Wednesday, September 20, 2006

By Faith... Abraham - Part II, Part 17 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 relate to the culture is by debating it.

PURPOSE: To help listeners see the importance of understanding the culture in the hope of keeping it from influencing them.

In Romans 12:2 Paul writes, "Do not let the culture around you pour you into its mold."

I. A final way in which Christians deal with the culture is to debate it.

We really cannot avoid the culture as long as we have television, radio, and newspapers and magazines and the Internet available. The culture and its values are all around us.

People in the church as a group cannot avoid the culture. What values do you think Christians bring to churches that didn't come from the Bible but are often unexamined?

II. In presenting to the church and to the society what we believe, it is often necessary to say what we don't believe.

Often we have to point out the error in the culture in order to establish the truth of the message.

For example, we may want to refer to television programs or novels (like The DaVinci Code) that show people the error as well as to show them the truth.

III. In any debate it is essential that you know the opponent's position.

Imagine that you are in a debate with someone. After you present your case, you walk off the stage and allow the other person to present her case; then you're expected to refute.

As much as possible, as Christians, we're obligated to state the other person's case as fairly as possible before we refute it.