Christ Over Culture
Notes
Transcript
The Gospel and Culture
The Gospel and Culture
We all understand that the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ is the lifeblood for all people. (all people - most non-christians just don’t know it)
Here is the problem for most Christians… It doesn’t take long for us to be backed into a corner on cultural issues. (We don’t want to be offensive but we don’t know how to respond, or even if we should respond!)
Understand this, the GOSPEL is the most offensive singular thing in all of society.
The Bible is where we must gain our knowledge in order for us to stay true to the Word of God, and not fall into culture.
In order to put Christ over Culture, we must first know what Christ says about topics that culture has a loud view on.
This will give us the knowledge of culture, but also the truth of the Word and we will gain confidence in standing against the topics we are going to cover, but it will also allow us to confidently have a voice.
The Gospel in fact not only compels Christians to confront issues, but in turn will also create confrontation with culture because the 2 cannot mix. (oil & water)
We are going to take a look at topics that culture and the Bible are not even close on.
The gospel and…
Culture
Poverty
Abortion
Marriage
Sex slavery
Sexual immorality
Religious liberties
In order to figure out how to put Christ over Culture, we need to first ask ourselves 2 important questions.
1. What is the Gospel?
1. What is the Gospel?
A) Gen 1:1 In the beginning, God…
In the beginning God… (created the heavens and the earth.)
Congratulations, statistically, with 4 words you just offended the majority of the population of the world.
B) God created everything, perfectly. Col 1:16
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Congratulations again. You most likely just offended the rest of the non-christian population.
Everything is created FOR God and BY God.
Nothing at all is irrelevant to God.
C) This God who is so offensive, who is He and what is He like?
“I am the Lord, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.”
A) The Lord is good. Psa 145:9
The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are over all His works.
His creation is good and very good.
(Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31)
God gives grace. - Free and undeserved to all who ask. 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
God is the author to ALL creation.
Every creature is accountable to him.
The Author of ALL creation has authority over creation.
God will rightly judge every person - God is just.
This is why we need HIS grace.
We need to understand that this gospel is offensive.
Tell any person there is a person who sustains, owns, defines, rules and will judge them and see what happens.
They will be offended, this is a natural human reaction.
D) The natural reaction to God.
Ever since the beginning we see the problem with the human heart.
Humans don’t like defined limits.
God created man & put him in the garden and gave him a limit. Gen 2:16-17
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
God’s holiness, goodness, justice & grace is displayed.
God provided all - God has authority as creator to define right/wrong, good/bad, good/evil and he does so based on His character.
God makes a few things clear.
1. Humans will be judged based on their ability to follow —His commands.
2. God shows His grace - He doesn’t hide his law from the man.
3. In love, God explains a way to life & explains how to walk in it.
Humans Response (Poor)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Humans respond with role reversal. - culture does the same thing.
The commands of God are in fact reduced to questions of God.
Is God really holy?
Does God really know what is right?
Is God truly good?
Does God really want what is best for me?
By questioning God, we are trying to remove ourselves from being “Judged by God” to being the ones who “Judges God.”
This is where culture is today. They want to judge and define God & don’t want to hear different.
E) Sin To Self.
Society/culture doesn’t want to know sin.
They know they fall into it.
We are all created by God but corrupted by sin.
John Scott summarizes Christianity.
We are able to think, choose, create, love and worship; but we are also able to hate, covet, fight and kill. Human beings are the inventors of hospitals for the care of the sick, of universities for the acquisition of wisdom and of churches for the worship of God, but they have also invented torture chambers, concentration camps and nuclear arsenals
This is a paradox of us humans. We are both noble and ennoble, both rational and irrational, both moral and immoral, both creative and destructive, both loving and selfish and both godlike and bestial.
F) Who is Jesus?
About anyone who knows anything about Jesus would agree that He was a good person.
People find him easy to identify with even if they don’t believe he is the messiah.
Jesus knows sorrow, struggle and suffering.
He made friends with the neglected & hung out with the rejected.
Jesus was humble, but also made outrageous self centered claims.
Jesus set himself apart from everyone else.
Jesus left the 99 to go after the 1.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
“If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
“So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Jesus put himself into his own category here. He claimed everyone else was lost, yet He wasn’t.
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Jesus is the light, everyone else is darkness.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Jesus claimed he was the bread and water, everryone else needed Him.
Jesus also claimed everyone else is sinful, yet through the gospel we see that He forgives sin.
Jesus claimed He would separate one from another like a shepherd separates His sheep
Jesus is claiming He would settle their eternal destiny. He made himself the the central figure on judgement day.
We see Jesus’ most extravagant claim of all.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Jesus and Jesus ALONE
Yet the gospel is most offensive when you share that without Jesus people are going to HELL.
When people hear that their eternal destiny is determined by whether or not they believe the man who was on the middle cross is Lord, Savior, King, Judge. (God). People get offended.
As soon as you say, if you believe, you go to heaven, if you don’t, you go to hell - you automatically cross the line with culture.
Its time we stop worrying about culture being offended…SO….
2. Do You Believe The Gospel?
2. Do You Believe The Gospel?
Your answer will determine how you will live the rest of your life.
either with culture
or
Christ over Culture.
