. . . continuing . . .
So how can we be in the world and not of it? What can we learn from Christ that will help us? Letʼs look at a few principles from Scripture and experience to help us understand this and guide the way we relate to the lost.
First, I relate to the world redemptively. I am a fisher of men, for their salvation. This does not mean I view people as evangelism projects. I do not get to know a co-worker, share the Gospel with them, discover they are not interested, and dump them. Evangelism is not an assembly line project.
If I live redemptively I am loving people around me, treating them with respect and true friendship, and always seeking and praying for their salvation. I am on a mission–and that mission guards me from being a partaker of sin while I am a friend of sinners.
Second, there are temptations in relating to the lost. Fear of man is real. A willingness to participate in sin because of fear of man is likely. I can be unwise and seek to befriend the opposite sex. I can spend too much time with the lost and lose the protection of fellowship and others caring for my soul. The world is not a neutral place. People outside of Christ want others to join them in their sin. I need wisdom and discernment, and that means I need the help of others.
Third, knowing people is different than going to movies. I think the whole discussion of being culturally aware dodges the real work of knowing lost people deeply. I am called to love and serve them for Christ. I am called to help them when they have marital problems, children problems, and are living with effects of their sin. I am called to relate to them in what we have in common. And we have a lot in common. They are made in Godʼs image. They know love and hate, sadness and joy, and the beauty of music and creation. I do not need to focus on the unique culture of our times, so much as on the real people around me.
This means I am to know individuals. I have never met statistical averages. I only know my friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates. I need to get to know their questions, histories, backgrounds, objections to the Gospel. I am to treat them with deepest respect.
I have often puzzled over why sinners flocked to Jesus. He was sinless. They were sinners. They were despised by many – but they wanted to be with him. I think one answer is that, clear as he was about salvation and sin, he treated them with such dignity and respect that they were drawn to him.
Fourth, I am to learn the culture to serve real people I know. There are two men who have influenced me greatly in this regard: Francis Schaeffer and Tim Keller. Both men were/are clearly aware of the culture and very sophisticated in their relating to the culture. But they’re both evangelists. They know people. They read the latest bestsellers and make connections with real people. They’re the kind of men who would go to the latest movie, hear the message of the director, and immediately see how it relates to their friend who is not a Christian. They did so with discernment. But they found ways to understand people through observing the culture. For them, knowing the culture is not an academic exercise–it is to serve people. So it should be for us.
We are called to be friends of sinners. We can be more effective when we know the world they live in and what shapes their values. So we keep up with culture. But it is all so the Savior may seek and save the lost through us.
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