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 The Culture Culture

 The Bible teaches, from Genesis 3 onward, the antithesis. Antithesis isa rather fancy theological term that simply affirms that the people of God live their lives in the context of the battle between the seed of the

woman and the seed of the serpent. While we are called to love ourenemies, we are called to recognize them as enemies. Though theweapons of our warfare are not carnal, we are at war. We are called tobe set apart, distinct, separate from the world around us. One couldeven translate ekklesia, which is usually translated “church” in ourEnglish Bibles this way, “the called-out ones.” We seem to haveforgotten the antithesis in our day, strategizing that if we will becomemore like the world we might make a difference, that the way to besalt and light is to mask our savor and cover our light. We are of thelight, and they of the dark. We are of our Father in heaven, theychildren of the Father of lies. We are, by the grace of God, the friends

of God. They are, by nature, His enemies.

 There is, however, sundry points of contact. However mangled anddistorted, those outside the kingdom still bear the image of God.Conversely, however, there is this point of contact- we are still sinners. Though we have been regenerated we yet struggle with sin. Thoughwe are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we are still tempted by the spirit of the age. This point of contact, however, the ways in which we sin, isnot designed to serve as a bridge to the lost world. It is insteaddesigned to be direction away from itself. That we sin, usually in thesame ways that they sin tells us how we can better recognize our sins,

that we might flee those sins.

 The culture then, serves as a “culture,” a way to discern what ails us. If we want to know the kinds of sins we are tempted toward, we ought tobe watching the sins of the world around us. Chances are we aretempted in the same direction. This, sadly, is something too many thatare wisely conscious of the antithesis miss. We are so intent on thedifferences between us and them that we fail to see us in them. Theymurder their babies, while we avoid ours. They steal from their god bycheating on their taxes. We rob our God by failing to tithe. We rant andwe rail against the world’s sin x, and miss the fact that sin x comes in

camel size at our favorite buffet. Is the world shallow and greedy? Iprobably am too. Is the world hell-bent on self? I probably am too. Isthe world deaf, dumb and blind? I probably am too.

 The difference, the antithesis, between us and the world isn’t that theyhave sin issues while we do not. The difference is two-fold. First, oursins have already been covered. Jesus died for them, and the Father isnot angry with us. Second, we are committed to finding them out,

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rather than hiding them. Isn’t it gracious of God then to give us theglaring shamelessness of the world to make our own sins more knownto us? May He in turn give us eyes to see.