BF&M 2000 Article XV. The Christian and the Social Order

Here are my notes from a series on the Baptist Faith Message 2000.

Article XV. The Christian and the Social Order

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

Exodus 20:3-17; Leviticus 6:2-5; Deuteronomy 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 8:16; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3ff.; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Romans 12-14; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; 6:1-7; 7:20-24; 10:23-11:1; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8.

Introduction

Should Christians retreat from the public square in order that the church not succumb to worldly temptations?

Should Christians seek to change the laws of one’s government in order to bring about a new theocracy where only Christians can participate and rule?

Should Christians negotiate an agreement with the Government where each party will refrain from activity with one another?

Should Christians fully participate and embrace every liberty given to them by their ruling government?

Should Christians try to transform culture working towards the goals of peace, harmony, and justice? Or should we abandon the culture and create our separate ghettos?

What does the relationship between the disciple of Jesus Christ and his or her society look like?

These are some of the questions article 15 of the BF&M 2000 seeks to address.

A Christological Focus

Jesus came to build a Kingdom. Jesus serves as the King of that Kingdom. Therefore it follows that the objectives of his rule and reign in the Kingdom he is building should also be the objectives we too are working to consummate. As ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), our marching orders come from the King. Thus the first statement in the article says, “All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society.”

However the Scripture eliminates coercion and obedience from the tip of a sword or gun as means by which the will of Christ is made supreme among the nations. To our surprise, Jesus uses sacrifice and service as two primary means of building his kingdom. Jesus is a King who serves all people free from partiality. He loves his creation so much that he gives up his own life as a ransom and substitute. And in this sacrifice he offers a comprehensive forgiveness to sinners when they repent and believe and confess with their mouths Jesus is Lord.

The Holy Spirit is sent from Jesus who sits at the right hand of God the Father and is working to bring about a renewal both in mankind and the earth. The BF&M is correct when its states, “Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ,” for Christ is truly the focus of God’s work to redeem his creation. So to the degree that we turn away from Jesus, we will fail in our pursuit to fulfill God’s will, and on the other hand to the degree we magnify and spread the good news of Jesus Christ, we will be faithful.

Clear Instructions

Our King, Jesus Christ, provides clear instruction for his disciples and also provides an excellent model of how to interact with one’s culture and society.

First, Christians need to reject the idea that we can faithfully follow Jesus by separating from our surrounding culture and communities. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-14 that we “are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” Someone did say that you do not light a lamp to hide it under a basket. The only way to see the will of Jesus accomplished is to take his message into the darkness and reject the consistent temptations which the darkness sends lays before us.

The type of Fundamentalism which encouraged Christians to retreat into ghettos clearly was and still is a gross perversion of the way of Jesus. A simple examination into the life of Jesus’ own life contradicts this philosophy of life. Additionally, a simple examination of God’s apostle to the Gentiles also repudiates this philosophy.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus prays to the Father, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10).” How then is the Father’s will accomplished on earth as it is in heaven? Surely we would affirm that it is accomplished through both the work of the Christ and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, does not the Holy Spirit work through the children of God to bring about the presence of the Kingdom of God in Christ? This is in fact what the book of Acts reveals, namely the Spirit working through the disciples of Christ to bring about God’s will.

Specific Cultural and Societal Issues

Southern Baptists do name several issues which should be of concern given the clear teaching of Scripture. The article says:

In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.

A. Racism

Racism has been and still is a problem in our society. Although regrettably Southern Baptists have been on the wrong side of this issue in the past, we have as a convention apologized and have now moved to eradicate this sin.

The Bible in numerous ways repudiates racism. First, because we all have common ancestors (Adam and Eve), we are all brothers and sisters in one sense. Second, the Bible tells us that Jesus came to redeem men and women from every tribe, nation, and tongue thus demonstrating his love for all peoples. Therefore we need to express our love for all peoples. Third, Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

B. Greed and Selfishness

Greed and selfishness are the roots of many of our societal problems. Americans have an insatiable desire to accumulate more money and more power. And then we turn around and spend if not all, most of our money and power on ourselves. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Jesus Christ’s life is the par excellence example of what it means to model a life of selflessness. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).” As his disciples we also are called to live a life of service not selfishness. Jesus reminded his disciples, “But the greatest among you shall be your servant (Matt. 23:11).”

C. Sexual Immorality: Adultery, Homosexuality, & Pornography

Sexual sins run rampant today, not only in our own society, but in societies around the world. Sexual ethics seem to be broken with the greatest frequency in our day. C.S. Lewis rightly puts his finger on the difficulty of this domain. He writes, “Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence (Mere Christianity, 89).”

However we break God’s rule here by engaging in sex before marriage, by engaging in sex with someone other then our spouse, by engaging in sex with the wrong gender. And the issue of the pornography is only increasingly enslaving more and more people.

Lewis argues that above all our sexual instinct has exponentially been perverted in the fall. He compares our indulgence to overeat to man’s indulgence to sexual immorality. If we do not have self control in our eating, we may end up eating enough for two men, but if we do not exercise self control in sex, we will have numerous sexual relationships with different women.

He goes on to say that when an attractive woman gets up on a stage and begins to undress, men will gather in large numbers to see and even pay to see, but we would think it odd if people flocked to see someone eat some steak from a stage even though we love to eat.

Genesis 2:18-24, 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:16, and 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 address this subject well.

D. The Least of These: Orphans, Sick, Elderly, Abused, Alien, & Widow

These are just some of the groups of people named in the article or named in Scripture that often need special support and protection in order that none of them are taken advantaged by predators.

In Deuteronomy 10:17-19, God addresses his love and concern for the disadvantaged:

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Presently, the church has neglected its responsibility to fight for and look after the needy. We have relied too heavily on the government to do what God calls us to do. And we need to retake this priority in the church today.

One of the most talked about issues among Christians today is immigrantion, legal and illegal. And we seem to have such disdain for those especially of Hispanic dissent. Yet God clearly in the OT shows special concern for the alien, the one who lives in a foreign land. Could it be that our concerns for America are higher than our concern to please God himself?

Southern Baptists stand to learn more about what it means to care for the least of these without being overly judgmental.

E. The Unborn

Southern Baptists have done well in this regard trying to bring protections to the unborn. The Born Alive Protection Act is one example. We also need to not grow weary in the great work of overturning laws which permit individuals to continue to murder the unborn in our land.

However, regardless of whether Roe vs. Wade is still the law in the land we need to live in such a way, to love people in such a way that our influence might help prevent women from choosing abortion when it is legal. We need to stand in the gap and adopt unwanted children, support single women who make mistakes and get pregnant and have no means to raise a child.

And we need not forget those who are born. We need to equally support those who are already born and those still in the womb.

Transforming Culture

The article states, “Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love.”

Our influence should reach into all domains of our society. We should exert a holy and Christlike influence on our government and the industries in the land.

While we should not try to make the OT laws the laws of the land, we should strive to see that the laws of our land do not encourage evil. The public square should not be naked. That is, we do want to influence the laws of the land. We want the basis of our laws to be influenced by the law of Christ.

We should expect businesses to bear certain responsibilities just as we as individuals must bear a degree of responsibility. One expectation we should hold companies accountable on is the stewardship of the creation. We cannot continue to pollute our environment and not expect great and awful consequences to follow.

Conclusion

The last stanza says, “In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.”

In the effort to transform culture and society toward the goal of Christlikeness, to see the Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, we need to be convictional. We need to stand firm on the teaching and work of Jesus Christ. We should not compromise clear truths taught in Scripture.

But we should be willing to work with others when the cause is good, when the cause helps to make rights of wrongs, to bring justice where injustice prevails. We need to work with Roman Catholics on issues of abortion and the sanctity of life of the unborn. We need to work with people of all walks of life to comfort, rebuild, and repair when a tornado, hurricane, or flood has devastated a city.

Let us pray with Jesus, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” but let us also work in the power of the Holy Spirit to see it come.