Biblical Justice
BIBLICAL JUSTICE
Romans 12:17-19 (ESV)
17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Last June 4, I sent a clear statement to our church family regarding our position in relation to the tragic death of George Floyd and other injustices that happened recently. I, personally, felt that the statement was necessary in order to show that we, as a church, do not condone the injustices committed by some law enforcers.
However, with the growing unrest, chaos, and confusion in our society, we also felt that we, as a church, need to provide some guidance and Biblical instructions regarding some relevant issues, so we can help guide our people. Last Sunday, Pastor Jeru did a great job starting our sermon series, “Gospel of Reconciliation,” preaching on the topic, “A Vision for the Nation.” It was a message that challenged us to continually evaluate our hearts to make sure that we free ourselves of any racial prejudice and bias. And be more intentional in reaching everyone with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
My topic this morning is about “Biblical Justice.” I know that this is also a big topic that might not be covered in one preaching. But I am hoping that we can at least examine some key Biblical passages in order to know how we ought to respond in relation to what is going on around us. As I address my topic, I know that we are being exposed to so many voices right now. My biggest fear is the presence of social media because people can read and share so much contents without the benefit of vetting everything first. And if we are not careful, it is possible to fall into some positions that do not reflect God’s truth. I trust that we all know that God has revealed His truth to us through the Bible. Jesus Himself said:
John 17:17 (ESV) 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
This statement was part of the Lord’s prayer prior to His arrest and crucifixion. He clearly prayed that God would sanctify or “make believers holy” through the truth of God’s Word. In other words, if we, as believers, want to live in God’s truth, we need to learn and obey the Bible. This is a key verse for us because this is literally one of the strongest passages we use in order to support our conviction that the Bible is the only source of authority for our faith and practice. So, if we want to know how we should live and how we should respond to the things going on around us, we have to go to the Word of God and seek guidance from it.
Having established this truth, I want to use the instructions of the apostle Paul to the Roman believers in order to speak on the topic of “Biblical Justice.” If you are familiar with the structure of how Paul wrote this letter, he spent the first eleven (11) chapters dealing with some critical doctrines directly related to God’s provision of salvation. Then, he spent the last five (5) chapters providing some practical instructions on how Christians ought to live their lives. One important context about our main passage is that Paul wrote this letter during the times of the Roman Empire when the emperors and elite classes of the society perpetrated so many injustices. In fact, it is safe to say that Jesus Himself is one of the victims of these injustices. So, let’s dive into our passage and learn together what the Bible teaches about justice.
I THE BASIC MEANING OF JUSTICE
Before we expound our text, it is important that we first define the word “Justice.” In the Bible, this word is basically emanating from the holy nature of God. Meaning, because God is holy, He will always treat His creatures fairly and righteously. The Psalmist declared this truth is saying:
Psalm 89:14 (ESV) 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
What the Psalmist is conveying in the first part of the verse is that when we look to God as our King or as the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, we would always find Him exercising His authority towards His creatures righteously and justly. He always rules over us without partiality and favoritism. Therefore, whenever we examine the word “Justice” in the Bible, it is basically applied as a relational term. God demonstrates it in His relationship with us.
Now, when God created human beings in His own image, He also built in us the capacity to exercise righteousness and justice as well. However, when man fell into sin, this moral fiber built in him was severely damaged and perverted. Sin caused human beings to have some biases, to oppress others, even take advantage of one another.
Now, in order to help restore justice in human society, God through Moses gave them His Laws. These Laws were designed to provide some guidance on how humans can rightly and justly relate with one another. No wonder when Jesus summarized the Laws of Moses in Matthew 22: 37-40, the relational aspect of it was clearly highlighted.
Vertical Relationship – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Horizontal Relationship – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Of course, out of these laws also came God’s “remunerative justice.” What does it mean? It simply means that God will reward those who obey His Laws and will punish those who disobey them. Listen to these words in Romans 2:6-8 (ESV): 6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
So, the justice of God demands that we treat others rightly and justly. If we seek to do it, God will surely reward us. But if we neglect it, we will be also be punished.
II THE BELIEVER’S MANDATE:
After we have defined what the word “Justice” means in the Bible, let’s proceed to explaining our main text. As we begin, it is important to recognize that since we live in a broken world, where sin and Satan thrive, we can expect people to be victims of injustices. The truth of the matter is that even believers can suffer injustices. For this reason, the apostle Paul provided at least three relevant mandates or commands to all the believers. Here are they:
1. Do Not Strike Back – “Repay no one evil for evil.”
In a Roman society where the culture celebrates strength and retaliation, this command by the apostle Paul would not sit well. But when you ask, “Where did Paul get this idea?” The answer is quite obvious that this came from Jesus Christ Himself.
Matthew 5:38-41 (ESV) 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He clearly provided the basis for Paul’s command. In fact, the Lord Jesus even went to the extent in saying that believers’ go an extra mile – “If the person slaps you on your right cheek, turn the left cheek also . . .” Definitely, such an idea would be laughable to the Romans, but it is what the Lord has taught us.
2. Maintain Your Godly Testimony
The next command comes from these words - “but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” As believers of Jesus Christ, we should not forget that we are “Christ’s ambassadors on earth.” In other words, we are here on earth as representatives on Christ’s Kingdom, and we are tasked to proclaim the Gospel of reconciliation consistently. Paul established this truth in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (ESV): 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Well, being representatives of Jesus Christ, it is plainly mandated that we live honorable lives or God-glorifying lives before everyone around us. Personally, this is the reason why I don’t believe that it is right for Christians to go out in public protests for any reason. I know many of you might disagree with this position. But allow me to explain why I have taken this view. First, the Bible is quite clear about submission to the government. Listen to Paul’s words in Romans 13:1-4 (ESV): 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
If you examine these verses, the most important reason why we ought to be submissive to the government is the fact that God is the one who instituted every human government (v.1), and all government leaders are God’s servant for the citizens’ good (v.4). And if we as believers resist and rebel against the government, we are actually resisting God and will be punished by God Himself.
Of course, Peter and Jesus Himself also share this same position:
1 Peter 2:13-15 (From Peter) 13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Matthew 22:21 (From Jesus Christ) 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
As many of us are familiar with, the Roman government had imposed oppressive taxes to the people that caused many families to sell their children to slavery, but you don’t find Jesus mobilizing protests and revolutions. Instead, He still propagated submission to the government. If ever there is a reason for believers to disobey the government, it is only when the government is asking us to disobey God (Acts 4:19)
Then, my next reason is that I will not partner with unbelievers with evil agendas. The Bible plainly states:
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (ESV) 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
With the many protests that we see today, it is undeniable that evil people with ungodly agendas mobilize them. Listen to me with an open heart. I do believe that black lives matter, and I do believe with all my heart that they deserve to be treated with equity and great respect. But, I will keep myself distant from the Black Lives Matter Organization. Why? It is because they are an anti-government, anti-family, and anti-God organization. Now, I am not saying that all their causes are bad, but they certainly have some clear agenda stated in their BLM Manifesto that go against my Biblical convictions. You see Satan’s approach in entrapping us is not by putting out all lies. His most effective scheme is by mixing truth and error. And that is exactly what BLM does. They have some good causes, no doubt about it; but some of the things they push cannot bring honor and glory to God. And for this reason, I will not support the group. For my last reason, I will have to tie it up with my third sub-point.
3. Always Seek Peace
The third mandate that Paul gave is - “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” I believe Pastor Jeru last Sunday made this statement that we as God’s people should be peacemakers. And his statement is consistent with what Paul said in our main text. When you read this verse, it is quite clear that the burden of bringing peace in our society is placed upon us – “so far as it depends on you.” The point is that we need to exert our best efforts to live peaceably with all people. Of course, sometimes, peace does not happen because of the attitudes and responses of other people, but we should never be the cause of conflicts or troubles. Jesus supports this truth in His teachings on the Beatitudes, saying:
Matthew 5:9 (ESV) 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Going back to my third reason why I don’t believe in protests is that Satan can easily use them as instruments to sow chaos, disorder, and civil disobedience. God’s people should not be identified with such appearances of evil.
III THE BENEVOLENT MAGISTRATE
Finally, the apostle Paul also provides the main reason why we can be comfortable with the earlier mandates—such as we should not strike back, we should maintain good testimony, and always seek peace—is because the appropriate justice will be executed by God Himself. Paul said in verse 19 – “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Do you believe that God can appropriately deal with evil people who abuse their authority, and exploit the poor and vulnerable? I trust that all of us believe that God is powerful enough to intervene with anyone who is not just in his or her treatments of others. King Solomon clearly conveyed this truth in Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 (ESV): 16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.
I want to emphasize the phrase in verse 17 that says, “for there is a time.” Indeed, God has set a specific time to judge and deal with all injustices once and for all.
Now, while we wait for God’s timing, we don’t have to be passive. We have to be committed to do at least three things:
1. Pray for the Victims of Injustice.
Hebrews 13:3 (ESV) 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
The word “Remember” in this verse can be applied to praying for them and ministering to them. So, praying is not enough. We need to find opportunities to help and minister to them in the name of Jesus Christ.
2. Actively Find Ministries to Help the Vulnerable.
Besides Hebrews 13:3, there are so many verses in the Bible exhorting to love our neighbors and find tangible ways to help them. The story of Jesus about the Good Samaritan is classic in relation to this truth (Luke 10:27-37). What is great in this story is that the religious people (Priest, Levite), who came along first, failed to help; while the Samaritan who was considered the enemy was the one who helped. What’s the lesson, we as a Christian community should lead in ministering to the helpless.
3. Advocate for the Victims of Injustice
As believers, we also need to find lawful ways to defend and speak on behalf of the victims of injustice because the Bible commands us to do so:
Psalm 82:3 (NIV) 3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Instead of protests, there are many Christian organizations we can partner with, like the Christian Legal Society and others who help defend worthy causes.
In closing, my challenge for all us is never to lose sight of our main purpose today as believers. At the end of the day, we are called to bring Jesus Christ in this dark and sinful generation. He is the only one who can bring real change in the lives of people and in this world. Let’s continue to proclaim Him and never lose hope knowing that all these brokenness around us will be made right in His time.
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana