Just in case you don’t understand what the Bible is “really about,” no worries. Bernie Sanders is here for you and he’s using his noted expertise in Christianity to correct some common misinterpretations about Scripture.

You see, the bible isn’t about the grace and mercy offered via salvation in Christ, not by our own efforts but through his.

Nah, it’s about left-wing social justice.

The two presidential candidates addressed a group of black Christian millennials Saturday at a Black Church PAC’s Youth Leadership Conference in Atlanta. Both referenced the Bible to support their progressive agendas as they campaigned to the faithful. “The Bible, if it is about anything, is about justice,” Sanders stated at one point during his 20 minutes on stage. “It is about reaching out to people in need. It is about standing up to the wealthy and the powerful.” Sanders has previously described himself as “not particularly religious,” and said he’s “not actively involved in organized religion,” according to the Washington Post.

No. No, it’s not. Not at all.

The message of the Bible, much less the Gospels, is not “standing up to the wealthy and the powerful.” In fact, it was to the great dismay of many during Jesus’ time on earth that he wasn’t there to overthrow the wealthy and powerful (and oppressive) Romans. The path he walked was infinitely more important than dealings of worldly government and physical want. To pretend otherwise is pure nonsense.

What Bernie is doing is a common misconception harbored by people who otherwise have no real understanding of Christianity. While the New Testament does encourage charity, it was never meant to be forced and it was never meant to be primary. Helping the poor, while good, does not provide salvation nor was Jesus stumping for Medicare for All run by a central government. He was espousing the spiritual truth that those saved by Grace will be transformed into people who love God and love people, stimulating action toward those in need around them. Compulsion makes those acts worthless in God’s eyes.

Of course, Bernie’s greatest sin in this discussion isn’t misrepresenting charity in the Bible. It’s his complete distortion of who Jesus is by claiming the Bible is simply about social “justice.” If the Bible were about “justice,” Jesus would have never come because all have fallen short and are deserving of judgement. That would have been justice. Instead, he came and died on the Cross, becoming the propitiation for the sins of those who accept him and saving us from the justice we actually deserved. The message of the Bible isn’t that people deserve a living wage or whatever other socialist policy Bernie Sanders is stumping for. It’s that we all need a savior and that Jesus is that savior.

In short, if the Bible were about the proliferation of justice, we’d all be in really big trouble.

Politicians, especially those that aren’t even Christians (like Sanders), should steer clear of this kind of ridiculous rewriting of Biblical truth. I realize that Christians are not part of a “protected class” on the left and therefore our beliefs are often subjected to ridicule and distortion, but that doesn’t make it right. Stick to campaign slogans and making promises you can’t keep.

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