Gospel In Life — Quarterly
by Dr. Tim Keller
Fall 2020
Timothy J. Keller (born September 23, 1950) is an American pastor, theologian, and Christian apologist. He is the chairman and co-founder of Redeemer City to City, which trains pastors for service around the world.
Introductory note:
In a previous article I argued that all the secular political options and justice theories, from “right” to “left”-Libertarianism, Liberalism, Utilitarianism, Progressivism-are grounded in reductionistic worldviews. [1]
Christians should not ignore any of the rightful concerns that they raise, but also should not wholly align themselves with any of them.
Only biblical justice is comprehensive enough to address the needs of the human condition.
In this article, I lay out in greater detail what biblical justice is.
(Note: My essay assumes
- the abiding relevance of the Old Testament, [2]
- the antithesis between Christian and all non-Christian worldviews, [3] and yet
- the doctrine of common grace. [4]
For readers who disagree or who want to explore these topics at greater length, see the footnotes in the previous sentence.)
Outline of the publication
- 1. The God of Justice
- 2. The Facets of Justice
- 3. Working for Justice
So how do believers who understand the differences between biblical justice and the secular theories of justice actually take part in efforts against injustice in our society? They should:
- 1.Start with the church.
- 2. Work in the world.
- 3. With hopeful patience
- 4. With informed listening
- 5. Giving clear witness
- 6. Being political but not partisan.
- 7. Liberating the conscience.
- 8. Going local.
- 9. Embracing complexity.
- 10. Learning from Christian leaders of color.
- 11. Tackling the elephant.
- 12. Transforming power.
1.Start with the church.
No one will listen to Christians calling the society to more just social relationships if within the church itself those relationships are just as flawed and unjust.
Within the church, wealth is to be shared generously between rich and poor (2 Corinthians 8:13–15; cf. Leviticus 25).
Materialism is a grievous sin (James 5:1–6; 1 Timothy 6:17–19).
Inside the church, the races should not merely ‘get along,’ but must become a new humanity (Ephesians 2:15) in which the old divisions no longer prevail.
No one will listen to Christians calling the society to more just social relationships if within the church itself those relationships are just as flawed and unjust.
The church is a “royal nation,” a new society (1 Peter 2:9) in which family life, business practices, race relations, and interpersonal relationships are changed.
We are a pilot plant of the future kingdom of God, a place for the world to get a partial glimpse of what the humanity will look like under Jesus’ kingship and justice. [45]
We [the Church] are a pilot plant of the future kingdom of God, a place for the world to get a partial glimpse of what the humanity will look like under Jesus’ kingship and justice
While I will say more on this below, this means at the very least that churches in an increasingly multi-ethnic society must themselves be multi-ethnic, opening doors of leadership for Christians of all races and classes.
Several good books on how to work toward this are by Irwyn Ince, Manny Ortiz, George Yancey, and Efrem Smith. [46]
2. Work in the world.
Abraham Kuyper argued that the institutional church’s job was to make disciples rather than to change society, but it had to form disciples in such a way that they went out into the world to do justice.
With some important qualifications, [47] I believe this is generally a good distinction to make.
Abraham Kuyper argued that the institutional church’s job was to make disciples rather than to change society, but it had to form disciples in such a way that they went out into the world to do justice. With some important qualifications, [47] I believe this is generally a good distinction to make.
At the practical level, church leaders usually do not have the expertise to make public statements on political issues, or to run affordable housing complexes, community development corporations, schools, etc.
I have seen churches trying to institutionally do justice get consumed by it and as a result neglect the life-blood of the church — evangelism and formation of disciples through Word and Sacrament.
I have seen churches trying to institutionally do justice get consumed by it and as a result neglect the life-blood of the church — evangelism and formation of disciples through Word and Sacrament.
Another problem is that of partisanship (see below).
Constant, direct political declarations from a local church can be a way of saying, “If you don’t agree with our politics, you won’t be welcome here to hear the gospel.”
So, as a general guideline, it is best for local churches to encourage their lay people to form and lead organizations in the community that work for justice. [48]
So, as a general guideline, it is best for local churches to encourage their lay people to form and lead organizations in the community that work for justice.
Nevertheless, churches among the poor and marginalized “have never had the luxury of separating faith from political action.” [49]
For example, during the years of Jim Crow laws and constant lynchings, should the Black church have stayed “a-political” and not called out civic leaders for their injustice?
As we saw above, both Jesus and Daniel spoke to and critiqued political leaders. [50]
In summary, while the institutional church’s first responsibility is to evangelize and disciple through the Word of God — that discipling and training must motivate and equip Christians to do justice or it is not true to the Word of God.
As we saw above, both Jesus and Daniel spoke to and critiqued political leaders.
In summary, while the institutional church’s first responsibility is to evangelize and disciple through the Word of God — that discipling and training must motivate and equip Christians to do justice or it is not true to the Word of God.
3. With hopeful patience.
At his second and final coming, Jesus will end all evil (Acts 17:31), but at his first coming he came not to bring judgment but to bear it, so we could be forgiven and accepted.
So Jesus is already present in the world to change lives, but final justice is waiting for us at the end of time.
At his second and final coming, Jesus will end all evil (Acts 17:31), but at his first coming he came not to bring judgment but to bear it, so we could be forgiven and accepted.
So Jesus is already present in the world to change lives, but final justice is waiting for us at the end of time.
Christians who are grounded in this “already” but “not yet” of the kingdom of God have a balance of both patience and hope.
We know God will bring in justice, and so we can work with hopeful confidence. But we also know that we are not the Saviors who will be able to accomplish it.
We know God will bring in justice, and so we can work with hopeful confidence. But we also know that we are not the Saviors who will be able to accomplish it.
Biblical justice humbles us, because when we look at the cross we realize that we were perpetrators of injustice — yet Jesus was patient with us and forgave us.
So Christians doing justice must not be abrasive nor caustic.
When listening to others (see below), we should not insist that they talk nicely, especially if they are describing experiences of injustice.
The Psalms are filled with the cries of the oppressed — many of them white hot — against injustice (cf. Psalm 137).
I am not recommending that we tone police others but rather that we heart police ourselves.
When we allow our heart’s hope for justice to slide off of Jesus Christ crucified and let it rest in some program, group, or even our own efforts, we will become both self-righteous as well as despondent.
The gospel helps justice-workers maintain a quiet confidence in the midst of the chaos.
Biblical justice humbles us, because when we look at the cross we realize that we were perpetrators of injustice — yet Jesus was patient with us and forgave us.
So Christians doing justice must not be abrasive nor caustic
4. With informed listening. [51]
Christianity stands antithetically over against other views of reality. [52]
But the doctrine of “common grace” is that God gives gifts of wisdom, moral insight, goodness, and beauty to those who are not believers. [53]
So despite the antithetical nature of human worldviews, we can and need to learn from non-believers.
The doctrine of sin means we Christians are not as wise as our right worldview should make us; the doctrine of common grace means non-believers are not as unwise as their wrong worldview should make them.
But we should be informed in our listening, careful to not adopt their worldview (Romans 12:1–2). [54]
Christianity stands antithetically over against other views of reality. But the doctrine of “common grace” is that God gives gifts of wisdom, moral insight, goodness, and beauty to those who are not believers.
… despite the antithetical nature of human worldviews, we can and need to learn from non-believers.
It is often asked — is it possible for a Christian to reject Critical Race Theory [CRT] as a world view but still use it as a tool?
Esau McCaulley explains the frustration that Black and Latino Christians feel when they say things about racism and injustice that the Black church has been saying for more than a century which now is dismissed as “Critical Race Theory.” [55]
It may be the case that a young white person who is newly alert to systemic injustice has gotten his or her insights from some contemporary academic source steeped in CRT.
But if the Black church came to an insight about justice from the Bible long before any rise of Marxism, then it can’t be the result of Critical Theory.
McCaulley says there are four problems with telling Christian leaders of color that they have bought into CRT:
“1. Much of the dialogue fails to take the Black Christian tradition seriously;
2. It creates a climate in which Christians of color are presumed guilty until proven innocent;
3. It is a word out of season in the communities most concerned with its impact; 4.Those accused of CRT are often those actually contending for the viability of Black/White/multi-ethnic Christian cooperation.
Thus, the consistent accusation of CRT hinders the mission and cooperation of the church.” [56]
So — can a Christian use Critical Race Theory as a tool? On the one hand, CRT can’t be used merely as a tool apart from its worldview assumptions, because the underlying worldview in many ways is the tool. [57]
CRT (as discussed in the last article) sees all racial disparities and inequalities as due to structural factors — period.
Like all non-Christian theories, it is reductionistic. That is its fatal weakness, [58] but it can also be a strength.
There is an old saying: “If your only tool is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.” CRT will think that many things are “nails” (that is, systemic, structural injustice) that are not.
However, it will not likely miss any real nails.
And since our biblical worldview does understand that there is corporate responsibility and structural injustice, then CRT thinkers may show Christians some things that our own sin and cultural blinders have missed.
CRT tools such as “interest convergence” and “structural determinism” do not always work. [59]
But they can remind Christians of the social-critical tools in their own biblical worldview’s toolbox–such as the doctrine of sin (which is a Christian understanding of ‘interest convergence’) and the power of words.
Both Christopher Watkin and Esau McCaulley point out a number of the Bible’s social-critical tools for analyzing cultures, all of which pre-date anything being said today.
Listening to CRT thinkers can help us rediscover our own tools, rather than simply using theirs. [60]
5. Giving clear witness.
When working for justice in the world, Christians must not go incognito.
When we are being “salt and light” the goal is that, seeing your good deeds, others may “glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16; 1 Peter 2:12).
That can’t happen if people don’t know about your faith. We do justice not only for its own sake, but for Christ’s and the gospel’s sake. How can we maintain a clear witness when working for justice?
When we are being “salt and light” the goal is that, seeing your good deeds, others may “glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16; 1 Peter 2:12).
First, witness entails humble listening (see above).
No one will respect Christians if they just haughtily denounce those who disagree with them.
If we correct, we do it gently (2 Timothy 2:24–25).
If we do nothing but argue and despise opponents, we miss an enormous evangelistic opportunity.
No one will respect Christians if they just haughtily denounce those who disagree with them. If we correct, we do it gently (2 Timothy 2:24–25).
Second, Christian witness entails not having the Christian church or faith so closely tied to one or more political parties and leaders that it appears to the world to be nothing but another political power-bloc (see below).
Third, while treating all allies and partners as equals, we should also respectfully point out the problems of secular views of justice.
Many scholars argue convincingly not only that liberal and progressive values came from the Bible, but that today’s secular society can no longer give people the incentives to make the sacrifices of money and power necessary to create a more just society.
Modern culture does not have the moral sources to support its moral ideals, such as human rights and care for the poor. [61]
… while treating all allies and partners as equals, we should also respectfully point out the problems of secular views of justice.
Some Christians counter that believers should not argue for the truth of their view of justice, but should simply live out their particular tradition as a witness to the world.
But it need not be either-or.
Alasdair MacIntyre says that only if we reject both liberal individualism and Marxism will we have “a rationally and morally defensible standpoint from which to judge and to act.” [62]
If we only “live out” biblical justice, but do not show its better foundations, we tacitly support the relativism that has created the spiritual vacuum in the heart of our fragmenting culture. [63]
6. Being political but not partisan.
One of the many reasons for the decline of church-going and religion in the U.S. is that increasingly Christians are seen as highly partisan foot-soldiers for political movements.
This is both divisive within the church and discrediting out in the world.
Many Christians publicly disown and attack other believers who share the same beliefs in Christ, but who are voting for the “wrong” candidates.
They seem to feel a more common bond with people of the same politics than of the same faith.
When the church as a whole is no longer seen as speaking to questions that transcend politics, and when it is no longer united by a common faith that transcends politics, then the world sees strong evidence that Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx were right, that religion is really just a cover for people wanting to get their way in the world. [64]
Paul insists that Christians must not let legal or political differences supersede their oneness in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:6–7). [65]
Paul insists that Christians must not let legal or political differences supersede their oneness in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:6–7). [65]
On the other hand, it is no real option to insist that Christians be “a-political.”
To say that Christians should do nothing politically is a vote for the status quo of a society, and our doctrine of sin means that no society is without its injustices. [66]
What should be done?
First, Christians should avoid accepting the “ethical package deals” [67] that political parties force on their members.
While the Bible speaks a great deal about racial and economic justice (which “sounds liberal”), its teaching on sex and the family “sounds conservative.” Being true to this biblical “package” of social issues will prevent believers from fitting completely into any current political categories.
Second, Christians should recognize that biblical justice tells us that we must help the poor and the weak, but it does not dictate how.
Believers who have the same faith and same commitments may go about doing justice in different ways across the political spectrum. They should respect each other’s differences as they go about their work.
Third, Christians should not see non-partisanship as “centrism” — some “split the difference” moderate position between two poles.
When faced with two alternatives on the world’s spectrum of thought, such as rationalism and empiricism, monism and naturalism, legalism and antinomianism, Christianity critiques each fundamentally, but does not ignore the common grace insights of either.
Rather it arrives at a position off the spectrum which Christopher Watkin calls “biblical diagonalization.” [68]
7. Liberating the conscience.
It is common in public discourse today for Christians to say that a “real” Christian must vote for someone or must not vote for someone.
Historically this is called “binding the conscience.”
But the Westminster Confession’s Chapter 20 is “Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience.” Paragraph 2 states:
“God alone is Lord of the conscience,
and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men”
which are either “contrary to his Word” or even “beside it.”
A rule “beside God’s Word” may not contradict anything in the Bible.
It may even be — in some people’s view — a good inference, but it is nonetheless not something that God’s word directly teaches.
In Matthew 15:1–5, 9 Jesus condemns the religious leaders who added human rules to biblical ones and required obedience to them all alike.
In Matthew 15:1–5, 9 Jesus condemns the religious leaders who added human rules to biblical ones and required obedience to them all alike.
The Confession concludes that in any area where the Bible has not bound human consciences — has not spoken directly — Christians are free to determine God’s wisdom and will for them.
Churches and other Christians should not demand obedience where the Bible has left the conscience free.
I personally know many Christians who are Democrats or Republicans out of conscience. And they are free to arrive at that position.
But they should not then turn and violate other Christians’ liberty by trying to bind their consciences to the same conclusions. [69]
I personally know many Christians who are Democrats or Republicans out of conscience. And they are free to arrive at that position.
But they should not then turn and violate other Christians’ liberty by trying to bind their consciences to the same conclusions.
8. Going local.
I suggest (but not binding your consciences!) that Christians work more locally than nationally on justice matters.
It is also better to focus on particular issues of injustice rather than entering heavily into general “national conversations” about it.
In many places in the western world our national political institutions are no longer functioning.
They are too polarized to forge laws through compromises that involve the greatest number of people and constituencies.
This has been their work for centuries, but today they have become “platforms” for individual leaders to speak to their base and press their agendas rather than cooperate with others. [70]
In many places in the western world our national political institutions are no longer functioning.
This has been their work for centuries, but today they have become “platforms” for individual leaders to speak to their base and press their agendas rather than cooperate with others. [70]
National-level politics is largely broken, and entering into “national conversations” through social media tends to simply virtue-signal rather than accomplish anything.
By contrast, there are many specific issues that can be worked on systemically or locally.
Locally, people are more willing to cooperate across lines for specific ends.
9. Embracing complexity.
One of the great strengths of biblical justice is that it does not attribute injustice to just one main factor.
Many white American evangelicals, however, have a highly individualistic worldview, and confine the idea of racism to deliberate, individual attitudes and actions of racial hate. [71]
On the other hand, Critical Race Theory sees all racial disparities as caused by structural, systemic factors.
As we saw above, biblical justice does neither, and an example of ‘embracing complexity’ is found in Anthony Bradley’s book Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration.
Bradley does an analysis of the criminal justice system in the U.S. and finds it unjust at many points, but what to do?
His last two chapters are telling. They are: “Toward Structural Solutions at the State Level” and “Toward Civil Society Solutions.” [72]
“Civil society” refers to the host of groups and associations that are run neither by government nor by commerce and the marketplace.
They are ‘mediating structures’ like the family itself, churches, synagogues and mosques, and many neighborhood and other non-governmental organizations. [73]
Conservatives typically insist on civil society solutions for poverty and injustice rather than government social policy, and liberals and progressives put all the emphasis on social policy.
Christians, because of their understanding of biblical justice, can embrace the complexity of injustice and use a range of solutions. [74]
Christians, because of their understanding of biblical justice, can embrace the complexity of injustice and use a range of solutions
10. Learning from Christian leaders of color.
We said above that it is crucial for doing justice and for witness, to listen to non-Christian thinkers.
It is even more important for white Christians to listen to brothers and sisters of color, who inevitably see our society from a very different perspective than white people do. [75]
We are all united by the truth of Scripture, but our doctrine of sin teaches us that we come to Scripture with self-justifying hearts and many other emotional and cultural blinders, and so we often miss things that the Bible is saying to us. Experience can change this.
When I was diagnosed with cancer and my life was threatened by it, I began to see things in familiar biblical passages that I had before overlooked.
Why?
You only get answers from the Bible to the questions you ask of it, and a man with cancer asks different questions of a Bible passage than one without it.
Non-white Christians in the U.S. have a sharply different experience of life here in many ways, and so they can show white Christians things in the Bible we have missed.
If you are white, how do you start with this?
First, reach out to Christian leaders of color in your own denomination and also in your own city.
Secondly, read the books and works of Christian leaders of color.
White Christians don’t usually know where to start, but if you have reached out within your denomination and city, your new friends and colleagues can give you sources.
A very select list of those who have helped me (when I was younger) are Martin Luther King, Jr., John Perkins, and Carl Ellis. Some more recently helpful have been Justo Gonzalez, Esau McCaulley, and Anthony Bradley. [76]
You only get answers from the Bible to the questions you ask of it, and a man with cancer asks different questions of a Bible passage than one without it.
Non-white Christians in the U.S. have a sharply different experience of life here in many ways, and so they can show white Christians things in the Bible we have missed.
Christianity has a unique theological and psychological identity that made it the first multi-ethnic religion. [77]
Christianity is growing across the world among Africans, Asians, and Latin Americans.
The future of Christianity in the West lies with multi-ethnic leadership, though many whites have been slow to see it.
Yet even today in European and North American cities there are literally thousands of new churches and missions beginning under the leadership of African, Latin American, and Asian Christians.
And many of them have been pointing to injustice long before it became cool to do so.
11. Tackling the elephant.
When we talk about injustice, the “elephant in the room” is — how do we define systemic racism?
The phrase “systemic” or “structural” racism has been around for many years, but it seems like half the country has just discovered it and many use it indiscriminately.
There are wildly divergent definitions and applications of the term.
There is an enormous divide between progressives and conservatives over the nature of it, and white American Christians in particular tend to have trouble accepting the very concept. [78]
This article has made the case that the Bible does recognize corporate or systemic evil and responsibility, as well as the reality of discrete social systems that are unjust and that must be challenged by Christians (such as the patronage system in Luke 14 and manstealing and slavery in 1 Timothy 1).
This article has made the case that the Bible does recognize corporate or systemic evil and responsibility, ,,,
… as well as the reality of discrete social systems that are unjust and that must be challenged by Christians (such as the patronage system in Luke 14 and manstealing and slavery in 1 Timothy 1).
But what are the structures today that Christians should challenge?
Orthodox Protestant Christian believers need to gather across racial and class lines to come up with a Protestant version of Catholic Social Teaching in which we biblically speak about systemic racism in our society today.
To start, consider some category distinctions.
First there were past social structures that very deliberately sought to crush and marginalize African-Americans, such as slavery, the Jim Crow laws, and the systematic exclusion of Blacks from access to capital and mortgages, as well as access to education and housing.
Although these are now legally abolished, their on-going effects are powerful and they require a mix of structural and civil society responses to remove those effects.
Second, there are present day formal social structures that disadvantage the poor and people of color, such as (in my opinion) :
… the way public schools are funded and operated, the way the criminal justice system privileges people with money and connections, some of the ways policing is done, the way a great deal of land-use zoning is done and housing is built and financed, and the way the health care system privileges some over others.
Finally, there are the informal social systems that are the cumulative effects of (what we noted above is) the white majority’s distrust of and devaluation of non-white cultures.
So we tend to recommend and hire people inside our trusted, informal relational networks that usually consist exclusively of people like us.
That means otherwise qualified but non-white people have no way to enter the circles where there is the most social, financial, and cultural capital. This also influences how teachers, doctors, bankers, police, and business owners treat non-white people.
The effect (even if unknowingly) is to hold non-white people down educationally, psychologically, economically and physically.
12. Transforming power.
I end this long article by merely repeating how I ended the last article.
- You cannot do justice without recognizing how power has been used to exploit and abuse, but you also cannot do justice without exerting power yourself. [79]
- The gospel shows us a Savior who does indeed exercise authority over us, but who uses that authority and power only to serve us, and who was willing to lose it and suffer in order to save us.
- Christians have intellectual and heart resources to use power in a way that does not exploit.
- We must never stop struggling to walk in our Savior’s steps. [80]
We must never stop struggling to walk in our Savior’s steps.
Originally published at: https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com
About the author:
Timothy J. Keller (born September 23, 1950) is an American pastor, theologian, and Christian apologist. He is the chairman and co-founder of Redeemer City to City, which trains pastors for service around the world.
Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary.
He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
Note from the Editor of the Portal:
This is a republication of the article above, considering it´s biblical foundation. The Editor of the Portal does not necessarily agree with all the points made here.
