One of the challenges we face is that we’ve lost sight of what “justice” is, both in its general use, and also how it is used in the Bible.

This is why talk of “seeking justice” sounds a bit foreign to many Christians in the western world. I mean, what’s the first thing you think about when you hear the word “justice”?

Commonly, it’s a protest on a city street, with people chanting What do we want? JUSTICE!!

Or it may be something from the court reporter. The criminal is sentenced. The wayward corporate will pay the price. The abuser gets his due.

Christians may think of how the Day will come when all wrongs will be made right and justice will finally be done through Jesus Christ.

No wonder we’re confused! Is this about punishment and retribution? Are we supposed to take God’s work of justice into our own hands? None of these sound like particularly Christian things to do!

So, why should Christians be seeking justice today? Why don’t we hear much about that in typical evangelical/protestant churches?

Before we go on, I should say that some churches are pretty switched on about biblical justice, and what it means for Christians today. After working in a justice focused NGO for the last five years, however, I have to say there are so many churches that really have zero focus on seeking justice. Why is that?

Part of the answer is we’ve lost sight of how the Bible speaks about justice. The Bible’s use of the word “justice” is more nuanced than how we use it today. And obviously, if we’re thinking about seeking justice, we really need to be guided by Scripture rather than limit Scripture’s meaning with our own assumptions.

To get our heads around this, have a look at Psalm 72. Notice, first, that “justice” and “righteousness” are often used together here. This is a really common thing in the Old Testament: 79 times, with 10 of these in the Psalms and 15 in Isaiah).

Second, look at how “justice” in Psalm 72 can lead to really positive outcomes:

• “May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.” (Psalm 72:4, NIV)
• “For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.” (Psalm 72:12–14, NIV)

It’s too much to go into right now, but one thing is crystal clear in the Old Testament: God really cares when those who are poor and vulnerable are subjected to violence and oppression. Some writers have noted how close to the heart of God are “the quartet of the vulnerable” – the poor, the fatherless, the widow and the foreigner¹. I’ll outline the justice narrative of Scripture in a few posts down the track – but let’s just note how God called his people to ensure vulnerable people were protected. There are oodles of examples of this call in Scripture. For starters though, check out Ex 22:21-22; Deut 5:15-16). You were oppressed in Egypt … so honour me be ensuring you never oppress others!

So “seeking justice” for God’s people in the Old Testament was not just something they thought about when injustice required it – it was a way of life for God’s people. It was so central to what it meant to be the People of God that when they lived unjustly, or neglected the vulnerable, or when they allowed injustice to exist in their communities, it rendered all their worship as offensive to God (see Isaiah 1:1-15; 58:1-7; Amos 5:1-15).

When we see the broad sweep of justice teaching in Scripture, it’s clear that not only are wrongdoers to be restrained and held to account, their victims are to be rescued from their oppressive predicament, placed in situations where they will thrive, and protected from ever being oppressed again.

See, the Bible’s teaching shows us that justice is more than punitive: it is gloriously restorative. Justice involves repair and restitution. When God’s people seek justice, want the oppressor held to account, but they also want to see the most vulnerable protected and thriving in new freedom. This full orbed understanding of justice is not well understood by Christians today.

So, why don’t we hear a lot about “seeking justice”? Many Christian teachers and pastors have lost sight of the Bible’s teaching. We don’t understand how “seeking justice” connects with the New Testament or Jesus’ Cross and Resurrection. I don’t think any of this is intentional – it’s just how things have developed.

What we really need to do is gain a clear understanding of what Scripture really says about justice, and how that clearly connects with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Once we do that, we’ll be in a position to see how God calls Christians and churches today to embed the pursuit of justice as a core component of ministry, mission, and Christian life itself.

Notes

1. see Tim Keller, Generous Justice, Chapter One “What is Doing Justice?”, London:2010, and Nicholas Wolterstorff, Justice: Rights and Wrongs, Princeton:2008