Rush to Justice - Part Two

This is a sermon delivered on October 25, 2020 that addresses the culturally popular call for "social justice" in our society. The message attempts to provide biblical qualities of justice and to contrast that from what is being promoted in society. If you would like to view a video recording of the worship service in which this message was delivered, please click here.

Written excerpts of the sermon follow below.

Ezekiel 18:20 ^(NKJV)  The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Introduction:

Last Sunday I presented a message regarding the subject of “social justice.” In that message I attempted to lay a biblical foundation for the need to have justice as a vital aspect of our personal lives as well as our public and national life. There is no question about the fact that God requires right conduct toward others regardless of social status, racial background, or any other characteristic that might become the target of hatred and injustice.

The “Social Justice” message has been around for a long time, and it has produced more chaos and harm than most people want to admit. I remember studying in seminary about a contemporary theological movement known as “Liberation Theology.” Liberation Theology was very prominent among so-called Christians, especially in South America. It was almost entirely Marxist in its emphasis and did very little to erase the social problems and improve the lives of citizens.

Before I continue this subject today, I want to provide a brief review of the three main points I shared last week. As I do that, I want to add additional “meanings” that have become common in our society today, even among evangelical Christians.

Last week I said, God cares about justice. (But many people today use this phrase as biblical support for policies that are not scriptural. As long as the word “justice” is used, who can say they’re not for it?)

Last week I said, Christians are expected to act righteously. (But too many insist today that righteousness should be defined by current socially approved standards.)

Last week I said, Christians should influence national righteousness (But that has come to mean they should exert such influence by every ungodly and unbiblical means possible.)

As I continue the subject today, I want to draw your attention to a few more important principles that we must keep in mind as we think and act in a way that exemplifies the mercy and justice of our Father in heaven. However, before I share those principles, I want to provide some details of the current “Social Justice” movement and what it advocates.

(Dr. Daryl McCarthy – Fundamental Wesleyan Society Conference in Nicholasville KY, Sept. 2020) Five Tenets of Current Social Justice “doctrine”

1. Identity Politics – everyone is either part of “the oppressed” or “the oppressors.”

·         Racial Identity – Whites are oppressors; colors are oppressed

·         Gender Identity – Males are oppressors; females are oppressed, or heterosexuals are oppressors; homosexuals are oppressed

·         Economic Identity – Rich/Wealthy are oppressors; poor are oppressed

·         Intersectionality – i.e. identities are added up; for example a poor, black, female, lesbian would be most oppressed.

2. Equality of Outcomes (Equity)

3. Statism – Equity must be achieved by government force.

4. Redistribute Wealth – Socialism (relates to #2) 

5. Gender is a choice

These five tenets reveal the problem with the modern “social justice” doctrine – if anyone experiences an injustice that doesn’t fit into these socially-approved categories, then it is not important to even care about.

For example, many times those who are the loudest in advocating changes in order to benefit the “oppressed” are strangely silent about the plight of other oppressed groups outside of the “sanctioned” list of oppressed (i.e. Identity Politics) we mentioned earlier. Therefore, little is said by the “justice warriors” about the plight of the unborn. Little is said in national discussions about the plight of Christians persecuted for their faith. It becomes increasingly clear that for those who wave the banner for social justice, it only means justice for the pre-approved groups that fit the politically correct definition of “the oppressed.”

Here are three more principles I want to stress today in regards to social justice:

I.          Biblical justice is necessarily linked to love.

A. Love is the core tenet of the Ten Commandments.

Jesus said there are only two great commandments:

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Romans 13:8-10 (NKJV) ⁸  Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹  For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁰  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Paul has just quoted the second half of the Ten Commandments, which all have to do with the treatment of others, and he says it all can be summed up with “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

B. Love, by definition, must be voluntary. (Adapted from Social Justice and the Christian Church, by Ronald Nash)

The imitation “social justice” tries to use the power of the state to enforce what God’s Word says must be the expression of love. Imitation “social justice” attempts to force members of society to demonstrate love to select portions of the society in publicly-approved ways, while blatantly failing to demonstrate any love to other members of society who do not fit the “approved” criteria. God’s requirement is for all people to love all people, and it cannot be coerced nor restricted to certain classes.

In the Bible, love is an action. It is the denial of self for the benefit of the one loved. A state/government can only show "love" by forcibly taking from one segment of society and giving it to another segment. No sacrifice on the part of the state is required.

II.        Biblical justice is necessarily linked to truth.

Many people have repeatedly stated how uninterested our society is these days concerning truth. I have also emphasized in previous messages the fact that truth has been abandoned in so many ways. Many of us have frequently lamented the fact that we hardly know when we are being told the truth in news reports these days.

A. Truth is essential in judging results as well as intentions.

Ronald Nash, in his book, Social Justice and the Christian Church, points out how many liberal evangelical leaders and theologians have argued for blatant socialist policies on the basis of loving concern for the poor and disadvantaged. Yet, they apparently have not noticed that many of those socialist policies, in reality, have done more harm than good for the people they claim to be concerned about.

B. Truth is essential in accurately interpreting the Scriptures.

Nash also points out in his book that many liberal theologians who advocate for state-mandated policies to provide social justice have actually taken principles from the Bible that were meant to be practiced on an individual basis and they have insisted they be applied on a national scale and enforced by the state. That is, they make personal expectations or injunctions to be national / universal.

C. Truth is essential for exposing inconsistencies in arguments.

Black Lives Matter – Aside from the fact that the leaders of the BLM movement admit to being communistic in their philosophy, their message is blatantly inconsistent with truth.

If the phrase “Black Lives Matter” was founded in truth, then the lives of black unborn babies would matter. The livelihoods of black business owners would matter. Black police officers' lives matter, etc.

Far too many individuals who advocate for certain kinds of social justice tend to completely neglect other aspects of justice that doesn’t fit in their agenda.

We truly are witnessing what the prophet Isaiah witnessed…

Isaiah 59:14 (NKJV)  Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.

In this 59^th chapter, Isaiah is describing all of the sin and crime and immorality that is so prevalent. When truth is fallen in the street, then justice is “turned back” and righteousness is “afar off.” Equity or fairness cannot be achieved when sin prevails and truth is sacrificed.

III.       Biblical justice must account for the problem of sin/depravity.

Psalm 51:5 (NIV2011)  Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

We must always keep the doctrine of original sin as part of the whole picture. There will never be “heaven on earth” as long as sin continues to reign in the hearts of all people. 

Even though Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” the kingdom of God on earth will always be flawed until sin has been completely and finally eliminated. That will only happen when Jesus returns.

A. Depravity causes abuse of power.

We cannot look to government leaders and the power of the state to be our “social justice saviors” and let them coerce equitable outcomes. Why? Because everyone in power is capable of the most severe and brutal misuse of power. It is born in them. It is inherited sin and depravity. Perhaps you’ve heard the adage, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Socialism and Marxism looks to the power of the state and/or dictators to enforce the equitable treatment of all oppressed. And yet, history has taught us that the most abusive and oppressive societies have been those who resorted to Socialist and Marxist dictatorships.

The end justifies the means. Attempt to achieve “holy” ends by unholy means.

B. Depravity leads the “oppressed” to unrighteous conduct.

The Prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?” Every person and every identified oppressed group have the capacity to manipulate, twist and use very ungodly means to selfishly benefit from the system. Even the “oppressed” are capable of plotting how to cheat the system in order to achieve selfish desires. I'm not implying that they are more likely to do so just because they are poor or oppressed. I am just reminding us that their circumstances do not make them exempt from doing what anyone else would be tempted to do. Why? Because everyone has to struggle with the tendencies produced by inner nature of sin.

So, no matter how trite it may sound, we can still accurately say, “We do not have a social justice problem, we have a sin problem!”

Conclusion:

Let me bring this to a quick closing by simply reminding us today of two important truths.

1. It is imperative that Christians demonstrate love toward everyone regardless of who they are. It is our personal obligation as believers in Jesus.

2. Every attempt to usher in true justice in a national sense will always have flaws because people are flawed. The only remedy to that is the return of Jesus, the King of kings, and the Prince of peace.

In the meantime, it is a good policy for all believers to stand up for Jesus. That means promoting what is true, just and righteous, and standing against everything immoral, ungodly and demonic.

Closing Song: Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus