Is the Bible, or Your Perception of the Bible, Shaping You?

We have to guard against being bent by cultural winds.

If someone asked what you were doing as you surfed the web, you probably wouldn't say, "Oh, I'm being discipled." You probably wouldn't say you were "receiving moral instruction" while you watched last week's primetime lineup. And it's highly unlikely you'd say you were heading to a political rally to learn how to navigate the moral questions facing humanity.

Yet, for many of us, that's exactly what happens each time we ingest pop culture, media, and the latest celebrity goings-on.

It seems as though plenty of Americans receive their moral compass not from a set of established beliefs or philosophy, or even majority rule. It seems as though the average American's moral compass is tied to the cultural winds—as if pop culture, politics, or celebrities were the ultimate moral arbiter.

Unfortunately, Christians aren't immune to this phenomenon. In churches throughout the country, you'll find average believers, church leaders, and pastors whose morals and values are formed by the external culture rather than their Bible. Christians have too often become a people whose discipleship depends more on the political Right than on righteousness, more on the gospel of social causes than on social causes driven by the gospel, and more on People than Proverbs.

If you're an average American Christian, you know how easy it is to let your values be formed by culture rather than your faith. So how does a believer escape that trap—and how can you avoid it in the future? Read more