3 Things Christianity Offers the World

Article by Timothy KellerPastor, author, and theologian Timothy Keller feeds the minds and nurtures the faith of many. Because of this, I wanted to share his article with you. Here is the second part. You can see the full article and sign up to read more at…Talking about the early church, and today, Keller writes:• “First, Christians were called into a unique “social project” that both offended and attracted people. Christians forbade both abortion and the practice of “infant exposure,” in which unwanted infants were simply thrown out. Christians were a sexual counter-culture in that they abstained from any sex outside of heterosexual marriage. This was in the midst of a culture that thought that, especially for married men, sex with prostitutes, slaves, and children was perfectly fine.• Also, Christians were unusually generous with their money, particularly to the poor and needy, and not just to their own family and racial group.• Another striking difference was that Christian communities were multi-ethnic, since their common identity in Christ was more fundamental than their racial identities, and therefore created a multi-ethnic diversity which was unprecedented for a religion.• Finally, Christians believed in non-retaliation, forgiving their enemies, even those who were killing them.Second, Christianity offered a direct, personal, love relationship with the Creator God. People around the Christians wanted favor from the gods, and eastern religions spoke about experiences of enlightenment, but an actual love relationship with God was something that no one else was offering.Third, Christianity offered assurance of eternal life. Every other religion offered some version of salvation-through-human effort, and therefore no one could be sure of eternal life until death. But the gospel gives us the basis for a full assurance of salvation now because it is by grace not works and by Christ’s work not ours.

I hope that by now you can see the relevance of these studies. The earliest church was seen as too exclusive and a threat to the social order because it will not honor all identities. Yet the early church thrived in that situation. Why?

One reason was that Christians were ridiculed as too exclusive and different. And yet many were drawn to Christianity because it was different. If a religion is not different from the surrounding culture, if it does not critique and offer an alternative to it, it dies because it is seen as unnecessary.

If Christians today were also famous for and marked by sexual chastity, generosity and justice, multi-ethnicity, and peace-making — would it not be compelling to many? Ironically, Christians were “out of step” with the culture on sex to begin with, and it was not the church but the culture that eventually changed.Another reason Christianity thrived was because it offered things that no other culture or religion even claimed to have — a love relationship with God and salvation by free grace. It is the same today. No other religion offers these things, nor does secularism. Nor can the “spiritual but not religious” option really capture them either. These are still unique “value offers” and can be lifted up to a spiritually hungry and thirsty population.

The early church surely looked like it was on the “wrong side of history,” but instead it changed history with a dogged adherence to the biblical gospel. That should be our aspiration as well.”________________________________________________

I hope Tim Keller’s article has given you much food for thought. As Christians, let’s be marked by the way we live and act—with moral and social integrity, generosity, justice, acceptance of different cultures, and being peacemakers.Wishing you joy, peace, and a Merry Christmas!

   Images by GraphicStock