WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY?
JUSTICE But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:24 And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 Who is not in favour of justice? We want to see justice done, we want the just outcome, it is inarguable. But justice is never inevitable, it is always fought for, frequently contested, and easily sidelined. Justice too often loses out to convenience, it is the forgotten child of complexity, and is restricted to the realm of rhetoric over reality. But justice is the beating heart of the Christian who wants their faith to impact the world around them, it is unavoidable. As Tim Keller points out by quoting Jonathan Edwards: “Where have we any command in the Bible laid down in stronger terms, and in a more peremptory urgent manner, than the command of giving to the poor?” Keller goes on to say: “such ministry flows directly out of historic evangelical teaching … the Spirit enables us to understand what Christ has done for us, the result is a life poured out in deeds of justice and compassion for the poor.”43 Evangelical Christians have not always had the clearest commitment to justice. To some it became synonymous with the abandonment of theological convictions and
24
the marginalisation of the gospel. In more recent years, however, it has been reclaimed not as an alternative to the centrality of Jesus’ saving work, but as a vital outworking of faith in action.
THE ORIGINS OF JUSTICE Justice is making things right, and the entire biblical story echoes God’s overarching work of justice. God wants the people He created to return to a right relationship with Him and to flourish throughout their lives. There are many things which hinder this work: our own action; the actions of others; the circumstances of our birth; the wrong doing of ruling authorities; the harshness of a world bearing the scars of the fall. We need justice because things are not right. Throughout scripture God calls His people back to Him, He rescues the people of Israel from Egypt, He gives them laws and commandments to guide them, a king when that’s what they want, and instructions to care for the vulnerable in and outside of their community. Considering the Hebrew word for justice, mishpat, Keller says: “If you look at every place the word is used in the
