The Statement consists of affirmations and denials purported to clearly articulate the Gospel and differentiate it from the social gospel.The signatories claim that the rising social justice movement within American evangelicalism endangers Christians with "an onslaught of dangerous and false teachings that threaten the gospel, misrepresent Scripture, and lead people away from the grace of God in Jesus Christ." Founding signatory John MacArthur, in describing why he decided this statement was necessary, noted, "Over the years, I’ve fought a number of polemical battles against ideas that threaten the gospel. This recent detour in quest of 'social justice' is, I believe, the most subtle and dangerous threat so far."
A number of prominent evangelicals have critiqued the statement, seeing social justice as not contradictory to the Gospel. Tim Keller argues that the church's demonstration of social justice directs the world towards justification. John Carpenter wrote that the statement demonstrated the scandal of the evangelical conscience because its primary drafters, like John MacArthur, had demonstrated few, if any, objections to racial injustice, even during the Civil Rights movement. Carpenter also wrote the statement represented a rise of a movement of "social justice contras," especially after some of its drafters, like James White, protested the refusal of Albert Mohler, Mark Dever, and others to explain their refusal to sign the statement at John MacArthur's 2019 Shepherd's Conference. Other critiques have been levied against the lack of clarity in the Statement, especially on the definition of terms such as "social justice," "reconciliation," "intersectionality," or "critical race theory."
Contents
The Statement includes an introduction and 14 articles. The opening paragraph reads:
In view of questionable sociological, psychological, and political theories presently permeating our culture and making inroads into Christ's church, we wish to clarify certain key Christian doctrines and ethical principles prescribed in God’s Word. Clarity on these issues will fortify believers and churches to withstand an onslaught of dangerous and false teachings that threaten the gospel, misrepresent Scripture, and lead people away from the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Over the course of the 14 sections, the statement addresses cultural narratives "currently undermining Scripture in the areas of race and ethnicity, manhood and womanhood, and human sexuality" and argues that a secular threat is infiltrating the evangelical church.
