Social Justice Is the Gospel’s Fruit, Not Its Primary Focus

A well-fed and watered healthy tomato plant produces far more fruit than a neglected plant. Take care of the plant, and the plant takes care of you.

The fruit of the Christian faith is like bunches of ripe red tomatoes. One “tomato” is demonstrating God’s love in practical ways to the needy. A strong and healthy faith bears spiritual fruit.

Focusing on the fruit while neglecting the plant does not end well. That happens when the main thing is societal transformation without making more and better disciples of Jesus.

People define social justice differently. These days, it often carries political cargo.

Honest Christians differ in their political views. Wise churches maximize the spiritual health of their congregations without mandating their political positions.

Major justice passages in the Bible include Leviticus 19 and 25, Isaiah 1 and 58, Jeremiah 22, Amos 5, Micah 6:8, Matthew 25:31-46, and Luke 4. We should give social justice its due. It should not be number one on our to-do list or entirely missing from it.

Kevin Deyoung wrote, “Doing justice means following the rule of law, showing impartiality, paying what you promised, not stealing, not swindling, not taking bribes, and not taking advantage of the weak because they are too uninformed or unconnected to stop you.”¹ 

Simultaneously, we must remember that ministering to the least among us does not save us. God saves us by grace through faith in the merits of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection in our place. Sharing that message must remain our highest priority.

Loving our neighbor as ourselves embraces Kevin Deyoung’s social justice definition. It is part of being “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). Ministering to the needy demonstrates our love for God (1 John 3:17).

Those who follow Jesus should act justly and self-sacrificially, but their ultimate goal is not social transformation, but rather society's spiritual transformation. People deal with others equitably when societies are spiritually transformed.

The false gospel of social justice occurs when social justice is the primary objective for churches and individuals who profess to be Christ’s followers. Fulfilling the Great Commission to make more and better disciples must remain the main thing. What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.

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1.     Is Social Justice a Gospel Issue? (thegospelcoalition.org)

God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,090 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,150 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.  

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