There’s a saying that makes its rounds every 10 years or so in nominal Christian circles, and it goes something like this:

“Jesus did not ask to be worshiped. He does not want our worship, he wants social justice.”

This is completely untrue, and it derives from classically liberal Christianity in the early 20th century. Before we get to that, however, let’s establish that God does care about justice, and Jesus does want to be worshiped. This nonsensical idea that we have to devalue one thing to elevate another is foolish and dangerous. We do not need to minimize God’s worship to elevate God’s justice. We should be wary of minimizing any aspect of God’s character to favor another. Common social reform philosophies do this all the time—they require that we identify and tear down a villain social group to elevate another, oppressed social group. In this context, the pious worshiper is the villain.

This has been happening since philosophies concerned with social reform began, and Christianity was naturally thrown into the mix. Let’s talk about how that all started.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Christianity went through some wild cultural gauntlets. People were focused on two things almost exclusively: (1) How our beliefs and values fit within science and reason, and (2) how we can better push humanity toward utopia. Within this world of science, reason, and progress, Christianity was in danger of becoming a fairy tale folk religion, aiding in personal peace but serving no real contribution to humanity’s modern needs. A few eloquent theologians stepped up to the plate and tried to curb the issue. Classically liberal theologians like Albrecht Ritschl and Adolf Harnack felt compelled to force Christianity to keep up with modernity, the world of modernism. Enlightenment philosophy and the scientific method were the filters through which everything must be viewed, and we have Immanuel Kant to thank for that. Kant decided that Christianity should only be valued for the moral foundations it contributes to society. So to help Christianity “compete” with modernity, liberal theologians funneled faith through the hose of Kantian ethics and morals. The theologian who made this idea famous in our North American Churches was Walter Rauschenbusch. He authored the famous work, A Theology for the Social Gospel. Essentially, Rauschenbusch reduced Christianity to a few simple religious statements and socialist-political and economic programs. Theology has nothing to contribute to personal faith, eternity, or macro-universal belief: It must be sequestered into the corner of moral judgments and values.

Despite Rauschenbusch’s blatant disregard for proper methods of interpreting ancient literature, we should be grateful for his contribution to Christianity in that it sparked a revival for the Church taking initiative in matters of social justice. After abolishing institutional slavery, Christianity once again fell into a mold where it was criticized for ignoring social plights, and over the last hundred years, Christianity continued to grapple with its place in social causes and politics. As corporate giants grew and individuals were swallowed up in the river of socialist dynamics, Christians wanted to apply their faith in a context that met these needs, and they are noble for desiring to do so.

But there is nothing wrong with churches valuing worship services and investing in opportunities to praise God corporately; doing so does not diminish a church’s impact on social justice. If a church is neglecting the needs of the community, the issue goes deeper than their approach to worship. Typically, when churches invest heavily in worship and exaltation of God within their congregations, they are known for feeding the poor, clothing the destitute, and housing orphans and widows. It’s as if close proximity to God results in acting out the will of God in justice and healing. Those who value intimacy and communion with God will share the same values and desires that are in God’s heart. If God wants justice for the oppressed and the poor, then worshiping Him and spending time in His presence will transform your heart to want justice for the oppressed and the poor. It is completely false and out of context to portray Jesus as a divine figure who diminished worship practices and religious experiences while attempting to reform society and bring justice. So let’s take a closer look at a few moments when worship is explicitly offered to Jesus in the New Testament.

As soon as the Magi who traveled from the East saw Jesus, they “fell down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11). They also offered him some seriously expensive gifts. The author of Matthew is highlighting the significance that magi from a distant, pagan land are recognizing Jesus as one who should receive worship.

When Jesus enters Jerusalem before his crucifixion, the crowd lays palm branches in his path and shouts, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9). This is a declaration among Jews that transformed the original meaning of the word (save us, please!) to a promise that God is coming to deliver His people as He did in the Exodus (Salvation is coming!) It directly identifies Jesus as the One God Who has come to save His people.

After Jesus walks on water in front of his disciples, they worship him, saying, “Truly you are the son of God” (Matthew 14:33). Jesus does nothing to correct them.

When Jesus reveals himself to his female disciples after he rose from the tomb, they “clasped his feet and worshiped him” (Matthew 28:9). Jesus tells them not to be afraid. He doesn’t tell them to stop worshiping him.

When Thomas sees the holes in Jesus’ hands and believes, he says, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Jesus doesn’t correct him.

In 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, roughly 20 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the apostle Paul writes,

Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through who are all things and through whom we exist.

In this scripture, Paul adapts an ancient Jewish expression of faith called the Shema (Deut. 4:6-9; 11:13-21). You see, devout Jews were explicitly monotheistic, meaning they worshiped only one god in a polytheistic world (where multiple gods were worshiped in various ways). The fact that first-century Christians (who were largely converted Jews) added a binitarian shape to their monotheistic worship of God alone by associating Jesus as their “Lord” is impossible to fathom unless they had no problem accepting Jesus as one who should be worshiped alongside God their Heavenly Father. That the early church chose to go against custom and promote the worship of Jesus speaks volumes.

The very reason Jesus was crucified by the Sanhedrin was for declaring to be God. He was questioned by the Pharisees (Matt 22) His disciples (Luke 6) and Pontius Pilate (Luke 22:66-71) and accepted association as God each time, solidifying his condemnation. If Jesus did not want to be worshipped, he did a terrible job disassociating himself from it. If anything, the position demands that we at least call Jesus incompetent for missing the significance of this issue in his teaching.

Jesus consistently regarded himself as God among monotheistic Jews who devoutly worshiped God (YHWH). The Jewish faith had an immensely high view of institutional worship that separated them from every pagan tradition. That Jesus never instructs his followers to reject these customs of worship is profound.

I’m barely scratching the surface of the evidence here: Jesus expected worship, received worship, and is pleased by our worship. Jesus overturned social norms and institutionally established values, sure, but every time he did it, he revealed a divine hierarchy where the kingdom of light is overturning the kingdom of darkness. It is beyond the context of the gospel narratives to assume Jesus’ miracles were more about social justice than they were about light defeating darkness. The kingdoms of evil were being overpowered by the kingdom of God (Luke 11), and the more people flocked to Jesus in worship and acceptance of his godhood, the more they accepted the values and principles of the kingdom of God itself, which seeks to establish justice, mercy, healing, and wholeness. I am all for social justice, as every sincere follower of Jesus is. But I will never downplay worshiping God for the sake of elevating the principles of God’s kingdom. I will never deny God what is due Him for the sake of spreading some of His principles. God demands worship and He demands justice.

Give Him both.