PREACHING IN THE MIDST OF SOCIAL INJUSTICE Bible Study and Book Guide Lesson 4 Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 PREACHING IN THE MIDST OF SOCIAL INJUSTICE “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.”—Proverbs 21:15, NIV “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.”—Deuteronomy 16:20, NIV Text Deuteronomy 16:13-21 Before entering the Promised Land, Israel was instructed to remain separate from the pagan people they would encounter there. They were to behave differently from the despicable Canaanites who already inhabited the land that God had promised to Abraham as a perpetual inheritance. They were warned in this verse, not to intermingle with the local inhabitants. They were not to learn their horrible traditions or participate in any of their ungodly practices, "When you enter the land, which the LORD your God gives you," Moses commanded, "you shall not learn their ways or imitate the detestable things of those nations." These pagan people were dead in their sin, at enmity with God, and enslaved by Satan. They were never to be a role-model for God's servants. Rather, Israel were to be an example to the Gentiles and point them to the one true and living God. Since the fall, the whole world has been lying under the control of the evil one, but God chose Israel out of all the nations to be a peculiar people who were to behave differently from Gentile nations. They were to obey HIS perfect law and followed HIS righteous ways. Israel's way of life and standard of conduct was to become a light to lighten the Gentiles, and they were to bring others into fellowship with the God of Israel. While the term “social justice” has become a convoluted one today, it is clearly defined throughout many passages of scripture. Though the scriptures don’t speak directly of social justice, they do speak of the justice of God. Social justice is the people of God bringing the equitable and impartial application of the rule of God’s moral law in society. The African-American conservative evangelical Tony Evans has explained that “social justice follows the pattern established by the Almighty God in making the wrongs of society right. Social justice is performed through economic, political, social, or criminal justice, to name a few areas.” More than 4,700 pastors signed a controversial document titled, “For the Sake of Christ and His Church: The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel.” The document states: “We reject any teaching that encourages racial groups to view them- selves as privileged oppressors or entitled victims of oppression,” and “We emphatically deny that lectures on social issues (or activism aimed at reshaping the wider culture) are as vital to the life and health of the church as the preaching of the gospel and the exposition of Scripture.” It is clear that the writer intends to address Christian leaders who are encouraging the church to take matters of social injustice seriously. It is alarming that a document exists that flat-out denies that privilege and goes further to say we shouldn’t be talking about issues of justice in the church.  See Full Study Guide  https://1drv.ms/w/s!Alj4UNXUR9-ki9pQ-ynkUXBy2nCUgw?e=cqBx31