The Bible and Justice

At this time of intense debate on the nature of equal treatment under the law in the wake of the untimely deaths of Black people like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, we should thoughtfully revisit what the Bible says about justice. It teaches clearly that God is just, and that his people must act justly with equity to all people, without partiality or preference.  

Truly, the Bible declares that God is just, and his demand to act justly emerges from his people’s connection to him. Having rescued them from Egyptian bondage, he required his people to display his just rule toward each other. “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18, [ESV]). The just God demanded justice from his people, even for the poor, the sojourner, and the fatherless. 

This logic of the Bible is neither abstract nor unclear. We must act justly because God is just. We must be equitable and upright in our dealings with our families and neighbors, in business and civil judgments, in all things. God’s character forges the standard of our ethics. He says his curse is on the evil person’s house, but he blesses the righteous person’s dwellings (Prov. 3:33). He does no injustice but shows forth his justice every morning (Zeph. 3:5). All the discerning ones know that the “ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them” (Hos. 14:9 [ESV]). “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deut. 32:4 [ESV]). 

As 21st-century followers of God and Christ, we must embrace this same rule. The Bible views justice through the lens of equity—equal treatment, fairness, and the absence of partiality, bribery, or perversion of justice. To be just is to treat others equitably, regardless of their status, background, station, or position. To be unjust is to apply a different standard to different people, usually with preference or favoritism. “Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Deut. 16:20 (ESV). 

In Christ, God gave his Son, the Just, who died for the unjust to bring us to God (1 Pet. 3:18). As God’s people today, we should humbly embody that same standard of equal treatment under the law to all, including the poor and the mistreated. I can only imagine the impact on our society today if God’s people sought to apply, without partiality, his simple standard of equity to all: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). 

Read more from Rev. Dr. Don Davis