Saturday Reflection – Christian Social Responsibility in the Lausanne Covenant

Something to reflect upon this Saturday

Here is the paragraph on “Christian Social Responsibility” in the Lausanne Covenant (Paragraph 5):

We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all men. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men from every kind of oppression. Because mankind is made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, colour, culture, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which he should be respected and served, not exploited. Here too we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive. Although reconciliation with man is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbour and our obedience to Jesus Christ. The message of salvation implies also a message of judgment upon every form of alienation, oppression and discrimination, and we should not be afraid to denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When people receive Christ they are born again into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.

1 reply
  1. Jon Langley
    Jon Langley says:

    Nice.

    Why is it that in so many areas, such as this one, we — the Church — always polarize towards a “one or the other” mentality?

    At the risk of being redundant (okay, not a risk but an actuality), I DARE the most well educated, experienced, and gifted of evangelists and/or teachers who views the social aspects of the Christian mission as some kind of cop-out or waste of time to live here in East Africa and “preach it up” whilst ignoring the abject poverty of his very own neighbor! He will either learn the point of the OP above, become increasingly hard-hearted and cynical, or run away before he has to make a choice between the two.

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply