What is the role of the church on our society today in social issues? Are we merely to preach or should we be engaged in social action? All very modern questions within evangelical circles right now. But they’re not new. The early church had to make these kinds of decisions thousands of years ago in discussing the roles of elders and deacons. Martyn Lloyd Jones, in an interview filmed 43 years ago, explained the connection between having a robust evangelical theology and having a keen concern for the social needs of the human race. He explains:

“It is the business of individual Christians to play their part in society. The church has had its greatest influence on society and in her social conditions when she has been most evangelical.”

Take the time to listen to this interview. It is so simply laid out and so clear. If we are to reclaim the schemes for Scotland, then we must rediscover our love for the gospel and our complete confidence in its transformative power in the lives of individuals and societies as a whole. We must call people back to God. We must disciple them within healthy, gospel-centred churches and we must live under his Lordship, for his glory in the midst of these communities.