Video Transcript: Adapting to the Culture...Or Not (Voddie Baucham)

Video Transcript:  Adapting to the Culture...Or Not - Voddie Baucham

Good morning, 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 she can leave from there. So I am looking forward to hightailing 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 us 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 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 the cultures, styles, and not just learn them, 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 it's the prevailing ideology. And oftentimes, ironically, people will run to places like first group like 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 is 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 worshiping 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 whoever Paul when there was either revival or 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. Know 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 bro. 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 the 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 has a Jew and a Benjamites. 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, and reasons 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 them what Jesus showed to his apostles. He shows them in on the road to a Emmaus, Luke, chapter 24, that all of the Scriptures point to Him and John chapter five, 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 what he does in the synagogue, then he is in the marketplace, he doesn't have this same common touchstone with the individuals in the marketplace. And it sounds quite differently. But it's a 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. You got to be on the download 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 babbler wish to say? By the way, that's an insult. Sperma logos in the Greek. What is this babbler or this idle babbler? The word picture that's painted in the 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 them an idol babbler other said, he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities, because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. Wait, stop for a minute. Because here's the argument that people make from First Corinthians chapter from from Acts chapter 17. 

They run to his message, they're at the Areopagus or the summary of his message at the Areopagus. They're 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 Christian ease. 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 Anastasia, if you will, for the Greek word for 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 Excuse me, what this teaching is that you're a preaching presenting. For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know their for what these things mean. Now, all the Ephenians and the foreigners who live there would spend their time and 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 those 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 ties. Well actually, Yes, 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 wearing suits and ties. But I didn't come and try to dress like you. Is it because 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 is 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 Oprah show and let her spit in my face. And 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. 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, is 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 going to 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 within 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, and consummation. That's the overarching meta narrative creation, fall, redemption, and 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's standing in the midst of the Areopagus said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way, you are very religious, for I 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, I am 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're 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. And 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 what he's what he says next. Well, therefore you worship as unknown that I proclaimed to you, I observed your culture, and I saw some statues. 

I really liked 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 believe that God created the world. Guess what they said to him? At the Areopagus, you're 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 media 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? Because that's one of the traps that everybody wants to set. You know, are you a 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. It's somebody I'll say something like, you know, some of you are sitting out there right now. And I'm open into 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 real intellectual, or am I one of these narrow minded Hicks? who happens to have some credentials? You 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. Is this for real, did he just he, he got playing you all. Paul says, God created the world. Notice, 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 is 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, were 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 other to 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, or 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 if we started way 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 worshiping Him. So we've gone from creation to fall, go to verse 28. Any made from one man, every nation of mankind, to live on all the face of the earth, having determined a lot of 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, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

You're sinful. You're not right with God. You haven't 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 can basically say, we didn't know you, but we made you one anyway. He's here. And he's not pleased. Looking 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 compromise 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 the 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, 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 there midst, but some men joined him and believed, among whom also, were Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with him. You know, so you know what happens when you compromise, and then 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, someone who 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. Paul says, 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 great, 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, he is. Okay. 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 God is 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 could make much of God. Read first Corinthians chapter one, 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, O God has made me a weak thing.

Make me a weak thing. Had a conversation with a student. It was it, you know, the student was, you know, one of those high achieving Christian students, 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 to I want to go to Harvard Law School. I said, Why do you want to Harvard ? Why in the world, do you want to go there. They 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. 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 Court 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 new gate.

Dude, what's wrong with you? What are you thinking? Some of you face that because you come to the Masters college? Did you go to the Masters college? Why did 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 there. 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 studied places like Harvard and Oxford, where I studied, and extend it there, and they spout Godless anti christian rhetoric, people look at them and go, dude is brilliant. You know at the Harvard, you know at the 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 and billions of years old. They don't say, dude's brilliant, he went to 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 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 music 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 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 have 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. He despised things of the world. Pursue excellence in everything that you do. And even as you pursue excellence, make this your 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. It 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.

But 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'll be faithful to Him. That you will place your faith not in yourself, your abilities, your credentials, your popularity or anything else, put 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. 

Would you pray with me. Father, our 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 weak 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 in 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 asked in that name. We serve in that name. We live for that name. And should it bring you glory, may we die in that name, Amen.