Woke Church Pt 2

INTRO

This is a time for true followers of Jesus to not only pay attention, but to think strategically about applying the Word of God to all the issues that we are confronted with.

Paul warns us to be “woke”:

- Eph5:14 (NLT) for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

challenge us to think biblically and theologically about the things that are important to the heart of God that will then inform us when it comes time to cast our mail-in/absentee ballots!

imago dei.

The image of God is the special status that all human beings have as those made to reflect our Creator’s character and commissioned to carry out his purposes in the world.

1st Discussion Question

As we are made in the image of God & human life has value, we have to understand, then, that God has certain expectations for how those made in His image are to be treated.

Murder is prohibited because all people bear God’s image (Gen 9:6).

In the New Testament the same motive is given for avoiding slander (Jas 3:9).

Treating others as “less than” Col3:10-11

Micah 6:8 NKJV

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Which brings up the issue of justice

Isaiah 30:18 NKJV

18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.

The world has developed different approaches & understanding of how it defines justice.

But it would be wrong to think that the biblical justice simply combines elements of each into some type of synthesis of these traditions.

Biblically, justice is the equal treatment of all human beings solely for the reason that as human they possess bestowed worth from God.

In the Bible, justice is closely associated with ‘righteousness’ (meaning ‘straight’ or ‘norm’), and both are directly derived from God’s revealed character and perceived through his words and particular divine acts in human history.

Psalm 33:4–5 NKJV

4 For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

God is active in his care for the whole world, but he especially acts to aid the poor, weak, vulnerable, and oppressed in bringing his justice and righteousness to help them.

One of the main aspects of a Biblical view of Biblical Justice is the issue of Equity: Everyone must be treated equally and with dignity

· Lev 24:22 - “You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.’ ”

· Isa 33:15 - “Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—

· Examples: bribes, unfair business practices, unfair wages, unjust scales, cutting corners, providing inferior products in order to make money but not serve customers; all of these are indicative of, and what creates, inequity in a society

Isaiah 61:8 NKJV

8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant.

Deuteronomy 27:19 NKJV

19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

A distinctive of biblical justice is its inseparable connection with God’s mercy, compassion, and love.

As God’s people, we are to practice the kind of justice that characterizes God’s mercy/justice and righteousness (Isa. 1:17), with the exception that we are never to retaliate vengefully against those who harm us, since God has reserved vengeance for himself alone (Rom. 12:19)

Isaiah 1:17 NKJV

17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

2nd Discussion Question

God desires people made in His image to be treated with equity & justice.

Jeremiah 22:3 NKJV

3 Thus says the Lord: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

What are some of the areas / current social or political issues that this theological understanding might address?

Further, biblical mercy/justice is dominated by the principle of redress, which postulates that inequalities in the conditions necessary to achieve the standard of wellbeing be corrected to approximate equality. “According to each one’s need” became the basis for redress as seen in the early church (Acts 4:35). [1]

[1] Johnson, A. F. (2009). Gender and Justice in the New Testament. Priscilla Papers Volume 23, 23(1), 21.

True reconciliation requires that restitution is made first!

One of the main aspects of a Biblical view of Biblical Justice is the issue of Equity: Everyone must be treated equally and with dignity

· Lev 24:22 - “You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.’ ”

· Isa 33:15 - “Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—

· Examples: bribes, unfair business practices, unfair wages, unjust scales, cutting corners, providing inferior products in order to make money but not serve customers; all of these are indicative of, and what creates, inequity in a society

3rd Discussion Question

What are some groups that we, as the capital-C Church need to reconsider how we treat in light of the imago dei & God’s standards for justice?

Amos 5:23–24 NKJV

23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. 24 But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.