Justice: The Church and Eternal Justice
We have just two more “perspectives on justice” to cover as we continue our Biblical Anthropology series…
#6 – The Church
Everyone looks to some kind of “authority” for answers. The world these days often looks to anthropologists, sociologists, and other experts, especially in the area of justice. The Church, however, points to the Word of God, teaching and preaching in the power of the Spirit.
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
1 Timothy 3:14-15
Author Jon Harris has pointed out that the world’s new prophets are critical theorists, the new prophets are the media, the new clerics are the community organizers – the activists.
In the church, we celebrate Communion, remembering the completed work of Christ. But for the world, there is no “completed work”, no forgiveness. In the church, we celebrate baptism, meditating on the new life and future hope that we have in Christ. In the world, trust is placed in the experts, or the government. Or a future better government.
In the church, we work for justice according to God’s Word. And we start with the human heart. In the world, people seek power and control in order to enforce their version of justice, which in many cases is simply the freedom to sin against God. And it ends up being power in the hands of the few. It ends up being the “official narrative”.
Something to think about. What do you see when you look at the mainstream news? For example, how often do you hear about the thousands of abortions that happen each hour, and about the damage that they are causing to the bodies of so many women?
When I first shared this at our church, just over a year ago, I asked if anyone had heard the recent report from the InterSociety Nigeria, that in 200 days almost 3500 Christians had been brutally murdered in that one country? I don’t think anyone had heard about it, and yet in a just society, would it not be huge news?
No, we are usually only permitted to hear the official story, whatever that may be at the time.
As a local church, we must seek truth and justice. It’s not easy! But we can start with our own families. And our own communities. How can we help them?
As a local church, it is our job to share the truth of the gospel, because only transformed hearts can really transform a society. Because, as we’ve talked about before, it’s Christ or chaos.
The church and the Christian family can stand in opposition to the confusion and injustice of the world. But when we do stand against injustice, it will not be easy.
The world wants to divide us. “Burn it all down”. But the local church seeks to unite in Christ. And we’ll be talking about that more in a later post.
#7 – Eternal Justice
We believe that our future hope is not found in a future world, created by a powerful government, or by certain brilliant experts. We believe in perfect justice, brought by Jesus Christ.
What does God say about His Messiah?
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
Isaiah 42:1
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Revelation 19:15-16
Will guilty people escape the justice of this world? Yes. Will guilty people escape God’s justice? Never.
Remember the story that Jesus told, about the rich man and Lazarus? What did Abraham say to the rich man who was suffering in tormet? “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.” (Luke 16:25)
And remember, without Christ, we are all guilty. We need His forgiveness. And when we have it, how wonderful it is! We don’t have to defend ourselves and pretend that we’re perfect just people in ourselves. But of course, as Christians, we do work towards a good reputation as people who are obedient to the Lord.
Next time we’re going to talk more about the topic of racism, which is of course a major justice topic of our day. And we’ll see how we can practise justice and promote justice in our world. Yes, we talk about many false perspectives. But our ultimate goal is to promote true justice, right? And we have a lot fo work to do.
