You wouldn’t tell your
children, “Bathe regularly; if necessary, use water.”
Nor would you advise a
friend, “Be a faithful husband; if necessary, love your wife.”
Those redundant instructions
defy logic. They also beg the question about what other means you would employ
to accomplish those goals. You might as well tell someone, “Stay alive; if
necessary, breath oxygen.”
And yet many Christians rally
around a similarly illogical statement when it comes to evangelism. “Preach the
gospel; if necessary, use words,” is a mantra that is a darling of social
gospel activists. That quote, wrongly attributed to Francis of Assisi, is
wielded when it’s time to poke zealous evangelists in the eye, or rebrand
social work as a form of evangelism. Social gospel advocates like Rick Warren
and Jim Wallis love to use it.
And let’s face it, there is a
winsome ring of truth to the idea that my lifestyle can be a testimony of God’s
saving work. Moreover, there is a built-in rebuke of evangelists who fail to
walk their talk. Their hypocrisy—faith without works—is a reproach on God, His
Word, and His people (James 2:14–17). But it’s absurd to turn that hypocrisy
into an argument for the primacy of good works apart from the clear
proclamation of the gospel.
The Necessity of Words
Paul never said, “How will
they see without a preacher?” He said, “How will they hear without a preacher”
(Romans 10:14). That is because every time the word “preach” appears in the New
Testament it refers to vigorous verbal proclamation. It is verbal in its
testimony of the works of a Savior who fulfilled the law that we have
continually broken (Matthew 5:17–18; Romans 3:23), suffered the punishment that
we could never bear (Isaiah 53:4–6; 1 Peter 2:24), and defeated the grave (2
Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 2:14).
And because Christ’s people
depend entirely upon His unique work done on their behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21),
there is no way to fully demonstrate it through actions alone. As Voddie
Baucham points out: “For me to think that I can live the gospel is to put
myself in the place of Christ.”
So where does that leave
works of social justice such as feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and
caring for the oppressed? No one would argue that they are bad things to do.
Indeed James defines them as integral to pure religion (James 1:27). But do
those acts of mercy have any role to play in a person’s salvation?
Advocates of the social
gospel argue yes, and appeal to Matthew 25 as their apex argument:
Then the King will say to those on His
right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me
something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a
stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you
visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” Then the righteous will
answer Him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and
give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You
in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come
to You?” The King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the
extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of
them, you did it to Me.”
Then He will also say to those on His left,
“Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared
for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat;
I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did
not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and
you did not visit Me.” Then they themselves also will answer, “Lord, when did we
see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and
did not take care of You?” Then He will answer them, “Truly I say to you, to
the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do
it to Me.” These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into
eternal life. (Matthew 25:34–46)
Was Jesus saying that our
eternal destinies hinge on feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, clothing
the naked, and visiting the oppressed? And how would that square with salvation
by grace through faith apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9)?
The Whole [Other] Gospel
Tony Campolo is one of the
most prominent advocates for the social gospel. His handling of Matthew 25
typifies the wider movement. While not explicitly denying the gospel of grace
alone, he argues that it is our treatment of the poor and oppressed that will
determine our eternity:
"I place my highest priority on the words of
Jesus, emphasizing the 25th chapter of Matthew, where Jesus makes clear that on
Judgment Day the defining question will be how each of us responded to those he
calls “the least of these.”
The recently closed
Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE), of which Campolo
was founder and president, clearly defines who he thinks “the least of these”
are:
That Jesus was homeless and taught that we
may encounter Him in “the least of these”—the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick,
widow, stranger and imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-40), is the basis of what Tony
calls the Whole Gospel and informs EAPE’s holistic ministry. And it raises questions for the Church and
every Christian: what should be our response to the homeless and to “the least
of these”?
Note Campolo’s use of the
term “Whole Gospel.” He is implying that proclamation of the good news is only
a partial gospel and must be accompanied by social action in order to become a
complete or “whole” gospel. But his imbalanced emphasis betrays his mishandling
of Matthew 25:35–40.
The Bible repeatedly teaches
that good works are ultimately God’s works because they are the natural fruit
of salvation; never the cause (cf. Ezekiel 36:25-27; James 2:14–17). And in
Matthew 25 you don’t see judgment based on works, you see works revealing who
is truly saved by faith. John MacArthur is emphatic on this point:
"The good deeds commended in Matthew
25:35–36 are the fruit, not the root, of salvation. It cannot be emphasized too
strongly that they are not the basis of entrance into the kingdom. Christ will
judge according to works only insofar as those works are or are not a
manifestation of redemption, which the heavenly Father has foreordained. If a
person has not trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, no amount of
seemingly good works done in His name will avail to any spiritual benefit."
Who’s Who Among the Judged
Another critical issue in
understanding Matthew 25 is to recognize that the division Christ makes is not
between the church and the pagan world, but between true and false Christians.
While the pagan lives in open unbelief, the false Christian is an imposter who
has blended in among God’s people. False Christians are the recipients of
Christ’s most terrifying judgment:
"So then, you will know them by their
fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many
will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and
in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then
I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:20–23)
Matthew 25:34-46 makes a
similar division between those who have genuine faith and those whose faith is
false, according to the evidence of their works. Note carefully that both
groups of people think they are Christians because they address Jesus as “Lord”
(Matthew 25:37, 44). Both groups are also surprised by the verdict. The
surprise reveals humility among Christ’s people (“when did we,” Matthew
25:37–39) and self-righteousness among those who are faking it (“when did we .
. . not,” Matthew 25:44).
Who’s Who Among the Lowly
Finally, the beneficiaries of
these good works are not the disenfranchised people of the world, as Campolo
suggests. The word “brothers” (Matthew 25:40) is vital to understanding where
our benevolence is to be directed. Jesus is saying that the fruit of genuine
faith is evidenced in the way we care for fellow believers who are suffering
(cf. John 13:35; 1 John 3:10–11). MacArthur brings this point home:
"The King’s addressing these people as
brothers of Mine gives still further evidence that they are already children of
God. . . . Because of their identity with Christ, they will often be hungry,
thirsty, without decent shelter or clothing, sick, imprisoned, and alienated
from the mainstream of society."
Conclusion
This is not to deny any duty
we have to love the disenfranchised people of the world. But if proponents of
the social gospel were serious about Scripture, they would target passages that
refer to loving our neighbors—even loving our enemies (Matthew 22:39; 5:44).
Christ’s words in Matthew 25 have nothing to do with the social justice they
advocate.
Matthew 25:34–46 was never
written as a blueprint for salvation through social work nor should it be
employed as such. It’s not an argument for preaching the gospel through our
actions alone, but rather that our actions authenticate the gospel we preach.
And those actions must be prioritized towards our suffering fellow believers.
So please, care for other believers because Jesus commanded us to. Realize that
a lack of care may point to a lack of saving faith. And preach the gospel with
words because they’re always necessary.
