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Justice: Starting the Conversation
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Some of you feel like you’re waking up to a bad dream.
Others of you feel like all your life, you’ve been in a nightmare that you can’t escape.
How do we make progress?
How do we contextualize all that we see going on around us in the person and purposes of God?
Why Biblical Justice Matters
The God of Justice
The Hard Road to Justice
God’s End Game
Why Biblical Justice Matters
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
- C.S. Lewis
When we talk about justice, we can use two working definitions from Merriam Webster’s dictionary:
the maintenance or administration of what conforms to fact, reason or a standard of correctness, especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments
the quality of being impartial or fair
Justice is the basis of our social contract within society.
This social contract is how you can understand the biblical concept of covenant - meaning an agreement between two parties in relationship with one another - whether it be relationship with God and man, or man and man.
Our social contract within society is predicated on the idea that if I uphold my side of the agreement, certain consensus rites will be afforded me.
If one of the parties violates this agreement, then repercussions will be realized.
It matters not whether the violation comes from the majority group or the minority group within the contract.
When the social contract is not upheld there is no basis for mutually agreed upon interaction, otherwise known as civilization.
Justice is what keeps civilization intact.
Yet without a divine plumb line, we have no basis for appeal as to why any man, woman or child should be treated with the decency that justice demands.
Even the Declaration of Independence is an appeal to divine authority as the source justice.
The Declaration of Independence states:
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.
Without a foundation in God, the evolutionary principle of “might makes right” becomes the order of the day.
This leads to injustice.
Yet there is a God and his character defines for us why justice matters.
The God of Justice
Embedded within the nature of God is the character quality of justice.
Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
That means that not only is God just, but that he fights to bring about just ends in the world in which we live.
We speak against injustice because God first speaks against it.
We condemn bigotry and racism because God himself condemns them.
We cry out against the senseless destruction of human life because the God of heaven and earth abhors it (Proverbs 6:16-19).
Psalm 10:17-18
O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Justice means that whenever any man or woman commits a wrongful act, they are to reap the consequence of their sin.
It also means that those who are to live righteously have a responsibility to help shape an environment where justice can flourish.
Yet wouldn’t it be better if we just talk about mercy?
Mercy does not ignore justice. Mercy works hand in hand with justice.
In doing so, mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:8-13
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
God’s mercy allows you to put yourself in another person’s shoes.
If you would not enjoy being treated the way that someone of a different ethnicity, nationality or socio-economic group is being treated, then Biblical mercy demands that you make effort to alleviate their suffering.
This is the image of justice.
So what are we to do?
We are to walk the hard road to justice.
The Hard Road to Justice
“Racism is not getting worse, it is getting filmed.”
-Will Smith
So what are practical, Biblical ways to combat racism, faction and divisions in our time?
Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
On the issues of the day, your silence can be deafening.
“I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.”
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
You need to understand why your voice matters - whether you are a minority or in the majority.
Comprehending the importance of our voice starts with God himself as his spoken word was what he used create the universe we now see.
Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Life and death is in the power of the tongue - no matter the source.
You may feel like your heartfelt expression of love will be perceived as forced, yet know this - when there is a funeral, you may not know what to say, but people will remember your absence far more than your having the ability to say the right thing.
Express love and support anyway, even if you feel like your motivation will be misinterpreted.
God knows your heart and people will learn to trust you through your faithfulness.
Be present and available.
Now when you’re speaking,
Volume Matters:
both in how loud you get (stay civil)
and
in the amount of voices it takes to change an environment/atmosphere.
This gives a proper interpretation to the protests:
“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones. Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.“
- The Quest for Peace and Justice Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Lecture -- December 11, 1964
So what are we to do?
First, we need to ask God to search our hearts by his Word and through prayer to see if there is any offensive way in us.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
We need to understand that there is no replacing you having relationships with people in your life who can help educate you about these issues.
Watching the news is not enough.
If all of your closest friends look, act, speak and think like you, you will be at a Kingdom disadvantage (I Corinthians 9:19-23).
You will he sheltered within your paradigm.
When you only interact with those from similar socio-economic settings and backgrounds, it is going to be hard to truly empathize with those who have had different experiences than you.
Second, we are to have the tough conversations on repeat.
In doing so, no one needs to repent of their ethnicity, only sin.
God made you who you are in the skin that you are for a reason.
Within that skin you can be a loving servant of Christ.
Stop apologizing for what God made you and determine to be what he‘ll still make you - like Christ.
There are two sides of the coin.
1. What you can do is listen, empathize and stand with the afflicted.
James 1:19-20
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
If you clothe yourself in humility, love and the word of God, you don’t have to walk on eggshells.
Misunderstandings will come but you learn from them and continue on.
Don’t get derailed by one conversation you didn’t feel like didn’t go the way you wanted.
2. You can help change the conversation and mentality within privileged class.
You can silence deprecating comments.
You can reject racist jokes and stereotypes that you hear flying around the office, at the dinner table or while hanging out with family and friends.
You can refuse to poke fun at cultures you do not understand.
You can condemn any insinuation that an entire ethnic group is less intelligent, capable, violent, a threat, or lazy.
All of these things imply an inferiority of those who are different and perpetuate injustice.
Don’t allow this on your social feed.
Don’t allow this in your home.
Don’t allow these things to be done in secret.
We are to expose these actions as sin.
Ephesians 5:11-17
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
What can we positively do?
Instead, you can proactively speak about the value, attributes and worth of the cultures different than your own.
Most importantly, you can lead those to whom you’re both listening and speaking to the cross.
Why is this so important?
God has an end game.
God’s End Game
You would have thought that after the great strides of the civil rights movement of the twentieth century, we would have been running our collective victory lap.
Yet no matter how many rallies, programs or strides we make, the state of the world can progress, yet remain imperfect.
It is because as long as the world is in rebellion to God, classism, racism, bigotry and injustice will rear their head.
It is like a beach ball pushed under the water which springs back when not actively subdued.
It is because the problem of our injustices lie not just in our policies, but in the hearts of men.
You will find yourself in a depressed state if your hope lies solely anchored in this world.
Ephesians 2:12
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
So what is God’s endgame while we wait?
The world is fallen, separated from God because of the evils to which we’ve clung.
However, God’s ultimate end game is reconciliation.
The God of Israel is one of justice and reconciliation.
The miracle is that both of these character attributes are found in the same person.
As humanity, we tend to tip to one side or the other.
Yet God in his nature perfectly satisfies one without neglecting the other.
God is concerned about reconciliation with God and man.
He is also concerned with reconciliation between man and man.
Just as the day of Pentecost reverses the curse of the Tower of Babel, so the cross of Jesus Christ reverses the curse of Cain set against Abel.
Ephesians 2:13-14
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility...
The justice of God and the mercy of God are not mutually exclusive.
They are both part of the character of God and work hand at the cross of Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:26
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.
You need both for true reconciliation.
“Human cruelty is nothing new. It’s why the slave ships and gas chambers of history existed. And it’s why senseless killing persists in our time. Man apart from God acts like an animal and treats others like animals. This is why we need a Savior - to save us from ourselves.“
-Dr. Rice Broocks 5/28/20 Twitter post
Let’s all repent today of our sins that we might find true reconciliation with God and one another.
Let’s turn to a perfect Savior full of both divine justice and mercy to cleanse our hearts and then our world from the destructive path on which it finds itself.
Study
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Second City Church - Justice - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2020