The world will only get worse
John Redekop

Recently I heard a preacher say, "The world will only get worse." I have heard numerous men and women of God make the same point. Generally the stated or implied conclusion can be summarized thus: Because the world will, in many moral respects, get worse, Christians should not be particularly concerned about trying to stem the tide of evil but should rather concentrate on getting souls saved.

I'm all for doing all we can to help save the lost, but that cannot be the whole story. I don't find any biblical mandate for Christians to ignore the evil or the needs in society.

What we need, I suggest, is a clear doctrinal statement about the place of deeds to combat evil and improve the physical lot of the needy and oppressed. We need a "theology of works". If we don't think clearly and biblically in this area, we will probably become confused, uninvolved and discouraged--perhaps even cultic--in our practices.

We look to our theologians and Bible teachers to provide the needed instruction. For now, let me spell out four areas which, in my view, need to be addressed. In elaborating on these, I shall also explain why I cannot go along with the notion that because evil abounds, because the world will get worse, we should withdraw and concentrate on other matters.

1. What would have been the result if Christians in earlier times had adopted such a stance?

Slavery might still be in effect. It was, after all, Christians, pained by the inhumanity of slavery, who laboured vigorously and persistently to bring this degradation to an end. Hospitals and homes for the poor and the elderly would not have appeared when they did; Christians, seeing the need, established these institutions.

In earlier centuries, Christians could have focussed solely on the so-called "spiritual" needs and ignored the need for education, first aid service, overseas relief and help for the blind and disabled. They might have, but they didn't. They could have overlooked despicable prison conditions, infanticide and widespread mistreatment of women. But they didn't. Do we wish that they would have ignored injustice, destitution and the forces of evil in the world? These forebears in the faith understood the essence of Edmund Burke's observation that, "All that is required for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

2. Jesus modelled how we should respond to evil.

When He fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14) and the 4,000 (Matthew 15), He showed us how we should feel about hunger. When He healed the bleeding woman and the daughter of a ruler (Matthew 9), and in many other instances tended to the physical needs of those who were ill, He showed us how to respond to illness.

When Jesus stopped to help those who were blind and dumb (Matthew 9), He modelled for us how to deal with the blind and the dumb. When Jesus said that His followers should do good to those who hate them (Luke 6), He referred not only to attitudes but also to actions. When He carried out Isaiah's call for justice (Matthew 12), He demonstrated how we should respond to injustice.

Lest there be any doubt about where Jesus stood on the question of blatant evil in the world, He spelled out his view repeatedly on the matter. He said that love for one's neighbour is the second great commandment (Matthew 22), and He sent out the twelve disciples "to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness" (Matthew 10).

3. Numerous biblical texts instruct us to counteract evil.

Scores of passages convey a strong message that we ought never to rationalize unresponsiveness to evil. The world may be getting worse, but these teachings clearly tell us that we are not excused from doing what we can to diminish poverty, injustice and neglect. Paul tells Timothy, "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share" (I Timothy 6:18). Jesus states, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). James also makes the point forcefully: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27).

4. Doing good deeds completes and confirms our salvation.

Salvation comes through faith, but it cannot be separated from doing good deeds. In James we read, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? . . . Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:14-17).

Finally, Jesus Himself tells us that some day He "will sit on His throne in the heavenly glory" and "will separate people one from another". To some He will say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. . . . For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me. . . . Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me" (Matthew 25:31-40).

The world may indeed get morally worse, but may it never get worse because of our inaction. The persistence of evil is never an excuse for neglecting to do what is right. Even an increase in sin and its consequences is not a reason to cease being Christlike. The disciples of Jesus Christ, after all, are required to be faithful, not successful.

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