Don't Blend In

As Christians it is our God-given duty, to evangelize.   We have this assumption that we have to be like the people we are trying to reach for Christ.   Yet, if I’m not mistaken, it’s supposed to be the Light in us that shines; showing we are new and different-- not the same.   Yet why do we think God wants us to “act the same” to reach the world?  Why would I want to choose Christ if He looks like everybody else in my life that has failed me? 

People say, “Well Jesus hung out with Pharisees, prostitutes, and tax collectors.”  That’s true.  And so should we-- but we don’t have to look like, talk like, and act like, Pharisees, prostitutes, and tax collectors.  Something not often stated is that Jesus didn't try to ‘fit in’ with the Pharisees, prostitutes, and tax collectors.   He didn't change His wardrobe, or the way He spoke, or the way he acted when He saw them. 

I don’t see Jesus dressing up like the secular pop culture and offering “Christian” substitutes for their lifestyle just to get ‘in’ so he could speak truth. No way!  It’s ridiculous!  Yet, that’s what many of us try to do, in order to appeal to the non-believers we are trying to save. 

Obviously we live in this world and in this culture, but we ARE NOT supposed to become the culture.   Paul warns us of this in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

I know what you are thinking, “True, but don’t forget what else Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9: 20-23 – ‘To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.’”

That is true, but if you look closely Paul is not compromising his beliefs—he is not conforming.   He is not going to encourage behavior that does not glorify God.

This is the difference:  Paul is talking about a matter of debate-- not conforming to culture.  You can see that as he writes different to the Romans than to the church in Corinth yet the Truth is still the same.

All things prove of God’s existence whether that is proven through Jewish, those under and those not under the Law, or the weak’s theology the Truth remains the same.

When you talk to a scientist do you not talk about science?  Therefore to the scientists you become like a scientist.  That doesn't mean you wear a lab coat and work with chemicals and such, it just means you start off on a common ground so you have something relatable.  The same is true with Paul in 1 Corinthians 9.

So, in light of these truths, let us heed Paul’s warning to not conform to the world.  Let us test everything and discern whether what we do compromises our beliefs or shines brightly.  How do we do that?  By “…be[ing] transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)  How do we renew our minds?  By studying Biblical Truth and acting upon it.