James R. Wood, associate editor at “First Things,” admires
Pastor Emeritus Tim Keller, who had promoted a non-combative and non-adversarial
view of influencing the culture and evangelism. However, Wood now recognizes
the costs of Keller’s approach:
·
During the 2016 election cycle, I still
approached politics through [Keller’s] winsome model, and I realized that it
was hardening me toward fellow believers. I was too concerned with how one’s
vote might harm the “public witness” of the church, and I looked down upon
those who voted differently than me—usually in a rightward direction. “Public
witness” most often translates into appeasing those to one’s left, and
distancing oneself from the deplorables. I didn’t like what this was doing to
my heart and felt that it was clouding my political judgment. (“First Things;”
5/6/22)
My wife and I had attended Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian
Church in Manhattan for two years, where we had observed some of the things
that Wood has noted. Evangelicals were no more correct or “enlightened” than
the seculars. We were left with the impression that the vitriol that was being
vented against the Church was justified. Therefore, if we could simply be nice
enough, unlike those judgmental evangelicals, the world would naturally be
drawn to Christ.
Keller did draw many to Christ, but I always wondered, “to
which Christ?” I now see that many potentially offensive Biblical teachings had
been left out of his preaching, for instance:
·
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For
what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has
light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a
believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For we are the temple of the living God. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)
There had been no concern about being unequally yoked.
Instead, believers were being sent out to join with unbelievers in their
various community and artistic projects. Consequently, they would become one
with the world. Instead of serving as the light to the world (John 3:19-20),
they would partake of its darkness and disdain for evangelicals.
Wood writes that there is a danger that when we hold hands
with the world, we will also grasp hold of its worldview:
·
And I started to recognize another danger to
this approach: If we assume that winsomeness will gain a favorable hearing,
when Christians consistently receive heated pushback, we will be tempted to
think our convictions are the problem. If winsomeness is met with hostility, it
is easy to wonder, “Are we in the wrong?” Thus the slide toward secular
culture’s reasoning is greased. A “secular-friendly” politics has problems
similar to “seeker-friendly” worship. An excessive concern to appeal to the
unchurched is plagued by the accommodationist temptation.
Accommodation has become the rule for many of the Redeemer
church plants, which have adopted LGBTQ and CRT to seek acceptance in the
growingly hostile secular culture.
Wood also warns against Keller’s equal time strategy:
·
By always giving equal airtime to the flaws in
every option, the third way posture can also give the impression that the
options are equally bad, failing to sufficiently recognize ethical asymmetry.
“Are we in the wrong?” The younger generation seems to
answer in the affirmative and wants to remake the Church into a congenial
partner. Consequently, they are no longer heeding Biblical warnings:
·
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on
from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12-13)
Instead, persecution suggests that we might be doing
something right.
2 comments:
Thank you for your faithfulness.
Thanks you, but I must thank God for it!
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