Scared of the 'Social Gospel'

By Luke Rowcroft.

In recent times, many Christians have been reluctant to take an active stand when it comes to issues such as human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Their reasoning for this has been that we are to be ‘gospel people’, a people who proclaim the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ to the extent that nothing else really matters. To be distracted from this by anything, no matter how good it might seem, would be wrong. Now to a point, I am with them on this! There is nothing more important than this good news, and there is no greater need for anyone than the need to have a personal relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. However, I would like to suggest that as ‘gospel people’, our desires ought to be conforming with God’s desires, and that this will have an impact upon the way that we live. As the hymn-writer prays:

‘Breathe on me, Breath of God

Fill me with life anew

That I may love what Thou dost love

And do what Thou wouldst do.’

It is a lie to claim to be a ‘gospel person’, and not to have concern for the broken and abused of the world. The compassion of Christ must be the compassion that drives us also. Peter describes Jesus in Acts 10:38 as one who ‘went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.’  And does Paul not instruct us in Galatians 6:10 to ‘do good to everyone’? We are saved by grace alone through faith alone, however as Paul states in Ephesians 2:10 that we have been saved ‘for good works’. Our salvation in Christ demands a response, that we live more like Him. Having a care for the oppressed is one way that this is outworked. I hope that we can find it within ourselves to rejoice that it is not either: 1) the account of the gospel as worked out in Jesus Christ; or 2) the gospel as being about social justice; rather it is the case that a desire for social justice follows our desire for the gospel as worked out in Jesus Christ! It is through a big view of Christ, as creator and sustainer of the universe (Colossians 1:16&17), that we see that He loves those who He created in His own image. He loves them so much that He would lay aside heavenly glory to suffer and die on this planet. He loves us this much. Christ went to the very end of the road for us, humbling Himself in becoming a man; humbling Himself further in going to the cross (Philippians 2:5-8). And as Paul exhorts us to gaze upon the humility of Jesus Christ, he exhorts us also to follow Christ’s example and count others as more significant than ourselves (verse 3). Loving others and having a concern about the brokenness of the world, a concern that prompts us to action, is a Biblical concern!

Now, I understand that the fear of liberalism may put you off here: you maybe associate social justice movements with liberalism and a departure from Bible truth and you don’t want to lose the glorious truths of the Bible such as the person of Christ; the reality of heaven and hell; and the resurrection. But like I already mentioned, it is not one or the other! In fact, the more you love the aforementioned truths, the more you love people as Christ did, no? The more you have compassion for the lost as Christ did, no? The more you are broken by seeing humans made in God’s image being exploited and harmed as a result of the fall, no? Do not be afraid to serve God in the practical ways. We have been called to be salt & light, a city on a hill (Matthew 6:13-16); we must not detach ourselves from the brokenness of the world, rather let us recognise that it is in the darkest places where Christ’s light shines brightest. ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness HAS NOT overcome it’. (John 1:5).