SERMON: TESTED AND APPROVED: JUSTICE

1 March 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Nehemiah 5:1-13

Nehemiah 5:1-13 (NIV)
¹ Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers.
² Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain."
³ Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine."
⁴ Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards.
⁵ Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others."
⁶ When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry.
⁷ I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, "You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!" So I called together a large meeting to deal with them
⁸ and said: "As far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers, only for them to be sold back to us!" They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.
⁹ So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?
¹⁰ I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop!
¹¹ Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the usury you are charging them--the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine and oil."
¹² "We will give it back," they said. "And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say." Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised.
¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, "In this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!" At this the whole assembly said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

            -- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series called "Tested and Approved" on the cardinal virtues of the Christian life -- so far we have looked at the virtues of wisdom, courage, and self-control -- this morning, we are going to look at the virtue of justice

            -- unlike the other virtues we have discussed, the virtue of justice is not merely a change we make in ourselves -- it is a change we make in the world -- it is not just about us becoming better people -- it is about us taking up the  mantle of responsibility as Christians in this world to make it a better place

            -- to define what we mean by justice is difficult -- the best description I found was related to the Jewish word "shalom" -- typically, we think of shalom as meaning peace, but it means much more than that -- shalom speaks to serenity and harmony and restoration of the whole -- it means to put things right -- to do what is right -- to restore a right balance within and without

            -- when we think of justice in these terms, we see the justice of God portrayed through the cross of Christ -- when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, what was good became corrupted -- and it took God's justice through Christ to make it whole again -- to make things right

            -- so the virtue of justice can be thought of as the restoration of life to God's holiness and righteousness -- and this can be internal -- as we seek to make our lives reflect the righteousness of Christ -- to be holy as He is holy -- and it can be external -- as we seek to employ the will of God around us to change this world and the lives of those around us

            -- so what does this mean to us as Christians today? -- what does justice look like in a world that has become shaded with grey rather than black and white values?

            -- a few years ago, the ABC Primetime News Show "What Would You Do?" did a compelling episode on public displays of rage, with angry boyfriends verbally abusing their girlfriends in a public park

            -- in the first segment, the woman was a petite African-American who was sitting on a bench next to a jogging trail while her boyfriend, a tall white man, was screaming at her, "Sit down!  What do you mean I'm scaring you? Sit down!"

            -- several people witnessed the scene -- a few stopped and watched -- one man stopped and raised his hand like he was going to say something, but the boyfriend turned to him and said, "Stay out of it!" and he turned away

            -- finally, one lady heard the screams and turned to the couple -- "What's going on?" she asked -- when the boyfriend said, "Ma'am, mind your own business.  We're having a...," she cut him off and said, "I'm not going to mind my own business when I see you abusing her."

            -- in another segment of the show, the producers changed the dynamic of the couple, with the boyfriend being an African-American and the girlfriend being a white woman -- in this situation, the boyfriend was trying to drag the girl off the bench while onlookers watched -- most didn't react

            -- but as a male jogger passed by, the boyfriend kicked the girl and the jogger immediately went into action -- he yelled, "Hey, leave her alone!" and when the boyfriend turned to confront he jogger, he didn't back down but stood up to him -- "In no situation do you kick a girl!" he said -- before the situation escalated any further, the producers stepped in to end the segment and let the jogger know what was going on¹

            -- getting back to the premise of the show, what would you have done? -- how would you have reacted? -- how would Jesus have reacted?

II.  Scripture Lesson on Justice (Nehemiah 5:1-13)

            -- I want us to take a moment and look at this passage from Nehemiah, one of my favorite books in the Bible, and see what we can learn about the virtue of justice from his example       

            -- to give you the background for this passage, Nehemiah was the royal cup-bearer for the Persian emperor King Artaxerxes, whose empire included Judah and the city of Jerusalem -- Nehemiah was Jewish, part of the descendants of the Israelites who had been captured and brought to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar and subsequently put under the rule of the Media-Persian Empire when Babylon was defeated

            -- Nehemiah heard of the condition of Jerusalem -- how the city and the temple had fallen into disrepair and how the wall that surrounded the city had been broken down during the various sieges and battles that had taken place -- in his days, the life of a city depended on the security of the wall around them -- when raiders or attackers came against the people, they would retreat inside the security of their wall for protection -- it would also let them safely defend themselves from attacks that came from the outside

            -- the broken walls of Jerusalem meant that the people there lived in fear, poverty, and insecurity -- they were not protected from those who sought to harm them and they would never grow in wealth or power because others would always have the ability to just come in and take what they owned

            -- so God put it on Nehemiah's heart to go to Jerusalem to repair the walls and to restore the city to its former glory -- as this passage opens, we see Nehemiah in Jerusalem overseeing the repairs -- the Jews had already faced down the opposition from the Gentiles in the land as they began the project -- but now the Jews were facing difficulty from another source

            -- look with me here at Nehemiah 5, starting in verse 1

Nehemiah 5:1-5 (NIV)

1 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers.

2 Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain."

3 Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine."

4 Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards.

5 Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others."

            -- under Nehemiah's leadership, the people of Jerusalem had undertaken the repair of the walls of the city above all else --Nehemiah had helped them to see that their lives would never truly prosper -- that things would never be made right -- until the walls were rebuilt

            -- and, keep in mind, this was a spiritual rebuilding as well as a physical rebuilding -- the walls they were building were made of stone and wood and mortar -- but they represented the kingdom of God in the lives of the people of Israel -- for decades, the people had chosen to live outside the walls of God's protection -- apart from His promises -- apart from His righteousness -- and now Nehemiah is urging them to restore their spiritual lives by rebuilding their reliance on the promise of God in their lives

            -- he understood how important this was -- so he had the people working on the walls and on their relationship with God night and day -- but the problem we see in these verses is that the people did not have the resources to live and make ends meet without working in the fields and getting grain for their families

            -- so to provide for their families, some had mortgaged their farms and their vineyards and their homes -- others had to borrow money from wealthier Jews -- and as the lenders demanded payment and excessive interest on the loans, the people were suffering to the point where they were literally having to sell their sons and daughters into slavery to pay their debts

            -- without a doubt, this was a grave injustice in the land -- the lending practices and the harsh demands for repayment actually went against God's law -- the term we see in this passage of Scripture is usury -- usury is the act of charging excessive interest -- there is nothing wrong with lending people money -- there is nothing wrong with asking people to pay back a reasonable amount -- but to charge them excessively in their need is wrong -- it's usury -- it's condemned in the Bible as evil

            -- so the people brought the issue to Nehemiah -- the question is what to do about it?

            -- verse 6

Nehemiah 5:6 (NIV)
⁶ When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry.

            -- if injustice doesn't make you angry, then you need to evaluate your relationship with the Lord -- we see Jesus become angry many times in the gospels -- always in response to injustice -- He became angry in the temple as the money-changers were cheating the people and turning God's temple from a sanctuary and house of prayer to a den for thieves -- He became angry at the apathy of the Pharisees and their adherence to the law while men and woman remained crippled by disease on the Sabbath -- He became angry when the storms of life came against the people and the priests and the leaders did nothing to help

            -- injustice should make us angry -- injustice should awaken within us a desire for restoration and healing -- injustice should make us want to take action

            -- last night, Kim and I went to see the "American Sniper" movie -- and at the start of the movie, you see a scene from Chris Kyle's childhood where his father is teaching his two sons about finding their place in this world -- he borrowed an illustration from Lt Col Dave Grossman, the author of "On Killing"

            -- Grossman said there are three kinds of people in life -- first, there are the sheep -- "kind, gentle, productive creatures who only hurt one another by accident" -- next, there are the wolves -- "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy" -- as Grossman puts it, "There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds"

            -- but, finally, there are the sheep dogs who live to " protect the flock and confront the wolves"² -- in the movie, Chris Kyle's father encouraged his sons to be sheep dogs -- and you see this thread of responsible protection throughout the life of Chris Kyle as portrayed in the movie

            -- we see Christians in the Bible referred to as sheep, but I think we have misunderstood what Jesus and the Holy Spirit meant when He called us this -- Jesus called for us to be sheep in the sense that we were to be unified as one flock -- one people -- under His protection and Lordship -- we were to look to Him for restoration and redemption and healing and not to ourselves

            -- but I don't believe He meant us to live as sheep in a world of wolves -- I think the calling of Christians in the Bible carries with it the responsibility to make wrong things right -- to stand up for the poor and the orphan and the widow -- to speak out against what is wrong -- to be the sheep dogs who protect the sheep and lead them to the Father

            -- go back to verse 6 again

Nehemiah 5:6-13 (NIV)

⁶ When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry.
⁷ I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, "You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!" So I called together a large meeting to deal with them
⁸ and said: "As far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers, only for them to be sold back to us!" They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.
⁹ So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?
¹⁰ I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop!
¹¹ Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the usury you are charging them--the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine and oil."
¹² "We will give it back," they said. "And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say." Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised.
¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, "In this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!" At this the whole assembly said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

            -- in these verses we see Nehemiah's response to injustice -- and the actions he takes can be considered a framework for our own response to injustice today

            -- first, I want you to see that Nehemiah took action -- he didn't just get angry -- he didn't just fire off a letter to the editor or post something on Twitter or Facebook of Instagram -- he did something about it -- he took action

            -- studies have shown people who post about an injustice or a cause on twitter or any of the social media are less likely to actually get involved. -- Just putting a bumper sticker on your car is not an act of justice

            -- it takes determination and commitment to make a difference in the face of evil and injustice in our world today -- apathy is the biggest supporter of injustice in our world today -- as Nehemiah shows us in this passage, you must get involved

            -- next, Nehemiah went to the source of the conflict -- to right a wrong you must first identify the wrong -- in this case, Nehemiah went to the nobles and officials and accused them of doing wrong by their brothers by exacting usury from them

            -- he pointed out to them exactly what they were doing wrong in hopes they would repent of their actions on their own

            -- when that didn't work, Nehemiah brought the issue before the entire community -- he lays out the wrongness of their actions in light of God's redemptive purposes -- he tells them, "God has redeemed us from bondage -- He has led us to buy back our brothers who were sold into slavery to the Gentiles -- and now you are putting them back into bondage again"

            -- he appeals to the Law of God and tells them, "What you are doing is not right!" -- God's law -- God's word -- is the standard that we must follow in our lives -- as the people of God, the Israelites were to follow God's word and to seek His will and to be obedient to His commandments -- the problem was not in the lending to the Jews in need -- the problem was in the usury -- these nobles and officials were violating God's commands in regards to usury and were putting their fellow Jews into bondage

            -- Nehemiah appeals to the law of God and says, "You are wrong in what you are doing"

            -- and, finally, Nehemiah calls them to repent -- to turn from their evil ways and to make restitution to the Jews for their wrong actions against them -- "return to them all that you have stolen through usury -- release them from their chains -- remember your witness before God and before your countrymen and before the Gentiles"

            -- in verse 13, when Nehemiah shook out the folds of his clothes and said, "May God shake out of His house and His possessions every man who does not keep his promise" -- this is actually speaking a curse onto those who refused to repent or who went back to perpetuating injustice on the people again

III.  Responding to Injustice Today

            -- as Chris Surber points out, all too often when we see injustice today, we tend to turn a blind eye towards it -- we do nothing to correct the wrong -- we do nothing to speak God's word and will into the situation

            -- Surber says that believers often default into one of three basic categories when injustice is perceived: 

            (1) "We say that “this will all be fixed when Jesus returns.”" -- we just watch and wait and do nothing

            (2) "We resign ourselves to the notion that “since God is sovereign, all of this must be a part of His plan.”" -- we just shrug our shoulders and say, "this is the way God wants it -- if He wanted to change it, He would" -- this is the karmic response to evil and injustice

            (3) "We say simply, often in honest exasperation, “what can I do? I can’t do anything about it. I’ve got my own problems.”"³

            -- none of these responses are right -- the message of the Bible is that God cares for the poor and oppressed -- God calls us to take action against injustice -- it is our duty to provide for and protect those in need as best we can, regardless of the personal cost -- apathy and ignorance are no excuse -- we will be judged based on how we treat those around us

            -- when we see injustice, we must take action -- we must do something

            -- as we see in this passage from Nehemiah, there are several steps we are to follow when we see an injustice taking place:

            -- first, take immediate action -- step in to alleviate the immediate injustice and harm you see occurring -- this can mean stepping in to meet the physical needs of a person -- to give them food and clothes and shelter -- this can mean stopping violence -- this can mean removing a person from a harmful situation -- whatever form injustice takes, we must take action against it

            -- secondly, we need to identify the source of the injustice and appeal to the source for relief -- perhaps those who are inflicting an injustice on someone are unaware of their actions -- perhaps they don't understand the harm they are doing -- perhaps they just need to be shown the wrongness of their action

                        -- injustice cannot be solved by simply treating the symptoms -- the injustice must be resolved by getting to the root of the problem -- and we do this by identifying the source and trying to make a change at this point

            -- third, if we are unable to effect change on our own or if the party of the injustice is unwilling, then we need to appeal to the community as a whole -- this is part of the function of government -- God has given authority and responsibility to the government to take care of the people -- and we can appeal to the government for redress and assistance in righting wrongs at their source in order to remove injustice in the land

            -- finally, we need to speak the word of God into situations of injustice -- we need to hold up God's law as our guide and show the perpetuators of injustice that what they are doing is not just wrong, it is evil -- we need to appeal to their spirits and pray that God will lead them to repentance -- this implies that we know God's word ourselves -- that we are striving to become moral and just and holy in our own lives and that we are seeking to reflect God's justice to the world around us

            -- moral wrong cannot be corrected through legal actions -- you can only fix the morals of a person or a country through a change in heart and spirit -- and we do so by telling others of the word of God and praying for the Holy Spirit to soften and change their hearts and lead them to a place of repentance

IV.  Closing

            -- let me close by sharing with you a story that Erwin Lutzer retells in his book "When a Nation Forgets God" -- one Christian's story of living in Hitler's Germany. The man wrote:

            -- "I lived in Germany during the Nazi Holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. We heard stories of what was happening to the Jews, but we tried to distance ourselves from it, because what could anyone do to stop it?

            -- "A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we could hear the whistle in the distance and then the wheels coming over the tracks. We became disturbed when we heard the cries coming from the train as it passed by. We realized that it was carrying Jews like cattle in the cars!

            -- "week after week the whistle would blow. We dreaded to hear the sound of those wheels because we knew that we would hear the cries of the Jews en route to a death camp. Their screams tormented us.

            -- "We knew the time the train was coming, and when we heard the whistle blow we began singing hymns. By the time the train came past our church, we were singing at the top of our voices. If we heard the screams, we sang more loudly and soon we heard them no more.

            -- "years have passed, and no one talks about it anymore. But I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. God forgive me; forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians yet did nothing to intervene."⁴

            -- let us pray

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1 Public Displays of Rage: What Would You Do? March 11, 2008 By CLEM TAYLOR and NATALIE D. JAQUEZ http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/WhatWouldYouDo/Story?id=4076903&page=1

2 On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman http://mwkworks.com/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

3 Chris Surber, Sermon: At War with Injustice, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/at-war-with-injsutice-chris-surber-sermon-on-faith-143256.asp?page=0

4 Erwin W. Lutzer, When a Nation Forgets God (Moody Press, 2010), p. 22.