World Influences vs Same-Mindedness

The first man, Adam, freely and consciously chose to disobey God. In doing so, his nature was transformed from sinless to sinful, with his ability to reason, act, and believe greatly impaired (Gen. 3; 5:1-6:5; cf. Rom. 5:12-21; 1:18-3:20). Today all people, believers included, struggle with the impairments passed on through Adam (Gen. 5-6; Eph. 4:17-18). They are reflected in the way we think about life's issues, be it culture, philosophy, morals, roles, education, etc.

Believers are not without hope, however, for salvation in Christ brings not only right standing with God, but an increasing ability to properly interpret the world around us and life's important questions (1 Cor. 8; Eph. 1:17-18; Phil. 1:9; Heb. 5:14). Still, discernment develops with practice, which happens over time (Heb. 5:14). Along the way we can be mislead by worldly influences as revealed throughout Scripture. Consider how this is intimated in the following passages:

"But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."
--Hebrews 5:14

"...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
--Romans 12:2

"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." --Colossians 2:8

Our culture impacts us more than we might imagine. Thinking that we have examined and ridded ourselves of such influences, we later find that other strongholds still exist. We can inadvertently carry these influences to church, where discussion on particular issues makes them surface.

Here is a partial list of influences on the church that we have seen in recent decades:

1. Influence: THE "GAY RIGHTS" AGENDA
   Effect: Homosexuals in ordained ministry.
2. Influence: HOLLYWOOD'S MODELING
   Effect: Increased divorce rate; dysfunctionality in the home; immodest dress and "excuse my French" language.
3. Influence: POP MUSIC
   Effect: Sensuous and often effeminate singing style in contemporary Christian music. High noise-to-music ratio.
4. Influence: THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT
   Effect: Little more than lip service given to the husband-wife dynamic that is meant to mirror the relationship between Christ and His church; women in positions of authority over men in the church, and rivaling their authority in the home.
5. Influence: SECULAR PSYCHOLOGY
   Effect: An admixture of Scripture and world psychology into what is falsely called "Christian" counseling. G.K. Chesterton noted, "Psychoanalysis is confession without absolution."
6. Influence: ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
   Effect: A watered-down gospel in which the offense of the cross has been removed; often presented in a way that is designed to maximize appeal and (when involving youth) be entertaining.
7. Influence: BUSINESS
   Effect: Committees galore; elders that work at managing a church, but not pastoring it.
8. Influence: DEMOCRACY
   Effect: Issues decided upon by taking a vote rather than building consensus.
9. Influence: PRAGMATISM
   Effect: Issues handled through human wisdom, rather than careful study and application of God's word.

Influences such as the above pose tremendous challenges to same-mindedness. Between the sin nature, false teachers, and cultural influences, Christians must remain vigilant on three fronts.