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LEADERSHIP LETTER ARCHIVES
A
MONTHLY READING FOR ALL ARC LEADERS
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Faith without works is dead, and among the works which God considers to be indicative of true faith are helping those in distress, feeding those who are hungry, and ministering to all those who are captives. God is the Creator of all, and in the gospel he has declared his will to be the redemption of men and women from every kind of oppression, whether spiritual, social, economic, or political.
We, therefore, embrace our responsibility to embody God¹s concern for justice in human society. We recognize that this involvement may take different forms, so we refuse to bind our concern to any one political, economic, or social ideology. But we also refuse to excuse sloth or unwillingness to risk our own security on behalf of God's justice.
-- ARC Common Concerns We are convinced
that God is not only the Creator of all, but that He is the lover of all
humanity and all creation. Part of our redemption in Christ is stated by
Paul to the Ephesians, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”
(Eph. 2:10). These good works extend beyond the explicitly spiritual
expressions of gifts exercised within a local body (prophecy, service,
leadership, etc.) and are also to be demonstrated within every context of
human culture—outreach to the poor and disenfranchised, commitment to the
unborn and areas of righteousness within physical creation, and creative
expressions into the arena of ar
These good works are all to be grounded in a holistic understanding of the gospel—that the salvation of God is meant to save sinners from eternal destruction, but also to display the love and goodness of God within all of His creation. Although, as the Bible states, “The form of this world is passing away” (I Cor. 7:31), God still calls His people to act like Him—to feed the hungry, to defend the powerless, to stand for justice and to care about simple social situations (e.g. John 2 – Jesus at the Cana wedding).
Each local congregation must assess their gifts and seek to be present in appropriate ways within their culture. We must act like the sons and daughters of a Creator who still owns the whole world. As David proclaimed, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1). Jesus plainly said that we are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” with the commission to “let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:16).
--Ned Berube |
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