THE GOSPEL AND CULTURE PROJECT
James E. Brown Jr.
RLGN 210: Introduction to Cultural Engagement
January 26, 2025
Contents
ii
Introduction..............................................................................................................................
......1
The Gospel and Culture Project: Part 1: Church Assignment.................................................1
The Gospel and Culture Project: Part 2: Gospel Implications.................................................2
The Gospel and Culture Project: Part 3: The Personal and Communal Gospel.....................2
The Gospel and Culture Project: Part 4: Contextualization.....................................................2
The Gospel and Culture Project: Part 5: Engagement Motivation..........................................3
The Gospel and Culture Project: Part 6: Model Critique.........................................................3
The Gospel and Culture Project: Part 7: Model Selection........................................................3
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................
..... 4
Bibliography..............................................................................................................................
.....5
iii
1
Gospel Implications
Implying that the gospel might not be true is profoundly unsettling, yet it is a reality we
confront daily. A world that seeks self-indulgence, religion, or rituals to fill its spiritual void
illustrates the state of our society. The truth of the gospel compels Christians to actively pursue
love, compassion, justice, repentance, and forgiveness. Anything less is merely a product of
human invention, driven by self-interest. Belief or disbelief does not alter the undeniable
reality of what John recorded in his gospel account., “For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John
3:17 English Standard Version).
“The gospel is good news—it is not something we do but something that has been done
for us1.” This is a powerful truth that is both profound and straightforward. Too many people
exhaust themselves chasing status, amassing wealth, or gathering possessions, ignoring the
fundamental gift that God has bestowed upon everyone—men, women, and children alike.
Witnessing someone embrace the saving grace of salvation is the most rewarding experience
there is.
“In his article “The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1–19),” D. A. Carson surveys the
ethical directives of 1 Corinthians and draws this conclusion: [This] book … repeatedly shows
how the gospel rightly works out in the massive transformation of attitudes, morals,
relationships, and cultural interactions …
Just as Paul found it necessary to hammer away at the outworking of the gospel in every
domain of the lives of the Corinthians, so we must do the same today …
It does not take much to think through how the gospel must also transform the business
2practices and priorities of Christians in commerce, the priorities of young men steeped in
indecisive but relentless narcissism, the lonely anguish, and often the guilty pleasures of
1 Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2012), 32.
2
single folk who pursue pleasure but who cannot find happiness, the tired despair of those
living on the margins, and much more. And this must be done, not by attempting to abstract
social principles from the gospel, still less by endless focus on the periphery in a vein effort
to sound prophetic, but precisely by preaching and teaching and living out in our churches
the glorious gospel of our blessed Redeemer.13
The gospel is everything; it is not just a set of rules or moral behaviors to live by; it “is
not just the ABCs but the A to Z of the Christian life.”4 We are committed to living the life that
Jesus modeled for us, and through our actions, we will teach others to do the same. This
mission will transform all aspects of our culture. The pressing challenge we face is in a world
that has devalued life. The news is saturated with tragic stories of mass shootings and
destruction, which starkly reveal the state of our society. The world urgently needs Jesus. Sin
may be alluring, but just as it ensnared Adam and Eve, we must recognize its dangers and resist
its temptations.
Bibliography
Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2012), 32.
1 D. A. Carson, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1–19),” The Spurgeon Fellowship Journal
(Spring 2008): 10–11, www.thespurgeonfellowship.org/Downloads/feature_Sp08.pdf (accessed January 5, 2012);
see also Carson’s chapter “What Is the Gospel?—Revisited,” in For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays in Honor of
2 D. A. Carson, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1–19),” The Spurgeon Fellowship Journal
(Spring 2008): 10–11, www.thespurgeonfellowship.org/Downloads/feature_Sp08.pdf (accessed January 5, 2012);
see also Carson’s chapter “What Is the Gospel?—Revisited,” in For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays in Honor of
John Piper, ed. Sam Storms and Justin Taylor (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2010), 164–66, where he writes that “the
gospel is not just for unbelievers but also for believers” and makes the biblical case.
3 Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2012), 46.
4 Ibid. 48.
3
John Piper, ed. Sam Storms and Justin Taylor (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2010), 164–66, where he writes that “the
gospel is not just for unbelievers but also for believers” and makes the biblical case.
Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2012), 46.
Ibid. 48.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
