Justice is the Lord’s delight.

Sermon Transcript

“That’s not fair!” Have you ever heard someone say that? Have you ever said it yourself? Me too. Sometimes we say it over trivial things. One of your children gets a larger cookie than the other and they almost instinctively say, “that’s not fair,” or you’re stopped in traffic on 76 and someone goes blazing down the shoulder at 65 mph and you think, “that’s not fair, what makes their schedule more important than mine.” But “it’s not fair” isn’t reserved for the trivial. The reason why we become indignant and spring into action when a precious child is mistreated is because we instinctively know it’s not fair and it’s not right. We all have some sense of justice. We all want evil to be punished, especially the evil perpetrated by others against us. Where does this universal sense of justice come from? It’s the result of humans being created in the image of God. Since the one true God of the Bible is just, we, his image bearers, all have a sense of justice. But consider this, the one true God of the Bible doesn’t do justice or command justice, he delights in it! Proverbs 11:1 – A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight. This one verse, along with the many others in Proverbs just like it, reveal what I believe is the big idea of Proverbs on justice: Justice is the Lord’s delight. Justice is the Lord’s delight. Now, can we admit that justice is too complicated to be reduced to simple slogans on yard signs. Justice is the Lord’s delight. We want to delight him, but we have questions. This morning, God, through the Book of Proverbs, will help us answer three questions so that we can, as the prophet Micah says, do just, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God: 1. What is justice? 2. How do we do justice? 3. Why does justice matter?

WHAT IS JUSTICE?

Dr. Jonathan Leeman correctly defines justice as “Judgment in accordance with what is right.” In other words, justice is doing what is right toward others as defined by the objective standard of what God says is right in his word, the Bible. This definition arises naturally out of Proverbs 11:1 – A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight. In the ancient world, and in many cases in our world today, products were sold by weight and measured on scales. Put picture on screen. For example, a merchant might sell five pounds of olive oil for five pounds of wheat. If you’ve played Settlers of Catan, you’re well on your way to understanding the concept. One of the most often repeated principles related to justice in Proverbs, as well as other parts of the Bible, is that weights and measures must be accurate. Even today we talk about “the scales of justice” needing to be fair and balanced. However, in the ancient world an unjust merchant would carry heavy and light stones in order to inaccurately tip the scales so that they could either buy more for less or sell less for more. The Lord hates it when individuals, organizations, or governments use a false balance, but he delights when they use a just weight.

The illustration of weights and balances helps us see that acting justly toward others or doing justice must always be in accord with an objective standard. The only way to know if a weight is just is if there is an objective weight to measure it against. Similarly, to call an action just or unjust requires that there be an objective standard to measure that action against. As the theologian Professor Stephen Wellum writes, “Biblically, to act justly toward one another is always according to an objective standard – God’s authoritative, inerrant, and unchanging Word.” Without this objective standard, what is just is always up for grabs and regularly changing. So, what is justice? Since the Hebrew word for “justice” is used interchangeably with the word “judgment,” and the concept of justice is often illustrated by the concept of right and accurate weights, Dr. Jonathan Leeman correctly defines justice as “Judgment in accordance with what is right.” In other words, justice is doing what is right toward others according to the objective standard of what God says in his word, the Bible. Justice is judgments and actions toward others in accordance to what is right as God defines right.

Now, we are going to do something geeky for a moment so if you need a two minute listening break to think about how awesome it’s going to be when the Eagles beat the Chiefs tonight, I’ll call you back in a moment. One reason you may have some initial misgivings with the biblical definition of justice as “judgments and actions in accordance with what is right” is because the western democratic tradition has trained us to think about justice in accordance with someone’s “rights,” not what is right. Rights vs. right. Again, Dr. Leeman is especially helpful here, he writes, “The difference between the biblical view and the Western democratic view (whether on the political right or left) of justice can be summarized with a single letter—justice as right versus justice as rights. The Bible says we do justice by doing what’s right. The Western democratic tradition says we do justice by respecting people’s rights. Now, the biblical view of justice also believes in rights! But those rights are built on the foundation of what God says is right. Rights are the flower; what God says is right is the root. After all, what makes rights right? Because God says.” Defining justice in terms of rights, instead of what God says is right, is what leads a nation to slaughter millions of unborn humans and call it reproductive rights. Justice has to be actions and judgments in accordance with what is right as defined by God or else justice is always up for grabs and the flower of justice is cut at the root. Rights are based on what God says is right.

Let’s begin to take this definition of justice personally. Two encouragements. First, now that you know that doing justice is making judgments and carrying out actions toward others that are right as God defines right, you know what to pray for your governing officials. The Bible says in 2 Timothy that we should persevere in praying for governing, but what should we pray for? Pray that God will give common grace to our governing officials so that they pass laws, policies, and legislation that enforces and promotes what is right as God defines right in his word. Second, now that we know that justice is judgments according to what God says is right in his word, be a diligent student of God’s word. Justice people must be Bible people and Bible people must be justice people. Are you concerned about injustice? Do you want to promote justice in your home, your church, your workplace, and in our world? Praise God! Love and study God’s. To make judgments and actions that are just, then you have to study deeply what God’s word teaches about the subject or cause that God has given you a concern about. You have to study the Bible so that you emphasize the things that the Bible emphasizes and don’t emphasize the things that it doesn’t. Your pastors and fellow Christians in this church would love to do this with you. And if you’re a Bible person but not much of a justice person, repent and get back into that Bible with humble reliance on God. Justice people must be Bible people and Bible people must be justice people because justice is judgments in accordance with what God says is right in the Bible. That’s what justice is. Before we move to our second question, I think it’s important to notice that the biblical definition of justice, judgments and actions toward others in accordance with what God says is right, reveals and reminds us how much we need a Savior to save us from our sins. Who of us can say that we’ve always treated others in accordance with what God says is right? And if God hates injustice, then we are all doomed to come under God’s just and eternal judgment. However, God poured out his just judgment on Jesus Christ on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our injustice. Do you want to do justice? Are you concerned about injustice? Repent of your sins, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, walk in the daily love of God and you’ll increasingly want to do justice for the right reasons and know how moment-by-moment. Receive Jesus Christ today. Keep trusting Him today.
Now we are ready for Proverbs to answer our second question:

HOW DO WE DO JUSTICE?

How do we make judgments and perform actions in accord with what God says is right at home, here at church, in your workplace, and out in the public square and political realm? Proverbs provides several answers, but two in particular are repeated many times.

Love the truth. Proverbs 12:17 – Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. The ninth of the Ten Commandments forbids giving false-testimony because misrepresenting the truth in a court proceeding is a major issue of injustice. The wrongdoer could go free without making restitution for wrongs done and the innocent party could be punished for wrongdoing they didn’t commit. Bearing false-witness leads to injustice! However, you can probably think of many different examples of how lying leads to injustice. Let’s consider an example from work. In a fallen world, things will go wrong at work. When they do, the right people will need to know what happened so that they can make the wrong right. And you’ll likely be called on to recount the events. In that moment, your power to do justice is significant. Tell the truth. Recount the facts accurately. Don’t downplay the wrong you did because if you do, someone else will unjustly pay for it. Don’t exaggerate the wrong someone else did or they will be unjustly punished. There is incredible power to sow justice or injustice simply by being an honest or dishonest witness. Love the truth. Another aspect of loving the truth as it relates to justice is being impartial. Proverbs 24:23-25 – Partiality in judging is not good. Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them. Proverbs 17:23 – The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice. To stay with the example of the workplace, there will be times when you’re tempted to side with the person who is in the wrong because it seems like that will be far more beneficial to your career to do so, rather than speak the open truth to them. But you ultimately do your work unto the Lord, as Colossians 3 says, and the Lord is not pleased with partiality. Similarly, to do justice we must love the truth over bribes and secret agreements. In our world, people get ahead by trading favors and mutual back scratching such that people get ahead by walking on others. In Proverbs, doing justice and telling the truth are inextricably linked. So, cultivate a love letting your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” Ask the Father to give you such a deep commitment to the truth that the people around you at work, at home, at church, are treated in accord with what God says is right.

Love the poor. According to Proverbs, poverty is sometimes the result of lazy foolishness. Proverbs 10:4 – “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” However, Proverbs is equally clear that at other times the poor remain poor because of injustice. Proverbs 13:23 – The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice. This proverb pictures a hard working farmer who doesn’t get an honest share of his crops to provide for his family or improve his station in life because his landlord charges him an exorbitant price to rent the field because he has all the leverage. That’s injustice. What does love for the poor look like in action? Proverbs provides at least three answers. First, repent of mocking the poor and marginalized in your heart or with your words. Proverbs 17:5 – Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. The most common way that people mock the poor these days is in the way we look down on the poor and speak about them. As you’ve may have guessed, I believe that a biblical worldview fits best with a conservative political philosophy. I’m a conservative. Nevertheless, it’s appalling to hear how some on the political right talk about the poor and marginalized as though they’re subhuman. We don’t do that because mocking the poor is an insult to the one true God who made all people in his image and it is a sign of rank pride in our hearts because we typically mock the poor when we functionally believe that we have exhaustive knowledge about how they become poor and that we’re superior to them. If you’re going to love the poor rather than mock them, then you can’t look down on the poor as though they always deserve it, nor can you look up at the poor as though they can do no wrong. Rather, you must look at the poor through the lens of the gospel. The gospel says that I was poor in spirit with nothing to offer God but my sin and instead of mocking me, even though my spiritual poverty was all my fault, God gave me the riches of his grace by sending his own Son to pay my spiritual debt and make me richly righteous in Him. If God has been so gracious to a poor wretch like me, how can I ever mock the poor?! Don’t mock the poor. Second, to love the poor, turn from any of your own actions that are obviously or directly oppressing the poor, as God defines it. Proverbs 14:31 – Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. If you influence how much money the employees at your organization make, don’t garner wealth by keeping people stuck in poverty. That’s oppressing the poor. If you’re a landlord, charge fair market value for rent. Don’t garner wealth by charging so much rent that your tenant can never save up enough for a downpayment on their own home. That’s injustice. If you are misrepresenting the value or quality of the products you sell or the services you provide, you’re defrauding people and the poor will likely be the ones who pay for it. That’s injustice. If you are selling less than in your contract in order to make a little more, the poor consumer will likely be the ones to pay for it. That’s injustice. If you have any concern that you might be oppressing the poor through a particular action, then pray about it and ask a trusted brother or sister in Christ to speak into what you’re considering. Be humble and willing to repent. Third, love for the poor looks like being generous toward the poor. Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed. How can we be generous toward the poor in a way that genuinely helps? First, you can be generous toward the poor with your money. The Bible teaches that a Christian’s first responsibility when it comes to their financial giving is their local church. If you give to Citylight Church, the pastors allocate a portion of your giving to provide for the needs of the poor inside and outside our church. Similarly, we allocate a portion of your giving to support what we call our Compassion Partners who actively serve the poor and marginalized in our area. So, if you’re not yet giving regularly and sacrificially to Citylight Church, that’s a great place to begin being financially generous to the poor. Also, consider giving above and beyond your first fruits sacrificial giving to Citylight Church, remember the priority of supporting organizations, especially Christ-centered ones, who care for the poor. Second, you can be generous toward the poor with your skills and time. There are opportunities to serve each one of the compassion partners that I just mentioned individually and with your Citygroup. If your CG isn’t serving regularly, ask your CG leader if you can organize regular serving nights with one of our compassion partners. Additionally, as we prepare to put down roots in our new home, we’re considering ways that we can know and meet the needs of those in our community. One practical step you can take is to complete the Citylight Skill Bank. The skill bank survey will help the pastors and staff know what skills you have that we can connect to the needs in our community. Emily Ronca, Citylight Church’s Compassion Partnerships Director will be at a table out by the coffee after the service where she can answer your questions and there will be a QR code there that you can scan and fill out the Skill Bank Survey. Finally, be generous toward the poor with your knowledge. What I mean is that you can bless the poor by having quick access to emergency service information. The pastors and staff have put a list of emergency services at citylightphilly.com/compassion (Put screen shot of the bottom of the page where the list is on the screen). In summary, to do justice, we must know what justice is and then do it by loving the truth and loving the poor. Finally, and very briefly…

WHY DOES JUSTICE MATTER?

Proverbs 21:13 – Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. Of course, we do not earn eternal salvation by doing justice, or by doing any other form of righteousness. However, justice reveals our hearts. Justice reveals that our hearts have truly been captured by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the wonderful news that God did not compromise what is right in order to make us right with him. God is holy. We have all disobeyed and ignored him. Therefore, it is right for the all-good, all-holy God to burn with wrath toward us. That is just. It is right. So, how can our sins possibly be forgiven and God remain just? He placed all our sins on the sinless One, Jesus Christ. God’s rightful punishment for sin fell upon His Son. Jesus Christ absorbed the right judgment we deserve so that we can have a right relationship with God forever. When you believe that gospel, when you receive Jesus Christ, and as you daily revel in the wonder of God’s justice and his justification of us undeserving, you increasingly become the kind of person who seeks to make judgments and perform actions in accordance to what your Heavenly Father says is right. Jesus Christ makes us just and justice delights the heart of God.