To know God requires doing justice

Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

Jeremiah 9:23-24 links knowing God with doing justice, a constant theme of the prophets. The prophetic understanding was that you cannot claim to know God if you are not committed to doing justice. If we want to know and understand God, we must understand his passion for justice.

Biblical justice is not about upholding the law or defending the status quo; it is about living out the justice seen in the nature of God. It requires constant actions to deliver the oppressed, restrain the oppressors, heal the broken-hearted and feed the hungry. Amos expresses that power as a surging river of justice: "… let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:21-24 ESV).

Our world needs a similar surging river of justice!

From the 2006 Coutts Memorial Lecture, given by Major Campbell Roberts at The Salvation Army College of Further Education in Sydney, Australia. Part 2 of 5 on the centrality of Biblical Justice.

Major Campbell Roberts is the Director of The New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit. Campbell has spent a lifetime of work as a Salvation Army Officer working on issues of social policy and  programmes that will assist people in poverty in New Zealand. His past roles have included national directorship of The Salvation Army Social services, and the command  of The Salvation Army in the South Island.

Edify is an initiative of The Salvation Army's Streetlevel Mission

• Booth College
• Streetlevel
• Oasis
• The Salvation Army