Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth by Thaddeus J. Williams

Author:Thaddeus J. Williams [Williams, Thaddeus J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Published: 2020-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

Christians should be known less as culture warriors and more as good Samaritans who stop for battered image-bearers.

Tribes thinking, for all its claims of inclusivity, is clear about who is not worth stopping for. While it may help us see hurting people we may have otherwise missed, it also redefines “oppression” in a way that leaves far too many people bleeding out on the roadside.25 The church must show the world a better way.

Missing the Main Thing

There is one final thing that Tribes thinking leaves outside its field of vision. It is the main thing—the gospel. Sadly, every one of my friends, colleagues, and students who has continued down the road of Social Justice B has ended up in the same place, a place where they no longer evangelize. They no longer tell people the truth about how supremely holy and satisfying God is. There is no talk of the scandalous reality of sin in every human heart or the sweet redemption that comes only through crucifixion and empty tomb of Jesus. They offer no loving calls to repent of sin and self-righteousness to trust completely in the righteousness of Christ. It’s sad to watch the best news in the universe fade from view in a fog of rhetoric about pay gaps, cisheteropatriarchal privilege, and the evils of capitalism. It’s sad to watch the cultural revolution eclipse the Great Commission. It’s sad to watch political “wokeness” become their message and mission with less and less concern for seeing the spiritually dead reborn by the Holy Spirit, redeemed by the Son, and declared righteous by the Father.

If you find yourself moving toward Social Justice B, ask yourself honestly, “When was the last time I shared the good news of God’s saving grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus with anyone?” “Do the justice causes I care about throw gasoline or water on my desire to proclaim Christ crucified?” Of course, working against racism, misogyny, and other sinful forms of oppression is important to the Christian life. Christianity should never be reduced to fire insurance or floating off to the clouds after we die. But if we no longer share the gospel, then there is a problem.

Let’s face it. Evangelizing is risky (though far less risky than not evangelizing). Telling the truth about the godhood of God makes you a heretic in the eyes of those who are their own moral authorities. Straight talk about the sinfulness of sin is offensive to those convinced that their own hearts are unfallen and worth following. Proclaiming Jesus as our only hope for salvation will step on toes. So we take the safe road. A recent study revealed that nearly half of “practicing Christian millennials” believe “it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith.”26 (It is good for the eternities of millions that the apostles, the Jim and Elizabeth Elliots, the Lottie Moons, the Amy Carmichaels, the Hudson Taylors, the David Brainerds, and the William Careys of history did not share this opinion.

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