Does the Bible speak about justice?

by Pastor Jonathan

Are we seeing justice disappear before our eyes?

Or are we seeing an ancient but familiar drama unfold?

There is little doubt that our country is suffering.   Who would have imagined that on the eve of the upcoming inauguration, the national guard would be deployed to protect and ensure the participants’ safety?

The past year’s events have caused me to pause and reflect deeply on the cultural upheaval we’ve been experiencing.  And as much as I wish it were over, the bitter feelings and attitudes that permeate the atmosphere seem to perpetuate each passing day.

Justice and Western Civilization

As I reflect on our nation’s heartache, I’m reminded of my time spent in graduate school.  For several years, I studied the Great Books of the Western Tradition.  I read deeply into our western heritage and learned about the great conversation of antiquity.

I read Plato, Aristotle, Aristophanes, Augustine, Machiavelli, Hume, and others.  Even more, I read these great thinkers along with the Bible.

To my delight as well as my dismay, I discovered that the writer of Ecclesiastes was right all along —

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9, CSB)

Today we hear the cry for “justice.”  Our politicians promise us justice. But if the cry for justice persists and the promises endure, then that can only mean one thing — injustice continues to prevail.

Why is that the case?  Why do the wicked seem to prevail over the righteous?

These are the very same questions found in the Old Testament.  In Psalm 82, the poet writes, “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah” (Psalm 82:2, CSB)

In Psalm 93 again, we see the same theme, “Lord, how long will the wicked— how long will the wicked celebrate?” (Psalm 94:3, CSB).

Notice the familiar lament common to both passages, “How long.”  Can you relate?  It’s natural for us to desire justice, but are we longing for justice or merely wishing to get our way?

Answering this question is much harder than we think.   And if we hastily try to provide an answer, then we run the risk of oppressing a group merely to advantage ourselves.

As the great conversation unfolds in our country, we hear from more and more divergent opinions that charge other groups with this very thing — oppressing one group to advantage another.  Alleviating this unfair advantage becomes the driving point for political conversations.

The Great Dilemma

A problem, however, emerges when we factor sin into the equation.  How do we address justice when our own sinful nature may be distorting our views?

One of the great themes of scripture is justice.  So how do we understand biblical justice in light of the conversation taking place today? Even more, how does justice reflect God’s character?

Over the next two weeks, I will be asking this very question in my upcoming Sunday messages.  I’m raising these issues and more because it is vital for God’s people to recapture the Biblical imagination of God’s justice in the world and the world to come.

I hope you will join me!