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God Loves Justice

Home
The Book
Welcome
About God Loves Justice
Why are you making me read the Bible??
Meet Jess
Contact
eCourse
Teaching Workshops
Blog
Featured
Mar 23, 2024
Justice Topics in the Bible
Mar 23, 2024
Mar 23, 2024
Joy-filled, Peace-filled Kingdom Justice
Jul 11, 2022
Joy-filled, Peace-filled Kingdom Justice
Jul 11, 2022

When choosing a career, I faced a dilemma. I wanted to do was justice work, but that life seemed to come with baggage: hopeless from dealing with injustice all the time, frustration at the world never changing, premature wrinkles. I thought I had to choose between a life filled with peace, joy, fun, sleep- OR justice. I couldn’t have it all.

Jul 11, 2022
Justice: Hiding in Translation
Dec 13, 2018
Justice: Hiding in Translation
Dec 13, 2018

When I first started studying what the Bible said about justice topics, I thought I knew exactly how to find them: search for the word “justice.” But there’s a problem with looking for justice in the New Testament. If you type “justice” into a Bible word search engine, it doesn’t appear much. “Justice” appears only 11 times in the ESV translation, 9 times in the NASB, and 8 times in the NKJV. For those translations, “justice” shows up more in the book of Isaiah—around three times more, in fact—than in the entire New Testament.

Dec 13, 2018
Why can't I "see" justice in the New Testament?
Nov 18, 2018
Why can't I "see" justice in the New Testament?
Nov 18, 2018

I’m starting a new blog series on Justice in the New Testament because I want to get beyond the surface “Is justice in the Bible?” conversations. It seems like because justice is being re-discovered in American Evangelical churches, the only teaching we get is the “Justice 101: Don’t freak out, yes social justice is a Christian thing, too” sermons. When we are only asking whether justice is even in there, we miss out on so much. Specifically, I think Evangelicals are confused about how social justice/justice and righteousness fit into the New Testament.

Nov 18, 2018
Justice and Righteousness: Central, Essential and Foundational to the Kingdom of God
Jun 23, 2018
Justice and Righteousness: Central, Essential and Foundational to the Kingdom of God
Jun 23, 2018

When I first started studying what the Bible said about justice topics, I thought I knew exactly how to find them: search for the word “justice.” But there’s a problem with looking for justice in the New Testament. If you type “justice” into a Bible word search engine, it doesn’t appear much. “Justice” appears only 11 times in the ESV translation, 9 times in the NASB, and 8 times in the NKJV.

It’s hard to see that the New Testament values justice when it seems almost silent on the subject.


Jun 23, 2018
Western-ish-Flavored Views of Justice Versus Hebrew
Apr 5, 2018
Western-ish-Flavored Views of Justice Versus Hebrew
Apr 5, 2018

Part of the challenge of learning about biblical justice is that our Western-ish views of justice are so different from Hebraic views from the time the Bible was originally written in. When an American Christian hears about justice, the images that we think of probably things like police officers, punishment, and courtrooms (and maybe a great TV drama about all those things). Unfortunately, that can make us reject doing justice now because we think of it through our Western-ish lenses. If God were to love our Western-flavored justice, then that would make Him a law-obsessed, punishment-loving judge. That is so far from what we know about God from the New Testament, so therefore we reject doing justice as Christians out of a genuine desire to reflect the Bible. But that is not at all the right image of a justice-loving God, or how we as Christians should do biblical justice. 


Apr 5, 2018
Love Via Socks
Jul 18, 2017
Love Via Socks
Jul 18, 2017

I saw him standing on the corner of the narrow downtown San Diego streets from the passenger seat of my friend's enormous white pickup truck. Something about his tired-looking face stood out to me. Immediately, I felt like I needed to go offer him socks and a sandwich. A few Saturdays each month, my friend and I would bring food and socks and hand them out as we hung out with some homeless people known to live in the area.

But the man didn't really look homeless, so I almost talked myself out of it.  Wouldn't he be offended if a random stranger offered him a homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich and generic white socks?  

Jul 18, 2017
Exciting, Happy, Delightful Justice
May 11, 2017
Exciting, Happy, Delightful Justice
May 11, 2017

Do a quick check. If you got the news that God’s justice was coming, how would you feel? Confused? Scared? Nothing? The emotional response we see in the Bible makes a clear picture: God's justice and righteousness are so awesome that it makes everyone and everything everywhere ecstatic. This is an important lesson for us. Being shaped by God's own heart for justice and righteousness, and getting a biblical understanding for that they are, means that our reaction to justice and righteousness should include excitement, happiness, and delight.  

May 11, 2017
Resources for Studying the Bible
Jul 23, 2016
Resources for Studying the Bible
Jul 23, 2016

I grew up hearing some version of: "READ YOUR BIBLE IT'S YOUR CHRISTIAN DUTY" all the time. But I had no idea how to do this "reading" that I was constantly commanded to do. The Bible not like other books, where you could open it up at the beginning and just read it through to end. I tried that once and stopped after Exodus.  

Jul 23, 2016
Scales versus Rivers
Jul 4, 2016
Scales versus Rivers
Jul 4, 2016

 A helpful illustration of just how different our Western views of justice are from Biblical justice can be seen in the two of the cultural's symbols: scales versus rivers. 

 

Jul 4, 2016

 

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