Worldly vs. Biblical Justice

Secular thinking, being in very nature unspiritual, usually sees biblical virtues in a distorted light. Thus, secular thinking leads to definitions of virtues that are hollow facsimiles of the real thing, mere clones made of papier mâché. Take, for example, how modern-day Western society defines love. Instead of being the selfless, unconditional divine virtue that the Bible teaches it to be, love is seen as entirely subjective, conditional, and self-centered. "Love is love," the world says, meaning love can be anything you want it to be because, in the end, it's all about you.

Or take tolerance. While tolerance has always meant "to permit, to put up with, to allow to exist", nowadays, it is used more to mean the opposite: to silence, to censure, to destroy any differing opinion.

“The Bible gives a clear and intelligible definition of what justice is. The world, as usual, has twisted and tainted it to mean something quite different.”

The same thing has happened to the virtue of justice. The Bible gives a clear and intelligible definition of what justice is. The world, as usual, has twisted and tainted it to mean something quite different.

Different Definitions

The biblical concept of justice is inseparable from the nature and character of God Himself, who is called just (Ps. 89.14). Justice flows from who He is, and therefore justice looks like God (how He would act on the earth). Justice is also intimately connected with other terms such as love, kindness, and humility (Micah 6:8), and especially righteousness (Amos 5:24).

In its usage, biblical justice is often directed toward the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized (Ps. 82:3; Isa. 1:17; James 1:27). In its focus, biblical justice always aims to set things right, in right alignment and in right standing with God, whether it be about paying debts, releasing captives, or holding evildoers accountable for their actions.

In this way, biblical justice has a wonderfully positive sense to it. It's about correction and redemption, even for the sinner. It's about helping people live in right relationship with God, with one another, and with the world.

“Just as biblical justice is closely associated with other virtues, worldly justice is closely associated with other vices.”

Worldly justice, on the other hand, has a very different aim and focus. Its aim is punitive, and its focus is vengeful. Worldly justice has little interest in restoring things to the way they ought to be; its main interest lies in making sure that damage and injury are distributed in an equitable manner. Worldly justice says, "Since you hurt me, it's only right that I hurt you."

Just as biblical justice is closely associated with other virtues, worldly justice is closely associated with other vices. Words like shame, guilt, and cancel often go hand-in-hand with worldly justice. And while biblical justice has just as much concern for the villain as for the victim, worldly justice has no such concern for those who are deemed as perpetrators.

“Biblical justice is derived from the nature and the character of God, while worldly justice is derived from the nature and character of the world.”

One thing that worldly justice has in common with biblical justice, however, is that they are both derivative. Biblical justice is derived from the nature and the character of God, while worldly justice is derived from the nature and character of the world.

This is why worldly justice often ends up looking just as angry and hateful as the people it labels evildoers. This is why worldly justice has resulted in the "cancel culture" we live in today. People can be scrutinized and careers destroyed for sins committed in the distant past. There is no room for forgiveness, whether one is a serial abuser like Harvey Weinstein or one once tweeted something immature like Kevin Hart.

Conclusion

Current justice movements like BLM and #metoo have validity insofar as they are shedding much needed light on serious issues that were hidden for far too long. And praise God that through these movements, many people who should have been held accountable long ago are now being held accountable.

But believers ought to be aware of the substantial differences between what the world sees as justice and what God sees as justice. We must avoid the error of equivocation and realize that, just because different people use the same word, that doesn't mean they're talking about the same thing.

Let our justice be biblical justice. Let us love kindness, walk humbly with God, make righteousness flow like streams, look after orphans and widows, and keep ourselves unstained by the world and its counterfeit virtues.