Those Church Pronouncements!

Protestant leaders seem convinced that the Church, in the name of the Church, has a God-given mandate to make pronouncements on any and every phase of social, economic, and political issues. Those who hold this view are, I fear, often listening to voices outside the Church that demand a “gospel” compatible with their own conception of ways in which to meet the chaotic and distressing conditions of our day.

Many alert and dedicated Christians feel that, when it involves itself primarily in social, political, and economic matters, the Church is forfeiting its role as the chief exponent of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and thus proving false to its calling. The plummeting influence of the Church in the nation as a whole appears to confirm this statement. When the Church has ventured into the secular field—particularly concerning matters on which men of equal piety and devotion to their Lord disagree—it has exchanged its spiritual role for one in which it may well find itself aligned with forces inimical both to itself and to society as a whole.

Some church leaders view with strong distaste the opinions of laymen who hold to the historic concept of the separation of church and state. Many of these laymen are deeply concerned that the distinction be kept clear, and primarily that the spiritual message of the Church speak to the basic need of redemption and regeneration, without which there can be no lasting social reform.

As the organizations of the major denominations are largely in the hands of men committed to church pronouncement-making and social activism, it is more or less the general practice of these denominations during the course of their annual meetings to make social pronouncements that thereby become the “official” position of the church.

Let us try to look at this matter objectively. The matter of a church’s entering into economics, social problems, and politics as a corporate group will not be solved by raising a false issue, as some have done. Many individuals who work for social reform want their churches to examine anew their spiritual calling. Sometimes these concerned laymen are accused of trying to “buy” the church. But thousands of men are apprehensive lest their churches sell their glorious spiritual heritage and obligation for a mess of secular pottage.

The Church (and I speak of all major denominations) has a heritage of faith firmly planted in the revelation of God in Christ as recorded in the Holy Scriptures. It has a heritage of strong convictions regarding the separation of church and state. To the Church alone has been committed the message of salvation from sin. It is the repository of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which it is obligated to preach at home and abroad.

Any emphasis upon secular matters without a corresponding conviction about the content of the gospel message is a deviation that harms the Church and detracts from its influence upon the secular world, which its Lord commissioned it to reach. The Church does have a responsibility, but it is not one of secular deliverance; rather, it is the faithful witness to the Gospel, which is man’s only hope—now and for eternity.

Every minister of the Gospel, every Christian, has the right to preach or speak on social and other issues if he is so led by the Spirit. But the Church, as a corporate group, has a spiritual ministry from which its influence emanates; its basic task is to tell of the One who alone empowers men to live righteously. The message of the Church should lead to the regeneration of the individual through faith in Christ.

The Christian, as a citizen, should through personal activity—individually or corporately carried on—help in the reformation of society. But as sure as there is truth to be preached, the social order will never be changed to a marked degree until the hearts of the individuals who make up that order have been changed by the living Christ.

Unless the ministry and message of the Church is recognized for its spiritual content and uniqueness, the Church will surely become lost in the plethora of secular and humanitarian movements that depend upon man to change his own living conditions and destiny.

Because the Church is the sole custodian of the Gospel of redemption through the atoning work on Calvary, it must put first things first and be faithful to its heritage and its witnessing obligation. The concern for social reform can—and has already in many quarters—become an obsession that overshadows the primary task of the Church in the world.

Unless Christian citizens exercise their influence through the ballot box and through personal righteousness, the pronouncements of the churches go for nothing. Valid social concerns must be implemented by concerned Christians. For the corporate church to demand reforms, in the name of the Church, is a form of coercion, and this is not the spiritual healing to which the Church is committed. Furthermore, such actions of church courts support positions that may prove to be contrary to Christian ideals.

To illustrate: dedicated Christians disagree about laws having to do with the closed shop, right-to-work laws, birth control, abortion, deficit spending, and so on. A church that takes official action on any of these issues assumes a position that our Lord himself would not take. “Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?” he asked. And then he went on to utter these searching words: “Take heed, beware of covetousness; for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.”

When a church makes official pronouncements on secular matters, it finds itself suspect both within and outside the area where it is supposed to operate. This may seem to some to be a fine distinction, but it is a very necessary one. The minute a church becomes officially involved in secular areas, it begins to forfeit its power and witness in the spiritual field.

The Church should be guided by revealed principles that have their basis in the divine will. But this is very different from claiming divine authority to make pronouncements regarding particular programs, parties, and personalities.

I know of no one who wishes to “buy” any church or denomination. But I know of thousands of concerned Christians who do not wish to see the spiritual mission of the Church sold for a social program that can never save one soul from eternal loss.

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