Is There A Social Gospel?

"They asked only that we remember the poor, which  I made every effort to do" (Gal. 2:10, HCSB). 
"... 'He defended the cause of the poor and the needy, and so all went well.  Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the LORD"  (Jer. 22:16, NIV).  
"The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern" (Prov. 29:7, NIV).

Jesus brought the good news to the poor, but He met them where they were at in their need.  For instance, he never sent a crowd of listeners away hungry.  But the primary purpose was to focus on the gospel message and make it relevant.  There is no social gospel, which is a misnomer; however, we have another commission--the Social Commission, which hasn't been rescinded, to practice what we preach and to care for each other in the family and our community as good neighbors so our testimony will not be jeopardized as a church body.  Jesus said we would be known by our fruits and we must all practice practical, sacrificial love to our neighbors, especially to the family of faith.

But we want to keep the main thing the main thing (the Great Commission), but also realize our call to turn stones into bread.  And we must not end there; being known primarily as do-gooders; even Jesus didn't want to be known as a miracle worker and didn't do any for show, but only out of compassion and to illustrate a point in His teaching, especially His Deity.  The church must not despise the poor or down and out, but show mercy (this is a spiritual gift) and reach out to the people who are down on their luck.  Some people feel used and manipulated and are taken advantage of even by the church.   We must not stereotype them as lazy or having made bad choices, but be gracious with the attitude:  "There but for the grace of God, go I"--the words of George Whitefield.  It could happen to you!  Anyone could need someone to help them get back on their feet someday.

Sympathy would help the church to put themselves in the shoes of the destitute, the homeless, and the needy or ill.  Why do you think we have high crime rates, but due to social injustice?  Part of the problem is systemic; namely, our education and economic safety net.  This means some have the cards stacked against them from the get-go.  Poverty can happen to anyone because God says He's the One who makes one rich and another poor.  You even hear of lottery winners declaring bankruptcy.  Sometimes all it takes to begin the cycle of poverty is an unexpected car repair, an extended sickness, drug abuse (illicit or prescription), alcoholism, mental illness (treated or not), hospitalization, divorce (one's fault or not) or long periods of unemployment (voluntary or not).

 Many people in our country live paycheck to paycheck believe it or not.   Loss of a vehicle can limit one's opportunities, but Christians don't believe in equal outcome, redistribution of wealth, or complete equity of income, but in fairness which demands equal opportunity and social justice for the all under the law.  God hates the exploitation of workers (cf. Mal. 3:5) and of the rich taking advantage of the poor in their vulnerabilities.

Social nets and programs don't always fill in the gap or meet all the needs--there are manifold ways and reasons for poverty.  Many people rely on family, but what if you've had to burn bridges?  Certain personal problems such as depression and PTSD are becoming more prevalent and these people are becoming stigmatized, which is detrimental and counterproductive to the society's "general welfare."  Depression itself is a highly debilitating illness and many don't understand what it can do to a person and these people often commit suicide before getting help and don't know how to seek help or send out warning signs and their cry for help is ignored or unnoticed.

People can be victims of circumstance like a flood, tornado, fire, etc., and have no control over them--this can happen to anyone and they will find their need for the Red Cross or Salvation Army.  People may ask, "Where's God?"  But the real question should be, "Where's the church?"  It has been said that many philanthropists do the work of God because they don't feel God is doing it--touche!

People need to believe they have hope and can overcome their situation (when a man has nothing to lose he is capable of nearly anything) and find their way out of the cycle of poverty (the Bible doesn't teach that poverty is necessarily due to laziness or is one's' own fault); often success stories and motivation speakers can inspire and give hope, but the gospel is the good news they need to hear and take to the bank. One can never understand the value of an education for getting ahead in our technical age and some have been left behind and are still living in the last century!

People can get victory over their problems with Christ as their champion, hero, Lord and Savior, but they must want to be healed and helped, putting God first in their lives at the helm ("Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" --Matt. 6:33). Christians must remember the words of Mother Teresa, canonized by Rome and 1979 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, saying:  Christ has no feet to go for Him but ours; no hands to lend a helping hand but ours; no eyes to see problems but ours; no ears to listen to others but ours; no voice to speak for Him but ours; no mind to solve the problems with but ours!  We have an eternal debt to provide for the needy and to work for the betterment of society (cf. Jer. 29:7)

They must never give up because there's always hope and no one is beyond the grace of God.  I am a great believer that government is neither the source nor the solution of all our problems and don't believe we need a government program for everything--government is not the means of salvation nor of achieving utopia.  We are not here to usher in the kingdom of God nor advance His kingdom by our efforts--it's not of this world!  They say an Englishman is a self-made man who worships his creator!   I do not believe in self-help (we all owe a debt to our community) or in becoming a self-made man (there is none!), but in learning to walk by faith and to give God the glory following His will--that's why we're here (cf. Isa. 43:7).  The worldly-savvy will tell you that "God helps those who help themselves"; however, God "gives more grace" to the humble (cf. James 4:6).

Most people just need a second chance and are willing to go the extra mile if required--they aren't afraid of work, they just haven't found something they're suited for or what they can enjoy or is gainful employment--everyone has a gift and we shouldn't sell anyone short and just think they are fit only for being slaves or common laborers like Aristotle thought of the mass of men--it's a sin to underestimate or shame men and refuse to give them their warranted dignity and self-worth, just as much to honor a fool or promote a scoundrel.

Christians don't believe in castes, karma, classes, discrimination, or prejudice of any kind (cf. Gal. 3:28), but that every believer is a child of God and capable of doing God's will to glorify Him.  We believe in the dignity of man and sanctity of life and that man is in God's image, not an animal to be treated without rights conferred by God.   Christians don't believe in rugged individualism nor in communism but in being a member of a family, a community, and a body of Christ.  Each of these three institutions ordained by God (family, government, church) have their own sphere of sovereignty and responsibility over us.

When a person gets saved and finds the Lord their whole life can be turned around and he can start over with the God of a second chance and fulfill God's best for his life.  It's never too late to get on board with God and to be commissioned by Him in His work and will.  No one is beyond hope in God's eyes!  There's a reason why the Beatitude pronounces blessings on the poor in spirit.  They have the right mindset!  Getting saved implies more than pie in the sky and spiritual hope, but also the redemption of one's life for God's will!  It's never too late to get with the program and look redeemed as a witness to the world and contribute something to it!

CAVEAT:  We must be careful not to endorse "prosperity theology" or that God promises financial gain for our spirituality, supposing godliness is a means to financial gain (cf. 1 Tim. 6:6).  God does promise to reward us by making us prosperous in doing His will (cf. Heb. 13:21) and this is different to different people (cf. Josh. 1:8; Psalm 1:2; Jer. 17: 8).  We have no guarantee of achieving the so-called American Dream, for example, but we will be blessed in doing God's will and He will supply all we need to do it out of His provision (cf. Phil. 4:19).   It is God who gives us the power to get rich, but the evil can also prosper--it's no sign of God's blessing or countenance of our lives.  He teaches us the way we should go!  (cf. Deut. 8:17-18; Isa. 48:17).

Soli Deo Gloria!