September 28, 2022

What are the temptations that arise when a culture presses against one of the tradition biblical moral standards? 

There are three temptations that arise when we find our biblical standards under pressure: Accommodation, Tolerance, and Retreat. It would be fair to say that these are three, usually well-intentioned, “flavors” of the same problem: the fear of man.

Accommodation: Christians attempt to borrow language and follow trends with an evangelistic impulse. Accommodation sees the disordered desires of the world around and gradually loosens Biblical truth in an attempt to build evangelistic bridges. Accommodation sounds like this “We’re going to lose these people if we don’t…” Accommodation is an “evangelism” error.

Tolerance: If the mistake of accommodation is unprincipled outreach, the error of tolerance looks like unity through dismissal. In this approach, the visible “together-ness” of the church takes precedent over the truthfulness of the church within particular denominations. Tolerance sounds like this “You might read that passage this way, but they read it differently.” Tolerance is a “unity” error. 

Retreat: A desire for holiness drives withdrawal from institutions and a tendency to seek “definitions of opposition.” This results in an inward turn that has an expulsive force: seeking to maintain uniformity of conviction retreat-oriented communities tend to exclude rather than disciple and “outsiders” often feel they have to scale cultural walls to participate in fellowship. Retreat often sounds like “What will we do if ‘X’ type of person comes in?” Retreat is a “purity” error.

Each of us has a draw towards one of these general responses - part of our task as a church situated by God’s providence in these crazy times is to both know and repent of the fear of man in our hearts. The Lordship of Jesus and the proclamation of the Gospel are sufficient to sustain the growth, unity and holiness of his church.

-Matt Allhands