God's Concern For Human Justice

God's Concern For Human Justice Amos 5:24 In life, there are many instances when something will look one way, but is actually another. Magicians are great at this. The news is guilty of it. Gifted speakers are good at making people believe something that isn't really as it appears. But there's also just times when your mind and eyes can fool you. One such time was when I took my first fishing trip to Kilby Lake in Montello, WI. I about 13 when my Uncle first took me up there. He had a little johnboat, so we loaded it up with our fishing stuff and set out. After a few minutes of rowing, my uncle asked me to look down. I did, and all I saw was weeds growing on the bottom of the water. I thought to myself, "Man, this is a shallow lake," but oh, was I wrong. My Uncle asked me how deep those weeds were. "Oh, two, three feet tops," I said. "Nope," my uncle replied. "The tops of those weeds are actually 30 feet deep!" I couldn't believe it. Honestly, I thought he was lying until we started fishing, and my lure kept sinking and sinking. It looked like I could have reached down and grabbed those weeds, but my eyes deceived me. Water can be funny like that. It can be so clear it's misleading. Water can be so dirty you can't see through it. Water can be choppy on the surface, yet calm below. Water can be gentle, and it can destroy. Water sustains life, but can also take life. People can also be compared to water. Not only are our bodies mostly made up of water, but like water, the more people that come together, the stronger they seem to get. A stream can be gentle and quiet, but when more streams are added, that stream becomes a river. When people come together to help, like many streams coming together to form a river, there's almost no obstacle that can stand in its way. Even solid rock can be split in half when water continues to run on it. Most people behave like water; they flow around any obstacles they encounter. Those stones may hinder your path, but eventually, you'll flow past them. And therein lies the secret to the waters strength; it cannot be touched. You can beat water with your fists or take a hammer and pound that water, but the water doesn't care. The sharpest knife can't cut water, and the strongest sword ever made still can't scare its surface. Wouldn't it be nice if you could be described like water? Well, you can be if you have faith and trust in the right source. That takes us to today's verse from Amos 5:24, "But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" Justice and righteousness are going to reflect its source. Righteousness only comes from God, who "loves righteousness and justice," as Psalm 106:3 says. Ecclesiastes 3:17 explains that "God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work." Only God is truly righteous, so only God can be truly just. But what we've seen happening in the world today is that people like to take the last part of that verse, "a time for every matter and for every work," and they get tired of waiting and decide to do the work themselves. As time passes and it seems to be as vast as the ocean, people have forgotten that their source is God, and have deemed it necessary to change laws and take justice into their own hands. Wallace Stevens was an American poet around the turn of the 19th century, and he said, "Human nature is like water. It takes the shape of its container." I don't know if he knew just how right he was. People who redefine laws and seek their own justice do damage because they're reflecting their source. If your source is yourself, you'll always have choppy waters because you can't be righteous in and of yourself. But for Christians, you "will draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3). Jesus, who is our righteous and just God, said in John 7:38, "Whoever believes in Me, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." For followers of Christ, the shape of their container is cross-shaped because they are led by the Holy Spirit and reflect Christ in everything they do. But for unbelievers, their container can take on any shape that suits them for the moment, which leads to a warped vision where things don't look as they should. America was founded by Christian principles, but its shape has changed over the years because its source has changed. Rather than looking up and bearing its cross, this country has tried to empty God out of everything, all to make room for whatever else they desire. And as a result, marriage is being redefined, abortion is no longer murder, and violence erupts like it did the other week in Washington D.C. America, Americans, and our leaders need to repent and come back to God because God is the only solution. When God is your source, "justice will roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream" because out of you will flow "rivers of living water." So, how are we to "let justice roll on like a river?" Let me share with you 3-things in the Bible that addresses God's Concern For Human Justice. First, God shows His concern for human justice By Commanding It. In Isaiah 56:1, God tells us to "Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is close at hand and My righteousness will soon be revealed." Here in Isaiah, God addressed Israel by commanding them to maintain justice because His people are to reflect the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." By reflecting God, Israel separated themselves from their foreign neighbors and their false gods. That same command is for us today. God's salvation and righteousness have been revealed in Jesus Christ, and His command to "maintain justice and do what is right" still stands because Christians are to reflect God in everything we do. As the Bible says in Romans 13:7, "Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority." God's justice and righteousness are connected, so if America wants to enjoy extraordinary privileges and expect extraordinary favor, then we must do the will of God, which is to separate ourselves from ungodliness, reflect God in everything we do, and "maintain justice and do what is right," so "justice will roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream." Second, God shows His concern for human justice By Commending Its Maintenance. We are to maintain justice by ordering our lives according to God's Word. Psalm 106:3 says, "Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right." If you desire to do God's will and be blessed, then "act justly and do what is right" by following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. The same is true for any nation. If a nation wants God's blessing, then that nation must do what is right by God's standards by reflecting the One who is righteous and just, the Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a time where people live for pop culture rather than a Christian culture. Where people hang on every word famous people say and watch everything they do. Nike has been a popular brand, but ever since NBA star LeBron James began endorsing Nike, Nike's sales have skyrocketed. There are many makeup brands on the shelves, but because Ellen DeGeneres supports Covergirl, millions of people will only buy that brand. People are trying to maintain their lives by watching what others do. Acting justly doesn't mean religiously following someone, and doing what is right does not mean doing what others say is right. People are sinful, and acting justly for one person may be different for another because their standard of justice is different. Whatever their source of thinking is will determine their standard of justice. That is why we must always look to the source of everything, our Creator God whose standard of justice is Himself. Most of you are familiar with Micah 6:8, which says, "What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." To "act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly" is not optional; God requires it! Micah 6:8 is also not negotiable. Unlike water, you can't stuff this verse into a container and make it look any way you want it to. If you want "to act justly and love mercy," then you must walk humbly with your God and humble yourself. The word humble has its origin in the Latin word humilis, meaning "low." Proverbs 11:2 says, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Humility, or being humble, is to have the wisdom that God is wiser than you are. To "walk humbly with your God" means having a reverence for Christ. In the Bible, reverence is an action verb meaning respect. You must actively respect God and accept who He says He is. Only by doing that will human justice be maintained, both in our individual lives and as a nation. Third, God shows His concern for human justice By Condemning Its Neglect. God's Word gives us a sobering reminder in Malachi 3:5 when God says, "'At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear Me,' says the LORD of Heaven's Armies." People are forgetting what Psalm 89:14 says, that "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God's throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before You." "Faithfulness and love" go before God, so before we or this nation wants to live before God, we must repent and come to God's love as faithful citizens desiring God's mercy and righteousness, so His justice prevails. As a teenager, I had a few jobs before moving here to NC. One of those jobs was a landscaper. I worked for an older man who was very wealthy. He not only was a doctor, but he owned his own practice, expanded it into 3 buildings, and had about twenty doctors working for him. It was my job to do the landscaping and maintenance for his 3 properties. Being a teenager, I was just happy to be making money, but that doctor made more money in 15 minutes than I did working all day. He's driving a Bentley, while I'm driving a 2-door Saturn with a lawnmower handle hanging out my trunk. I was maintaining his buildings, and he was neglecting justice because of his own self-interest. Now, justice is far greater than materialism and wealth. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. So let God be the Judge; you be the witness. Most of us will never be in a position to change the conditions of society at large, but all of us can change a small part of it - the part you encounter every single day. You can treat others fairly by allowing "rivers of living water" to flow out of you "like a river and a never-failing stream," as our Scripture in Amos puts it. Christians and this "nation under God" cannot neglect God's justice nor try to re-shape it into whatever pleases us. We must maintain human justice by reflecting God's justice because God Almighty is our source. James 4:12 reminds us that "There is only one lawgiver and judge." Without justice, chaos and evil will reign because justice is essential for living in peace and prosperity, which is why God Commands It, Commends Its Maintenance, and Condemns Its Neglect. This is important to remember because true justice, the justice that comes only from God, is untouchable like water. People can hit, pound, and slice away at justice, but like water, nothing will scar it's surface if it's source is from the One who is just and righteous. The Bible says, "all of God's ways are just" (Deuteronomy 32:4), and in His Olivet Discourse, Jesus says we are to care for the "least of these" (Matthew 25:40). The UMC Book of Discipline adds, "Peoples and nations feel secure in the world community when law, order, and human rights are respected and upheld." For every Christian, the world must be your parish, meaning wherever you go and whatever you do, the only way to care for the "least of these" and uphold human rights is to follow God's ways because He alone is just. So, how can we, and this nation, Reflect God's justice? We can do what Isaiah 1:16-17 instructs us to do, "Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." In other words, do the work of the church and glorify God in all you do because God's "righteousness is like a never-failing stream." "Justice that rolls on like a river" glorifies God because it comes from God and is distributed throughout each "river of life" that flows forth from everyone who is a follower of Christ. But when people, or a nation, stop flowing and become stagnant in their faith, murky water, disease, and death become the result. Let us all take heed to what Thomas Jefferson once said, "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever." So, the next time someone asks you how God's justice and human justice are connected, you'll have an answer. Don't be deceived. Humble yourself and revere the Lord. Repent, and tremble before God because "Whoever believes in Jesus, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them," and His "justice will roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream." AMEN 2