For me, culture is a hard word to define fully and with clarity. Yet, I think we all understand what it is. A simplistic way to define culture is just the way of life for a group of people. Culture shapes how we do things. It shapes how we think. It shapes how we live. It’s the backdrop of our lives that makes us comfortable. My wife, Melanie, and I were both born and raised right here in Rankin County. We share the same home culture as most all of you. However, a few years after we married, we moved and then lived overseas for 12 years. Through that season of our lives, we had to learn other cultures and adapt in order to settle in and experience a certain level of comfort. From the very first day in the new culture, it was clear we weren’t in Rankin County anymore. Culture shock is a real thing and it led to some extremely difficult days. Adjusting to a new way of life was frustrating and hard. However, we mostly grew to really appreciate and love the other cultures we experienced. In fact, we learned to adapt our own ways of doing things and even began to enjoy certain aspects of the foreign cultures more than our home culture.
But, here in Rankin County, one part of our home culture for which I am grateful is the Christian heritage that we have. This is evident through the abundance of church buildings in our towns, including right here in Pelahatchie. This is a result of the legacy of faith that has been passed down through generations. Personally, I came to faith in Jesus when I was 7 years old right here in Rankin County. For most of my childhood, I literally lived next door to a church building. However, there are billions of people around the world that don’t have this same access to the truth of the Gospel. It is only God’s undeserved grace that allowed me (and you) to live in part of the world where the Gospel is preached and readily accessible. Without question, this is a tremendous blessing! However, I also believe that there is an incredibly dangerous aspect to this part of our culture. While it is a blessing to have a Christian heritage as a major part of our culture, if we’re not careful, we can equate culture and heritage with salvation and being right with God.
Are we saved and made right with God because of our culture? Do we go to Heaven when we die because our moms and dads believed? Is our eternity in Heaven secure because we are members of a church? Does God forgive our sin because we have good southern manners or say the blessing/grace before we eat or know to take our hats off when someone is praying? The answer to all of those questions is an emphatic no! Yet, my fear is that many of us are depending on those kinds of things to be enough. The scariest verse in all the Bible is found in Matthew 7:21 where Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.” Jesus is giving us a clear warning that some believe themselves to be saved only to find out that they have been deceived or confused as to what God requires. You see, the Bible is clear that there is actually nothing we can ‘do’ to earn favor with God (Eph. 2:8-9). We cannot depend on our culture or even our church membership to save us from the punishment we deserve because of our sin against the Most High and Holy God. He actually did it all by sending His Son Jesus to do for us what we could not and cannot do for ourselves. And our only right response (the will of God the Father) is repentance (turning) from sin and faith in Jesus alone to save us (Acts 20:21). Nothing less and nothing more. Don’t be deceived to think that your Christian heritage or Christian culture is the way or even part of the way. There is only one Way. And His name is Jesus.
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