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How do you describe today’s current culture? Maybe your answer would be oppressive, dissonant, or chaotic.

Why is that your answer?

I ask that question because there are things in our culture that I know God is not ok with.  I know this because there are some things the Bible is very clear about.  I’m not talking about the usual things that the religious organizations seem to get upset about. If we were to search counter-cultural Christianity I would bet you’ll find images and websites that are geared towards defending our faith agains the current culture and/or our current government. If you were to sit down and read all of the words of Jesus in one sitting, you would find he doesn’t really address his attention towards Rome, the reigning empire at the time. Jesus does address the things he sees in the Jewish world and they are the same things addressed by the prophets in the Old Testament.

By the time of the prophets, the kingdom of Kind David and then his son King Solomon have split into two kingdoms after Solomon’s death.  They began to move away from the teachings of God and more evil than the nations that surround them.

Amos 8:1-6 “This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!” Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”— skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and (buying) the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.”

How about these verses from Habakkuk 2: 

‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’

“Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin!

“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by injustice!

“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!” Habakkuk 2:6, 9, 12, 15 NIV

What does all of this remind you off?

Now, to be clear, I’m not suggesting that everything about the Western culture or our country is bad.  Running an honest business where you make money but you are generous and you don’t harm people or treat them poorly is a great thing, and there are honest people that own and operate businesses.  It’s ok to build a house with hard earned honest gain.  

It all has to do with the oppression and the lack of regard for others, and this is counter to the cultural of what God’s people should be.

Israel was taken as a part of the Greek and then Roman Empire maybe 75 or 50 yrs before Jesus was born.  Most Jews hated Rome and many were not Roman citizens, some tolerated Rome because they didn’t want more bloodshed. There were those who believed if they honored God followed His ways without violence, God would eventually deliver them.

Some Jews who had the political power enjoyed the benefits of life under Roman rule.  The religious/political leaders in Jerusalem were part of this.  Other religous leaders from Galilee were deeply devouted to God, and wanted no part of Rome. No matter how you look at it, the Roman empire was an empire of might and oppression, and their belief was peace can only come through war and victory.

Let’s consider this, there were four basic pillars of empire:

-theater or media (includes news content and entertainment)

-Gymnasium or education (control what is learned)

-Arena or athletics

-healthcare

Pleasure, power, self… all found in those 4 pillars of the Roman world, sound familiar? 

Empire says peace can only come through war and victory. God’s kingdom says peace comes through grace, and this is completely counter-cultural.

Then there’s Jesus…

So let’s look at his first recorded teachings in Matthew 5:1-16 “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

In a Roman world filled with power, oppression, status, pleasure, greed, and a Jewish world that looked for a Messiah who they thought would be a military leader to destroy Rome

this is the message that Jesus, the Messiah, brings.  Paul sums it up, in Galations 3:26-28 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The message of Jesus was simple, love God, love others, the peace or shalom that following Jesus brings was attractive to a world that needed it.  The slave could eat with the Roman citizen, a person of high status who had always been served by others experienced the freedom found in serving others.

How will you be counter-cultural?