麥克阿瑟對「社會公義」運動的公開宣戰書
老牧師向全世界敲響警鐘（全文如下）
社會不義和福音（2018-8-13）
作者：麥克阿瑟（JohnMacArthur）翻譯：陳鴿
來源：https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B180813
聖經說：神地上的命立政權，為要替天行道、伸張公義，信徒理當順服在上的權柄。「因為他是神的用人，是與你有益的。他……是伸冤的，刑罰那作惡的。」（羅13:1-4）然而人類歷史上從來沒有一個持守公正、完全公義的政府。其實，當保羅寫這些吩咐時，羅馬的尼祿王正在執掌大權，他是世界舞台上臭名昭彰、最不公不義、殘忍狠心的掌權者者之一。
身為信徒，「我們知道……全世界都卧在那惡者手下。」（約一5:19）因此，歷世歷代，世俗的權力機構，不論從前或現在，多多少少總參雜著不義，只是程度上的不同而已。
即便美國，雖然建立在全人類「蒙創造主賦予某些與生俱來之權力」的理論基礎上，但卻自相矛盾地維持了那剝奪人權與自由的奴隸制度，迫使千千萬萬的人失去了平等追求幸福生活的機會。好幾代的非洲族群，因此被合法地（卻不人道地）踐踏到人類社會的底層。根據1860的統計，當林肯宣告解放黑奴時，那一代的奴隸就有四百萬人之多。
美國的內戰和廢除奴隸制，也沒有自動結束這種不義的現象，又過了一百年後，美國聯邦政府才禁止在公共場所實行種族隔離，並開始認真通過立法，平等地保障所有老百姓的公民權益。在此之前，南方各州被釋放的奴隸和他們的後代都被法律規划到公共汽車的後排座，而且因著他們的膚色，經常遭到輕蔑或虐待。
1960年代，在美國南部，我略嘗了被欺負和受歧視的滋味。那時，我花了不少時間和我的好朋友珀金斯（John Perkins）一起在密西西比州（Mississippi）鄉村佈道，他是一位著名的黑人福音派領袖，在種族隔離的黑人高中里傳揚福音。其中一次旅程中，當我們在一條土路上駕車時，一位當地的警官（明目張胆的狂人）好像直接從「炎熱的夜晚」（美國電視連續劇）中冒出來的，把我拘留起來，關進了他的監獄，指控我擾亂治安，並沒收了我的錢包。最終，他沒有起訴就釋放了我。我想，他認為從我那兒充公的錢，還算足夠來補償他所反感的事。
在那些日子，任何向上級提出的上訴都是白費的，而且可能適得其反，反倒激怒那個警官；我所能做的就只有退讓一步了。
1968年4月，當金恩博士（MartinLuther King Jr.美國黑人民權領袖）在孟菲斯（Memphis）遇刺時，正巧我又和珀金斯牧師（John Perkins）以及一群黑人教會領袖在密西西比州（Mississippi）一起服事。帶領我們團隊的其中一位是密西西比州「黑人協會」主席埃弗斯（CharlesEvers），他的兄弟Medgar於1963年被KKK黨殺害了。金恩博士被殺的消息一傳出，我們立刻駕車前往現場，在他遇刺後不到幾個小時，就到達了洛仁旅館（Lorraine Motel），站在他被槍殺的陽台上。我們還參觀了兇手詹姆斯（James Earl Ray）站在馬桶上發射致命槍彈的地點。
我痛恨種族歧視及其滋生的一切殘酷與不義。我深信，消除種族仇恨與偏見，唯一持之有效的解決方法是耶穌基督的福音。唯有在基督里，人與人之間的隔牆才能拆毀，民與民中間的敵意才能化解；唯有在基督里，不同文化和種族才能融為一個新的群體（弗2:14-15）。這是民權運動期間，我與黑人領袖們所共同持守的信念。
然而，今天那些話最多、嗓門最大的福音派人士卻不以為然，他們似乎對所謂的「社會公義」有截然不同的認識。無疑，他們的言辭指向了另一個方向，要求一個族群對其祖先得罪另一個族群的罪行，進行悔改和賠償。這是法律的用語，而不是福音！更糟糕的是，它反映了世俗政治的行話，而非基督的信息。
這是一個令人驚嘆的諷刺：那些原本來自於不同種族卻在基督里合一的信徒，如今竟然決定在種族問題上製造矛盾。似乎，他們藐視在基督里真實的合一，寧可搞肉體的派系，也不要屬靈的和睦。
我相信，近來福音派對「社會公義」的迷戀是一個關鍵性的轉移，這個對（福音）信息的移情別戀，正在導致許多人（包括一些重要的福音派領袖）走向下滑的軌道，這是一條許多宗派和運動都曾經走過的、並且必然導致屬靈毀滅的道路。
雖然多年來，我曾多次與威脅福音的思潮作過激烈的論戰，但我認為，這一場突如其來、繞道尋求的「社會正義」，是迄今為止對福音最狡猾、最陰險的威脅。
在接下來幾周的一系列博客文章中，我想解釋一下為什麼是如此。首先，我將要回顧一下：我們曾經打過的仗，這些仗都是為了保守福音的清晰、精確、與核心而打的（免得我們模糊了福音的焦點）。我們也將要看到：為什麼「聖經公義」與世俗化、自由主義的「社會公義」理念南轅北轍，幾乎沒有任何的共通點。並且，我們也將要分析：為什麼當前將種族衝突、貧富不均、等等社會問題提升到福音議程首位的運動，會對這使人和睦的真正福音信息構成如此嚴重的威脅。
我盼望，你們都能看清：「神的愚拙總比人智慧，神的軟弱總比人強壯。」（林前1:25）尤其當我們談論到神為他福音的傳播和他國度的發展所選擇的策略時，更是如此！
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原文如下：
Social Injustice and the Gospel
by John MacArthur
Monday, August 13, 2018
Scripture says earthly governments are ordained by God toadminister justice, and believers are to be subject to their authority. Thecivil magistrate is 「a minister of God to you for good . . . an avenger whobrings wrath on the one who practices evil」 (Romans 13:1–4). But it isalso true that no government in the history of the world has managed to beconsistently just. In fact, when Paul wrote that command, the Roman Emperor wasNero, one of the most grossly unjust, unprincipled, cruel-hearted men ever towield power on the world stage.
As believers, 「we know . . . that the whole world lies inthe power of the evil one」 (1 John 5:19), so worldlypower structures are—and always have been—systemically unjust to one degree oranother.
Even the United States, though founded on the preceptthat all members of the human race 「are endowed by their Creator with certainunalienable Rights,」 incongruously maintained a system of forced slavery thatwithheld the full benefits of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness frommultitudes. Many generations of people from African ethnicities were thuslegally (but immorally) relegated to subhuman status. According to the 1860census, there were about four million in the generation of slaves who werebeing held in servitude when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Civil War and the abolishment of slavery did notautomatically end the injustice. A hundred years passed before the federal governmentbanned segregation in public places and began in earnest to pass legislationsafeguarding the civil rights of all people equally. Until then, freed slavesand their descendants in Southern states were literally relegated by law to theback of the bus and frequently treated with scorn or incivility because of thecolor of their skin.
I got a small taste of what it felt like to be bulliedand discriminated against in the American South in the 1960s. I spent a lot oftime traveling through rural Mississippi with my good friend John Perkins, awell-known black evangelical leader, preaching the gospel in segregated blackhigh schools. During one of those trips, as we drove down a dirt road, a localsheriff—an openly bigoted character straight out of In the Heat of the Night—tookme into custody, held me in his jail, and accused me of disturbing the peace.He also confiscated (and kept) all my money. He ultimately released me withoutfiling charges. I suppose he considered the money he took from me an adequatefine for doing something he disapproved of.
In those days any appeal to higher authorities would havebeen fruitless and possibly counterproductive. All I could do was try not toantagonize him further.
I was again ministering in Mississippi with John Perkinsand a group of black church leaders in April 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr.was assassinated in Memphis. One of the men leading our group was CharlesEvers, head of the Mississippi NAACP. (His brother Medgar had been killed in1963 by the KKK.) When news of Dr. King』s murder broke, we drove to Memphis—andliterally within hours after Dr. King was assassinated, we were at the LorraineMotel, standing on the balcony where he was shot. We were also shown the placewhere James Earl Ray stood on a toilet to fire the fatal shot.
I deplore racism and all the cruelty and strife itbreeds. I am convinced the only long-term solution to every brand of ethnicanimus is the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Christ alone are the barriers anddividing walls between people groups broken down, the enmity abolished, anddiffering cultures and ethnic groups bound together in one new people (Ephesians 2:14–15). The blackleaders with whom I ministered during the civil rights movement shared thatconviction.
The evangelicals who are saying the most and talking theloudest these days about what』s referred to as 「social justice」 seem to have avery different perspective. Their rhetoric certainly points a differentdirection, demanding repentance and reparations from one ethnic group for thesins of its ancestors against another. It』s the language of law, not gospel—andworse, it mirrors the jargon of worldly politics, not the message of Christ. Itis a startling irony that believers from different ethnic groups, now one inChrist, have chosen to divide over ethnicity. They have a true spiritual unityin Christ, which they seem to disdain in favor of fleshly factions.
Evangelicalism』s newfound obsession with the notion of「social justice」 is a significant shift—and I』m convinced it』s a shift that ismoving many people (including some key evangelical leaders) off message, andonto a trajectory that many other movements and denominations have taken before,always with spiritually disastrous results.
Over the years, I』ve fought a number of polemical battlesagainst ideas that threaten the gospel. This recent (and surprisingly sudden)detour in quest of 「social justice」 is, I believe, the most subtle anddangerous threat so far.
In a series of blog posts over the next couple of weeks,I want to explain why. I』ll review some of the battles we have fought to keepthe gospel clear, precise, and at the center of our focus. We』ll see why biblicaljustice has little in common with the secular, liberal idea of 「socialjustice.」 And we』ll analyze why the current campaign to move social issues likeethnic conflicts and economic inequality to the top of the evangelical agendaposes such a significant threat to the real message of gospel reconciliation.
I hope you』ll see that 「the foolishness of God is wiserthan men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men」 (1 Corinthians 1:25)—and that』snever more true than when we are talking about the strategy God has chosen forthe spread of the gospel and the growth of Christ』s kingdom.
JohnMacArthur
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