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The Incarnation as Disposition

Who said the following famous last words? “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Wait, try one more: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

Students of American history remember these to be the words of Patrick Henry and Nathan Hale respectively. Jesus Christ also left famous last words. While we understandably focus a lot on the Incarnation this time of year, the last thing Jesus said before His Ascension into heaven matters as well. His words contained a promise and a command to His followers: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Evangelical believers throughout history have understood the vital role of fulfilling the Great Commission. The question is, how do we go about that? This issue is summed up in the question, How does the church speak to culture? I am indebted to my friend Steve Sjogren for a threefold look at how the church typically relates to culture.

First, some churches EVADE the culture. The Bible teaches that believers are to be separate from the world (1 Peter 2:9-10). Some churches illustrate what happens when biblical separation is ignored, leading to an underemphasis on biblical doctrine, often in the name of relevance. Whether it be homosexuality or other issues, their desire to engage culture leads to an attempt to remove “outdated” biblical customs, but this almost inevitably moves beyond customs to theology and doctrine. The result is a church who looks just like the world and has thus lost any power to change it. However, conservative churches should look in the mirror as well, for we can be guilty of buying into the world’s system of materialism and self-gratification. If we are not careful, we will get to the point that we want to enjoy the pleasures of culture and the fulfillment that culture offers while trying to maintain a Christian identity: thus, ignoring biblical ideals of sacrifice and the cost of discipleship.

While separation from worldliness is taught, such teaching does not contradict our Lord’s command to impact culture with the Gospel as churches or His example to be friends of sinners as individuals. Some churches just don’t want to have anything to do with the world, including people for whom Jesus died. Churches that seek to evade the culture basically do it out of one or two reasons; some evade the culture out of fear-fear that worldliness will creep into the church, fear of the danger in the world, and so on. Such a desire to disengage from the world leads to an approach like the monasteries of the Middle Ages which became refuges to escape from barbarians and barbaric views. Interestingly, over a period of hundreds of years, the monastic movement could not remain introverted. Monastic movements began to reach out, because the nature of the church is not to escape from the world but to reach the world with the gospel. Earnest, genuine believers who sometimes found themselves in these movements organized to escape the world found themselves compelled to go into society to change it. Genuine believers cannot continue over time to ignore the Great Commission!

The other group who seek to evade the world quite honestly just doesn’t care about the world. They are not interested in reaching the world, because they are involved in such “important” issues such as whether people should clap or not in church, or whether guitars violate Scripture, or whether the carpet should be green or brown. Such believers have confused preferences with biblical convictions, and become derailed on the way to obeying God. They are so sidetracked discussing preferences they fail to see the biblical conviction of penetrating the culture with the gospel. We should remain unstained from the world; however, we must not be removed from the people for whom Christ died.

Other churches seek to PERVADE the world. These are the battlers, the culture warriors, among others. These are folks who seek to overpower the culture by might, be it political, social, or economic. They draw the line between the good guys and the bad guys, i.e. the churched and the unchurched. The problem is the fundamental battle we have according to Ephesians 6 is not between the unchurched and the churched; it is between the forces of God and the forces of the evil one. Churches that overemphasize the “pervade the world” mentality look more like political rallies than the body of Christ. Incidentally, such churches can be on the far left, typically being liberal democrats, or to the right, typically republican.

This group overemphasizes the role of political involvement over the gospel. This is not to criticize those who are involved in politics; for we have a biblical responsibility to be involved in civil affairs; it is a plea that churches and groups maintain a focus on the gospel and the need to give priority to the power of the gospel over political persuasion. It is not either-or, it is both-and. But it is also a matter of priority. We have no answer for the world except Christ.

Another example of this mindset is seen in churches that become polarized, in some cases to the point that they don’t really care what the Bible says about the gospel being for everyone. They don’t want a black person coming into their church, for instance. Such churches are completely ineffective in reaching the unchurched. They refuse to saturate their community with the Gospel became they may actually reach people unlike them. These are not neutral churches-these churches hinder the work of God.

The biblical church INVADES the world. We should separate ourselves from sin; and we should use our influence in the political realm. But Jesus invaded the world through His Incarnation! God could have pervaded the world; in fact, He did with the flood. But He did not give up on humanity. God certainly could have evaded the world. But praise be His name that the Word became Flesh! As a result, we are the incarnational witness for Him until He returns. The Incarnation shapes our disposition toward the world. Such a church will be in the culture among the people making an impact for the gospel. It is the church that emulates the life of Jesus who left his home in glory to come and live among us to give us the opportunity to be a part of His Kingdom. We invade the world not to become like it, but so that it would become like our Lord.

Let us remember the penetrating words of George McLeod:
“I simply argue that the cross should be raised at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles; but on a cross between two thieves- on the towns garbage heap; at a crossroad so cosmopolitan they had to write His title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek… at the kind of place where cynics talk smut and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died and that is what He died about. That is where the churchmen ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about.”

Adapted from my book Radically Unchurched: Who They Are and How to Reach Them (Kregel, 2002).

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alvinreid@churchleaders.com'
Alvin L. Reid (born 1959) serves as Professor of Evangelism and Student Ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he has been since 1995. He is also the founding Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism. Alvin and his wife Michelle have two children: Joshua, a senior at The College at Southeastern, and Hannah, a senior at Wake Forest Rolesville High School. Recently he became more focused at ministry in his local church by being named Young Professionals Director at Richland Creek Community Church. Alvin holds the M.Div and the Ph.D with a major in evangelism from Southwestern Seminary, and the B.A. from Samford University. He has spoken at a variety of conferences in almost every state and continent, and in over 2000 churches, colleges, conferences and events across the United States.