Disturbing the Culture

There never was a dull day for the first-century followers of Jesus. In fact, it seems that wherever Paul went, there was either a conversion or a riot.

The early church didn’t have modern technology at their disposal. Yet in a relatively short time, these believers changed their world. They permeated their culture.

Tertullian, a Christian leader and a contemporary of these early followers of Christ, said of the church, “We are but of yesterday, and we have filled every place among you—cities, islands, fortresses, towns, marketplaces, the very camp, tribes, companies, palace, senate, forum—we have left nothing to you but the temples of your gods.”

He was pointing to the fact that the church had infiltrated everything. There were even Christians in the palace of Caesar. This is what we need today. We need Christians to go out and make a difference. We need Christians involved in the arts, making great films and creating graphic design. We need Christians in places of authority, because the Bible says that when the righteous rule, the people rejoice (see Proverbs 29:2).

We need Christian doctors, lawyers, and businesspeople. We need believers to let their light shine in this culture today.

Religious leaders in Thessalonica had this to say about Paul and Silas: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6 NKJV).

G. Campbell Morgan said, “Organized Christianity which fails to make a disturbance is dead.”

Believers in the first century made a disturbance because they understood that God had called them to do their part. They took risks. They left their comfort zones. In the Book of Acts, we see their fearless preaching, their expectant prayer, and their willingness to obey God.

Twenty-first-century believers should be living like these first-century believers, impacting our culture. We should be making a difference. We should be turning our world upside down.