Just “Social Justice”
I base my understanding of this popular phrase upon the meaning of the adjective, “social,” and the noun, “justice.” The English word, “social” derives from the Latin, meaning “companion.” The word also speaks of living in community with an accompanying communal responsibility. My primary social responsibilities begin within my marriage and family. Then, they extend to each of the personal relationships and interactions within which I am called to be a responsible member.
Robin, I believe we would agree that the LORD God, Jehovah, is the only perfect and benevolent Authority, and His Word in the inspired Scriptures reveals His ethical standard for judging in fairness, or equity (See Psalm 96: 10 and 98: 9). This claim is true because God is Holy (i.e. uniquely and morally perfect and infinitely pure); and therefore, He is the Author of absolute righteousness and justice (see Psalm 99: 2-5 on left).
As “new creations in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5: 17), we are delivered from the penalty of sin but not from the influence of our flesh that bears the “fallen DNA” inherited from our human father, Adam. Our inherited “fallen DNA” manifests in selfish behavior beginning in our childhood. I recognize from personal experience as I’m sure you also do, Robin, that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not (Romans 7: 18). Even as redeemed Christ-followers, we are not naturally bent toward righteousness and justice in either our thoughts or actions. But, when we are “born again” in the Spirit, we gain His power to choose to deny our self, take up our cross daily and follow in the example of Christ (Luke 9: 23). Genuine Christians are Christ-followers who submit to His righteousness which “translates into our lives as justice.”
Robin, based on the logic above, we ought to agree that “social justice” must begin with a wholehearted, personal submission to Christ. Scott Hoezee writes emphatically, “we are not going to know what justice is supposed to look like in our lives, in the Church, and in the societies where we live… if we don’t know what God’s righteousness looks like; because biblically there is a tight, tight link between God’s righteousness and justice on this earth.”
My takeaway from this truth is that God’s gift of righteousness through faith ought to lead to justice in my social dealings with my wife and family, and my church, community, government, and other organizations. To me, every thought and intention of social justice must begin in my heart which must be completely devoted to Jesus Christ and empowered by His sacrificial love, grace, and truth.
So, I ask myself, what can I do, what must I do (in Paul’s words (v. 24), “wretched man that I am!” Paul’s answer to me is to “work out [my] salvation with reverence and trembling…for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2: 12-13).” As God’s Spirit, our Helper works in us, like any disciple (willing student follower), we must be “disciplined” to do our part. The "Scripture card" below resulted from my meditations on the spiritual disciplines I want to practice as a means of submitting to God’s righteousness and allowing the character of Christ to flow out in my just treatment of others.
Social Justice in the Home
My personal practice of social justice is most often tested and refined in relationship to my wife, and toward my family. Next to God, they know me best. Wisely, our Creator has ordained marriage and family as the “little social worlds” within which we are to be nurtured physically, socially, and spiritually in preparation for the world at large. We must take seriously God’s moral commands which include husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5: 25) and the godly wife ought to see to it that she respects her husband (v. 33).
In turn, godly marriages can foster homes which can become “little social worlds” in which children witness mom and dad modelling the two Great Commandments—i.e. love God with all your heart…and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22: 36-40). Children also learn to obey the commandment to honor your father and your mother. In so doing, they begin to understand submission to authority.
Homes that teach and model the righteousness of God ought to produce individuals who grow into ethical members who can contribute to the social justice of their community. However, we are naïve if we ignore the reality of the satanic, spiritual forces of darkness that are “anti-social justice.” Satan and his minions work through our own sin natures to undermine the institutions of marriage and family because these “proving grounds” are central to God’s plan for nurturing His image bearers. Therefore, it seems logical that supporters of biblical social justice as I have defined it, ought to support the following:
1) Utmost priority: being witnesses of the transforming power of the Gospel in word and by lifestyle.
2) Sanctity of marriage must be upheld as a God-ordained union of man and woman.
3) Sanctity of human life must be upheld through compassionate love and support of pregnant women and fathers at risk.
3) Nurturing of children must be accomplished with an awareness of God’s design and a sound understanding and support during neurological/emotional development, gender identity, preferences, etc. See my personal reflections on my own childhood [Click HERE.] and my current view on gender identity [Click HERE.]
4) Protection of parental rights to make decisions that they deem best for their children.
5) Uphold the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly.
8) Uphold the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, right to bear arms; important for most Americans who cannot afford to hire security to protect home and property. [See HERE.]
Role of Church and Community
When I enrolled in first grade (without kindergarten), my teacher had to apply “coarse sandpaper” to my many rough edges. My Sunday School teachers also “sanded and polished.” Back then, we began the school day with the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag and sometimes walked in single file to our nearby church for special recognition of the spiritual significance of Easter and Christmas. Ethnic diversity in our rural school was limited to an Amish student minority and I became friends with students like Andy, Solomon, Norman, and Fanny [See my 8th Grade class below; click on photo to enlarge]. Home, church, school, and community festivals and parades provided a nearly seamless educational experience in which I could observe my parents, teachers, and community leaders participate honorably in respectful recognition of God, country, and one another.
During my junior high years, I also learned the importance of civil laws, police, and first responders; and, I participated in drills that were designed to prepare us in the event of a nuclear attack from a country called the USSR. While I felt a twinge of fear at the thought of these things, I learned to be thankful for authorities who “were not a terror to good conduct” (Romans 13: 3).
1) Teaching and preaching of God’s Word must have top priority within our local churches, purposely tailored for every age group, aimed at salvation and discipleship of individuals, couples, and families. Christ-followers so engaged can become winsome evangelists.
2) The early church offers a guide for church members who agree to participate in a disciplined, prayerful study of Acts 4: 31-35 and other Scriptures that reveal the spirit of the early Christians and their passion for reaching the lost, the imprisoned, the blind, and the oppressed, both physically and spiritually.
3) Enlist caring and compassionate members to invite and lead the brethren in meeting the needs of widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. The local church that is in love with Jesus is an unbeatable agency for a ministry of biblical social justice. We use in-home small groups here in our church in Wooster not only to encourage deeper understanding of the Bible but also as a means to apply biblical teaching to our daily lives, and to serve one another and those in need with the love of the first century church.
4) Encourage community leaders to cooperate with pastors of local churches in hiring or in enlistment of volunteers, thus providing opportunities for people of faith to participate in social service organizations, nonprofits, advocacy and legal aid organizations, health and rehabilitation organizations, and other avenues through which Christ-followers can provide loving assistance and the truth of the Gospel to those in need.
5) The local church as a “lighthouse:” The only visual display of the Kingdom of God on Earth is the local Body of Christ. The Apostle Paul’s challenge is of prime importance: Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life… (Philippians 2: 14-16a).
Role in Government
My first serious introduction into national politics came during my teens in the turbulent 1960’s. I witnessed the Kennedy-Nixon debates, the dangerous Bay of Pigs confrontation, the debates on civil rights, and the tragic assassinations of John and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. My adolescent mind wondered if the world was going to fall apart. Fortunately, my home, church, school, and community had each contributed toward my mental and emotional stability. I was less aware of how much I benefited from living under a stable and enduring federal government; one that I would later realize is a constitutional republic.
According to the Preamble of our U.S. Constitution, this document was written as a means “to form a more perfect Union. Specifically, the Constitution would function to “establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” The Constitution allows considerable latitude for the three branches of the federal government to legislate, execute, and determine the legality of laws and other orders while also allowing for separation of powers to avoid a tyrannical government under a king or dictator.
Fast-forward to today, listed below are a few of the current political and legal issues that exist in our constitutional republic which relate to social justice and our well-being as American citizens:
1) National sovereignty of the United States is enforced through government policies with the backing of our military. Whether our country has historical justification for even existing, let alone deserving of our respect, is debated by many in the context of social justice. While this is a discussion for another time, the notion that the United States is unjust from its founding serves to influence many of the issues listed below.
3) Limited Government with a separation of powers into three separate branches was intended to oppose tyrannical rule by one or a few. In recent years, in the name of a perverted justice, this constitutional separation has been threatened by such efforts (real or alleged) as listed below.
3) National borders and immigration policy are a current focus of contention that tends to follow political party lines. Those who favor upholding existing immigration laws and the requirement of a legal path to American citizenship argue (as I do) that enforcement of immigration laws provides the following important roles:
Robin, if you’re still there, thank you and others for reading my lengthy blog inspired by your social media post. I’m sure we won’t agree on all points. However, we are both “white Christians,” and I hope neither of us are “white supremacists.” I have tried to outline my current understanding of social justice from a Christian perspective which includes the spheres of authority in which my view of this concept is being shaped. I have also reasoned that, from a biblical perspective, efforts to promote social justice will not depend on identifying and reforming “white supremacists,” especially by preaching to crowds or using social media posts. Rather, if we agree that all humans are fallen, depraved beings, then we are all “human supremacists” who, whether Christian or not, we struggle daily against a disposition of supremacy toward Almighty God and toward our neighbor regardless of his or her skin color or socioeconomic status. If this is true, then “supremacy branding” becomes an off-target distraction from the only solution to the problem of humankind-- our need of redemption in Christ.
Meanwhile, we still have wars, assassinations or attempted ones, political corruption within and between parties, an increasing number of emotionally disturbed individuals, and mistrust and even hatred of elected and appointed officials. Although these problems are not new, there seems to be a trend toward increasing harshness and disrespect at every one of the levels I have described from the home to school and into our communities; and, into our government and foreign affairs. The Apostle Paul described to young Timothy the conditions he foresaw for the “last days” leading to the return of Christ: But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, and on it goes (2 Timothy 3: 1-3a). Thankfully, Christ offers hope through His salvation and the work of His Spirit in His followers living, growing, and serving as light and salt in a needy world. There ought to be no law against living by the two Great Commandments and the exercise of biblical social justice.
Finally, Robin, I am looking forward to your response by “Comment” below or by whatever means and degree of anonymity you prefer. Hopefully, it will lead to more fruitful dialog between us and with other readers.
Related Articles & Videos
We invite readers to use the “Comment” link below to post your responses and questions. Those who would like to know more about the Christian faith and how it ought to be lived out through “biblical social justice” may wish to go to the following websites:
1) Brief explanation of how to take “Steps to Peace with God.”
2) Video Clip: God’s Authority, Our Responsibility - Pastor Zach Swift [Click HERE.]
Related Articles & Videos
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