How Are We Called To Engage With Culture?
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Main Question for today...
How are we called to engage with Culture as Christians?
Note the differences between "How do we actually engage with culture?" versus "How does God call us to live with and engage with the culture around us?"
| God replaces fallen order | Christians begin fixing fallen order | |||||
Consider this...
Revisit week one of this study for a refresher on the chart above if you would like.
Note the differences between God replacing the fallen order and humans trying to fix the world in order to bring about the fullness of God's Kingdom.
Fellowship
How would you describe fellowship? What are its characteristics?
Fellowship can be summarized as:
“Sharing life in common with one another”
Accept one another (Rom. 15:7)
Agree with one another (1 Cor. 1:10; 3:13)
Be kind to one another (Eph. 5:21)
Be subject to one another (1 Thess. 5:15)
Bear with one another (Col. 3:13)
Carry one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2)
Encourage one another (Heb. 3:13; 1 Thess. 4:18)
Forgiving one another (Eph. 4:32)
Love one another (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17; 1 John 4:7; 2 John 1:5)
Live in harmony with one another (Rom. 12:16)
Offer hospitality to one another (1 Pet. 4:9)
Serve one another (Gal. 5:13)
Show equal concern for one another (1 Cor. 12:25)
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19)
Teach and admonish one another (Col. 3:16)
Wait for one another before breaking bread (1 Cor. 11:33)
If so, how?
What keyword is essential to prevent "Leeching, freeloading, and other people taking advantage of one another?"
The answer is Reciprocity. If everyone is acting in love toward one another and reciprocating the things in this list, then it's not disingenuous is it?
Friendship
How would you define friendship?
How does Jesus describe Friendship? (Read John 15:12-17)
Who does Jesus call his friends? Does Jesus call the wider community or everyone in the world his friends?
Those who are part of the Kingdom of God are our friends.
So, should we shun our non-Christian friends? Or are we called to prioritize the people belonging to “one another” first? If so, how?
Jesus never ignored people outside of God’s Kingdom, but he did prioritize those within God’s Kingdom.
Mission
Based on the Kingdom-centered model, how do we as a church and individual engage with the world?
How should the church respond to the world, its troubles, and God’s mission for the Kingdom?
The Church’s response is to fill the earth with churches and Christ communities that embrace, display, and proclaim his Kingdom.
How does missionary work fit into this Kingdom-centered model?
A Missionary's life together with the people they serve is kingdom living.
God’s design is that “churches committed to God’s kingdom strengthen other churches committed to God’s Kingdom and continue planting still more churches committed to God’s Kingdom.”
Copyright © 2016 John Nugent. All rights reserved. All credit for this material belongs to Dr. John Nugent at Great Lakes Christian College in Lansing, Michigan.
Nugent, John C. Endangered Gospel: How Fixing the World is Killing the Church. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2016.