Practice Justice?
Practice Justice?
In Paul's letter to the church in Rome, he states this premise (literally in Greek): "The righteousness (justice) of God in the Gospel (good news) is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'But the righteous from faith will live." (1:17)
Later he shares that the wrath of God is being revealed against humanity due to how we have worshiped creation rather than God, the Creator....and that the fall out from that is a perversion of all things...from sex, to money, to just about every aspect of human relationships.
And if we look around we have to agree that things are in a sad state of affairs. From war around the globe to oil spills in the gulf...there is brokeness everywhere. And that brings us back to "the righteousness (justice) of God". God so loved the cosmos (John 3:16) that through his Son, our risen Lord, Christ Jesus, God will make all things new...that is his justice. He will fix what is broken and bring his justice (righteousness) to the world.
Though the fulfillment of that is to come...we, the Church, are to be a foretaste of that great Day when all things are made new. We are to practice justice (righteousness) right here, right now. Unfortunately, the Church has too often passed judgement, rather than practiced justice. So, what does it mean to practice justice? It means, simply, to bring healing to what is broken...to make right(eous) what is wrong in the world. So, how might that look on your block, your neighborhood, your city? Seriously. How might that look? Shoot me an email and let me know: pastordave@rivercommunitychurch.org.
I look forward to worshipping with you Sunday!
Dave