Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 15:2 (Fall 2011)
Article: Gospel Centeredness, Jesus, and Social Ethics
Author: Michael D. Stallard

JMAT 15:2 (Fall 2011) p. 5

Gospel Centeredness, Jesus, and Social Ethics

Dr. Mike Stallard

Dean of Baptist Bible Seminary Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

Environmental ethics, world hunger, human trafficking and slavery, political oppression, proper economic systems, advancing the status of women in the world, racism, anti-Semitism, genocide, abortion, and molestation of children--issues of social justice are ever before us.1 Reading such a list reminds one that sin is alive and well on planet earth. All thoughtful Christians I know care about these things. Beyond this, few fundamental Christians would object to the notion that the church’s mission is to deal with sin. But how are Christians to do this? Most of us would say that the primary mission of the church, a mission that deals with sin, is the preaching of the gospel of eternal life. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead (1 Cor 15:1-4). That is the biblical gospel of eternal life by which we are saved. It is applied to individuals through faith in that gospel, that is, faith alone in what Christ alone did to deal with sin. Most of us would say that the saving of souls is primary while the saving of society, if it is to be a goal at all, is secondary.

This article is not about the debate over how much social action is justified for the individual Christian and the corporate church. The concern I am dealing with is how interests in social action are currently leading to or using a redefinition of the gospel that is not consistent with biblical use. To address this issue I want to pursue two case studies. First, I will analyze

JMAT 15:2 (Fall 2011) p. 6

Richard Stearns’s award-winning book The Hole in Our Gospel.2 I will argue that he has proper goals in mind but at certain points expands the concept of gospel to accommodate those goals. In doing so, theological precision is lost. Second, I want to review the language of the gospel to justify social engagement I have found in the writings of N. T. Wright, the famous New Perspective adherent. My goal is not to denigrate social ethics within biblical Christianity. My desire is simply to reaffirm a proper focus on the true gospel in distinction from the implications of that gospel for a life lived fully for God. Confusion of these two areas can easily lead to a lack of clarity in the giving of gospel invitations and to a lack of evangelism in the work of Christians.

Richard Stearns’s The Hole In Our Gospel

Richard Stearns, the head of World Vision, has indeed given us an interesting and, at some points, comp...