Black lives matter. Our world is hurting.
I stand in solidarity with people of color and join the fight to advocate for true equality. I have been listening and I promise to continue to listen. And now I have something to add to the conversation.
This is a message for followers of Jesus. Believers, the time for this conversation is now. While the spotlight shines on racial inequality and injustice, it has dimmed on the one true gospel. It’s not that no one is talking about the answer that God offers in Scripture. Preachers and teachers are rightly saying that only Jesus can bring the peace that this world needs. Preachers and teachers are using Scripture to offer hope and an answer.
The problem is, many preachers and teachers and believers, in general, have centered their messages on worldly peace and worldly hope, neglecting the true gospel entirely.
You need to know that there is a false gospel re-emerging in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter movement. Remember, Scripture tells us that false teachers will be worming their way into our homes, deceiving us with truth that looks good but is actually a lie. (That’s 2 Timothy 3 if you want to go check.)
It is happening now.
Confusing the gospel message with a message of racial reconciliation is nothing new. There is a movement called “black liberation theology” that actually has its roots in Roman Catholicism in Latin America and in Marxism. Basically, black liberation theology is a theology of salvation that focuses on liberation from earthly injustice. It presents itself as pretty woke. When you read it and hear it, you think, “YES, THIS IS TRUE,” when it’s really anything but true.
I listened to an interview with Dr. James Cone today, who is the founder of the black liberation theology movement. He says that black liberation theology is “a theology that sees God primarily as concerned with the poor and weak in society. And since this theology comes out of the black community, we call it black liberation theology.” Don’t be confused – this isn’t just about blacks and whites. This is about theology that removes the gospel and replaces it with social or racial reconciliation.
So is God concerned with the poor and weak in society? Absolutely yes.
Is that his primary concern? Absolutely not.
God’s primary concern is the salvation of your soul.
Any teacher/preacher/author/blogger/friend that would have you believe that God’s primary concern is to bring reconciliation between races or genders or nations or people is a false teacher, teaching a false theology.
I’ve read stories this week of pastors who tore up their prepared sermons and spoke boldly on racial injustice and the need for reconciliation among the races. I read one challenge to church-goers that called them to hold their pastors accountable if racial reconciliation wasn’t the primary message of their sermons last Sunday. I’ve read so many statements from my friends on social media, advocating for peace and love on planet earth (which is good and right!) but completely neglecting the greater need of reconciliation to God the Father because of our sin.
Pursuing racial reconciliation is not wrong. It is right.
Unless.
Unless the true gospel message gets torn up to make room for a message on racial reconciliation. Unless the gospel becomes a story of justice on this earth instead of justice in eternity. Unless the gospel becomes a story of reconciliation between white men and black men instead of a story of reconciliation between all men and God.
God is most definitely concerned with how we treat our neighbors. But we cannot confuse his concern for moral righteousness with his concern for the salvation of our souls.
Here’s what I mean. This is a meme going around on social media that compares the racial reconciliation movement to Jesus leaving the 99 to go after the one lost sheep.
This is a pretty good illustration of what it’s like to help our friends of color. But it’s a terrible exegesis of Scripture.
There’s this implication that the 99 are the strong and powerful ones, and that each of us can be the shepherd, and the people of color are the one lost sheep. If you take this passage of Scripture on its own, out of context, and try to make it fit the narrative of racial reconciliation, it works.
But there are some pretty big problems with that idea if you read this Scripture in context. So please, first, go actually read Luke 15: 1-7.
This is a parable (a made-up story to prove a point) that Jesus told when the Pharisees complained that Jesus was eating with sinners. He answers their grumbling by telling them this story to illustrate his point.
In the story he tells, the 99 sheep represent those that are already saved from their sin and the 1 represents one who is unsaved from his sin– “the sinner”. The shepherd who goes after the one lost sheep is Jesus. This parable is not about white people and black people. This parable is not about racial reconciliation at all. Not by a long shot.
This is a story about Jesus saving sinners.
How do I know? Jesus said so. Look at verse 7. He tells us that this parable is about salvation. Jesus pursues each one of us in an attempt to save us from our sin. Don’t miss the point! Not one single bit of this is about racial reconciliation.
Any teacher/preacher/author/blogger/friend that would have you believe that God’s primary concern is to bring reconciliation between races or genders or nations or people is a false teacher, teaching a false theology.
In this week of awful, devastating headlines, I have GOOD NEWS. Jesus Christ came to bring reconciliation between you and God the Father. Without Him, there is no other way for you to be reconciled to the Father. Jesus is the only way.
Does God care about oppression? Yes. Do black lives matter? Yes.
Should we fight for racial reconciliation? Yes. Should we listen to people of color and learn from what they are telling us? Yes.
Should we refuse to accept a society in which people of color are marginalized and treated as less than human? Yes. Should we call out white supremacy wherever we see it? ABSOLUTELY YES.
But please don’t stop there.
Should we stand up and speak the one true gospel that Jesus came to save us from our sin and reconcile us to God the Father? This is the biggest YES of all.
You don’t have to choose one or the other. Black lives can matter AND the Gospel of salvation from sin can matter. You can (and should!) advocate for people of color and cling to the truth that the gospel is an offer of reconciliation between sinful humanity and a holy God, not a call to social or racial reconciliation between people.
The word gospel itself means “good news”! The good news is that Jesus came to reconcile us to the Father. Because of our sin, we can never be good enough to enter into the presence of God so he made a path of reconciliation for us. There is one way to the Father and that is Jesus Christ. When you find Jesus, you will have the peace and the love and the hope that this world so desperately needs right now.
Fight for justice on earth. Show the oppressed that you care. But don’t stop there as if that is all this world needs. Believer, you have the ability to turn the light away from the false gospel of liberation theology and shine the light on the true gospel. Our reconciliation to God is our greatest need and His greatest concern.
I appreciate Tony Evan’s view on the events surrounding the death of George Floyd. You can find him here.
I have felt grounded and encouraged by Allie Beth Stuckey’s perspective on applying the Truth of God’s Word in light of this week’s current events. Find her here.
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