The Counter-Cultural Christian
Something
that Christians know, but they are not willing to say it out loud and/or they
are not willing to live within the knowledge of is the fact that this world is
not ours. For this age, God has allowed
Satan to become the ruler of this world.
The society that we live in is misled by the prince of darkness. The culture is confused, corrupted, perverted,
and downright ridiculous. The Apostle
begins his letter to the Galatians by saying, “Grace to you and peace from God
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He
might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God
and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Galatians 1:3-5). We live in a “present evil age” that is
filled with nonsense, falsities, and deceptions, but we have been delivered
from it. So many believers live as if
nothing in this age matters, and salvation is only for the next age. In Sunday School, we recently studied the
parable of the rich man and Lazarus. I
admit that I struggle in interpreting the message of the parable, but one thing
is clear in Jesus’ teaching: this age has a whole lot to do with the next.
The problem
is that many Christians have no thought for holiness, that is, being set apart
from the world for the purposes of God.
Christians continue to store up treasures on earth and are not
considering the eternal things of God.
What about the Scriptures that command: “lay up treasures in heaven”
(Matt 6:20); “set your minds on things above” (Col 3:2); “do not be conformed
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2); and
so many more (check out Eph 4:22-24 and Phil 4:8)?!
So many
Christians are caught up in the culture.
They are holy on Sundays (maybe),
and the rest of the week they make all of their decisions based on worldly and
selfish principles. Some Christians are
possibly burdened by the guilt that they feel over this issue, and something
must be done about it. James, in the New
Testament, talks about the person who is double-minded. The Elder teaches that God gives wisdom
liberally to those who ask for it, but they must ask in full faith with no
doubting. The person who intermingles
faith with doubting (may I say godliness with worldliness?), “That person
should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable
in all they do” (James 1:7-8). How many
Christians in our American culture are double-minded and unstable? This has great affects too because James says
that person is unstable in all they do. Let me encourage you to be a counterculture
Christian and not a double-minded individual.
Living a countercultural life will not be easy. Jesus did not promise that the holy and
righteous life that pleases God is comfortable.
In fact, He said, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses
his life for My sake will find it” (Matt 10:39). You may feel like your “losing” in this age,
but you will find eternal life into the next age. The countercultural life does not make you a
loser, but it will challenge you emotionally, spiritually, and maybe even
physically as you weather the storm of this fallen world and the opponents that
are within it.
Moreover, let
me suggest that those who pursue the double-minded life, worshiping God on
Sundays (or less) and pursuing worldly ends the other six days, are bordering
on disaster and utter ruin in this age and the next. God desires, even demands, our undivided
attention. He wants single-minded
devotion. Your loyalties cannot be at
odds. Jesus had something memorable to
say on this very subject. He said, “No
one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon” (Matt 6:24). “Mammon” has
been translated as “money” in several versions, but refers to much more. It refers to all our monies, possessions,
experiences, preoccupations, earthly treasures, and all of the details of
life. I read several commentaries on
this verse and two older scholars proved to be most helpful. A. T. Robertson says, “Mammon is a Chaldee,
Syriac, and Punic word like Plutus for
the money god (or devil). The slave of
mammon will obey mammon while pretending to obey God.” After a discussion of the term meaning “material
possessions,” as almost all scholars agree, William Barclay says, “But the word
mamon had a most curious and a most
revealing history. . . . The end of the
process was that mamon came to be
spelled with a capital M and came to be regarded as nothing less than a god.” It may be summarized that Mamon is the god of
all worldly things. The Lord says that
you cannot serve both God and Mamon.
Yet, so many Christians are trying to do just that. They are pursuing this fleshly desire and
that worldly aspiration with no thought of the eternal ramifications of such
pursuits. The person who has divided
loyalties nauseates the Lord (Rev 3:16) and can expect nothing from Him (Jas
1:7).
Let me
encourage you to live the Christian life that is countercultural. The Christian life that conforms to the culture
is dangerous. It can be
destructive in this age and much worse in the next. We have to learn how to live in this world,
but not be of it, and we must learn
how to effectively minister in this world while not falling into the traps of
its temptations.
Any
suggestions on how to live and minister counterculturally, but effectively?
Send them our way by email or on the Progress and Joy Facebook page!