Evangelism and Social Concern

Discerning What Is Best with Dr Rex Rogers

Christians often seem to set up evangelism and social concern in opposition to one another, or at least to arrange them on separate tracks. Yet the Word of God is holistic. It shares God's moral will for all humanity, and it provides us with a Christian philosophy of life or worldview wherein we are to carry the message of reconciliation and redemption to the world even as we are charged with caring for the world. Jesus said to be not of the world, but in the same chapter he said to go into the world. We don't get raptured to heaven the moment we're saved. No, God has a purpose and plan for us on this earth, which includes evangelism within the Great Commission (Matt. 28: 18-20) but also includes stewarding Creation within the Cultural Mandate (Gen. 1:26-28). Evangelism and social concern are not antagonistic nor are the mutually exclusive. God expects us to engage in both.