The Kingdom Call for Justice
“The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.”
Isaiah 5:7 NLT
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Matthew 5:6-7 NLT
“However, the Scriptures are clear that care for our neighbors includes prophetic calls to end injustice; resistance to religious, social and political systems of oppression; and identification with the poor and marginalized in society”
—Elizabeth Gerhardt in The Cross and Gendercide
In western Protestant Christianity, there is a proclivity toward reducing expressions of faith to private and personal interactions. Yet, for the most part, the Scriptures in which we base our convictions upon, are largely looking community approaches, and even community assessments of our faith. This has immense implications for the Church and its mission.
I was reading in the book of Isaiah and God was speaking though Isaiah to the entire nation of ancient Israel. God used poetic and highly metaphoric language to express his deep love and affinity for the people of Israel, who were “a favored people”. Interestingly, they were not favored for the sake of favoritism or rewarding their merit, but to be agents of God’s purposes throughout the world. We read of their inability to connect their election with their mission throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and shake our heads, but are blind to the fact that we too often struggle to connect our calling to God with our co-mission with God.
God speaks of Israel as a vineyard that was planted, cared for, and protected. We find although he was “very fond” of the people of Israel, that God planted with a purpose. He expected fruit from his vineyard. While he is speaking metaphoric, God breaks through the imagery to tell his people what fruit looks like. God stated that he planted His people for a harvest of justice and righteousness. In other words, there should be widespread expressions of justice (giving dignity, honor, and respect to all) and righteousness (interacting with God and others in a morally just or ethical manner).
God would speak further in Isaiah and say:
“Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations.”
Isaiah 51:4 NLT
It is the fruit of justice and righteousness that is that hallmark of an authentic movement of God. These are relational in expression but often in a community context. God was judging the people of Israel in Isaiah 5, because they were a vineyard that was growing terrible fruit: oppression, violence, and greed. Now, we know that not every single Israelite was oppressive, partook in violence, or exploited others economically. Yet the culture was such, that cruelty and violence thrived. God was seeking a culture change and that wouldn’t come individuals having “aha” moments and slowly getting better, but though corporate repentance, lament, and restoration.
Speaking on behalf of Christians in the United States, we need to consider our fruitfulness. Are we growing justice and sprouting up righteousness. Are we complicit or silent in the promotion of injustice and injust systems. Do we seek restorative and redistributive justice or is the goal to protect and promote our favored status? Do we defend our personal cultural political ideology even if it means promoting immoral and destructive policies and leaders? Do we actually hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice, or are we too full of our own blessings?
Your local church was planted, and cared for to make an impact. Not simply to have members and have a nice facility, but allow the love of God to be manifest in waves of mercy, justice, and healing to a broken and wounded community. This is not limited to a “spiritual realm” but appreciating that the spiritual realities are manifest in our physical, mental, emotional, social, legal, and enconomic spheres.
Jesus would reiterate that we, as His followers, are called to love God with every fiber of our being, and to love one another as He loves us. So, when we see those who are hungry, we feed them. If we find that many people are hungry, we not only feed them, but we seek to correct the injustice that led to their state. When we see those who are naked and shamed, for whatever reason, we clothe them, and if by chance, there are many who are shamed, we collectively look to identify systems that may be in place that could cause this. The same for those imprisoned, for any reason, we visit and encourage. And if there’s a overwhelming disparity of people being imprisoned, we seek to stand against the injustice. All the while, demonstrating the gospel as opposed to constantly trying to defend it.
This is simply what Jesus said in Matthew 25. He would be looking for practitioners of righteousness and justice on that day when we are brought to account for what we did and what we avoided. Jesus doesn’t ask them to recite creed or doctrine, just like Israel was not condemned on their knowledge of the law of Moses. It is the failure to be fruitful that is our ultimate failure.
I pray that you see your community as Jesus sees it. And that you follow Jesus in standing against injustice, standing for justice and practicing righteousness. Taking ownership, that God has planted you in your current setting, not just as a blessing for you, but to be the blessing.
May God bless you
Pastor M Traylor
Isaiah 5:7 NLT
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Matthew 5:6-7 NLT
“However, the Scriptures are clear that care for our neighbors includes prophetic calls to end injustice; resistance to religious, social and political systems of oppression; and identification with the poor and marginalized in society”
—Elizabeth Gerhardt in The Cross and Gendercide
In western Protestant Christianity, there is a proclivity toward reducing expressions of faith to private and personal interactions. Yet, for the most part, the Scriptures in which we base our convictions upon, are largely looking community approaches, and even community assessments of our faith. This has immense implications for the Church and its mission.
I was reading in the book of Isaiah and God was speaking though Isaiah to the entire nation of ancient Israel. God used poetic and highly metaphoric language to express his deep love and affinity for the people of Israel, who were “a favored people”. Interestingly, they were not favored for the sake of favoritism or rewarding their merit, but to be agents of God’s purposes throughout the world. We read of their inability to connect their election with their mission throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and shake our heads, but are blind to the fact that we too often struggle to connect our calling to God with our co-mission with God.
God speaks of Israel as a vineyard that was planted, cared for, and protected. We find although he was “very fond” of the people of Israel, that God planted with a purpose. He expected fruit from his vineyard. While he is speaking metaphoric, God breaks through the imagery to tell his people what fruit looks like. God stated that he planted His people for a harvest of justice and righteousness. In other words, there should be widespread expressions of justice (giving dignity, honor, and respect to all) and righteousness (interacting with God and others in a morally just or ethical manner).
God would speak further in Isaiah and say:
“Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations.”
Isaiah 51:4 NLT
It is the fruit of justice and righteousness that is that hallmark of an authentic movement of God. These are relational in expression but often in a community context. God was judging the people of Israel in Isaiah 5, because they were a vineyard that was growing terrible fruit: oppression, violence, and greed. Now, we know that not every single Israelite was oppressive, partook in violence, or exploited others economically. Yet the culture was such, that cruelty and violence thrived. God was seeking a culture change and that wouldn’t come individuals having “aha” moments and slowly getting better, but though corporate repentance, lament, and restoration.
Speaking on behalf of Christians in the United States, we need to consider our fruitfulness. Are we growing justice and sprouting up righteousness. Are we complicit or silent in the promotion of injustice and injust systems. Do we seek restorative and redistributive justice or is the goal to protect and promote our favored status? Do we defend our personal cultural political ideology even if it means promoting immoral and destructive policies and leaders? Do we actually hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice, or are we too full of our own blessings?
Your local church was planted, and cared for to make an impact. Not simply to have members and have a nice facility, but allow the love of God to be manifest in waves of mercy, justice, and healing to a broken and wounded community. This is not limited to a “spiritual realm” but appreciating that the spiritual realities are manifest in our physical, mental, emotional, social, legal, and enconomic spheres.
Jesus would reiterate that we, as His followers, are called to love God with every fiber of our being, and to love one another as He loves us. So, when we see those who are hungry, we feed them. If we find that many people are hungry, we not only feed them, but we seek to correct the injustice that led to their state. When we see those who are naked and shamed, for whatever reason, we clothe them, and if by chance, there are many who are shamed, we collectively look to identify systems that may be in place that could cause this. The same for those imprisoned, for any reason, we visit and encourage. And if there’s a overwhelming disparity of people being imprisoned, we seek to stand against the injustice. All the while, demonstrating the gospel as opposed to constantly trying to defend it.
This is simply what Jesus said in Matthew 25. He would be looking for practitioners of righteousness and justice on that day when we are brought to account for what we did and what we avoided. Jesus doesn’t ask them to recite creed or doctrine, just like Israel was not condemned on their knowledge of the law of Moses. It is the failure to be fruitful that is our ultimate failure.
I pray that you see your community as Jesus sees it. And that you follow Jesus in standing against injustice, standing for justice and practicing righteousness. Taking ownership, that God has planted you in your current setting, not just as a blessing for you, but to be the blessing.
May God bless you
Pastor M Traylor
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