Two fundamentally incompatible doctrines that people don’t often consider are limited atonement and modern versions of social justice. Limited atonement is particular and so provides for only a select few while modern versions of social justice insists that generosity must be distributed equally and universally as much as possible.
God builds his kingdom by blessing His elect as they walk in terms of His Law-Word while He curses the unrighteous. In brief, covenantally speaking, disobedience to God’s law results in curses, while obedience results in blessings. This reveals that God’s particular care for the elect extends on, into their everyday living, while God’s ongoing judgment extends on, into their everyday living.
This reality is confirmed in the Heidelberg catechism when it teaches of those outside Christ,
“He is terribly displeased
with our original sin
as well as our actual sins.
Therefore he will punish them
by a just judgment
both now and eternally …”
Notice God’s disposition towards those who are outside Christ is that He intends to punish them by just judgment both now and eternally. This is contrary to Social Justice Warrior-ism which insists that it is more of a priority to to be a blessing to those who hate God and who are under His judgment than it is to build up the Kingdom of God.
Combine this with being commanded to show preference to brothers and sisters in the faith,
Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
and you have a biblical personal and individual justice system which effectuates God’s blessing and advancement of the righteous over and even at the cost of the wicked. This is fundamentally anti-egalitarian and differs radically from social justice warrior-ism which effectively sees this selective blessing and cursing as problematic and unjust. Contemporary notions of social justice offers no room for the just suffering of the wicked.
We are certainly not to take a maniacal pleasure in the suffering of the non-elect,
Proverbs 24:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: 18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
but we are to prioritize the donation of our God-given time, money, and resources to where God’s kingdom can be most advanced, as opposed to simply where there is the greatest immediate shortage as existing among those who hate Christ.
In practice, using your money to build up the Deacon’s fund to relieve the needy members in your Church in your home town may take precedence over feeding the poor 1000 miles away. Social justice warrior-ism does not allow for this kind of thinking that reflects God’s priority of the righteous over the wicked because such a SJW mindset fundamentally prioritizes the relieving of human suffering of the wicked who are not of the household of faith over building up the Kingdom of God among the saints.
In short: modern Christian views of social justice views the advancement of Christian culture and the destruction of non-Christian culture as problematic, because it violates its ultimate principle of human equality. It seeks to erase the curses that come upon the disobedient unrighteous at the expense of building up the Kingdom of God by being a blessing to those whom God blesses.
In doing so it testifies, perhaps not consciously, that they chafe at a God who is not egalitarian in His atonement but instead is particularistic in distributing it to the elect leaving the non-elect to fell the full brunt of their decisions.
