JUSTICE: A PEOPLE FOR OTHERS

VIDEO MESSAGE: GOSPEL IN LIFE 7



SPEAKER: TIM KELLER 
SUNDAY SERVICE 1 SEPTEMBER 2013

A REFLECTION

“This is not fair!”

 What’s fair? Is it the same as what’s just?

A person is said to be decent and ‘fair’ or play ‘fair’ when he doesn't cheat, follows the rules, shows equal treatment for all concerned. Surely a God who does not see the difference between right and wrong cannot be worthy of our trust.

Without going into details, it would be ‘fair’ to say that the God of the Bible is more often referred as being just, and not fair. So we are told He is just and holy. He is the righteous judge of all humanity. Yet we are told that his wrath has fallen on his own Son Jesus, so that humanity’s sin may not be held against them. We are told God has done this out of love for us, extending grace and mercy to undeserving sinners, which is not necessarily ‘fair’.

 As King David observed: “He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.” (Ps 103:10)

This withholding of judgment is conditional upon believers taking hold of Jesus who took our place on the cross. Which is the backdrop to Tim Keller’s simple declaration that, "Justice is love in action. It is bringing shalom.”

In Luke 7:41-47, a woman who is likely Mary Magdalene washes Jesus’ feet with tears and perfume to the surprise of Simon and other more ‘upright’ visitors. Jesus responds to his host’s displeasure by telling a parable.

Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

For the Christian, God’s character is the basis for true justice. But our attitude and acts of justice are also informed by God’s grace and mercy. As forgiven sinners who have tasted the immeasurable love of God, we now lovingly work to bring grace to those who have suffered injustice, and contribute to reform social structures that are unjust.

"No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God." Micah 6:8