Scripture
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
~Luke 9:23, NASB
Quote
No Christian teacher or preacher should ever use the term Social Justice
~Voddie Baucham
Currently I am preaching through the Sermon on The Mount. Some folks believe these instructions given by Jesus are simply pious platitudes that are unrealistic and impossible to practice but I can assure you–they are wrong. Jesus did not waste words and everything He taught can be put into practice. Let me tell you what He did not teach in the sermon on the mount or anywhere else: He did not teach believers to pursue their legal rights at the expense of those in need. Matter of fact, Jesus taught us to take insults and offences without retaliating. The Romans had a law and that law required Jews or any people living in Palestine to carry their [Roman soldiers or officials] back pack or burden for one mile. Most of the Romans living in Palestine were there working for the government and this included soldiers. A soldier could grab a civilian off the street and demand that he carry his back pack for one mile. Jesus taught followers to throw them a curve, after the mile is up, just keep on walking. Carry the burden beyond what the law requires, carry it an additional mile. Sounds crazy right! Wrong, it is brilliant. You see once you pass the mile marker, you are in charge. You can lay the burden down anytime you want or you can carry it if you want. The soldier is no longer in command. The same is true with turning the other cheek. Jesus was talking about insults. If a person insults you and you come back with an insult…you have stooped to their level. They are controlling you.
Jesus also taught: If a person sues you for your shirt [under garment], give them your coat also. If they ask you for something, give it to them. If they ask to borrow, lend to them. I’m not making this up; it is found in Matthew 5:38-42. You have to understand context and the vast difference in cultures. The Jews of that day were basically living in an agricultural society and most of them were peasants, not land barons. The peasants worked for a daily wage, not weekly or monthly. They lived from one day to the next. A family could literally go without eating if they didn’t get their pay, or if those who had more refused to give or lend. The clear teaching of Jesus is: Kingdom citizens {believers} never put their rights before the needs of others. Legally, if someone slapped you, you could slap them back. If a Roman demanded you carry their burden, legally you had to do it but for only a mile. If someone sued for your shirt, you had to give it up but legally, you didn’t have to give them your coat. Legally, you did not have to give or lend. Jesus is teaching us not to pursue our legal rights but to think about others.
So what does the CIVIL RIGHTS movement have to do with the Kingdom of God and Christianity? Nothing: in fact it teaches the very opposite of what Jesus taught. Jesus was just but how much time did He spend in “Social Justice” issues? Why didn’t Jesus get into the “Slave” issue? The Jews were notorious at enslaving others, even fellow Jews. Remember the story in Luke 12 where the guy comes to Jesus about his inheritance: what did Jesus tell him? Jesus said, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” In other words, “My Father did not send me to earth to be a judge or an arbiter in such matters.” In Luke 19:10, Jesus says emphatically, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” So the social justice warriors are not following Jesus, are they?
Another hot one yesterday. I drove from Grace Point to Cullman last night about 7:30 and I noticed a huge change South of Eva. Everything was green. North of Eva, everything is brown. Maybe the hurricane will push some moisture our way.
Some people can’t handle the truth. Who funded the CIVIL RIGHTS movement in America? Did Martin Luther King have the funds to travel extensively with a huge entourage? Did he have the money to bus large numbers to each protest? Where did he get the money? I will give you one hint: it did not come from the church, black or white. Who wrote King’s speeches? Did he write them? Why doesn’t he allude to Jesus in his speeches? What does the ACLU have to do with the CIVIL RIGHTS movement? I know the answers but why don’t you find out for yourselves.
J.D. Greear and Russel Moore are false prophets. Both are much more in line with the world than they are with Christ. The SBC’s mission is to seek and save the lost, not level the playing field revive the civil rights movement. Even if that were true, the place to start would be ABORTION and neither of these guys are really pro-life. They claim to be but they are not.