Monday, September 18, 2006,

By Faith... Abraham - Part II, Part 15 of 79

TEXT: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them" (Hebrews 11:13-16).

IDEA: Another way that Christians deal with culture is by trying to redeem it.

PURPOSE: To help listeners consider the issues involved in redeeming the culture.

When I was growing up, one image preachers used to talk about our relationship with the society around us was that of a sinking ship. The idea was that the ship is sinking and it's our task not to rearrange the chairs on the deck but to get people into lifeboats. It was a strong evangelistic appeal.

The question that didn't get answered was, "What is the relationship that Christians have to the sinking ship?"

Some people would abandon the ship. Other people would say, "This ship really doesn't seem to be going down. Let's enjoy it."

I. Some Christians feel a deep responsibility to redeem the culture.

This is sometimes referred to as "The Cultural Mandate" and it's derived from God's command in Genesis 1:27-28: "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' "

Also in a lesser way Paul writes in Galatians 6:10 that we are to do good to all, especially those of the household of faith.

Some have insisted that all of the world belongs to Jesus Christ and our task is to bring it under His control. They mean by that not only religious thought, but the arts, sciences, politics, etc.

II. How do you respond to that?

Is it the task of the church collectively to be involved in these things to redeem them for Christ?

Is it the task of individuals to be involved in these cultural areas to represent Jesus Christ?

Are there any other options? Where it has gone to seed is that sometimes the church has been so embroiled in trying to redeem the culture that it has lost the message of redemption itself.