Since transitioning from the pastorate and embarking upon this new season of ministry travel and university teaching, I have been able to analyze and reflect on certain cultural and church trends. The most significant trend (or trends) may be labeled under the banner of “social justice”. I will define social justice shortly (as it has scores of meanings), but let me first make sure we all understand the concept of “justice”. Justice, simply defined, means, “to make right”. Who can argue with that? Who can disagree that there are incredible numbers of things in this world which are “wrong”? And, for most Christians, we know just enough of the Bible to be able to say that God wants to see things “right” and correct those things which are “wrong”. These incredibly general remarks are things upon which the saints from many perspectives can say, “amen”. Where it becomes tricky is when we begin to discuss what is “right” and what is “wrong” and how exactly are these wrongs to be remedied.
This came into focus most recently as I have had greater opportunity to deal with millennials who are aspiring to various positions in ministry and church life. Many of these young adults are incredibly sharp in their thinking abilities of critique and synthesis. They keep an old guy like me on my toes. One of these millennials is currently doing his Ph.D. work in cultural reformation and biblical worldview application in the political arena. As you might guess we hit it off.
This Ph.D. candidate has been doing some research through social media to get a pulse of his peer group’s view of cultural issues which relate to social justice. I know that many of his friends are faithfully attending and participating in what most would define and assume is a Bible-believing, contemporary, conservative church (I would certainly define it as such). I have only been able to monitor a few of the questions asked, but the answers have been fascinating. One had to do with racism and another the application of capital punishment. The responses to both revealed to me a critical gap in the survey group’s ability to consistently apply biblical worldview to contemporary cultural questions. Their answers revealed, again in my opinion, a definite progressive tilt in their worldview. While this revelation of the millennial generation was not a lightening bolt moment for me, it did make me ask how a generation connected to all the trappings of church life ended up on this social justice street?
My point is not to hammer this millennial generation with my disappointment or irritation. Actually, it would be more appropriate to hammer mine. Somewhere along the way, as this generation listened to sermons, Sunday School lessons, youth messages and kids devotionals, what they heard led them to conflate social justice with biblical justice. That means, as their parents, pastors, and teachers; we didn’t connect some important dots of biblical application to cultural wrongs. Perhaps in our pursuit of wanting to make church entertaining, fun, relevant, and inspiring, just to “get them to want to go”, we missed the real mission assignment of preparing a generation to think biblically and to do so consistently. If the goal was to simply get them to church, we succeeded. If the goal was to renew their mind and apply the Bible comprehensively, we failed.
Let’s be clear, the Bible certainly speaks of “doing justice”. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the openly gay Mayor of Evansville, Indiana, and presidential candidate, reminded us in the last democratic debate as to what the Bible says about justice. His application was atrocious, but the passage he referenced is indeed there. Mayor Buttigieg (along with others) understands this generation and is cleverly exploiting this conflation by quoting verses of Scripture and then making erroneous applications. He makes the sounds of justice, but in reality, offers more imprisonment. The problem, as of late, has become the preaching of Social Justice from the Seminary classrooms and certain pulpits of our era. Because we have so disconnected consistent biblical worldview from our thinking and training, we are seeing Liberation Theology and Marxism introduced into the Church as a camouflaged heresy. We are baptizing (so to say) socialism at best and communism at worst.
Social justice, as it is espoused today, is a political and philosophical concept which holds that all people should be “equal”. Sounds good doesn’t it? It certainly sounded good on George Orwell’s, “Animal Farm”. Who could be against the concept of equal? That’s what progressives are counting on, your sense of “fairness”. My good friend, Pastor Cary Gordon wrote a critically important article on this type of egalitarianism which needs to be read widely as it exposes the roots of this error. You can find it here: https://theiowastandard.com/pastor-gordon-egalitarianism-the-defeated-church-that-embraced-it/
Pastor Gordon is also a producer, along with Judd Saul, on a groundbreaking documentary called, “Enemies Within the Church”, which will provide explosive evidence of the heretical social justice philosophy infiltration of our seminaries and churches. You can find more information on that subject here: https://enemieswithinthechurch.com
When it comes to our current usage of social justice, it ultimately diverts from any sense of biblical justice in the five areas below. These five are not the only areas of challenge, but represent a broad swath of what is being twisted.
The problem of equal distribution
There is much that could be said of this error by way of political and philosophical logic. Social justice theorists claim that real justice means that everyone must have equal resources. For one person to have more than another person is somehow immoral or unjust. Of course, Karl Marx said this too, but you rarely hear that in a sermon or political debate. Sure, we all can look at our neighbor who is driving a better car, living in a better house, has a better job, or has a wonderful pension and say, “That doesn’t seem fair”. You may be right or you may not know the whole story, but equal distribution never gets you up to the neighbors standard of living, it always brings you down to the lowest common denominator of life. Beyond that, it simply isn’t biblical.
One of my favorite parables is the Faithful and Unfaithful Stewards with the talents (Matthew 25). The parable is quite clear. God hands out different amounts of resource to people of differing skills and talents. Was God somehow in sin? Of course not! The key to the parable was not equal distribution or outcome, but rather equal opportunity to work with what is at your disposal.
This is not to suggest that we have no responsibility to the poor or struggling. The Scripture is clear that as believers we extend assistance and a hand to raise people up and help them out. Our blessings in life are not an endorsement for selfishness and self-consumption. But the truth of Scripture and life is that all are not born into the same situation and everyone does not produce the same outcomes. We are compassionate certainly, but not egalitarian.
Why is this important? Because social justice warriors like the idea of redistributing wealth. What you have is not voluntarily or compassionately given, but rather forcibly confiscated in order to create a more “just” society. What they define as moral, some (me included) define as theft. (More on this later)
The problem of “common good”
Social justice theorists speak of those things which are commonly held as “good” for the greatest number of people. This is a utilitarian’s dream. Of course, the sticky part is who or what gets to define what “good” means? In an era that calls good, evil and evil, good; you can see how convoluted this quickly becomes. Especially in an unchecked democracy where the majority, if backslidden or apostate, can easily force a new definition of “good” upon the minority.
The Bible tells us that there is “none good, no not one”. It states that there is only one who can legitimately be called good and that is the Lord. However, when definitions of words get twisted or conflated, it becomes easier to define the common good in an anti-biblical way. Sexual perversions and deviancy can be called “good” and moral when in fact, biblically they are not. Situational ethics can be used to determine what decision is actually “good” when in fact it is not. This is a problem of the highest order.
The problem of moral equality
This point is going to be incredibly, politically incorrect. The reason the church has capitulated in it’s moral compass is because of years of refusing to address sexual sin and dysfunction. The church “winked” at heterosexual sins (adultery, fornication, pornography) for years and when it became a battle over legitimate marriage, we no longer had the moral authority to address it. So, gays won the day and marriage between same-sex persons is considered good. Social justice maintains that everyone has a “right” to happiness. Therefore, if you would be happier as another gender or having sex with the same gender, then equality demands that you be as happy as the traditional (biblical) heterosexual couple and biological males and females.
Social justice theorists take these questions out of the moral column and place them in the equality column which is an easier sell to a biblically challenged generation. As an individual, you may not like the thought of homosexual sex, a transgender individual, a woman’s choice of abortion, etc.; but these are equality issues to the social justice warrior and not moral ones.
The problem of forced compassion
The social justice warrior is not content for simple tolerance, but rather forced celebration, compassion, and acceptance. Of course, who can make you do anything you don’t want to do or perhaps are commanded by God not to do? Bingo, good old Uncle Sam. The government becomes the arm of forcing compassion and compliance in social justice theory. If people are economically unequal, the government will tax to iron all that out. If someone doesn’t want to violate their faith by celebrating and participating in a convoluted wedding ceremony, the government will fine you or jail you into submission.
What many do not seem to understand is that government is not God. The state is not the almighty power which reigns from on high. This is the nagging problem of socialism. It was the “state” (which was used as a synonym for the people) which compelled the citizenry to comply with whatever the majority dictated. This is why bakers are told by the state that you will bake the same-sex wedding cake or we will fine you out of existence. It is why public bathrooms must accommodate people who are confused over their gender. True compassion in the social warriors mind is never moral persuasion to action, but rather forced compliance by the state.
The problem of secular utopia
A Christian worldview is more than forgiveness of sin and a personal moral compass (as vital as those two elements may be). The Christian Faith is about a total allegiance to the kingship of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not a part of our life. He is our life. He is not a figure-head King. He is a genuine ruling monarch over the lives of His people and every arena of life (Colossians 1:16-20) whether people recognize it now or not. Biblical justice is about the acknowledgement and establishment of God’s precepts through His people, the Church. His precepts are to be embraced by the nation’s of the world either now, or most assuredly at the consumption of the ages.
There will never be any manifestation of a just society until the King of kings’ precepts and commandments are established (whatever your eschatological construct may be) in the earth. I can assure you that a true, utopia built on the Lord’s commands (which we call the millennium) will not include Marxist philosophy and goals.
But the question still remains, “How on earth has this become the rage within the Church?” The answer is, many forsook the comprehensive, inerrant nature of the Scriptures; especially those who are teaching in notable seminaries and universities across America. They are seeking to redefine America and minimize it’s unique purpose and call from God. At it’s heart, it’s a deception. It has been foisted upon a generation whose parents were not vigilant in establishing biblical worldview.
Can it be stopped?
Yes, but not without a battle. And that’s the dicey part. As Marxism/socialism becomes increasingly popular in the culture coupled with a Church seeking affirmation from that same culture by it’s demonstration of relevance, it isn’t going to be easy.
Don’t be fooled by a counterfeit. If you are sensing a call to justice take the time to find out what God calls injustice.
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