Emphasis Added
The Lord Jesus Christ, when asked which of the commandments was the greatest, responded, succinctly and profoundly, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” (Matthew 22:37). He did not stop there, however. For, in order to summarize both tablets of the decalogue, Christ was quick to add the second, stating, “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’” (22:39). So emphatic is Christ in showing the weight and requirement of these twofold duties that He appeals to the entirety of the Scriptures: “Upon these two commandments”, He says, “hang the whole Law and the Prophets,” (22:40). Simply put, the Christian life, as Christ (and the Bible) teaches, finds itself living within the two overlapping spheres of Godward love and neighborly love. The first love is vertical, manifesting itself in worship and obedience to Yahweh. The second love is a natural outworking of the first, seeing itself horizontally in one’s relationship to fellow image bearers. Such love to our neighbors (rooted in a love for our God) is to affect all areas of our life, including the familial level, the congregational level, the civil level, and the social level. It is with this blog that I would like to present my position on the Christian’s duty to love his neighbor, particularly on the social level, as commonly called social justice.
I do not adopt the modern usage of [social justice] that carries the baggage of 21st Century leftism.
Before going further, I find it necessary to be clear on how I am defining social justice. I do not adopt the modern usage of the word that carries the baggage of 21st Century leftism, contrary to those who argue that you must hold to that definition if you use the word. Rather, I hold to the historic term of which men, like the notable Reformed Presbyterian pastor and apologist, Greg Bahnsen, the conservative Baptist, reformer, and mentor to Al Mohler, Carl Henry, the theologically conservative and Reformed Anglican, John Stott, and the great 20th Century theologian and preacher, Martin Lloyd-Jones, utilized which was defined, simply, as justice applied to the social level. To be more specific, God’s standard of justice applied to the social level. Such a term and definition are not new to historic Christianity and evangelicalism. As a matter of fact, it’s a core tenet of what it means to be an evangelical! According to the National Association of Evangelicals, a core distinctive alongside of an emphatic call for “Conversionism, Biblicism, and Crucicentrism” is the call for Activism – “the expression and demonstration of the gospel in missionary and social reform efforts”. One could go back further in church history and see admired men who were advocates for social justice, including our most beloved Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon, and the Father of Modern Missions, William Carey.
One would be amiss, if they did not include the words of their Savior who was intentional to speak of love and care for the “stranger” and “the least of these” with a warning that those who neglect such “will go away into eternal punishment.
The chief of all sources, however, is the Scriptures, and they are not lacking in such calls for social justice. The LORD, in speaking to the house of Israel after the Exodus, commanded them, saying, “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt,” (Exodus 23:9). Of the wisdom sayings found in the Proverbs, King Lemuel was intentional to exhort his readers to, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy,” (Proverbs 31:8-9). Preachers, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos joined with their prophetic words: “Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow,” (Isaiah 1:17); “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place,” (Jeremiah 22:3); “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” (Amos 5:24). One would be amiss, if they did not include the words of their Savior who was intentional to speak of love and care for the “stranger” and “the least of these” with a warning that those who neglect such “will go away into eternal punishment,” (Matthew 25:31-46). Once again, this is all rooted out of a love both vertically toward our God and horizontally toward our neighbor. God, as seen in the aforementioned verses (as well as a host of others), calls His people to justice. We fight for the oppressed, speak for the voiceless, and welcome the stranger because of that. But, it should simultaneously be fueled out of a love for our neighbor, recognizing that all humans are worthy of respect, dignity, and fairness by virtue of the Imago Dei.
The Bride of Christ should reject [racism] with great fierceness, and not allow one’s open racism, implicit prejudices, or plain ignorance be an excuse to not reach all in our social sphere.
Even now as I write this, I would dare assume that many people would affirm everything that I have written, especially if it is dealing with social justice issues, like abortion, sex trafficking, and the separation of church and state; however, from my personal observation, it becomes an extremely uncomfortable and, sadly, divisive, issue when one brings up racial injustice. I would like to be very candid and say that I do believe racial injustice still takes place today and it is the church’s obligation to speak out and fight for those who are experiencing such tragedies with the prophetic voice of Scripture. With unjust systems against persons of color, like Planned Parenthood, the School to Prison Pipeline, and even the twice shot down amendment to change the racist contents of the Alabama State Constitution and it finally being overturned this year with only a 67% affirmative vote, the Church ought to be honest with such realities, call them for what they are, and seek to eliminate such, all while preaching the ever-relevant counsel of. With professing Christians relegating the 2nd Great Commandment to merely “[loving] thy American neighbor” only, the Bride of Christ should reject that with great fierceness, and not allow one’s open racism, implicit prejudices, or plain ignorance be an excuse to not reach all in our social sphere. With a city like Arab, known for its historic racism as a “Sundown Town” with a sign up through the early 90’s that said, “N*****, Don’t Let the Sun Set On Your Black A** in Arab, Alabama,” we must acknowledge this sad past, mourn for its present effects on our town, and not fall guilty of not reaching all of our community in our own day. When one hears the cries of a black man in Wood Green, lamenting, “This is why they call us ‘animals’!” Or, the sobering words of a young Hispanic woman who feels unwelcome in their community because of her ethnicity, the people of God should come to them, comforting, mourning, and not dismissing their experience, but ever pointing them to the Gospel of Christ and seek justice. When one claims CRT and Intersectionality are the biggest enemies of the church today while racist jokes are told in the fellowship hall and people in one’s community go unreached because they look different and talk different, the church ought to repent in sackcloth and ashes, rise, and love their neighbor with the Good News.
The church ought to repent in sackcloth and ashes, rise, and love their neighbor with the Good News.
In all honesty, and perhaps this will come across overly simplistic, but the reason I believe in social justice is because I believe in the power of the Gospel. To quote our brother, Barry King, “So now we’re told that calling for social justice means a preacher doesn’t believe in the sufficiency of the Gospel. Not necessarily, brothers. I for one call for it precisely because I believe the Gospel alone is sufficient to produce it any meaningful way”. So, how would this be fleshed out, practically? The answer is simple: going out to all people of all backgrounds, loving them as I would love myself by listening, investing, and preaching the Gospel of our Lord. In other words, loving my neighbor as myself.
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“The white [Christian] must see that [Blacks] needs not only love but also justice. It is not enough to say, “We love [Blacks] we have many [Blacks] friends.” They must demand justice for [Blacks]. Love that does not satisfy justice is no love at all. It is merely a sentimental affection, little more than what one would have for a pet. Love at its best is justice concretized. Love is unconditional. It is not conditional upon one’s staying in his place or watering down his demands in order to be considered respectable. He who contends that he “used to love the [Blacks] but …” did not truly love him in the beginning, because his love was conditioned upon the [Blacks’] limited demands for justice.”
