Understanding our local culture

All of our churches, for better or for worse, are influenced by our culture. Yet when I read my Bible I find that the biggest cultural pull on the church is the local influence. Corinth was famously multicultural and permissive of sexual sin, both of which became problems for the church that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians. Philippi was a Roman colony whose residents wanted to be good Roman citizens – a recurring theme in Paul’s letter to them (1:13, 3:20, 4:22). One of the seven churches in...