Clearly, culture plans a critical role in communicating the gospel whether that is in different parts of our own communities or country or abroad in a faraway land. Despite thinking to the contrary, different people groups do not think in the same or even in a manner similar to our own way of thinking. At the heart of any culture is the worldview the people in the culture share. The truth claims of Christianity are something that can be easily proven. In short, they are a matter of faith. The heart of the gospel is the something for which there is no precedent – the Resurrection.[1] Brown, Robinson, and Willimon rightly point out that while we desire to reach people where they are, we have a limited ability to adapt the gospel.[2]
Stated simply, contextualization is the notion of taking the gospel to a new context and finding easily understood ways for people to understand it in their own context. While doing so, we must understand that it is simply not possible to deliver the whole of the gospel message on any single occasion. Some part must be selected; others omitted and saved for another time.[3] Lest the author be accused of not supporting the proclaiming of the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), it should be noted that Jesus and the apostles did not always begin with the interests and concerns of their audience or communicate what today we consider the heart of the gospel.[4] What Christ and the apostles did do was note the level of understanding of their audience and start communicating with them at that point while reserving deeper teaching for those more mature in the faith. From those receiving this deeper teaching such as the Ephesians,