Martin Luther King Day and the Eighth Article

Before more is said about the Draft Revision's Article Seven, I thought it would be fitting to display Article Eight today. While some might cynically complain that this new addition to the Statement of Faith would be nothing more than a trendy move; I beg to differ. Our denomination, by God's grace, is becoming more reflective of God's Kingdom, and our national leadership rightly emphasizes this by including in each EFCA Today a section called "Among All People: the diversity of our movement." This new article emphasizes the active role that God's people must take in the world today, and while we will never fully know peace until Christ returns there is nothing less Christ-like than ignoring the poor and turning our eyes away at the sight of injustice. Article Eight is a far cry from a social or liberation gospel, it rightly focuses on the how we are to fight sin in this age: through dependence upon the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

For too long we have allowed our national and state governments to be responsible for aiding the poor and helping the downtrodden, this would be all well and good if we believed that the government will lead them to the Savior, but God has seen fit to give His Church the responsibility of directing poor and needy sinners to the mercy seat of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the gospel to them. How will they come to know the One who will set them free if we refuse to allow our hands and our carpets to get dirty? How will they come to understand the true gospel if we don't reclaim social work from social activists who proclaim a false gospel?

8. God’s gospel calls us to Christ-like living and witness to the world –We believe that God’s justifying grace in the gospel must not be separated from its sanctifying power and purpose. He calls us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves, acting with compassion toward the poor and need, seeking justice for everyone. In fellowship with one another, we are to battle the world, the flesh, and the devil with the Word of God and prayer through the prevailing power of the Holy Spirit. Since the age to come has already dawned in Christ, we are called to take the light of Christ to the world, bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed to every nation, people, and language.