After many years attempting to conquer the city of Troy, the Greeks used deception to breach its walls. The legendary warrior Odysseus built a giant wooden warhorse and offered it to the citizens of Troy as an emblem of goodwill. But inside, concealed from view, forty of Greece’s best warriors, led by Odysseus, waited. After the Greek army sailed away, The Trojans found the wooden horse, and believing the horse replica to be a gift to them, brought it inside the gates of Troy.
After dark, the warriors dropped through a trap door in the belly of the horse, slaughtered the guards, and opened the gates to the Greek army which had secretly returned and were waiting just outside the gates. Troy had fallen, together with the most famous of all Greek warriors, Achilles. The survivors fled Troy, and after many adventures eventually founded Rome (according to Roman myth).
This story, made famous in the Aeneid by Virgil, is a cautionary tale for us today. It is the origin of the term “Trojan Horse,” and has become a metaphor for “…any trick or stratagem that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place” (en.wikipedia.org).
There’s no more secure place on earth than God’s Church when it is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). However, when the Word of God is not consulted, when watchmen are silent or cancelled, and when subtly crafted non-biblical worldviews are allowed into Adventist pulpits, classrooms and publications, the Church is compromised.
Is “Social Justice” Evangelism?
I recently read a denominational publication that equated social justice with biblical evangelism. It called for God’s Church that preaches the inclusive Three Angels’ Messages to combine words and actions while living out the Gospel of Jesus.
In Desire of Ages, a devotional on the life of Christ, the inspired author wrote.
“Unless there is practical self-sacrifice for the good of others, in the family circle, in the neighborhood, in the church, and wherever we may be, then whatever our profession, we are not Christians” (Ellen G White, Desire of Ages, p. 323).
When early church leaders in the 1st Century AD encouraged the Apostle Paul to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles, they also asked him to remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). And, in the Old Testament book of Isaiah chapter one, we read, “Learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (verse 17).
These are godly and practical actions. But is it wise to label them acts of “social justice”? Many are rapidly embracing social justice as if it were Christianity 101. What if, under closer scrutiny, we discover that “social justice” does not mean what many naively assume it does?
The Bible says, “In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines.” (Proverbs 18:17). This series of articles is a cross-examining of the popular but false sentiment that social justice is Christianity. It is not meant to offend, but to awaken the church to an ideological foe that is already among us!
Adventist Activism
Around the world, Adventist youth and students are actively caring for others through ministries like Global Youth Day, One Year in Mission, Public Campus Ministries and Mission Caleb (https://www.gcyouthministries.org). Like Jesus and the early church, they are sharing the Gospel as they minister to the felt needs of people around them (Acts 2:45, 3:6-7).
While serving at the world headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I will never forget traveling through the city of Trujillo, Peru, watching as thousands of Adventist youth ministered to the desperate needs of residents there after a major flood. It was thrilling to see these Mission Caleb and One Year in Mission youth being the hands and feet of Jesus!
The Apostle John described this kind of Christ-like activity beautifully when he wrote,
“This is how we know what love is. Jesus laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and truth” (1 John 3:16-18).
Night after night these young people from Peru and around the South American Division, preached The Three Angels’ Messages in numerous locations across the city. As a result, hundreds made decisions for Jesus and were baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Ministering to the desperate needs of others, while sharing the everlasting Gospel of God’s healing grace, forgiveness and reconciliation, is what it means to be a Gospel worker. Or, if you prefer, a true Adventist activist!
To be clear, when we altruistically care for those in need, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, visit the sick and those in prison, provide shelter for the homeless, and seek biblical justice for the oppressed, protest violence and corruption by those in power, and share the “everlasting Gospel,” we are not engaged in “social justice,” we are living-out biblical Christianity (Psalms 82:3, Micah 6:8).
Warriors or Workers?
And yet, a Trojan Horse has been rolled through the gates of God’s Church. This wood framed and dangerous worldview is claimed by some to represent Christianity in action. But, as we will soon discover, this Trojan Horse is neither biblical, nor Christian.
If the Church, and especially its younger generation, remain unwarned, this deception will mislead many into becoming social justice warriors (SJW) rather than “rightly trained” Gospel workers (Education, p. 271). The prophet Ezekiel’s words are relevant for us today: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so, hear the word I speak and give them warning from me” (Ezekiel 33:7-8).
Seventh-day Adventists! Now is the time to speak out boldly against this looming danger or “forever hold your peace.” To be silent is to leave the Bride of Christ vulnerable and be yoked to a godless philosophy that not only harms society but leads our children to Christless graves!
Social Justice Defined
What exactly is social justice? We need not guess or make up our own meanings. Voddie Baucham offers this compiled description:
“The Oxford English Dictionary says that social justice is a noun related to politics and philosophy: 'Justice at the level of a society or state as regards the possession of wealth, commodities, opportunities and privileges.' And it says, 'see distributive justice.' Social justice is distributive justice. That’s what social justice means. William Young writes, 'While often an amorphous term, "social justice" has evolved to generally mean ‘state redistribution of advantages and resources to disadvantaged groups, to satisfy their rights and social and economic equality.’ Social justice is state redistribution… It is not a heart issue” (Biblical Justice vs. Social Justice, Institute for Faith and Culture, April 2, 2023).
A United Nations report on social justice offers an even more disturbing definition.
“Social Justice is not possible without strong and coherent redistributive policies conceived and implemented by public agencies. Present day believers in an absolute truth identified with virtue and justice are neither willing nor desirable companions for the defenders of social justice (https://youtu.be/rtBvQj2k6xo).”
What then is social justice?
It is not the Church reaching out in compassion like Jesus or the Good Samaritan to meet the needs of all humanity; it’s not caring for the homeless or marginalized as the early church believers did by giving freely of their own resources (Acts 2:45).
It’s not about sharing the Gospel which when received changes hearts and breaks down walls of “hostility that separated us” (Ephesians 2:14). Neither, as some have suggested, is it about being the hands and feet of Jesus or living out the counsel found in the Spirit of Prophecy.
Social Justice is a political worldview making the government its agent in taking “wealth, commodities, opportunities, and privileges” from one group and redistributing them to another group in the name of “reparations,” “justice” or “equity.”
This “strong and coherent redistribution” is initially accomplished through progressive taxation as well as discriminatory hiring and enrollment practices based on race, gender and sexuality. Although some readers may embrace this political worldview, let’s be careful not to call it Christianity or place it in our Church publications as if it is. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world…” (John 18:36).
Kleptocracy
Interestingly, when someone tried to get Jesus to redistribute another’s inheritance, The Savior replied, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:14-15).
As difficult as this may be to ingest, redistributive “social justice” is state orchestrated theft, motivated by greed and envy. It attempts to replace democracy with “kleptocracy” (a nation ruled by people who use their power to steal their country’s resources). It is “justified” lawlessness, which the Bible condemns and warns will be pervasive at the end of time (Exodus 20:15, Matthew 24:12).
The Apostle Paul wrote the following alternative to social justice. “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (4:28). In other words (1) Stop stealing; (2) Get an honest job; (3) Share your own resources with those in need.
The Good Samaritan
Thankfully, as mentioned above, Adventist youth have Christ-like alternatives for meeting the real and desperate needs in our world. Mission Caleb, Voice of Youth, Public Campus Ministries, and One Year in Mission are but a few of the many Adventist youth programs that operate around the world to bless those in need. Every Adventist young person who wants to be a world changer, should be involved in one or more of these truly biblical initiatives. Currently, these ministries seek to follow biblical methods of service, as revealed in the healing and self-sacrificing work of The Good Samaritan (https://www.gcyouthministries.org).
The Good Samaritan did not ignore the legitimate needs of others. He saw the hurting individual lying bruised beside the road leading from Jerusalem to Jericho, and regardless of the man’s “race, color or class,” ministered to him in love (Desire of Ages p. 323).
Interestingly, like the New Testament church, the Good Samaritan gave sacrificially of his “own” resources (donkey, bandages, oil, money). He never demanded that the State forcefully or coercively redistribute the resources of others. This would have made him less like Jesus and more like the “robbers” in the story! (Desire of Ages 322-323, Acts 4:32-37, Luke 10:25-37).
Sidenote: The Bible does encourage the wealthy to be generous with their wealth and not to use it to exploit the poor, but nowhere does it endorse forcefully taking away their resources (1 Timothy 6:17-19). In fact, based on Proverbs 10, wealth can be connected to doing right and poverty a consequence of doing wrong (4-5, 15-16, 22). Perhaps the robbers in the Good Samaritan story justified their crime based on a non-biblical view regarding the “certain man” (Luke 10:30).
But What if…
But what if, as some argue, those who have their resources “redistributed,” stole them from others (historically or systemically), wouldn’t that warrant a social justice response?
Again, The Apostle Paul gives inspired guidance,
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone…Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:17-19).
Although, the Bible never sanctions an “the ends justify the means” form of justice or condones punishing children for the sins of their parents, it does support appealing for biblical justice in both heavenly and earthly courts (Luke 18:1-8, Isaiah 43:26, Ezekiel 18:20).
If we are true followers of Jesus, we will not act in ways that contradict His Word but will trust Him instead. Some may wonder why this series of articles on social justice was written. The answer is simple. We have a solemn responsibility to “contend for the faith” and warn God’s people of imminent danger. Danger from one of Satan’s most powerful deceptions over the past 190 years! (Ephesians 6:12, Col 2:8, 2 Cor 10:5, Jude 3).
It is the opinion of this writer that social justice peddles a counterfeit Christianity, offers no equitable solutions, entangles the church in toxic politics and makes society less just and progressively lawless. It pits one identity group against another, thus destroying unity in the Body of Christ and bears false witness against a large swath of Seventh-day Adventists, placing them under condemnation and guilt.
In parts two and three, we’ll unpack this further and discover “Odysseus’s warriors” hidden in the wooden belly of the social justice movement.
****
Gary is on the right.
Gary Blanchard is President of the Northern New England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
