Should Christians judge the morality and behavior of the world around us? The cultural norm in America has shifted dramatically in the last few years. In fact, almost every day, another story pops up in the news revealing an ever-widening gap between the world’s values and God’s standards. Our culture glorifies and increasingly normalizes attitudes, values, and behavior that blatantly contradict biblical standards for godliness. But should Christians engage in this cultural clash? And if so, how?
A Christian’s Purpose in the World
Sometimes Christians get so distracted by cultural skirmishes we lose sight of our prime directive. A quick reminder of God’s purpose for Christians in the world will help us better determine how we should respond to our culture’s changing values:
- Christians are “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).
- Christians are God’s priests, declaring His praises to the nations (1 Peter 2:9).
- Christians are Christ’s ambassadors, imploring the world to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
In Acts 20:24, the apostle Paul beautifully described this God-given task in the world as “testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” A Christian’s God-given purpose in the world is to introduce non-Christians to Jesus and His salvation. God has reserved judgment of the world for Himself (1 Corinthians 5:12-13), but we Christians often attempt to take His job. We expect non-Christians to share our standards, values, and viewpoints. When they don’t, we sometimes try to force them to accept and live by our Christian standards and worldview. (Note: God does command Christians to hold each other accountable in regard to sin. For more on this see “To Judge or Not to Judge.”)
But forcing Christian morality on our culture focuses on the symptoms of the problem and not the cause – the need for Christ. It’s like a doctor prescribing aspirin for a brain tumor. We cannot change the world and its ways from the outside in. Non-Christians will naturally act like non-Christians. Without the indwelling Spirit, God’s standards seem foolish to them (1 Corinthians 2:14). A true change of values and behavior must begin with a heart change.
The Danger of Fighting Like the World
Christians often use the world’s tactics in an attempt to fight a spiritual battle. We flood our status updates and tweets with shock and indignation over the latest symptom of a spiritually dead culture. We demand a secular business conform to God’s standards with a boycott. The usual result? The culture labels us intolerant hypocrites and closes its ears to the message that can change their eternity.
Even if our efforts are deemed “successful” by the world’s standards, we must ask how a one-time temporary victory in a cultural skirmish impacts the greater spiritual battle. How do our efforts impact the name of Christ? Jesus invites the world to come to Him but we often throw stumbling blocks on their path. Rather than expressing Christ’s unconditional love for the sinner, our words and actions sometimes imply they must be “good enough” before they can come to Jesus.
What is our goal as Christians in the world?
Ed Stetzer describes this danger in an article at ChristianityToday.com:
“Our desire must not be to prove ourselves right or to force our way on the world around us. Instead, our goal is to show Christ to be true and worthy. Just as wrong as running away from our culture is driving people away from the church. Countering culture doesn’t mean attacking it. Countering culture means engaging culture with conviction and compassion.
We stand firmly on the truth of God, empowered by the Spirit, to extend the love of Christ to the world. Our desire isn’t to conquer but to redeem. It matters what we do, how we do it, and why we do it… A wrong response to culture is more than unhealthy or unhelpful. Engaging our culture is literally a matter of life or death.”
Christians Can Share Jesus and Counter a Godless Culture
Making the Gospel message our first priority doesn’t mean Christians simply go with the cultural flow. Armed with the proper goals, attitudes, and purpose, we can extend the grace of Jesus to the lost and stand firm on godly values. Whether we’re considering a boycott, picket line, or social media statement, these guidelines can help us evaluate our cultural engagement:
- Keep the cause of the Gospel primary – Will our actions and words help or harm the spread of the Gospel? If I refuse to purchase Starbucks coffee or shop at Target will it help me engage my neighbor about spiritual things or hinder my opportunity to share Jesus?
- Model a godly lifestyle – When Christians refuse to conform to the world, the world notices. A Christ-like life points people to Jesus and causes them to glorify God (1 Peter 2:11-12). We don’t want the tone of our cultural engagement to negate our lifestyle witness. Will the way we choose to engage the culture foster respect or derision? (See “4 Reasons Christians Compromise with the Culture.”)
- Engage in gracious conversation – Public words of condemnation only close down lines of communication. But honest, grace-filled conversations within the context of relationship can spark interest in Jesus (Colossians 4:5-6). Always be prepared to lovingly, respectfully, and biblically speak to specific topics when asked (1 Peter 3:15).
- Do not support ungodly behavior –Sometimes Christians condone sinful behavior in a misguided attempt to be tolerant or relevant. For instance, after the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold same-sex marriage nationwide, many Christians added a rainbow to their social media profile photos.
- Do promote social change in positive, non-confrontational ways – Christians can vote, donate time and money, engage in politics, and support community efforts in ways that don’t invite confrontation and incite anger. Respectfully choosing to shop at a different store because of personal faith convictions elicits a different response from our culture than public words of condemnation. Supporting a crisis pregnancy center builds more relationships than an angry protest at an abortion clinic.
As we seek to share the Good News with the lost, let us be marked by our good deeds, not our opposition to the world. Let us be seen as for Christ, not as against the world.
Kathy, I love this article and it was just what I needed to read today! Family issues blended with cultural issues can feel overwhelming. Then I have to deal with personal feelings! So thankful for the Truth of God’s Word and your thoughts on this topic. Blessings, Judy
Great article!
Overall I agree with you, however I think all action is necessary. What would have happened in 1973 after SCOTUS approved abortion if all believers would have shown publicly their displeasure with that measure?
It will have shaken the conscience of the nation and probably resulted in less abortions. By remaining quiet they understood that the Church tacitly agreed with their predicament.
I understand all you are saying and why. But the devil is devouring people right and left…so why can’t we be strong in our “fight” against him? I am terribly offended by what the rainbow signifies these days!!! It was God’s rainbow first!!!! He created it for a very specific reason and I for one think Christian leaders should have voiced an opinion about it!! And who came up with using the rainbow to represent what it does now anyway! To me the beautiful rainbows we are blessed to see are totally and only representative of God in Heaven!! It breaks my heart! It is very offensive to me, but does anyone care?? I think a bit of righteous anger is not out of line with the cancel culture that feels like we are already in bed with Satan! God come soon…
You are so right! The Devil is devouring people. And Christians do need to stand up in our culture, but there is a right way and wrong way. Sadly many Christians have been trying to do it the wrong way. We need to work for change in our systems and laws. But we can’t force morality on individuals. As Scripture says, God’s ways and wisdom sound like foolishness to those who don’t have the Holy Spirit to help them understand spiritual truth. With individuals we must start by sharing Jesus. That has to be the starting point. Jesus first. Then change through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I thought of something else I want to add to our conversation. We should definitely have one-on-one conversations about the truths of God with those who don’t know Him. We can talk about those hot-button issues. But it needs to be done face to face in a gracious manner. More listening than talking. Sadly, what we Christians tend to do is shout it out in an ungracious way on social media. That only causes arguments and closes ears to Jesus.
Amen Kathy I agree with you100%.
Xx
I have never seen these points articulated in quite this way. My focus has been the absolute necessity of KNOWING each other. Am I terribly off the point? I found this article by Googling “Should Christians be judged by the world?” I especially liked your reply to the comments.The Google replies were mostly about saints judging the world, not what I asked but I’m glad I found this. I am cynical with the church community. Sometimes emails go to spam. You can text me at (210) 499-1256
Glad you found this post and stopped by! I’m not sure what you mean about “knowing each other.” Can you explain?
And yes, Christians so often get our responsibility backwards. We tend to judge the world and allow sin to go unchecked in the church. Instead we need to introduce the world to Jesus and encourage the church to holiness.
May the Lord use this article to calibrate the attitudes and opinions of His people to line up with His Scriptures regarding what it means to be His representatives on earth. Most of our efforts should always focus on “being” the Word in a way that causes the World to distinguish the superlatives in the Christian Worldview without being preached to. Help us to get it right Lord I pray in Jesus’ Name Amen and Amen.