Getting justice

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”

⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”Luke 18: 1 – 8

I always find it surprising that sometimes Christians let the devil steal from them and they do nothing about it. We all know the devil is a liar, a thief and comes to destroy yet when troubles come, Christians all too often just accept that this is the way it is.

God tests our faith to strengthen it through trials and difficulties (James 1:2) and sometimes he lets the devil steal from us and lie to us, to teach us how to use our faith to overcome the devil and grow spiritually strong.  If we never had any difficulties or life was always easy, we would be very passive Christians. Jesus came to overthrow the works of the devil and he wants us to do the same in our lives.

Sometimes Christians face great injustice because of the work of the devil and in this story, Jesus explains how we can get justice by coming to God the great, just Judge.

If you imagine a court room with God as the Judge, you are the defendant, the devil is the accuser or prosecutor and Jesus is the defence counsel. We can come to this court in heaven and ask God for justice. God is righteous and therefore he has to listen to all the devil’s lies and innuendos but once they are heard, he will find in your favour if the devil has been lying and stealing from you.

A few years back we had a minor car accident which was not our fault but we could not get our £250 excess back from the insurance company.  It was ours, we were entitled to it but all letters and phone calls produced no result. I started praying in the court of heaven and coming to God the Judge and asking him for justice. We had been stolen from. I continued to pray and God showed me I need to start a formal complaint procedure. That unlocked the door and not only did we get our money back (two years late) but we got 20% added for the inconvenience (Numbers 5:7).

God is looking for faith on the earth this parable tells us and through persistent faith expressed through persevering prayer, we will get justice. In the natural if you give up on a court case before the end, you lose everything.  It is the same in the spiritual. We must persevere in faith filled prayers and God will give us justice. 

Walk humbly with our God

He has showed you O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

In the preceding verses Micah asks the people how best he should come before God. He suggests he should perhaps bring burnt offerings or thousands of rams or rivers of oil or even sacrifice his firstborn to show his sincerity. However God does not want extravagant outward shows of devotion, he wants lives committed to him by obedience. He wants his people to do the things he asks of them and to show the same kind of qualities as he does.

What God requires is justice because he is the God of justice. He wants us to give what is right and proper to people, to be truthful and honest and not to lie, cheat, steal or take bribes. He then requires us to love mercy because he is a merciful God. He wants us to show kindness and generosity to those in need or weaker than ourselves; not to trample on the poor but look after them. In several places in the Bible God berates his people for being full of meaningless religious activity instead of showing justice, kindness and mercy and looking after others (for example Isaiah 58: 6 – 10).

Finally Micah says that God requires that we walk humbly with him. This is the most important thing that God asks of us. It rates alongside ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength’ as fundamental to the Christian life. Everything else pales into comparison with walking with God. 

Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:21). We know little about Enoch except his genealogy and that he walked with God for 365 years and then God took him away. He did not live like all his ancestors did – he walked with God – and he did not die like his ancestors – God took him away.  However this was enough for him to be included in the hall of fame of Hebrews 11 where it says that ‘by faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death; he could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God’ (Hebrews 11: 5).  Enoch pleased God only because he walked with him.

Walking with God is incredibly important and is the most wonderful invitation that anyone can be given. Of course it is important that we show our faith through practical works but these must never be a substitute for our relationship with God.  Works must flow out of this relationship for when they do they will not be meaningless sacrifices or empty gestures. Instead they will be infused with the mercy and justice of God and come covered in his fingerprints.

The praying church

Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labour. Jeremiah 22: 13

‘Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the Lord.   ‘But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.’ Jeremiah 22: 16 - 17

When we returned to South Africa last month, there was a definite feeling that things had got worse in the nation. I was always quite optimistic about South Africa believing that the relatively smooth transition to black majority rule between 1990 and 1994 was an indicator that South Africa would not go the way of so many African countries.  Now it feels like there is an inexorable slide towards ever increasing violence, strikes such as those in the mining sector, racism and corruption.  The ANC seems to have little regard for the welfare of the people especially the poor.  Social unrest with violence has flared up everywhere, even in the relatively peaceful Western Cape which is not governed by ANC. 

The reason can perhaps be found in the fact that in January to celebrate 100 years of ANC, the party dedicated the nation to their ancestors. Now Christians from all over the country are rising up in prayer and repentance to God. Last Saturday Christians from all denominations were invited to a prayer meeting in the centre of Cape Town to dedicate the Western Cape to the Lord. There are other prayer initiatives all over the country culminating in a national prayer meeting on December 2^nd in Pretoria. As the organisers say, ‘2012 began with the ANC dedicating the nation to its ancestors. May this year end with millions of Christians calling out to God in repentance & prayer to forgive our sins and heal our nation.’

The Bible makes it clear that God is greatly concerned about injustice, oppression, unrighteousness and society’s attitude towards the weak and disadvantaged.  God does not want us taking advantage of others but wants society to look after the poor, needy and those unable to look after themselves. The church is called to lead the way.  All nations have the disadvantaged and there is injustice and unrighteousness in even the most sophisticated democracies. Family breakdown, divorce, abortion, greed, selfishness, corruption and so on are apparent everywhere not just in the less developed nations.

Only God can turn a nation around and the church is the answer to any nation’s needs – not the government and politicians.  Self interest and the need to be re-elected always seems to turn even the best politicians and parties from the path of selfless service to the nation.  The church however is called to serve the nation in which it is placed.  Christians are called to pray for their leaders and bless them unto righteousness.  Prayer is the weapon by which we wage war against unrighteousness, extortion, injustice, corruption, greed and selfishness.

Our nations are facing huge problems at this time and they desperately need a praying church. The people especially the weak and poor need righteous leaders supported in prayer by the church to help them. Our leaders need wisdom, knowledge and insight to solve some of the huge problems they are facing and these will come through a praying church.

 Let us rise up in prayer that God’s Kingdom will come on earth in our nations as it is in heaven.