Evangelism or Social Activism?
Is the dichotomy between evangelism and social activism rooted in a non-biblical worldview?
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What if the dichotomy between evangelism versus social activism/compassion is rooted in a non-biblical worldview? What if the issue is not merely strategic or methodological but epistemological, requiring us to challenge the very assumptions that shape our understanding of reality?
This question strikes at the heart of a significant missiological and theological crisis in the Western church, what Paul Hiebert diagnosed as the “flaw of the excluded middle,” a worldview split birthed by the Enlightenment and perpetuated in Christian thought. The spiritual (unseen) and the empirical (visible) live on two different floors of the house. In this bifurcated worldview, evangelism becomes primarily about eternal destinies, metaphysical truths, and private convictions, while activism and compassion are treated as temporal, pragmatic concerns.
Science is tasked with explaining the world down here and transforming it through politics, education, and activism. Such activism is not a lifestyle but the implementation of projects, programmed, and based on a high view of human rights.
Framed as optional or secondary, activism becomes the work of specialized ministries or humanitarian auxiliaries. Activism, in this framework, tends to be institutionalized, professionalized, and project-based—an extension of secular models of social change rather than an organic expression of gospel-shaped community. It emerges from a high anthropology rooted in human rights discourse, rather than from a biblical anthropology grounded in the image of God and the redemptive mission of Christ.
The result is a tragic dichotomy in which evangelism, concern for eternal souls (how many times we hear about “souls” getting baptized?), and activism, or compassion (concern for earthly bodies), are treated as mutually exclusive.
Wholistic Biblical Worldview
However, in a biblically shaped worldview, no such division nor disembodied salvation is offered but a renewed heaven and earth (Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:1–5). Jesus, the incarnate Word, embodies this integrated mission. Luke 15 portrays salvation as both relational restoration (the sheep brought back into community) and ontological recognition (the coin never lost its image or worth, but it was still hidden and must be recovered).
The image of the coin with two inseparable sides is a fitting metaphor. Evangelism and compassion are not two options for mission—they are two facets of the same coin. And here I would like to challenge the terms that do not reflect a biblical worldview.
To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom is to announce a reign that heals, feeds, liberates, reconciles, and forgives. The gospel is inherently holistic. Jesus did not merely preach the kingdom; he demonstrated it—touching lepers, honoring the marginalized, feeding multitudes, and forgiving sins (Luke 4:18–21).
In a biblical worldview, mission is the embodied witness of a reconciled people, announcing the Lordship of Christ through both word and deed, both presence and proclamation. There is no invitation to live in heaven forever [DH1] after we fly successfully from this wicked world (escapism).
To remove the dichotomy, then, is not merely to correct strategy—it is to recover the integrity of the “Gospel of the Kingdom” itself where loving God (worship) and loving man (service) belong to the same coin.
The Test of a Biblical Worldview
How can I test if I am preaching the Good News of the Kingdom (Mat 24:14)? If, as a result, more naked neighbors are getting clothed, if we treat the foreigner as our brother and promote justice in prayer and action. What if I see suffering? What do I do? Do I follow Jesus in my life?
The final judgment scene in Matthew 25 does not have the King separating the sheep from the goats based on their grasp of doctrine, but on whether they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, and visited the imprisoned. This is not “social gospel.” This is the gospel.
We are not called to choose between proclamation and presence, between truth and justice. We are called to embody the life of the Kingdom. The Gospel of the Kingdom cannot be preached apart from the works of the Kingdom.
The Biblical Worldview in the Muslim World
What does recovering a biblical worldview look like? Here is one story from the Muslim world:
My name is I.L. I grew up in a conservative home, where we were taught to value purity and reputation. But when I was diagnosed with HIV at a young age, I felt my world collapse. It was not just a medical diagnosis; it was a curse of shame. I didn’t know whom I could tell. I avoided my family, my neighbors, and even myself in the mirror. I felt dirty, judged, and untouchable.
The hospital staff were kind but distant except one. A nurse, who was a follower of Isa, cared for me as if I were her sister. She smiled even when others turned away. One day, after gently changing my bandages, she asked me quietly, “Do you believe that God can heal the heart as well as the body?”
I looked at her through tired eyes and asked, “Can someone like me be clean again?”
She didn’t push. She just said, “There is One who touches what others fear. His name is Isa al-Masih. He made the unclean clean. He healed lepers. He forgave the ashamed. If you ask Him, He will answer.”
That night, as I lay in bed, her words would not leave me. I wept like a child and whispered, “Isa, if You are real, please see me. Please cleanse me.”
That night, I dreamed.
In the dream, a bright man in white walked toward me. His eyes were full of power but also kindness. Without a word, He reached out and touched my arm. As his hand rested on me, I heard the words “You are clean.” That was it. But I woke up trembling and filled with peace.
The next week, I returned for a follow-up appointment. I expected more bad news. But as the nurse read the test results, her eyes grew wide. She ran the test again. Then called a second technician. They looked at each other in disbelief.
She turned to me and said, “Your HIV test is negative.”
I stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“There is no virus in your blood,” she whispered. “It’s gone.”
I ran to the hallway and cried, not from fear, but from joy and awe. I went straight back to that same nurse and said, “Tell me more about Isa.”
That day, she shared stories from the Injil: how Isa forgave a woman caught in shame, how He touched the untouchable, how He said, “Be clean,” and it was so.
I said, “That is who I saw. That is who touched me.”
We prayed together, and in that moment, I surrendered my life to Isa al-Masih.
I now attend a small fellowship where people like me—once broken, now whole—gather to learn and grow. I have found not only healing for my body but also honor for my soul.
Now, I visit the same clinic not as a patient, but as a volunteer. I whisper hope to young women who sit where I once sat. I tell them, “There is One who sees you. His name is Isa. He makes the ashamed rejoice. He made me clean.”
Before, I was marked by disease and disgrace. Now, I walk in freedom. Isa did not just remove my illness; He restored my dignity. His touch rewrote my story.
Gabriella Phillips serves as Director of Adventist-Muslim Relations for the North American Division.