Covenant Church

Sinners vs. Saints.  No not football, Go Saints!  (My Broncs might get busted for a few games).....anyway, a thought I have been mulling today and pondering is this idea of "engaging our culture."  The debate movement and the theories of trying to prove intelligent design or that God exists to atheists and the like.  The bible says to avoid vain arguments and I have to wonder if these are "vain" arguments.  Useless in their desired end result?  How do you truly prove something that just is to someone who just won't believe?  You really can't, the Holy Spirit has to do that. 

The next thought I had was, what would Jesus do?  Would He try to prove himself by debating?  Would He engage His culture with debates, teaching or action?  Let's see........, all of the debates that happened with Jesus in scripture that I can think of, happened not with sinners, but saints.  The religious elite, the pharisees and the sadduccees.  Not the people, the sinners, the sick or the world.  To Pilate He said "I am who you say I am."  To the tax collector He said "I'm coming to your house for dinner."  To the woman at the well He said "I know your past and I can give you water to drink so you will never thirst again."  To the centurion He said "greater faith have I not seen in all of Israel."  To the woman caught in adultery He said "neither do i condemn you, go and sin no more."  Jesus didn't debate whether He was Messiah to the woman at the well.  He didn't debate or try to prove that He was King of the Jews to Pilate.  He didn't debate or try to theologically defend why He would share supper with a fraud and a cheat.  He didn't debate the theology of sin and find out why this woman was an adulteress.  He didn't debate or try to prove why a gentile could or couldn't receive healing for his servant.  He just was. 

To the woman at the well He was a thirst quencher, to the centurion a healer, to Pilate a King, to the woman in adultery a savior, to the fraud and cheat a friend.  When we "engage" our culture and try to win the debate war, we lose.  Why?  Jesus understood something about culture.  One, that the religious folk have a head problem, they needed to deal with their messed up view of worship.  Two, that the world has a heart problem that is present and noticeable by unmet needs.  Jesus was great at meeting needs and when He did, turning their hearts toward Him.  As the church we don't need to debate people, we need to meet their needs.  A cheat and a fraud needs a friend, an adulterer needs to be set free from bondage, a sick person needs healing, a ruler needs someone that they can serve to stay humble, they don't need a talking head telling them their messed up or that they just don't get it or that our way is better than your way.  They just need Jesus.

Stop engaging the culture and start injecting Jesus in it by being every day.  If a co-worker is sick, pray for them.  If a friend is in need, meet the need through the power of the Holy Spirit and be like Peter when he looked at the crippled beggar and said "silver and gold I don't have, but what I do I give to you, rise up and walk!"  Come on let's give people what they need.   

Love the Sinners; Engage the Saints.    (sonds like a good sermon to me ;-)