For some of you, the title of this blog post probably shocked you or even turned you off. Others of you, nodded your head in agreement. Perhaps some of you wondered why I would make such a strong statement. In order to understand why I would say “the road to hell is paved with the social gospel”, you should first understand what I mean when I say “the social gospel”.
The social gospel is “a religious movement that arose in the United States in the late nineteenth century with the goal of making the Christian churches more responsive to social problems, such as poverty and prostitution. Leaders of the movement argued that Jesus’ message was as much about social reform as about individual approaches to salvation.”1 Let me state, I do think it is important to work to combat social problems and injustices. However, the main interest and goal for the Church is not to cure social ills, but rather to fulfill the Great Commission.
Jesus’ mandate to the Church was to “Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus did not command the church to eradicate poverty, combat slavery, or stop human trafficking – even though those things are important to fight. He commanded his disciples to spread the good news that salvation has come to man by grace through faith in the work of Jesus Christ. This is the Church’s goal and duty. As a matter of fact, if Jesus’ goal, main message, or purpose was to combat and solve social problems, He certainly possessed the power to do so (and still does).
Now, why would I say that “the road to hell is paved with the social gospel”? I think in this way because the social gospel is not the authentic gospel. It is substituting good works for the message of salvation by grace through faith in the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not say that his followers would gain social mobility – nor should that be their goal. The goal of a Christian is to glorify God – by denying themselves through expressions of love for their Savior.
The social gospel merely gives people hope for this life - that their lives can be better than what they currently are. The authentic gospel gives people hope for the life to come – that their lives in eternity will be better than what they currently are. I think this is an important distinction. The social gospel – at best – only affects people temporarily and does not give them the necessary information for God’s salvation to come to them. The authentic gospel gives people eternal hope by giving them the necessary information for God’s salvation to come to them. Therefore, the social gospel makes people feel good, puts band-aides on their real problems, and is a false gospel leading people further down the broad road – the end of which is destruction.
The Church must not be seduced by the attractiveness of the social gospel, but must stay true to teach and preach the authentic gospel by which men are saved.
BK
1 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social+gospel
Great Post Ben…I always called it the “do gooder” gospel…didn’t realize it actually had a name, but I absolutely agree. We have to many people putting Jesus on and off like a sweater. Or serving society while failing to worship and honor God through Love and Obedience. We step out to condemn and judge but very rarely to lead or proclaim Christ through our actions or words. It’s a huge masquerade and many don’t even realize they are missing it.
Aunt Anne, Thank you for your comments and I too think that we need to be much more focused on spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ than what we currently are.