Curious Christian

Last year Rod Benson wrote an article on the Philidelphia Statement entitled “Evangelical Social Irresponsibility” which I found both encouraging and disturbing.

He started positively:

One general strength of the Philadelphia Statement is especially noteworthy. In parallel with many evangelical statements, the present Statement makes strong claims for the integration of word and deed, evangelism and social justice, personal regeneration and social transformation. Taken together, these claims constitute a clarion call to forsake any vestige of the so‐called “Great Reversal” of twentieth‐century evangelicalism, and a passionate plea for holistic mission within a confident evangelical framework. The relevant sections of the Philadelphia Statement are as follows:

(a) “The Lordship of Christ provides the fundamental reason for Christian involvement in social, civic and political affairs. Consequently, both evangelism and social action are essential dimensions of the gospel of Jesus Christ”;

(b) “[The church ought to] bear witness in life, word and action to the power of the gospel to transform lives and societies”;

(c) “The notion of a purely privatized faith in which the gospel only affects individual, personal or family life but has no wider implications for society must be rejected as inadequate”; and

(d) “We must commit ourselves to the common life of faith and action which will lead to a transformation of the world in which we live.”

But then went on to observe:

Yet even this strength has its dark side. I don’t mean that the pursuit of this vision will inevitably (or probably) lead to a diminution of the classic evangelical call to salvation by grace alone, to faith alone, to Scripture alone … What I mean is best framed as a broad question: Why do peak evangelical gatherings issue so many consensus statements challenging fellow travellers to pursue integral (or holistic) mission?

And one of the suggested answers?

First, there are so many calls for evangelicals to hold word and deed together because evangelical Christians are so very unfaithful to the biblical witness, and to generations of eminent and godly pastors and theologians who have sought to clarify and expound and apply the biblical teaching on this matter.

And this is what I find disturbing, disheartening and disquieting. That no matter what we say, history suggests that the Biblical witness will continue to be ignored by many of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is where I have to remind myself, obedience to God’s call should not be predicated by our chances of short term success.