My Sunday Skl

Another day. Another Post.

Today I’m going into the archives once again, but before getting into it all, I’d like to just appreciate how different my study of the Bible is now in comparison to before. Whereas now I feel like my revelations, and thoughts tend to stem from within and the Spirit, I would say a lot of my earlier notes seemed to be based primarily on commentaries and sermons. I remember being concerned about being too reliant on commentaries and sermons for understanding, but I am happy to see that I am in a better place now.

But with that out of the way, let’s get into things.

Should Christians Isolate Themselves From Secular Culture?

That’s the question.

It’s a big one.

So before we attempt to answer it, let me throw out some others.

• On a scale of 1-10, how much do you think you interact with Secular culture? Why?

• Is there any benefit to Christians in embracing secular culture?

• Should Christians be watching shows which promote ideas which go against Christian Teachings? At one point Game of Thrones was a big topic on contention within believers. We saw the same thing with power? We saw it again with Sex Education. We will very likely see it come up again. Should Christians take a stance against such material?

• Can we glorify God through engaging with Secular culture?

• When bored and seeking entertainment, do you turn to the world? Why?

• Is there a lack of Christian content to keep ourselves occupied and entertained? Do we not find Christian content entertaining?

A lot of questions.

And it’s okay if you can’t answer them all as of right now. It’s even okay if you can’t answer after some thinking.

It’s often hard to be completely truthful when talking on secular culture. Many of us are so involved in it, that we would struggle to even speak against it without being hit with a wave a conviction.

How am I supposed to say we should avoid things which distract us from Christ, yet actively engage in conversations about Snowfall and The Godfather of Harlem which actively promote ideas which go against the life of a Christian?

How can I speak against something which I make so much time for?

Throwback to the 3^rd of July 2020 when I wrote this:

“The tough reality is that there aren’t many memories of times I’ve made a sacrifice unprovoked in favour of studying the Word. I say unprovoked, because sure – there’s been plenty of night vigils, but I didn’t arrange them, nor did I actively advocate them most of them time. If I am being completely honest, there’s times where I was supposed to read my Bible and I would procrastinate, only to find it be nightime and I say, maybe tomorrow. Maybe it’s the accessibility of the Word. Maybe it’s a belief that I can always spend that time tomorrow. But tomorrow is not guaranteed.”

I went on to say:

“I, by accident and almost on purpose, spent today aiming to not consume secular material. No YouTube (unless it was faith-based content, eg sermons, interviews, etc). No Netflix, unless faith based, like American Gospel. No Music, unless faith based, like the Walls Group, Dawkins and Dawkins, Se Ok etc. And I’ll be honest. It was not easy. The first half was calm. A lot of worship. A lot of reading. A lot of sermons. Then it hit like 7pm and fatigue arose. I wanted to switch off. And that’s when I realised, I desired worldly content the most. I use it almost as a pacifier. It lulls my mind. And that sounds great. But its implications are dangerous. I acknowledge that the worldly stuff switches my mind off. Now, if I spend most of my day consuming it, that puts me in a position of compromise. If I am asleep more than awake… Well Proverbs will be at by neck.”

I ended up finalisng my thoughts with this:

“The hardest part has been figuring out what is secular and what is not? Is twitter secular? Would going on snapchat and replying to a friend be engaging in secular culture? Was looking at forex charts secular?”

Cool.

Those were my thoughts. My emotions. How I felt at the time. But here’s what you really care about. The Biblical stuff.

If I am being honest, I think this will be a 2-parter, but here we go.

Separation of the Church from culture.

Some believe that the church should act as a sanctuary for those who want to be free from the world. Almost like a safety bunker. And as such, the church could try it’s hardest not to be corrupted or contaminated by worldly views and perspectives. They likely have good intentions and don’t mean to alienate the world. They may base this on the idea of holding fast to their faith from Revelation 3:11, or that they need to prepare themselves for the evil day as seen in Ephesians 6:13. Many Christians fear this day and believe the best way to prepare is by eliminating interactions with the enemy.

The main issue with this thought process is that they create the idea that sin can be bounded by avoidance. And that sin originates from “the outside” and not within. Are we to say if we were left alone with just ourselves and the Bible, we will never sin again? Of course not. Sin isn’t something that we block out.

Furthermore, they are right to take a stance against the powers of darkness, but they are likely silly, and maybe even selfish to believe that all people will do the same of their own volition. We are supposed to be the light in the darkness. They are focussing on not being of the world and neglecting their duties whilst in the world. John 17:17. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.

Legalistically avoiding secular cannot keep sin out of the church, but what it can do is hide Christians from the world, who so desperately needs them.

Another stance is that of the Church being almost the “heavy artillery” or “the clean-up group”, in this war against evil. Many believers are clinging on to the principal of waging war against what is evil. They rightly recognize that we must put on the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:11), fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), resist the devil (James 4:7), and cast down anything that exalts itself against God (2 Corinthians 10:4–5).”

It’s too easy to see ourselves fighting against people instead of sin. God uses the church in his plan to rescue people, not destroy them. Ashford says, “Our social and cultural contexts are full of unbelievers—but those unbelievers are not only enemies of God, but also drowning people in need of a lifeboat. The church is not only a base for soldiers, but also a hospital for the sick.”

It seems like it is hard for the church to separate the battle between us and sin, and the enemy, and our duty to be a hospital for the sick.

Some may then suggest that we ought to bring culture into the church.

Some may then suggest that we ought to bring culture into the church.Embrace it. Be a Biblical mirror of the culture. For us to say that culture is always wrong is wrong in itself. There are great things which have come from culture. Things which have benefitted Christians and Non-Christians alike. But this also isn’t to say that the Church should be following culture. Without God, culture raises up idols in His place—celebrities, politicians, sex, wealth, power, and even productivity and freedom.

Can the church embrace culture without also embracing its idols?

By becoming a reflection of culture, the church can lose its position as a champion of a better way to live. When Christians embrace the “grey areas,” the better way of life we offer can become a grey area, too.

A third  mindset is one that views human beings as representatives of Christ who live their lives in the midst of and for the good of their cultural context, and whose cultural lives are characterized by obedience and witness.

2 Corinthians 5:20 -Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Ashford says, “Every aspect of human life and culture is ripe for Christian witness. Every dimension of culture, whether it is art, science, or politics, is an arena in which we can speak about Christ with our lips and reflect him with our lives. We thank God for the existence of culture and recognize whatever is good in it, while at the same time seeking to redirect whatever is not good toward Christ.”

We’ll end with this:

If Jesus was sitting next to us all day, would we watch what we watch?

Would we study the word more simply due to pressure of His presence?

Would we try harder in all that we do?

It isn’t just a matter of not doing bad things but it is also a matter of trying to make sure that we also do good things.

Alright, we’ll continue next week.

Stay safe.

Stay blessed.

Show some love.

And make an impact.

God Bless.