Much is said these days about the waning influence of the American church’s influence on American culture, and much is also said about the growing influence of American culture on the American church. True, it is no longer the middle of the 20th century when American culture was pro-God and pro-church. Today’s culture might be described as anti-God, or pro-gods, and anti-church, at least anti-Christian church. Leith Anderson observes in his book Dying for Change, “Yesterday’s church keeps hoping that tomorrow will be 1954”. Well, tomorrow won’t be 1954; it will be 2012 with 2013 fast approaching. What’s a believer to do?
As we peer through our stained glass windows at the secular culture outside we come to realize that we live in a culture that underestimates the holiness of God and underestimates the gravity of sin. We live in a “sin is no big deal” culture. In Christianity for Dummies Richard Wagner writes, “Sin sells. In years gone by, sin was considered a dirty word, something to avoid like the plague. But these days, more often than not, sin is thought of as cool. If you watch any TV ads, you see this in action: a popular advertising trick used on products ranging from chocolate pudding to sandwiches to automobiles is tying products to sin. Slogans like ‘Sinfully delicious,’ ‘Wonderfully decadent,’ ‘Indulge yourself,’ and ‘Join the fun in Sin City’ all associate sinning with fun and pleasure. Consider whether sin is like these ads say: Is it just another word for ‘having a good time’. Or is the pleasure of sin like a Trojan horse – fun on the outside, but insidious danger lurking within?
I resonate with what Wagner observes but I wonder – is the challenge presented by the ever-increasing secularism, pluralism, relativism and even paganism of American culture really at the root of the church’s struggle. No – I don’t think so. The more important challenge to overcome is that we in the 21st century American church underestimate the holiness of God and we underestimate the gravity of sin. We live in a “sin is no big deal” church! We tend to be moral and ethical relativists, thinking of ourselves as more or less good, all things considered. We seem to think that the distance between holiness and sinfulness is either not that great or not that important. Besides, we reason, we’re forgiven and we live under the Covenant of Grace.
For many in the evangelical church, retreat from culture has been the answer, gathering in fortress churches protected from the dirt and grime outside. Rather than salt and light, we’re more mothball and cedar, packing our faith in storage while waiting for a more favorable season to wear that faith in public. Consider, though, that there was no more hostile culture than the Greco-Roman-Hebrew culture to which Jesus came. Greeks worshipped their Greek gods and spent endless hours sparring over the complexities of philosophy such as the problem of evil. Objective evil is not the problem. Rather, the problem is personal sin. Romans worshipped their Roman gods, including among them their man-god Caesars. Hebrews “worshipped” the law, their ever expanding and intricate maze of legalistic dos and don’ts that established the religio-cultural pecking order, so engrossed in their own self-righteousness that they missed the coming of the God-Man Jesus. John’s Gospel reveals that Jesus came to His own but that His own, the Jews, received Him not.
So – if the American church is indeed in trouble today, where do we place the blame. Is American culture at fault? Is the American church at large at fault? Is the typical congregation at fault? Or – am I to blame? Have I somehow placed myself out of the equation while offering judgmental observations from my lofty perch? Is it time that I stop pontificating objective commentary and take responsibility for my own disciplines, attitudes and actions? Is it time, by the grace of God, that I commit myself to the Great Commission and to making a real difference? Is it time to put up or shut up?
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25a
