NEW WATERS LISTENER Question

Here's what listener "Dan" had to say:

"I have been challenged by listening to your podcasts. I came across a quote from Simpson that I wonder if you could comment on it. I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the link between social action and the gospel.

Simpson wrote,

'Philanthropic schemes and social reforms are absorbing the interest and enthusiasm of thousands of redeemed men and women who ought to be giving their strength and wealth to do the best things and not the second best. We admit there is something good in these enterprises. They have a place and a value, but let the world take care of them. There are plenty of people to run social reform and temperance societies; plenty of people to fight the political battle. God wants you to give the gospel to the world, to rise to the higher calling, to do the best things.'"

(Simpson quoted by John W. Dahms, "The Social Interest and Concern of A.B. Simpson," p.49) What are the "best things"? https://www.csph.ca/assets/1998-elliot.pdf)

Here’s the response from some of our current and previous cast members:

VIJAY: If we take Simpson’s quote and we simply put it up against a bald, prima-facie reading of the Gospels (the life of Jesus) and Acts (the life of the early church), his categories would not hold up at all! I would suggest that [Simpson] … is forcing a dichotomy that the Gospels … [the] book of Acts and the church for the first 300 years didn’t subscribe to. It wasn’t even a question for them.

ROB: Gospel proclamation and gospel demonstration are complementary, not contradictory. Doesn’t Rodney Stark argue in his book, The Rise of Christianity that the primary reason why the church exploded after AD 250 was the way Christians cared for the sick and dying during the plagues? By his estimation, the number of Christians grew from 1.2 million to 33.8 million.

JOSH: I do also wonder the historical/cultural context of Simpson's comments. There’s got to be something more to them than just a binary dismissal of one form of ministry vs. another.

ROB: Simpson is swinging the pendulum radically to one side of a debate that was emerging in his day. This polarization would ultimately be realized through the great divide between Princetonian fundamentalism and theological liberalism. His comments really need to be understood within this framework. To our misfortune, fundamentalists—and then evangelicals—took up the cause of gospel proclamation while theological liberals took up the cause of gospel demonstration . . . Unfortunately, we have inherited a schism that is not apparent in Scripture. And the polarization is only getting exacerbated by politicizing the difference.

JOSH: I’m sure someone can find another Simpson quote to debunk this one. I also wonder how old he was when he wrote/said that.

DOM: A.B. Simpson was wrong.

ROB: Simpson is over-correcting because [he] likely fears that good Christians are neglecting evangelism.

VIJAY: Jesus seems to move fluidly between conversations about what I’m assuming Simpson means by gospel (sin, salvation, forgiveness) and the everyday lives of his followers; the Gospels have as much “social” action in it as teaching. Further to all of this, if by “gospel” Simpson means “Jesus death on the cross, forgiveness of sins, entrance to heaven, etc.) – I’m not sure if he is or not, but many do claim that this is what the gospel is – then what on earth were the disciples proclaiming as “good news” (euangelion) in Luke 9:6 when they were sent out by Jesus, if He hadn’t died or risen from the dead as yet?

ROB: Vijay, while I agree that the disciples proclaimed a gospel as they went out in Luke 9:6, the gospel that they proclaimed was not yet fully realized and this gospel would not be fully understood until after the resurrection and even Pentecost. This is perhaps evident if you read Luke and Acts as a composite (which is how they were written, on two combined scrolls). The early proclamation of the disciples involved a coming kingdom which was evidenced by the effects of the kingdom (healing, demons cast out, etc.). But the later proclamation of the apostles was much more robust: Jesus is Lord. He is the resurrected Son of God, King of Kings. They had thus experienced an evolution in their theology (and their gospel). The gospel proclaimed in Acts was still a gospel of the kingdom as evidenced by the inclusio of Acts 1:3 and Acts 28:31.

VIJAY: … When Simpson says “the world”, does he mean humanitarian organizations? Most of them historically seem to have Christian roots, motivated by a close following of Christ – his life and teaching. Furthermore … there are as many pursuits that the world is engaged in that are not pursuing anything close to the life and mission of Jesus – it’s not as if the world is kicking butt and taking names when it comes to justice, mercy, etc, so the church can just focus on “proclamation. All of it is kingdom work and the faithful Christian and her church need to have all of it in view.

ROB: Simpson’s comment, “let the world take care of them” seems extreme, to say the least. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that there is a false dichotomy here. The dichotomy does exist implicitly in Scripture but not explicitly. We have a Great Commission (make disciples) and a Great Commandment (love God, neighbour, self). I think a strong case can also be made that the primary mission of the church should be the proclamation of the kingdom/gospel/Jesus (this is indeed what they did in the book of Acts). But this does not mean we do this at the expense of social justice. We have a Great Commandment and there are practical glimpses throughout Acts and the epistles of good works. Social justice —or whatever terminology we choose to use—is the demonstration of the kingdom.

JOSH: If we understand ‘making disciples’ rightly, this involves way more than just getting someone to a place where they make a decision to follow Jesus. Loving our neighbour is a greater command than the Great Commission. The commission to make disciples fits under the summation of the law, which is to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves. To me that means we ought to care for our neighbours motivated by love and if the opportunity to lead them into a journey of discipleship arises; then lovely.

ROB: Gospel demonstration sheds light on gospel proclamation. Joe Aldrich says: “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. Gospel proclamation builds the church’s capacity for gospel demonstration. When more people receive Christ, more people make an impact.