As Christians, we believe in an unchanging Christ (Hebrews 13:8). However, we live in an ever-changing world. Christians belong unavoidably to both our religious community and to the wider cultures. For our religious community Jesus Christ is not only Saviour, He is Lord. He is our supreme authority for the shaping of character and conduct of life. For our wider cultures, on the other hand, Jesus Christ is just one influence among others, some involving indifference and some hostility to Christ.

A fundamental principle of all cultures is that there is nothing as constant as change. As salt and light, Christians ought to play their part in that change. God is already at work in cultures. Christians need to enter the cultures and work for change from within. Jesus Christ commanded,

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Therefore, the Christian becomes an agent of change whether he likes it or not. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is tied to no one culture and allows the individual to transcend his own culture. This does not in any way imply that we must attempt to establish a “Christian culture.” It is not a call to a particular set of social relations or to a particular cultural bias. Rather, it leads to a specific culture being transformed by the work of grace within the hearts and lives of the Christians living within the culture. No cultural bias is untouched by the unconventional ideas of the gospel. This means that Christians must “learn to live spiritually transformed lives within the context of their community and culture” (Lingenfelter, Agents of Transformation).

A person’s life is not truly Christian unless it implies a radical change, both for the individual and the culture. The Christian organizes one’s life around the Word of God and obedience to the commands of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are not to make a new “Christian culture,” but rather, transform the existing culture.