Steve Gentry
[0:00] Thank you so much for being here. It’s good to see you. My name is Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at the village [0:05] Thank you for coming this morning such a beautiful day outside when it’s so nice outside [0:10] I’m thankful that uh that anyone shows up to be honest with you because uh this morning I woke up and I was like [0:14] Maybe i’d like to go to the park, but uh, I came anyway [0:17] Thought I would uh would grace you with my presence just kidding. But thanks for gracing me with your presence. Um [0:23] Over the past few weeks
[0:25] We’ve been talking about the core values of the village and we’ve been going through uh redemption mission community and culture [0:31] We understand because of what we’ve talked about if you haven’t been here [0:35] Uh, please go on our website and listen to the mp3s because I don’t want to preach those sermons all over again right now [0:39] Because we’ll be here for a couple of hours [0:40] But uh in redemption we find the gospel the gospel of jesus christ takes root in our lives and we are transformed [0:48] By him we find our security in him
[0:50] We find our sureness through his death on the cross where he died for our sins and he rose again [0:56] To give us a new life in him and what happens to us is that we’re redeemed and he transforms us and that puts us [1:03] Into a life of mission when jesus was leaving the earth. He told his followers [1:07] He said go and make disciples in other words take this redemption that i’ve given you and take it to the world [1:13] That needs to hear it. I’ve brought salvation. I’ve made it secure the mission [1:17] I am now passing on to you for you to take to the world
[1:21] And then what mission does is mission actually drives us into community [1:25] What happens when we’re obedient to the mission of jesus when we take the gospel out into the world [1:30] And we see people redeemed what happens is is that we build community [1:34] Around that mission because it’s that mission that brings us the message of redemption and we make [1:39] disciples by life on life by coming together [1:42] And teaching each other to obey all that christ commanded us so we’re driven into community
[1:49] And that community builds a mission in which we participate [1:53] Together in the gospel because we were not meant to live this life alone [1:58] Instead, you know, we were meant to live together. You cannot disciple yourself [2:03] You need someone else to speak that truth of god into your life [2:07] That’s not how I designed it [2:08] If I had designed it, it would be just me and my computer and a bible and I would have been great all by myself
[2:13] No mess there when you’re by yourself, but the problem is is that’s not how god designed it [2:18] God designed us to reflect his image onto the world and god exists in community god the father god the son god the holy spirit [2:26] the three in one [2:28] Perfection of community right there unity defined in the trinity and so we reflect his image onto the world through community [2:35] now today [2:37] What we’re going to be talking about is we’re going to move on to the fourth
[2:40] Uh core value that that we have here at the village and it’s it’s culture now. This is not for the the week of heart [2:47] I’ll be honest. This is the hardest issue to preach on for me because it can be so easily [2:52] Misunderstood it can be so easily misconstrued that i’m really going to ask you to track with me for the next three weeks [2:59] All right [3:00] I’m gonna i’m gonna i’m gonna ask you this morning to track with me for the next three weeks and to reserve all of your judgment [3:05] calls
[3:06] Until week three is over [3:08] Basically what that means is that means please hold off on your angry emails until three weeks from now now in three weeks [3:16] If you’re still like that steve he just doesn’t get it man [3:19] He just doesn’t understand in three weeks email me and be really angry and then we’ll deal with it then but just [3:24] Give me a couple weeks or give me some leeway [3:26] Because i’m good
[3:27] It’s gonna take me a couple of weeks to to really track this out if I really wanted to explain it would take me months [3:32] To really get through culture and all these core values that we could spend months on but because of time i’m going to have three weeks [3:38] To really help us understand what it is to live missionally [3:43] What it means to live the mission of jesus in this culture? [3:47] And it’s going to take us a little while and I may say some things that offend you this morning. I may pick on [3:55] Some sacred cows in your life this morning
[3:57] There might be some things that go on in the church that you’re a big fan of [4:03] That are really unmissional and really hinder the mission of jesus and I might poke a little fun at that this morning [4:09] And and you may get mad [4:12] And and and that’s okay [4:14] We’ll we’ll get mad together because i’m not just yelling from the cheap seats this morning [4:18] I’m not being critical of the church of jesus christ. I love the church of jesus christ
[4:22] I’ve been transformed into the church. I’ve been discipled in the church [4:26] I’ve been in the church for a very long time [4:28] I was raised in the church and a lot of the observances that i’m going to talk about this morning and a lot of the [4:34] The the fun that i’m going to poke because most of it’s going to be in jest some of it isn’t [4:38] Uh, and some of it you’re going to think or ingest that i’m being really serious about but i’ve experienced it i’ve lived it [4:44] So i’m not just yelling from the cheap seats. I’m not going from the outside in
[4:47] I was raised in the church. I was raised in in in kind of a church culture [4:51] That was not conducive to the mission of jesus to be quite honest with you [4:55] Um, I I was raised in in a kjv only [5:00] A legalistic uh church and that was that’s all I knew for most of my life [5:06] And and it was to a certain degree to my detriment because I I really ended up an adult [5:12] Uh really confused about the gospel. I didn’t understand a lot of things
[5:16] I understood morality and I understood that the world out there was bad [5:20] And that people were ugly and god wanted to save me away from that [5:24] And he kind of wanted to put me up on the shelf to keep me from getting dirty in the muck in the mud [5:28] That the people out there in the world understand that’s bad [5:32] That’s wrong and you’ll understand why as we go through today, but when we’re talking about culture [5:37] We’re talking about the church in culture. I’m not talking about you
[5:42] Individually in culture [5:43] I’m talking about the church the local church and how we as a church should respond to the culture at large [5:50] Because if you grew up in this culture, which is is kind of the medlothian area [5:55] Most of you have had some type of of kind of baptismal understanding of church [6:02] You’ve been baptized into the church and whatever church background you come from [6:05] It’s a church with a background with a view of how we are to take the mission of jesus to the culture
[6:11] And how you understand how the church relates to culture will necessarily [6:15] Lead you to living one way or the other and seeing people in one light or the other [6:22] You will either see people outside of the walls of the church as being wicked [6:25] And someone the people that you need to avoid or you will see them as people who are the same as you [6:32] They just don’t have the gospel [6:34] Those are the two
[6:36] mentalities that we can take into our understanding of culture [6:38] and hopefully you’ll see [6:41] Today which one I think is true and which one is actually not my opinion [6:45] I think it’s perfectly biblical. All right, but there are three ways that we can react to culture [6:50] There’s three ways that we can deal with culture as a church [6:54] All right, and the first one is what I think is predominant in christianity the first one we can separate from culture
[7:00] That’s that’s the first way that you can deal with culture is to just choose to totally separate from it [7:04] And that’s called sectarianism [7:06] And uh and kind of academia. All right the extreme of this [7:11] All right, let’s go buy 3 000 acres in montana [7:15] Build a ranch totally separate ourselves from the world and and be a cult. All right, that’s the extreme [7:22] All right
[7:23] How we typically do it in church life. All right, let’s start a basketball league [7:29] Where nobody comes and cusses [7:32] Let’s not play basketball with the unsaved kids [7:35] All right, I told you I’m not i’m gonna be pretty i’m gonna be pretty blunt and unfiltered today [7:41] All right, and i’m not demonizing it [7:45] I’m just saying that’s the idea behind it
[7:48] All right [7:49] All right in the church in christianity. We have christian bookstores. We have christian music [7:55] We have christian coffee shops. We have christian basketball leagues. We have christian soccer leagues [8:00] I mean we have a christian version of everything ed stetzer has even said we go to dave ramsey for our financial advice [8:08] We go to james dobson to learn how to raise our kids and we go to tim lahay to read fiction
[8:16] All right
[8:19] We can spend our entire lives once we enter the doors of a church [8:25] And set up our lives in such a way [8:27] That we exist completely outside of the grid of culture [8:33] It’s like a conspiracy theorist who won’t even use a credit card because the government’s tracking him [8:38] We live our lives in such a way that if we even go into an un-christian restaurant
[8:48] Then we could get the muck and the mud of the world onto us [8:51] So we avoid that at all costs and i’m not saying there’s necessarily anything wrong with that truth is truth [8:57] God owns truth. He’s got all the real estate on it. And if it’s true, it’s good [9:02] All right, dave ramsey has good financial advice. James dobson might have some good advice on raising kids [9:06] I don’t know [9:08] But tim lahay doesn’t write good fiction, but but beyond that
[9:14] All right [9:16] We can separate ourselves from society and what this sees is basically what salvation does to you [9:22] Is salvation takes you out of culture and puts you over away from culture [9:27] So culture’s over here the church is over here and they do not interact and it would actually be preferable [9:35] If they don’t interact [9:37] All right, and I experienced this growing up to an extreme
[9:42] I didn’t even go to movie theaters [9:45] All right, I just didn’t interact with them. I couldn’t play cards [9:50] I couldn’t listen to secular music [9:54] All right, I had to listen to sandy patty
[9:59] I’m still getting over those scars ladies and gentlemen [10:03] Actually in my church the big controversy was is she liberal?
[10:09] Sandy patty folks some of you are like, I don’t even know who that is good
[10:14] If you go home and wikipedia that name your life will end [10:18] I’m just kidding. I’m just kidding. I’m poking fun [10:21] All right, so we can separate from culture and what this says is is jesus saves me [10:28] Cleans me up [10:30] Sets me up on the shelf [10:32] And and I am to stay as holy as possible for the rest of my life
[10:36] And if I interact with the culture around me, I may get dirty and I will have less of jesus [10:42] I will have less of god in my life [10:45] All right, that’s that mentality and i’m hoping you’re tracking with me and you’re understanding what I think about separating from culture [10:51] It’s it’s not good [10:52] All right, number one because it’s not jesus [10:55] All right, you’re not going to be more holy that way
[10:58] You’re going to be less holy and you’re going to end up worshiping yourself because you’re so moral now that you don’t even really [11:03] Need jesus in your life anymore. He saved you and then left to save the next guy
[11:09] All right [11:10] option number two [11:11] Blending with culture this is called syncretism that word’s not important [11:15] Just know that it means to blend with the culture. All right. This is what you see in uh in in really liberal christianity [11:22] All right. This is where pluralism comes from [11:26] All right, when you blend with culture what happens is is everything that is true about christianity
[11:33] Becomes debatable and optional, you know jesus is for me, but he’s not necessarily for everyone else [11:40] Jesus is someone that I leave at church and I’ll leave at home with my family and when I enter [11:45] Into society. I don’t take jesus with me
[11:50] Yes, jesus is truth for me, but he’s not necessarily true for you
[11:56] All right [11:57] Syncretism is when we begin to compromise on the truth of the gospel [12:03] So that we can blend with culture and never have any controversy in our lives [12:09] You know, uh, just i’m not gonna well, yeah, okay, uh, you know, this is like this is the unitarian church [12:15] All right, and we have some of those around here, but this is where truth is is optional truth is relative [12:23] All right the gospel
[12:25] It’s not something to debate about [12:27] It’s not something to defend [12:30] All right blending with culture is very dangerous [12:33] I would say it’s just as dangerous as separationism but more so because with separationism [12:38] I think you’re just confused and you may still be saved when you become a syncretist. I’m not sure you know jesus [12:46] This is where the exclusive claims of jesus are unattractive to you
[12:50] This is where you look at the fact that jesus said I am the way the truth and the life and you’re like [12:54] Well, he didn’t really mean he was the only way [12:57] All right [12:58] This is where you just blend with culture and when you’re ever asked about your faith [13:03] You really start to shake and you’re like, oh no, they’re gonna out me [13:07] Oh, no. All right
[13:08] That’s syncretism. It’s dangerous and it’s what we do a lot. All right, we do it more than you think that you think we do [13:14] All right [13:15] Politically, I think we do it [13:18] I think we compromise on the exclusivity of jesus christ in scripture just so that we can elect republicans
[13:26] All right [13:27] Remember wait three weeks to email me [13:30] All right, just wait a couple of weeks [13:33] Track with me for a couple of weeks and then you can send me those angry emails. I can’t believe you said that [13:39] but [13:40] That really is the voice I use so just so you know if you email me
[13:43] That’s that’s the voice i’m speaking in when I read that email [13:47] but [13:48] But blending into culture is is bad [13:51] All right, the gospel is true folks [13:56] All right [13:57] It’s true
[13:59] It’s more true than anything else is true [14:01] So if you’re willing to compromise on that you got problems, right third option. All right, we gotta move fast [14:07] engaging culture with the gospel [14:10] Missional living I used more words. So it’s obvious. That’s the one I think is that good option. All right [14:16] We are called to engage culture with the gospel that’s our third option [14:21] And so what we’re going to do is i’m going to spend the rest of the time today
[14:24] Flushing out what that means i’m going to talk about the scriptures a little bit. All right, but what I call this is missional living [14:32] There are a lot of great resources and one great resource [14:34] For you that I i’ll a lot of what i’m going to say today too is a book called the radical [14:39] Reformation by mark driscoll. I don’t want to plagiarize [14:42] So a lot of what i’m going to talk about today is going to come out of that book but but more of it’s actually [14:46] Going to come out of scripture
[14:47] All right [14:47] So we’re going to talk about the bible a lot today because the bible has a great deal to say about culture and how we are [14:54] to react to culture [14:56] We are called as the people of god to engage the culture [15:00] With the hope of the gospel and i’m going to tell you how to do that today open your bible to jeremiah chapter 29 [15:05] I’m going to go old testament on y’all for a few minutes here
[15:09] Jeremiah chapter 29 is going to be up on the screen [15:12] Jeremiah chapter 29 verses 5 through 7 we read [15:16] But let me preface this what has happened right here in jeremiah. Um, he’s an old testament prophet the nation of israel [15:23] Has been basically taken into captivity [15:26] By the babelonians and they’re pretty upset about that [15:30] You know, of course they’ve been taken into captivity. So they’re in captivity under the babelonian empire
[15:36] And they’re basically being mistreated and jeremiah is risen up out of israel to be a prophet to israel during the time of captivity [15:43] And this is what god says to israel about how they are to react to their captivity in a godless [15:50] pagan [15:51] Immoral culture [15:52] all right [15:54] verse 5
[15:57] Build houses and live in them [16:01] Plant gardens and eat their produce take wives and have sons and daughters [16:07] Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters [16:12] Multiply there and do not decrease but seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you [16:19] Into exile and pray to the lord on its behalf for in its welfare. You will find your [16:27] welfare
[16:28] All right, so they’re in a godless pagan society. They’ve been taken into captivity and god tells them [16:36] Live life plant gardens get married have kids [16:40] But here’s what I want you to hone in on seek the welfare of the city where I [16:46] God speaking I have sent you [16:49] and pray for them [16:54] For their welfare because if you seek their welfare it will be for your welfare
[16:58] All right. Here’s what I want you to understand in isaiah chapter 49 god tells israel through the prophet isaiah [17:04] He says you will be my light to the world and through you talking to israel [17:09] I will gather to myself the nation so that they may bring me glory [17:14] All right israel fails at this all through the old testament they go into disobedience through idolatry [17:22] And they never grasp a hold of the mission that god is trying to give them all throughout the old testament [17:27] So what i’m going to talk about right now is the big picture of the bible what the whole bible is about
[17:30] This is called the merit metanarrative of scripture. All right, what’s happening right here is god tells them [17:36] I’ve sent you into exile, but I want you to be in exile so you can represent me to those people [17:40] So they won’t be pagans anymore
[17:43] I want you to show them the hope that’s in me [17:46] Through your life through your devotion to me through how you act and how you relate with them [17:52] I want to draw them to myself [17:55] If you go further in jeremiah if you go further in the old testament just to summarize [17:59] I’m not going to give a very good summary right now, but just to summarize that they fail miserably
[18:05] All right by the time jesus shows up on the scene in the book of matthew [18:10] They’re back in israel [18:13] But they [18:14] Have not drawn the nations to god at all what they’ve done paul summarizes this in the book of romans [18:21] He says they’ve got the law god has chosen them as his people for their mission [18:25] Not just so they could be special
[18:27] And they’ve become prideful about it and they’ve separated themselves off from the world [18:31] They see everyone else as unclean and they see themselves as clean and so they won’t dirty themselves [18:37] With what’s referred to as the gentiles or anyone that’s not a jew?
[18:42] They failed miserably at obeying jeremiah 29 537
[18:49] This command for the people of god has not changed
[18:55] This is the call of god to the church now [18:58] We exist for the welfare of the city that we live in [19:03] We are to engage them with the gospel for their welfare because when we live the mission of jesus for their welfare [19:10] It’s also for our welfare [19:13] All right
[19:17] We
[19:19] Are demanded by the gospel to engage culture [19:26] You have to understand the mission of jesus here, all right israel’s failure [19:31] All right when they failed it was to show our sinfulness [19:35] It was to show that we could not measure up to god. So what happens jesus comes [19:41] Jesus becomes our hope jesus becomes our salvation jesus perfects what israel failed at [19:48] Jesus dies on the cross takes our sin
[19:51] Rises from the dead to give us righteousness so that we could take his mission to the world [19:56] All right, notice how jesus did it though the greatest miracle of the mission of jesus is the incarnation [20:03] God completely holy completely separated from us [20:08] Does what becomes a human being?
[20:14] Wears human clothes eats human food goes into human culture
[20:20] Jesus lives the mission jesus in a sense humbles himself and dirties himself with our culture
[20:31] And through that we have salvation through that we have redemption and then what does he do he passes it on to us [20:37] So how do we respond we do the opposite?
[20:43] God becomes man
[20:47] Giving us redemption transformation, but also [20:50] The ultimate example of what the mission of jesus looks like I mean it’s called the mission of jesus because jesus did it [20:57] And we’re called christians because we’re followers of christ
[21:01] All right, so that should kind of logically lead us to say maybe I should pay attention to what he did [21:07] Right, but instead we do the opposite and we say well he saved salvation is the end he puts me up on the shelf [21:12] Now i’m separate
[21:16] All right [21:17] No [21:18] That’s not that’s not right. All right now turn your bibles to axe chapter 17. We’re gonna move pretty fast today axe chapter 17 [21:25] We’re gonna start reading in verse 16 [21:28] All right in axe chapter 17. I want to preface this for you in axe chapter 17 [21:32] What we have is is i’ve talked about jesus i’ve talked about what he did
[21:36] But how did his followers relate to culture in the first century church? [21:40] How did the apostles react to culture when they were the original missionaries building the original church laying? [21:46] What’s called in ephesians chapter 2 the foundation of the church that we are now building the walls of [21:51] How did they react to culture in axe 17 paul is in a missionary journey and he’s traveling the world planting churches [21:58] All right. He was in a city called beria [22:01] Which is a jewish city and he got in a lot of trouble because he challenged the religious right and he was like guys
[22:06] You don’t know the gospel. I know the gospel. Jesus is the gospel and in beria a riot broke out and so they kicked paul out [22:13] Like they’re like you got to go buddy [22:15] All right, so they kicked paul out. He’s with uh, sylas and timothy at this point, but sylas and timothy weren’t kicked out [22:21] So paul’s kicked out so he travels about uh, I think just a couple miles south and he ends up in a city called athens [22:28] All right athens is completely different than the cities he’s been to in the past [22:33] All right athens is the center for intellectualism and philosophy of that day
[22:38] It’s where the original atheists hung out. They have pluralism very uh, [22:43] Relative truth is something to be debated. It doesn’t necessarily have a definition. It’s truth is not exclusive [22:49] It’s inclusive of everything. I mean they had atheists. They had pagans. They had pluralists [22:54] They had uh, you know, they had every idol worshiper known to mankind in this city [23:00] All right [23:01] It was a lot like ours
[23:03] And we have a lot more in common in this culture with athens than we do jerusalem [23:07] All right [23:10] So paul finds himself in the city [23:12] But what I want us to focus in on today is I want us to focus in on how paul reacted [23:16] All right axe chapter 17 starting in verse 16. We’re gonna read pretty quick today [23:21] Now while paul was waiting for them while he was waiting for sylas and timothy
[23:26] At athens his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols [23:32] So he reasoned in the synagogue with the jews [23:36] And the devout persons [23:38] And in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there [23:42] Some of the epicurean and stoic philosophers also conversed with him and some said what does this babbler wish to say? [23:50] Others said he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities because he was preaching jesus in the resurrection
[23:57] And they took him and brought him to the aeropagus saying may we know that this what this new teaching is that you are [24:04] Presenting for you bring some strange things to our ears [24:08] We wish to know therefore what these things mean [24:11] Now all the athensians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new [24:18] All right. It was like oprah 24 hours a day [24:22] All right in in athens
[24:24] All right. So so paul is in athens and he does what he does in every city first place. He goes to the synagogue [24:29] He’s like i’m gonna talk to the jews because i’m a jew I understand judaism [24:33] So he goes and talks to the synagogue but notice something that he does he leaves the synagogue then and he goes into the [24:40] Marketplace the marketplace is where the gentiles hung out [24:43] All right, and in athens really the center of town where people would just stand around debating philosophy and theology and intellectualism [24:51] Of that day they would just hang out in the marketplace and they would argue with each other all day
[24:56] But it was in good fun [24:58] Right now I don’t think we really know what that’s like because usually if we argue either ends with a punch in the face [25:03] Or five years separated where we don’t talk to each other [25:05] But in this society in athens it was just commonplace where they would stand around and just argue about [25:11] Philosophy and theology and is there a god isn’t there a god and he talks to the stoics and the epicureans the epicureans were [25:17] Like the original atheists they believed all there was is what’s going on in this material world
[25:22] Stoicism is a little harder to nail down [25:24] They had an idea that there might be a god but they didn’t think god related at all to humans on the earth [25:29] They just believed in following natural logic [25:33] All right, so paul is in the center [25:37] Of stoics and epicureans and he is a jewish christian [25:42] He has nothing in common with these people these people wouldn’t have been allowed in jerusalem
[25:47] So paul is in a place that he does not understand. He does not comprehend because his religion did not teach him these things
[25:57] And it says that he just began to dialogue with him
[26:03] He engages them in dialogue about jesus and the resurrection
[26:09] Right he engages them. It says one of the first things that he did was when he got there he noticed that there were idols [26:16] everywhere [26:17] So immediately we understand that paul has a missionary mentality [26:21] Paul shows up and he says what’s athens like and he says I notice there are idols everywhere it says in back in verse 16 17 [26:28] So then he says well i’m going to start with my people i’m going to go to the temple [26:30] I’m going to go to the synagogue and talk to them then i’m going to head up in the marketplace
[26:36] But paul responds with a missionary mentality he doesn’t go to them like we would
[26:43] All right [26:45] Because what we typically do in this scenario when we’re in a society that’s seems godless [26:53] We might immediately say i’m out of here [26:57] These these are godless people [27:00] Let’s go buy a farm let’s get out of the city [27:04] All right
[27:05] But what paul had paul had a missional vision [27:10] I said the church must recover a missional vision for the world and when I say the church, I mean you [27:19] Because if you’re a follower of jesus now if you’re in here and you’re not a follower of jesus [27:21] I’m not talking about you if you’re a follower of jesus in here i’m talking about you because you’re the church [27:25] The church must reform a missional vision and here’s what i’m talking about when I talk about this [27:31] paul
[27:32] Did not find himself inside of this culture and flee it because of its wicked mentalities [27:37] Nor does he stand in front of them and say oh you hellacious infidels [27:43] repent or burn [27:46] Paul doesn’t do that [27:49] Nor does paul go back to the way he preached in jerusalem and said [27:54] Um your circumcision is worthless
[27:58] Because they would have said what we’re not circumcised [28:02] He doesn’t look at them and say let me take you through the torah. Let me take you through the law [28:06] They didn’t have the law. They didn’t have the torah [28:10] He doesn’t open up the old testament and say let’s read from the prophet because they didn’t have the old testament [28:18] So what does he do well he forms a missional vision for them [28:23] All right, and what he does is so
[28:27] Profound to them and so convincing that they take him to a place called the oropagus now the oropagus was basically the center [28:36] of the smart people [28:38] It was where if you had something they thought was worth saying they gave you a stage and they sat there for hours listening [28:43] To you all right. So what is paul going to say to them join me in verse 22?
[28:49] So paul standing in the midst of the oropagus said men of athens I perceive that in every way you are very religious [28:56] For as I passed along and observed objects of your worship. I found also an altar with this inscription [29:03] To the unknown god what therefore you worship as unknown that I proclaim to you that god who made the world and everything in it [29:11] Being lord of heaven and earth does not live in temples made by man [29:15] Nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life [29:22] And breath and everything and he made
[29:26] from one man [29:28] every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth [29:32] Having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place that they should seek god in the hope [29:39] That they might feel their way toward him [29:42] And find him yet [29:44] He is actually not far from each one of us for in him
[29:48] We live and move and have our being as even some of your own poets have said for we are indeed [29:56] His offspring [29:57] Being then god’s offspring [29:59] We ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone an image formed by the art and imagination [30:06] of man
[30:11] And [30:11] Paul goes to them [30:14] And he preaches what really I mean by any standard that’s an amazing sermon because we go through it and a good sermon [30:20] Is when you go through it and you’re like, I don’t know what he’s talking about. That’s a really good sermon. All right [30:25] So that was a joke by the way paul preaches this sermon. You’ll get it later [30:29] Uh paul preaches this sermon
[30:30] But what I want you to know is I want you to understand I want you to slow down enough to understand the content [30:35] Of his sermon there’s a couple of things I want you to notice inside of his sermon [30:40] He did not preach this sermon so that religious people would understand it [30:44] He preached the sermon so that non-religious people would understand it [30:47] He preached the sermon so that wicked people would understand it. He preached the sermon so that the athenians would understand it [30:53] All right
[30:53] He didn’t get up there and just try to reach an audience that he didn’t know anything about he obviously understood his audience as a good [31:01] Missionary there’s a couple things I want you to notice first off the aeropagus is the center of society in athenian culture [31:08] All right, so paul has the main stage. It’s as if he is on network television [31:14] In athens, but the second thing I want you to understand is what he says about the unknown god [31:19] If you look in the text [31:20] He says I see where you have idols for the unknown god the god that you profess
[31:25] As unknown and worship as unknown I am proclaiming to you [31:32] If paul were to enter most churches today and preach a sermon like this, he would be proclaimed a heretic [31:38] Because let me explain to you who the unknown god was in athens [31:41] There came a period in athenian history where they were beginning to have a lot of gods [31:46] I mean they had tons of gods and they were building temples and they were building idols left and right and it became very hard [31:52] to make sacrifices for those gods
[31:54] So what the athenian philosophers and the athenian intellectuals did is they had a day where they were like look [32:00] We’ve got to slaughter some sheep for these for these gods [32:02] And i’m sure at some point somebody was like why and they’re like well someone said so [32:05] Because I have no idea why they would do this. This must be some kind of remnant of [32:10] Of judaism that they had still clung to but what happened is is they gathered a bunch of sheep and they said guys [32:15] We don’t have to work very hard at this
[32:17] If the gods are more powerful than us we can just let the sheep go and the gods will draw the sheep towards them [32:24] It’s almost like if you ever watch monty python [32:27] I just imagine this monty python like scene where they’re trying to get sheep out [32:32] All right. So what happens in this scene is is they let the sheep go [32:36] And well, what does sheep do when they have no leader? They just go all over the place and most of them fall asleep [32:42] Right. So some of the sheep actually end up in temples and they’re like, oh that’s great god
[32:47] He drew it to himself [32:47] But some of the sheep just laid down in the middle of the street some laid down in the middle of the field [32:53] And this perplexed them. I said, well, what does this mean? [32:56] And their reactions probably is a little laughable to us. They said there must be a lot of gods that we don’t know about [33:04] So what they did was is they erected
[33:08] Idols and temples and then put on it to the unknown god because he drew the sheep to himself and we don’t know who he is [33:16] All right. Now if somebody of some religion were to try to do that in downtown richmond [33:22] All right [33:23] I just have a feeling what our response might be. All right, first off we’d go get some poster board [33:31] Then we would draw repent or burn [33:33] All right, and then we’d line up on the streets repent or burn you’re building an idol
[33:37] Then we would call uh, you know the christian lawyers and say we need to sue the city because they’re pagans [33:42] Then we’d sue the city [33:45] And it would get pretty ugly [33:47] Paul does not do that [33:50] All right [33:52] paul
[33:52] Uses this unknown god in order to connect them to the gospel of jesus christ
[34:00] paul [34:01] valued [34:02] culture [34:04] Because paul used culture as a tool [34:07] To drive them to an understanding of the gospel that they could not have had if he did not seek to understand [34:15] The culture that was around him
[34:19] I can see some of you are already getting uncomfortable with this [34:23] Like where does it stop? [34:25] All right. This is why jesus said in matthew chapter 10. He said you’re to be as wise as serpent and innocent as doves [34:31] The issue of culture takes more discernment than any other issue that we’re going to deal with as a church [34:37] All right [34:38] So he points out the unknown gods
[34:40] All right [34:41] But then second notice that he says god does not live in temples built by man [34:46] All right, I can imagine he’s standing there in the aeropagus behind the aeropagus in athens is something called the parthenon [34:53] It’s a brilliant and beautiful temple made to the gods [34:57] And I can just imagine he gestures towards the parthenon and says god does not live in temples made by hands [35:04] So he’s pointing to the temple. He’s pointing out the inconsistencies
[35:09] In their own faith by dialoguing about the gospel [35:14] All right, but then go a little further [35:17] All right. He he then [35:19] uses pop culture [35:21] All right, and you you probably have never even known this. All right. Look down in verse 28
[35:28] Some of you in your bibles this may be in quotes, all right [35:30] So you’re like is this a quote from the old testament? [35:32] It’s not it says in him we live and move and have our being trying to describe life in god [35:37] All right. This was by a pagan poet named erratus of soli [35:43] All right. This is a poem [35:46] about zeus
[35:48] The mythic god of greece [35:51] He’s quoting pop culture poets to help them and by poetry [35:56] That’s not even about god to explain to them who his god is [36:00] But then he quotes another one [36:02] He says as even some of your own poets have said for we are indeed his offspring [36:09] This comes from a hymn that the greeks used to sing about zeus
[36:17] It would be like helping all the teeny boppers up at the mall understand god by using mildly syrus lyrics [36:26] Which I don’t recommend any of you
[36:31] He’s using pop culture he’s using religious culture [36:35] He’s using everything that they have inside of their culture to drive them towards the gospel and the way most [36:42] Believers quote-unquote believers in this society live is is we’ve got to get as far from culture as possible [36:50] We’ve got to push back push away
[36:55] We’re going to get as far away from those centers as we can and maybe someday god will draw them to us
[37:06] Can god do that absolutely but the question is has god designed it that way [37:13] Does scripture proclaim us to live it that way? [37:17] Absolutely not
[37:22] Paul is engaging culture [37:27] He’s using culture [37:28] Paul’s going towards them [37:30] Paul’s using it [37:32] Paul does not so much see their culture as an obstacle to overcome as much as he sees it being full of [37:39] Tools for him to use for the mission of jesus
[37:48] Paul has formed a missional vision [37:53] I [37:54] Say this because the mission redeems culture from within [38:00] Does not redeem culture without [38:03] It redeems culture from within now. Here’s the key [38:06] There are some things about christian culture that are going to be countercultural to the world
[38:10] Absolutely, you cannot take the sting off of preaching repentance. You cannot take the sting off of saying [38:16] You know why jesus died well because you’re a dirty sinner [38:20] But you can’t take the sting off of that and that’s not even what i’m talking about today [38:25] Because mission requires gospel centeredness
[38:29] All right [38:30] Here’s how this works. All right [38:33] When I talked about separationism, right separationism is culture here church over here [38:39] All right blending is culture over here church over here. All right [38:44] Gospel centered missional culture what that is is the culture over here the church inside of that culture [38:52] Has some distinctives from that culture
[38:54] But exists and lives and breathes for the hope of that culture using the tools that that culture provides [39:03] All right [39:04] Here’s what I mean about gospel centeredness. This is why [39:07] The book of nehemiah sets this up really well, which we’re going to go through in a couple of years probably [39:12] But this is we are a city within a city. We’re called a culture within a culture [39:18] All right. So what that means is is there are peculiarities of the church that we cannot avoid
[39:23] There are certain peculiarities that god has given us through the gospel in order to proclaim the gospel that are [39:29] countercultural away from the culture [39:32] Just like preaching the gospel is very countercultural [39:34] All right [39:35] It’s countercultural for paul to look at them and say god does not live in temples built by men [39:41] Because in their culture god built lived in temples built by men and paul says no that’s wrong
[39:46] That’s countercultural, but how is paul saying it paul saying it in a way that they can understand [39:53] He does not look at them and say you must giveth of yourselfeth
[39:59] Be circumcised therefore whither soever thou goest
[40:04] No, he uses language that they can understand [40:09] He points at the parthenon he quotes their poets, but what is he getting to let’s finish this
[40:18] Down in verse 30 [40:21] The times of ignorance god overlooked but now he commands and i’ll listen to this all people everywhere to [40:29] Repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness [40:34] By a man whom he has appointed and of this he has given assurance to all [40:40] By raising him from the dead verse 32 [40:43] Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead some mocked
[40:48] But others said we will hear you again about this [40:51] So paul went out from their midst but some men joined him and believed among whom also were dianysius [40:58] The arapagite and a woman named demarius and others with them
[41:05] notice how [41:06] Paul’s message is completely gospel centered [41:10] He preaches jesus [41:11] He preaches him crucified and preaches him raised from the dead and said someday you’re all going to be judged by him [41:17] So you better believe in him [41:19] Paul does not compromise the gospel. He does not syncretize with culture
[41:24] He does not blend with culture. He rather forms a culture within the culture for the hope of the culture using the tools of culture
[41:34] All right, there’s some peculiarities we can’t take away baptism [41:39] It represents everything that’s beautiful about christianity it represents joining in with the church [41:43] It represents the purity and the purification that the gospel gives you the lord’s supper communion [41:48] What we reflect on every week jesus said himself and paul echoed it in first corinthians [41:52] He said you proclaim the lord’s death until he comes these are absolutely countercultural. You cannot remove the offense from the gospel [42:02] Notice how some of them react says some mocked
[42:05] Some said you’re crazy [42:07] You’re insane. That’s not true at all [42:10] He couldn’t remove the offense of the gospel
[42:17] But [42:19] The church must [42:22] Be and the mission requires cultural relevance
[42:28] Here’s what i’m talking about
[42:31] All right [42:32] Cultural relevance is one of those things that it’s really hard to wrap your mind around because so many people have a different definition [42:37] Here’s where I want to start with you [42:38] I want you to understand that our problem with taking the message of the gospel is not so much how bad the culture [42:45] Around us is because it’s very easy when you see yourself as a moral christian, you know, you know [42:50] I I live a good moral lifestyle. It’s very easy to demonize everyone around you
[42:54] I don’t think our problem is the culture around us, but rather our problem is that we don’t understand the gospel [43:02] It’s not that we’re not so much culturally relevant. It’s that we’re not gospel centered [43:07] Because what we have is is we have a gospel that we have redefined [43:12] And we have reshaped in order to keep us safe in this life and keep us away from harm [43:18] So that we can raise good boys and good girls who will grow up never do a single immoral thing [43:24] Never drink a single immoral beer never go watch a single immoral movie
[43:28] Never step foot in a single place where there might be a single christian where they won’t ever step foot in any type of [43:35] Immoral mentality and that’s the gospel to us [43:38] It’s safe safe for the whole family
[43:43] That’s not the gospel
[43:48] That’s not the gospel read through the history of the church, that’s not the gospel
[43:55] Our problem is not culture our problem is us
[43:59] Our problem is our understanding of the scriptures because we don’t get it [44:02] We pick these pet verses that make us feel good about the lifestyle that we live and the house that we live in [44:08] And we wake up every morning. We get our encouragement and our inspiration so we can just make it through one more day
[44:15] That’s not the gospel [44:18] Problem’s not out there problems right here
[44:23] Our problem is is we think we’re the good guys and they’re the bad guys
[44:30] And if you have a problem with culture today if you’re sitting in here and you’re hating every word of this [44:34] Problem is you think you’re the good guy [44:37] Cultures full of bad guys [44:38] the gospel says [44:40] Everyone’s the bad guy the gospel says we’re the bad guys the gospel says [44:45] They’re the bad guys the gospel says we have everything in common with them
[44:49] We’re as wicked as they are we’re as bad as they are we’re as immoral as they are [44:53] There’s only one good guy in his name is jesus
[45:00] Jesus is the good guy not you like well. He makes me the good guy [45:05] No, he doesn’t he’s the good guy. He’s your hope. He’s your security because the minute he makes you the good guy [45:11] You don’t need him anymore
[45:16] The mission requires cultural relevance because it requires you to understand [45:22] That jesus is the gospel you are not no one has ever gotten saved because they saw you avoid beer your whole life [45:31] Why did you get saved timmy well my aunt martha never drink a beer [45:37] gospel witness [45:39] Why did you get saved timmy my aunt martha didn’t listen to secular radio? [45:44] I’m gonna test them into the gospel
[45:48] Ladies and gentlemen some of you are really frowning right now. You’re like, I don’t like that secular radio stuff [45:55] Don’t hear what i’m not saying [45:57] Actually on that one you can some of y’all need to listen to good radio stations [46:02] seriously [46:04] Take that gator cdl folks. All right [46:07] I can say that because i’m going to hear about it from my mom the most
[46:10] All right, so so don’t think you need to email me on that one because she’s going to get me on that one. All right [46:16] Here’s the purpose guys. Here’s the point. All right, if we understand who we are in relation to who jesus is
[46:24] All right [46:25] And we believe in him and we trust in him for our salvation. We’re we’re saved [46:29] But what he does is he transforms us so that we can take that hope out into the culture around us [46:36] We’re transformed so that we can take his salvation to the dirty places in culture [46:43] Because there are some dirty places in culture some of you have been redeemed out of those dirty places [46:49] Guess what the gospel does not say the gospel does not say now for the rest of your life stay out of those dirty places
[46:55] You know what the gospel says? [46:57] You know what life paul lived? You know what jesus did? You know why the religious people killed jesus because he kept engaging sinful culture [47:05] Those dirty places you’ve been saved out of
[47:10] You need to head right back into them with the gospel [47:13] Now don’t sync with the culture. You don’t blend in there is something different about you [47:18] It’s jesus christ the old is gone. The new has come but you need to take that hope into the culture
[47:25] And you’re like well, how do you do this steve? Well, I was raised in the church so I take the gospel into the church [47:31] Because that’s a big place where it’s needed [47:34] Because there’s a lot of religious dirt [47:37] Big misunderstanding of culture and we’ll end with this [47:40] There is no is a big misunderstanding inside the church. There is no culture that is untainted by sin [47:47] It doesn’t exist and you’re like well in the church it should
[47:52] Have you been to church? [47:55] It should but it sure doesn’t
[47:59] It’s a big place [47:59] God is forming a missional community his kingdom has not come yet
[48:05] His kingdom has not come [48:07] Most of us have only gotten to the point of mission [48:10] We have not even moved on to community and when we do move to community most of us never move on to culture
[48:16] If you’re a believer today [48:17] I want you to understand you have been given the gift of grace by god the father through his son jesus christ [48:23] You’ve been given salvation you’ve been transformed for the love of god be the hope of the world do not be the disdain of the world
[48:32] Do not go out into this culture with the attack mode [48:37] Do not go into this culture [48:39] With hatred do not go into this culture with bigotry. We have enough people that do that and I don’t want the village to be represented [48:45] by that [48:46] If you’ve been transformed by the gospel you go headlong into the culture engage it with the tools that it provides [48:53] For their hope and for their salvation
[48:57] Learn the culture [49:00] Study the culture look at the people you work with what do they love what do they live for?
[49:07] And here’s where the sacrifice comes
[49:11] Be interested [49:13] Because that’s what love calls for [49:17] And then through that through the relationship that you build with them
[49:23] They may come to know jesus [49:25] You’re like but truth is truth [49:27] Absolutely, but truth outside of the context is absolutely irrelevant excuse me truth outside of the context of relationship [49:34] Is absolutely irrelevant
[49:39] Nobody cares how smart you are in our society most people don’t care what you know about this
[49:45] But what does this do fills me with jesus so I can take it to them
[49:51] If you’re in here this morning and you don’t know jesus
[49:57] Understand that you’re not the bad guy [50:01] We’re both the bad guy [50:04] Me and you have a lot in common we’re both sinners
[50:08] The difference between me and you is is that I have hope and you don’t
[50:13] I’ve built my hope on nothing less than jesus christ and his righteousness as the great hymn says
[50:20] Believe in jesus like paul said to the athenians repent [50:27] You’re a sinner understand it believe in jesus [50:30] Come to him for salvation [50:32] And then you and I can team up and I can disciple you and we can go headlong into this culture [50:38] To build our missional community up more and more so that we can keep sending people out into the culture [50:44] To understand the culture to study the culture so that we can reach the culture
[50:51] That’s the point [50:54] Now in our response today [50:57] As we reflect on the lord’s supper [51:00] Understand that this is the offense of the gospel
[51:04] This is the part that is countercultural [51:07] And if you’re not a follower of jesus this is a part that you won’t understand
[51:12] But we’ve been given life [51:15] By jesus through his shed blood and through his broken body [51:19] And through his resurrection [51:22] If you’re a believer this table is wide open for you come [51:25] And be filled with jesus so that you can go out into the culture this week [51:30] And you can be a missionary
[51:33] For the sake of the world with the hope of the gospel of jesus christ [51:39] Let’s pray [51:41] Father we come before you right now and we want to praise you [51:45] We want to thank you [51:48] Lord you’ve called us out of this world
[51:53] You’ve transformed us [51:57] But you send us right back in with your hope so that others may believe may we be a church [52:04] Full of cultural missionaries who go out of this building and go into chesterfield county who go into richmond [52:13] Who embrace the culture that will help them reach the culture with the gospel [52:20] God may you teach us how to live your mission in the name of jesus. I pray