America’s Neo-Gospel

 David Alan Black 

As the church struggle in the United States continues unabated, the witness of Bible-believing Christians to the necessity of biblical law and constitutional government remains alive and well. Their message that Americans – “Christian” Americans included – need conversion will continue to be heralded. American Christians might not think of themselves as needing conversion, but this is precisely the situation in which the church in the United States finds itself.

It is not easy to challenge the status quo in the manner adopted by some of these individuals. They are compelled, however, to proclaim the radical implications of the kingdom of God for society. This is nothing new. Church history is replete with instances where prophetic movements have arisen to challenge both the church and society in ways similar to that being done today.

This modern confessing movement – similar to the Confessing Church in Hitler’s Germany – inevitably brings us face to face with the dilemma of the church. The reason the church of Jesus Christ exists is to bear witness to the kingdom of God in the world. This kingdom is the very antithesis of the kingdoms of the world and constantly brings them under judgment. A church that is faithful to its calling will, therefore, always find itself in a position of tension in society. The church is called to be the salt, light, and leaven of the world. For this reason, the church desperately needs prophetic movements, for these movements provide the critique that forces the church to reassess itself.

As a member of this confessing movement I feel myself constrained to set forth my reasons for criticizing government policy whenever I believe its policies to be in conflict with the ethics of the kingdom. With all due respect, though with great firmness, I must assure the current administration that as long as attempts are made to justify the policy of the warfare/welfare state by appeals to God’s Word, I will persist in denying its validity, and as long as it is alleged that the application of this policy conforms to the norms of Christian ethics, I will persist in denying its validity. In particular, the doctrine that asserts that the United States is divinely ordained to bring advancement to the world in the name of democracy attacks the church at its core, for it denies the work of Christ.

There are alarming signs that this doctrine has become, for many in America, a false faith, a neo-gospel that offers happiness and peace for the world and for the individual. It offers men a security built not on Christ but on man’s accomplishments. Such a claim inevitably conflicts with the Christian gospel, which offers salvation, both social and individual, through faith in Christ alone. Let us not forget that followers of Christ are under obligation to live in accordance with a Christian understanding of man and community, and of law and government, even if this understanding be contrary to the customs and laws of the country in which they live.

The great prophetic tradition of Israel continually warned the nation not to trust in any political program, but to trust in God alone. Otherwise disaster would befall the nation. America, too, can only be saved by faith and obedience, not by human expedients. I cannot and will not remain silent as if there were no answers to these questions, and I call upon the Christian community in America to move beyond ecclesiastical self-concern, pragmatic pietism, and political compromise to become faithful to the demands of the kingdom of God. 

November 22, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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