I ran across a statement on social media concerning “culture wars” that made me think. Before getting to the statement, we need to first define the term “culture”. My definition based on reading a few definitions is:
Culture – the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular group of people
It’s the overall beliefs and thus behaviors of a people group and that group and its culture can be described at many different levels. When talking of “culture war”, we’re typically defining culture as the shared beliefs and behaviors of our world as exhibited in entertainment, government, mass media, etc. It is the zeitgeist; the spirit of the age; the general trend of thought, feeling, or tastes characteristic of a particular period of time.
With that in mind, I want to interact with the following quote I saw on social media:
“You can’t obey the Sermon on the Mount and fight a culture war“
Sounds so Christian, doesn’t it? We know that individual people in the world are not the enemy that we “war” against, but this statement was directed at those who push back on the culture, calling them disobedient to Christ and his famous sermon. But is that so? Are we to be at peace with the culture? The spirit of our age?
First, I think there is a category error. Culture is not an individual. Pushing back against the untruths that surround us as a culture is not being at war with an individual who may hold to those beliefs. You can be “at war” with the culture and its ideology without being at war with individuals. You can love an individual, in fact you do truly love the individual, if you “war” with an ideology that engulfs them to their spiritual and eternal harm. Here is the imperative for Christians:
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
2 Cor 10:5 ESV
We DESTROY those arguments of the culture around us. Every lofty opinion that shakes its fist towards God. You don’t “get along” with a culture of such. Also, if we think this verse is only for us to do internally in our own minds and hearts, then go read the context of 2 Corinthians chapter 10 around this verse.
As I thought about this social media statement above, I realized the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) as delivered by Jesus actually was him “fighting a culture war”. The sermon was him pushing back hard on the culture, the general trend of societal thought/beliefs/behavior of the day. Jesus said things like “You have heard it said” and would repeat something prominent from the current culture. He would then follow that with, “But I say…” and tell the culture they had it wrong. I’m not sure what your definition of “culture war” is but telling the current culture you have it exactly wrong doesn’t sound culturally peaceful to me. We’re bent on seeking the approval of man rather than fearing God even in the church today. Thus, we prefer to never push back on the current culture, even if God’s truth is at stake. We’d rather be “winsome” as some evangelical leaders state, however, the definition of winsome is “sweetly or innocently charming”, which I can’t find listed as a biblical virtue.
Looking further at the Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus is listing the beatitudes at the start, his last one is this:
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Matthew 5:11 LSB
For people that make such statements about culture wars and posting to other Christians that if they are at war with the culture, they aren’t obeying Jesus, I wonder how they would ever be in danger of having this beatitude apply to them? Why would the culture insult and persecute you if you aren’t opposing the culture, as Jesus says, “because of Me”? It’s as if we’ve read into Jesus words that we are not to stand for truth in the midst of a Romans 1 culture. I think it stems from the popular lopsided view of Jesus – he is all warm, fuzzy love, acceptance, affirmation – with no holiness and wrath against sin.
I find in the Bible that we need to be full of grace and truth. Just like Jesus. God’s truth is going to confront the culture steeped in lies. Always. There is no alternative. the Bible tells us this world is ruled by the prince of the power of the air. It is the domain of the father of lies. It is opposed to Jesus. You are not called as a believer to be at peace with the culture. In fact, we’re told:
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
James 4:4 ESV
Therefore, you will either compromise or stand – compromise God’s truth in order to get along with a culture or stand and face persecution and suffering to some degree. There’s no third way, no truce you can call. From Genesis 3 through Revelation, the Bible documents an ongoing war. You were born into a galactic war. “Culture” is simply the current popular combination of manifestations of human rebellion in the world against our God.
Choose you this day whom you will serve.