Justice…we all want justice. But what kind of justice? Are we all saying the same thing? Sadly, biblical justice is becoming less relevant to today’s society. These past two Thursdays, I’ve presented ideas on biblical justice vs. social justice and discussed what Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) give a big thumbs up to. Today, let’s wrap up this discussion with what SJWs give a thumbs down to.
Five Big Things That Get a Big Thumbs-Down from SJWs
Individual Responsibility
As I shared in my last blog, social justice calls for a moral leveling of the playing field, not by addressing moral absolutes but by getting rid of them all together in favor of identity politics. Now, the Bible knows nothing of identity politics beyond the truth that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We’re all identified in that, according to Scripture. We will not stand before God in groups, but as individuals, and we must all give an account. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NASB) says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for their deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
Identity politics, though, seeks to hide notions of sin and Godly wisdom. But once again, the Bible says if you’re wise, you’re wise yourself; and if you’re a fool—or if you scoff—you’re going to bear it, but you’re going to bear it alone (Proverbs 9:12). But that’s greatly disliked among ideological social justice warriors who do not believe sin is the problem at all, but rather, oppression by anyone who does not view the world through their lens.
How different all of this is in the biblical worldview. What is our fundamental problem as human beings? God’s one-word answer isn’t oppression at all. His one-word answer would be rebellion. Again, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Our fundamental problem is that we—all of us—are in a state of open rebellion against our Creator.
Moral Absolutes
So, where do the core worldview presuppositions and the values and disvalues of ideological social justice come from? Where do they lead? To a wildly distorted, upside-down morality. Ideological social justice is a highly moral movement. Some have even described the movement as puritanical, but it has a finely-defined sense of right and wrong, and its followers relish the righteousness and moral purity the ideology puts forth, but it’s skewed.
What is this morality look like? It certainly doesn’t involve what historically were considered virtues of the Bible, things like honesty and kindness, chastity and patience, forgiveness, marital fidelity, modesty, civility. No, it means one thing: overturning oppressive systems and liberating marginalized groups.
So social justice has no place for biblical morals and therefore concludes that there’s no real moral standard. However, biblical Christianity asserts God’s moral standard flows from His unchanging nature, so His standard is absolute. And in a world of social justice, that leads to one problematic thing after another, after another, after another.
Cisgender
Yep, SJWs dislike cisgender—identifying as having a gender that corresponds to the sex one has been assigned at birth. Its opposite is transgender. In today’s social justice environment, normative thinking, backed by all of human history up until about 10 years ago, as well as the words of our Lord Jesus Christ (“From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female,” Mark 10:6), is now considered hate speech.
Now, this works for the SJW because ideological social justice defines people entirely according to the groups they belong to. Ideological social justice asserts that all of these diverse groups are pitted up against one another in a kind of zero-sum competition for power, whereas the Bible teaches that it’s just good versus evil. Period.
Christians
And that leads us to the one group that’s hated more than any other among ideological social justice. Christians.
Let’s talk about Christianity. They say it’s too reclusive. It’s too restrictive. It’s arrogant. It’s intolerant and on and on and on. Perhaps the most hated scripture for ideological social justice adherence then would be John 14:6, where Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
It sounds so exclusive, and it is. There’s only one way.
Equality of Opportunity
As I shared last time, SJWs like equality of outcome but not of opportunity. Think about it. All of Christianity is about equality of opportunity with the ultimate equality of outcome up to God. Jesus says in John 6:37b, “…whosoever comes to me, I will never drive away.” Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” The problem is, SJWs say that it’s not fair that God demands people to trust in Christ. What if I don’t want to? Secular justice says that God’s holiness is not that important and that it would be more just to simply save everyone. But that’s unjust if it ignores God’s holiness.
To better understand this, let me share a story about a young man who asked a friend of mine this question at a conference: “How can we say that God is just when we didn’t even ask to be born.” (Yeah, he said that.) “Then after being born, which we didn’t ask for, if I don’t trust Christ, I end up in hell? How is that just?” My friend responded, “Well, let’s suppose your parents want to take you on a cruise. You don’t want to go, but they say you are. ‘You’re 12 years old, we’re still your parents, and you’re going.’” Well, while out there, a storm comes. The ship sinks, and you’re all in the water trying to stay alive. You’re treading water, but you’re drowning. Now, along comes a rescue boat. Are you going to get rescued or argue, “I didn’t want to be on that ship! I didn’t ask to be on this cruise.” Well, you don’t have to take the rescue. You’re free to drown.
Or you can hope for another boat, if you prefer, but it’s not likely to happen in the middle of the ocean.
I don’t see the moral dilemma. I don’t see the injustice in a God who loved us so much that He launched a rescue mission that both satisfied His holiness and provided a way out—a rescue mission that cost us nothing but cost Him everything.
Wrapping It Up
I wish I had more time to unpack the justice of God and why it matters so much. I do hope you’ve learned enough in these last three blogs to do what God wants in this area, which is to repeal and replace. Stop trying to redefine the truth of God into a more tolerant, palatable, and less offensive version that abdicates all individual responsibility, and reach out for the Savior who wants to rescue and adopt you as a child.
Next Thursday, I will be back to discuss a new topic—happiness! I can’t wait to share on this! Until then, be sure to check out my video series, Ask P-Ro, on my YouTube channel. You’ll find many engaging, timely, and topical discussions there. I also invite you to join us at The Summit—online or in-person—every Sunday morning at 9am & 11am MDT.
~Pastor Rob
aka, P-Ro