Seeking Gospel-centered Social Justice: Part Two
This is part two of a two-part series. To read the first article, click here.
In my last article, I addressed how I think politically conservative Christians are falling short of what God has called His people to. In this article, I will address the issues I see with the more politically-liberal side of Christianity and how it interacts with social justice.
No Other Gospel
I’ll start off bluntly and simply say that social justice is not equal to, nor does it take the place of, the Gospel. In the last article, I defined what the Gospel is. My biggest fear when I see believers pushing for political reform is that for some, if the social justice “goal” in mind is achieved, it becomes salvific. If racism or human trafficking ended today, and even if every heart and attitude towards each of those things were righteous, has reconciliation taken place between God and humanity? Certainly, one form of repentance has taken place, and it should rightfully be celebrated. But unless racism and human trafficking ended because of a deep understanding of one’s own sin that translated into a trusting of Christ that transforms the individual, there remains the root problem in the world. Perhaps racism and human trafficking end, but because of the unchanged hearts, new evils will arise. With every advancement of technology, evil proportionately grows with it. For example, the rise of the internet with all of its benefits, has also opened the way for abusive forms of pornography and other negative effects. Even in a utopian situation where every social evil is dispelled, the sinful hearts of man would continue to reside domestically. We need so much more than what social justice can deliver.
Getting back to the Gospel, it is important to understand that it transcends politics, even though it does interact with it. Most Christians are well aware that Jesus engaged with politics throughout his ministry on Earth, but it is sometimes overstated and misunderstood. Jesus would challenge the Pharisees, religious leaders who carried a lot of political influence, not because of some political agenda, but because of a warped spirituality (Luke 11:37–54). This is because his priority was not primarily political, but spiritual. This is obvious in the Gospel writings, where Jesus is a victim of a political agenda. He is crucified because of the authority he carried over and against the Pharisees (Matt. 13:53–58), firstly. But we see also that Caiaphas used Jesus as a sacrifice for an attempted political gain (John 11:45–57). If we affirm that Jesus is fully divine and therefore capable of doing anything God willed, we can logically determine that his priorities remained elsewhere given that he willingly went to the cross. Said differently, if Jesus’ main goal was a political revolution, we would expect Jesus to have overthrown the political figures of the day.
No Political Martyr
The expectation that Jesus would serve as a political revolutionary is as common today as it was when Jesus walked the earth. King Herod was threatened after hearing about this newborn king, even though Jesus never became king (Matt. 2:1–18). The Pharisees and Sadducees tried trapping Jesus with politics and theology, but Jesus dismissed them by modeling obedience to the government (Matt. 22:15–22). Peter, when hearing Jesus’ foretelling of his own death, foolishly rebuked Jesus (Matt. 16:21–23). Additionally, we see evidence of political hopes when Simon the insurrectionist attacks the guard arresting Jesus (Luke 22:47–53). Jesus’ answer and response to each of these is similar to what he tells Pilate, who is evaluating how much of a political threat Jesus is: “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:33–38a). Jesus reveals his purpose in this passage, as well as many others (like Luke 19:10), and none of them are inherently political.
The confusion comes from the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, I think. Jesus calls on humanity to embody certain values, to live as he has taught them to live. The Sermon on the Mount is the revolution Jesus sought out, where the heart is transformed and appropriate fruit is borne out (Matt. 5–7). When Jesus challenges the Pharisees and other religious leaders of his day, it was because they focused on exterior actions, of “looking good”, over righteousness in the heart. In one sense, Jesus’ mission was political, because his installment of the Kingdom meant that some of the systems of his day would be confronted (John 2:13–22). However, this was not the essence of his mission (John 6:14–15).
Jesus’ purpose was to bear truth, bring about repentance to save humanity, and to atone for our sins, delivering us from the principles and powers of this world, sin, and death itself. This is why Jesus was fine with many of his disciples walking away (John 6:60–71). It’s why Jesus didn’t heal everyone (Mark 6:1–6). It’s why he died. When Christians try to import a foreign drive and motivation to Jesus, especially one that is expressly denounced by him, they are making an idol of him. This idol is moldable into what they think Jesus should be, instead of the other way around. I do believe Jesus was far more “liberal” than many Evangelicals are comfortable with, and Jesus is championed by the Left for it. The problem is that the goals of these social justice advocates are radically different from what he taught. Some of the individual goals may look similar (I think it is clear Jesus would oppose racism, for example), but the ultimate goal is not.
Even the Demons Believe
Because these goals are different, it is likely that Christian efforts to reform the world will look differently than secular efforts. In fact, it almost demands it. Doing good things is, well, just that: good. Doing good things in Jesus’ name however, is transformative (Mark 9:37,41). Good works, apart from faith, is dead (Romans 3:21–31). For secularists, the goal is to create a utopia for humanity, where everyone is loving and seeks the good of others. For the Christian, a utopia apart from God cannot exist, for reconciliation still needs to take place. Man’s heart is wicked and dead, and no amount of collaboration and effort can overcome our own selfish desires (Rom. 3:23, 7:15–23). It is Christ alone, through faith alone, that the Spirit enables us to live like Christ. That work is how we are set free from our bondages to sin and death, not a best-selling self-help book, good therapy, or more knowledge about a given issue.
When we are told that we need to accomplish a particular goal in only a particular way, it misunderstands how change is brought about. We are told that we are part of the problem, that if we truly aligned with them, we would do things in the ways they see best. The blunt truth is that I am a part of the problem (as they see it), and not because I fail to recognize the severity of the issues at hand (although, I’m probably guilty of that as well). I am part of the problem because my goals as a follower of Jesus are different than those of the various political and social justice movements that exist. There is much we can do together, but our paths are set to violently collide.
A Better Way
Jesus commands me to put God above all others, and to put others above myself. He tells me that actions that don’t flow from the heart are vain. He tells me that following him means I will “hate” the world, my father and mother, my brother, that it will divide my household. I am called to love my enemy (including racists). He tells me that his mission is so radically different from the rest of the world’s that we will not find a welcoming here on earth. We will face persecution for it, be misunderstood, and yet still lay down our life for the glory of God. We seek justice for the glory of God and because He has called us to live as though the coming Kingdom were already fully present here on earth. We love others because He created them in His image, because we understand that we were all once lost and in need of salvation. We challenge the sins in our societies, but also must challenge the sins in our own hearts.
The road that secular humanists are traveling on is due to a great concern for people. I care, too. I travel with a map, however, because doing anything else would leave me lost and unable to reach the destination I long for. To the believers seeking change: seek it! But do so in prayer, in Jesus’ name, and in boldness and truth. Hold firm to your destination and do not lose sight when surrounding traffic all seems to take the same exit. Invite others to stay with you on this path to the New Eden, where we are told,
3 …“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Rev. 21:3b–5
