Biblical Justice
Since the domain name is insearchofjustice.com, we should provide some clarity. In 2024, there are many ways we could define justice: social justice, biblical justice, and legal justice, to name a few. At insearchofjustice.com, we will be focusing on the concept of Biblical justice. It falls within what some might call a Biblical worldview but does not have ties to Christian Nationalist, Evangelical, Conservative, Moral Majority, or any specific denomination. We want to be upfront with the lens with which this site will explore justice.
“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? ‘Micah 6:8‘
Justice in the Bible is not simply a set of rules but an outworking of God’s character.[1]
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1. The God of Justice
Biblical justice is not first of all a set of bullet points or a set of rules and guidelines. It is rooted in the very character of God and it is the outworking of that character, which is never less than just.
In his magisterial work on God’s attributes, Herman Bavinck argues that in the Bible, God’s justice is both retributive and reparative. It not only punishes evildoing, but it restores those who are victims of injustice. Yet interestingly, “God’s remunerative [restorative] justice is far more prominent in Scripture than his retributive justice.” [][5] Herman Bavinck, John Bolt, and John Vriend,Reformed Dogmatics: God and Creation, vol. 2 Baker Academic, 2004, 222. God stands against “perverting the justice due the poor… slaying the innocent and righteous… accepting bribes…. oppressing the alien, the widow, and the orphan…” God “raises them to a position of honor and well-being… [D]oing justice with an eye to the needy becomes an act [also] of grace and mercy.” And therefore, God’s restorative justice “is not, like his anger, opposed to his steadfast love but is closely akin and synonymous with it.” His justice is “simultaneously the manifestation of his grace (Psalm 97:11-12; 112:3-6; 116:5; 118:15-19).” [][6] Ibid, 223-224.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
The Bible presents justice as having four facets:
Radical generosity: Your money belongs to God, who entrusts it to you. Thus, generosity is an obligation to both God and your neighbor. [2, 3, 4]
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2. The Facets of Justice
These basic themes work themselves out in four facets of biblical justice. Biblical justice is characterized by: radical generosity, universal equality, life-changing advocacy, and asymmetrical responsibility.
GENEROSITY
The first facet of biblical justice is radical generosity. While secular individualism says that your money belongs to you, and socialism says your money belongs to the State, the Bible says that all your money belongs to God, who then entrusts it to you (1 Chronicles 29:14; 1 Corinthians 4:7). In Luke 16:1-16, Jesus calls us to be wise stewards of our wealth. A steward was the manager of an estate under its owner, making him both a master and yet a servant. So our wealth belongs to us and yet does not belong to us.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C.The Spectrum of Justice Theories
In briefly outlining the alternative accounts of justice operating in our culture, some oversimplification is unavoidable.[13] Still, there is widespread agreement that something like the following four categories of justice theories are operating.[14]
All the theories on this spectrum are secular, sharing two assumptions. (a) First, unlike Martin Luther King, Jr. (see “Letter from Birmingham Jail”) they all assume that there are no transcendent, moral absolutes on which to base justice. They believe in Taylor’s “immanent frame,”[15] that there is no supernatural reality and so moral values and the definition of justice itself are invented by human beings. (b) They all see human nature as a blank slate that can be wholly reshaped by human means, not as a God-given nature that must be honored for us to thrive.
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Both socialism and libertarianism keep the obligation to share with the needy on the “horizontal” level. On the Left, money is the State’s and the distribution to the needy will be involuntary. On the Right, money is yours alone and any giving is voluntary and optional. The biblical teaching makes the primary dimension the “vertical”—the relationship to God. Your money is your own and no one must confiscate it from you. Yet you have moral obligations to both God and your neighbor to use your money unselfishly and with great generosity to love others with it, according to both your ability and to their needs. [][18]Older Christian witnesses on generosity. Are they liberal or conservative? Yes. (a)No abstract equalizing. In his commentary on Deuteronomy Calvin notes that there is no elimination of private property, nor is there an ‘equalizing’ of wealth. “God does not indeed require that those who have abundance should so profusely give away their produce, as to despoil themselves…” Calvin points out how Paul uses the Mosaic law to bring balance to Christian generosity. No one is to be coerced or “hard pressed” (2 Corinthians 8:13). John Calvin, A Harmony, 150-152. (b)Yet strong sense of obligation. Because your money is God’s and God requires that you share it, with the needy, Basil the Great (AD 329-79) could write “The bread which you keep belongs to the hungry; the coats in your closet, to the naked, those shoes…to the shoeless; the gold you have hidden to the needy.” Obviously, Basil could not have been a Marxist. He is taking the “Master yet Servant” perspective of the Bible. Because you are but a Master of the household, no one should confiscate your money, but because you are a steward of God, and this is his will, the poor have a claim on you. (c)Assess both ability and need. Compare the Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 141, which says that our giving to the poor depends on our abilities and their necessities. “[G]iving and lending freely, according to our abilities, and the necessities of others” (WLC 141). In other words, the more we are able and the more others are in need, the more we should give. (d) Summary: The Bible addresses the concern of the conservative that private property be assured, but also the concern of the liberal that the needs of community are not ignored—and yet the Bible also subverts both secular views at their foundations, allowing that sharing with the poor is, because of its “vertical” dimension, both “justice” (Psalm 112:9, sadeqah, Matthew 6:1, dikaiosyne) as well as mercy (Luke 10:37). For more on how the Bible subverts its alternative rather than taking a “Middle Way” see note 67.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Universal equality: Every person must be treated with the same standards and respect, regardless of their social standing. This concept stemmed from the belief that all humans are created in God’s image. [5, 6, 7 8]
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Finally, Liberals’ insistence that religious views stay out of public discourse is hypocritical. It tells religious people they must not argue from their faith-beliefs but only use ‘public reason’ and ‘rational self-interest’—all the while smuggling in their own beliefs on human nature, rights, sexuality, and many other things that are faith-assumptions, left over from our Christian past, and not the deliverances of science.
3.Utilitarian – “Happiness” A just society maximizes the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory – Gospel in Life
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EQUALITY
A second facet of biblical justice is universal equality. Biblical justice requires that every person be treated according to the same standards and with the same respect, regardless of class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or of any other social category. Leviticus 19:15 says: “You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness (sedeqah)shall you judge your neighbor.” Deuteronomy 16:19 says: “You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous (sedeqah).” [][19] Both of these quotes are from the English Standard Version translation.
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Quick biblical analysis:First, without a doctrine of creation, this view does not honor individuals as having a dignity that must not be violated. Could the majority of a national populace define their happiness in such a way that it can only be achieved if a minority of the population is put in internment camps? On the premises of Utilitarianism, that could easily be argued (and it was, in Nazi Germany and even in the U.S. with regard to Japanese-Americans during World War II).
Second, without a doctrine of sin, it naively assumes that what will make a majority happy can’t be something evil. Just because something makes a person happy, it doesn’t mean it is right to do it. Lots of foolish and cruel things can make us happy. Also, without an understanding of humans as souls and bodies, this view assumes “happiness” can be delivered by providing material goods and wealth and pleasures, when long wisdom across the cultures has recognized that this is inadequate for real happiness.
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This biblical idea was unique and revolutionary in world history. Surrounding cultures and societies knew nothing of it–see the famous Code of Hammurabi. [][20]The uniqueness of biblical justice in the ancient world. In the Code of Hammurabi, criminal penalties changed depending on social class. If a man of an upper class murdered someone of a lower, his sentence could be just a financial fine. But if a man of lower class even stole from a person of higher class, the penalty was death. Biblical justice demanded the same penalties for the same crime for every person regardless of social status. And the Mosaic Law never punished theft with death, not because theft was not serious, but because the Bible saw every human life as infinitely more valuable than property. See Desmond T. Alexander, From Paradise to Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing, 2012, 210, 217, 219. The idea that every human had equal dignity and worth was equally foreign to the Greeks and Romans. Aristotle famously said that some races and nationalities deserved to be slaves. Tom Holland writes that ancient cultures, apart from Israel, completely lacked “any sense that the poor or the weak might have the slightest intrinsic value.” [][21] Tom Holland, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, Basic Books, 2019, 16. What the Greeks, Romans, and other ancient cultures lacked was the book of Genesis, which teaches that all human beings were “equally… created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). [][22] Ibid, 443. The Bible assumes it everywhere: “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Proverbs 14:31). “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2). [][23] As Martin Luther King Jr said in his “The American Dream” sermon: “There are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God.” This sermon can be found many places on the internet.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Significant, life-changing advocacy for the poor: Believers are called to understand the causes of poverty and work to change the situation of the poor. This includes direct relief, empowerment, and challenging unjust social structures. [9, 10, 11, 12]
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ADVOCACY
A third facet of biblical justice is significant, life-changing advocacy for the poor. Psalm 41:1 says, “Blessed is the one who gives active consideration to the weak and the poor.” [][27] This translation and comment is based on Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50: Word Biblical Commentary, Thomas Nelson, 2004, 318, 320. The word translated “consideration” means believers are to pay close attention to the weak and the poor, seeking to understand the causes of their condition, and to spend significant time and energy to changing their life situation. [][28] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary, InterVarsity Press, 1973, 161. “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern” (Proverbs 29:7).
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The call to advocacy assumes that the poor and the immigrant have equal rights. Deuteronomy 24:17, 19 says: “Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge…. When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands…” Christopher Wright explains: “The phrase is literally ‘do not turn aside the mispat of the alien, the fatherless, and the widow’…mispat…includes a person’s rights in general…The rules that follow are thus a matter of rights, not charity. In God’s sight a widow has a right not to be robbed of essential clothing to get a loan. And the gleaning provisions of verses 19-21 are rights, not hand-outs.” [][29] Wright, 260.
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So how do we do advocacy? There are at least three ways to do this, according to the Bible. There is direct relief to meet material needs (Luke 10:30-35). Here the advocacy is focused on getting a person or family the legal, medical, financial and other resources they need to face a crisis. Then there is empowerment: helping a person, family, or community gain self-sufficiency (Deuteronomy 15:13-14). This invests in ways that help the person or family or group come to the place where they have the resources and forms of capital—social, financial, cultural, personal—so that they are no longer in the position of constantly needing advocacy and help from outside.
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Finally advocacy can take on the social structures that disadvantage certain groups. Job tells us that he not only clothed the naked, but he “broke the fangs of the wicked and made them drop their victims” (Job 29:17). This can take a number of forms. The church may forbid its members from participating in those unjust social structures, thereby undermining them. Paul forbade Christians taking part in “manstealing”—slave trading based on kidnapping, something that was common in Roman society (1 Timothy 1:8-11). [][33] Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black: African-American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, IVP, 2020, 53.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Responsibility, both corporate and individual: This acknowledges that people can be held responsible for their own sins and the sins of others. This includes familial, national, social, and institutional responsibility. [13, 14]
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RESPONSIBILITY
A fourth facet of biblical justice is responsibility—both corporate and individual. One of the most basic definitions of justice is “giving people what they are due.” But are we responsible only for our own sins, or are we also complicit, responsible, and involved in the sins of others as well?
Corporateresponsibility:
In Joshua 7, Achan sins by stealing some of the plunder of Jericho and hiding it. The text assumes that Achan’s family was executed along with him (verses 15, 25). [][35]Corporate responsibility: part 1. “v. 25… The use of both singular and plural probably indicates that Achan was put to death separately, to make an example of him. The fact that his family also shared in that fate may be due to their common knowledge of the crime. After all, the goods were hidden in the parental tent. The element of corporate guilt is here also. Deut. 24:16 is held in balance by Deut. 5:9. The former should not be seen as representing a more individualistic, less ‘sacral’ view than the latter. Properly understood, the Bible does not teach individualism anywhere. Care should also be taken not to view the corporate element as only a remnant of a primitive mode of thought that is inconsistent with modern thinking.” Marten H. Woudstra,The Book of Joshua, Eerdmans, 1981, 130–131. Further, the text says God held the entire nation responsible for this act. Because of it, some Israelites died in the first assault on Ai as a punishment for the sin of an individual that they did not even know about (verse 5, 11-12). In Numbers 16 the families of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram died with them for those men’s sins. [][36]Corporate responsibility: part 2. Some argue that the rest of the family must have participated themselves in the sin—namely, of questioning Moses’ leadership in defiance of God. But even if there was some participation, since the same punishment was meted out equally on all of them, and since it is unlikely their individual sins were equally egregious (especially the children’s), then there is some kind of corporate responsibility here that goes beyond punishment for individual sin. See Timothy R. Ashley,The Book of Numbers, Eerdmans, 1993, 320. In 2 Samuel 21, God sent three years of famine on Israel and refused to grant prayers on behalf of the land (verse 14). When David inquired why, God told him that he held Israel corporately responsible for what King Saul had done to the Gibeonites even though Saul was dead and gone. [][37]Corporate responsibility: part 3. Although the Gibeonites were pagans, Israel’s leaders had sworn an oath that they would spare their lives (Joshua 9:15,19), but King Saul had broken that oath and had put many Gibeonites to death and God held the entire nation corporately accountable for it even though Saul was dead and gone. The rest of the 2 Samuel 21 account, however, is troubling, because the Gibeonites demand that seven male descendants of Saul be given to them to be killed, and David hands them over. There is no consensus among commentators in their evaluations of David’s action. Some see this as a failure on David’s part, a capitulation to the pagan sensibilities of the Gibeonites. Others see it as an outworking of an additional corporate responsibility—not only is all of Israel guilty for broken promises of leaders, but Saul’s descendants are particularly guilty and punished for his sin. I’m not convinced by either of these last two arguments. But for our purposes we do not have to resolve this latter question. What is clear is that God holds a nation responsible for the sins of its leaders over generations.
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4. Institutional. Institutionalized ways of doing things range from how we check out at a grocery store to how we apply and get admitted to a college. Individuals may perform only one or two actions within such social systems, but by doing so they support the whole system. If the system privileges the powerful and disadvantages the weak, individuals within the institution are responsible for the unjust effects even if they cannot see (or do not want to see) them.
At a banquet, Jesus “noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table” (Luke 14:7). The purpose of dinner engagements was to cultivate relationships with people who could open doors for you and who in turn would expect favors from you and access to yournetwork of contacts and assets. [][40] “Central to the political stability of the Empire was the ethics of reciprocity, a gift-and-obligation system that tied every person, from the emperor in Rome to the child in the most distance province, into an intricate web of social relations….[G]ifts, by unwritten definition, were never “free,” but were given and received with either explicit or implicit strings attached….” Joel B. Green,The Gospel of Luke, Eerdmans, 1997, 550. Because of this highly institutionalized social system, people of means would never invite the poor to a meal, because their presence would endanger the social status of the host and the others at the meal would feel their time wasted. But this systemically disadvantaged those at the lower end of the social order. [][41] “Seen through Jesus’ eyes…[these] orthodox conventions have as their consequence the exclusion of the poor.” Ibid, 552.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Biblical justice differs from secular justice theories in several ways:
Analysis: It recognizes the complexity of injustice, considering social, individual, environmental, and spiritual factors. [15]
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Comparing Biblical Justice to the Alternatives
First, only biblical justice addresses all the concerns of justice found across the fragmented alternate views.[28] Each secular theory of justice addresses one or some of the five facets of biblical justice mentioned above, but none addresses them all.
Second, biblical justice contradicts each of the alternate views neither by dismissing them nor by compromising with them. (a) Biblical justice is significantly more well-grounded. It is based on God’s character—a moral absolute—while the other theories are based on the changing winds of human culture. (b) Biblical justice is more penetrating in its analysis of the human condition, seeing injustice stemming from a more complex set of causes—social, individual, environmental, spiritual—than any other theory addresses. (c) Biblical justice provides a unique understanding of the character of wealth and ownership that does not fit into either modern categories of capitalism or socialism.
A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory – Gospel in Life
Safeguards: It includes safeguards against domination because it acknowledges moral absolutes and God’s identification with the marginalized. [16]
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Third, biblical justice has built-in safeguards against domination. As we have seen, to have a coherent theory of justice, there must be the affirmation of moral absolutes that are universal and true for all, in all cultures. Without appealing to some kind of non-socially constructed truth and morality, there is no way to further justice.[29] Yet the French postmodernists were right—in the hands of human beings, truth-claims tend toward totalitarianism or at least the forces of domination readily use them. But Christianity offers truth-claims that can subvert domination. How?[30](a) Christianity does not claim to explain all reality. There is an enormous amount of mystery – things we are simply not told (Deuteronomy 29:29). We are not given any ‘theory of everything’ that can explain things in terms of evolutionary biology or social forces. Reality and people are complex and at bottom mysterious. (b) Christianity does not claim that if our agenda is followed most of our problems will be fixed. Meta-narratives have a “we are the Saviors” complex. Christians believe that we can fight for justice in the knowledge that eventually God will put all things right, but until then we can never expect to fully fix the world. Christianity is not utopian. (c) Finally, the storyline of the whole Bible is God’s repeated identification with the wretched, powerless, and marginalized. The central story of the Old Testament is liberation of slaves from captivity. Over and over in the Bible, God’s deliverers are usually racial and social outsiders, people seen to be weak and rejected in the eyes of the power elites of the world.
A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory – Gospel in Life
We should emphasize that Christians should work for justice in a way that reflects Jesus:
Starting with the church: The church should exemplify biblical justice in its internal relationships and practices. Keep in mind Jesus is the head of the Church [19]
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3. Working for Justice
So how do believers who understand the differences between biblical justice and the secular theories of justice actually take part in efforts against injustice in our society? They should—
1. Start with the church.No one will listen to Christians calling the society to more just social relationships if within the church itself those relationships are just as flawed and unjust. Within the church, wealth is to be shared generously between rich and poor (2 Corinthians 8:13-15; cf. Leviticus 25). Materialism is a grievous sin (James 5:1-6; 1 Timothy 6:17-19). Inside the church, the races should not merely ‘get along,’ but must become a new humanity (Ephesians 2:15) in which the old divisions no longer prevail. The church is a “royal nation,” a new society (1 Peter 2:9) in which family life, business practices, race relations, and interpersonal relationships are changed. We are a pilot plant of the future kingdom of God, a place for the world to get a partial glimpse of what the humanity will look like under Jesus’ kingship and justice. [][45] Francis Schaeffer, Pollution and the Death of Man, Tyndale, 1970, 81-93.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
With hopeful patience: Recognize that full justice will only be achieved in the future kingdom of God. [21]
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3. With hopeful patience.At his second and final coming, Jesus will end all evil (Acts 17:31), but at his first coming he came not to bring judgment but to bear it, so we could be forgiven and accepted. So Jesus is already present in the world to change lives, but final justice is waiting for us at the end of time. Christians who are grounded in this “already” but “not yet” of the kingdom of God have a balance of both patience and hope. We know God will bring in justice, and so we can work with hopeful confidence. But we also know that we are not the Saviors who will be able to accomplish it. Biblical justice humbles us, because when we look at the cross we realize that we were perpetrators of injustice—yet Jesus was patient with us and forgave us. So Christians doing justice must not be abrasive nor caustic. When listening to others (see below), we should not insist that they talk nicely, especially if they are describing experiences of injustice. The Psalms are filled with the cries of the oppressed—many of them white hot—against injustice (cf. Psalm 137). I am not recommending that we tone police others but rather that we heart police ourselves. When we allow our heart’s hope for justice to slide off of Jesus Christ crucified and let it rest in some program, group, or even our own efforts, we will become both self-righteous as well as despondent. The gospel helps justice-workers maintain a quiet confidence in the midst of the chaos.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
With informed listening: Be willing to learn from non-believers while remaining discerning. [22]
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3. With hopeful patience.At his second and final coming, Jesus will end all evil (Acts 17:31), but at his first coming he came not to bring judgment but to bear it, so we could be forgiven and accepted. So Jesus is already present in the world to change lives, but final justice is waiting for us at the end of time. Christians who are grounded in this “already” but “not yet” of the kingdom of God have a balance of both patience and hope. We know God will bring in justice, and so we can work with hopeful confidence. But we also know that we are not the Saviors who will be able to accomplish it. Biblical justice humbles us, because when we look at the cross we realize that we were perpetrators of injustice—yet Jesus was patient with us and forgave us. So Christians doing justice must not be abrasive nor caustic. When listening to others (see below), we should not insist that they talk nicely, especially if they are describing experiences of injustice. The Psalms are filled with the cries of the oppressed—many of them white hot—against injustice (cf. Psalm 137). I am not recommending that we tone police others but rather that we heart police ourselves. When we allow our heart’s hope for justice to slide off of Jesus Christ crucified and let it rest in some program, group, or even our own efforts, we will become both self-righteous as well as despondent. The gospel helps justice-workers maintain a quiet confidence in the midst of the chaos.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Giving clear witness: Act in a way that makes your Christian faith evident. [23]
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5. Giving clear witness.When working for justice in the world, Christians must not go incognito. When we are being “salt and light” the goal is that, seeing your good deeds, others may “glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:12). That can’t happen if people don’t know about your faith. We do justice not only for its own sake, but for Christ’s and the gospel’s sake. How can we maintain a clear witness when working for justice?
First, witness entails humble listening (see above). No one will respect Christians if they just haughtily denounce those who disagree with them. If we correct, we do it gently (2 Timothy 2:24-25). If we do nothing but argue and despise opponents, we miss an enormous evangelistic opportunity.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Respecting diverse approaches: Acknowledge that Christians may differ in their approaches to working for justice. [24]
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Second, Christians should recognize that biblical justice tells us that we must help the poor and the weak, but it does not dictate how. Believers who have the same faith and same commitments may go about doing justice in different ways across the political spectrum. They should respect each other’s differences as they go about their work.
Third, Christians should not see non-partisanship as “centrism”—some “split the difference” moderate position between two poles. When faced with two alternatives on the world’s spectrum of thought, such as rationalism and empiricism, monism and naturalism, legalism and antinomianism, Christianity critiques each fundamentally, but does not ignore the common grace insights of either. Rather it arrives at a position off the spectrum which Christopher Watkin calls “biblical diagonalization.” [][68]A ‘Middle Way’? No. Those arguing that biblical justice critiques the theories and ideologies of both the Right and the Left—are often assumed to be “centrist” or “moderates” who are looking for a “Middle Way.” In these articles, I am not doing that at all. The way that the Christian worldview interacts with its alternatives is not by ‘splitting the difference’ and coming to some halfway position between them. Christopher Watkin argues that Christianity instead “diagonalizes” the alternatives. “To diagonalize a choice…is to refuse the two (or more) alternatives it offers and elaborate a position that is neither reducible nor utterly unrelated to them” (Thinking Through Creation: Genesis 1 and 2 as Tools of Cultural Critique, Presbyterian and Reformed, 2017,28). Here is an example. In Romans, Paul shows us both legalists (those who sought to save themselves by their righteousness – Romans 9:31) and antinomians (those who lived without God and as they saw fit – Romans 1:18ff.) Is the gospel a half-way point, a moderate middle way between the two alternatives? Not at all. Legalists are concerned about moral compromise and about any failure to obey God’s moral law. Antinomians are concerned about self-righteousness, cultural rigidity, and a lack of loving motivation from inside the heart. The gospel, of course, radically critiques both positions, and yet, at the very same time, it fulfills the concerns of each position better than the positions can themselves. “We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that remains alone.” That is, we are saved by faith alone, not by a good life (versus legalism). But true saving faith always inevitably results in a changed life with new motivation to obey God’s law. In short, the Bible “diagonalizes” alternatives. It does not find a mid-point on the spectrum between them. It is a position off the human spectrum, yet one that addresses the concerns of those on the spectrum. When biblical justice critiques both the individualism of the Right and the collectivism of the Left, or the relativism of Liberals, yet the rigid moralism of the Progressives, it is not offering a Middle Way, but something altogether different.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Addressing systemic racism: Engage in discussions about the meaning and implications of systemic racism. [26]
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11. Tackling the elephant.When we talk about injustice, the “elephant in the room” is—how do we define systemic racism? The phrase “systemic” or “structural” racism has been around for many years, but it seems like half the country has just discovered it and many use it indiscriminately. There are wildly divergent definitions and applications of the term. There is an enormous divide between progressives and conservatives over the nature of it, and white American Christians in particular tend to have trouble accepting the very concept. [][78]The individualistic and privatistic views of white evangelicalism. Christian Smith and Michael O. Emerson, Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, Oxford, 2000. See chapters “Color Blind” and “Controlling One’s Own Destiny”, 69-114. White Christians in Britain and America tend to have a deep confidence in their own objectivity and their ability to control their own destiny through their own choices. They find it hard to accept how strongly they are influenced and shaped by presuppositions, culture, and social structures. They consider their beliefs simply “obvious”–things that “any rational person should be able to see.” They don’t see how much faith assumptions (that cannot be proven rationally) underlie their views, even those purported to be scientific, rational, and empirical. This is the influence of “Scottish common sense realism” that has been well documented by Nathan O. Hatch in The Democratization of American Christianity, Yale, 1989, by George Marsden in Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism 1870-1925. Oxford, 1980 and by Mark Noll in The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Eerdmans, 1994. This article has made the case that the Bible does recognize corporate or systemic evil and responsibility, as well as the reality of discrete social systems that are unjust and that must be challenged by Christians (such as the patronage system in Luke 14 and manstealing and slavery in 1 Timothy 1). But what are the structures today that Christians should challenge? Orthodox Protestant Christian believers need to gather across racial and class lines to come up with a Protestant version of Catholic Social Teaching in which we biblically speak about systemic racism in our society today.
Justice in the Bible – Gospel in Life
Links to sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A14THPoc4-4 https://gospelinlife.com/article/justice-in-the-bible/#:~:text=Biblical%20justice%20requires%20that%20every,of%20any%20other%20social%20category. https://gospelinlife.com/article/a-biblical-critique-of-secular-justice-and-critical-theory/ https://gospelinlife.com/article/the-sin-of-racism/ https://gospelinlife.com/article/the-bible-and-race/