Biblical Culture Brings Freedom

Culture is in every community and is revered as sacred by most people. When you live immersed in your own culture, you might see the world as a decent place for decent people. You may not really see a problem with your behavior, traditions or hobbies. As a believer, you are challenged to evaluate your thinking, cultural values and behaviors. This is a difficult process because it can undermine ideas that you've accepted your whole life. How do you know what parts of your culture to keep and which to jettison? There is only one place where you can find those types of foundational truth: The Bible.

One significant difficulty in mission work is making disciples and teaching them to obey Jesus. This is difficult because the people who you are trying to reach and teach already have an established culture of commandments that they follow. Also, most humans are born stubborn, which makes the process of change a bit more trickly. Another consideration is that usually people don't feel any urgency to discard cultural beliefs and replace them with Biblical beliefs.  It can be a slow process of living through many situations together with the disciples before they realize how God's truth applies to their situation. Often believers default to cultural practices when they should be adjusting to God's way of thinking and acting. 

"I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments." Psalm 119:45. The commandments of God replace the bondage of worldly culture with freedom. Implementing God's Biblical culture brings financial freedom, freedom from drama, freedom from oppression, and freedom to enjoy a godly lifestyle. 

How does God know what the right culture is for believers? How does He know what is the best thought and action for each situation? "You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands." Psalm 119:73.

Jesus said, "the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free." Luke 4:18. 

Events, outreach, programs, camps, and special nights all have their place in reaching the lost and bringing believers closer to Christ. Yet, none of these seem to have the power to change the believer's mindset and personal culture. Jesus has chosen to use discipleship to bring Biblical culture into the hearts, heads, and lives of His people.

Discipleship requires many hours of prayer for the Holy Spirit's power to change mindsets and cultural ideas through the study of the Word of God. The difficult trail of missions lies through the fields that are ripe for the harvest, yet that journey is one of incredible difficulty, discouragement, and joy. Our objective is to bring freedom of thinking and freedom in behavior through training in the Word of God and its application to each individual's life.

We are not alone in this mission. We have the Body of Christ surrounding us with prayer and encouragement. We have the Spirit of Christ and His authority continually with us. Even the the task is daunting, we minister in hopeful expectation of what He will do in His people who "hear His voice" and have hearts to apply His words. 

"Jesus came and told his disciples, 'I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'” Matthew 28:18-20.