Justice and Justification

On a daily basis there is something in the news that causes me to think, what an incredible act of injustice. From lack of basic necessities to racial discrimination, violence against the innocent, the refugee crisis, and human trafficking, the world is full brokenness. We have a 153 million orphans worldwide and 40 million people trapped in modern day slavery. These number don’t include those addicted and enslaved to some vice. An average of 171,000 Christians worldwide are martyred for their faith every year.

Is God just? What does that mean? What does the Bible says about justice?

Psalms 89:14 "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you." Foundational and central to the very Kingdom of God is this idea of justice. What does that mean? The Hebrew word for “justice,” mishpat, occurs in its various forms more than 200 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Its most basic meaning is “to treat people equitably.” It means acquitting or punishing every person on the merits of the case, regardless of race or social status. Anyone who does the same wrong should be given the same penalty. That is retribution. We usually like retribution, unless we are on the receiving end; then we want mercy. But mishpat means more than just the punishment of wrongdoing. More often it means giving people their rights as image bearers of God. People were created with dignity and designed to flourish. Sometimes this is confused with charity. But charity is really a gift. Justice is what is due to any image bearer of God. It is about people experiencing life as God intended.

If justice is central to God Himself and His Kingdom, why aren’t we experiencing more of it and how do we go forward? The Bible gives a narrative in which to understand the world and how you and I were created to have relationship with the Creator. The Bible opens with the Creator forming the world and everything in it. Humans are unique in creation in that they were created in the image and likeness of God. We were created to flourish and join God in His creative work in the world. Justice ruled and reigned in this environment. Shortly into the story, things go badly. Humankind chose to go their own way rather than God’s. This one act brought sin into the world and literally changed everything. The world was no longer a just place. All that is wrong in the world is there because of sin. God is just and will not allow sin and unjustice to continue forever.

Let’s look at a few Old Testament passages about God’s plan to show and bring His justice both retributive and restorative. “’Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.’ Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’” (Deuteronomy 27:19). He’s not saying, cursed is anyone that withholds punishment to widows, orphans, and foreigners. He’s saying, make sure you care for these people. Don't just care for your own. Their lives matter to me. Give them what any image bearer of God should be given. Don’t let them be mistreated.

"The LORD is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands" (Psalm 9:16). This one seems to clearly point to retribution. The Psalmist is declaring that the wicked will be dealt with. “The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed” (Psalms 103:6). This one seems to be both that God is looking after the oppressed and will deal with the oppressor. In Isaiah 1:17 God tells us to "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."  If you were to read through the Old Testament Prophets you will find that one of the major faults that God had with His people was that they didn’t exercise justice for the vulnerable. What does a just God do in a broken and messed up world that doesn’t practice justice? He steps into that brokenness and brings justice.

As the story continues to unfold we are told that God so loved the world that He sent his one and only son into the world to save the world. "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1). God does for us what we can’t do for ourselves.

How did Jesus see His ministry? Luke describes the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry in the following way. "He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, [17] and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: [18] ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’ [20] Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. [21] He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’" (Luke 4:16-21). This sounds a lot like justice to me. Jesus is clearly announcing that things are going to radically change

He is quoting Isaiah 61. Jesus does what history counts as one of the most rockstar moves of all time. He announces who He is by standing up and reading from the scroll of Isaiah. He announces that the Messiah is standing in front of them and that these words of promise were realized in Him. He is saying I am the one that is going to bring justice. What does justice look like to Jesus? He says: I will Bring good news to the poor... Proclaim release to the captives... Recovery of sight to the blind... Let the oppressed go free.

One way this passage has been understood is that Jesus’ mission was about freeing us from sin. He brings good news to those of us who are poor in spirit. He proclaims freedom to us who are held captive to sin. He heals us who are blinded by our sin. He sets us free from the oppression sin causes in our lives. Freedom from shame, from alcohol, or eating disorders, or low self-worth. Freedom from past trauma. This is all 100% true! And it’s good news for all of us.

But if we stop there, we miss out on the big picture of what Jesus is proclaiming. Jesus is declaring Himself to be the Prophet/Priest/King, the Messiah, whose mission is not just to rescue people from spiritual bondage. Jesus is declaring the very good news that He’s offering freedom from all that seek to imprison those He loves. He is bringing justice. A new era has started. Jesus is bringing justice and inviting people that experience it to join with Him.

Jesus doesn’t just bring justice to the world. He brings justification. He didn’t just talk about Good News. He was the Good News. God in the person of Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, and at the cross He defeated sin and death. Jesus’ death and resurrection points to both aspects of justice. 

Retribution. Sin must be paid for. Jesus took your penalty upon Himself. Justice was due and Jesus took care of it. You can pay for you own sins or receive what Jesus did for you. 

Restoration. The cross is not just about retribution, it is also about restoration. "He made Him who knew no sin to be Sin on our behalf so we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21). 

God’s justice will prevail. Jesus’ resurrection is the signal that a new life, a new era, a new Kingdom has been inaugurated.

The final chapters in the Bible tell us of a day when this inaugurated Kingdom comes to its fullness. There will be a time in which those who have placed their faith in the Son of God live on a new heaven and earth that is completely absent of sin and its effects. Then people will be all that God intended for them to be. In that moment, we will experience the fullness of God’s justice, both restorative and retributive. Justice and Justification.

God is just and is the justifier. Right now, we all live between the fall of Genesis 3 and the renewal and re-creation of all things in Revelation 20. How do we live in between? What do we do as we wait? The passage Jesus quoted from tells us.

In Isaiah 61:4 we are told, “They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.” Who are the they? It is the people that have experienced God’s justice and justification. The people that were broken, captive and enslaved are now the rebuilders. Truly free people free others and join God where he is working in making the world right. The justified are to go out and declare justification and do acts of justice. This is Matthew 25 in action. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:34-36). 

Step into the brokenness and bring justice and justification.

Stories Matter

About a week into the Covid-19 breakout I had a vivid dream.  I was coaching some kids. Among them, there was a kid that all the coaches were having trouble connecting with and getting him to understand our expectations. 

The kid in the dream wasn't anyone I recognize in real life. He is probably a hyper-conglomeration and figurehead for everything I  fear and see wrong in the world and every troubled kid with underutilized potential.

I remember being extremely angry with this kid and the problems he was causing. The problems culminated with this young man destroying some of our equipment and lighting our equipment shed on fire and then fleeing. I happened to be in that shed at that time and angrily asked what had happened. When the other coaches explained what had happened, my anger moved to uncontrollable outrage. I shared how we should be done with this kid now. His actions would not be tolerated and would send him to jail anyways. In the moment, they agreed and I walked away. 

The next day I went back to the other coaches and said author Donald Miller once said, "If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot." They said no they probably wouldn't watch it to begin with and what does this have to do with our situation. I then asked a second question to my own surprise. Would you (A) prefer to watch a movie about a kid that was really messed up and caused some problems and went to jail and his old team went back to normal or (B) would you prefer to watch a movie in which nothing went back to normal and that kid was given a chance at redemption, connection, belonging, hope and a future and in the process his own mentors faced their own pain, frustrations and unrealized dreams in their own lives? They said B.

The next thing I knew I was sitting in front of an obviously confused kid and said, "help me to understand your pain." My dream ended with me curious as to where it would go. 

I woke up thinking how many times have I heard or even thought to myself, "I can't wait until things go back to normal."  Is that what we really want? Yes, of course I would like this virus to die. But is it back to normal that I really want? Someday there will be movies made about the 2020 pandemic. Somewhere in the larger storyline there will be sub-stories of individual lives. Rest assured nobody will watch the movie if all that happens is someone's life goes back to normal. That is not a story we long for. We long for things like transformation, redemption, connection, belonging, hope and a future. 

The reality is every leader, coach, teacher, mentor, minister, and parent has unrealized dreams and pain in their story. That's never the problem. In fact, our own pain can be a source of healing that leads to transformation for others as we authentically and passionately offer hope from a position of compassion. The problem is when the pain in our story is not transformed, it will eventually be transmitted.

Don't go back to the normal of unreconciled relationships, pain from unrealized dreams, unresolved trauma, and isolation from those that are hurting all around you. Take this time to reflect and receive healing from the One who invites you to a better story. "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."  It is those that come to Jesus with their pain that are able to see themselves transformed and can then say to even those that have hurt them, help me understand your pain.  Don't live for a normal or lesser story.

Donald Miller continued his quote with, "But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to be meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.”