Social Justice Train Cars of Economics and Racism

Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Justin Peters. I hope that this finds you and your family doing well. I want to thank you very much for joining me. This is just giving a little brief introduction here because I'm putting up two videos on my youtube channel this being the first one and then one other one.

These are two Presentations that I recently put together for an online conference that was held September 17th and 18th of 2021 Dealing with social justice and I was just one of several other speakers.

There was also Chris and Joshua Rosebrough Phil Johnson and dr Owen Stran and so we were the speakers and we we each did two Presentations for this two-day online conference. And so I thought I would put my presentations up on my youtube channel.

And so these two presentations, please don't think that they are a comprehensive Treatment or critique of social justice because they're not it's just kind of a bird's-eye view of of what I've what I've deemed as some of the some of the cars that come along the social justice train the engine of social justice is Bringing along some cars with it.

And so it's just kind of a bird's-eye view of some of the more prominent In troubling cars of the social justice train. So anyway, if you want to see the full conference, I would I would really commend that to you because there's a lot of good Material there.

So I'm going to put a link down below there in the description to the YouTube channel Did God really say? Conference YouTube channel and so all the presentations you can find there. So I would commend those to you and I'm also going to put some links down below in the description of some Good books that you can read That deal with social justice, so I would commend those to you as well.

So, all right without any further ado as they say, here's my first presentation. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Justin Peters. I hope that you and your family are doing well today. I want to thank you very much for joining us for this online conference Entitled did God really say we are looking at the social justice movement what it teaches and some of the implications For the Evangelical Church and as I begin my first presentation here.

I want to give you an idea of Just how concerned I am about this movement. I believe that the social justice movement that has been in the works for many many many years. But just in the last three or four years or so has really Come to fruition the players behind the scenes in the last several years have really begun to lay their cards out on the table and and play their hand and this the social justice winds have blown through the Evangelical world like a hurricane and I believe it is without any hyperbole.

I truly believe it is One of if not the most insidious threats That I have ever seen to the church now. Granted we understand that the church belongs to Christ and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

So The church is secure, but nonetheless The Bible warns us repeatedly about false doctrine and or false teachers. In fact 26 of the 27 books in the New Testament directly Warned about these things only the book of Philemon has nothing at least nothing directly to say about false doctrine or false teachers.

So these warnings are in Scripture for a reason we are to Note false teachers. They are to be marked and avoided. Paul said in his letter to Titus Teach sound doctrine and refute those who contradict so we are to both teach sound doctrine and Refute those who contradict it.

It's not an either-or Situation it is a both and and for those of you who are familiar with my ministry You know that I am kind of known for engaging the word of faith movement new apostolic Reformation charismatic movement and all of those Aberrant doctrines and excesses and lying signs and wonders and all of that kind of stuff and my concern about that has not ebbed at all not in the least but Social justice is different and let me tell you why I see this as as such a threat and in many ways even more so than word faith new apostolic Reformation in that in our Theological circles, or maybe I should say in my theological circles, which would be the conservative Soteriologically reformed doctrines of grace high view of the sovereignty of God in in my circles.

We certainly have people scattered in our churches Here and there that to one degree or another may be affected by a Joel Osteen or a Joyce Meyer or some like that Somebody like that maybe Bill Johnson and in some of these others.

We have some people sitting in our pews Here and there that have been affected by of course all of us have family members friends and family members who have to much greater degrees but but in our churches in in our churches and in my theological circles in the Soteriologically reformed circles doctrines of grace circles what we've never had is that we have never had any of the Heavy hitters, if you will some of the well-known names in our circles actually preaching Word of faith or new apostolic Reformation or health and wealth prosperity gospel.

You know None of our none of the preachers the known preachers in our circle had circles have ever preached this from a pulpit but with social justice. We are seeing that with social justice. We are seeing some of the heavy hitters if you will who have to varying degrees Been blown about by these winds of social justice and that is unique as it relates to my ministry of Word of faith and all that other stuff, you know I am of course trying to equip people in my theological circles, but much more broadly than that.

You know, I'm by God's grace trying to get that message out to people that are not in my theological circles. But but with social justice this stuff is picking off some of our guys. Okay, and it is it is alarming.

I have just been amazed at the effectiveness of this aberrant movement, so It's a very serious thing and I know there's a lot of confusion about it. What is social justice? What does it mean? What is it?

What is it? Not? What what are we dealing with and you've probably noticed that if you watch the the national news you've been hearing things about intersectionality and critical race theory and being woke and all of this stuff and It should be a real red flag when you're hearing the same kind of lingo in the church.

That's what you're hearing out in the political realm. When you're hearing the same thing in the church that you're hearing in the in the political realm. Then you know something is amiss and something is very much amiss so what I want to do in my two presentations, I want to Examine some of the the different cars that come along the social justice train when you hear social justice.

You need to you need to keep in mind that it's not just about Issues dealing with race or economics and I'm going to talk about those but there's a lot of other different cars that come along this train and When you let the engine of the train in all of these cars Eventually are coming along with it.

Okay. These cars are not going to be uncoupled they're coming along with the engine of the train and so These next two presentations are it's not gonna be a deep dive okay, we don't have time to do a deep dive into the origins and the Minutia of the various machinations of all of the social justice movement all the moving parts so I want to kind of give you a broad overview kind of a bird's-eye view of The the main cars that are attached to this engine of the social justice train and letting you know What's coming along with it?

What they are saying and then biblically we will examine it. And we will refute those who are contradicting Sound doctrine. Okay. All right so the first car that I want us to look at on the social justice train is indeed the economic car and As you might suspect from the name social justice.

There is an economic philosophy of socialism undergirding this movement now. The movement has its roots in neo-marxism and neo-marxism is basically Communism relabeled believes in state ownership of the means of production and Socialism which is the direction that this country is headed to right now economically speaking Socialism has been called communism in diapers.

It is kind of the breeding ground. It is the gateway drug if you will to full-blown communism. So communism in diapers. The funny thing about babies though that babies in diapers is that babies grow up and babies don't stay babies.

So socialism left unchecked does morph and grow into full-blown communism. And that's where we're headed. That's the path that we are on right now this wealth Redistribution that we are seeing especially from the current administration the Biden administration.

Soak the rich tax the rich. Well, you need to know that with the social justice movement that is being adopted by so many evangelicals. There is this is a political movement. That is being disguised as a theological movement again same kind of lingo you hear on the nightly news.

You're hearing in your churches. So understand that this is a movement that is Socialistic in nature that does not value the ownership of private property. All right, so I don't want to go a full-blown economics lesson here.

But I want to deal with a theology of this is socialism biblical and the social justicians to use that term are Arguing that it is many of these folks are saying that socialism is biblical and they have a few To proof text to which they would appeal and so I want us to look at these and one of them is Mark chapter 10.

This is one of the passages that people advocating for social justice say that hey the Bible really does teach socialism and they're trying to break the loyalty that the vast majority of evangelical voters have to the Republican Party evangelicals vote in overwhelming numbers for The Republican Party as opposed to the Democratic Party, which today is now basically a socialistic party evangelical voters the overwhelming majority of them favor capitalism and private enterprise and low taxes and low spending and so these Social justicians are trying to come in and say now wait a minute.

We've had this wrong all along when you look at what the Bible really teaches it actually teaches socialism. And so let's go to Mark chapter 10, you know the story this is the story that is widely known as the rich young ruler and rich young ruler Runs up to Jesus and he kneels down before him and he says good teacher What must I do to inherit eternal life?

And then Jesus looks at him. He says why do you call me good? No one is good except God and then he says, you know the commandments and He cites a summary of the Decalogue the Ten Commandments and Then of course, I'm summarizing all this but then the rich young ruler says teacher all these things I have kept from my youth up.

It had a ring of familiarity with him. He knew what the Ten Commandments were and then Jesus said this in Mark chapter 10 verse 21. And so the social justice proponents say see Jesus Engage this rich young ruler and told him to sell everything that he has.

So that he no longer owns anything anymore. And so it's it's just kind of Community property now and just sell everything so he's not doesn't own anything doesn't have any private possessions and the money that he Receives from selling everything then he gives it to the poor.

And so this is a clear model for socialism. But no, that's not at all what Jesus is teaching here. Not in the least for one thing Jesus is not teaching the work salvation. But also he was he was engaging one individual person.

He was this was not an address to all Christians Everywhere to sell everything that they possess and give it to the poor that was not the point Jesus was making for this man his God was his wealth and Jesus was saying to this man That thing that is the most important thing to you in his case his wealth.

Get rid of it get rid of it because that is your God and anything that is before me is Idolatry so get rid of it sell it give it to the poor people who need it and then come follow me. This was a call.

This was a call for him to Deny himself and take up the cross. This was a call for him to bend his knee to the absolute lordship of Jesus Christ and he was not willing to do that. He left away, you know, he left Jesus sorrowful because he was one who owned much property.

So this is not a Proof text for socialism at all. This was this was Jesus affirming lordship salvation now far and away the Favorite passages for social justice proponents are found in the book of Acts.

There's two of them in Acts chapter 2 and Acts chapter 4 the rich young ruler you hear it every once in a while. But it's kind of an outlier, but the social justice proponents love what they read in the book of Acts.

So let's look at these two texts together and we'll talk about them. Acts chapter 2 and Acts chapter 4 beginning in Acts 2 verses 44 through 45 it says that all the believers were together and had all things in common and They would sell their property and possessions and share them with all to the extent that anyone had need and then Acts 4 34 through 35 for there was not a needy person among them for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the Apostles feet and they would be Distributed to each to the extent that any had need.

Okay, and so these two passages are the go-to passages for those advocating social justice in the evangelical world. They say see this the New Testament teaches and it even models Socialism well a Couple of points here.

Number one. This is something that the Christians decided to do voluntarily. This was their own decision. This was not a mandate this was not coming down from the government. They just decided to do it on their own.

So socialism as a political and economic system is not that Socialism is forced upon the people oftentimes at the end of a gun, but it is forced upon people. This was nothing. This was not forced upon the Christians.

They chose to do it. It was a voluntary choice on their own and they they sold their possessions some of their possessions. There's no indication in the text by the way that they sold everything that they had.

In fact a careful reading of this shows that this is in the Present tense. It says that they were selling. The this is an imperfect tense in the Greek and what that means is is that this selling of their possessions?

Began at a certain point in time and it continued. It did not say the text does not say that they sold all of their possessions says that they were selling it. And so it continued now if they sold everything that they had right up front.

Then they would have nothing else to sell. The selling could not continue if they sold Everything that they had right up front. So the very tense here in the Greek suggests that this was kind of an ongoing process as Needs arose.

So this was not mandated to them. Nobody was forcing them to do this. They just took it upon themselves to do it. And this was a process that continued which suggests Obviously very strongly that if the process continued then these individual believers still had personal possessions to sell and help each other out.

So this was this was this is not a model for socialism. Number one. It was not forced. They chose to do it on their own. Number two, it was a process that continued as the need arose which suggests that they still maintained Their own private possessions.

They still had some private possessions to sell as the need arose and by the way, Ananias and Sapphira Acts chapter 5 who were Slain by the spirit charismatics talk about being slain in the spirit when Ananias and Sapphira was were slain by the spirit.

But the Holy Spirit killed them. Not because they chose to keep some of the money for themselves. That's not why the Holy Spirit killed them. The Holy Spirit killed them because they lied about it. That was the sin not that they still retained Some possessions or some of their own money.

No, he slew them in the spirit because they lied about it. That was the sin. And dear friends the Bible assumes Private ownership of property. Think about it. What is the eighth commandment thou shalt not steal.

Okay, the eighth commandment would make no sense if God's people owned nothing themselves. The very fact that the eighth commandment is there Assumes that people own private property. If everybody if all of us just had everything in common And we didn't own anything then there would be nothing to steal because it would just be communal property.

So the Bible absolutely assumes and does advocate for the private ownership of property. In fact, not only would the eighth commandment not make any sense. But neither would the tenth commandment make any sense.

Thou shalt not covet. You shall not covet what somebody else has. Well, that means that somebody else owns something that you don't own. Otherwise there would be no opportunity there to covet in the first place.

So again, the the Bible assumes private ownership of Property and the entire premise of socialism is that someone else has too much and I don't have enough and that is the sin of Envy, okay. Socialism is built upon the sin of Envy so either way you go it.

However, you look at socialism. It is it is not only does it not work and it doesn't work anywhere. It's been tried. It does not work economically. But it's not taught in Scripture at all. The Bible assumes and advocates for the private ownership of property.

Now, let me say this too. There is nothing inherently Wrong with being wealthy. There's nothing inherently honorable in being poor. Luke chapter 16 the rich man and Lazarus. This is another text by the way that some people use the rich man died went to the lake of fire.

The poor man Lazarus died and went to Abraham's bosom and some have read into that. Oh the rich man. That's rich. Being rich is bad. And so the rich man went to the lake of fire. The rich man went to hell.

The poor man Lazarus went to heaven. That's not the point of that text. There's nothing inherently wrong with being wealthy if you have worked hard and God has been gracious to you and allowed you to keep.

Keep some of the fruits of your labors. Wonderful praise the Lord. Be grateful for it and and use what God has given you for his glory. So there's nothing inherently wrong with being wealthy. Neither is there anything inherently honorable and being poor.

The rich man did not go to hell because He was wealthy. Lazarus did not go to Abraham's bosom because he was poor. Each man went where he was spiritually prepared to go. Okay, the Bible does teach giving.

Read 2nd Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. The Bible does teach giving. We are to give to those who have need and we're but the the model that the Bible provides for us in giving is not. It is not Obligatory.

It is not something that is forced upon us. We are supposed to give out of the generosity of our hearts our Regenerated hearts but the generosity of our hearts and what as an expression of gratitude and appreciation and thanks for what God has given us and To as an expression of our love and concern for others who do not have what we do.

So giving is a command. Yes, we are to give but it's not something that is to be forced upon us by the government. It is something that we are supposed to do to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

And by the way, that's another New Testament principles that we are to be generous. Yes to all people, but especially to the household of God. Okay, dear ones another aspect of this economic car of social justice.

Is that of reparations. Many in the social justice movement in the evangelical world have been advocating for? Reparations to black Americans because of the years that They are at least many of them spent in slavery.

Regrettably in this country to be the annual bail way whose real name is Ron Burns, but to be the annual bail way has argued for reparations as has Eric Mason. Eric Mason is the pastor of Epiphany Fellowship Church in Philadelphia and In 2018 Eric Mason published a book entitled woke church and The foreword for that book was written by dr. Ligon Duncan.

But Eric Mason argues for reparations. In fact, he says that reparations should be paid to blacks for what he described as quote 256 years of free labor with nothing but poor eating and poor places to stay and so he He cites Exodus chapter 22 and Luke chapter 19 as biblical support for reparations.

So let's look at these two texts and we'll see if that is in fact what these texts are teaching. Exodus 22 verse 1 says if someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it He shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

Okay, Luke chapter 19, this is the story of Zacchaeus. Luke chapter 19 verse 8. But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord Behold Lord half of my possessions I am giving to the poor and if I have extorted anything from anyone I am giving back.

Four times as much so upon first blush. It might seem that these two texts do in fact support reparations, but except that they don't. Notice in both of these texts it is the one who has done The stealing it is the one who has stolen who is obligated to pay reparations.

Though in Exodus 22 it is the one who steals it's that guy the fellow who stole the thief himself is obligated to pay the reparations with the ox and the sheep and In Luke chapter 19 it is Zacchaeus himself.

So a couple of points here. When we're talking about reparations today, we're talking about the government taking money from us through taxes and Paying it to a group of people Who have never experienced slavery, okay so when the when the government takes part of my money as a taxpayer and Gives it to a group of people black Americans.

For this Slavery that existed in this country a hundred and fifty plus years ago. They're taking money from. I had nothing to do with slavery. Friends there is no one alive today who has ever been a slave.

No one's father has ever been a slave. No one's grandfather has ever been a slave. Probably not anyone's great-grandfather has ever been a slave. You probably have to go back to like at least a great-great, but No one alive has ever been a slave owned a slave or known a slave owner or known a slave himself so This actually violates the whole Concept of reparations violates what we see in Exodus chapter 22.

It's the one who steals who is obligated to repay and with Luke chapter 19. Well, you're missing this text all around because this is the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus went to Zacchaeus and you know the story Zacchaeus was a wee little man we little man was he was up in the sycamore tree and all that and Zacchaeus was a tax collector tax collectors were known for Stealing from people defrauding people stealing from them and when Jesus confronted him There was a conversion that took place in Zacchaeus his life.

You read that Jesus said today salvation has come to this house referring is out Zacchaeus his house. Zacchaeus was saved and when he was saved an expression of the fruit of his regeneration. Was that he said Lord?

Anything that I have stolen. That I'm going to give it to the poor half of my possessions I will give to the board if I've defrauded anybody anything I will return it fourfold. This was not something that Jesus commanded him to do.

This is something that Zacchaeus Wanted to do he he was convicted of his sin of his sinful lifestyle of taking Taking things from people stealing from them and he wanted to make it right emphasis on he Wanted to make it right.

He himself. He was the one who had done the stealing and he was going to make it, right? So this is a direct one-to-one correlation. The one who steals should make it right and if if you have stolen from someone and God saves you then as a as just a Abundance of your heart an abundance of the gratitude of your heart that God is regenerated.

You're gonna realize hey You know before my conversion. I stole from people and I need to make that right. And that's what that's what the regenerate heart wants to do and does too so you cannot take these texts as biblical support for reparations now if you want to find a passage in the Bible that deals with reparations as It directly relates to slavery.

There is a text to which you can go and that is found in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 15. Let's look at that Deuteronomy 15 13 through 14. When a master freed a slave says this and quote and when you set him free.

Referring to the slave owner when you set the slave free you shall not send him away empty-handed. You shall give generously to him from your flock your threshing floor and from your wine vat. And you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.

So there it is. There's a text dealing with slavery and Reparations. Who is the one who is to pay the reparations? The slave owner. He and he alone is to do that. Okay, not corporately and it's certainly not supposed to be forced on.

Anyone who has never had anything to do with slavery and that is our case here. Let's look at Ezekiel chapter 18. It's Ezekiel 18 verse 20. The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father's guilt.

Nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son's guilt. The righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. A direct one-to-one correlation.

The one who is sinned is Obligated to make it right. If you have sinned against someone you are obligated to make it right. I am NOT responsible for your sin against someone else. You are not responsible for my sin against someone else and you and I are Not responsible for the sins committed by our great great great whatever grandfathers over 150 years ago.

The whole concept of reparations as it's being promoted by the social justice proponents in the evangelical world is without Biblical merit. The social justice movement in the evangelical world is anything but biblical justice.

Okay, dear ones We now turn our attention to the racial car on the social justice train and boy there are few things today that are as touchy as The issue of racism. Few things that will garner headlines more quickly than some act of racism.

Even if an act is just perceived or a statement that someone makes is somehow perceived as Racist it makes huge headlines. At least when it comes from someone who is conservative or a Christian if a liberal does it no big deal.

But if it comes from a white conservative boy, you are Automatically a racist. I remember 20 years ago I was in seminary and I remember this story because it was just so bizarre to me but there was a an airline and a lady that one of the stewardesses was trying to get everybody settled and There was one of the passengers.

It was a black gentleman. Could not find his seat or rather someone was sitting in his assigned seat. And so he was asking her If he could get if she could get that person out, but there were other empty seats and she was encouraging him just to Choose one of the other empty seats and he said well which one and the plane was trying to get off.

They were a little bit late and she was kind of rushed and she just said any mini-mini-mo pick a seat. We got to go. I remember that any mini-mini-mo pick a seat. We got to go. In other words, it didn't matter to her which empty seat he chose just you know Let's get going well apparently the any mini-mini-mo Rhyme or whatever did he?

Apparently has some kind of racial overtones who knew right? But he reported her and she got into all kinds of trouble for something. That was Completely innocent on her part. I mean anything racial with us was a furthest thing from her mind just the other day I saw where a Stu a teacher somewhere in some school said that if you try to maintain discipline Amongst your students and having them sit in their seats and be quiet not talk and do their work.

That is an evidence of white supremacy. So if you simply try to keep order in your classroom that is that is you trying to superimpose your white supremacist culture on to Minority students and you are oppressing them.

That is just that's crazy a few weeks ago, I heard a story and Actually had to look it up to see if this was true because I thought it was so Looney Tunes when I heard it. But I sure enough it is true that some social justice proponent Secular one said that our roads are racist roads are racist you see because they're black or Gray I suppose but they're dark and so when we when we drive on our dark roads, that is symbolic of The white man trying to oppress and tread down darker skinned people.

Never mind that darker skinned people drive on the same roads that us pale faces drive on so I mean, it's just Looney Tunes. Absolutely crazy, but that is the world in which we live I mean everything everything now is racist.

Everything is racist, and I'm tired of it. So I want us to look at race and look at what race is what it isn't and we're going to look at what the Bible has to say about it because After all if we are Christians, it is the Bible that is our authority the Bible's authority for everyone.

But it Christians recognize it as the authority. All right, so I want to give you a quote from someone named Svante Pabo. I believe I'm pronouncing that right. Pabo is the director of the Max Planck Institute for evolutionary anthropology in Germany and states this says quote.

What the study of complete genomes from different parts of the world has shown is that even between Africa and Europe? For example, there is not a single absolute genetic difference. Meaning no single variant where all Africans have one variant and all Europeans another one even when recent migration is Discarded so race is a social construct not a biological construct even secular people.

Anthropologists even evolutionary biologists, which I don't believe in evolution macro evolution anyway, but even these people. If they're intellectually honest, they will tell you that race is not biological.

Race is Sociological it is a social construct not a biological one. There is practically zero genetic difference between a black person and a white person. The only difference is a is a varying level of melanin in our skin, but there there's no genetic difference.

Practically zero. We are not different Races it is it is it is man who looks at the outward appearance. God looks at the heart first. Samuel chapter 16 and when they entered he looked at Eliab and thought surely the Lord's anointed is Standing before him.

But the Lord said to Samuel do not look at his appearance or the height of his stature because I have rejected him. For God does not see as man sees since man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

The Lord looks at people's hearts. We are to look at the heart at the inward man not the outward man, not what someone looks like. And putting an emphasis on what someone's outward appearance is over things that they cannot help, you know, the Their stature the color of their skin the color of their eyes or whatever it is.

That is that is something that man does that is something that is a fruit of the Fallen sinful state in which we live. God looks at the heart. It is sinful man that looks at the outward appearance. Again race is a social construct not a biological construct.

So when we talk about race, we know that we need to understand that there is only One race. Okay. There's only one race. Of Votie Balcombe is the same race as I. Daryl Harrison. Virgil Walker. Samuel say I'm just naming some black men that I know and I'm friends with.

They are the same race as I. The Bible is very clear about this and in fact could not be more clear about this. Let's look at a few texts. Genesis chapter 3 verse 20 says that Eve became the mother of all living.

So if you trace the generations back and you go back far enough about 6 ,000 years ago or so. You're gonna find Adam and Eve and Eve was the mother of all living. I can trace my ancestry all the way back to Eve so can Votie Balcombe.

He traces his ancestry all the way back to Eve. So does everyone on the face of the planet? Okay, race is a social construct not a biological construct. Now different ethnicities. Came in they began in the book of Genesis chapter 11 you remember the Tower of Babel or Babel as some say and they were trying to build this tower up to God and God Confused their language and scattered them right.

Genesis chapter 11 verse 8. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth. Not yet convinced and I do by the way. Apologize for the way my shirt is glowing night has fallen here and this is just the best I can do.

With the lights I have so this is not a Hollywood quality. So I hope that my shirt is not Too annoying. So anyway, let's go to the New Testament Acts chapter 17 verse 26 and he God made from one man. Every nation ethnos of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.

Having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. Contrary to what some of the social justice folks would have us believe God is apparently Pro border, but I digress. So dear friends the Bible could not be more clear all of us.

I don't care where in the world you live. I don't care what color your skin is. All of us were made from one man. We are all one race. We are all one race. Watch this clip. I love this clip from Vodie Balcombe and a sermon that he preached a couple years ago at shepherds conference.