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The Church and The Social Justice Movement

To hear more about the role of the Christian and that of Christ's Church in the world, consider listening to the following messages delivered from the Word of God by Pastor Richard Caldwell: Hold the Line:    • Hold The Line | Philippians 3:12-4:1   A Christian Response to Sowers of Discord:    • A Christian Response To Sowers of Discord |   The Goal of Our Ministry - Part 1:    • The Goal of Our Ministry | Expository Serm...   The Goal of Our Ministry - Part 2:    • The Goal of Our Ministry Part 2 | Romans 1...   The Goal of Our Ministry - Part 3:    • The Goal of Our Ministry Part 3 | Romans 1...   God's Love in the World of Unbelievers:    • God’s Love In The World of Unbelievers   The Peaceful Love of God:    • The Peaceful Love of God | Romans 12:18-21   The Christian's Relationship to Governing Authorities:    • The Christian’s Relationship To Governing ...   The Unfulfilled Obligation:    • The Unfulfilled Obligation | Romans 13:8-10   The Love That Makes Enemies:    • The Love That Makes Enemies   A Love the Christian Must Reject:    • A Love The Christian Must Reject - 1 John ...   The Hatefulness of Hypocrisy in Religion:    • The Hatefulness of Hypocrisy in Religion |...   This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot sit down to talk about the social justice movement. This movement happening in the culture has made inroads to churches in our nation and around the world. Dr. Philpot shares that according to some Old Testament Scripture passages, it certainly seems that the Church should be an advocate for social justice. He reads Isaiah 1:17 and Micah 6:8, saying that in these passages, God is commanding justice. These seem to imply that every believer ought to advocate for the kind of justice God commands. But is this the case? Is that what God calls us to do? Is the Church to be an advocate for social justice? The word social does not appear before God’s commands, biblically speaking. So how should we understand this? What is our place as individuals, and what is the Church's place or role regarding justice and righteousness in the culture? Dr. Caldwell shares that this terminology is supercharged at the moment. A lot of what is being done in the name of social justice is not social justice. This justice is mislabeling because it does not represent the justice of God. He tells us that instead of taking the world's categories and trying to figure out how we are to relate to them, we ought to look at these things and say what the biblical categories are. We should ask how are we to be thinking as a believer and then be faithful to that. He then proceeds to explain some of what this looks like. He repeats himself when saying the problem we have right now is that a lot of what is going on in this name, social justice, is not justice. Dr. Caldwell wants to explain why he has said this and why he repeats it. To do so, he takes us to Exodus 23 and reads verses 1-9, telling us that it is a great passage that addresses what is going on in our culture. Following are excerpts from what he shares that stand out to him: 1. True justice is never built on falsehoods. Justice is not built on strawmen. Justice is not arrived at nor administered faithfully by taking truth and twisting it, making it something that it is not. 2. You do not arrive at justice when you show favoritism. We are not to tip the scales by being partial or showing favor, one over another. 3. We have specific warnings about vengeance. We are not to operate in hatefulness, in unforgiveness, nor with a sense of personal vengeance. So, a lot of what is going on today in the name of justice is just this; it is reverse hate. These ways are anti-biblical; this is not what God calls His people to be, neither individually nor corporately. The first priority of the Church is the soul. The Church's aim is to be vertical, not horizontal. We are to demonstrate God’s love in the Church in the way that we treat each other. Then we do good to all as opportunity is given. But it begins in our own set of relationships, in our homes, our churches, in those spheres where we live it out. However, it is not by the standards of lost men but by the standards of God’s Word. We are looking for what is right. We are looking for what pleases Him. Dr. Philpot and Dr. Caldwell briefly discuss how the Old Testament applies and does not apply to us today and why this is so. They share the importance of drawing principles out of it to understand how we should think about justice socially. Dr. Caldwell reminds us that God’s justice is even-handed and right; His justice is not based on social-economic situations. These are the things that should guide our minds and our lives as members of His Church. They then discuss the difference between an individual advocating for these principles mentioned versus what the Church should do. Dr. Caldwell also shares whether he would ever lead the local church he pastors to join a social movement in advocating for justice.