Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all. - Proverbs 28:5
We are often told (or so we should be) that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the story of our redemption, and our redemption alone. Truly, it is. There is no clever misconstruction that could possibly lead us into the varying gospels of Feminism, Black Liberation, LGBTQ, Wealth Redistribution or any other social justice gospel! All such misconstructions are heretical from their very conception.
So what of these heretical gospels? The Bible tells us that there is no gospel that exalts woman over man but instead implies “compatibility and cooperation” (as the terms are understood in today’s parlance) - "And He answered and said to them, 'Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” - Matthew 19:4-5.
There is no racially charged gospel - “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:28.
There is certainly not one shred of evidence that the Bible supports any type of LGBTQ gospel - “as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” - Jude 1:7.
Finally, but not exhaustively, there is no Biblical mandate for wealth redistribution - “When you eat the labor of your hands, you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.” - Psalm 128:2.
There is but one true gospel and we are correctly instructed that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which, according to John MacArthur, is “ . . .the gospel is good news for fallen humanity regarding how sins are atoned for, how sinners are forgiven, and how believers are made right with God.”
So with this sweeping and Biblically correct pronouncement in mind, what are Christians to do in the matter of social injustices? The Bible is rife with commands to help our neighbors and strangers. “Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” - Proverbs 31:9. Obviously, Christians have a “moral duty” to help where and when help is needed. That word “moral” then becomes the sticky issue. When we say moral, exactly whose morality are we to defend? And from where exactly does this morality come to us? What is this morality’s foundation? This brings us to a rocky and risky area of decision. We must be certain of our cause; but even more so, we must be certain of our ultimate goal. Are we attempting to defend the indefensible? Are we to let the secular definition of “moral” become a stumbling block?
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting . . .who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” - Romans 1:28,32.
We must be very careful not to confuse Biblical, God-ordained ethics and morality with the “selected moral positions of this age.” There are many who claim to have the moral high-ground; who suggest that God would take their side in a moral argument, yet their positions do not match the morality that God has declared from the beginning of time! So where, I ask, do these current moral positions derive their authority? Does the moral authority come from you? Me? With over seven billion people on this planet, whose moral authority are we to agree with and defend? Shall we go by consensus? Shall we put the morals we will choose to obey to a vote? The fact is that when you ask this question, all you’ll get back is an inquisitive look or the old Ralph Cramden, “Hamina-hamina-hamina!” As we can see, this is the inherent flaw within relativism and the thinking that emerges from such a specious philosophy.
There must be a base moral ground from which we can all discern the difference between right and wrong. It cannot be a subjective determination; it must be objective from start to finish, otherwise, as they like to say, “It’s all relative.” What’s good for you may not be good for me and visa versa. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in philosophy to recognize that this is no way to proceed. So again I must ask - “Where do we get our fundamental understanding of the difference between right and wrong?”
God gave us “the Law.” It wasn’t Buddha. It wasn’t Allah. It wasn’t Vishnu, and it isn’t Madison Avenue or Hollywood! It is God’s law that shows us the difference between right and wrong. There is no other measuring stick. Any other morality is extracted from the expediency and worldly desires of mankind. And mankind is fallen.
The issues that the gospel heretics confront us with have no Biblical support. Therefore they have no moral support; thus, they hold no moral high ground! Not until we all recognize the gospel for what it truly is will we ever see our disagreements dissipate and our differences disappear. The moral high ground is the throne of God. And it will not be until we stop putting the cart before the horse and start living our lives according to the precepts laid down within the framework of God’s holy word that we will reap the rewards God Himself has promised us. “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” - Matthew 25:21
As Oswald Chambers once wrote - “The final standard of authority must be one that can be owned by everyone.” God’s “standard of authority” is the only standard which we can all own!
There will always be those who will never find social acceptance in this world. Some may always exist along the fringe and in the margins. Political zealotry in defense of sin has no Biblical support. Such socially desirable positions and the status sought after are worldly by their very nature. And Christ’s kingdom is not of this world! These heretics will not breach the gates of His kingdom with arrogance and sinful pride. The humble tears of a repentant soul and faith in Christ Jesus as given to us in His Gospel are the only keys to the kingdom.
1 John MacArthur, “The Gospel According To Paul.” (Nashville: Nelson, 2017), 76
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