Belief for Impact: The Bible and Cultural Engagement

What we believe matters. Why we believe what we believe matters. There is no doubt about this: wherever we go and whatever sphere we find ourselves in with people. We live in the era of my truth being for me and your truth being for you. How can this work? Is there any way forward for the Christian? The truth is that what we believe has massive implications for life. In addition, the whole point of Impact is to think about how Christians can impact the world around them. So, there must be fundamental beliefs guiding the Christians as they think about impacting the culture around them with the message of the Gospel. The following articles will consider this as we think through Belief for Impact: Doctrines that Affect Cultural Engagement. At this point, you might be tempted to ask, “Don’t all doctrines affect cultural engagement?” The simple answer would be yes, but certain doctrinal convictions will significantly impact how we think about engaging the culture around us. This is not to diminish any doctrine but to draw awareness to the arenas that significantly affect the culture around us.

Beginning with the Bible

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2nd Timothy 3:16-17

If there is a fundamental belief that impacts the culture around us, it is found in the belief that the Bible is the very Word of God. When we look at the verse above, we learn several things. First, the Scriptures are inspired by God. When Paul writes about the Scriptures, he makes sure that Timothy understands that these Scriptures are breathed out by God. While Paul is the human author to Timothy and other books will have human authors, the stress is that a divine author is also composing the words, namely, God.

So when Christians understand that God’s Word calls them to act and live in a certain way, it is not out of personal preference that they follow but because it is God’s instruction. So when we allow the Bible to frame the way we engage the culture, we are saying, “I am trying to live within the boundaries that God has established that will lead to flourishing on the part of everyone who pays attention to this instruction and obeys.” The benefit of this when it comes to engaging the culture around us is that we are not moved by someone’s personal opinion or personal stance, but we can unite around God’s Word.

Notice how this particular text tells us how we are going to be shaped by God’s Word:

Doctrine

The Bible will inform us what we should and shouldn’t believe. It will ensure that our theology is correct and in agreement with God’s expectation for what we should think and then, in turn, for how we should live. When we think about engaging the culture on social and political issues, we don’t tend to think about our doctrine, but if we were to take a step back, we could see that it must affect how we engage people. For example, it is the doctrine of the imago dei (humanity created in the image of God) that causes Christians to oppose such things as abortion and assisted suicide. We don’t just neutrally come to these conclusions, but rather, our doctrine and theology inform our cultural engagement.

Reproof

As we are informed by doctrine, it is by that proper doctrine that our thinking is reproved and aligned with God’s Word. Both doctrine and reproof have to do with making sure that the believer’s theology is correct before moving to the actual way in which they live. One thing that this text reminds us of is that the Scriptures ensure that even our thinking goes through a correcting process, which will naturally impact how we live.

Correction

As our thinking is corrected, then our lives naturally follow suit. It is not enough to think correctly and never let that correction be evidenced in our lives. Instead, as the Scripture shapes our thinking, we look at how we live and make corrections based on what the Scripture says. In this way, effective cultural engagement begins because we have corrected how we walk first and then called others around us to join us as much as we are following Scripture. Once again, the Scripture outlines how we live, not our settled opinions.

Instruction in Righteousness

If we think the Bible is mainly a book that tells us what we do wrong, we fundamentally miss one of its more comprehensive functions. The Bible not only corrects our wrong living but also instructs us on proper living. We shouldn’t think of the Scriptures as a place where we are constantly corrected but as where God explains how we can experience true flourishing by walking with Him. The issue regarding how we live then expresses itself along one of two paths: will I follow God, or will I only follow myself?

Conclusion

Christians should be concerned about the world around them and engage it with the hope of the Gospel and Christianity. The main struggle is ensuring that we try to help the world around us through God’s Word. Is what we are telling the world our opinions and strategies, or is it tied to God’s Word? If we want to effectively reach and challenge the world to change, we must ensure our message is tethered to the word of God. If not, we must remind ourselves how the hymn writers described that ground as sinking sand. Let us be resolved to build our life on God’s Word and encourage others to build there too!

In lieu of a comments section, we accept and encourage letters to the editor. If you would like to write a letter to the editor, you can do so by sending them to impact@crosswaybc.org