Losing our Direction

 

Whenever I tell my wife that I love her, what usually happens is she smiles, and says “I love you” back, something chuckling out of the joy that came from that statement. The question is, what came first, the statement or the reaction?  From this example we obviously know that it was the statement that produced the reaction. If I were to confuse the order of things and just go after the reaction, that would cause problems because it is the knowledge of my wife knowing that I love her, more than any other human that produces it, not the reaction she gives that produces the love from where the statement derived.

In many ways, the Gospel is the same thing. There are so many expected outcomes when the gospel “good news” message is preached. But what happens when we start to focus on making everything about the results of the gospel, rather than the source of the results? The equation gets messed up because without the source, the results become shallow, and even perverted.

An example of this is good works. This topic gets dealt with throughout the New Testament, and was s driving force behind Martin Luther at the beginning of the Reformation (so much so he didn’t like the book of James being apart of the canon of Scirpture!). We know that no one can be saved by good works. If that were the case than the gospel would not be good news! It would be dead religion, seen so many other places in the world with people hopelessly trying to do enough good to pay off their debt. We also know that when a person has received the free gift of salvation, and the transformation into a new creature that follows, it is good works that then come from that person (James 2). This is something that any Christian within the classical consensus can agree on.

What we are now seeing is the proper equation of the gospel becoming inverted in other areas of the faith, and it is potentially making the impact of the gospel lessened as it is no the focus, but rather the results of it are.

Scripture is replete with commands for those who follow Christ are to do justice (Isa. 1:17, Mic. 6:8, Amos 5:24, Ps. 33:5, Luke 18:1-8, and there are so many more). To be just, and to treat other image bearers all as equal is a non-negotiable in the Church. I have come from a background that doesn’t focus much on there here and now, mostly being concerned for the here-after (for various eschatological reasons).

But what can also happen is a complete pendulum swing to the other end of the spectrum where the focus of all our Christian lives becomes “justice” (often defined in modern political terms). This is not all bad, history demonstrates that almost all of the advances in human rights, and righting major injustices have been spear-headed by followers of Christ. Though we do have to be careful that the work of our lives does not move from preaching the gospel, to preaching justice. Or, by conflating “doing justice” with preaching the gospel.

Justice, true biblical justice that transforms the world into the creation God intended it to be does not come about by pouring all of our energy into the singular focus of justice. Rather, justice comes as a natural outworking and product when the gospel is preached, and people are discipled into followers of Jesus. This call and command is not calling us to be apolitical (as has been the fault of some in the Church in the past), but to rather be wholly informed in what we do by the gospel in every area we work.

If God has called us to focusing issues of justice (racial, socio-economic etc…) than how we address those issue must be informed by the gospel, rather than our gospel work informed by philosophies and worldviews produced by the world seeking to side-step dealing with issues of sin.

This is a hard line to walk, its one that I am working on myself as we speak. I am compelled by the experiences of those who have face injustice to act from the love of Christ to see people transformed by the gospel (and likewise the systems that are made up of people), and on the same hand in the sure knowledge that it is only the gospel that addresses the issues in a constructive and renewing way. That while not always easy, produces the result of changing hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit, not trying to coordinate political power to overthrow something.

As since the early Church, the Gospel will conquer the world not through power, but through love.