Download Message: “Nonconformity” Series: The Radical Disciple Preached

Message: “Nonconformity”
Series: The Radical Disciple
Preached by Mike Pickard @ North Point Church on September 25, 2011
Prayer:
Last week we introduced the idea of Radical Discipleship, which is the subject of John Stott’s book,
“The Radical Disciple.”
We defined a Radical Disciple as one who self-consciously and wholeheartedly commitments themself
to the discipline of following Jesus.
And I challenged each of us to use these studies as an opportunity to move from wherever we are on
our journey of faith to the next level: whether from a fan of Jesus to a follower; from follower to
disciplined believer; from disciplined believer to wholeheartedly Christ-centered.
John Stott’s book is a guide to making the journey and he focuses on eight neglected aspects. This
morning we’re going to take up the first one, nonconformity.
Stott describes radical disciples as those who are in radical non-conformity to the surrounding culture.
Romans 12:2 says, for example,
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
This well-known verse declares that radical disciples must be non-conformist in order to do God’s will.
Why? Because the pattern of this world is to rebel against God.
This rebellion is seen not only in individual behavior but also in what we call human culture—the pattern
of a nation’s thought and behavior in its common life.
The Message Bible translates Romans 12:2 accordingly: “Don't become so well-adjusted to your
culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Conformity with the pattern of this world, therefore, means to simply “go with the flow,” actively or
passively following the world in its rebellion.
So the first phrase of Roman’s 12:2 is the negative side of nonconformity—Radical Disciples don’t do
that. We don’t just fall in line with the values and lifestyle of American Culture.
The apostle Paul has the Greco-Roman world in mind when he challenges his readers to
nonconformity, so we need to think of it in terms of our own Post-Modern Western culture. What
patterns or trends must we resist in order to do the will of God?
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In The Radical Disciple, John Stott identifies four powerful trends that have taken root in American
culture:
The first is Pluralism—the idea that there is no final and unique truth; there is only opinion. Every idea
or religious faith is equally valid and must be equally respected.
The second is Materialism—the preoccupation with and dependence upon material things to make life
happy and meaningful.
The third is Ethical Relativism—the denial of moral absolutes, especially in the area of sexual ethics.
The fourth is Narcissism—an excessive preoccupation with oneself and a corresponding lack of
empathy for others.
These trends have become so embedded in American institutions, economics, arts and entertainment
that we hardly notice them anymore, and we rarely question them, because there is tremendous
cultural and legal pressure to just keep quiet and conform.
But radical disciples respectfully decline to conform; they won’t be bullied or silenced but instead, out of
love for the world and obedience to Christ, we will humbly offer the gospel as an alternative lifestyle.
(Having lived in San Francisco in the 60-70’s it seems funny to refer to Christianity as an “alternative
lifestyle!”)
But this brings us to the positive side of nonconformity. Radical disciples don’t just counter the culture,
they offer the hope of transformation—of a new way of life, of a counterculture, as John Stott says.
When we live in accordance with God’s will, loving God with all our being and loving our neighbor as
ourselves, we become, as pastor Tim Keller espresses it, “a counterculture for the common good.”
I think Keller’s phrase is brilliant: A counterculture for the common good.
It encompasses both the negative and positive of Romans 12:2. On the one hand we grieve that our
present culture is lost and broken because of its rebellion against God, and so we decline to conform to
it and dare to challenge it. On the other hand, we believe that the gospel is for everyone—for the
“common good of the whole world.” It heals and transforms individuals, communities and even cultures.
And so we discipline ourselves to live like Jesus and so that people may see the gospel and be drawn
to it.
Now, a “counterculture” for the common good avoids two hurtful extremes: hiding from the world for
fear of being contaminated by it, and conforming to the world for fear of not being accepted by it.
Jesus drew this distinction when he prayed to the Father for the Church and it’s ministry in the world:
“I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the
world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but
to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do.
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Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the
world, I am sending them into the world. John 17:14-18 (NLT)
Think about it: this is Jesus’ continuing prayer for us: We are to be in the world, but not of the world—
for the sake of the world we are non-conformists; we are Radical Disciples who bring the gospel; we
are a counterculture for the common good.
I picture our mission in the world as walking a tight rope.
This has not proven to be an easy mission, as church history demonstrates. At times the church has
fallen to the right side of the rope by retreating from the world in order to keep itself uncontaminated,
such as during the monastic movements.
(Simon Stylities, who started the Anchorite monastic community sought to avoid the distractions of the
world by living on a small platform at the top of a 50 foot pole for 30 years to practice his austere
asceticism. Didn’t work: he became a celebrity. People came from far and wide to see him.)
At other times, the church has fallen on the left side of the rope by becoming almost indistinguishable
from the secular culture, such as Liberal Protestantism of the past 100 years.
But Jesus has called us to walk the scary, wobbly center, neither retreating nor conforming, but
transforming the world by the gospel. This can only be done by nonconformity.
Stott says, “We are not to be like reeds shaken by the wind, bowing down before gusts of public
opinion, but as immovable as rocks in a mountain stream. We are not to be like dead fish floating with
the stream, but as fish swimming against the stream, even the cultural mainstream. We are not to be
like chameleons, lizards that change their color according to their surroundings, but to stand out visibly
against our surroundings.” In short, we are to be like Jesus.
To conclude then, what would it look like for us at North Point to counter the trends of our
society—to be a counterculture for the common good?
Well, we could answer the challenge of pluralism with a humble suggestion that people consider the
uniqueness of Christ—his unique birth, life, death and resurrection. Consider the singular influence for
good that he has had upon human history, that most of what we call good in our civilization has been
inspired by the gospel. Consider the fact that, 2000 years after he walked on earth, people from every
nation, language and culture on earth worship Jesus as Lord.
We could answer the challenge of materialism with a lifestyle of simplicity, generosity and contentment
to show our neighbors that people flourish when they love God and use things, but flounder when they
love things and use God.
We could answer ethical relativism by being a community that keeps Jesus’ commandments without
apology because it is holy, happy, healthy way to live.
And we could answer narcissism by being a community of love by putting others first and serving those
around us.
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This is a difficult calling, my friends. If Jesus were to have used my analogy of the tight rope, he might
have said: “Narrow is the rope and few there are that walk it.”
If we are to be a counterculture for the common good, we need to become Radical Disciples, and for
that we need each other’s encouragement and support. The good news is that Jesus has not sent us
into the world without fuel. He is our power.
He ends his prayer to the Father for us in these words:
“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent
me. I have revealed you to them and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in
them, and I will be in them.” John 17:25-26 (NLT)
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