Just LifeTo Live Just Life or A Just Life

Just and Justice • Are often defined as political

words• For some, justice means to carry

out harsh punishment for criminals

• For others it’s a social issue:–Demanding a war on poverty–“ridding” the system of corruption or

iniquities

“One must be careful to look and read the Bible so that it speaks its own meanings”

“Let us not allow contemporary issues

to color our notion of what a just life is or justice”

Definition of Just and Justice

• Doing what is just or justice• Can be a case in litigation,

a judicial decision, the execution of a judgment, a statement of the code against which actions are to be judged

“Mispat”

“In essence justice has to do with one’s rights and duties under the law”

Definition of Just and Justice

• refers to moral and ethical norms“Sedaq”

1. God – the foundation of justice and being just

• The Lord Himself revealed the norms and standards by which all human behavior can be judged.• Justice is doing what is in

harmony with the divinely revealed norms of interpersonal behavior

13 “You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from

heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good. 33 Every time you punished us you

were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved.

Nehemiah 9:13; 33

He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!Deuteronomy 32:4

5 The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah’s leaders, who had all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, “This is what the Lord says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak.” 6 Then the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is right in doing this to us!” 2 Chronicles 12: 5-6

“To be just and to experience justice is rooted in the very nature of God and His character is the true norm or standard”

All of God’s acts are just and right even those we don’t understand

2. Scripture – God’s revealed standards

In Scripture, God has given us norms that we can grasp. Standards expressed in the Old and New Testament in the Mosaic Law and in the Prophets. Take justice and living a just life from the realm of the abstract and make it a practical issue.

The Just Lifestyle• Love God and Others

The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Luke 10:27

The Just Lifestyle• Takes care of the poor & widows

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:27

The Just Lifestyle• Takes care of the poor & widows

“You must not exploit a widow or an orphan.”

Exodus 22:22

The Just Lifestyle• Cry out for the children

Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger.

Lamentation 2:19

The Just Lifestyle• Respect Others

13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall19 O then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

Romans 14:13, 19

The Just Lifestyle• Fulfill roles and responsibility

in the homeFor wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22

The Just Lifestyle• Fulfill roles and responsibility

in the home

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

The Just Lifestyle• Continue to do good works

Matthew 5:13-1613 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

The Just Lifestyle• Continue to do good works

Matthew 5:13-1615 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

The Just Lifestyle• Love God and Others • Takes care of the poor and

widows• Cry out for the children• Respect Others• Fulfill roles and responsibility

in the home• Continue to do good works

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.Micah 6:8