Tony BeamThe question of how Christians should engage the age in which they live has made for lively debate, especially in the last 50 years or so.?We know we must encounter the culture with the gospel, but how do we accomplish this?
Ed Gravely’s three models of cultural encounter become very instructive for us. Gravely is professor of biblical studies and history of ideas at Southeastern Baptist Seminary.
He calls the first model the “Image of God” model. It might be referred to as the “look and see” model of cultural interaction. It basically proclaims that Christians bear the image of God as they go about their everyday business, using their gifts and abilities in a variety of ways within the culture. These gifts may not be overtly Christian in that?the use of them point directly to God, but whatever a believer does should, when he is operating under the power and?direction of the Holy Spirit, reveal something about who God is.?
?The “Salt and Light” model is much more overt in its purpose toward the culture. Using this model, Christians are encouraged to plunge into the culture with the intention of transforming.
The image of God model requires the observation of the world to be effective.?The world may or may not notice the gifts of a believer at work and appreciate the presence of God within the work.?The salt and light model, by its very nature, is impossible to ignore because it calls for a charge into the culture, challenging and countering the influence of Satan, forcing the darkness to roll back with light, and preserving what is good with salt.?
Finally, the “Guardian” model simply says we guard our hearts as believers against the influence of the culture.?It is being in, but not of, the world.?The guardian model calls us to soundly condemn the use of things which are contrary to the word of God.?We have to penetrate and yet maintain our distance.?We have to get close enough for the light to illuminate the darkness, but we must make sure the darkness doesn’t overtake us.?We protect ourselves with the guardian model by making sure we “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:5) and “we put on the whole armor of God so that we will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:10-11).?
Believers should demonstrate the image of God as we do our best for His glory in everything we do.?We should demonstrate our “saltiness” and our “light bearing” when we purposely confront the moral issues of our day.? We should carry out both tasks, while guarding our hearts by the Holy Spirit and guarding our minds by the word of God, so that our influence will be on the culture rather than the culture’s influence on us.?