Thursday, October 7, 2010

How Should Christians live in a pagan society?

Due to their brevity, my comments in yesterday’s blog on ‘Bikini Baristas’ fell short of adequately addressing the many-faceted issue. It is not easy to find the balance between our calling to be salt & light in a sinful world while conveying Jesus’ heart of compassion. This has been brought to our attention (quite painfully) by the current case before the Supreme Court: "Snyder v. Phelps." Rev. Phelps and his church hold what-can-only-be-called 'mean-spirited' protests at funerals of soldiers for no other reason than their tie to the military where homosexuals are allowed to serve (the soldiers whose funerals have been protested were not gay), with signs that read “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

Following is an excerpt from an article by John MacArthur on How Christians ought to live in a pagan society.


The church will really change society for the better only when individual believers make their chief concern their own spiritual maturity, which means living in a way that honors God's commands and glorifies His name. Such a concern inherently includes a firm grasp on Scripture and an understanding that its primary mandate to us is to know Christ and proclaim His gospel. A godly attitude coupled with godly living makes the saving message of the gospel credible to the unsaved. If we claim to be saved but still convey proud, unloving attitudes toward the lost, our preaching and teaching—no matter how doctrinally orthodox or politically savvy and persuasive—will be ignored or rejected.

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