Gospel and Injustice
Mar. 20 2008
We live in a fallen world. A very fallen world. One practical result of the world’s corruption is injustice, the unfair and unequal treatment of our fellow man.
Examples of injustice abound. From the unkind word spoken to someone made in the image of God (Jam. 3:9) to prejudices and biases against people of a particular gender, ethnicity, or social standing (Jam. 2:1-4) to abuse and murder. Spending any amount of time contemplating the sheer amount of injustice in the world easily overwhelms us. In this world, injustice is intractable.
But praise the Lord, there is another world! There is another kingdom where perfect justice and righteousness reigns (Is. 9:7; Rom. 14:17; Heb. 1:8).
We enter this kingdom through hearing and believing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The good news of the kingdom greets both the victim and the perpetrator of injustice. And this good news informs the Christian of their response to injustice.
Neither injustice nor the resulting wounds have the last word. There is healing available. There is reparation for the victim. But it can only be experienced by freshly appropriating the good news, clinging to the cross rather than to our injury.
Let’s look at what the gospel says to the wronged, to the wrongdoer, and to those that see injustice.
The Gospel for the Wronged
Sufferers of injustice sometimes cling to their pain. They have been hurt, sometimes very deeply, and that pain may become a conversation partner, speaking to us of our misery and reminding us of its strength. We may hold in our hearts the same questions the psalmist expressed: “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” (Ps. 42:9). If we listen to or give ourselves over to the pain of injustice, we may become its slave, serving its every whim and nursing it to bigger and bigger stature. We may begin to convince ourselves that God has forsaken us. What begins as a legitimate recognition of wrong suffered becomes the master we serve.
This is not to say the pain is not real or that healing is not in order. For injustice does indeed wound and sometimes nearly cripple.
But neither injustice nor the resulting wounds have the last word. There is healing available. There is reparation for the victim. But it can only be experienced by freshly appropriating the good news, clinging to the cross rather than to our injury.
The Lord himself speaks directly to those who are downtrodden by the effects of the fall. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-3). The Lord offers an exchange of burdens—our heavy and wearying burden for his light and easy one.
And there is no chance that the Lord will further victimize or blame the victim. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory” (Matt. 12:20).
Because the cross condemns sin and the kingdom is established in righteousness, all that’s needed for the healing of the victim is provided in Christ. Christ bore our shame (Heb. 12:2). King David knew what it was like to have enemies and to be threatened with the shame of their victimization. Yet he confidently proclaimed, “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame” (Ps. 25:3). Those who turn from Christ may wear their shame, but she “who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (Rom. 9:33; 10:11).
The key to overcoming injustices committed against us is putting our trust in Christ. The death, burial, and resurrection of the Son of God for the redemption of sinners purchases for us relief from the burden of injustice committed against us. Faith in Christ displaces shame and fear as we commit to God the cause of righteousness and rely upon Him to restore us.
The Gospel for the Wrongdoer
The gospel is not only a word of comfort to the wronged. It is also a word of comfort for the wrongdoer who gives himself over to Christ.
Offenses will surely come. But woe to those who commit them.
We wear our offenses against others like guilty stains on torn robes. And of course, ultimately our offenses against our fellow man are offenses against God. Our sin is deeply personal.
But what has Christ done for the wrongdoer who turns to Him? He has taken our sin upon himself, satisfying the wrath of God on our behalf, freeing us from the curse of sin and the law, purchasing by His blood our eternal inheritance, and keeping us by the power of God until that day (Rom. 3:21-26; 1 Pet. 1:3-5). In the marvelous economy of God, the one committing the injustice may be healed by the same gospel that restores the victim.
The key question is: Which side of the injustice are we on? Are we the victim or the oppressor? Those are simple questions with far-reaching implications for God’s response to us. God chooses sides in the struggle between oppressed and oppressor (Ps. 10:12-18). To the oppressed He is the Defender, but to the oppressor He is the Avenger.
What the Gospel Demands of Those Witnessing Injustice
The gospel, then, defines our response to injustice and to the parties involved in it. In both the Old and the New Testaments, the call to repentance and forgiveness is tied closely to the demand to do justice. Consider Isaiah 1:16-18:
“Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,
learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.” (Is. 1:16-28)
Jesus understood His mission in terms of fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming kingdom where the poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed are preached to, released, and given sight (Luke 4:18). Moreover, genuine repentance in the New Testament calls for restoration where injustice has been committed and a continuing life of doing justice as we follow the Savior (Luke 3:11-14).
Conclusion
Our gospel marching orders are clear:
1. Take up the cause of the afflicted.
2. Seek the repentance of the oppressor.
3. Seek justice without partiality.
4. Rejoice always that Christ has defeated sin and all its entailments.
The gospel of Jesus Christ answers all of our needs, beginning in this life and completely in the life to come.
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