I continue to hear about gospel contextualization and what I hear concerns me. By contextualization, if what is meant is communicating the gospel so that Christ's atonement can be understood, I'm all for that. If by contextualization, it means hollowing out the gospel to appeal to people, I'm opposed to that. Christ will never be popular; he is foolishness and a stumbling block to those that are perishing (1st Cor).
I have seen those trying to support contextualization by appealing to, " Paul's declaration that he has "become all things to all men" in 1 Corinthians 9 doesn't mean that he shared a different Gospel but that he recognized differing presupposition and starting points in sharing the same Gospel to different individuals." I could not have said that better.
Although we should strive to clearly communicate the gospel, the message of the gospel is always culturally relevant. The problem of sin undergirds every nation, people, economic status, etc. Everyone has the same issue and God has provided one solution that is perfect for all.
Amen.
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