Guests of the world
- J. Tayler Smith
- Mar 5, 2023
- 15 min read
How should Christians conduct themselves in an unchristian society? by J. Tayler Smith
PDF Version
Jordy’s Personal Introduction
My name is Jordy, and I drove here from Calgary to teach today. A bit about myself - I was raised in a Christian home and have been a Christian all my life. I attended a Christian Bible college and received a Bachelor’s degree in ministry in 2015. I have a regular job now as an analyst, and also volunteer in my church’s children’s ministry twice a month and occasionally do teachings such as this here.
The Papal Diplomat, Guest of the Mongol Empire
I’ll tell you a true short story from history before we begin. Nearly a thousand years ago, a group of people known as the Mongols conquered most of Asia and the eastern part of Europe under the leadership of Ghengis Khan and his descendants. The speed and size of their conquest were unmatched at the time. Since then, the only empire to ever grow larger in terms of its landmass was the British Empire, only 200 years ago. At its height, the Mongol Empire controlled the area that now includes Mongolia, China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, and every country between these (see map.). Rumours of their power spread across the world and into Europe, who feared that this Golden Horde was coming for them next. And in the eastern parts of Europe, the Mongols did come and pillaged and plundered as they went.
Now, during this time, Europe was divided up into a multitude of kingdoms; however, it was largely unified under the shared Christian faith. Making the pope, the leader of almost all Christians at the time, perhaps the most important person on the continent. Seeing the destruction that the Mongols were bringing, the pope sent a Christian diplomat to meet one of the Mongol leaders with the hope of convincing him to submit to the authority of God and Jesus.
According to professor of anthropology Jack Weatherford, the Mongols received the diplomat and his letter from the pope in the mistaken belief that he was announcing the surrender of the pope and all the people of western Europe. The letter included:
A summary of Jesus’ life.
A description of the main Christian beliefs.
A rebuke for invading Europe.
An order to stop persecuting Christians.
An explanation of how God delegated all earthly power to the pope in Rome, who was the only person authorised by God to speak for Him.
Realising that the diplomat was not carrying any terms of surrender, the Mongol ruler responded by asking, “How do you know whom God absolves and to whom He shows mercy? How do you know that God sanctions the words you speak?” He then pointed out that God had given the Mongols, not the pope, control of the world from the rising sun to the setting sun, and that God intended for the Mongols to spread his commandments and his laws through their Great Law. The Mongol leader then advised that the pope ought to come to their capital city and pay homage to the Mongol ruler.
This diplomat was out of his element. He approached the Mongol ruler as one approaches a servant, not understanding that he was merely a guest in the Mongol’s home. Weatherford attributes this diplomatic failure to the end of Christianity among the Mongols. Surprisingly, many of the Mongols themselves had been Christians up to this point, but Christianity was abandoned in Mongol lands in favour of Islam and Buddhism within a couple of generations after this event.
This teaching focuses on how Christians conduct themselves in the world – how the Bible instructs Christians to act and behave around others in everyday life. The Bible does provide direction on this issue. Now, I’m not going to focus on what the Bible says about how Christians should act toward each other. Instead, we are focusing on how Christians ought to conduct themselves at work, school, sports, community events, online and on social media. In sum, we are focusing on what the Bible says about Christian behaviour around unchristian people. This topic is significant to talk about since Christians need to go out into the world and live among those who are not Christian. In fact, according to the most recent census, only slightly less than half of those living in our province of Alberta identify themselves as Christian. You are very likely to find yourself among people who do not share your faith, at work, at school, when you shop, doing extracurriculars, etc. It is necessary to know what the Bible says about these daily encounters.
There is a spectrum of positions on how Christians should behave among unchristian people. One extreme was that Christians were not to live among unchristian people and that we should live in isolation from anything not Christian. Another extreme is for Christians to give up their faith and become unchristian. Others called for Christians to exterminate the world around them by killing non-Christians or by forcing Christian culture on non-Christian people. However, in the Bible, we find that Christians are to behave among the world in a way where our conduct is perceived as honourable, as God’s servants.
Peter, Guest of the Roman Empire
In Nearly two-thousand years ago, where modern Israel and Palestine are today, there was a fisherman named Simon who began following the teachings of Jesus Christ. Simon (artist representation on the right) joined Jesus’ group of students, and over three years he witnessed Jesus perform miracles, multiply bread, heal those who were sick, and even raise the dead. During this time, Simon also became a leader and spokesperson among Jesus' twelve students. At one point, Jesus informed Simon that he would be known as Peter, which means rock, and that he would be pivotal in laying the foundation of Jesus’ greater purpose on earth: to bring people back into a personal relationship with God himself. Soon enough, the religious leaders became angry, fearful, and jealous of the crowds Jesus drew to his teaching sessions. Peter witnessed them arrest Jesus in the night and have him executed on a cross early in the morning. However, after three days, God raised Jesus from the dead, and Peter personally met with him several times. Peter, along with the other students, was then commissioned by Jesus to spread his teachings across the land and to tell everyone what God had accomplished. Their main message was to tell all that those who believed Jesus rose from the dead and accepted him as their teacher and ruler would be free from sin and wrong-doing so they could have a personal relationship with God.
After Jesus ascended into heaven, his students, now known as apostles (or sent ones), began to teach others about Jesus and what he did. Peter continued as the main leader of the early Christians. Over time, the original apostles spread far across the globe. However, Peter remained in the Middle East, where he first led a church in Christianity’s founding city of Jerusalem. He later moved north to Antioch in modern-day Turkey and led a church there. During these early days of Christianity strong adherents of other faiths oppressed and discriminated against Christians. Soon, the Roman government that controlled the region followed suit and systematically hunted and killed Christians. The Roman Emperor Domitian spearheaded much of this persecution because he claimed to be a god and had anyone executed who said otherwise. In this context, Peter traditionally wrote and then circulated an important letter to Christians who were scattered across the region. Today, we call this letter 1 Peter.
Peter begins the letter by reminding his readers that they have hope in God and that their faith, while tested during this persecution, glorifies God and results in being reconciled to Him. Peter then encourages his readers to focus on Christ and not return to their old ways of wrong-doing, lying, cheating, harming others, and continuing in knowing that idols are not gods. He also encourages them to continue building good relationships with each other because they are of the same faith, and they are all ‘in this together.’ Then, Peter talks about those who are not Christians and how they ‘stumble’ over the idea of Jesus, his resurrection, and the Christian faith. It is here that Peter then describes how his readers are to conduct themselves in the world despite their oppression. Peter says,
[11] Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. [12] Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
[13] Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, [14] or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. [15] For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. [16] Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. [17] Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
The encouragement Peter gives these Christians, despite their oppression, is to conduct themselves honourably by being subject to human institutions, freely doing good, and honouring everyone. His main point here is that you are not your own person; you are a servant and representative of God in everything you do. As one who represents God in a land in which you are a guest, you are to not provide the world with any justifiable reason to think wrongly of you. Yes, you will be persecuted, but it should only be because you believe in Jesus and encourage others to do so. Meaning Christians, despite being the freest people, are simultaneously the ones who are most willing to do whatever it takes to serve their God and to conduct themselves civilly.
Jeremiah, Guest of the Babylonian Empire
About six hundred years before Jesus’ time, the Kingdom of Judah, from which Jesus was descended, had abandoned following God and started practising other religions. Judah had a history of following and then abandoning God and flip-flopping between these two options. God warned the kingdom numerous times that he would raise another nation to carry them into exile if they continued turning away from him. However, they did not change their ways. The Babylonian Empire then started conquering its neighbours and expanding across the Middle East, and Judah became its next target. During this time, God gave Jeremiah (depicted on the left), the son of a priest, messages to tell the people of Judah and their king. Jeremiah warned the people that Babylon was coming to take them into exile and that they needed to change their ways if they were to keep their lives. However, others falsely said they also received messages from God, saying that God would never let their land fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Jeremiah told the people to surrender to Babylon. The other speakers encouraged the people to fight, rebel, and not give in to the foreign king. Most people listened to these other speakers and Jeremiah watched as Babylon destroyed the kingdom, broke down its great cities, slaughtered thousands, and carried the remainder back to Babylon in exile. Jeremiah himself was one of the few permitted to remain in his destroyed homeland until the end of his life.
However, caring deeply for the people in exile, Jeremiah, inspired by God, wrote the exiles a letter. In it, he instructs them on how God wanted them to conduct their lives while living among their conquerors. We have the letter written in our Bibles, it starts in chapter 29 of the book of Jeremiah. He writes,
[1] These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. [2] This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. [3] The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: [4]“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: [5] Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. [6] Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. [7] But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. [8] For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, [9] for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.
[10] “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. [11] For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. [12] Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. [13] You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. [14] I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
The Babylonians were their enemy. Babylon was their conqueror. They were in a land that did not like their religion or faith, and maintained laws and practices that did not work with their culture. Yet God, through Jeremiah, tells his people to live as good citizens and to seek the welfare of the place they now live because they will benefit from Babylon’s welfare. He also warns them about those saying that their exile would end quickly, or that God would rescue them immediately, or that they needed to rise against their oppressors - these were liars. God says he has a good plan for them and that their goal during this time was to seek God and to benefit the world in which they were living until he came for them in his own time. From this example, we see that a significant part of being a Christian in a world that does not share our faith is to simply conduct ourselves in a peaceful way, one that honours the place and people in which we live, but without losing sight of our own faith in God.
Saint Augustine, Guest of the Earthly City
Saint Augustine of Hippo (depicted on the right) lived nearly 400 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection in the northern part of Africa, across the mediterranean sea from modern-day Italy. His mother was a Christian, but as a young man, he lived a very ‘party boy' lifestyle. (We know from Augustine's autobiography that he fathered a child outside of marriage when he was eighteen years old.) Augustine became religious in his twenties, in a faith called Manicheaism, that taught spiritual and invisible things were good, and material things, such as food were a necessary evil. However, in his thirties, inspired by his learning of philosophy and his mother’s Christian faith, Augustine converted to Christianity and later became one of the most important Christian thinkers since the authors of the Bible. He spent his life working to understand how one practises the Christian faith and teaching how Christianity relates to nature, stars, thinking, free will, laws, war, etc. One of his key books is called, The City of God, which argues for the truth of Christianity over other beliefs and religions.
During Augustine’s time, the Roman Empire was quickly converting to Christianity. However, another nation from the north attacked the City of Rome which was considered an impossible feat at the time. This event prompted some to claim that Rome was attacked because the people were giving up the old Roman religion. Augustine wrote The City of God in response.
In his book, Augustine describes the Christian community as one on a pilgrimage through the earthly cities, gathering people through them to come into the Christian community, while also living as peaceably as possible in these cities along the journey. He says,
“This heavenly city, then, while on its pilgrimage on earth, calls out its citizens from every nation, and gathers a society of travellers in every linguistic community. It is not concerned what difference there may be in those morals, laws, or institutions by which earthly peace is achieved and preserved. These do not have to be abolished or destroyed: no, though different traditions prevail in different peoples, they may be protected and observed insofar as they serve the one end of earthly peace, provided they do not impede the religion which teaches the worship of the one supreme and true God.”
According to Augustine, Christians are to be the best citizens, the drivers of peace, and those who provide the most benefit to the world around them, so long as they don’t give up on worshipping God. By this example we see that Christians are not to be contrary to the world in everyday life, nor are we to fear it. We are to come alongside it, as Jesus himself did. If they reject us, it will not be because we disrespect, look down upon, or shame them for their behaviour. They reject us because we believe in Jesus, but we are in all other respects unrejectable.
A Guest of Your Home
How many of you have visited the United States? As similar as our cultures are, there are some subtle but important differences. One that I noticed is the way we wear shoes. In the United States, especially in the south, it is normal to wear your outside shoes into the house, on the carpet, in your bedroom, in the kitchen, etc. Removing your shoes may be perceived as odd or rude because you are exposing your smelly feet in someone’s home. However, in Canada, we commonly remove our shoes in the house and believe that it is less rude to show each other our feet than it is to track mud and dirt in the home.
If someone was coming over to your house, and they walked right inside into your living room wearing their shoes, what would you do? Would you ask them to remove their shoes? Probably, but why? Because it’s your house and you’re in Canada. This is what people do in Canada. But what if they say they are an American, and this is what people do in America? Maybe you would respond saying, “But that doesn’t matter. You are in my house in Canada and I don’t want your shoes in the house.” Would you think of them as a good guest? Probably not. What if they were dropping off a meal, or a gift, but they still tracked the snow and dirt in the house; would that make it better? Maybe, but you would probably avoid having them come over again any time soon since they didn’t respect your place. Would you ask them to leave? Maybe. Maybe not. It depends. You become conflicted because to you they are disrespecting your home, but they are also a guest who you are trying to equally respect. Yet, as much as you try to be a good host, a repeated offender will likely be unwelcome at your home in the future, and you will likely ask them to leave.
In the same way, us Christians are guests of the world. This is not our home, we are the sojourners and exiles here. Even if you were physically born here, your ‘second birth’ in Christ makes you a foreigner in this land. You are a visitor. Yet, you are a special visitor. You represent someone incredibly important, and you come with a gift, your faith. Yet, part of your duty as a guest and representative is to be a good guest, which requires some personal sacrifice. You can’t simply do whatever you want. You can’t barge in and demand that the place be rearranged to your liking. You can’t explore every room, nook, and cranny, in fact, at first you will probably only be permitted to stand in the foyer. You have to get to know the owner of the house, spend time with them, respect their rules, and earn their trust before you can be any sort of positive influence in their life. You are free from sin, your past mistakes, and wrongs in Christ, but you are not free to do everything you want. Now you are free to be an honourable guest.
A Living Sacrifice
I understand that you have been learning about what it means to be a living sacrifice. What I’ve taught today is that part of being a living sacrifice is being willing to come down to the level of those in the world. I’m not telling you to sin, or to do evil, the Bible is quite clear on that. What I am telling you is to not be a pretentious Christian. Don’t be a Christian that tries to ‘Christianize’ everything you see out in the world. That’s fine for your personal life, and among other Christians. But out there, we turn the world away from Christ when we focus on ensuring that Merry Christmas can be said at Christmastime, or when we insist that people of other faiths say the Lord’s prayer in schools. We are guests in this place, and in a culture that is increasingly less Christian, it becomes more imperative that we start acting more like guests and less like the owners of the place. I’m not saying that you need to go out and start acting ungodly by getting drunk, having an affair, or quickly becoming angry while driving. I am saying that we need to understand that we are the minority in North America. If we keep acting like the majority, we push more and more people away from Christ. And, if you are concerned about losing Merry Christmas or prayer in schools, or something similar, the solution is not to enforce a Christian standard on people who aren’t Christian. The solution is to make more Christians - evangelise and tell others about who he is and what he has done.
What are some ways we as Christians have unintentionally alienated the world because we refused to meet them at their level? What are some small ways you can make sure you connect with the world without becoming the world?
References
Augustine. 1999. “From City of God, Book 19.” Edited by Bibliotheque Augustinienne. In From Irenaeus to Grotius: A Sourcebook in Christian Political Thought, edited by Oliver
O'Donovan and Joan L. O'Donovan, 147-163. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. 2001. N.p.: Crossway Bibles.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A11-17&version=ESV.
Statistics Canada. 2022. “Profile Table.” Census Profile 2021 Census of the Population.
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&DGUIDlist=2021A000248&HEADERlist=32&SearchText=Alberta.
Weatherford, Jack. 2004. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. New York:
Broadway Books.
Well said; this really hits the nail on the head. I think that the ethic you're touching on is one of the marks of Christian maturity; to take ownership over one’s own life and go and make followers of Jesus.