After surveying 1,000 churchgoers Lifeway research found that 80% wanted their pastor to address social issues. - Clint Decker
“Pastor, as you preach each week, I’ve noticed you have never addressed abortion from the pulpit. How come?” “Pastor, during the message this morning you labeled homosexuals as sinners, which is why my gay grandson won’t come to church here.” A pastor gets hit from both sides. One, because they are not preaching on social issues, and two, because they are. After surveying 1,000 churchgoers Lifeway research found that 80% wanted their pastor to address social issues. What is a pastor to do, and beyond the Sunday morning pulpit, what is a church to do? The answer starts with asking the right question. What does the Bible say about the church addressing social issues? (Image by unsplash)
First, what are “social issues”? In the 19th century the term was “societal problem.” They are moral societal problems that are having a negative impact upon people, including Christians, and culture. They can take the form of widespread immoral behaviors as well as widely accepted sets of unbiblical beliefs or ideologies. Should the church address those?
1. According to the gospel? YES. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15) The good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to die and rise again that people might be forgiven from their sin. This indicates how we are commanded by God to address sinful (also evil and unjust) social issues, as part of the gospel message, that people might turn from them and to Christ.
2. According to the responsibilities of pastors and lay leaders? YES. “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you.” (Acts. 20:28-29) To “pay attention” is not just to be observant, but also to defend. The church is commanded by God to defend its flock against dangerous social issues that creep in among their unsuspecting church members.
3. According to biblical examples? YES. Jesus publicly called out the religious and political leaders of His day, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15) The example these leaders were providing and the false teaching they were giving was a social issue, that Jesus directly addressed. This example is repeated among the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament Apostles.
4. According to church history? YES. The Roman gladiator games were a ruthless blood sport that would fill the Roman Coliseum with 50,000 spectators. They would watch enslaved gladiators sometimes fight to the death. Tertullian was born in 210 A.D. and became one of Church history’s early theologians. He publicly wrote against the social issue of these evil games, “Gladiators never charged with a crime are offered in sale for the games so that they may become the victim of public pleasure.”
5. According to common sense? YES. Immoral social issues have a dangerous impact on individuals and the larger society. Why would not a pastor and church want to speak up about things that are hurting people? It is just good common sense.
It is clear, pastors and church lay leaders have a divine mandate and moral obligation, as part of their overall teaching plan, to address serious social issues from a biblical perspective and with a discipleship strategy.
There are always big risks when we do the right thing. But whose are we, and whom are we ultimately serving? Let us preach, teach and serve for an audience of One.
A prayer for you – Lord God, help me to see clearly on a confusing and divisive subject. Give me wisdom to understand your Scriptures, and concern for the harmful sins, beliefs and ideologies that have such a hold on those whom I love. Use me to help set them free and turn them to Christ. In His’ name. Amen.
The conscience. It is that still small voice in you. It is a display of God’s love, grace and kindness, calling you to Himself. - Clint Decker
David knew where all the creaks were in the floor down the hallway. This helped one night when he snuck out of the house after his parents went to bed.
He quietly opened the door of his room, and passed by his parents, while he carefully stepped down the hallway, gently hopping from left to right, strategically avoiding every creak. Then when he made it outside, we met up and took off together. (Image by magnific.com)
Why did not David just open his door and walk out of the house while saying, “Good night dad and mom! I am headed out. I will be back in a little while. Love you!”? Because David and I knew what we were doing was wrong, and we wanted to hide it from his parents.
What testified to us that it was wrong? Our conscience (and mine especially since I was a few years older). Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist once wrote, “Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune.” David and I knew something was out of tune when he sneaked out of the house, instead of listening to that quiet voice to “Honor your father and your mother…” (Exodus 20:12)
God describes the conscience as something that leads to “…conflicting thoughts [that] accuse or even excuse them…” (Romans 2:15) One writer state’s that the Bible’s word for conscience in the New Testament is suneidēsis, which means “moral awareness” or “moral consciousness.” The conscience reacts positively or negatively when one’s actions, thoughts, and words either conform to, or contradict, God’s moral law, which is the universal standard for right and wrong.
The conscience to our soul, is like the nerve ending in our fingers. When our hand touches a hot pan, we are instantly alerted and pull it back to protect ourselves from danger. Likewise, when we violate God’s moral law through behaviors of the heart and life like lying, sexual immorality, hate, anger or profanity our conscience warns us, giving us an opportunity to protect ourselves from danger.
Some people have what is called a “seared conscience.” One writer says, “it is a conscience that has become desensitized to what is right and wrong.” One that has become numb to guilt and shame, where a person has so trained themselves that wrong is right, that they have become a servant of Satan and a tool of demons.
The conscience is a creation of God that He has gifted us with when He fashioned us together. It is truly a creation of hope. Rather than leaving us to ourselves, the conscience (with the work of God’s Spirit) awakens us to how we have fallen short of His moral standards, and how we stand in desperate need of a Savior.
Our guilty conscience may not seem like a blessing, because it weighs us down. It can distract our focus, interrupt our sleep and ruin our fun. Consequently, we try to ignore it. We try to justify what we have done. We try drowning it out with addictions like drugs or alcohol to numb our conscience. We cover it up with busyness, entertainment or work. Yet, that still small voice is there. It is a display of God’s love for you. His grace and kindness, calling you to Himself.
Jesus came from heaven to earth and died and rose again that you might turn from your evil ways and to Him by faith. And when you do, He will bless you with a clear conscience, and a peace and joy that will endure.
A prayer for you – Lord God, I realize what I am wrestling with is not myself, but you. Thank you for my conscience and your Spirit that is revealing how I have fallen. Today, I no longer make excuses but acknowledge my failure and call to you for forgiveness through Jesus. In His name I pray. Amen.
The Qur’an acknowledges Jesus and respects Him as a messenger of Allah but writes that He was created by God as a human being. - Clint Decker
Is that true? Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? The question is relevant due to the rise of Islam in the United States. The Muslim population has increased over 100% since the year 2000, growing from around 2 million to 4 million with nearly 3,000 mosques in all 50 states.
In English we use the name “God.” In Hebrew, the main name for God is “Elohim”. In Greek, it is “Theos,” and in Arabic the name for God is “Allah.” Islam’s sacred text, the Qur’an (Quran or Koran), was originally written in Arabic and uses the term Allah for God. Is the God of the Bible and the Qur’an the same?
Many around the world have heard the statement, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” This is called the “Shahada”, the most sacred statement in Islam. It must be confessed for someone to convert to Islam, is recited in daily prayers and is rooted in the teachings of the Qur’an.
The first part of this statement of faith “There is no god but Allah,” is at odds with the God of the Bible. The Scriptures say, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) It seems similar on the surface as Islam, but in Christianity, God’s oneness is represented in three forms. God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. One God, one person in three forms. This is a core Christian doctrine called “The Trinity.” The religion of Islam denies this. Why is this such an important distinction? Because it affects Jesus. To deny the Trinitarian view of God, is to deny the deity of Christ.
The Qur’an acknowledges Jesus and respects Him as a messenger of Allah but writes that He was created by God as a human being, “Indeed, the example of Jesus in the sight of Allah is like that of Adam. He created him from dust, then said to him, “Be!” And he was!” (3:59) Since Islam views Jesus as a creation of God, the religion strongly rejects the deity of Christ. The Qur’an says, “God has never ascribed to Himself any son, and there is no other god beside Him.” (23:91)
The Bible correctly speaks of Jesus, where He said of Himself, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) For those who doubted He was the Son of God, He provided evidence through His miracles, signs, wonders and teachings. The greatest sign was His suffering and death upon the cross. His followers then took His body down from the cross and buried Him in the grave like any other person. However, three days later the tombstone was rolled away and His grave was found empty. Jesus had risen from the dead like He predicted in advance.
Why did He do all those signs and wonders, and rise from the dead? He did it that we might be forgiven of our sins and have a relationship with Him. The Qur’an does not speak of God as being knowable or having love for all people. This, however, is a central message of the Christian faith. Though Christianity and Islam are not compatible, the Lord God sends the good news of Jesus to all the world, including Muslims, as an expression of His goodness and love for them.
A prayer for you – Lord God, I pray that you will grant me an understanding of the Islamic religion to love and dialogue with Muslims. I pray as well that you will grant Muslims an understanding of Jesus through His miracles and teachings, that they might know the reason for His death and resurrection. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
