“There is an ugly dualism emerging within evangelicalism wherein some professing Christians are exhorting their brethren to pursue justice, while at the same time judging them for not doing so according to their subjective visage of what that pursuit of justice must look like. Pursuing justice begins with a proper hermeneutic of what justice is. Justice is not an arbitrary, man-conceived ideal. It is borne from the character and nature of God. As such, justice must be understood as God defines it and pursued as God dictates, not as society dictates. To whatever degree some Christians may be less vociferous or demonstrative than others concerning matters of biblical justice, it should never be interpreted as insensitivity, apathy, or passivity. For only an omniscient God knows the motives of a person's heart (Psalm 44:21). Apart from an understanding that justice, as a principle, originates within the nature and character of God, the pursuit of justice can easily become idolatry. It becomes idolatry when we judge the motives and intentions of others, thereby putting ourselves in the place of God. God is sovereign over all that happens in His world (Psalm 103:19) including the injustices that He providentially ordains (Lamentations 3:38). Scripture declares that the perfect and indefectible justice of a holy God will not always be a reality in this sinful and fallen world. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:24 (NASB), "The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after." Ultimately, justice belongs to God, not to us. It is God's standard of justice that His people should pursue, not our own standard. In doing so, however, one must resist the temptation to judge or condemn those brothers and sisters who happen to not be as outspoken or effusive as they (as if that were somehow indicative of what is in their hearts.) Silence should never be presumed to be indifference.”
Darrell B Harrison
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