A Culture That Denies God
Last week, I wrote about practical atheism and how Christians, myself included, live in moments of everyday life as if God does not exist. As long as sin exists inside of us, it is true of every believer, no matter how long we have walked with the Lord.
Maybe it’s a moment when we give way to lust or make ourselves the center of attention, boasting to others and taking credit for what only God could produce. Perhaps you functionally worship a created thing more than you do the Creator. It could look like buying something we don’t need, and because we have, we then have little to nothing left to contribute generously to God’s kingdom work.
Maybe it’s a moment of road rage in traffic, where you believe you are the most significant person in the universe and all other created beings should make way for your triumphant entry. Perhaps it’s interacting with a fellow human being, made in the image of God, and you act as if you are their god and they are your subservient slave, and you are ungodly in your communication and treatment of them.
Perhaps it’s being selfishly demanding with your spouse instead of sacrificially serving them. Maybe it’s permitting angry outbursts against the children you were called to patiently and faithfully nurture.
If you’re still living under your parents’ authority in the home, it may be a moment when you decide that the acceptance of your peers is more important than honoring your mother and father through obedience, as they protect you with the law from the Word of God.
We must remain humbly aware of our tendency to drift into practical atheism because it shapes everything we think, say, and do. Especially as we live in a culture that drifts further away from belief in the existence of God, it becomes easier to point the finger at those without faith who publicly declare their lack of belief and think that we, with faith, are spiritually safe.
In fact, we are in daily danger. And the enemy would love to lure us into believing that we are okay.
That said, we need to be increasingly aware that those of us who do believe in God’s existence are generally no longer in positions of cultural influence. At least in the 21st Century West, we now live on the fringes.
Our culture now not only argues against the existence of God, but they disrespect and mock those who believe it.
We should not live in discouragement, fear, or defeat because God’s holy plan still marches on. Nor should we separate ourselves into a monastic echo chamber. Jesus calls us to be “the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). We are to be “in” the world but not be “of” the world.
But we should be aware of the distorted story of reality that is told to us repeatedly by people of the world who have closed their minds to the primary fact of human existence—the existence of God.
I want to conclude with a specific application to parents, grandparents, or those who have any influence over a child’s life. The young people in our homes and churches are now being influenced by a culture that thinks we have evolved beyond any need to hold on to the unprovable tenets of ancient religion.
The next generation of Christ-followers is being entertained, educated, and informed by a culture that has little to no time for the existence of God. That means you have a heightened position of responsibility for interacting with and filtering what your children are exposed to.
Every generation from the beginning of time has denied the existence of God (see Genesis 6:5, Psalm 14). However, perhaps more than ever before, due to the constant messaging and media on our digital devices, guarding your kids from voices of influence is crucial.
To help equip you for that responsibility, I recorded a three-part teaching series appropriately titled Voices of Influence. The videos and study guide are available entirely for free at PaulTripp.com/Voices.
What could be more important in your life than being one of God’s tools to influence a human soul by telling them that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him?
A Prayer for Today: God, I admit that I, at times, am more influenced by the world and culture around me than by what you have to say to me in your Word. I have a tendency to drift into practical atheism and live on the fringes of society in silence about my faith in you. I know you call me to live in the world but not of the world, so please help me to be a person who acts as a “city on a hill” and represents you well as I influence the family and friends around me. I need you to help me represent you. Would you give me the strength to do so in a society that no longer believes in you? In Jesus’ name, amen.
Discussion Prompt for Children
1. What do you think most people in the world think about God and his existence? Would you say that it’s easy to talk about God with your friends or is it difficult?
2. In what ways do you think you could represent God and his love to the people you interact with all the time each week? What scares you about that? What gets you excited about that?
3. Who would you say has the bigger influence—your friends on you or you on your friends? How can I be praying for you when it comes to your relationships with your friends?
Reflection Questions
1. What areas would you say you live in discouragement or fear about the state of secular culture right now? What are the specific areas you’d say you’re afraid of? Why do you think you’re afraid of those areas?
2. What do you think it would practically look like for you to be a person who lives in the world but not of the world? How might living as a city on a hill play out day-to-day for you?
3. What are the specific voices of influence in your life and are those voices ones that honor Jesus and a biblical way of living? If there are certain voices of influence in your life that don’t honor God, what might be the best course of action to take so that those voices no longer control you and your decision making?
4. Who are the young people in your life who you can be intentional with as you think about influencing the upcoming generation for Christ? What might you specifically say or do to influence them? Who can you be praying for in the next generation?