The Biblical Theme of Justice

Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. Learn more.

Key Points:

• In the beginning, God created human beings in his image. We were designed to rule over the rest of creation according to his, not our, standard of good and evil (Genesis 1:26). This is the bedrock of the Bible’s view of justice: all humans are equal before God.
• It would be nice if all people treated each other as equally valuable before God, but that’s not the way the world works, and the Bible shows again and again how human beings are constantly redefining God’s definition of justice to meet our own advantages. It’s all about self-preservation: the weaker someone is, the easier they are to take advantage of.
• Out of this mess, God chose Abraham to teach his family to keep the way of the lord by doing righteousness and justice. But what does it mean to do “righteousness?” In Biblical Hebrew, the word “tsadakah” (צדקה) refers to ethical relationships between people – treating others as God’s image-bearers.
• The Biblical Hebrew word for “justice” is “mishpat” (משפט) and most often in the Old Testament (OT) refers to “restorative justice.” Restorative justice is about seeking out the oppressed and downtrodden and helping them, and not only this, but changing the social structures to prevent further injustice (Proverbs 31:8-9).
• Justice and righteousness are about a radical, selfless way of life. Wickedness – “rasha” (רשע) – is the opposite. Rasha refers to someone who mistreats other people, ignoring their dignity as an image-bearer of God.
• Justice and righteousness matter tremendously to God, and it’s what Abraham and his family – later to become the nation of Israel – were supposed to be all about. Ironically, the Israelites, who God freed from slavery in Egypt, later became oppressors themselves.
• Some people actively take part in injustice, while others accept that privileges and advantages of unjust social practices which they take for granted. History has shown that when the oppressed gain power, they often become oppressors themselves.
• Actively, passively, and even unintentionally, we all participate in some degree of injustice. We are all guilty, and God’s response to this guilt was to give us Jesus, who did perfect righteousness and justice.
• Jesus now offers his life to the guilty so that they can become righteous because of what he did for them. The earliest Christians sought righteousness and justice for others – and this often came with consequences (Acts 7). But this is what Jesus meant when he called his listeners to love their neighbors as themselves.

Quote This:

Micah 6:8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.