For different reasons (historical and theological) whenever we mention social justice or become concerned about social issues, eyebrows get raised and legitimate questions get asked about whether the cause of the gospel is about to be betrayed. This article is the second in set that serves to help us reflect on “our response to human need” and will help clarify some thoughts on the relationship between evangelism and social responsibility.
Definitions
We’ll begin by way of definition. Evangelism can be defined as:
Evangelism is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Saviour and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to God. The results of effective evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his church and responsible service in the world.
Social Action is described in the Lausanne Covenant (Paragraph 5) as:
We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all men. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men from every kind of oppression. Because mankind is made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, colour, culture, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which he should be respected and served, not exploited. [...] The message of salvation implies also a message of judgment upon every form of alienation, oppression and discrimination, and we should not be afraid to denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When people receive Christ they are born again into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.
The historical controversy
When I was growing up, one of the great Christian put downs was to condemn one’s ministry as being “social gospel”. The so-called “social gospel” was developed by the theological liberals early in the 20th century. If we are to summarise the “movement”, it was generally a confusion of God’s kingdom with social democracy – that somehow, they imagined that through their social programmes they could somehow build God’s kingdom on earth. This is indeed a great distortion of the true gospel: giving priority to social concern and diminishing any need for evangelism.
However, this is not to say that all social action is contrary to the gospel. For example the Great Awakening in North America and the Evangelical Revival in Britain (which all took part in the early 18th Century) saw a great stimulus given to both evangelism and social action. This is is seen in men like Wilberforce who was committed to the abolition of the slave trade, social reform and world evangelisation. So historically, when there was a great increase in evangelism there also seemed to be an enhanced amount of social concern. But is there also a relationship between the two?
They are distinct ….
The Bible upholds a distinction between social action and evangelism. Firstly we note a distinction if gifts. Some are gifted to be “evangelists” (Eph 4:11), while others are called to serve (Rom 12:7; 1 Pet 4:11) or to “acts of mercy” (Rom 12:8) – and these are all for the common good (1 Cor 12:7).
And secondly, flowing from the distinct gifts, there is also never a conflation of the different activities. This is best seen in Acts 6:8-15. The Apostles are freed to to word ministry whilst also retaining an important social concern (Gal 2:10). This is helpfully articulated in the Lausanne Covenant Paragraph 5:
Although reconciliation with man is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbour and our obedience to Jesus Christ.
So the activities are distinct and separated. But surely they should somehow be related?
They are also related ….
There are a few relationships that can be discerned:
- Social activity being a bridge to evangelism. Some times good works can be seen to somehow open doors by break down prejudices and suspicion in order to gain a hearing for the gospel (Acts 8:5-13). This is aptly summarised by the phrase “sometimes we need to do good to be heard.” This idea of bridging is not to be confused with bribing – it is not some kind of divine “cash for comment”. All motivation for social action is from love and not opportunism for the gospel.
- Social activity as a consequence of evangelism. If evangelism is the means by which God brings people into eternal salvation, then their new life manifests itself in the loving service of others. Once we become Christians, then a godly response to the gospel in our lives is social action. James says “I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18; 1 John 3:16-18). Good works never can save, but they show clear evidence of salvation (James 2:14-26)
[to be continued]
