Adapting to the Culture...Or Not - Voddie Baucham

good morning I bring you greetings once again from the republic of texas and it is good to be here on the west coast once again it is difficult to be here on the west coast once again as we have a new baby in our family and actually we are in the process of adopting this baby and he's in Atlanta so right now my wife is in a hotel room in Atlanta with a one week old waiting for the state of Georgia and the state of Texas to agree that you can leave from there so I am looking forward to hot tailing it out of here as quickly as I possibly can to be reunited with them but if you if you had any extra time to pray for anything I would just ask that you would pray that that we could get our newest baby home as quickly as possible if you have your Bibles with you this morning open them to the Acts of the Apostles Acts chapter 17 as you look here in Acts chapter 17 I want to think about something I want us to think about the the question of culture and how we interact with and impact culture there's there's much talk today about how we do that how we interact with culture how we impact culture what the most effective way is for us to impact culture and there is a there's a there's been a pendulum swing and right now there is the sense in which we believe that if we're going to impact culture the way we do that is by becoming more like the culture by becoming more palatable to the culture we have to learn the cultures language the cultures music that we have to learn that the cultures styles and not just learn but we have to adopt them and not just adopt them but we have to master them and mirror them so that we actually become what the culture is because it's only to the degree that we become what the culture is that we are able to impact the culture and transform the culture that's the prevailing ideology especially with younger generations that's the prevailing ideology and oftentimes ironically people will run the places like first screws out like a like Acts chapter 17 in order to make that argument there's also a sense in which we believe that what we have to do to impact culture has not just become like the culture but that we have to go into the most influential areas in the culture master those most influential areas in the culture be received and accepted in those most influential areas in the culture so that then we can transform the culture the classic example of this is the Christian musician who wants to go and do music so that through becoming the most popular music star of our day he or she can then have a platform for the gospel it's a classic bait-and-switch I will be all that the world desires so that I can become incredibly popular in the world and then once I am enthroned and the world is worshipping me I will flip the script and tell them about Jesus and of course then the world will be saved is that what we see in the New Testament is that what we see from the Apostle Paul I would argue that it is not but it's not enough for me to just say that Acts chapter 17 begin with me in verse 18 we find these words now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city was filled with idols stop there it's very important to understand why Paul was waiting for them at Athens the reason that Paul was waiting for them at Athens is because he had been in Thessalonica and he had been in Berea and just like everywhere else that he had been wherever Paul went there was either a revival or a riot or both and he had been run out of town but this time when he was run out of town the groups sent him on ahead now the text doesn't say this but it's hard not to imagine that after a while this lightning rod who always brings about riots people wanting to kill him and everyone with him is told by his friends man why don't you go to Athens and we'll meet you just wait for us row if you can stay out of trouble for a few days we'll be on but here he is waiting for them at Athens and his spirit is provoked within him as he sees the city full of idols he looks at the city full of idols and he almost can't take it it provokes him he is this is not just an anger he's undone as he looks around at this city filled with idols he worships the one true and living God not only is he a born again blood washed believer in the Lord Jesus Christ but he is a Jew and a Benjamite and if he abhors anything it is idolatry and here he is looking at temples statues and monuments and it sickens him but what he is experiencing is not a sense of superiority over those in this culture who are worshipping idols what he senses is an overwhelming mandate to proclaim the gospel to these who simply do not know and have not heard and are worshipping idols because they do not know and have not heard and unfortunately this is often the first departure between us and the Apostle in this missionary endeavor because many of us when we look at the cultures idols we don't say it sickens me we say how can I be one of those how can I get that kind of attention how can I get that kind of worship how can I have that kind of juice it doesn't bother us we will often embrace these very idols as opposed to coming to a place where we simply cannot stand it and feel as though we have to do and say something so what does he do he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons that's what he always did he goes to the synagogue regularly in recent with the Jews and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there so on the one hand he is going to the people of his own ethnicity his own worldview and he's communicating with them by the way communicates with them very differently if we had time we could go back and look earlier in chapter 17 when he's in Thessalonica and how he reasons in the synagogue and the kind of preaching that he does there as opposed to the kind of preaching that he does here when he is in Athens it is very different so in the synagogue he's going and he's reasoning with the Jews and basically showing them scripturally how Jesus is the Christ how the Old Testament points to Jesus he's showing him what Jesus showed to his apostles he shows the men on the road to Emmaus in Luke chapter 24 that all of the scriptures point to him then John chapter 5 Moses spoke of me this was the message of Jesus that the Old Testament pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah I am that Messiah to whom the Old Testament pointed that's does in the synagogue then he's in the marketplace he doesn't have the same common touchstone with the individuals in the marketplace and it sounds quite differently but is it completely different some go to this place and argue that what we need to do is when we're in the culture don't be too overtly Christian because after all you don't want to turn off the culture after all if you are an artist or a writer or a musician or whatever you don't want to go out and offend the culture immediately so you got to sort of have a different kind of strategy it got to be on the down low with your Christianity until you get to the right place again is that what Paul does some of the epicurean and stoic philosophers also conversed with him and some said what does this battle babbler wish to say by the way that's an insult sperma logos in the Greek what does this battle the babbler this idle babbler the word picture that's painted in a Greek language is of one who picks up and spits out seeds in other words he hasn't really digested these thoughts he's just picking up these ideas and spitting them out all over the place what does this idle babbler have to say it's an insult they did not think Paul was cool he is about to go on his days Oprah Winfrey Show and it is not because he hid his Christianity and talked looked acted and smelled like the culture it is in spite of the fact that he refused to he is about to go on the biggest stage of his day and it is not because he compromised it is not because he won people over by becoming like them they call him an idol babbler others said he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection for a minute because here's the argument that people make from first Corinthians chapter set up from from Acts chapter 17 they run to his message there at the Areopagus or the summary of his message at the areopagus there on Mars Hill and they say see basically what what he did was he reached into their philosophy he reached into their world he quoted their philosophers and he did all of those things but he didn't really go with all of the Christianese when the fact of the matter is the reason he got invited was because he was preaching what they thought were strange deities they thought it was two different deities he's preaching Jesus and the resurrection they thought he was preaching one male God and another female God this Jesus and Anastacia if you will for the Greek word for resurrection but the fact of the matter is he's preaching the resurrection in the marketplace he's not truncating the gospel in order to win popularity he is preaching Christ him crucified and him resurrected in the marketplace he is doing nothing to impress he is doing nothing to embrace nothing whatsoever and they took him and brought him to the Areopagus saying may we know more of this new teaching of what excuse me what this new teaching is that you're preaching presenting for you bring some strange things to our ears we wish to know therefore what these things mean now all the opinions and the foreigners who live there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new there's this big break note that he did not get his big break because he looked like the world acted like the world smelled like the world tasted like the world he got his big break in spite of the fact that he did not now let me hurry to say Paul is not intentionally being offensive to around him nor am i arguing that that is what we are supposed to do I stand here in front of you for example in a suit and a tie why because I love wearing suits and tie so actually as I do well but no my point is I'm here because like this because of the respect that I have for this place and this culture here but can I just give you a newsflash none of you students wear suits and ties but income and trying to dress like you is it cuz I don't like you no but it's because I don't believe that the message that I have come to bring requires for you to think or feel any certain way about me but I do want you to know that I have respect for the place that I am the opportunity and the responsibility that has been given to me that's why I dressed like this it's not about being offensive to people so what happens when he gets on the Oprah show he's got his big break Oprah's gonna hold up his book by the way anybody who's ever written a book at any Christian author who tells you man I would never want Oprah to hold up my book that they're not telling you the truth I would go on the Oprah show and let her spit in my face that she'll hold up one of my books so that people will go and read what's in there because prayerfully they will encounter the gospel how sad would it be though for born-again blood washed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ to hold in and hide the message of the gospel intentionally with a view toward getting to that place and getting to that opportunity so that they could achieve some kind of status and then later having achieved that kind of status try to spring on people this message that they've been hiding all along first and foremost that's dishonest secondly it's faithless they give you a little newsflash God is not running for God people there's a lot of people running for office right now God ain't one of them he was the only one around when the votes were cast and there's never going to be a recount he's God all by himself here's the second thing I know about God God doesn't need me nor does he need you in fact by definition God is completely and utterly self-sufficient if God needed anything by definition he would not be God God needs nothing he doesn't need you he doesn't need me he's going to prove it one day because we're going to die and the world's gonna keep on spinning at the same rate it was before we left it God can get you where you need to be by his own might and by his own power he demonstrates that here in the life of the Apostle Paul Paul goes faithfully to the synagogue and he reasons with him from the scriptures he goes faithfully to the marketplace and he preaches the gospel full-on no-holds-barred preaching Christ and the resurrection to people by the way who philosophically are opposed to the idea of resurrection they call him names they mock him and the result is God puts him on the biggest platform of his day what does he do with it here's what's interesting what he does with it is he preaches the gospel but he preaches it in a way that's very unique because of his audience you see what he's talking to a Jewish audience he has the same worldview when he's talking to a non-jewish audience they don't share the same worldview if you share the same worldview you can sort of assume that they understand where you're going and where you're coming from but if they don't share the same worldview somehow you have got to bring them into your worldview so how do you bring them into your worldview well the overarching meta-narrative of the Christian worldview is what creation fall Redemption consummation that is the overarching meta-narrative creation fall Redemption consummation somehow you have to communicate that to people so what does Paul do when he gets his big shot at the Areopagus watch him so Paul standing in the midst of the areopagus said men of Athens I perceive that in every way you are very religious for a passed along and observe the objects of your worship I found also an altar with this inscription to an unknown God he observed the culture and let me say that it's important that we do that you need to observe the culture not arguing that you need to be an enemy of the culture or that you need to be ignorant of the culture you must observe the culture we just heard from some individuals who are going to Ecuador they are learning things about Ecuador so that when they get there they're not completely ignorant of the culture so that when they have conversations with people they understand who these individuals are Paul observed his culture we should observe our culture we should be objective observers of culture but there is a difference between being an objective observer of culture and being an indiscriminate consumer of culture one of those is completely and utterly unacceptable an indiscriminate consumer of culture says that it's right because it's popular in the culture and the goal is to be popular in the culture therefore we must adopt and adapt whatever it is that the culture celebrates Paul is not making that argument he is observing his culture with a view toward the proclamation of the gospel and notice was east what he says next what therefore you worship has unknown that I proclaimed to you I observed your culture and I saw some statues I really like that one over there that was you know to an unknown God by the way that God that you say is unknown let me introduce him to you and then what does he do look at the next verse the God who made the world and everything in it by the way that would be what come on creation God made the world and everything in it by the way he's already going directly against the philosophies of the individuals we talked to in the marketplace God created the world this is not the philosophy that they believe it's not the philosophy that they receive God created the world guess what in our culture people say you are an ignorant narrow-minded hick if you believed that God created the world guess what they said to him at the Areopagus you are an ignorant narrow-minded hick if you believe that God created the world guess what he started with God created the world I'm a mini a Christian mini a college campus some of them are Christian many of them are not you know my favorite thing to do when I'm on non Christian college campuses Genesis I love it why cuz that's one of the traps that everybody wants to set you know are your real intellectual or are you one of those sort of you know narrow-minded Bible people which is it I don't even wait long for them to figure it out this something I'll say something like you know some of y'all sitting out there right now and I'm opening to the book of Genesis and we're having this conversation having this discussion there's a series of lectures and right now all you're wondering is this am i a real intellectual or am i one of these narrow-minded Hicks who happens to have some credentials you're sitting there going is this one of those guys who believes that God created the world in seven days and my answer to you is absolutely not he did it in six and I think if you don't believe that you're an idiot you're not a real intellectual ethical is it's for real did he just he he got playing y'all Paul says God created the world noticed watch this this God who made the world and everything in it being Lord of Heaven and Earth does not live in temples made by man nor he's he served by human hands as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything he just exploded their philosophies God made the world those people who had deistic ideas we're kind of like okay I can still go with that he created the world I mean it's not like he's arguing that God is actually actively involved with the world that's fine so the first statement he eliminates some but he's holding on to the others who have more of a deistic view and then he kind of goes and for those of you who have a deistic view who think that I'm just here to insult those guys God didn't just create the world he sustains the world he doesn't live in temples made by hands he's not served by human hands folks can we just back up for a minute I want you to realize what just happened Paul says I observed your culture I observed your statues and I observed your temples now what I want to say to you is this it's all wrong God doesn't live in those places you built God's not served by human hands he's not impressed with those statues that you built are those monuments that you built does this sound like somebody who showed up on Oprah trying to make her happy he didn't compromise to get there he doesn't compromise while he is there well if we start with creation now we've gone to fall why because now we've got sin first God made the world secondly God's not worshipped the way you're worshipping him so we've gone from creation to fall go to verse 28 and he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth having determined the allotted periods and boundaries of their dwelling place that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him yet he is actually not far from each one of us for in him we live and move and have our being even as some of your own prophets have said for we indeed are his offspring being then God's offspring we ought not to think that divine being is like gold or silver or stone and image formed by the art and imagination of man your sinful you're not right with God you have it pleased God you've sinned against God and your attempt to honor him even in your attempt to cover yourself in case there was a God out there who's not one of these gods that you worship you make this statue to an unknown God so that if the God who you haven't named comes down among you you could basically say we didn't know you but we made you one anyway he's here and he's not pleased look at Redemption next verse the times of ignorance God overlooked but now he commands all people everywhere to repent how do you get right with this God repent turn from your sin is it not amazing to you that people go here and argue for cultural compromise people go to Acts chapter 17 and look at Paul you know here before the Areopagus and basically make an argument for look like the world sound like the world smell like the world tastes like the world so that perchance you can get in there and get an opportunity with the world then you can spring it on them now not only has Paul not compromised in order to get here but once he's here he says your worldview is wrong your philosophy is wrong it's not just wrong it's an affront to God you ought to know better you're in sin but the good news is God has extended to you an opportunity to repent to turn away from your sin to turn away from the things that you have attempted to do in order to appease this God that you don't even know well if we got creation fall and redemption next we ought to see consummation verse 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed and of this he has given assurance to all by here it is again raising him from the dead not only do we have consummation but he throws that resurrection thing in there again by the way remember the resurrection thing is what made them call him names in the first place there's his sermon creation fall Redemption consummation that's his message what's the impact now when they heard of the resurrection of the Dead I please follow this the comet comes after they hear about the resurrection of the Dead before he gets to Mars Hill they call him names mainly because he's preaching the resurrection of the Dead so before he gets this opportunity what he knows is they don't like this idea of resurrection now he gets the opportunity and stands before the most influential influencers in the culture and as he stands before the most influential influencers in the culture he preaches a message that not only calls their worldview and their worship into question but directly calls them sinners against the God who created the world he calls them to turn from their sin and repent and just for extra measure before he's finished he throws back in there the one thing that made them insult him earlier on it's working real hard to win friends and influence people all that other stuff was a problem but when they heard the resurrection of the Dead some mocked but others said we will hear you again about this so Paul went out from their midst but some men joined him and believed among whom also were dionysius the areopagite and the woman named Damaris and others with him you know what you know what happens when you compromise and men finally get an opportunity to preach the gospel having compromised and sinned against God you know what if you preach the gospel even if you compromise and get an opportunity to eventually preach the gospel some are gonna mock you some will hear you further and some will believe you know what happens when you don't compromise and God opens an opportunity for you to preach the gospel some will mock you some will listen to you further and some will believe so why bother compromising in the first place compromising is not going to save anyone pulsus I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation for all those who believe that you first and also the Greek what's the power of God unto salvation and that is the ultimate question now we get to the heart of the issue we think that the power of God unto salvation is popularity in the culture we believe that what God really needs is for us to be powerful and popular so that God can use our name to get the gospel out that's why we get so inflamed and enraptured when we find out that some popular or powerful person is Christian did you hear that so-and-so was a Christian no well well he is okay but do you realize how popular and how powerful he is and how God can use his name and his platform stop right there God already has a name that is above every name the name at which every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father if God already has the name that's above every name what makes you think he needs yours God's not in the business of borrowing people's names he may give you a name but that's not gonna borrow your name that thinking in and of itself belittles God I'm going to strive to make a name for myself so that through my name and my platform I can make much of God read 1st Corinthians chapter 1 Paul uses the despised things the things that are not to shame those things that are he uses the weak things of the world you know what Christians ought to pray for Oh God make me a weak thing make me a weak thing had a conversation with a student it was a you know the student was you know a little high achieving Christian student so you want to impact the world and this student was you know did great grades and all this sort of stuff and he said you know I want to go I want to go to Harvard Law School I said why you wanted to have it why in the world do you want to go that I hate God there why do you want to go there his response to me was well because almost all the Supreme Court justices in the modern era came from Harvard so I want to go to Harvard because ultimately I want to serve on the Supreme Court I said so let me see if I get this straight you're a Christian and you serve the one true and living God and what you have found is a human path to the Supreme Court through a school that hates God so you want to go to that place so that you can get to the supreme and bring more glory to Harvard as it continues to flood the Supreme Court how about you go someplace that's not Harvard and get on the Supreme Court so that God and not a school gets the glory and he looked at me as we'd say in the south like a calf staring at a Newgate Hey Dude what's wrong with you what are you thinking some of you face that because you come to the Masters College why would you go to the Masters College why don't you go to this place or that place or the other place because you know how much more prestige your degree would have if you got it from Mayor go amongst the pagans let them certify you and here's what's ironic about that I'm I'm introduced at these schools and you know if you have an individual who's studying places like Harvard and Oxford where I studied and they stand up there and they spout godless anti-christian rhetoric people look at them and go dude it's brilliant you know at the Harvard you know what - Oxford but if you have someone with credentials from places like Harvard and Oxford and they stand up and go god created the world in six days and it's not millions and billions of billions of years old they don't say dude it's brilliant he word Oxford they go he's an idiot I don't care where his credentials are from some will mock you some will hear you further and some will believe so what do we do with this let me be clear about what I'm saying to you the goal of your life must not be a scheme to gain popularity so that you can use it for God the goal of your life must be to know God better that you might serve Him more faithfully in whatever arena he opens up for you that's the goal of your life am i saying that you cannot go and be a lawyer on the or judge on the Supreme Court absolutely not but you do not pursue a path that compromises your knowledge of God in order to get there am I saying that you cannot be a popular movie musician who who writes songs that people out there can appreciate no but I'm saying you do not compromise your path and your knowledge of God and your pursuit of the knowledge of God in order to get there and I'm saying you can't write books that people will appreciate and that Oprah might hold up someday no that's not what I'm saying but what I'm saying to you is enough already of this belief that somehow you have to manipulate and satisfy the world in order to get into a position where God can use you because the fact of the matter is God's bigger than that if you think you need the right credential your God is not big enough God uses the weak things of the world the despised things of the world pursue excellence in everything that you do and even as you pursue excellence make this year prayer God make me a weak thing the Apostle Paul was one of the most educated men of his day of any day for that matter he was more educated and better educated than just about anyone who was listening to him on this day he did not stand up and tout his education he stood up and made much of God and he did so without compromise and my prayer for you is that you would do that that you would take these formative years and dig deep roots that you would know God and pursue God and that wherever he places you you'd be faithful to him that you would place your faith not in yourself your abilities your credentials your popularity or anything else but in the simple plain unadulterated uncompromised gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ our world is not aching for another superstar we got too many of those what our world desperately needs is the king of kings and Lord of lords make much of him make much of him you pray with me father a world continues to desperately seek someone to worship gratis grace that we might fight not to be that someone but instead that we might point clearly consistently and relentlessly to the only one who is worthy of our worship make us wait things make us nothing make us despised and in doing so make your son known make us people who will gladly decrease that he might increase we pray this in that name that is indeed above every name in that name at which every knee will bow every tongue will confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father not to the glory of any man we ask in that name we serve in that name we live for that name and should it bring you glory may we die and that name

Channel: Truth Endures

Views: 273,661

Rating: 4.8768048 out of 5

Keywords: The, Master's, College, TMC, Chapel, Bible, Expostiion, Biblical, Preaching, Sermon, Christian

Id: COPZrKskSZA

Length: 43min 0sec (2580 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 23 2012