Having traveled to different cultures over the years, I've begun to make some observations. The differences in cultures made me think of an application of 1 Corinthians 7:14 where Paul says: "For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy."
If we substitute culture for unbelieving husband or wife, I think we can see the effect of gospel witness on specific cultures. When Mark and I travel between "open" and "closed" countries, we observe the sanctifying effect of a gospel witness on the culture of the visited country. For example, South Korea boasts a long history of gospel witness. That gospel witness not only means South Korea practices freedom of religion, but also the people generally show kindness, politeness, helpfulness, orderliness, cleanliness, trust, hospitality, joy, and peace. In countries and cultures that oppress or remove gospel witness, we observe the lack of sanctifying influence of the gospel. In those places we see self-centeredness, cutting in lines, rudeness, disorder, barricades, trashiness, abuse, surveillance, and disregard for rules and human rights. Gospel witness brings glory to God by speaking the message of salvation of sins through Jesus Christ alone, yet the benefits of speaking the gospel also bring good to mankind and to cultures.
Therefore, we sense the urgency to bring the gospel to every culture and people group. People and cultures need redemption. Some cultures fear losing their culture or traditions if Christianity comes in. It may be true that some aspects of a culture change when the people discover specific cultural sins, yet overall, Christianity sanctifies or purifies the culture. For example, marriages, families, parenting, education, health, business practices, and even governments improve. People gain trust with each other. People learn to resolve conflicts well. People grow to respect each other. The task to purify a culture seems daunting as we Christians help so few people at a time.
These cultural differences remind me of what our friend Jon once posted on Facebook regarding "three common cultural perspectives of the gospel: guilt/grace, shame/honor, and fear/power." I would actually add, "fear/love." As I consider these dichotomies, the gospel witness becomes clear. With the good news of Jesus Christ, we receive the second part; without the good news of Jesus Christ, we live the first part. Perfect love casts out fear. What do we fear? What makes us guilty? What are we ashamed of? Societies closed to the gospel live in these realms.
I also realize that we can dig deeper or round out our views about culture in so many ways. As I mentioned above, some cultures fear losing their culture or traditions if the number of Christians grows within their country. Some cultures fear that Christians will "westernize" their culture. Maybe that error began many decades ago when western missionaries brought their brand of Christianity to foreign lands. Mark and I see that influence among foreigners who live in Beijing. They sometimes believe that following Christ reflects wearing a certain style of clothing, or singing a certain genre of hymns, or obeying certain rules of "do this/don't do this", or avoiding certain places of entertainment. Yet we must first ask "What IS the gospel?" Then we must ask, "How does the gospel come to each culture? What does it look like in Ghana, India, France, Peru, China, Saudi Arabia, Australia, or Canada, etc.?" The simple gospel truth that Jesus Christ came to save sinners doesn’t change with location but each culture, people group, and nation must apply that truth in a way that makes their culture more Christ-like, not more western.
The gospel of Jesus brings hope and healing. Let's share it.
