thoughts on the gospel...part 3

I must confess that until the last few years I wasn't even aware of the term...social justice. I am pretty sure that I knew a lot about all the stuff it assumes to represent...I just didn't bandy it about in casual conversation. I became well acquainted with the term and use of it during some recent involvement with a human rights organization. I must also confess...while I'm in a confessing mood...that I frequently used this term in relation to being a follower of Jesus and sometimes without a real understanding of that relationship. There is a vast array of social justice issues and they wax and wane in popularity based on who the most vociferous celebrity spokesperson is supporting their pet cause. The problem for me and the danger I see is that chasing and promoting these various causes has become another mutation of the gospel. Everyone has a different idea of exactly what the pressing issues are in the realm of social justice and very busily are trying to incorporate them into the framework of the gospel. They are wrapped within that framework and brought into the mainstream in their churches. There is no doubt about the fact that Jesus was very concerned and filled with compassion over the plight of the oppressed and disenfranchised. Jesus clearly had a special sense of mission to poor and oppressed people. When Jesus boldly announced the beginning of his ministry on the earth, sometimes commonly known as Jesus' mission statement, He stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth and read these words from the prophet Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19

As Andrew Beckner, in his blog, A Candid Christian says, “Fighting social injustice without incorporating Jesus into the mix doesn't mean anything to the one ministering or to the one being ministered to. That's because the minister isn't able to reconcile himself to God through works, and the one being ministered to cannot hope to find reconciliation to God through someone other than Jesus.” I think this sums up the difficulty of the so called gospel of social justice... it is a fairly difficult idea to be accepted by the average church-goer. People sometimes see a thinly veiled attempt to marry a social cause and the gospel together in order to advance an agenda and are suspicious of that. If people are suspicious then it is very difficult to get them to even hear the message or participate. Unfortunately sometimes the actual gospel and Jesus gets squeezed out to make room for the facts and figures and the call to action. If you do not include Jesus two other significant problems arise. First, you rob yourself of the true source of your power to effect change within the culture as a whole and address specific social issues. You completely discount the Holy Spirit as the main factor in creating the possibility of change...redemption...and restoration. There comes a great urge to try to do this thing that needs to be done in our own power. Of course, we all know the danger of that...God doesn't get the glory and we become less dependent on God to take care of things without us helping Him and trying to control and manipulate things. He really hates that...It is so easy for us to get the cart in front of the horse...we mess stuff up when we try to limit Gods power and ability and only allow Him to operate within a narrow range that our often small faith and vision permits. I know that sounds crazy but that is what we do...a lot. We get into a very dangerous place where we are operating on a works alone system of belief. God is able to do anything and everything and so much more than we could possible imagine. We just need to take Him out of the box or let Him off the leash that we walk Him around on. It is absolutely imperative that the message of the true gospel be kept in the forefront and that any cause we seek to advocate for or dedicate ourselves to... we must understand that it is an adjunct only. The other problem is that in our passion and fervor the social justice issues can become politicized and then if so several things happen and all are usually not so good for the causes or those who support them. With the politicization we draw lines...take sides...place labels...move apart...stereotype. However the bigger danger is that we slip into black and white thinking and develop a us or them mentality. It becomes divisive and not unifying for the body of Christ. One becomes judgmental if you do not see and agree with the point of whatever the cause is...that's one thing we certainly do not need more of in our churches. We see the world only in extremes...perfection versus chaos. Our expectations are never met as there is no perfection in social causes. There is only perfection in Jesus...and He set the bar very high. So...it is apparent to me that an easy solution to avoid extremism and division within the church is to ensure that the true gospel always comes first...it is the saving works of Jesus that unifies us...nothing we could possibly do on our own contributes anything toward that goal. I think is very simply a matter of the fact that we all really need to be reminded frequently that really there is neither a Pentecostal nor a Southern Baptist seated in heaven on the throne of God. I would be willing to guarantee that each and every one of us will have our argued over and fought for theologies corrected when we stand before Jesus. Therefore, we need to seek to work together to further the Kingdom of God and incorporate the social justice message that Jesus taught us as He served those who were oppressed and living in captivity. Jesus came to seek and save the lost but He also came to feed the hungry...give drink to the thirsty...restore sight to the blind. I think there is room for us all at the table and there certainly is enough need that we all can serve the least of these for a very long time. Really...isn't that what we are here for? As far as I am concerned social justice is simply doing the things to model Jesus for those who looking to see what He really looks like...Is the cause that you are advocating for...wearing the t shirt for...putting Jesus and the true gospel up front? If not... you just have another thing that looks and smells like every other world saving idea that has come and gone...because we all know that there is only one real sustainable... enduring...hope defining...life affirming answer...Jesus.