The Social Gospel

"Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary" - Francis of Assisi. This quote is a source of controversy, mainly over whether he actually said this or not. However, in this article I am not going to be dealing with the what Francis of Assisi did or did not say, but rather the idea promoted in the alleged quote. The Emergent Church promotes the "social gospel." Aaron will address "kingdom dominion" which deals with social gospel as well. As a debater, I like to define my terms:

Social gospel - That the gospel is ending poverty, solving AIDs, and helping out people is preaching the gospel. This philosophy entails thinking that Jesus dying for our sins and the Ten Commandments are secondary to to "helping" people.

The key word is social. As in socialism. When the social gospel began to gain momentum, many of the people behind the social gospel would have also been considered progressivists . These people observed poverty brought on by evil capitalists who owned factories and mines. So they promoted big government, labor rights, and socialistic ideas like a welfare state. Before we go any farther, I want to make it clear that I do not relish the idea of having eight-year olds working in coal mines and that some of the factory owners took advantage of their workers. On the other hand, teenagers, the reason why you cannot get a job till you are fifteen or sixteen is because of these people who instituted child labor laws. The free market represents the best economic model and the more the government messes with it, the more off kilter it gets. FDR's New Deal legislation and many other socialistic government programs have created a major bill for myself, you, and your decedents. And for those of who do not enjoy school and learning, the social gospel people/progressivists pushed for more enforced school attendance. All of these measures were an effort to improve the moral lives of fellow citizens.

Many people claim that environment and wealth dictates one's moral standing. They are absolutely wrong. If money plus nice neighborhoods equal strong moral values, what happened in Hollywood? Every moment you turn around, some celebrity is in rehab or court. If you live in Cincinnati, you lost the majority of your pro football team to low moral standards, even though these guys get paid a ton and can live in a good neighborhood in they wanted to. No, morals begin and end with someone taking a personal stand and deciding that they will choose the path of truth.

The Emergent Church takes the alleged Francis of Assisi quote quite literally, they feel that saving the world is all that is necessary for evangelism. But we are commanded to preach the gospel, not promote energy efficient lightbulbs in hope that people will desire God. Think about it, if I drive a hybrid, do you think my friends will say something like, "Noah, you drive a hybrid and you try to save the world. What motivates you to do this? I want the passion that is with in you too." I highly doubt that, although I wouldn't mind the great gas mileage. (By the way, I do not own a hybrid.)

I do not want to discourage people from living a life of service and high moral standards, but rather the opposite. Live a life that is pleasing to God, one of integrity, humility, and love. For instance, during the summer my church is in charge of a community service coalition. Churches throughout the area join together to volunteer and serve the community, from painting buildings, running a completely free car wash, and gratis yard sale. But our church firmly believes in preaching the true gospel as well. Help out your community, but do not rely on your service work alone to spread the gospel.

The Bottom Line: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." - II Corinthians 11: 13-15