Counter CultureSample

Culture

Our culture is increasingly secular and humanistic, denying the very existence of God. One way to counter culture, as surprising as it may seem at first, is to build on common ground and points of agreement. Paul did this in Acts 17:23 when he used the cultural belief in an unknown god to share what he knew about a relationship with the one true God.

People who don’t believe in God generally have a distorted perspective or misunderstanding of who God is. For example, they might say they don’t believe in an angry old man in the sky waiting to smite everyone who does something wrong. You can agree that this idea isn’t true about God as revealed in the Bible. Allowing them to express what they don’t believe will often reveal a point of agreement between you. After they’ve shared what they believe or don’t believe about God, they’re often more likely to return the favor, allowing you to share what you believe about Him.

You may be surprised to find that people are open to hear what you believe if you start by allowing them to share what they don’t believe and by affirming the views you share in common. Many people expect Christians to be combative and defensive. To be fair, many of us have earned that reputation. My prayer is that this study will help you engage people in a way that creates openness to the truth of God.