Seek Justice – The Rule of Law: Government of the Conscience (6)

Seek Justice

The Rule of Law: Government of the Conscience (6)

Justice is God’s Law practiced in all human relations.

“Justice and only justice shall you follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16:20

Love and respect for our parents, learned at home, puts us in good stead to practice justice in all our neighborly activities. Justice is only the Law of God, faithfully practiced in all human relations and interactions. Thus, justice is the particular form which neighbor-love takes in any situation.

The Law of God describes five different kinds of justice. Preventive justice includes those things we do in order to ensure that our actions do not endanger our neighbor—such as building a railing around our roof or deck. Obligatory justice involves our carrying out the commitments we have made in everyday situations—keeping a vow, for example, or using just weights and balances. Restorative justice comes into play when some action on our part has harmed or injured another, incurring some cost or damage, which it is then our obligation to make good. Retributive justice requires punishment for offenses against others—in the form of financial damages or physical retribution. And distributive justice—such as the tithe and gleaning—makes it possible for us to meet the needs of those who serve us and those who cannot sustain themselves.

The Law of God establishes a ground on which we may cultivate the fruit of justice in every area of our lives, thus ensuring that our community flourishes in the wisdom, goodness, and love of God for His people. Learning the requirements of justice for all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities must be maintained as a high priority in the conscience, so that, whenever the opportunity arises, justice and only justice is what we will follow in all our ways.

For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the life of faith, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Bookstore, then Church Issues.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.