Tim Keller: On The Bible's Exhortation to Engage Culture

Each month I receive NYC Redeemer Presbyterian Church's newsletter and enjoy reading it from cover to cover. In the current April, 2008 issue, head pastor Tim Keller writes on the whys and hows Christian believers should engage our culture. I quote extensively from a portion of his article below:

"At Redeemer we encourage Christian 'cultural engagement,' but there are critics who say that we should instead simply work at 'being and building up the church' and avoid any efforts to change or renew culture. I'd like to offer a few Biblical texts that serve as a starting point for Redeemer's approach to this issue.

Loving your neighbor

First, Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan teaches that we are not only to love our brothers and sisters in Christ but also our neighbors (Luke 19:25-37.) In Jesus' day, the idea of 'neighbor' and 'brother' was the same thing. Love and support were to be only shown to one's own tribe, race, and faith. By making the two main figures in the parable to be a Jew and a Samaritan, however, Jesus drove home the fact that a Christian must consider anyone at all, especially those of other races and classes, as my neighbor, even if he or she is of another faith. Paul follows up with the command to "Do good to all men, especially the household of faith."(Galatians 6:10). Here Paul clearly tells believers to serve the interests of their non-Christian neigbors. The word 'good' includes giving material benefits (as in the parable of the Good Samaritan) out of love and desire for a person's well being in every way. Thus Paul calls Christians to consider and work for the 'common good' of their neighborhood and city.

It is no wonder that Christians seeking to obey Christ and Paul have over the centuries worked to abolish slavery, repeal child labor laws, and open voting rights to all citizens, as well as to begin thousands of programs and ministries that help the poor and needy."

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Lon Solomon of McLean Bible Church in Tyson's Corner, Virginia tells of his amazing conversion experience from Judaism to Christ.