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Humanitarian Jesus
- 06/02/10
- 41
There are few issues of theology that confuse me more than issues related to social justice. Those who advocate Christian humanitarianism, those who tell Christians that they are responsible before God to fight injustice, to feed the hungry, to free the oppressed, are able to provide a compelling case and they are able to tap into a deep vein of guilt. It is difficult to hear of poor and hungry children and not feel that the primary mission of Christians must be to feed such people. And yet when we look around we see that ministries or organizations that make such a task their primary calling so quickly fade into theological obscurity. The social gospel so often trumps the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Into the fray step Christian Buckley and Ryan Dobson with their book Humanitarian Jesus: Social Justice and the Cross. They want to find that sweet spot between justice and gospel, that place where we can hold tightly to the gospel of Jesus Christ while still emphasizing the importance of social action.
Humanitarian Jesus is made up of two parts. In the first part, which seems to be written largely by Christian Buckley, the authors provide the theological basis for social justice. And here is where the book is at its best. The authors emphasize again and again (and again after that!) the importance of sound theology. They want Christians to know that first and foremost they must be grounded in the Bible. Buckley and Dobson understand the tension so many of us feel when looking at issues related to social justice. “Some of us resist or diminish temporal engagement because we are focused on the call of Scripture to proclaim the gospel, and see this life as a mere momentary passing. Others resist the gospel and the scriptural implications of death, heaven, and hell, and focus instead on the good that can be done on earth by being living illustrations of God’s great love.”
They say as well, “Christ was and is principally concerned with eternity and the reconciliation of the lost. Fundamentally, Christ came to earth to seek and to save, not to heal and feed. Just as Christ came to provide the only means for spiritual reconciliation with the Father, He calls the redeemed to the specific task of continuing His ministry of reconciliation.” They emphasize here and in so many other places that Christ’s most foundational task was to seek and to save the lost; he did not come primarily to feed people, but to save them. And we are to imitate him in this. They go on to say, “Jesus was a humanitarian, but of a unique kind. He healed to reveal true healing. He fed to reveal true food. He quenched thirst to reveal everlasting water. Christ’s actions were temporal, but His intended impact was for His every word and deed to be eternally transforming.” So here they set Christ as the model for the kind of humanitarian work they want Christians to commit to—work that points people to Christ.
As the book continues, the authors provide some friendly critique of the social gospel. They realize that many who emphasize the social gospel have very quickly left behind the true gospel. In the midst of doing humanitarian work, so many have lost sight of the work of saving souls and even the necessity of doing so. But where the authors seem to go just a little bit beyond what I see in Scripture is in their discussion of evangelism. “Evangelism,” they say, “includes the sharing of the gospel and the meeting of needs. It includes the challenging of injustice and the championing of the oppressed. … We don’t meet needs because it gives us the chance to share Christ, but because it is part of who Christ is, and if He is in us, it is part of who we are.” And so here they make humanitarian work a necessary component of evangelism.
Let me emphasize again that what the authors do very well in this section is emphasize sound, biblical theology—a theology that includes humanity’s fall into sin, that includes Christ’s atoning work on the cross, that includes both heaven and hell. This alone is enough to mark this book as very different from so many dealing with social justice. Before the authors want to call anyone to do humanitarian work, they want to call them to the gospel, not just as a message that saves, but as a message that gives direction to all of life.
In the second part the authors conduct a series of 15 interviews with people who are involved in some sort of social justice ministry or organization. Interviewees range from Ron Sider to Tony Campolo, from Francis Chan to Mark Batterson. I found these interviews a rather strange addition to the book. I felt that they added very little in terms of benefit; some were useful, some were not; some emphasized what the authors emphasize, others went the other way. Though the authors want to emphasize the primacy of sound theology, a guy like Tony Campolo has long since forsaken any kind of biblical theology. This section confused me and disappointed me. It felt at times like it was the easy way out in which rather than writing another 100 pages of material the authors could simply include interviews with a wide variety of people. And at other times it felt like it was directly opposed to the message of the rest of the book and especially so when interviewing people who have set themselves in direct opposition to the gospel that saves.
At the end of Humanitarian Jesus I am as perplexed as ever. Largely I still see things the way I did before. There is a time and a place for humanitarian work, no doubt. Christians can have great ministries serving the poor and the oppressed and in so doing can have remarkable opportunities to share the gospel. And yet still the history of Christianity shows that when Christians do this, the gospel quickly becomes secondary and the work itself becomes the gospel. I still see the Bible primarily emphasizing charity given to other believers; when I look at Acts and the epistles, this is what I see most—Christians helping other Christians as a sign of love and fraternity. Now of course there will be some who engage in humanitarian work outside the context of the local church, but it seems to me that the closer we come to making this a necessary part of the Christian mission, the more likely we are to see the gospel diminish.
I’m sure my confusion shows in that last paragraph. The more I read on this subject, the more perplexed I become. Am I saying that Christians should not engage in humanitarian work? Of course not. And yet still I do not see from the Bible that Christians absolutely have to as a necessary component of their evangelism. Maybe someone who reads this review can leave a comment and help me out of this mess of confusion.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (41)
I think we can and should participate in humanitarian activities, secondary to proclaiming the Gospel. If there is an opportunity, we should do it. It is good to proclaim the Gospel to a poor village without good access to water. It is better to proclaim the Gospel and dig well.
Thanks very much for the review! I enjoy reading what you write. You are an engaging writer, and have many thoughtful and edifying things to say. Thanks for that! This looks like an interesting book.
I just wanted to briefly take issue with your statement: “And yet still the history of Christianity shows that when Christians do this, the gospel quickly becomes secondary and the work itself becomes the gospel.” Perhaps this is true of recent Christian history, like in the last couple hundred years. This has not always been the case, however. You’ve probably heard of the quote from Julian the Apostate, emperor of Rome around 360 AD and no friend of Christians to the effect that pagan, Greek religion was failing largely because they didn’t bother to care for their poor, while the Christians “support our (pagan) poor in addition to their own.” http://www.thenagain.info/Classes/Sources/Julian.html. I’m not sure a case can be made that the work itself was becoming the gospel in 360 AD along the lines of 19th century liberals, but perhaps I’m wrong about that.
I think you are right that the call of the church is to care for the poor in the fellowship first—but that that care of the poor in our own fellowship is to overflow to non-Christians as well. If we truly are caring for the needy among us, then like in Julian’s day it will overflow to those outside. This is a powerful witness—then people can say “see how these Christians love each other—and even love their enemies!”
Tim,
I have always been uncomfortable with “holistic” conceptions of missions (Christian mission must encompass both evangelism and social action). Like you, I understand the responsibility of Christians to be involved in humanitarian work. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a biblical priority on gospel proclamation.
I found a chapter in veteran missiologist David Hesselgrave’s book Paradigms in Conflict: 10 Key Questions in Christian Missions Today informative: “Holism and Prioritism: For Whom is the Gospel Good News?” You may want to check it out.
At the same time, I must admit that other chapters of this work are problematic. The chapters on Sovereignty and Free Will and the Kingdom of God and the Church of Christ are not convincing (and even have factual errors!), As a result, Hesselgrave’s book is uneven.
Regardless, I still think you’d benefit from Hesselgrave in thinking about the gospel and social action. And if you happen to purchase a copy, be sure to also read “Incarnationalism or Representationalism: Who is Our Missionary Model—Jesus or Paul?”
I am equally confused about where the line is. We are in the middle of deciding whether or not to continue a ministry to those outside of our church because we are not connecting it to the gospel. We still want to reach out, but reach out with who we are uniquely as an organization-converts to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a painful thing to take away programs and ministries that seem to be helping people physically. But well fed pagans still go to hell. All I know is that the gospel of Jesus Christ saves the body AND the soul and that’s where I’m taking our people.
Tim,
Thanks for your thoughtful review. This topic is getting so much attention in the Christian blogosphere these days.
The poor were addressed in my devotional reading in Matthew yesterday. Jesus, in sending word back to the imprisoned John the Baptist, mentioned that the good news was preached to the poor.
Kudos for keeping “the main thing the main thing” in addressing social justice.
Dave
I think it comes down to what we think the most pressing need is… if we think the most pressing needs are in this life, or if we think every person’s most pressing need is reconciliation with the God of the universe. I am not sure that some people really believe that the gospel is the answer to our most urgent questions.
I understand your confusion on this matter, and the problems that it causes in the church. There is also a lot of emotional tension tied into the issue, and therefore unless we are careful in how we respond and answer we can cause significant hurt and brothers to stumble.
I think it is absolutely right that individual Christians are involved in humanitarian work. We want to show our love and compassion for people, and to show that our love for Christ flows into a love for other people. Given that Christians can to some extent be judged by their fruit, I think that humanitarian work is a noble and worthy pursuit.
However where I think this becomes difficult is where it becomes institutional within the church. I’ll reiterate that I fully support individuals within churches supporting humanitarian work and providing aid. However when we make it a church policy I think we’re extending further than scripture gives us warrant. The church is instructed to care for their neighbours, but this is generally written within the context of the body, and caring for other Christians seems to be the emphasis (particularly of Paul). This is not only Christians within our own community, but also Christians elsewhere in the world - hence the collection for the saints in Jerusalem undertaken by the Gentile churches when Agabus prophesied a famine. More than this, I think it is important - the Apostles delegate some highly capable individuals to care for the Hellenist widows in Acts 6.
We do want to make clear however that what saves people is not humanitarian care, but gospel proclamation, as faith only comes through hearing the word, which I think we’d both affirm.I also agree with the idea of an organisation that accomplishes humanitarian goals to create a platform for the gospel. The difficulty you rightly highlighted comes when gospel quickly shifts onto the back-burner, then disappears altogether. I’ve thought over the last few months why this might be the case. When we proclaim the gospel, the world hates us and scorns us for us. When we offer humanitarian aid, we find that the world applauds us for it, and the government might even support us to do even more of it - further compromising our initial gospel-based intentions. Where I live in the UK, evangelical Christian charities have suffered this particularly - there is a continual pressure caused by people offering more funding if they’ll only “tone down the gospel part”. Under this sort of pressure, I can see why the witness part might start to suffer.
This is a complicated issue, and I can’t hope to have dealt with it comprehensively and fairly in a short comment on a blog post. I also hope I have not caused offence to any brothers who disagree with my view. However I think at this stage I’d want to affirm both the mandate of the church to spread the word as they hold up and hold out the gospel, and the right of individual Christians to engage in humanitarian aid as they see fit. However I don’t want to see humanitarian response to become an aim or an objective of my church overall as I don’t feel we’re called to it in the New Testament, nor do I want us to begin to compromise our gospel witness. Having said all of this, I want to ask myself afresh how clearly I demonstrate Christ’s love for others in my own life, and examine my own giving in time, energy and resources.
I have never understood the problem . Perhaps I’m too simple to see a problem but the way I see it , if one is transformed by the gospel then good works will follow. Yes it is imperative first and foremost to preach Christ and Him crucified , risen and reigning till he comes again but what good is that if I show no mercy,no compassion . James 2: 14-17 dealing with faith and how it should look makes it clear , action will happen feeding the hungry , clothing the poor.
If I confess Jesus as Lord but have no regard for others , loving my brothers and sisters in the faith or my neighbor (all unbelievers) and doing what I can to alleviate suffering as best I can with what God has given me , even if I have all the right doctrines what good is that. As Paul points out in Corinthians , what good is knowledge if I have not love. When I think of men who worked this out I think of Spurgeon and his orphanage and school to help poor pastors etc.. or John Wesley’s giving . There are many other examples.
The key is making sure the gospel is front and center . That soul saving is the task at hand , calling all to repent and turn to Christ . But at the same time it should not stop me from giving a thirsty man a drink or food . I just don’t see why they need to be separated . For me it is the gospel that drives me to help in gratitude for what God has done for me .
Tim, can not a person involved in missions do both, but with the Gospel of Christ being primary? A true Christian who is teaching and preaching and sees a need, will feel the tugging on his heart to help.
The problem is guilt. Our country has become wealthy, and we’ve been taught by (wealthy) liberals that we should feel guilty for being wealthy westerners. When this indoctrinated “guilt of wealth” becomes bigger than our true guilt of a sinful nature, the Gospel of Christ gets diluted and even lost at times.
I see this as both an issue of giftedness and balance.There are some among us who are gifted and “bent” toward mercy and social justice kinds of work. One the other hand there are those who are evangelists and the proclamation of the gospel animates them. Good theology requires that we make the proclamation of the Gospel paramount for it is indeed the power of God unto salvation. But giving the “cup of cold water” in Jesus name is powerful as well, for it is in these good deeds that people look up and glorify our Father who is in heaven.It’s always easier to live on the left or right. Balance is always trickier but necessary. Let’s do both as God gives us opportunity, and let’s do it in Jesus Name.
Hi Tim,
The biggest issue/struggle for me is that living in North America, I am wealthier than majority of the people in the world (make less than 2 dollar a day).
And I am trying to live out the command to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the parable of Good Samaritan, Jesus outline the neighbor as anyone that needs help as a potential to be a neighbor that we ought to give mercy to. Yes, we should care for our Christian brothers and sisters. We also should look out for the welfare of those who are non-believers as well.
Between mercy and preaching the Gospel, these are things which I discern about. I don’t see them as exclusive. To give mercy and to preach the Gospel goes hand in hand. Just like Jesus did. He has compassion for the destitute. He preach and also take care of them. And so we should do the same.
I am reading Tim Keller’s Ministries of Mercy and it is quite well in helping me how mercy looks like in a biblical manner.
Matthew 25:40 (NIV) “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:45 (NIV) “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
It is clear to me that we are charged with caring for others as long as it is not at the expense of the Gospel message. By “Gospel message’ I’m talking about the sharing of the “good news” with all peoples; whether they are needy or not needy in the worldly sense.
Some denomination’s missionary efforts have fallen into the trap of a “works based” salvation process. This is antithetical to the Gospel of Sola Fide and is a deadly process that leads people to lose the true Gospel and replace it with a social gospel.
I recently became aware of a Christian missionary effort called “Empart” that has been highly successful in India, particularly Northern India where Christianity is virtually unknown. There are literally 10’s of millions of people that have never heard the name “Jesus”. The people of Northern India are under the crushing weight of the “Caste” system that is integral to Hinduism.
The Empart ministry has the primary focus and purpose of “church planting”. This is all done by training indigenous (Indian) peoples in the Biblical truth of Christ and then sending them back to their village or to other villages to start new churches. (BTW, a “church” for these people is not a building but a “house” meeting place, usually the Pastor’s home.) They also train women to do seamstress work and provide pedal-powered sewing machines upon graduation from the sewing school so that they can go back to their villages and start a business to support their families. The 6 months long training program is saturated with the truth of Christ; but conversion is not a requirement to graduate or get the sewing machine. And they do all of this for about $125/student. Amazing!
There’s simply too much going on in this ministry to share here. The Empart ministry is run from Australia and you can go to their website to learn more:
http://www.empart.org/orhttp://www.empartusa.org/
On the home page of the USA website there’s a free eBook that you can download and read how the entire ministry got started. The name of the primary mover in all of this is Jossy Chacko. The eBook tells his and the ministry’s story and it is very revealing about how Hinduism and Islam has created and sustains a class of people that are considered lower than farm animals in worth. To get the eBook called “Madness” you need to provide your name and email address. I read this book and it was riveting and revealed some people with an amazing faith!
This ministry is an amazing demonstration of God’s power to heal and to evangelize! In my opinion what is happening in India, through Empart, would make the Apostle Paul very proud!
Take a look!
Dan H…..
Tim,
I totally want to talk to you about this sometime. I think social justice is a bit of a crummy term. Anyone can do social justice but not anyone can show mercy in the name of Christ. I am having a hard time thinking about ‘social justice’ confuses you because it makes perfect sense to me. I know that you have a good solid understanding of the kingdom of God. And I also know that you read the gospels and see that a HUGE part of the Messiah’s ministry was showing mercy to others. I wonder if the confusion comes from where the emphasis is laid on the gospel.
Here are some options:
1) The Justification Gospel:This gospel places justification as the ‘main thing’.Sinner’s being made right with God is what matters. Everything else is considered to be secondary.
2) The kingdom gospelThis gospel places the in-breaking of God’s kingdom at the center of the gospel. Not much is said about the cross because the real thing that matters is that God is making all things right. Social action is seen as the main work of the Christian.
3) a. Cross then HeavenThis gospel still places the atoning work of Christ at the center of the gospel and the benefit that those who believe receive is heaven. The only important work for the believer to do is to preach the gospel so that others can go to heaven.
3) b. Cross then KingdomThe same as 3 a. but the benefit that those who believe receive is taking part in the kingdom.
4) The Redefined Kingdom GospelThis gospel places strong emphases on God’s promises to Israel. This sees the in-breaking of God’s kingdom in fulfillment to his promises as the main thing. However, when Jesus came he redefined what this would look like. Many people expected the way to victory would be through violent over throw of the Romans but Jesus achieved victory by being crucified by them. The cross is still central as it is the means by which sinner’s are ransomed to live under the just rule of the Messiah, the world’s true Lord. But the cross only makes sense in the context of the kingdom. Sinner’s are forgiven so that they might be delivered from this present evil age and brought into the ‘age-to-come’. ‘Social action’ is important because it displays what it looks like when “God takes the reigns” and what happens when Jesus is Lord. The proclamation explains what the actions mean.
Obviously I think the last one is correct, that’s why it’s so long.
Tim, I agree with your assessment of the book, and I don’t feel confused about it at all. We are called to “remember the poor” and alleviate suffering but I agree that the biblical call is that we take care of those who have legitimate claims on our help, first in our families and then in the church.
The biblical model seems to be compassionate giving of both time and resources to help poor people, but it does not seem to be an over-arching, urgent endeavor. “The poor you will always have with you.” We cannot stamp out poverty, but we can and should try to help where we can.
I think biblical teaching and church history show that where the gospel is faithfully preached and received, social conditions tend to improve. This is a wonderful benefit to society of God’s grace to his people.
The social gospel is a tragedy, especially when droves of well-meaning Christians watch other men in ministry carry out their methodologies and think that by following suit they are “pleasing to God.” That kind of propagation does not produce the kind of work that is produced by real faith and the subsequent labor that is prompted by genuine love, fueled by real endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (see 1 Thess. 1:3)
Hebrews 4 teaches us that every Christian is called to “hear and obey.” Grace and practical provision are always made for the work of the Lord to be accomplished, as He never abandons the work of His hands.
Faith and sound, Bible-rich theology will always be effective in producing lasting fruit, whether in obscurity or on a grand scale, as He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.It’s true. Creeds fuel deeds. This is something of what it means to live by faith and rest from our own works.
Along with Reg Schofield (#8), I don’t quite get why this is so confusing to some. We are clearly instructed in the Bible to both proclaim the gospel and to give aid to those in need. So, we ought to do both, empowered by Christ in us.
This concept does not seem difficult to understand.
Matt. 5:16 (and context) sums it up: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
I think the comment from Jay Richardson possibly holds the key to your confusion: “But well fed pagans still go to hell”.
Buried somewhere in the psyche of all good reformed Christians is the inescapable notion that God doesn’t really love everyone. That in fact He only really loves the elect. The outworking of that unfortunate thought pattern probably explains at least a portion of your confusion.
Also, the notion that salvation is primarily about escaping hell and going to heaven when you die probably explains another goodly portion.
As an antidote to at least some of the confusion I’d highly recommend N.T. Wright’s excellent Surprised By Hope.
Oh my golly, Miss Molly - where to start. If the authors really say: “Christ was and is principally concerned with eternity and the reconciliation of the lost. Fundamentally, Christ came to earth to seek and to save, not to heal and feed. Just as Christ came to provide the only means for spiritual reconciliation with the Father, He calls the redeemed to the specific task of continuing His ministry of reconciliation.” …then they are ignoring great passages on justice in Isaiah 58, Amos, etc. If what they say is true, then we need to blacken out Matthew 25: 31ff where Jesus describes the separation of the sheep and the goats as one of separation of those who cared for the poor and those who did not! Show me your faith by your works
Wow, look what happens when you ignore one little adverb.
Robert West, I suggest you reread the excerpt you quoted, pay special attention to the word “principally,” and rethink your conclusion.
My understanding of the Matthew 25 passage is that the “least of these my brothers” refers to believers. Nowhere does Christ refer to unbelievers as his brothers. “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the d congregation I will sing your praise” (Hebrews 1:11,12).
The Bible definitely speaks to our aiding the poor and weak, just not in the Matthew 25 passage.
I’ve been studying social justice vs. the Bible for a long time, and I’d be glad to help clear up some confusion.
It hit me one day when I saw a picture of a friend who had written the word “justice” on her arm. My friend had no idea what she was asking for. Justice means getting what you deserve. My friend is a sinner, and because the wages of sin is death, it follows that justice equals death.
In the Bible, the word justice has two different meanings: Judgment, and righteousness. Social justice activists aren’t too fond of either one. They want justice to mean happy things, helping the poor, banding together to create a poverty-free world. That’s not what the Bible calls for. Not only does the Bible clearly state that the poor will always be among us (no matter how many Bonos rise up to try to get rid of them), but justice in the Bible usually means judgment. Judgment usually means death. God’s wrath. Not a very pretty picture of the God who we like to portray as a giant Santa Claus.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary calls justice “The establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity.” Fairness.
I became anti-fairness one day in 2004 when a wobbly little orphan walked into my arms in a hotel room in China. This orphan is now my sister. It wasn’t fair to the other children in the orphanage that she was the one who got adopted; but it’s also not fair that I, a selfish kid from America, got to be blessed beyond belief by adoption. So if I call for fairness, I’m calling to get rid of a whole lot of things I have that I don’t deserve. Am I ready to do that?
I also have a sister from Russia who does not want to accept her family’s love. My family is relentlessly pursuing her with love, again and again being rejected. And I think that through this experience, God has given me a small picture of what God feels for his people; he aches for them to know him. We reject him. And he pursues again.
More than anything, he wants the lost to know Him. We are his hands and feet in the world. We are the ones called to “go and make followers of all people in the world, baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
So to answer your question, I don’t believe in social justice. Does that mean I think Christians should stay inside their church bubbles and focus on giving pamper-me parties? Absolutely not. But when we care for the orphans and widows, we have to do it God’s way.
We can take a million orphans off the street and put them in orphanages; we can redecorate a million orphanages; we can give a million dollars to orphanages. But none of these will take care of the problem.
God designed the family for a reason; when we try to bypass that design, really bad things happen. AIDs happens. Children are abandoned, neglected, and abused, then grow up and repeat the experience on their own children. They become like my sister, rejecting love, rejecting blessings, rejecting everything I consider to be what makes my life beautiful.
James 2:15-16 says “A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, ‘God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,’ but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing.” (emphasis mine)
It’s all about giving them what they need. And if what they need is a family and God’s love, then why should we hesitate to give that to them?
But you know what? Even if every person grew up in the most loving, Christian family possible, our world wouldn’t be perfect, because man is fallen. Man isn’t just a little bit fallen, either. He is so fallen that in Genesis, God was sorry he made us. That’s scary to me. But God put into effect something that could redeem us; something beyond what we deserve. “He sent His son to earth with the same human life that others use for sin. By sending His son as an offering for sin, God used a human life to destroy sin.”
He gave us eternity.
In closing, all I can say is that I have been to a country where it’s against the law to tell children about Jesus. I’ve gotten to know an orphan in her distress. I spent a week showing her symbols of God’s love in hopes that some day, she might remember and know that I did that because of Christ in me. I’ve seen her leave, in tears, to go back to the orphanage. An orphan whose only hope for a better life is in eternity.
And when, because of laws trying to impute fairness on the world, you cannot tell an orphan about that hope, you see how very important it is to speak up when you have the chance.
I’m sure someone’s already brought this up, but I don’t have time to read all the comments…
I think a healthy understanding of the Two Kingdoms (Luther) can solve some of the difficulties with the supposed paradox between the gospel and social justice. The church’s mission (as an “institution” or as a corporate body) is to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. Christ and his message is central. If the gathered church makes its mission to help the poor and needy, it can lose its footing.
But that being said, when the gathered church is focused on the gospel and is being built up to maturity, it should naturally spawn Christians living out their heavenly citizenship within their earthly citizenship. A “scattered” Christian can and should make a difference in their neighborhood, schools, vocations, etc. We should be the best humanitarians. And we can even do so under the guise of “common grace” in which the gospel may not be front and center. But I bet as we live our lives this way, opportunities to speak Truth will be present.
Just a thought.
“And yet still I do not see from the Bible that Christians absolutely have to as a necessary component of their evangelism.”
What about as a necessary component of LOVING THEIR NEIGHBORS AS THEMSELVES? Really. (Not meant sarcastically!)
I would greatly encourage anyone who desires to learn more about this topic to consider reading Tim Keller’s book, “Ministries of Mercy.” Take the time to read it cover to cover. I am so grateful for his careful treatment of this very important topic. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
It seems those who are really interested in mercy have to be interested in truth. We work with refugees and orphans and the more I work with those who are in those kinds of crisis situations the more I see that the greatest act of mercy is truth. At the same time, you do wonder how those who are interested in truth wouldn’t be passionate about mercy. Thinking long term about God’s extravagant mercy in my life is exactly what motivates me to want to show it. I want to go out and find those who absolutely can’t repay me and develop relationships and give and do whatever I can and whatever is truly helpful because that’s what God did with me. (Can you tell I love Luke 14!)I guess one danger with any of this stuff is that we long to make ourselves our idol and whether it is pursuing pleasure or denying ourselves pleasure we are willing to do a whole lot of crazy stuff to promote self, and we need to make sure that we aren’t excited about caring for people for the wrong reason, that’s it is not just another way of stuffing the self-idol.But one concern I have when some people talk about this issue is that they act as if it were something new that all the young people are just excited about, (those crazy kids) when that’s not really all that fair. For one thing, isn’t the basic question - is it right? If all the young people are excited about having good marriages then it doesn’t really matter if it is cool, it’s right. And then two, man the guys that have motivated me the most in this regards are men like Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Robert Murray McCheyne and then John Calvin. I don’t think they used terms like social justice and I am sure that some of the ways they thought about were different than how it is expressed today but man you look at what they said about the Christian’s responsibility to the needy and it’s intense. (I usually say Jonathan Edwards is the reason my family moved to Africa. I once went through what I have of Calvin and just pulled out quotes on mercy to the needy and then read them to a group and asked, “Are you really a Calvinist? Five points you might not like as much…”) Anyway, thanks Tim for your humble concern about this issue.
Tim,
You’ve probably already heard of the book, but I found When Helping Hurts by Corbett and Fikkert to be very helpful on this topic. Check out some of their online resources here: http://www.chalmers.org/
Tim, this seems to be a touchy subject and I’m not completely sure why. There has been so much written on it and much debate, as you and others well know. One reason could be because of the demand made on our lifestyle and pocket books. If we’re going to give, then we will have to sacrifice wants and our standard of living. This is very hard and has been a major struggle for me. As for me, it’s been an area of exploration since my eyes were opened to it while reading Chan’s “Cray Love”. After I became aware of the great spiritual and physical need in the world I started to read all I could on the subject, and I continue to do so. I could not help but evaluate my lifestyle in light of what I’ve learned, not only because this is pressed in books like “Crazy Love”, but because I couldn’t help but do so in view of the facts. I personally cannot live “the good American life” in view of the great spiritual need and physical suffering in the world, and even more so because of the clear biblical teaching pertaining to this area. Just today, my wife and I got a letter from one of the two Compassion kids we sponsor. Included in it was how much our support has provided for this little boy from Ethiopia both spiritually and physically, as well as a picture that showed how much healthier he looks. My wife broke out crying with joy and thankfulness to God as she read it out loud to me & as we studied the picture together. We are particularly joyful & thankful to God that we’ve been given the opportunity to help him “learn that Jesus saves” (in our child’s words)! Buying more stuff for ourselves will never, ever compare to the joy of providing help and hope to this little boy (and our little girl) in the name of Christ! (continued)
One way all this impacted my wife & I was a change in our church membership to the church David Platt pastors partly because of what I consider to be his sound leadership in this area. I think he strikes a perfect balance of zeal for missions/spiritual need & needs of the poor/physical need both locally & globally. I would encourage you to check out what he’s had to say in this area. Resources include his new book “Radical”, the recent Secret Church “The Gospel, Possessions & Prosperity”, & sermons from the “Radical” series, the Radical Experiment, & James. You can find all this at brookhills.org. I would also recommend Randy Alcorn’s book “Money, Possessions, & Eternity”, Tim Keller’s “Ministries of Mercy”, Craig Blomberg’s “Neither Poverty, Nor Riches”, & “When Helping Hurts”. There are several more also, but these are the most theologically sound in my opinion. John Piper has also been a major influence from his various books & sermons, as has Matt Chandler in a few of his sermons, especially “Bigger Barns” from his Luke series. In my opinion, we all need to wrestle with this area by becoming aware of it through reading & listening, & then see what God would have us do. From my perspective & experience, I think it’s a major area of needed reform among reformed believers because it does not seem to be a major area of concern when it probably should take up more of our thinking, time, & money. Lastly, I think much of the teaching found in these resources touches heavily on what true discipleship looks like in a follower of Jesus.
I would agree that ministry to the poor is not essential for our evangelism, but it is absolutely essential to our discipleship.
All,
I agree with Jordon’s “Two Kingdoms” thinking here. I’m also drawn to John 4 and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan Woman. At the onset of this interaction with Christ was she a believer in a classical sense? Did not Christ demonstrate in this story how no one is unreachable when the power of a sovereign God is in play? She knew the story of Jacob and his association with the well at Sychar that he had gifted to his son Joseph. Yet her life style did not reflect that of a believer. She was a sinner (like me), yet Christ took an interest in her by demonstrating His knowledge of her sins, and then using her amazement and conversion to reach out to the entire Samaritan village. This all culminated in John 4:42 “…this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Whether or not Jesus was talking about serving believers alone; or included non-believers in His entreaty (Matthew 25) to serve others; I have to believe that He meant for us to serve all whom we encounter, with the same level of care and fervency that we would use to serve Him. I believe this first and foremost because who are we to decide who is one of the elect and who is not? A current or future believer is still a brother or sister are they not? Also, when we interact with a non-believer, the essence or very core of being a winsome messenger for Christ; should have at its prow the action of a “Christ like” service. Are we believers not always to reflect Christ in our attitudes and actions? What better way to get the attention of a future convert than by a kind, Christ-like act? And should the person reject the “living water” in the long run; does this outcome diminish the value of our kindness in the eyes of Christ?
I don’t think so…
In Christ,
Dan H…
“I personally cannot live “the good American life” in view of the great spiritual need and physical suffering in the world, and even more so because of the clear biblical teaching pertaining to this area.”
Aahhh exactly!!!!!!!! Thank you.
I don’t this is such a convoluted issue, biblically. But, we Evangelicals fear that if we do things, i.e. put an emphasis on social justice, that pagans do some how we are in trouble of becoming like those pagans. That is bad methodology, bad thinking.
Jesus healed, fed, touched, and proclaimed to brothers and Gentiles alike. So, go and to the same.
Ryan
We stress evangelism, but Jesus said make disciples. Making disciples is teaching people to love the Lord with their heart, soul, mind, and strength & to love their neighbor as themselves. In fact, the 2nd is like the 1st. Just as we see in Matt 25, we show our love for God, by demonstrating love for the least among us. You cannot love your neighbor as yourself apart from a heart transformed by the grace of God. However, sacrificially loving your neighbor gives testimony that you have been transformed by the Gospel and do indeed love the Lord.
The western mind seeks to compartmentalize proclamation and social ministry, but this is the wrong approach. The reality is that it is not an either/or decision. Making disciples requires both and this is what we have been commanded to do.
Dave,
I strongly believe in a holistic approach to Gospel ministry. I think part of the problem is that to a large extent we have entrusted social ministry to humanitarian agencies. Often fund raising (i.e. child sponsorship programs) drives their giving and thus their focus toward the social extreme.
Not to plug my own ministry but we take a different approach. We are planting churches among the very poor and equipping them to minister holistically. We stay behind the scenes and the local church is equipped to do both proclamation and social ministry. This approach in many ways is contrary to the common views on self-sufficiency, but we believe the body of Christ is to be interdependent.
Our approach is proving to be very effective. Not only are the churches balancing the tension between proclamation and social ministry, but biblical community is developing. People are being discipled and beginning to care for and look after one another. Entire families and even neighborhoods are being transformed. When residents of a majority world slum transition from a mentality of every person for themselves (survival mode) to loving their neighbor as themselves great things can happen. This is done by the power of the Spirit transforming lives and by God’s grace leading people to fulfill the 1st and 2nd great commandments.
Personally, I believe it can be balanced. You can call it whatever you want, quote whatever you want, and at the end of the day if we are true followers it boils down to a simple thing.
Jesus said, “I do what I see my Father do.” and He found out what to do through prayer. Jesus didn’t solely evangelize, nor was he solely a humanitarian. Instead, each encounter in the Bible, each period of teaching He gave, was led by the Father. It was unique to Christ, and done for that specific situation, at that time.
He opened the eyes of the Samaritan woman about living water, without giving her water to drink. He met her emotional and spiritual need while pointing to Himself. Yet, He gave food to the 5000, meeting their physical need while pointing to Himself. He healed some, delivered others, and each time it was exactly what that person (or persons) needed, and each time it pointed to God.
It was revolutionary, and it was perfect, because He walked in God’s will. To say that it should be focused on evangelicalism first, or to say that humanitarianism is the way to go is not balanced. If you are interested in really making a change, pray and fast. Then, when God shows you what to do, do it. Speak His words, perform His actions. When it is done, and lives are changed, start again.
Jesus rarely did the same thing twice. Why do we assume we should find “the one thing” and do it over and over? You reaching the world for Christ, if guided by God will also be unique to you, it will be revolutionary, and it will be perfect, because you will be doing the will of God.
Part of it is the call to Love your Neighbor. I’d encourage you to see what more can be done in that ministry, rather than cutting it off. Personally I’m grateful for any opportunity to show compassion to those who don’t even know what it is or from Whom it truly flows.
er.. that was meant to be in reply to Jay Richardson 06/02 @ 10:26am
You’re right on with this one. Social justice for the Christian is an issue I’ve always had trouble nailing down. What you said about Jesus’ primary mission being to seek and to save is what it really comes down to. That’s first priority. But evangelism without love and charity isn’t complete. Like James said “Faith without works is dead.”
You can in fact do both. I am one of the ministers at the Conroe House of Prayer, in Conroe, Texas. We open our doors every morning, Monday through Saturday, to the homeless. They come in, worship the Lord, hear the gospel of reconciliation taught, then we feed them and help them find jobs. We have seen great results. People being saved, set free from addictions, finding jobs, getting housing and becoming part of the church and society again. Just last week we helped an 18 year old pregnant homeless girl get off the streets who was contemplating having an abortion. It’s one thing for me to tell someone don’t get an abortion that’s a sin, and another for me to help that person find a way out of their circumstances, and ultimately lead them to Christ. Why not use the lof of the Lord and the compassion of Christ to bring people into the kingdom of heaven?
While I agree that Christ meeting human need on earth was done in order to promote and demonstrate the eternal (and show His true love of mankind), I disagree with your comment, “And yet still I do not see from the Bible that Christians absolutely have to (engage in humanitarian work) as a necessary component of their evangelism.” I think that James 2:14-26 quite clearly reveals the required “humanitarian” aspect of the Christian walk. To truly share the Gospel with others, a Christian must also SHOW them what it is. To be Christ-like is to use the temporal (humanitarianism) to promote the eternal (evangelism) . “You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day. You can teach that man to fish to feed himself for a lifetime, but either way, that man will die…then what?” We, as Christians have what no one else has, the true eternal perspective. Meeting human need not only allows us to enact the Christian character Christ put in us “to love our neighbour as ourself”, but to use it as a tool to “draw all men to Himself”, which is the greater good.
I am really confused why Christian service, which is taught, demonstrated, and commanded by Jesus himself, is viewed with such caution by the Reformed crowd (which I have identified with for the last 4 or 5 years).
I understand that missions or service can take priority over the gospel message or even dilute the true gospel when people lose focus on who it is they are really serving. However, the guy who reads a Calvin, Edwards, Spurgeon and Piper book every week may have perfect theology and tons of fantastic knowledge. But, if that leads to pride and makes the person unwilling to humble themselves and follow Christ by serving others, are they any better off?
Some guys get it - Tim Keller and Ed Stetzer come to mind. I just don’t get why there is such reservation in Reformed circles about missions, but such intense praise and focus of certain theologians and preachers.