God is Justice

Inspired by the Africa Study Bible Article titled, “Justice – A Foundation for Biblical Peace”.

When you think of the term “justice”, what comes to mind? Equality? The government? Maybe crusades, marches, or protests? Social media posts or cardboard posters? The supreme courts? War and violence? Peace and unity? Justice has become a jumbled subject. No one really knows what it truly means. Everyone has their own idea of what justice is and their own picture of what it should look like based on their opinions and experiences. God defines justice. God is justice (Psalm 89:14), as the Africa Study Bible tells us. Many people blame God for the terrible times that they have walked through. They shake their finger at God for “allowing” something bad to happen to them, when in reality, God is not the one to blame. He never was the one to blame and never will be. We are.

Contrary to popular belief, God is not a big, magical creature in the sky that punishes people with his magic wand. Only good things come from God (James 1:17). If it’s not good, it’s not from God – it’s from evil. Humans are evil, not good. Many people have been taught that humans are good at the core, and that’s simply not true, or people would not continue to make such horrible, clearly evil choices. Humans have let the master deceitfulness, Satan, take God’s rightful place in their hearts, and that is why evil seems to be the winner. God gave us free will to choose what we want to do in this life. He did not make humans into his army of robots that obey his orders. Therefore, murder, school shootings, theft, drunk driving, rape, etc. are our reality. Satan is running wild in our world whether we want to acknowledge it or not.

How do we know what justice looks like? We look to the Bible, of course. The Bible often speaks of justice and peace together as mutually exclusive elements, especially in the book of Isaiah, as the Africa Study Bible explains. The Hebrew word for “peace” is “shalom”, meaning that there is harmony in ALL aspects of life, not just an absence of violence. If we want shalom, we must seek justice. Dr Martin Luther King Jr, one of the greatest advocates for and teachers of justice to ever live, said that peace is defined as the presence of justice.

“Without justice, there can be a ceasefire but not real peace. But when there is justice in a society, there will peace.” ASB page 1067

–AFRICA STUDY BIBLE ARTICLE, “JUSTICE – A FOUNDATION FOR BIBLICAL PEACE”.

Our view of justice has been skewed by the world for several reasons. First, it is often used when referring to individual rights. Justice is about community. It is much harder to “even out” the scale of equality when there dealing with a bunch of individuals in comparison to the people as a whole. There is too much room for bias and/or error. Second, the criminal justice system is broken. Criminals are not treated in the way that God would treat them because the system does not use the Bible as their base. The Africa Study Bible says that biblical justice is about restoration, NOT punishment. God’s heart is for restoration to occur. Thirdly, people often use justice with malicious intentions that come from a place of revenge. It should be about finding the disconnect that is disrupting the shalom, working together to fix it, and educating each other so that the same issue does not happen again.

The world is broken, as we know, so we cannot expect for justice to ever be perfect until Jesus comes and makes things right again. However, we as Christians can set the example and show others the amazing results that come from biblical justice. We can put on love, mercy, righteousness, and truth. We can act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God until it shows and proves the difference. As with any other issue in the world, we can look to Jesus for the perfect example of how we are to act. Jesus was an amazing social justice advocate as he was friends with sinners, sought out the least of these, touched the sick, and gave to the poor. He did things that everyone else refused to do. He was made fun of and frowned upon for the way he conducted his ministry. There was a lot of injustice happening in Jesus’s day, and people got so frustrated with him for simply being a friend and protecting the value of human life. We should actively seek justice because justice is not lazy. There is power in prayer specifically for God to bring justice in his way. People will take note of Christians who stand for justice rightfully. It is vital to remember that justice involves and encompasses everyone. Without love, there is no justice. Without justice, there is no peace. Without Jesus, there is nothing at all.

This excerpt is inspired by an Article of the Africa Study Bible titled “”. Africa Study Bible Articles are about the Christian life and critical concerns that face the church in Africa and its people. The articles help you understand how to apply the bible to a specific area of life where God’s wisdom is needed.

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