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Alex Chediak

Helping young adults thrive at college and beyond

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Onward by Russell Moore

August 3, 2015 by Alex Chediak

I enjoyed reading an advanced copy of Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel by Russell Moore. The book begins with a few chapters summarizing the increasing secularization in the United States (and even in the Bible belt itself), as evangelicals have shifted “from moral majority to prophetic minority.” Moore then explains how the already, not-yet nature of the kingdom of God means that our priority, as individual Christians and as churches, should be the reconciliation of sinners to God not the subjugation of those who (sometimes vehemently) disagree with us. The next chapter does a great job explaining how the culture war, in a sense, is nothing new: Going all the way back to the days of Jesus, true Christianity has always been strange and freakish relative to the wider culture. Moore writes:

The church is not to be walled up from the broader culture but to speak to it (2 Pet. 2:12), but that can only happen if, as sojourners and exiles, we have something distinctive to say (2 Pet. 2:11). We are called to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness,” but we can only do so if we remember that we are “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (2 Pet. 2:9).

As the church, we’re to bear witness “to what the whole universe will one day look like.”

The latter chapters address how Christians should think address some of the pressing issues of our day–human dignity, religious liberty, and family stability–not with an “us-versus-them” mindset but from a disposition of “convictional kindness,” seeking to be faithful to the truth and winsome to the lost. A few parts I underlined:

With regard to boycotts, “Let others fight Mammon with Mammon. Let’s instead offer a word of faithful witness that doesn’t blink before power, but doesn’t seek to imitate it either.”

On Jesus telling us to expect being called mean, bigoted, and evil (Matt. 10:24-25). “The issue is whether we actually are mean or evil. That’s what we can control.”  The point is we don’t engage the world in the ways of the world. We’re distinctive in what we believe and in how we present ourselves. “We must appeal to the depths of accused consciences that already know God, but shrink back from him in fear.”

For any Christian who wants to engage the culture without distorting the gospel, there is much to commend in this excellent book.

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Filed Under: Culture, Practical Ministry

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"Written by an ‘insider’—an excellent gift for high school seniors."--Jerry Bridges

 

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Also by Alex

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With One Voice

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Praise for With One Voice

This relatively short book packs a powerful bang for the buck, providing much biblical and practical advice for young men and women seeking to glorify God in relationships.

Alex and Brett Harris
Best-selling authors of Do Hard Things

Alex and Marni Chediak offer sound biblical advice and a clear Christian framework for working through the maze of confusions surrounding modern marriage.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Publishers have been cranking out books with all sorts of directions to help Christians navigate the treacherous waters between the buoys of singleness and marriage, and I know of none that is more clear, concise and helpful than With One Voice.

J. Ligon Duncan, III Ph.D.
Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church

With One Voice is clearly written and God-centered. Our eighteen year-old daughter just read it and restrained herself from underlining nearly the whole thing!

Dr. Bruce A. Ware
Professor of Christian Theology
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

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