“You (God) are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” – Psalm 22:3
There is much conversation in our time about the matter of justice – who deserves to get what, and the processes by which that justice will be employed. But justice will never be established by legislation, and neither will it be established by the good intentions of well-meaning people. Justice can only be established in one way – in tandem with righteousness, for these twin realities can only come in proportion to the establishment of God’s Kingdom on the earth.
Let me attempt to give a somewhat simple definition of these terms: in my mind, I see righteousness as being aligned with God’s perfect design and plan. Wickedness, on the other hand, is the distortion of that design that comes by cooperation with the enemy’s plan. The Pope, in his recent declaration that a homosexual could love himself because God made him that way, is simply wrong. Distortion comes by agreement with the destroyer; righteousness comes by the empowering of the Holy Spirit in agreement with God’s design. And by the way, all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, not just those in the gay community. Every individual needs the saving and transforming power of the Holy Spirit to bring us to our true design, which is righteousness in the image of Jesus Christ.
Justice, then, is to me the process of bringing all things into alignment with God’s righteous plan. Justice is not merely a social strategy; rather, it is the result of righteousness being established in every relationship, as we receive the Father’s transforming love, and then relate to one another in that love by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our primary responsibility in bringing righteousness and justice to the earth is to worship Jesus in a spirit of humility and unity. As the Bride of Christ comes together in unity and true worship, the throne of God and its foundations of righteousness and justice are established in the atmosphere. Things begin to change in society as a byproduct of the Kingdom of God coming closer, even as we wait for the full establishment of that Kingdom at the triumphal return of Jesus.
So with the writer of Psalm 67 I say this:
“Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth.”
Gary Wiens
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