Poverty. Racism. Sexual slavery. Gay marriage. Immigration. Abortion. Porn.
The subtitle is even longer. Needless to say, David Platt covers a lot in his new book, Counterculture: a compassionate appeal in a world of poverty, same-sex marriage, racism, sex slavery, immigration, abortion, persecution, orphans and pornography (Tyndale). To call these questions “relevant” is a rather laughable understatement. American Christians live, work, and minister in the midst of a massive moral revolution. And while some issues that touch God’s revealed heart resonate with current cultural sensitivities, others certainly do not. So what should we do? How should we react? What does it look like to live, work, and serve today with conviction and kindness, wisdom and courage, truth and love?
I corresponded with Platt, newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention. International Mission Boardabout what makes this a unique moment in America, why the number one issue in any culture is never abortion or homosexuality, and much more.
Your new book is a challenge to Christians to live “against the grain.” Is this message more urgent today than it has ever been in America? For what?
The gospel message has always been countercultural, and the need for the gospel has always been urgent in every culture. At the same time, considering the pace at which the moral landscape around us is currently changing in America and the increase in opposition to the gospel that accompanies it, I believe we are living in unique times. Therefore, it is imperative for Christians today to know what we believe on various cultural issues (according to the Gospel and the authority of God’s Word) and to have the courage to live according to those beliefs . Culture is constantly evolving and will continue to change. But the beauty and resilience of the gospel is seen in the way believers have consistently responded to cultural changes over thousands of years. We must do the same thing today.
If, as you claim, the main problem of any culture is not poverty, nor sex trafficking, nor racism, nor abortion, nor homosexuality, then what is it – and why? ?
The main problem is God – and the Gospel. The most offensive claim in Christianity is that God is the Creator, Owner, and Judge of every person on the planet. Each of us stands before Him guilty of sin, and the only way to be reconciled to Him is through faith in Jesus, the crucified Savior and resurrected King. All who trust in His love will experience eternal life, while all who turn away from His lordship will experience eternal death.
Everything changes in a world of sexual slavery and sexual immorality, of child abandonment and child murder, of racism and persecution, of the needs of the poor and the abandonment of the widow, when we set our look at holiness, love, goodness, truth. , the justice, authority and mercy of God revealed in the Gospel. When we focus on God as the primary issue, what we often think of as distinct social issues become intertwined with our understanding of who He is and what He has done, is doing, and calls us to do in the world.
Scripture is clear: the gospel of Christ is offensive and the way of Christ is opposed. At the same time, Church leaders must “have a good reputation among strangers” (1 Tim. 3:7), and we must all seek to “make the teaching of God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2: 10). . How should we think and live in this biblical tension?
The gospel message will always be offensive. This should not (must not) prevent us from believing it with conviction and professing it with courage. But such conviction and courage must be linked to a depth of character and breadth of compassion that adorns the gospel in the culture around us. We must shun any form of selective moral indignation, pointing out the dark spots in others’ eyes while ignoring the planks in our own (Matt. 7). Additionally, Matthew 9 tells us that “when (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). One of my hopes in Counter-culture is that God would give us the grace to see our culture as He sees it, and then to love the people of our culture as He loves them. In a world where social needs are enormous, from desperate poverty and orphan crises to the sex trafficking of millions of girls, the breakdown of marriage and the abortion of babies, we must talk about all these issues with biblical clarity while acting selflessly. I love every step of the way.
You write: “While I am encouraged by the zeal expressed by so many Christians for some social issues, I am concerned about the lack of zeal of these same Christians (especially, but not exclusively, young evangelicals) for others . It’s as if we decided to choose which social issues we would challenge and which we would embrace.” What is the solution ?
I close each chapter in Counter-culture with a call to pray, proclaim and participate. Above all, I believe that all these social questions must inform our prayers and our supplications before God. Furthermore, I am convinced that we must all be equipped to proclaim the connection between the gospel and each of these issues. As followers of Christ in our culture, we will all find ourselves in conversations about homosexuality, abortion, orphans, poverty, racism, or religious freedom, and I hope that Counter-culture will help Christians speak the gospel with clarity and compassion in these conversations. Beyond that, I believe God will cause many people to act in different ways on these issues. It is certain that no one will act on each of them to the same extent. No one can fight sex trafficking while fostering and adopting children, starting a ministry to widows and counseling single mothers while traveling the world in support of the persecuted Church. – And so on. Neither should any of us do all of these things, because God sovereignly places us in unique positions and places with unique privileges and opportunities to influence the culture around us. The question I ask repeatedly in Counter-culture is: “What does God direct You do?” We are not to simply contemplate God’s Word in the world around us; we are to do what He says (James 1:22-25).
You argue that “the same heart of God that compels us to fight sex trafficking also compels us to fight sexual immorality, (and) the same gospel that compels us to fight poverty also compels us to defend marriage” . This sounds great, but how can a single message be the common denominator for such a wide range of issues?
All of these questions bring us back to the central problem of sin and evil in the world. Such evil is not limited to certain types of sin or certain groups of sinners. Evil is unfortunately inherent in each of us and therefore is an inevitable part of any culture we create. And the only cure for sin and evil in the world is the cross of Christ. Therefore, the gospel provides the foundation for addressing all sin issues in our personal lives, as well as all sin issues in the culture around us. The Gospel is the lifeblood of Christianity and it alone has the power to address the most pressing social problems of our time.