Christians can pursue projects of justice free of the burden of being the justifier of the world; that office belongs to Christ and Christ alone.
Much in our culture today touts the name “justice”— social justice, ecological justice, racial justice, economic justice, sexual justice, etc. But with such a preponderance of persons concerned with justice and causes of justice, one begins to wonder, “What does it mean?” Especially when such a term is applied equally to the trees, the birds, and the bees, and the poor, the sojourner, and the disadvantaged. This lack of clarity is further compounded when “justice” is co-opted by political interests, whether liberal or conservative, for ends that couldn’t be further from justice. Because of this, some Christians might even feel that to speak of justice anymore is simply not possible; that there has been such a fundamental breakdown in language and terminology that to do so is simply not an option. And yet justice is a fundamental concept found within the sacred Scriptures. It’s incumbent upon us to reclaim the term according to its original meaning, and for this task, there’s no better place to start than the Old Testament.
The Hebrew word for “justice” is mishpat, and in its most basic sense, it means “to set right what has gone wrong.” To enact justice or to justify is to bring peace, wholeness, and order to what is otherwise chaotic, broken, and disorderly. As such, justice and justification hinge very much on the fact that the God who created the universe by his word also orders it by his word.
This is readily apparent in the creation account itself, in which God’s creating is followed by ordering. In the midst of chaos, formlessness, and void, God creates light and separates it from the darkness (Gen. 1:3-5). He creates the heavens and separates them from the earth (Gen. 1:6-8). He creates land and separates it from the sea (Gen. 1:9-10). God creates and orders his creation. Not only is this apparent in the furniture of creation, but it can be seen in man himself. God creates man, but it is not good that man is alone, and so God creates woman and orders her as an “helpmate” for man (Gen. 2:18, 21-24). Creation is set in a right relationship with itself, man is set in a right relationship with himself, and finally, mankind is set in a right relationship with creation, having dominion, being fruitful, multiplying, filling the earth, and subduing it. What he creates and orders by his word from nothing, this God declares “good” and “very good,” and it is (Gen. 1:31). And when God justifies us through his word, returning us to wholeness through the death and resurrection of his son, the same is true. Creation and justification, then, are two sides of the same coin.
This theme of creation and justification is also taken up after the Fall into sin, most notably by the prophets. When Isaiah, for instance, first sings of the Servant of the Lord he couches it as a promise of the Lord, “who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it” (Isa. 42:5). This God and Lord who created all things sends his servant, anointed with the Holy Spirit, to “bring forth justice to the nations,” to justify the world. “A bruised reed he will not break, and faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice” (Isa. 42:1, 3). What was bruised by sin and quenched by the law, the Servant of the Lord will make whole. He will set right what has gone wrong. He will reconcile God with man, man with himself, and creation with mankind. He will make all things new. “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isa. 42:9).
What was bruised by sin and quenched by the law, the Servant of the Lord will make whole.
A few things are worth noting already from this brief survey of justice in the Old Testament. First, justice is established by God through his word. It is part and parcel of his creative work “from nothing” (ex nihilo) and “by a word” (per verbum). Second, as a worded work, justification is finally carried out through the Word of God incarnate, Jesus Christ, whose work is to reconcile humanity to God. Finally, we know and apprehend this creative justifying work of the Lord by an external word written, read, spoken, and preached, which is the source and norm of faith and life.
This working concept of justice is practically helpful in at least a couple of respects. On the one hand, grounding justice in the work of God revealed through the sacred Scriptures gives us a rule against which we can test every so-called project of justice. Through the Scriptures, we can rightly discern what justice is: true ecological justice doesn’t seek to eradicate humankind in defense of nature, but rather re-establishes man in his God-given role as a steward of creation, to tend and keep it. True social justice doesn’t contend for the destruction of society through the subversion of marriage and the murder of children, but rightly blesses marriage between one man and one woman for procreation, mutual support, and joy. True sexual justice doesn’t seek to prostitute entire generations of women in the name of liberation, but sanctifies the union of husband and wife as the location of self-giving love after the image of God’s own love for us. With the interpretive lens of the Scriptures, much of what is touted as justice today can rightly be seen as injustice, a perversion, and sin, and true justice can be both perceived and pursued in accordance with the word of God.
On the other hand, Christians can pursue projects of justice free of the burden of being the justifier of the world; that office belongs to Christ and Christ alone. We can be faithful stewards of nature, the environment, and the beauty of creation, but it is not we who will restore creation. We can be loving neighbors, good citizens, and compassionate voters, but it is not we who will make a perfect society. We can be faithful husbands and wives, loving parents, and obedient children, but we will never establish unending peace. Christ alone is the final solution. He bears that burden. He is both the Just and the Justifier of the ungodly. In letting God be God, we are freed to be creatures and live the simple life of love for our neighbor that God created us for. Far from making us complacent, this freedom makes us fervent in our labors on behalf of our neighbor and in our prayers. If the coming of Christ is what will finally make all things well, what will finally set right what has so desperately gone wrong, then the prayer of the Christian is ever and always, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” We can pray this with the promise, “Surely, I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20).
