Yesterday we discussed ways to use our resources and influence in voicing our disagreement with unbiblical immorality. Today let’s consider the positive side of this cultural coin. As MLB player Clayton Kershaw said in a recent statement, we can “show what we do support, as opposed to maybe what we don’t. And that was Jesus.”
Modern pagans reject ancient paganism. They find solidarity with the idea of human equality and dignity, see the natural world as a place of order rather than of chaos, and call for sexual restraint, the protection of children and disadvantaged groups, the end of slavery, mindless conquest, and human sacrifice. To this extent, they are embracing the innovations of Christianity.
When I served as a college missionary in East Malaysia, those I sought to reach were not my enemies. To the contrary, they were people for whom Jesus died and who deserved to know the One I knew. I was simply a beggar helping other beggars find bread.
In the same way, in cultural conflicts, our opponents are not our enemies. Satan is the enemy; those who reject biblical truth are his victims. This is why “speaking the truth in love” should be our daily aspiration and mantra (Ephesians 4:15). Rather than fighting our opponents as cultural warriors, we should love them as cultural missionaries sharing God’s word and grace in the place and time he has assigned to us.
The same technology that threatens to make internal monologues a thing of the past has also been used to help a mute person speak and even enable a paralyzed person to walk, reminding us once again that the potential tradeoffs in these developments can be more complicated to weigh than they appear at first glance.
Last Friday, May 19, pastor, theologian, and author Tim Keller passed away. The longtime pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and author of books such as The Reason for God was known for his thoughtful sermons, calm demeanor, and a ministry that extended beyond his own denomination and even his fellow Christians to the wider world of elite society.
It’s rare, especially today, for someone to be called “a giant” by both a top theologian and a New York Times columnist. Rarer still will such a prominent figure be regularly described as unassuming, living out the exhortation of Rudyard Kipling to be someone who can “walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch.” It’s notable that even his critics, which he certainly had, have refrained from doubting his self-effacing grace and kindness for others.
My call today is for us to renew our commitment to thinking and living biblically, whatever the consequences in our broken, post-Christian culture. To this end, let’s close with a reflection from Billy Graham: “Early in my life, I had some doubts about whether or not the Bible was really God’s word. But one night in 1949, I knelt before a stump in the woods of Forest Home, California, opened my Bible and said, ‘O God, there are many things in this book I do not understand. But by faith, I accept it—from Genesis to Revelation—as your word.’
Like many who mourned pastor Tim Keller's passing, I never met him in person. Also, like many others, he served as a mentor from afar. I could talk for days about the ministry insights I learned from him, but those are not the most important. Through his sermons, books, articles, and interviews, I gleaned an approach to following Jesus and engaging the people around me with the Gospel.
While this list could be much longer, these are the three most important lessons about following Jesus from Dr. Tim Keller.
