To Understand Justice (1)

Introduction

I don’t think I have heard the word justice used so many times and in so many competing ways as I have over the course of the last few years.

It is used with increasing volume and decreasing definition.

As we will see, definitions are critical in such matters. It’s like when you go up north and ask for sweet tea. Both of those words are ones they understand but when they bring it to you, you find that while you thought you were quite clear in what you asked for, you now wish you had been clearer.

Let’s take that one step further. When we go on using words like justice, mercy, etc. without defining them, some very peculiar things happen. On the one hand, we can pretend we agree where we are in fact very opposed to one another. But likewise, we may find that we are accused of being against the very thing we are for.

Good and evil are really simple sounding terms, but who defines them makes all the difference (Isa. 5:20).

But we have all been called to “do justice” and so we had better know what we have been called to do and we better not just take the most recent definition, whatever that may be.

Defining Justice

Justice is what is right (Gen. 18:25).

It involves rules to be followed (Ex. 24:3; Deut. 16:16-22).

It is fairly weighing evidence and applying those ordinances (Lev. 19:35).

It is using true measurements to determine what is accurate (Job 31:6).

It is rigorous impartiality (Lev. 19:35).

It demands consistency (Ex. 21:9, 31).

It is about what someone deserves (Ezek. 5:8; Deut. 19:6).

Some are more likely to suffer injustice (Deut. 27:19).

Do (Justice) Unto Others...

The application of Matthew 7:12 is obviously very broad.

How would you design a system of justice? (Matt. 7:1-5).

“The legal philosopher Rawls put it this way: design the ideal society in your mind without knowing where in that society you will be born. This is the same approach taken by a wise mother who tells her son to cut up the pie for all the kids—and adds that he will take the last piece after everyone else has chosen.” Justice: A Primer - Wilson & Booth

Are you comfortable with the responsibilities you’ve given everyone?

Are you comfortable with the rights you’ve given to everyone?

Are you comfortable with the consequences you’ve laid out for various types of behavior?

Are you comfortable with how you have defined admissible evidence?

Are you comfortable no matter where you sit?

Haman gives us a graphic illustration of this principle (Esther 6:7-10; 7:3-10).

How do we react when our inconsistency is exposed (2 Sam. 12:13).

Conclusion

We have just begun to scratch the surface here.

We have considered a handful of the couple hundred references to justice in scripture.

I hope it is enough for us to already see some distinctions between the way it is being used in a modern context and the way it is used in scripture.

I also hope that we see a need to step back from the rank partisan form of justice that is so in vogue.

The world is confused, but God is not. If you want to escape the chaos, you will not find a “side” out there that offers such a path. Only here can you reconcile the desire for justice and the need for mercy.