I'm teaching in Romans 12 for the next couple of weeks. During my research today, I came across a sermon by John Piper -- Do Not Be Conformed to This World. This excerpt is simple, but it stood out to me:
"These two impulses are always in tension with each other. At times they push in opposite directions, and the great challenge is to find the biblical balance. Andrew Walls, in his book, The Missionary Movement In Christian History, calls these two impulses the Indigenous Principle and the Pilgrim Principle (Mary Knoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2001, pp. 7-9). In other words, the gospel can and must become indigenous in every (fallen!) culture in the world. It can and must find a home in the culture. It must fit in. That’s the indigenous impulse.
But at the same time, and just as powerful, the gospel produces a pilgrim mindset. It loosens people from their culture. It criticizes and corrects culture. It turns people into pilgrims and aliens and exiles in their own culture. When Paul says, 'Do not conformed to this world,' and 'I became all things to all people,' he is not confused; he is calling for a critical balance of two crucial biblical impulses."
Posted by Discoshaman at janvier 28, 2005 02:04 AM | TrackBack