As the cultural Illuminati of the day continue to onboard more areas of life onto its already bloated social agenda, I find it increasingly more difficult to tackle the numerous tributaries of this very large river known as social justice and to succinctly articulate the multitude of fallacies associated therein. And while many Evangelicals are embracing these social justice worldviews unfiltered, there are also a growing number of Christian men and women who recognize these deceptions for what they are, and are fervently sounding the alarm against employing such malformations in their local churches; a position which I support unapologetically. Bear in mind, the stronghold this movement has on an unbelieving world does not surprise me in the least. However, what I do find curious, is how easy it has been to convince such a large company of professing Christians to become so friendly, so quickly with secular tenants which are clearly antithetical to Scripture. Moreover, as these philosophies become further normalized in society, many pastors and laymen are not only allowing these secular tenants into their churches, but are also augmenting the Scriptures by teaching them from their pulpits as Biblical truths and encouraging congregation members to do the same. So the question must be asked; what’s the appeal here? Why has it been so easy for Evangelicals to fall prey to these untested, vain philosophies rooted in human secularism and welcome them into their theological repertoire? For me, the answer is clear. All of the tributaries of the social justice river share a single, but very powerful common trait… they are all rooted in being nice. And this my friends is the hook.
Honestly, if you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. I mean, where’s the harm in being nice; right? Who in their right mind would oppose any campaign or ideology whose core value is rooted in promoting the idea of being nice or kind or unoffensive to their fellow man? [For the record, I do not believe any social justice tenet is rooted in kindness. The core values of social justice are politically driven and rooted in divisive, destructive, and deceitful animus with nefarious intent.] Furthermore, since many Christians are being taught (albeit erroneously) that these human philosophies of social justice are somehow in line with the teachings of Christ; closing the sale was actually very easy. If we want to be more like Christ, (and who doesn’t?) as Christians, shouldn’t we be nice to our fellow human? Well, that depends on how we define the term nice. If nice means we are to be unobtrusive, low key, reserved, open-minded, quiet, and accepting, then the short answer would be no. We, The Church — Christians, have never been commanded to be nice to the world according to those terms. What we have been commanded to be is light that exposes the darkness, messengers of the Truth, ambassadors to God’s kingdom, proclaimers of a holy and righteous God who will not wink at our sinful lives. By default, what we have been called to be is a counter-cultural entity, to be in the world but not of the world. Not one of these commands carries with it the qualifier of being nice.
And he [John the Baptist] went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins… He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance… Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Luke 1:3, 7-8a, 9b
One of the great mistakes made by Christians today, and subsequently by the so-called progressive church embracing social justice philosophies, is the idea The Church and the world can (and there are many who would argue should) work together in harmony; that we, as Believers, can somehow find common ground and subsequently build a loving and accepting relationship with the very people who are, at their core, enemies of all that God is and have no interest in maintaining or submitting to His word.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:7-8
This is the kind of erroneous thinking which has helped us along to a point where many Evangelicals are now confused as to whether or not we should be supportive of secular movements such as BLM or the LGBTQ communities; questioning whether or not these ideologies are Biblical.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Colossians 2:8 – ESV
It seems to me, many “modern” Christians are more interested in trying to adapt the Scriptures to cultural and social norms in order to get along with the world rather than sharing the Truth of the Gospel with them. The result is a social justice philosophy of acceptance and open-mindedness, being packaged as a theology of Christian love and kindness, and subsequently being adopted by Evangelicals. Sadly, this philosophy is neither Biblical nor helpful. In fact I would argue it is harmful to both the Christian and the lost. We are of the distinct delusion the reason the world doesn’t like us is because we are “mean” to them. The truth of the matter is the world hates us because we will not conform to their standards and imbibe their philosophies.
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 15:18-19 – ESV
Simply put, what progressive Evangelicals would have you believe is if we would just be more like the world’s version of a social justice Jesus, who was nothing but accepting and affirming and nice, then the world would embrace us and by virtue of our niceness come to salvation. I admit, on paper, this seems like a great idea. However, the reality is, there is no Scriptural evidence to support the idea. This gospel message of “Jesus loves you and accepts you just the way you are”, intended to be unoffensive and to which many Evangelicals are clinging, is not only a lie, but is an impotent and ineffective message; the likes of which will never produce the fruits of repentance from dead and sinful works — a requirement for salvation.
Social justice Christians are of the opinion they are being loving and kind to the lost by “giving them space” so they can process and explore their rebellion to God; as though the person has been guaranteed unlimited time to repent. Worse yet, many Evangelicals have abandoned Biblical definitions of sin altogether and have resorted to affirming sinners in their sinful condition. The fact is, it very unloving to allow someone to continue unchallenged in lifestyle behaviors, philosophies, and lies which are at the very source of their pain. Imagine if your doctor took the same social justice approach to your health as progressive Evangelicals do to sin and salvation. What if your doctor knew you had terminal cancer, that you were basically a dead man walking, but because he thought it would be mean to tell you the bad news, he simply said, “Don’t worry. You’re gonna be just fine.”; leaving you no opportunity to treat the cancer racing through your body. Could that ever be defined as kindness? It will only be until a person understands they are not accepted by God in their current sinful condition that they will see their need for a Savior. To put it another way; so long as lost and sinful man are told their human condition is nothing more than the result of their social milieu, they will never see their need for a Savior. This means someone e.g. a Spirit filled Believer, will be required to be “mean” to those who are lost and spiritually dead in their sin. Let’s be honest here, the only reason you and I are saved is because someone was “mean” to us at some point and told us we were not in right standing with God and that independent of accepting Christ, we were condemned. The only reason you and I had a salvation experience is because we confessed we were darkened sinners; enemies of God. No person in the expanse of time has ever come to a saving knowledge of Christ without first admitting they were a sinner, wretched and poor. This single admission is at the foundation of salvation. If it is not, there is no need for a cross and the death of the Son of God.
If by telling someone, who is clearly living a life in opposition to the Word, they are sinners and enemies of God, or by admonishing a Christian who has embraced carnal philosophies are considered mean, then we, as true Believers, must love others more than we love ourselves, declare the truth, and be branded as being mean.
For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.
1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 – ESV
Sanctuary and Stone 