2nd Corinthians 6:16-18 “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord almighty.”
People can quote this passage in defense of a separation view of the world which is where people think that Christians should be completely removed from society and not have anything to do with modern culture in order to not be corrupted by society. However when you take the context of this passage, Paul is talking about marriage between believers and unbelievers. So when I read that passage it sounds like he is saying, “Don’t marry an unbeliever because you don’t share the fundamental beliefs about life.” Yes, Paul is quoting scripture found in Isaiah 52:11, but the phrase “come out and be separate” was often used as a prophetic warning like in Revelation 18:4.
John 17:14-19 “I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
An accommodating view of the world is where people think that Christians should be culturally relevant and change their “style” to accommodate the changing culture. People who hold this view of the world can cite john 17:14-19 in defense of their view. I think this view is a little more “right” than the separation view partly because of this scripture and probably because I was raised on the “in the world but not of the world” doctrine. (side note: we couldn’t find a reference for that exact phrase anywhere in the Bible) I wouldn’t say that I’m completely for the accommodating view, but I would say that I lean more toward accommodation than separation at least when the truth of the Gospel hasn’t been compromised.
I think that being a younger generation also has given me a little slant towards accommodation. I’ve grown up in this culture and that’s really all I’ve known, so it’s not hard for me to take an accommodating view.
One example is that of Bible teaching and activities at a retreat or conference. Yes, theoretically it's good to have an entire weekend taken up with Bible teaching and nothing else, but if you spend four hours in chapel listening to a speaker or studying the Word, I'll guarantee that you're gonna lose one or two people from your audience. however if you balance the teaching and preaching with some physical activities and fun things to do then it gives stimulation to both the body and soul, and I think that you'll get better "results" from the teaching if you have times in between sessions to process things. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing, but not enough is bad also. So it's another tension.
Another example could be music. I suppose that if everyone in the world had been raised on hymns and praise songs that there wouldn't be much conflict, however, not everyone has a taste for hymns, and sometimes newer music speaks louder to some people. So it becomes another tension trying to figure out what type of music will speak best to the group you are serving, or what they need to hear. And I think that it would be beneficial for some people to remember that the people on stage are praising God also with the music that they are playing and the lyrics they are singing.
No comments:
Post a Comment