SERMON TITLE: For Justice
TEXT: Psalm 146 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 1/10/21
You can watch the sermon here.
You can find the sermon notes here.
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know — no matter if you’re worshipping with me in person or joining us online — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
About every other year, we begin the new year with a series that focuses on who God is and the implications for what this means in different areas of life. And as we begin 2021, we’re returning to some of these familiar topics reminding ourselves that God is for justice. That he’s for life. And he’s for the family. But — as we saw last week when we began this series — God is first and foremost for himself. So the foundation for the rest of this series — what the rest of these sermons are built on — what we can’t forget as we talk about being for justice, and for life, and for the family — is the biblical truth that God is for God.
So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Psalm 146. We’ll be looking at the entire psalm — verses 1-10. We’ll be in Psalm 146 today.
And while you’re finding Psalm 146, we’re talking about justice — today — and for the next few weeks we’ll look at some specific areas of justice. And — it wouldn’t surprise me — if the word “justice” makes some of us cringe a bit. Mainly because justice issues have become so politicized. For some, using the words “social justice” in the church is simply giving ground to the political left. For some, “biblical justice” is a phrase being hijacked by the political right.
Now the danger — for Christians — is that instead of allowing the Bible to define for us what are injustices — we allow our political party to define them for us. Too many Christians are spending more time listening to the news source of their choice or to politicians than they are spending time in Scripture. Thus — depending on your political party — some things are justice issues to fight for and other justice issues are seen as anti-Christian — regardless of what the Bible actually says or implies about the issue at hand.
But we — God’s people — and come on I think we know this — we must allow God’s Word to define for us what are issues of injustice that his people — having been transformed by the grace of God as revealed in Jesus Christ — God’s people — in having been saved by Christ — must turn to his Word and rely on his Spirit for our marching orders as to what it means to be doers of justice in our world.
Because — as we’ll see — the God of the Bible is a God of justice. And just as his people are to be loving — because our God is love — and just as we’re to be gracious and patient and kind because our God is gracious and patient and kind — we’re also to be people who do justice because our God is a just God — he is a God that is for justice.
Now, if you’re not a Christian, you may have no issue with this expectation to do justice. My hope — though — is to show you that to do the justice you desire to see done requires supernatural help from God as we humans have failed — and continue to fail — in being just with each other. And — if you’re a Christian — my hope is to show you that — though we’re to leave eternal justice up to God — I hope to show you that we’ve been commanded to participate in being doers of justice in our world — we’re commanded to be doers of justice.
And just as we’re commanded to share the good news of salvation with others we’re called to do acts of justice towards them as well. And we’ll see that this should not be news to us for Jesus — God in the flesh — the One we believe in — the One we’re following in all of life — did acts of justice when he walked here on earth. And — to follow Jesus — means that we also do acts of justice.
But let’s turn to our psalm and allow God’s Word to guide us towards being people who are for justice. Here are the words found in Psalm 146. Beginning in verse 1.
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 146:1-10 ESV)
So this psalm is a song of praise celebrating the faithfulness and justice of God. So the people of God — gathered together — would sing these words that acknowledge and praise that their God is for justice. Even the opening words of our psalm command us to praise the God who is just. That’s the first command in our psalm. And the only other command — in the psalm — is to “put not your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no salvation.” So only two commands. Praise God for his justice and don’t put your trust in worldly leaders to bring about the kind of justice we read of in this psalm.
But the positive command — the first command — is that we’re to praise God because of his justice. Until our last dying breath exits from our lungs — we’re to praise God because he is just and he is for justice. And — my hunch — is that praising God for his justice sounds a bit weird, right? We praise God for his grace. His love. His mercy. His blessings. We praise him for sending Jesus. But praise him for his justice?
Here’s one reason why this may seem a bit odd. Justice has two aspects to it, but we tend to think of only one of them. For example, if I ask you “What does it mean for someone to receive justice?” Many of you will think of something like, “It means that they get what they deserve.” And you’re probably thinking of a negative situation. A person’s done something wrong — so them receiving justice — is them being punished because of what they’ve done. Because if people aren’t punished — for doing wrong things — then they’ll just keep on doing wrong things, right? Punishing the wrongdoer is an act of justice.
So it seems really odd to praise God for punishing wrongdoers. It would be weird for the worship team to lead us in a song where we celebrate that God punishes people for their wrongdoing. Or that people will be punished in Hell for all eternity — even though we believe that to be true — it’s not something we sing about. And yet — here — we have a psalm — a song to be sung — that highlights that God is for justice.
Now — though punishing a wrongdoer is an aspect of justice — the biblical idea of justice also has a positive side to it. It’s where the oppressed — the weak or the vulnerable — are given their due. So — doing justice, biblically speaking — isn’t just punishing the wrongdoer — doing justice also means to care for and protect the oppressed and vulnerable of society. So doing justice has both a negative and positive side to it — and this positive side of justice is what is to be sung about in our psalm.
So here’s what I hope you ultimately understand. Doing justice — is the result of believing good, accurate, biblical theology. What do I mean? Well before we turn to doing acts of justice — ourselves — our justice — and this what separates Christian justice from secular justice — our justice begins where our psalm begins. With praise. We can’t just believe that God is just. Or that he wants us to do justice. Our hearts must be stirred to praise him because he is just. As we saw last week — we must first be for God — before we’re for doing justice. That’s why last week’s sermon is the foundation for the rest of this series. We’re for God first. Why? Because — once we’re for God first — we’ll be the doers of justice that he expects us to be.
So let’s turn — now — to who the focus is of God’s justice in our psalm. And this isn’t unique to this psalm for throughout the Bible we find that God has a heart of justice towards a particular people — and these people are mentioned in our psalm. Let’s begin in verse 7 where we read that God is the One...
Who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless. (Psalm 146:7-9a ESV)
Now — as I just said — this psalm isn’t the only place where we see these groups of people mentioned as being a priority for God’s justice. The widow, the orphan, the sojourner or immigrant, and the poor — the hungry in our psalm — are continually shown to be a concern for the heart of God because these are the people who are easily stepped all over by society. Throughout Scripture, we see God wanting to be known for caring for the oppressed and vulnerable.
Have you ever spoken at an event where the host asks you, “How should I introduce you?” I have before. Now there are a lot of things I could have them say. “Husband to Emily. Father to Wesley, Caleb, and Alice. Son of Ken and Betsy Hanson. The pastor of Gateway Church. An Army veteran. A graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Saxophone Performance.”
And — there are many ways we can introduce God. But one way that he likes to be introduced — as seen throughout the Bible — is, “Tell them that I’m the God who protects the vulnerable. Tell them that I provide for the hungry. I set prisoners free. I care for the widow and orphan. Introduce me as the God who is for justice.”
Like last week, the tenderness and kindness of God is on display in his care and concern for the vulnerable in society. Like a parent watching over their children to make sure they have what they need to flourish in life — God watches over the widow and the orphan. Like a parent who picks up their child who’s fallen off their bike — God lifts up those who are oppressed by society. Again, God does many other things — and is known for many other things — but his care for the vulnerable in society comes up so much in Scripture that he doesn’t want us to miss that he wants to be known for his justice towards them.
So what does it mean for us to do justice for these people? If God cares for them — then we’re to care for them too. Not caring for the vulnerable — but loving God — is basically telling God “I love you, but not the people who you love and have made in your image.” And — if I’m honest — if you say, “Josh, I love you, but I don’t love your wife and kids.” Well — I’m gonna question how genuine your love for me is.
So what does it mean to love and care for the vulnerable? It means at least two things. First, it means that we must not do things that harm those who are vulnerable.
And — second — and this is where the rubber meets the road — to care for the vulnerable means that we can’t ignore them. It is unjust of us to ignore the vulnerable.
Another Old Testament book is helpful here — the book of Job. (These examples from Job were brought to my attention by Tim Keller in his sermon The Justice of God.) In two places we see Job highlight what it means to do justice for the vulnerable. Here’s the first example. In Job chapter twenty-nine we read, “When I was in my prime, God’s friendship was felt in my home. 5 The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me...“Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders. 8 The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming. 9 The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths. 10 The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect. 11 “All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me. (Why? Job says...) 12 For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help. 13 I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy. 14 Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban. 15 I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.” (Job 29:4-5, 7-16 NLT)
Did you see the overlap between those — mentioned in our psalm — and the people who Job did justice for? The lists are nearly identical.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” We see something similar — here in Job — where the same groups of people — as in our psalm that God does acts of just for — are the groups whom Job did acts of justice for — he cared for them.
A few chapters later Job says, “Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity...Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows? 17 Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans? 18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows. 19 Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear, 20 did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm? 21 “If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side, 22 then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket! 23 That would be better than facing God’s judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?” (Job 31:6, 16-23 NLT)
It’s not just the acts of justice that he did for the vulnerable, Job says, “Put me on the scales of God’s justice and see if I’ve ignored the vulnerable?” And — then he says — “God, if I’ve done anything against or to ignore the vulnerable, rip my arm out of its socket. For that would be better than facing your just judgment that’s sure to come my way.” Why? Because God opposes those who do injustice. I wonder how many of us would dare to pray Job’s words?
Now — in case anyone is concerned about all of this justice talk — let me be clear as to what I am and what I’m not saying. Let’s start with what I’m not saying.
I’m not saying that doing justice is the gospel — I’m not promoting a social gospel here. Doing justice is fruit of the gospel; but it’s not the gospel. The social gospel is a lie that says we’re saved by our good works of justice. The social gospel doesn’t care about evangelism, living a holy life, or believing in Christ for salvation. The social gospel is not what I’m promoting.
So I’m not saying that doing justice is the gospel.
So what am I saying? Be careful of being callous — or hardened — towards the brokenness in our world.
But believing the gospel and following Christ requires that we not harden our hearts and instead empathize with those who are vulnerable and do justice for them.
What am I saying? I’m also saying that we can’t compromise the conviction of our faith in the name of justice. We must be diligent in not justifying unbiblical shortcuts in the name of justice being done. We must refuse to justify the decisions we make with “Well, this choice was the lesser of two evils.” The lesser of two evils is still evil. And if evil is all the world has to offer us maybe we’re putting our trust in the princes of this world instead of putting our trust in God alone.
What am I saying? We must not allow issues of justice to divide us. What do I mean? As I said earlier, there’s so much suffering — so many who are vulnerable — that it can be easy to make our justice issue THE justice issue that every Christian must be sold out for. There are issues of justice that no Christian is to compromise on — which we’ll see later in this series — but — for example — someone can be pro-life and spend their blood, sweat, and tears as foster parents, while someone else volunteers at Women’s Resource Center, while someone else volunteers at a nursing home and so on. And I’m thankful that we have all three of the examples I just described here at Gateway — among you.
But — as we talk about doing justice — it’s hard not to think of Jesus when we remember what he did while here on earth. He showed us what it means to be for justice.
But what should stun us — about the justice we see Jesus display — especially when we keep in mind those two aspects of justice — often we see Jesus display the positive side of justice rather than the negative side. In fact, the scale would lean far in one direction if we were to weigh the acts of justice that we find Jesus doing on the pages of the Bible. For as it’s been said, “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” And Jesus displayed for us what God’s justice and love look like in human flesh.
Jesus came and intentionally sought out those who were ignored by society. The lepers. The blind. The lame. Women and children. Prostitutes and tax collectors. Even the demonized. In fact, Jesus coming to earth as a man is the ultimate example of not ignoring those who are poor — for he was born into a poor family. Thus when Mary and Joseph presented the sacrifice for the birth of their son — they offered the sacrifice for those who were poor. And Paul says this about Jesus. “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT)
Jesus gave up his heavenly riches — coming to earth to be poor and abandoned and betrayed by all of us — so that — through his obedience in suffering we might be given his heavenly reward.
After he had grown up and had been tempted in the wilderness, Luke records one of the first times Jesus made it clear why he had come to earth — what had he come to do the first time he was here. This is from Luke chapter 4.
“Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” 20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”” (Luke 4:14-21 NLT)
Jesus makes it clear that he came to bring about the justice of God for the poor, oppressed, and vulnerable. But if we were to go to the prophet Isaiah — and read what he wrote — we’ll notice that Jesus stopped quoting Isaiah at a very interesting point. Here’s the original quote from Isaiah.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.” (Isaiah 61:1-2 NLT)
Back in Luke’s gospel — while telling the audience in Nazareth why he had come — Jesus talks about bringing God’s justice. But he stops his quotation of Isaiah just before saying “and I have brought the day of God’s anger against his enemies.” Jesus will bring God’s anger when he returns — bringing to completion God’s justice against those who oppose him. But until that day — we’re to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Being doers of justice because of our love for God and for those he’s made in his image.
Now I know that we haven’t talked about specific justice issues yet. My intent isn’t to get into specific issues of justice as that quickly turns into a political conversation and what’s the best way for our nation to legislate justice. That’s not my goal in preaching on what it means to be a people who are for justice. Why? Because we are to be a people who are for justice — not because it’s legislated — but because we are first and foremost for our just God.
And as we continue in this series, if you’re not already involved in doing justice for the vulnerable in our society, allow these next few weeks to be a time when you ask God, “God, where do you want me to be involved in doing justice for the vulnerable?” If you need ideas of — maybe where to begin or ways to get involved — know that we have a list of ministry partners on our website — under the Go tab — that you can get involved with. Let us help you get involved in doing the acts of justice that God wants all of his people to be doing. For he is a God who is for justice. And to be for him is to be a people who are for justice. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for being for justice. We even thank you for being for both aspects of justice — that those who refuse to repent of their injustices will not escape your punishment. But we pray this recognizing our own need to repent of the injustices we’ve caused. And we thank you for being for those who society has ignored, walked over, and oppressed. It reveals to us what it means when we say that you are compassionate, kind, generous, and a protector.
Spirit of God, help us to neither do things that harm the vulnerable nor to ignore them. Soften our hard hearts that may be overwhelmed by the injustices in our world and not know where to begin or what we can do to bring about your justice. May we remember that our job isn’t to reverse every injustice we see, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something. Spirit, give each of us clarity as to what acts of justice you are calling us to and may we obey your call.
Finally, Jesus, we thank you for showing us what it means to be for justice. You showed us in how you treated the vulnerable you encountered while here on earth. But ultimately you showed us your commitment to being for justice when you gave up your life in our place on the cross. As the old hymn — Beneath the Cross of Jesus — reminds us, your cross is our “Safe and happy shelter! A refuge tried and sweet! [For your cross is the] place where heaven’s love and justice meet.” We pray all of these things in your name. Amen.
May you go being for justice — why — because you are for God who is for justice. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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