deyoung's final words

Kevin DeYoung posts a summary of his Social Justice series. The top lines are, in my opinion, spot on (and a caution we could apply to any topic).

#1: Don’t Undersell What the Bible Says About the Poor and Social Justice
#2: Don’t Oversell What the Bible Says About the Poor and Social Justice

To point 1:

... the New Testament, in passages like 2 Corinthians 8-9 and Galatians 6:1-10 demonstrate the gospel motivation for mercy ministry. Because we have been given grace in Christ, we ought to extend grace to others in his name. Tim Keller is right: ministering to the poor is a crucial sign that we actually believe the gospel.

To point 2:
(1) The alleviation of poverty is simply not the main storyline of Scripture.
(2) The “poor” in Scripture are usually the pious poor.
(3) Almost all the references to caring for the poor in the Bible are references to the poor within the covenant community.
(4) Justice, as a biblical category, is not synonymous with anything and everything we feel would be good for the world.

It's worth reading his summary as well as his detailed analysis.

Technorati Tags: giving, Kingdom of God, service