THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF THE GOSPEL    -           JESUS’ PASSION FOR JUSTICE

 

Less than 400 years ago the whole world believed that the sun revolved around the earth because mankind assumed that the earth was the centre of the universe. In 1633 Galileo was tried before the Inquisition in Rome for his ‘heretical’ belief that, in fact, the earth revolved around the sun. The theological equivalent of supposing that the earth goes round the sun is the belief that the whole of Christian truth is all about “me and my salvation.”

 

As Rick Warren famously told his readers at the beginning of his best selling book, ‘The purpose driven Life’, “It’s not about you!” Yet many of us still have great difficulty in coming to terms with the fact that we are not the centre of the universe. God is not circling around us. We are circling around Him. This is yet another example of how difficult we find it to ‘unlearn’ stuff that we have believed for years – even if, intellectually, we can accept that we have been mistaken. Our brains just seem to be programmed to keep switching back to ‘default mode.’

 

Although it is not uncommon for many to think that “me and my salvation” are the be-all and end-all of Christianity, the fact is that God made humans for a purpose: not simply for themselves, not simply so they could be in relationship with him but so that THROUGH them, as his image bearers, he could bring the values of his kingdom to this earth.

 

The closing scene of Revelation [chapter 21] pictures the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. It is not, as so often falsely presented, about human beings going off to heaven to be in a close intimate relationship with God. The whole point is that heaven comes to earth.

 

The reconciliation of God with his people when “he wipes every tear from their eyes” [Revelation 21:4] and declares “I am making everything new” [v5] is, in fact, presented, NOT purely as an inward looking blessing for the faithful [although it will certainly be that], but rather as the source of a great OUTFLOWING of blessing to the creatures of the earth as “the river of water of life” [Revelation 22:1] flows out from the city and “the tree of life” springs up with “leaves that are for the HEALING OF THE NATIONS.” [22:2]

 

This article describes the social and political dimensions of the gospel which, in recent times, has tended to be very much neglected. When this is combined with the personal spiritual aspect of the ‘good news’ [which has been the faithful, albeit limited, focus of the church’s presentation of the gospel over the past two centuries or so] we are able to make so much more sense of the biblical revelation and, in particular, begin to appreciate Jesus’ passion for his gospel to embrace the social inequalities that were part of the world in which he lived and which remain with us to this day. [ 13 ]