13 – Social justice

The second application of this revolutionary truth relates to social justice.

The public arena is filled with factions clamoring for attention. Each one has a pet issue that it demands the rest of society accept. Every group has a different idea about what is right and wrong. Everyone privately agrees that no one can really know what is right and wrong for others. Because they cannot establish a society built around a common vision of justice, factions forge alliances and strike bargains among themselves to get their own interests enshrined in the law.

When pressed to explain, skeptics admit they can’t really prove that the oppression they oppose is unjust. They point to suffering but can’t prove anything more than that suffering is unpleasant. They point to appalling behavior but can’t prove it is wrong. They cry out that human rights are being violated but can’t explain why those rights exist or how we know what they are.

What hope is there for justice in a society that believes right and wrong are merely matters of personal opinion or majority vote?

Such a society inevitably dissolves into chaos because its citizens become convinced that they have a right to live their lives according to their own moral opinions. When the chaos degenerates into anarchy, the society turns to a tyrant who can maintain order by forcing a set of values on everyone else. How many countries today would degenerate into anarchy if their strongman governments were removed from power?

Many societies still talk about justice and human rights. They know what their religion, philosophy, or tradition tells them is immoral or unjust. A society’s majority may even agree about what is right and wrong, but majority opinion is no guarantee of justice. What society can offer factual evidence that proves what is right and wrong to those who don’t accept its tradition?

The world’s democracies are living on the leftovers of traditional morality. Skepticism is eating away at what remains of social stability. Most of the social rights and benefits enjoyed by Americans, for example, are the legacy of the Christianity rejected by skeptics, even though it is the only worldview that has ever given rise to the kind of society skeptics want.

People who want to deny that God is real must prepare themselves to live under anarchy or tyranny, because that is all a God-less worldview can give a society. If God is not real, there is no reason for anyone to cooperate with the skeptic’s idea of social order.

Particularly confusing is the God-denier who wants the protection of laws that are only meaningful if God is real. On what basis does the pornographer demand that society protect his degradation of women and exploitation of addicted men? On what grounds do abortionists ask society to defend the sanctity of their human lives against vigilantes?

How can people expect to enjoy the blessing of civilized society while denying the God who makes it possible? A skeptic may point out that the law protects his actions, but the skeptic believes law is only based on public opinion – and skeptics have proven that public opinion can be changed. We may cling to the remnants of Christian society – ideas like democracy and human rights – but everyone must understand that the skeptical worldview is what is driving the world into anarchy and tyranny.

The only hope for any society is for its people to acknowledge Creator God for who he is and commit themselves to live in a way that gives him the honor he is due. Christians must take a public stand for justice, morality, and the law – even when it protects God-less people. Only the Christian worldview can explain why a belief or action is just or unjust, right or wrong.

Only Christians can preserve a society from chaos, anarchy, and tyranny. Without the “salt and light” influence of Christians, no society can remain – or become – just and civilized. Only Christians can point people toward the spiritual transformation that gives them the power to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly” with God (Micah 6.8).

Many Christians, however, have run away from their degenerating societies and cloistered themselves in holy communities. Many refuse to share the good news of salvation with the lost souls God has placed in their lives because they believe it’s only a matter of opinion anyway. Some of those who do venture into the public arena look and sound suspiciously like tyrants who would establish order by forcing their values on everyone else.

A just, free society cannot be created by imposing Christian values on an unbelieving society. Christians should be in the public arena, pointing out the inadequacy and futility of the skeptic’s beliefs and value system. Christians should be showing people how the Christian worldview can help people know what is true and just. Christians should be taking a strong public stand against injustice and oppression. Christians should be casting a vision of “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” Christians should be bearing witness to the One who gave his life to set us free from the power of sin and death.

We live in a chaotic world that is increasingly full of violence and injustice. Christians are the only people who can speak a certain word about truth and justice.

Whether the world continues to slide into chaos depends entirely on whether Christians claim their birthright as God’s people and take a public stand for the freedom and justice that only comes to the society that honors the Creator.

Think about it!
Make a list of social justice issues that concern you most.

Get involved!
Ask your church leader or Bible teacher to suggest organizations that can help you get involved with the issues on your list. Visit the International Justice Mission’s Internet site, http://ijm.org.

Next installment
14 – A word about faith

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