[The following are notes from a presentation on Social Justice given at the First Presbyterian Church in
Hanford, CA on March 7, 20007]
Jesus said this:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (NIV) Matthew 22:37-40
1. In order to define Social Justice, we need to begin with the premise that we are commanded by Jesus to Love God and to love our neighbor.
When asked “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded telling the story of the Good Samaritan, in essence Jesus said that neighbors are those who help each other in time of need. In this story in the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the man who asked the question to be like the Good Samaritan, “Go and do likewise.” (NIV)
2. In Matthew 19:19 Jesus takes the idea of a neighbor a step farther when he says:
“Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”(NIV)
So here, we see that father and mother (family) and neighbor are to honored and loved.
3. In the book of James, this theme continues to develop. James (the brother of Jesus) says:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”(NIV)
4. The Apostle Paul takes this idea of neighbor and family and those in distress and makes a practical application for us in 1 Timothy 5.
- Two kinds of widows
i. Widows who are “Really in need” (those without family.)
ii. Widows who have children or grandchildren.
- Paul’s practical application is this:
i. Widows who are “really in need” i.e., those widows without family are to be taken care of by the church.
ii. Widows who have children or grandchildren are to be provided for by their own family.
It is clear from Paul’s teaching that those who are in distress (in this case widows) are to be taken care of by their family or the church.
Paul hammers home the responsibility for the care of those in distress with this statement:
“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”(NIV) 1Timothy 5:8
5. What about families that cannot afford to take care of other family members? This may be a fine principle for Chrisitans, but what about those who are not believers? Who will take care of them?
Paul states that those who are rich are to be “Commanded” to “Be generous and willing to share.” (NIV) 1 Timothy 6:18
Scripture does not teach that it is the government’s role to care for those in distress. The task always falls on the Christian.
It is clear, however, that not everyone will have their needs met. In fact, there are some who should not have their needs met. In Second Thessalonians 3, the Apostle Paul is clear that those who are idle; those who will not work, “Shall not eat.” Paul is emphatic about this:
2 Thessalonians 3: 6 f.f.
Paul repeats this warning about idleness in 1 Thessalonians 5:14.
Our role is the treat the idle person, not as an enemy, but as a brother. What does a good brother do? He helps talk sense into his wayward sibling.
Therefore, my thesis tonight is that Social Justice is to always be carried out first by family, then by the Church, and never by the government.
The government's sole purpose is to punish evildoers and protect its citizens.
Romans 13:4, tells us the role of government is, as “God’s servant, [to be] and agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”
WHAT IS YOUR PERCEPTION OF GOD?
The book of Hebrews tells us, if we want to know what God is like, look at Jesus:
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
THE EARTH AND ITS RESOURCES:
- God loves the earth. He created it.
- As we glorify God and honor Him, it follows that we would want to take care of his creation. But, we must remember that it is His creation, not ours.
- He has created it so that we may cultivate it (Psalm 104:14)
- We must worship the Creator and not the Creation (Romans 1:25)
A note on Global Warming:
- It’s going to happen, but it’s not going to be caused by man:
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare….That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat” (NIV) 2 Peter 3:10 f.f.
Now that's Global Warming!
Our promise from God is this:
“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.” (NIV) Genesis 8:22)
WORLD PEACE:
It is unfortunate, but as long as there are evildoers in the world, there will never be world peace.
- e.g., Dr. Mengele, Jewish concentration camps
Yet, as Christians we are to, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” We are not to “take revenge” rather we are to treat our enemies with respect, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…” (NIV) Romans 12:18
