When the Church Begins to Look Like the World
We can be certain that this principle never changes: if the church is not changing the world, the world is changing the church.
When We Become Our Own Standard
Part 3 — When the Church Begins to Look Like the World
All churches faces the same temptation. We want to speak to the world. We want people to listen. We want the gospel to be understood.
Those are really great things. But somewhere along the way, the church began confusing speaking to the culture with becoming like the culture.
Jesus never told us to be like the world so that they would accept us. In fact, He said the exact opposite. The people of God are to be different than the world.
Alistair Begg, in “A Christian Manifesto”, talks about this very issue. In Leviticus 18, God clearly says, “Do not be like them.”
The church’s responsibility is to faithfully proclaim and live under the authority of Christ and His Word. The church doesn’t create its own message. Christ has already spoken.
Pressure comes when the values of our culture begin pressing against biblical truth.
“The Bible is outdated.”
“Nobody believes that anymore.”
“You need to change with the times.”
Don’t get me wrong, there are legitimate questions that deserve thoughtful answers. But popularity has never been the measure of truth. The church doesn’t become faithful by asking, “What will make us look good to the world?”
Faithfulness comes by asking, “What does God require of us?”
There’s a subtle difference between changing the way we communicate and changing the message we communicate.
We can use new methods without creating a new gospel.
We can understand culture without surrendering to it.
We can love people without approving everything they believe.
We can speak with love without being silent about truth.
Paul warned the church not to be conformed to the world in Romans 12:2. We can be certain that this principle never changes: if the church is not changing the world, the world is changing the church.
The Word of God should be continually shaping us. So here is a simple test:
When the church disagrees with the culture, are we willing to stay faithful even when it is unpopular?
The church doesn’t need to become more like the world in order to reach the world.
It needs to become more like Christ. That is what draws broken people. They are looking for an answer, not something that looks the same as the brokenness around them.
