athens. He does not go and smash idols. Instead, he looks for a way to respond that will open the minds of the people to hear the gospel. He even quotes one of their own poets. Paul did not react in protecting his moral life or imposing his moral standards on them. He responded. He showed them the heart of Christ.
Heading Out into the World
In the movie The Giver, the community is kept safe by the Elders. All memories are wiped away. All evil is put aside and taken outside the community. Everything is in black and white. Jonas, the main character, sees this as taking away from what makes us truly human. He then goes on a quest to bring back the memories and break the barrier. He is successful. The memories come back. However, they are not all good. It is the good and bad that makes us human. We experience bad and good. Yet, at the very end he comes to a house decorated for Christmas. He says he found the truth. He found where reality is. He finds what makes us real. Watch the clip below. As it comes to the end, identify the song being sung at the house.
Reality is found in Jesus. The world is living in the shadow and echo of what is real. There is good and there is evil. But, aren’t you grateful for that Silent Night? The birth of the Incarnation gives us the freedom to critically think, enter into our world, and engage with it.
How does this quote strike you?
“The reason why the Christians in this day are at such a loss as to some things is that they are contented with what comes from man’s mouth without searching and kneeling before God to know of Him the truth of things.”
Does it feel like it was written for today? It was written by John Bunyan in the 1600’s. There is a lost mentality of engaging the world through critical thinking. It is not just about listening, it is about understanding, it is about learning, and it is about responding like Christ and making disciples of all nations.
The good and bad makes us human. The Incarnation sets us free from this fallen world in order to bring the gospel to this fallen world. We can engage our world, because Jesus engaged us.
Braced By Truth 