Thread: re social justice and John MacArthur
First, I think John MacArthur is one of the most gifted expositors in the body of Christ today. His preaching is a biblical commentary in verbal form. With that said, I have some thoughts on his recent article on social justice.
First, I think John MacArthur is one of the most gifted expositors in the body of Christ today. His preaching is a biblical commentary in verbal form. With that said, I have some thoughts on his recent article on social justice.
I work at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. Like its namesake, the Center is committed to evangelism, gospel proclamation, and the precious nature of this gift we carry that reconciles men and women to God.
But I am also a product of two Historically Black Colleges, Morehouse College and Howard Law School. MLK attended Morehouse. Howard Law produces what it calls social engineers, men and women who shape society through action.
So you can imagine my surprise when MacArthur gave us all a history lesson on the prioritization of the gospel in the life of King, Perkins, and others. Here’s the problem with all that.
Traveling to Mississippi and visiting the Lorraine Motel, regardless of the when it happened, does not qualify you to speak on those leaders behalf. Especially when those leaders’ body of work, both their preaching and social action, tell a different story.
King himself would likely scoff at the notion that preaching the gospel apart from social action is authentic gospel witness. Though he walks through our country’s history of social injustice, MacArthur seems to warn against pursuing justice that recognizes that history.
MacArthur also notes that the gospel is the solution to racial animus. To which I render a hearty amen. It’s the same gospel that caused the apostles to DO something about the racial animus in the Hellenist widows controversy.
It’s the same gospel that caused Paul to DO something about Peter’s hyprocrisy and the historical wounds of the Jewish/Gentile past. Doing has always been an implication of the gospel.
Yes, we are justified by faith alone. Not saved by good works, but certainly saved to good works (a good Calvinistic phrase for my friend).
In today’s culture we’ve placed the gospel and justice in this dichotomous relationship. Oil and water. Us vs. them. I wonder if that grieves God’s heart. This is not an either/or issue. It’s a both/and issue.
I live in both “camps” and am grieved to see that some have staked their claim on what it means to be a faithful witness today. And in many instances the battle lines are drawn along racial lines.
One group feels unheard. Another group feels the need to protect “orthodoxy.” And therein lies the rub. I’m afraid MacArthur’s series of posts may do more harm than good. One need only look at the comment thread to see the appeal of his words to some.
How much more powerful would the series have been if he invited others whose culture has experienced injustice for the past 400 years into the dialogue? Instead, I think it perpetuates the either/or, us vs. them mentality that I think he sets out to address.
This is the elephant in the room of Western Christian Evangelicalism. While we’re grabbing the trunk and the leg of that elephant, there may be Someone more qualified to show us what the elephant looks like and how to get it out.
But that takes humility on the part of all involved. A gospel-shaped humility that does involve repentance from those in power. And grace-laden forgiveness from those who have experienced injustice at the hands of brothers and sisters in faith.
And THAT is what the gospel is all about. Ironically, l’ll get critique from others on both sides of this. But I’m good with that. Just more content for my memoir, A Bridge Over Troubled Water. 😉
