Community & Discipleship
Fighting for Justice in a Fallen World (Ecc 3:16-4:3)
Fighting for Justice in a Fallen World: God's people must have a conviction for justice and compassion for the oppressed, since justice ultimately comes from God and His plan runs through the cross, judgment day, and the church today. Justice is part of discipleship, and it is pursued first in prayer and then in action.
Justice is rooted in God, not in the fallen world (16-17)
Solomon sees that even in courts and places of justice under the sun, wickedness is present. We must not stop at seeing this injustice but look to God, the righteous judge who will judge in due time. Justice may come through courts or law enforcement, but its ultimate source is God, who loves righteousness and justice. God's plan for justice runs from the cross of Jesus at the beginning, through the judgment seat of Christ at the end, to the church today, which declares the gospel, warns of judgment, and shows Christ's love to the vulnerable and oppressed. So we are God's plan to fight for justice in this fallen world.
Our sin shows we need the cross, not just reform (18-21)
Ecclesiastes 3:18 says God tests people to see that apart from Him they are but beasts. When we see injustice, the test is whether it humbles us and drives us to the cross, and whether we long for Jesus to break into governments and communities. Jail or education may change behavior, but only the cross of Jesus changes the human heart. Therefore the church must not only take part in justice issues but lead the way. Everyone dies and faces judgment, so a life lived apart from God and from pursuing justice differs little from the animals.
Pursue justice with all your might (22)
Deuteronomy 16:20 says justice and only justice you shall follow, and the word follow means giving full chase with all your might, like the pursuit in the Exodus. Isaiah 1:17 calls us to learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow's cause. The text does not say only hope or pray for justice but to bring it, so we must be the answer to the prayers of the oppressed. If our hearts are cold, we should put our treasure where God's heart is, because our hearts will follow our treasure. Amos 5:24 shows God's desire for justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Compassion turns justice into action (4:1-3)
Ecclesiastes 4:1 repeats that the oppressed have no one to comfort them, and the greatest grief is that no one cares for them. Harry Holt, who saw war orphans in Korea, did not only pray but lobbied and fought to establish intercountry adoption, and Holt Children's Services has helped over 100,000 children find homes. Solomon says it would be better never to have been born than to see injustice and do nothing. Jesus rebuked Pharisees who tithed but neglected justice and the love of God (Luke 11:42). Justice is part of discipleship, and we must live out the gospel, not only preach it.
Intercession and spiritual warfare come before justice
Isaiah 59:14-17 says justice is turned back, truth has stumbled in public squares, and God saw there was no one to intercede. The greater crisis was missing prayer, and God Himself brought salvation through His own arm, which points to Jesus, the suffering servant. The fight for justice begins in prayer because it is spiritual warfare, and the armor of God in Isaiah 59:17 echoes Ephesians. The Gosnell trial shows how media silence and the flesh resist justice, yet God's people are called to be marked by zeal and passion for justice. The church must speak truth into public arenas as it did in the times of Wilberforce, Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The church is called to change this nation
Global slavery, including about 1 million sex slaves in Korea and 10 million Korean male customers, is a greater evil than past racism and slavery, and it corrupts the moral fabric of the nation. House of Hope, a planned Christ-centered aftercare center for trafficking victims and a crisis pregnancy center, shows this love in action. Its safe house will offer women the love of Jesus and the good news that they can be forgiven and begin again. The church is salt and light, and the time for justice is now. We must declare truth and shine light until this darkness is gone, because in Christ we are the salt and light of this nation.
Apply to Life
- Let us pray that God will restore in our hearts a driving conviction for justice in an unjust world.
- Let us learn to do good by serving and partnering with the poor, the orphan, and the trafficked, as we are able.
- Let us put our treasure where God's heart is, so that our hearts will follow.
- Let us intercede in prayer for the oppressed and stand in the gap for those who have no one to speak for them.
- Let us declare the truth and shine the light of the gospel until this darkness is gone.
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