The Bible has a lot to say about Justice. The English Standard Bible, which is the translation I am using today and the one I preach from most often, has the word justice in it 137 times. Out of all of those occurrences of the word “justice” in the ESV, there is only one time it is preceded by an adjective and that’s Ezekiel 18:8, which speaks of “true justice.” Twice in Scripture God speaks of “my justice” and in two prayers recorded in Scripture addressed to God, there is the phrase “your justice.”
Here’s why that is important for us to understand. There are not different kinds of justice or different degrees of justice. There is only, as Ezekiel said it, “true justice” that is defined by God Himself and is always in accord with His character. True Justice is God’s justice and there is no justice except God’s Justice.
This is so applicable to us because in Micah 6:8 we read, “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Interestingly, this verse is inscribed on statutes depicting Moses and Paul in the main meeting room of the Library of Congress.
The word justice is the Hebrew word mishpat. The word means decision, judgement, measure, or law. It is preceded by the verb yasa which is an active verb meaning to carry out or perform an action or course of action. “What does the Lord require of you, but to carry out justice. Misphat----justice that is judgement involved in the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments. We, as believers are to carry out justice. Who does that in our society? Who is tasked with carrying out justice? Those in governing authority who are servants of God for our good.
But here’s the rub. Man’s understanding of “justice” is not the same as God’s justice. Why? Because God’s justice is completely and unequivocally impartial. There is no favoritism with God for anyone. As we deal with others we are commanded to be impartial, especially in the realm of dispensing true justice in our system of justice. In Leviticus 19:15 it says, “You shall do no injustice in court (by the way, injustice in court or anywhere else is considered sin in the eyes of God). You shall not be partial (that is show favoritism) to the poor or defer to the great. The phrase “shall not be partial” is derived from two Hebrew words, nasa and pene. Nasa means to carry or lift up and pene refers to the head and specifically the face of a person.
So, it would be understood like this. “You shall not lift up the face of the poor above the rich or the rich above the poor.” You shall not hold anyone above another, regardless of their external circumstances, position in society, or color of their skin. Why? Because to do so makes you impartial, disparaging, and in truth hypocritical, because Scripture teaches us that “no one is righteous, no not one” (Rom 3:11).
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not show favoritism to the poor or to the rich, but in righteousness (that word in Hebrew is sedeq which means “accuracy, what is correct, what is right, what is honest, and have the sense of adhering to what is required according to a standard”). Who’s standard? God’s standard. Not man’s standard. Not man’s opinion. Not man’s emotional or intellectual justification for what we deem as righteous and just, but God’s justice. “But in righteousness, shall you judge your neighbor. The word judge is talking about administering justice as in a legal case. Justice that is completely impartial in its ruling decision and is based on the standard set forth in the law. Right here is where the system breaks down because the laws of man are imperfect because of the fallenness of man. The selfishness and sinfulness of mankind. And we see that unfolding today in our nation in every aspect of the ideological and political spectrums.
But, Micah 6:8 does not end with “do justice” but continues and says, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness.” That’s mercy. In other words, to have a great affection, care and concern towards others so that the justice that is dispensed is true justice and does not ignore mercy when mercy can be applied.
Notice the next word, “kindness.” This is my favorite Hebrew word, the word chesed which can mean “kindness,” but also means goodness, graciousness, and faithfulness.” Chesed is most often used in reference to the faithfulness of God and the actions associated with His character. God is loyal, he has a steadfast and unending love for His people, He is indeed faithful. “to carry out God’s justice means that we must also love others as God loves them. Justice and the subsequent judgment that come does not mean that there are no consequences for our actions. Quite the opposite. God punishes, he chastises those He loves, just as a loving parent does their children.
The last element that helps us understand true justice is at the end of the verse where we read, “and to walk humbly with you God?” Now this verse is the form of a question because the prophet Micah, is reminding his audience and his readers about what is required of us as believers. We are to love God’s justice and strive to be like God is our dispensing of justice. Along with that we are to love mercy and extend grace whenever possible. And we are to walk humbly with our Lord? Why? Because without humility, true justice cannot exist. Without humility love is distorted and kindness is perverted.
This is found in the reality that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. If we carry out justice according to our own emotional or intellectual justification, then we are essentially saying to God that we are smarter than you and we don’t need you or your justice...or you salvation. We must walk humbly, recognizing that we are just one bad decision away from being in the same situation as many others who are plagued by addiction or who reside in prison or who lose their families.
Remember what Jesus said to the crowd who wanted to stone the prostitute? “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” Nobody could throw. None of us can either. Which is why the justice that is carried out, must be God’s justice because that is the only true justice that exists.
In closing here are a few thoughts of application:
As we have seen, in the Bible, true justice, God’s justice is often accompanied by words like equity and righteousness. Equity simply means equal treatment for everyone under the law. Righteousness signifies that which is consistent with the demands of God’s law—including punishment for evildoers (Jeremiah 5:26-29); obedience to governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7); penalties that fit the crime and are applied without partiality (Leviticus 24:17-22); and a strong work ethic, enforced by the principle that able-bodied people who refuse to work shouldn’t benefit from public charity (1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Today, issues such as critical race theory, feminism, intersectional theory, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and animal rights are all actively vying for evangelical acceptance under the rubric of what society calls “social justice.” We see it playing out across the country, on every news channel, in every media platform. Based on what we have seen from Scripture today, the term “social justice” regardless of how it is defined or spun in society, is no justice at all because it is completely partial to the groups that I just mentioned and many others. The “social justice” rhetoric is being used to aggressively advocate for all kinds of lifestyles and ideologies that stand in direct contradiction to Scripture.
What we see and hear today in our nation, and unfortunately, in some evangelical denominations is a seemingly complete surrender on the issue of God’s justice as defined in Scripture and an adoption of the secular rhetoric for “so-called” social justice. Social Justice is not true justice...it is not God’s justice and Scripture knows nothing of it.
I want to encourage you to always turn to the pages of Scripture to think through the issues of our day. The account we will give before the Lord will not be based on our secular ideologies, how many charitable organizations we support financially, or what political party we align with...the account we will give before the Lord will be solely about our commitment and dedication to following Christ and His Word. Don’t let the smooth-talking demagoguery of our culture sway you from the truth of God’s Word. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your opinions and your feelings override God and His truth. As the Apostle Paul said to the church in Thessalonica, “test everything; hold fast to what is good.” How do we test everything? By viewing everything through the lens of Scripture. What’s good? Everything that is in line with God’s Word.
Brent Thomspon
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