The Limits of Politics (6)

“You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”  Deuteronomy 16.20

Justice
The exercise of justice involves securing the parameters of order within which goodness may flourish in a society. Terms like “justice” and “goodness” can only be properly understood when they are pegged to unchanging standards, such as those found within the pages of Scripture, beginning in the Law of God.

Many Christians may find it difficult to believe that government can function within the parameters of goodness and justice marked out in Scripture. The alternative to this, however, is Lawlessness, under which regime, Jesus warned, people’s love for one another grows cold (Matt. 24.12).

It is the duty of government to ensure justice, to maintain the boundaries of justice clear and firm, and to afford ample opportunity for each member of the society to prosper in goodness. Government must act for justice when a boundary has been infringed, a liberty violated, and, thus, the cause of goodness interrupted.

It is the duty of Christians to insist that Biblical ideas of justice and goodness guide the thinking and practice of politicians at all levels and in all arenas of politics and government. According to Scripture, in particular the Law of God, the practice of justice takes five forms.

Biblical justice
First, there is what we might refer to as obligatory justice. This is what people are required to do with respect to one another, according to the Ten Commandments. We are obliged, therefore, to honor one another, not to harm or murder, not to be involved in unlawful sexual activities, not to steal, not to lie or deceive, and not to covet. Where people are instructed in and learn to practice this basic level of justice, obligatory justice, much evil is avoided and much goodness is encouraged.

The second facet of justice we might call preventive justice. People must learn to think about the possible consequences of any action they are anticipating, so as to prevent the violation of a boundary of order or any infringement on the liberties of others. In ancient Israel, for example, it would have been my duty to build a railing around my roof, to prevent guests from falling off. Today I must put a fence around my pool, if I have one, to prevent unattended children from falling in.

A third form of justice is retributive in nature. That is, if I have harmed someone else or his property, it is quite possible that justice could require my being harmed in just the same manner, or, at least, to the same degree. If I bring a frivolous lawsuit, for example, seeking so much in damages, and lose, I will be responsible to pay the amount of the damages I sought to the person I wrongly sued. Think how that might reform our increasingly litigious legal system.

The fourth form of justice is restorative justice. If I am careless – or, for that matter, intentional – in causing harm to someone, so that he cannot work, it is my responsibility to pay for his healing and the opportunity costs he might have incurred during his rehabilitation. The Good Samaritan shows us the true spirit of this law by going beyond the mere letter of it to care for, out of his own funds, one injured not by him, but by others. Here was a true neighbor, indeed, as Jesus explained.

The final kind of justice that we find in the Law of God is a form of distributive justice. People in communities show love to their needy neighbors by making it possible for them to find meaningful work and by providing offerings to meet their temporary needs. This is what the gleaning laws were about, as well as the law governing the three-year tithe. God instructed His people to use their resources to help those in need. In the period of the New Testament, the first believers understood that in spades, as they would frequently bring from their accounts or their goods to meet the needs of those who were without.

Promoting justice
A government serves its people for good when it ensures a social order that encourages goodness and the practice of justice in all these ways. The specific laws and applications will change from generation to generation, but the principles of justice remain the same, and good governments abide by them.

But no government will act for justice and goodness that is not guided and led to do so by people who understand that justice and goodness are not terms which can be shaped and redefined according to the temper of the times or the whims of politicians. Politicians and the governments they create must serve the cause of justice and goodness as God defines these in His Word.

And those who believe in God and His Word must work to ensure that government and politicians fulfill their callings within the limits prescribed for them by God.

For reflection
1.      Why do you suppose most Christians don’t feel like they should try to persuade politicians or work for a political order that refracts the holiness, righteousness, and goodness of God’s Law?

2.      In many ways, our society already acknowledges the reliability and goodness of the Law of God. Can you cite some examples?

3.      It’s when obedience to the Law becomes inconvenient, or conflicts with the ever-changing temper of the times, that the Law of God is set aside and new standards of goodness and justice are promoted. Can you give some examples of this? How does such a practice cause people’s love for their neighbors to grow cold?

Next steps: Can you cite some examples of each of the five forms of justice as we see them in our society today? How can you see these forms of justice at work in your own community? What is the Christian’s responsibility in seeking justice? Share your thoughts with some Christian friends.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s study, The Limits of Politics, is part 3 of a 5-part series on The King’s Heart, a Biblical view of government and politics, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We cannot understand God’s view of government, or how to function in a political environment apart from faith in King Jesus and His rule. Order T. M.’s books The Kingship of Jesus  and The Ground for Christian Ethics to supplement our studies of God and government..

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.