We Need To Talk (About Justice): Recapturing a Biblical Vision of Justice

Hopson Boutot

Poquoson Baptist Church

Biblical Justice • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Zechariah 7:9

Justice

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SERMON

When I was pursuing my Master of Divinity at a seminary in Memphis, my school had a weekly chapel service called “Report Hour.” During report hour the students would head to the microphone and share testimonies about their efforts to evangelize the lost. I’ll never forget what happened one of the first times I attended report hour. A young lady went to the microphone and shared about how she had tried to evangelize a Jehovah’s Witness that she was sitting beside on an airplane. She talked to the person for awhile, and then it dawned on her: “Wait a minute! Jehovah is one of the names of God! I believe in God! And being a witness is something every Christian is supposed to do. I’m a witness! So I guess we’re all Jehovah’s Witnesses!”

WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!?

I DON’T BELIEVE WHAT JWs BELIEVE. I DON’T SUPPORT THAT

That may be how some of you feel today. Already figured out today we’re beginning a sermon series about justice

If you knew that before you walked in the doors, thank you for coming anyways

If you found that out when you came in, thank you for not leaving yet

If you’re finding this out right now, please stay

No, I’m not going “woke.” I’m not a social justice warrior. But we do need to talk about justice.

My preference is to walk through books of the Bible

Sometimes there are topics we need to address that are difficult to cover without zooming out and taking a look at what the entire Bible teaches, rather than just a specific book

Over the next few weeks we’re going to talk about justice.

Today, among other things, I’ll try to provide a definition of justice so we know what we mean by the term

Next week I hope to convince you that abortion is the greatest injustice in our world today

The following week we’ll talk about racism and how our culture is trying to fight the injustice of racism with another type of injustice

After that, what we discuss may depend on where we are in our travel plans to go to Colombia, but as we’ll soon see there are plenty of things for Christians to talk about when we talk about justice.

But today I want to answer one question: why should we talk about justice? With God’s help I hope to show you seven reasons we need to talk about justice.

PRAY

1. The CULTURE is Talking About Justice

Law enforcement, judges, and attorneys talk about criminal justice

Organizations like Black Lives Matter talk about racial justice

“No justice, no peace.”

"Justice for George, Breonna, Ahmaud”

Environmental activists talk about climate justice

Socialists like Bernie Sanders and others claim talk a lot about economic justice

Pro-choice advocates claim that a right to abortion is a matter of reproductive justice

LGBTQ+ activitists call for trans justice or gender justice

Most if not all of these different calls for justice could be wrapped into an umbrella term called “social justice”

“But most of the people who are talking about social justice are promoting things that no Christian can agree with. Things like abortion, same-sex marriage, and gender confusion.”

That’s the problem. Some of you are dismissing the concept of justice completely because you only hear about it from people you totally disagree with. You’ve just dismissed it as a liberal issue, something you don’t need to concern yourself with.

Or for some of you there could be another problem. You hear the talking heads in the culture talking about justice and you’re affected by what you hear. It starts to sound right. And then, before you take the time to examine these ideas from a biblical perspective you’ve bought their views of justice hook, line, and sinker.

Because the culture is talking about justice, we need to talk about justice. But by itself that’s not enough. Scroll through what’s trending on social media and you’ll find a host of topics the culture talks about that we don’t talk about. So we need another reason. . .

2. The BIBLE Talks About Justice

The main word for justice in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word mishpot (מִשְׁפָּט). It means to judge, to pass judgment, to administer justice, or to rule. It’s used over 400 times in the Old Testament.

Another word often translated justice is the Hebrew word tsedek (צדק). It means accuracy, correct, right, honest, or equal. It is used 119 times. The Bible talks a lot about justice. There’s a handful of words used in the New Testament to convey the concept of justice, and altogether these terms are used over 150 times.

It’s no surprise, then that Scott David Allen says “Justice is one of the most important words in the Bible." (Why Social Justice is Not Biblical Justice, 9)

A key verse for this study:

Zechariah‬ ‭7:9‬—“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another”

Judgments is that word mishpot (מִשְׁפָּט)

God is telling His people to render true justice, which means there’s a type of justice that isn’t true

Much of what is called justice today is injustice masquerading at justice.

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Because the Bible talks about justice, we need to talk about justice. But again, by itself this may not be enough. Sure, we need to know what the Bible says about this issue, but there are plenty of other topics in Scripture that don’t warrant an entire sermon series. So we need another reason. . .

3. God is the STANDARD of Justice

When we talk about biblical justice, we’re talking about God. But we need to make sure we’re actually talking about biblical justice. Since people all over the culture are talking about justice, it’s important that we define what we mean by the term. As John Stonestreet says, “It’s no good having the same vocabulary if we’re using different dictionaries.” (Why Social Justice is Not Biblical Justice, 1)

Just because someone uses the term justice doesn’t mean we agree with them. Thankfully the Bible isn’t silent on how to define justice. The Bible is clear that justice is more than an abstract concept about what’s right and wrong, what’s equitable and fair. Justice is woven into the very character of God. It’s part of who He is. God is the standard of justice. Listen to what God says about Himself in His Word:

Deuteronomy 32:4 — The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Psalm 9:7— But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice

Psalm 89:14 —Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

Isaiah 5:16—But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

Isaiah 30:18— Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 61:8—For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Zephaniah 3:5 —The Lord within her is righteous; he does no injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail; but the unjust knows no shame.

We could go on and on, but you get the point. Until you have a category for the One who is the standard of justice, you really cannot understand justice.

Proverbs 28:5—Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.

Of course this doesn’t mean that non-Christians are never just, or that Christians are always just.

It means that if we want to understand justice we have to begin with God

C.S. Lewis — "A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it?"

So here’s the beginning of our definition:

What is Biblical justice?—Conformity to God’s moral standards as revealed in Scripture.

We’ll add more to our definition as we go, but that’s enough to get us started.

We need to talk about justice because God is the standard of justice. Next, we need to talk about justice because . . .

4. We Should REFLECT God’s Justice

Talking about justice is bigger than merely understanding the truth about God as our standard. We need to talk about justice because we are called to reflect God’s justice. Throughout Scripture God commands humanity to reflect God’s justice in their dealings with one another:

Deuteronomy 16:20 —Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Proverbs 21:3 — To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Isaiah 1:17 —learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Jeremiah 22:3 —Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

Amos 5:24 —But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Micah 6:8—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?

But what does this mean practically?

What is Biblical justice?—Conformity to God’s moral standards as revealed in Scripture by giving all humans their due as image-bearers of God.

This is the justice individuals owe one another, sometimes called commutative justice.

Kevin DeYoung puts it this way: justice means “following the rule of law, showing impartiality, paying what you promised, not stealing, not swindling, not taking bribes, and not taking advantage of the weak because they are too uninformed or unconnected to stop you.” (Why Social Justice is Not Biblical Justice, 22)

It’s the message that John the Baptist preached in Luke 3. .

If you have two shirts, share one with the person who has none (11)

If you have extra food, share with the hungry (11)

If you’re a tax collector, don’t cheat and collect more than you’re due (13)

If you’re a soldier, don’t extort money from people and don’t accuse people falsely (14)

Scott David Allen summarizes: "in short, justice is living out the Ten Commandments in our everyday relationships.” (Why Social Justice is Not Biblical Justice, 23)

But there’s another dimension to reflecting God’s justice. This is the justice that authorities owe to their subjects . . .

What is Biblical justice?—Conformity to God’s moral standards as revealed in Scripture (1) by giving all humans their due as image-bearers of God and (2) by impartially rendering judgment, righting wrongs and punishing lawbreakers.

Perhaps you noticed on your bulletin or in the slides the image of Lady Justice.

The blindfold represents the impartiality before the law that a just decision requires. If it’s true justice, your size, shade, sex, or status shouldn’t matter.

The scales represent the balance that justice demands. Those who commit injustice incur a debt against their victims and the scale is out of balance.

The sword represents the punishment that must be enforced when an injustice occurs.

Lady Justice is a symbol of what is sometimes called distributive justice. It’s the responsibility to punish wrongdoers and right wrongs and it’s reserved for those in God-ordained positions of authority. If you’re in a position of authority, you have an additional responsibility to reflect God’s justice. You must impartially render judgment, right wrongs, and punish lawbreakers

Proverbs 21:15—When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

If you’ve done what is evil, justice is a scary thing. It means punishment, perhaps even death.

Here’s an example to get these two dimensions of justice straight in your head:

On July 22, 2011, Anders Brevik opened fire on a group of mostly teenagers on a retreat in Norway killing 77 people. That’s a violation of commutative justice. Rather than giving these people their due as image-bearers of God, he violently and coldly took their lives.

In August 2012, he was convicted and sentenced to a maximum of 21 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 10 years. That's a little over 3 months for every life taken. That’s a violation of distributive justice. By failing to adequately punish his crimes, the Oslo District Court in Norway was guilty of injustice.

You don’t have to look far to realize that even though our world talks a lot about justice, we don’t reflect God’s justice very well. So we need to talk about justice because . . .

5. We CAN Reflect God’s Justice

Although no sinner can perfectly reflect God’s justice, the Bible is filled with examples of people who truly reflected God’s justice.

We’re told twice that King David “administered justice and equity to all his people.” (2 Samuel 8:15, 1 Chronicles 18:14)

In 1 Kings 3, after Solomon wisely decided a case between two prostitutes arguing over a baby, the people “perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice” (1 Kings 3:28)

When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, she praised the wise king for his justice. (1 Kings 10:9, 2 Chronicles 9:8)

When Job defended himself against his friends, he argued that he was a just man. He said he wore justice like a robe and a turban (Job 29:14)

Micah the prophet declared that he was “filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might” (Micah 3:8)

Matthew tells us that Joseph, the husband of Mary and adoptive father of Jesus, is “a just man” (Matthew 1:19)

Hebrews 11, tells us that the saints of old “through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:33)

In his book Why Social Justice is Not Biblical Justice, Scott David Allen reminds us: “Those of us who grew up in cultures profoundly shaped by a Judeo-Christian worldview often fail to appreciate the unique inheritance of our relatively just societies. We take for granted that human beings have inalienable rights and deserve respect, and that those accused of wrongdoing are entitled to due process. We forget that in the broad sweep of history, relatively just societies are the exception, not the rule. On this side of Christ’s return, there will be no perfectly just societies, yet some will be more just than others.”

He then lists six hallmarks of relatively just societies:

(1) Acknowledgment of a transcendent lawgiver

Without a divine lawgiver, cultures don’t abandon justice. They just make up their own standard. In the book of Habakkuk, God promises to send the Chaldeans to discipline His wayward people. And he says this about the Chaldeans:

Habakkuk 1:7 —They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.

In other words, they are their own standard for justice. This is inevitably what happens when we divorce justice from the standard for justice. We make up our own standard.

For nearly 250 years, the United States has been a relatively just society. Not perfectly just by any stretch, but relatively just compared to many other nations in the world.

The Declaration of Independence—We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Sadly for nearly two hundred years we did not apply these rights to men and women of African descent. But the fact remains that societies which acknowledge a transcendent lawgiver are relatively more just than those who do not.

(2) Respect for the rule of law

George Floyd protests

CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle

Capitol Hill protests on Wednesday

Protesting or attending a rally isn’t necessarily wrong. Thankfully most people at these protests and rallies aren’t intending to harm people. But some are, and the frequency is increasing.

(3) Human dignity and God-granted human rights

Regardless of size, shade, sex, or status

For years we denied the rights and dignity of African-Americans

For years we’ve been denying the rights and dignity of the unborn

Take a moment and think of a few people whose ideology you disagree with most. Picture them in your mind’s eye. Now think this true thought about that person: “image bearer.”

(4) A check on corruption

If government is corrupt, people lose confidence in their ability to receive just and fair treatment

(5) Establishing due process

The right to a trial with unbiased, presumption of innocence until guilt is proven, right of accused to know charges against him/her, necessity of evidence and witnesses to convict

These ideas are rooted in Scripture!

Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser

Donald Trump and the election

(6) Entrusting final judgment to God

I’m grateful that for nearly 250 years, the United States has been a relatively just society for many. Not all. Sadly we denied justice to African-Americans for much of this nation’s history. Sadly we’ve been denying justice to the unborn for decades. But despite these evils, there is still more justice here than in many countries the world over.

We need to talk about justice because we can reflect God’s justice Not perfectly, but truly. And the better we understand biblical justice the better equipped we’ll be to reflect it. But also we need to talk about justice because. . .

6. Failure Will Hurt the Most VULNERABLE

Let’s add one more line to our definition of biblical justice:

What is Biblical justice?—Conformity to God’s moral standards as revealed in Scripture (1) by giving all humans their due as image-bearers of God, especially the most vulnerable and (2) by impartially rendering judgment, righting wrongs and punishing lawbreakers.

When the Bible talks about justice it regularly and repeatedly gives special mention to three specific groups of people: orphans, widows, and immigrants:

Deuteronomy 10:17-18—the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 24:17—“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge

Jeremiah 7:5–7—For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.

Jeremiah 22:3—Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

Zechariah 7:9–10—“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

What did those groups of people have in common in those days? They were all vulnerable. So reflecting God’s justice

One Bible teacher said this: “Many people speak about widows and orphans, but the Bible always puts it the other way around—orphans and widows—because orphans are totally helpless, widows are only partially helpless.” (Derek Prince, Orphans, Widows, the Poor and Oppressed: God Cares About the Needy. Do We?)

He may slightly overstate his case (I found a few examples where widows were mentioned first), but his point is well taken. The orphans are usually mentioned first because in the days of the Bible they were the most vulnerable people there were.

The vulnerability of orphans is fresh on my heart right now. Many of you know that we’re in the process of adopting a little boy from Colombia. Our son has been in the same foster home for over two years. We knew that in order for us to go to his country and bring him home he would have to be transferred from that loving foster home to an orphanage where we would pick him up, but we had hoped that he would remain in the foster home as long as possible. We were heartbroken on Thursday to learn that he was removed from that home three weeks ago(which means he didn't get to spend Christmas with the only family he’s ever known). Then we learned he’s been alone in quarantine the entire time due to Covid-19 exposure, which means he's not getting any personal contact and everyone he's been with has likely been wearing full PPE. At 2 1/2 years old, it’s hard to imagine anyone being more vulnerable than that.

And yet, in today’s world there is a group of people even more vulnerable than a two-year-old boy isolated in an orphanage. With God’s help I hope to show you next week that the most vulnerable group in our world today is the unborn.

But here’s the point: biblical justice has a special concern towards the vulnerable. It’s identifying the most vulnerable people in your world and moving towards them with special care and concern. It’s what James says in. . .

James 1:27—Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Listen church, if we punt on justice the vulnerable will suffer. If we stop thinking about justice, talking about justice—and most importantly doing justice—the most vulnerable people will suffer.

We need to talk about justice because our failure to do so will hurt the most vulnerable people in society. Finally, we need to talk about justice because . . .

7. Understanding Justice Helps us Understand the GOSPEL

Giving others their due: the One due the most is God! And yet we commit the greatest injustice by failing to worship Him!!!

If God is just, He must impartially render judgment, right wrongs, and punish lawbreakers

There’s a misunderstanding that people who go to hell get justice and people who go to heaven get mercy. That’s not true. The truth is, God didn’t compromise His justice on the cross. He revealed His justice on the cross. He highlighted His justice on the cross.

Romans 3:21-26—But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Jonathan Edwards—“The strict justice of God, and even his revenging justice, and that against the sins of men, never was so gloriously manifested as in Christ. He manifested an infinite regard to the attribute of God’s justice, in that when he had a mind to save sinners, he was willing to undergo such extreme sufferings, rather than that their salvation should be to the injury of the honor of that attribute. And as he is the judge of the world, he doth himself exercise strict justice; he will not clear the guilty, nor at all acquit the wicked in judgment. And yet, how wonderfully is infinite mercy towards sinners displayed in him! And what glorious and ineffable grace and love have been, and are exercised by him, towards sinful men! Though he be the just judge of a sinful world, yet he is also the Savior of the world: though he be a consuming fire to sin, yet he is the light and life of sinners..”

Unbeliever: repent and believe!

Christian: it would be unjust for God to punish you if He’s already punished Christ in your place

We need to talk about justice because understanding justice helps us to understand the gospel.

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