In some missiological models, it is common to break down cultural value systems into three categories: (1) guilt/innocence [seen as “Western”]; (2) honor/shame; and (3) fear/power.
From there, they go on to seek ways to accommodate the gospel and biblical ideas into patterns that fit within those cultures.
This is problematic in a number of ways. First, it creates the notion that speaking of sin, death, condemnation, and God’s gift of righteousness in justification is just promoting a Western construct fitted for a guilt/innocence culture. Yet the apostle Paul preached God’s righteousness and justification in the Greco-Roman world, which had complex notions of honor, shame, idolatry, fear, and power dynamics. Justification by faith, because it is truth, addresses people in every culture and every value system. Paul tells us that if we abandon justification by faith, we are turning to another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9; 2:16).
“The classic gospel doctrines that employ forensic [legal] language—substitution and imputation—derive fundamentally not from the West but from the Jewish traditions and the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.”1
Second, no cultural value system contains a pure version of guilt/innocence. The West, particularly through its Medieval history, the Reformation, and even in the Enlightenment, had complex notions of honor. Martin Luther himself was not only plagued by the guilt of sin but also by a fear of Satan. It was the doctrines of justification by faith alone and Christ’s righteousness that helped alleviate his fear. He understood he had peace with God, so much so that he could speak of mocking the devil when he felt oppressed.
Finally, the hope of the gospel is not merely to be made innocent but to have a standing of righteousness before God. In the Western judicial system, as well as others around the world, a defendant can receive one of two verdicts: guilty or innocent. To be declared innocent is value neutral. It means that guilt could not be proven. But in God’s court, the verdict is either guilty or righteous. Righteous is a positive verdict. It proclaims not just that you are innocent from a charge of law breaking but that you keep and fulfill the Law. You have a virtuous standing before the judge. Righteousness is positive vindication, not merely absolution from guilt, as innocence is.
Think of this illustration to help distinguish between innocence as neutral and righteousness as positive. In golf, there is a thing called a mulligan. It’s when you take a bad shot, and rather than scoring yourself a stroke, you just reset and try again. Innocence gives you another shot. But salvation is not a mulligan. God doesn’t just declare you innocent and let you take another swing to try and do what is right in his eyes. You would still need to have hit the ball in the hole. Innocence is only clearing the slate. Righteousness is giving you a verdict of a good standing. You are “in the right.”
Our righteousness comes from God. God declares us to be righteous. The verdict we deserve is “guilty,” but Christ took that verdict upon himself on the cross as he bore the weight of our curse. In turn, when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive from God the judge a verdict of “righteous,” granting a right standing before him. It is not the verdict I deserve, but the one I am given because of believing in Christ’s work. And the amazing thing is that this is the final verdict, the final judgment, declared upon me now.
Everyone Wants “Enoughness”
“Everyone knows something is wrong with themselves and the world. Philosophers, therapists, politicians, and religious leaders all create systems that approximate the good, true, and beautiful based on “human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:13). But all human systems of interpreting reality, locating the problem to which their conscience is pointing, and proposing the solution are futile and under the domination of the curse and the spirit of the age.”2
The reason everyone knows something is wrong is because we are all made in the image of God. Paul says that the unbeliever, who is made in God’s image, suppresses the truth of God in unrighteousness. But even as they do this, “what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:19 ESV). Paul continues describing the unbeliever in verses 21-22: “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” Unbelievers know something is wrong, and they create false religions and systems of thinking to attempt to deal with the problem, even as they suppress the truth about God.
Everyone is trying to do something to resolve those feelings of concern. We are all trying and striving. If something is wrong, something must be done to fix it. Our hearts are wired to works-based thinking. Different cultural value systems diagnose the problem differently and then, within that value system, create solutions to fix the perceived problem. But they all understand there is a problem. We all have a conscience that bears witness to us (Romans 2:15).
The truth that we all bear the image of God is also why Paul could say that the Gentiles—who had never heard God’s Word in the Law—“show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” (Romans 2:15). We are all dealing with conflicting thoughts, trying to be excused and vindicated, wanting to feel like we have enough or are enough. And we all have thoughts accusing us. The expression of cultural value systems, as well as false religions, philosophies, and systems of thought, reflects the reality of this dynamic, trying to resolve the inner conflict that no one can escape. And the gospel is the only answer.
The Gospel Hope
Even if people don’t inherently think of themselves as guilty before God, or they don’t come from a guilt/innocence cultural value system, they all have a deep longing for something. Their consciences, no matter how suppressed by sin, cause them to feel that something is wrong with themselves and the world. This is because, as humans, they were created to bring glory to God, and they now suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness and glorify created things (Romans 1:19-23).
When we minister the gospel, we use the Word of God, particularly God’s Law, to show the real problem. We also show that the gospel gives us the real solution—the gift of righteousness from God. When they have the real solution, their other concerns will also be addressed, including true honor, true freedom, or true strength. In fact, the gospel of God’s righteousness will challenge their existing view of honor, freedom, or strength. Sharing the gospel, then, can begin with saying, “The problem is bigger than you realize. The solution is righteousness from God, and the honor/freedom/strength you’ll receive in knowing Christ is deeper and truer than you ever knew you needed. You may have felt a longing, like you’re chasing after a shadow, but let me show you the reality.”
Their only hope is God’s righteousness through the gospel.
Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from E.D. Burns’ book The Transcultural Gospel (Cape Coral: Founders Press, 2026). Used with permission.
