Social Justice and the Gospel

 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Ga 3:28 NIV

Why oh why do so many Christians ignore this revolutionary teaching of Paul, this message from God Himself?

In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all. Col 3:11 CSB

Why do so many Christians aggressively support white supremacy and Christian nationalism? Why is there so much political partisanship amongst Christians?

My brothers and sisters, do not show favouritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

For if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also comes in,

if you look with favour on the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,”
haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Jas 2:1–4 CSB

So many Christian churches have ignored God’s command to love each other as brothers and sisters. Instead, we have prioritised hierarchy and obedience to someone of higher rank.

The founding fathers of the American republic declared that all men are created equal, but President George Washington owned slaves.

The Southern Baptists separated from the American Baptists because they insisted that Southern Baptist pastors should own slaves.

They quoted bible verses to justify their injustice.

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ. Eph 6:5 CSB

Many conservative evangelicals still twist scripture in a similar way when they demand that wives always obey their husbands, no matter how unspiritual or domineering they might be.

Why do so many conservative Christians overspiritualise the Gospel? Loving your neighbour is reduced to nothing more than preaching at people to get them converted.

We are saved by faith and not works, as they accurately quote Paul.
But they conveniently ignore what James says, James the younger son of Mary and the brother of Jesus.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? 

If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?

In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself. Jas 2:14–17 CSB