Justice: Salvation and Earthly Authorities

It seems like we’re making slow progress on the topic of justice (part of our Biblical Anthropology series), but these issues are certainly important. So far we’ve looked at justice from three perspectives – truth, the imago dei (image of God), and the law. But let’s continue with #4 – salvation.

#4 – Salvation

What do I mean by “salvation”? Forgiveness of sin through our Lord Jesus. Freedom from those burdens of the past, so that we can live for the Lord with joy.

You will not find final forgiveness anywhere else.

Now, remember, the world is building on the foundations that God has given us, but their building a house of truth mixed with lies. And so you often hear these kinds of phrases from the world:

• Love your neighbour
• Social justice
• equality and equity
• security
• helping the most vulnerable
• rights

And when Christians hear these things, at least the majority of them, they say “Amen!”. These are Christian concepts. From the Bible.

But here’s the problem. Each one of these words and concepts is redefined by the world. And so when you don’t agree with the world, they shoot at you from their ruined headquarters. “You don’t love your neighbour!” “You’re against equality and equity!” But the world defines what these things mean, rejecting God’s own definitions.

Salvation, according to the world, must come through activism. And very often we look to a government to “save” us. Or we tear down a government and create a new one, a new “messiah”. Oops – that didn’t work. Let’s tear it down again.

And according to many, there is only salvation in continual redistribution and continual lamentation/repentance, – on and on it must go, because we can only find complete forgiveness and salvation in the finished work of Christ. Any other source must be continual works and never any peace.

#5 – Earthly Authorities

The world longs for justice. And we have the answer. We know how to apply justice, because we have God’s Word. And as Christians, we know that someday God will bring perfect justice.

But if you reject God, you need perfect justice now.

Let’s look at it this way. Do you remember the law about witnesses in the Bible?

A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

Deuteronomy 19:15

Think about this for a moment. Are there always 2-3 witnesses to every crime? Of course not. And so, if the government obeys God’s law, some criminals will escape.

“It’s not fair!” Fine, but we know that all will be judged by God, the perfect Judge with perfect justice.

So what is God doing, giving us this law? Why even bother with justice in this life?

God is giving us partial justice and order in the world, while protecting the innocent.

If there is reasonable doubt – we don’t condemn!

But the world wants complete justice – now. Now, because the world has rejected God. And so the end justifies the means. And so we shame people on social media, if someone seems guilty to us. And so we create so-called “hate laws”, because we believe that we must judge how people think (as if we know). We must judge the motivations of the heart.

Without the final justice of God, we ourselves must find a way to judge hearts and minds, not just actions.

The world must find a way to perfectly understand history, and correct all the injustices of all times – and correct them now.

But no one can take God’s place. There are – there must be – limits to earthly justice.

The Bible warns us:

You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

Leviticus 19:15

But the world says no – the government must take (steal) from the rich, and give to the poor, because everyone must be equal in every way. And yes, the government can steal using taxes. And yes, stealing from the rich is still stealing.

“You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great…”

We know that earthly justice has its limits. But we also know that God will bring perfect justice.

It is wrong for a rich person to steal. It is wrong for a poor person to steal. How do we know? We have God’s law.

But God also tells us to defend the oppressed, and we’ll talk about that more later. The law must apply to everyone, but injustice tends to attack certain people, right? The “vulnerable”, orphans, and so on. And so we do have work to do to especially protect certain people. Why? In order to make sure that the law is being equally applied to all, because in many cases it is not.

Recently I had reason to learn a little more about the legal system in Canada, a system that still retains many Christian values (in spite of its many problems). A lot of things in Canada’s legal system are set up so that everyone can have access – even the person who is not well-spoken, even the person without connections, even the person without resources. Why? Because the law should apply equally to all, and should favour neither rich or poor.

Two more “perspectives on justice” to go! See you next time.