Social Justice Statement

Patton Shinall

Special Statement • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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I wanted to take a few minutes before the sermon to address what has been happening in our world and how it affects our church, and I will tell you that what I’m about to say is probably the most unpopular and offensive thing anyone can say in today’s culture.

If you watch the news at all, this past week has been hard to stomach.

We witnessed another unjust killing of an African American man, George Floyd, and the reaction to that injustice has resulted in even more injustice with unjust riots in cities all across America.

Why, I and the other elders want to address this is because our culture is at a boiling point concerning injustice and this has created fertile ground for some false teaching to infiltrate our church and churches across America.

The hatred and division you have been seeing this past week is really the poison fruit of two godless ideologies Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality.

If you don’t know what either of those philosophies say, that’s ok. Basically, Critical Race theory and Intersectionality ultimately come together to produce a worldview called Social Justice.

Now that is something you have heard and the reason it has made such inroads in our culture, even among gospel believing Christians is because it sounds good and right.

I mean who can possibly be against justice in our society? Doesn’t the Bible even talk about justice all the time in the Old Testament Prophets?

But here’s the problem, Social Justice as a worldview is completely antithetical from the biblical idea of Justice and does not actually answer the problem of injustice in our world.

Social Justice is characterized revenge, malice, covetousness, and anger. Social justice seeks to achieve justice in society by trying to tear down power structures they perceive to be unjust and exalting the “oppressed” over the “oppressors.” And this new leveling is called justice even if it results in a new group being oppressed because hey they oppressed us first.

Basically what that means is that the world believes the answer to all the brokenness and injustice in the world is to take down every institution, whether that is the government itself or even the words used in culture that the world deems oppressive, and to rebuild society again in a way that is “fair” for everyone. Again according to their definition of fair. Not God’s.

That is what it means to be woke.

Biblical justice on the other hand is characterized by God’s own nature, character, and law. Biblical justice seeks a society where justice is done according God’s will and righteousness. Biblical justice seeks to achieve a just society by practicing what is right with the standard being God and his law.

Make no mistake, Christians should be a people for justice. We should be characterized by justice, but we can’t strive for justice by adopting Social Justice as a worldview. Christians who do so put the wisdom of the world over the authority of God’s Word.

So what I want to do is to answer, how should Christians understand and interact with what is going on in our country? What is our role in issues regarding justice in our society?

Christian Worldview

First and foremost, injustice in our world is a result of the brokenness and sin we caused when we rebelled against God.

We should hate injustice anywhere we see it because we know its not how God created the world.

But what that means is that the answer to injustice is not the gospel of Social justice which says tear down the power structures because tearing down power structures does nothing to address our sinful hearts.

Instead, the answer to injustice is the gospel.

Christ suffered and died for sin in order to redeem the world. Romans 8 says all of creation is groaning, longing for Jesus to return and make all things new.

We will never have perfect justice in this life. The brokenness of our sin and the depravity of man insures that will never happen. We as Christians should lament the injustice we see in this world, and beg the Lord to come again soon.

Social Justice is a worldview straight from Satan. It sows division and hatred between people and blinds people from their greatest need, the gospel. Because If we believe we can make all things new by tearing down power structures in our culture, why in the world do we need someone to die for our sins.

What I’m advocating is that you reject the Social Justice of the culture and embrace the biblical justice of God’s Word.

Practical implications

So what does that mean for us? If God really is concerned about justice and the answer is not the Social Justice of the World, how do we as Christians work for justice here and now.

This will not be an exhaustive list. Time does not allow that, and honestly, I am still asking God for wisdom about how all this works out, but here’s what I do know.

We Must Pursue Justice

Christians should be characterized by the justice of God in every area of their life. That means we must bear witness to who God is in his justice and righteousness by walking in justice and righteousness ourselves.

That means we should advocate for justice. We should decry the injustices of racism and abortion in our culture. What happened this week to George Floyd was an atrocity. But we should do so in a way that says the answer isn’t in tearing down, the answer is in the fact that Christ came down to save sinners.

It also means we should work for justice where God has given us influence to do so. That means anywhere we are able, we should practice and promote justice.

If you own a company, you should pay and treat your employees fairly.

If you are making a deal on craigslist, you shouldn’t try to rip someone off.

The key here is that we are called to live a just life and make changes everywhere God has given us influence to do so.

That means your job Christian, is not to change the entire culture. Your job is to love God, love others, and make disciples so that in your world, where God has placed you, you can be a light of the gospel.

Besides we can’t change the the culture anyway. Jesus said that Satan is the God of this world and until Christ returns, our world will always be a broken place where depraved people will commit injustice. Which leads us to the second way we seek justice as Christians.

We Must Pray for Justice

We must pray because our war is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers and principalities.

Hear me clearly. The racism and all other forms of injustice that we see in our culture are from demons. And what’s worse, even the worlds answer to those problems, Social Justice, is from demons.

Satan wants to use this cycle to keep people enslaved so that they do not see their need for Christ.

So we need to pray that God would overthrow demonic actions and worldviews in our culture and that God would save sinners and transform hearts so that true justice can be done.

The Bible says that all authority, even unjust authority, is instituted by God to accomplish his purposes.

So instead of tearing down power structures and rebelling against authority, we should pray that God would give our leaders and government wisdom to execute justice like he calls them to.

And if you are thinking to yourself, it doesn’t seem like prayer is enough, then 1. you don’t know your enemy because the injustice we see is a spiritual disease in our world, and 2. you don’t know the power of prayer, and you put too much weight on man’s ability to save themselves.

We Must Prepare for Christ’s Return

Finally, to be a people of justice, we must stay awake and prepare for Christ’s return.

That means we live holy lives like we talked about earlier, but it also means we need to share the gospel.

Our culture’s view of injustice is an opportunity to say, You’re right! God never meant it to be this way. Our world is so sick and broken because of our sin, but the good news is that God sent his Son to die and forgive our sins, and he promises to come back to make all things new, and when he makes all things new, he will make all things right.

That’s the other thing we need to remember about Christ’s return. When Christ returns to judge the world, every injustice, every horrible work that makes us cry out for justice, will be punished.

Christians don’t need to tear down power structures because we have faith that God has instituted them for a purpose. And even when they are unjust, we have confidence that God is using it for his glory and that one day, God will make it right.

He will not forget. Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord Rom. 12:19).

And thats Paul writing to persecuted Christians saying do not rebel against the government.

Conclusion

Why I’m warning you against this false teaching, that sounds so reasonable and right, is because I don’t want you to be swept away by this demonic worldview and fall away from the gospel of the living God.

Yes, we should be a people who are 100%, absolutely, unconditionally for justice because God himself is just. But we should not seek justice the same way the world does. To do so says we love the world more than God and his Word.

The reason why Social Justice is so seductive to Christians is because it seems so right. And it seems like its a piece of common ground we can finally have with the world. But what did John say, to be friends with the world is to be at enmity with God.

We aren’t called to change the culture through social justice. We are called to bear witness that the only thing that can bring true justice is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And we do that by displaying the justice of God in the church. That means the church must be the place where the justice of God reigns supreme. There should be no hint of pride, arrogance, racism, oppression or division among us because we are one in Christ.

Ephesians 2:14-16 says He himself is our peace, who made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

This is about racism between Jews and gentiles, and Paul says we are one in Christ.

In Christ, there is not Jew nor Greek, Slave nor Free, Black, White, Brown, Red, Yellow or Purple! We are all covered in the blood of Jesus.

So examine yourself! If you see yourself having thoughts and beliefs that are more in line with what the world believes about justice than what the Word of God says you are in danger!

For example, if you view people as inherently evil or inferior because of the color of their skin or if you devalue people because of their “privilege” at best you are disobeying James 2:1 and committing the sin of partiality.

Or if you believe the church is called to partner with the world in order to dismantle power structures and make all things new instead of sharing the gospel so that the culture is transformed from the inside out as the gospel transforms the hearts of sinners, then be careful that you are not caught in the snares of Satan to deceive you and lead you away from the gospel of Christ.

What fellowship has light with darkness? 2 Cor 6:14

Dear Christian, you are called to be distinct from the world by holding God’s Word as your highest authority in every area of your life, including justice! Don’t settle for the world’s false gospel of social justice that can't save anyone or bring justice anywhere.

And until Christ returns, know that God is not blind and he is not indifferent to injustice in our world.

Habbakkuk 1:2-5

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,

and you will not hear?

Or cry to you “Violence!”

and you will not save?

3 Why do you make me see iniquity,

and why do you idly look at wrong?

Destruction and violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.

4 So the law is paralyzed,

and justice never goes forth.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

so justice goes forth perverted.

This is how many of us feel today. God where are you! Why do you allow all this injustice? And here’s his answer.

The Lord’s Answer

5 “Look among the nations, and see;

wonder and be astounded.

For I am doing a work in your days

that you would not believe if told.

Prayer

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