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Basic
listen - Every Square Inch: Racism in America Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (Apple)*
*All three episodes are essential listening on this topic. Make the time to listen but come back to them if necessary.
GO DEEPER
Read - A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory by Timothy Keller*
*A must read to evaluate our current cultural moment.
gathering question:
In the Racism in America podcasts, Robert Cunningham said there are two temptations in this conversation and that both need to “follow Jesus into this moment.” Which side do you tend towards?
TRUTH
Take 5 minutes to read Isaiah 58 twice; once to yourself and once aloud together.
In Scripture
Conversations about justice are always religious in nature. But the religious have not always been the most just. The twin dangers of the church are separatism and syncretism. The church can so remove herself from the culture that she forgets her calling to be in and for the world. Or the church can so relate herself to the culture that she forgets her calling to be not of the world. We live in a syncretistic time when counterfeit approaches to justice are warping the biblical vision of justice. Judgment must begin in the household of God (1 Pet 4:17).
Take 10 minutes to answer these questions:
1. In vv. 1-5, how does Israel’s fast only appear to be good? In vv. 6-12, what characterizes the fast the LORD wants?
2. Slow down and consider these metaphors. What sensory or emotional experience are they meant to evoke regarding true justice? What other biblical stories or metaphors do they remind you of?
Break every yoke (v.6)
Your light break forth like the dawn (v.8)
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard (v.8)
Pour yourself out for the hungry (v.10)
Your gloom be as the noonday (v.10)
You shall be like a watered garden (v.11)
In Summary
The Lord loves his people too much to let them be defined by injustice, especially when it’s veiled in religious performance. He wants his people to share his vision for justice. The people of God have always lived in a pluralistic world with many contesting stories about what is right, fair, and just. The Bible uses images and metaphors to stock our imaginations with a vision for justice. Compelled by God’s promises we pursue God’s justice for God’s world.
EQUIPPING
These equipping questions are meant to help you work the truth out of the text and into your lives. Take 25 minutes to discuss these questions.
Tim Keller summarizes four secular approaches to justice:
I. Libertarian – A just society promotes individual freedom.
II. Liberal – A just society promotes fairness for all.
III. Utilitarian – A just society maximizes the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
IV. Postmodern – A just society subverts the power of dominant groups in favor of the oppressed.
Based on what you’ve learned about biblical justice so far, how would you both affirm and challenge each of these four secular views of justice? Use biblical reasoning to do so.
According to Isaiah 58, why is our personal/spiritual life inseparable from our public life?
In Summary
All secular forms of justice leave God out. They do not consider God’s character as the standard of justice, nor God’s pleasure as the motive for justice, nor God’s action as the hope for justice, nor God’s shalom as the goal of justice. We must evaluate all secular forms of justice, especially our preferences, with these biblical criteria.
ACCOUNTABILITY
These questions can be helpful for you to examine your life and ministry in light of the truths you explored this week. Take 15 minutes to discuss these questions:
1. Social media “are all weapons of mass instruction” (Kevin Vanhoozer). What role do media (podcasts, articles, TV, YouTube, etc.) play in forming your opinions on issues of justice? How do these compete with Scripture as the highest authority?
2. The North African pastor, Augustine of Hippo said, “But of course, it may well be that the verdict of human feeling is one thing, and the justice of the Creator, quite another.“ What injustices are you either enraged by or indifferent to? How do your emotions still need to be aligned to the heart of God revealed in Scripture?
Remember that the greatest injustice in history seemed right to both the religious (the Jews) and the empire (the Romans) of Jesus’ day. In the crucifixion, the justice of God triumphed through the injustice of man. We who are unjust (Rom 3:9-18) are made just by faith in Jesus (Rom 3:26). Clothed in his justice, we are freed to repent and pursue justice in our lives.
MISSION
The goal of the Mission section is so that Truth, Equipping, Accountability, and Supplication are transformed into a missional life, that is, following Jesus moment-by-moment in all of life. Take 5 minutes to plan for this:
Choose a day next week to fast from either food or social media (or both).
Use that day to ask the Spirit to open your eyes and burden your heart regarding some form of injustice around you.
Write this down and text it to your Breakout group.
SUPPLICATION
Remember the Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). Close by spending 10 minutes praying God’s words back to Him from the Psalms.
Psalm 72:1–4 - A Prayer about King Jesus
Give the King your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal Son!
May He judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
May He defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!