Why has the church been so successfully infiltrated by the world? Because in our attempt 
to make the gospel relevant, we became too enamored by the world and began to seek its approval. This has made the church weak, beginning with those who are supposed to be heralds of the Word of Life. Reversal of this trend must begin with preachers who will leave off seeking the world and its approval and instead reconnect with the power of God in Holy Scripture. This should result in a renewed understanding of the our faith’s relevance and issue forth in bold witness both in word and deed.
The church is unable to resist the infiltration of cultural ideology because it expends its energies in trying to make the faith relevant to the culture rather than in discovering the abiding relevance in the message of faith. Its trumpet emits an uncertain sound (1 Cor. 14:8) because it seeks to win the approbation of the centers of learning, wisdom, and power in the culture.
In this day, it is not enough to know the truth – we must speak and live this truth if it is to make its way into the hearts and minds of those around us. The task of a biblically based theology is to equip the church to make a powerful and compelling witness to God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ as we find this in Holy Scripture. Our witness should take the form of deeds as well as words, but it cannot be reduced to deeds. We cannot commit ourselves to the truth of the gospel unless we understand this truth, and we will never understand it unless it is explained to us by those who have tasted its power and experienced its efficacy.
-Donald Bloesch, A Theology of Word and Spirit: Authority and Method in Theology(InterVarsity Press, 1992) 24.
What Does the Text Say? 