The Gospel Alphabet: "C" for "Contextualization"

“C”—Contextualization.

Paul was determined to become all things to all people for the sake of the Gospel (1 Cor 9:19-23). He knew that the Gospel will take on different forms in different cultural settings. Yet when we communicate the Gospel to others, we may be guilty of confusing it with our own cultural trappings. For example, some missionaries have been guilty of imposing their Western cultural forms on those to whom they carried the Gospel. This reflects a lack of discernment about which aspects of our own Christianity are truly Gospel-driven and transcultural, and which are culturally driven and therefore variable.

To help us avoid such an error, its crucial that we continually study the heart of the Gospel so that may discern and distinguish the treasure we bear from the jars of clay in which we bear it (2 Cor 4:7).