"Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely” (Proverbs 28:5 esv). There is a lot of talk nowadays about “social justice.” Usually, such discussions revolve around groups who are oppressed in one way or another and who are actively fighting for their rights. The Bible has much to say about this subject, so this week, let’s consider what biblical justice looks like, and next week, Lord willing, we’ll find that God is the ultimate embodiment of justice, so it is only when we truly “seek the Lord,” that we will begin to “understand it completely.”

The degree to which God expects and even demands that we practice justice is evident from biblical statements such as: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8 esv) and “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:42 esv). Doing justice is among the chief requirements for us as God’s people. So, how can we obey God’s command to “do justice”? Many Bible passages define and explain what justice looks like in both positive and negative terms. 

Doing justice involves judging with right judgment. When Jesus commanded us, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (John 7:24 esv), he was citing Deuteronomy 16:18–20. It reads, “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment... Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (esv). Deuteronomy equates judging with right judgment and justice, particularly in the context of Israel’s legal system (cf. 2 Samuel 8:15; 1 Kings 3:28). But Jesus’s statement broadens and applies the same principle to our treatment of others. He never tells us not to make any judgment calls at all (although Matthew 7:1 does condemn a haughty and judgmental attitude toward others), but he tells us to make judgment calls rightly. When we learn to judge justly in this way, we are preparing ourselves for the role God has in store for us in eternity: “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?” (1 Corinthians 6:2).

Doing justice involves not being partial to the majority, the wealthy, or the wicked. Deuteronomy further specifies the meaning of justice when it says, “You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality...” (16:19 esv). If we’re not careful, we easily can become partial in our treatment of others based on appearances (John 7:24), social pressures, money, or a number of other self-serving motives. Such influences can easily prevent us from acting justly toward others. “You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice” (Exodus 23:2 esv). We must be careful not to neglect God’s standards of right and wrong because of what the crowds around us are doing. This is true even, and perhaps especially, in our treatment of others. The next verse in Exodus argues that cases are to be decided based on what is fair and just, rather than on social status or monetary incentives (cf. James 2:1-9). Deuteronomy 16:19 continues, “...you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous” (esv). Proverbs 18:5 aptly summarizes, “It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice” (esv).

Doing justice involves not taking advantage of the vulnerable. “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge” (Deuteronomy 24:17). To demand that a widow give you her only outer garment because you provided her with  food or some other necessity, is both unkind and unfair. In the following verse, God issues a reminder that every single one of us is desperately in need of his protection and care. Thus, it is always unfair and unjust to take advantage of those who depend on us. God condemned the people of Isaiah’s day who would “...turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!” (Isaiah 10:2 esv). The Pharisees were equally in the wrong when they manipulated God’s law in order to avoid caring for their parents in their old age (Mark 7:9-13).

Doing justice involves maintaining the cause of the afflicted and needy. The Psalmist pleads in Psalm 82:3, “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (esv). Isaiah 1:17 commands that we “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (esv). This is far more than simply not taking advantage or doing wrong to those who are vulnerable. Rather, we are to actively pursue justice on their behalf. Paul admonishes in Acts 20:35, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak...” (esv). This means that we are to go out of our way to advocate for those who are less privileged than we are. 

But notice where the impetus lies here. The Scriptures never instruct the oppressed to fight for their own rights. That might come as a shock to us as 21st century Americans, because fighting for our own rights has become the rallying cry of our modern society. But the Scriptures never instruct us to fight for our own rights. When we find ourselves afflicted, oppressed, and beaten down by unfair and unjust circumstances, we are commanded only to entrust ourselves to God (1 Peter 2:23; 4:19). I would dare say that protests, rallies, political action, legal action, and the like are not God’s solution.

This is why doing justice as we’ve just described is so crucial. God promises to hear the cries of the oppressed and he promises vindication on their behalf (Exodus 22:22-24). But if those of us who are richly blessed by God would devote ourselves to maintaining the rights and the causes of people who are less privileged than we are, not by worldly means, but through compassion, through prayer, through the sanctifying power of the Gospel, and through humble service, then God would not have to wait until eternity to fulfill his promises to them. When we are obedient to his command to do justice, he will use us to fulfill his promises to those in need.

Rusty Taylor