Justice in the Headlines: A Biblical Response to Injustice

Lets be honest. The word justice might be one of the most misused words in America right now. Some of it is used to justify violence. Others use it to silence truth.And somewhere in between, honestly, the church isn't sure what to say anymore. Do we march? Do we post? Do we just pray and stay quiet? But here's the hard truth. All around you, the world is shouting about justice.But it has no idea what justice really means, does it? Because real justice doesn't start in the streets or in the courts. It starts in the heart of God.And if we misunderstand his definition of justice, we're fighting the wrong battles with the wrong weapons. So today I'm going to ask this question. What does true justice look like through God's eyes?And how do we as believers live it out in a world that's deeply divided? Feeling lost in today's headlines, seeking God's truth for our chaotic culture. Welcome to Truth Unveiled with Ralph.We'll cut through the noise, guiding you to biblical discernment for your faith, your finances and your life. Now here's Ralph Estep Jr. Hi, I'm Ralph. I'm an accountant, I'm a business coach, and I'm a follower of Christ, and I think I should start there.And each week on the show, we explore real life issues, but we do those through the lens of biblical truth. That's why I do this show. And today we're asking this question, what does justice really mean?But bigger than that, how should we as Christians respond to the world's definition of it? And that's a tough question, isn't it? Because justice isn't political. A lot of people think it's political.It's one side versus the other, but it's not. It's spiritual. And I got this listener question today, and this one's going to make you think. I'll tell you, it certainly made me think.And here's the listener question, Ralph. How should Christians respond to injustice in the world? Should we stay quiet? Should we take action? Or maybe something in between?And what about all these social justice movements? Am I supposed to join them? Do they distract from the gospel? Yeah, that does make you think honest questions.Because if we're being honest, everywhere we turn, someone's redefining justice. For some people, it means fairness. We're doing things correctly. For others, it means equality. And for many, unfortunately, it means revenge.We certainly hear that talk all around us these days. We feel torn. We want to care, we want to act, but we don't want to lose focus. On Christ, maybe the real question isn't, should I get involved?But maybe it's, how can I reflect God's heart for justice without losing his truth? See, that's the struggle we face, isn't it?Before we can even talk about what justice looks like for a believer, we need to face the reality that the world has redefined the Word. This show is all about comparing culture and Bible.See, culture's view of justice is often power versus power, this power, that power, group against group, each side demanding its rights. But see, God's Word paints a completely different picture about justice. See, justice in Scripture isn't about dominance.A lot of people think justice means I'm going to win. It's a dominating thing. But in Scripture, it's about righteousness. In Scripture, it's about mercy. And in Scripture, it's about humility.Let's look at the Book of Micah, chapter six, verse eight. It says it so clearly better than I could say, right? Micah 6, 8. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you?To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Justice is not optional, it's commanded. Now, that's a sobering thought, isn't it?Because too often, if you're like me, we sit on the sidelines, we see something going on around us. We don't speak up, we don't participate. We just say, oh, you know what? Other people will handle that. You see the problem?Scripture is telling us something completely opposite. It's not optional. It's not that we can choose to not get involved. Scripture commands us to get involved. So how do we get there?Because you're thinking, ralph, I don't want to get into this. I don't want to be that one. Being involved. What starts with theology that actually moved. Now we use the word theology.A lot of people say, ralph, that's a real big word to use, and it is a little bit big. Let's get into that. Today. I want to divide this into really five sections. And I found some people who have talked about this over the years.And I feel like this is where we need to start. Let's start with my. My first section is Theology that Moves. And I'm going to reference a pastor named Timothy Keller.Now, Timothy Keller was the founder of Redeemer Protestant Church in New York. And he spent decades helping believers connect deep theology with everyday passion. Kind of what I try to do on this show. And he once said this.He said the most traditional formulation of evangelical Doctrine, rightly understood, should lead its proponents to a life of doing justice in the world. Okay, great. So he's leading to what Scripture says we have to do justice. But Ian went on to say this.Doing justice includes not only the writing of wrongs, but generosity and social concern, especially towards the poor and vulnerable. I don't know about you. When I hear that, it gets kind of deep, doesn't it?And it's a lot more complicated than I really thought before I dove into this. So what is Keller really getting at? See, Keller's point is simple. When we talk about theology, right theology always produces right action.See, if our faith doesn't move us towards compassion, we can understand doctrine, but that we don't understand discipleship. And Keller offered a very sober warning in one of his writings. He said, if we get our very identity, our sense of worth, from political positions.Hey, listen, a lot of people do that right now, don't they? What side are you on? Are you a Republican? Are you a Democrat? Are you a conservative? Are you a liberal? Then politics is not really about justice.It's about us. That cuts, doesn't it? I know it cut me. And isn't that what we see today? So many finding their worth in their cause instead of their worth in Christ?Think about it. When that happens, when they see their worth in the cause, we stop seeing people as image bearers and we start seeing them as opponents, right?They're our opponents. They're our enemy. Look around, because that's all so many of us see today, opponents. I know. I see that many days. But let's get back to his key ideas.He. He was getting to right theology. That's what I really want to land on right now.Right theology should produce right action because faith without compassion is incomplete. Let's get right into the word. The Book of James, chapter 2, verse 17, says, this faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.That's strong, isn't it?But see, this verse ties Keller's principle perfectly, because what Keller is saying is genuine belief, if you genuinely believe it manifests intangible justice and mercy. Let's look at the next book of Scripture. That's 1 John, chapter 3, verses 17 and 18. And it says this.If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need, but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth. Yeah, that's a tough one, isn't it?And see, this Emphasizes that theology that stops at theory. Just, oh, yeah, that sounds good. There's pie in the sky, great ideas. That theology is just. It's not love.Love is when you actually take action, because it's that action that authenticates faith. So I want to park right here for a second. It's all about action. It's one thing to feel enraged. It's one thing to feel angry.It's one thing to feel whatever those feelings are. That's great. That's. That's theory, but it's all about the action. Let's look at the Book of Matthew, chapter 25, verse 40. Because I love this verse.It's the perfect model of what our Christian behavior should be. Again, Matthew 25:40. Whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me.I've heard that in church so many Sundays. Whatever you did for the least of my brothers or my sisters, you did it for me.And see, if you think about it, that's an echo of Keller's doing justice for the vulnerable theme, isn't it? So what does Keller mean? Getting back to that right, right theology should lead to right action. See, it's not just about action.It's about right action. Let me make this real for you. I've seen believers all over this country living this out. Not with slogans, not with compassion. Here's some examples.There's a cafe owner in Ohio. Now, this cafe owner in Ohio refused to post political signs.There was a tense election season going on, and when reporters asked why, she said, she said, my job is to feed my neighbors. All of them. See, she didn't want to feed just the Republicans. She didn't want to feed just the Democrats. She didn't want to feed just the liberals.She want to feed just the conservatives. She said, listen, I am here to feed everyone. I'm not going to put up signs. And that week, listen to this.She offered free meals to families laid off from work at the local factory. She didn't make a statement. She didn't put it in the news. She made a difference. See, she took action. This. That's theology in motion.That's what Keller meant. Me tell you about a church in North Carolina. This church in North Carolina.They were planning to upgrade their auditorium with these fancy new LED walls, you know, a beautiful LED wall so they could put the service up there and all the, you know, beautiful lights and all that kind of stuff. A lot of churches are doing this, and I don't begrudge Them.But instead of doing that, they took that same $40,000 and they started a community legal aid clinic for single moms who couldn't afford representation. See, that's doctrine. That's the belief turning into discipleship. They didn't just talk about justice. They did it again. They took action.You see a trend here. Think about a young guy In Austin, Texas, 28 years old, a successful software engineer. But he started noticing something.Half his co workers were drowning in debt, and he was doing well. He was prospering. So what did he do? He started hosting a weekly lunch and learn. He talked about budgeting. He talked about biblical stewardship.He wasn't preaching politics. He was practicing mercy. See, that's justice through wisdom and generosity. Let me tell you about this pastor.When protests broke out in his city, one pastor didn't pick a side. Would have been real easy for a pastor to say, I'm going to take this side because this is the right side. What did he do?He stood between both of them. This guy had a lot of bravery, in my opinion. And what did he do? He opened his church to both groups and invited them to come pray together.And reporters asked him, they said, why'd you do that? He said, here's why. Because justice without humility becomes pride. And pride never brings peace. See, that's Keller's warning coming to life.See, when our identity comes from politics, we lose our compassion. Let me tell you about a couple who adopted. This is a couple in my own circle, people that I know.Instead of debating the foster care system, a lot of people debate, well, foster care, you shouldn't be able to do this. You shouldn't be able to do that. They said, no, no, no, we're going to step in. And they adopted a little boy right from their community.There was no cameras, there was no post. There was no news story about was just quiet obedience.See, their theology of grace became an act of justice, and they restored that one child's life at a time. So maybe Keller's right, isn't he? Maybe the test of our theology isn't how well we argue truth. Ready for this one? But how will we live it?My grandfather used to say, put your money where your mouth is. Well, put your truth where your action is. Because when grace fills your heart, justice will flow from your hands. Let's move on to section two.And this comes from a fellow named Dr. Thaddeus Williams. He's a professor at Biola University, and he's the author of a book called Confronting Injustice Without Compromising. Truth.And he brings balance to this modern debate. He writes this. He said, social justice is not optional for the Christian.We can't separate the Bible's commands to do justice from its commands to be discerning. See, that's the key. Compassion and discernment must walk together because emotion without discernment leads to confusion.Hey, how many times have you felt that thing? And William adds this.He says, look deep enough underneath any horizontal human against human injustice, and you're going to find a vertical human against God. Injustice, man. That hurts, doesn't it? Every act of injustice on earth begins with rebellion against heaven.Yeah, it's an interesting thought, isn't it? What's he really saying? Rebellion against God. What do you think? So real justice doesn't just fix systems. That's not real justice.It calls our hearts back to the Creator. See, justice must be guided by discernment. Compassion without truth leads to confusion. Let's get right into the Bible.Let's look at the Book of Philippians, chapter 1, verses 9 and 10. And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best.That's important because love and discernment are meant to grow together. They don't grow separate from each other. Let's look at the Book of Micah, chapter six, verse eight. And we. We said this one earlier.He has shown you, o mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Let's just pick out a couple words there.Justice, mercy, humility. That's the divine balance. Not once did I hear, pick your side. Not once did I say, you're right or wrong. Justice, mercy, humility.Hey, humility is a big one. When that pastor brought in both sides to his church, what was he doing? He was practicing humility.Let's look at my favorite book of the Bible, the Book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 2. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. That one's tough one, isn't it? But if you really embrace that, it keeps believers from adopting worldly justice models without spiritual renewal.See, the two things go hand in hand, and that's the key to this. Let me give you some examples of this. There's a small construction company owner.He discovered that one of his workers had been secretly taking Supplies home. I've had this very same situation happen years ago in my business. And this construction company owner had every right to fire this person.Let me ask you right now, what would you have done? You found out one of your employees is taking from you, they're stealing from you. I'll be honest with you. I'm not sure what I would have done.But in this case, the man sat the man down. He didn't attack him. He didn't, you know, come at him. He prayed with him, and he offered to help him get back on his feet.Now, that's called putting your theology into practice in action, isn't it? The man later said this. He said, I met Jesus that day through my boss. Wow. Think about the testimony. Talk about a Christian testimony.See, that's justice that restores, not punishes. It's mercy in motion. Listen to this one. After a drunk driver killed her teenage daughter. I can't even imagine the pain of it. I got two.Two boys for someone to take their lives. But after that, this woman in Tennessee visited the young man in prison, the one who killed her daughter.She visited him in prison not to condemn him, but to tell him she forgave him. Reminds me of Charlie Kirk's wife, just a couple weeks after he was assassinated. Imagine the strength that that person needed.I asked myself, could I do that? Could you do that, knowing that this man took her daughter's life?But this woman, she now runs a ministry for DUI offenders, and she helps them rebuild their lives and come to Christ. See, that's not weakness. A lot of people have said, oh, that's weakness, Ralph. She's just given in. He win. I know. That's not weakness.That's redemptive strength. See, that's the gospel in flesh and blood. That's putting it where it belongs, right? They tell you about a church in Atlanta?This church in Atlanta decided to adopt a struggling public school. Atlanta public schools are a mess.And instead of demanding changes or pushing their politics, they showed up every week with food, with tutoring and mentoring. Listen to this. Within a year in that public school, because of the help of this private school, graduation rates rose. And so did Hope.See, that's what Nicholas meant when he talked about what he's talking about justice that restores what's been broken. So they could have went in with a political ideal. So you need to change this, and you need to change. It's not what they did. They brought him food.They showed him hope. They showed him a way out. Let me tell you about an ex inmate who became a mentor after serving time for theft.The man in Texas came to faith while in prison. A lot of people come to faith while in prison. I think that's a good thing. Now he was released eventually and instead of hiding his past.Listen, I don't know about you, but if I was in prison, that's not many people I want to tell about that. Right? Because that was a time of my life I don't want to go back to. But that's not what this guy did.Instead of hiding his piss, he started a non profit teaching job skills to other ex inmates. He said this. He said, God's justice didn't cancel me. It called me. Think about his witness. Because he has street cred, as they say.He can go to that person that's struggling and he can help them get restored. Because guess what? He had been restored. He had made the mistakes. He landed in prison. See, that's restorative justice. That's grace.Transforming guilt into purpose. Let me tell you about a family that chose compassion over a lawsuit.When a landlord accidentally caused a house fire due to negligence, it was a landlord's fault. That's what negligence means. It was a landlord's fault. The tenant family could have sued and won big money. Yeah, listen, let me tell you right now.I read a little bit more about this. There was attorneys all over this place, said we could make you multimillionaires. We could sue this landlord for everything he's got.Take it from the insurance company, you name it. But that's not what this family decided to do. Instead, they chose to forgive him. And listen to this. This was the most amazing part of this.And they helped him raise funds to rebuild his business. When asked why, they said this, and I want you to hear this, because forgiveness plants the seeds of justice that lasts.See, they saw that as a way to plant those seeds. Let's move on to section three. And that's what I call the heart of justice. So writer named Jessica Nicholas talked about her a minute ago.She captures the redemptive side of justice beautifully. That's what she said. She God's just is higher than merely punishing someone who has committed injustice. You ready for this part?He desires to restore everything that was lost. I don't know about you, but I don't hear justice being talked about like that very often in the headlines, do you?She continues on, doing justice means not only avoiding wrong, but actively restoring what is broken. See, that's the heartbeat of the gospel. That's the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's about justice that heals. It's about justice that rebuilds.And it's about justice that mirrors God's mercy towards us. Hey. Towards you, towards me.See, when we forgive and when we give or we advocate for someone who can't repay us, we're displaying a small reflection of his kingdom. We're explaining what God has given us. So just think about that. God's justice restores what's broken. It heals rather than harms.Let's get right into the word. Let's go right to the book of Isaiah, chapter 1, verse 17. It says this. Learn to do right. Seek justice. Defend the oppressed.Take up the cause of the fatherless. Plead the case of the widow. That's a tall order, isn't it? See, just as it acts on the behalf of the vulnerable is restorative in nature.Let's look at the book of Psalms 34, 18. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.Man, I'm glad that it says that because, man, I don't know about you, but I felt that way at times. I've been brokenhearted. I've been crushed in spirit. And what is it saying about justice here? God's justice begins with compassion for the wounded.Thank God for that. Because if you're a Christian right now you've been wounded.I'm going to tell you right now, you're going to be wounded again and you're going to be wounded again. And we just got to hope there's somebody out there that's hearing this right now and understands that justice is about restoration.Look at the book of Luke, chapter 4, verses 18 and 19. The spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the who. This is the greatest part.Good news to the poor and to set the oppressed free. What was Jesus saying here? Jesus was defining his ministry not in terms of what is right and wrong, but in terms of restorative justice.He has anointed me to proclaim good news. To who? The poor? To those who are oppressed. Make them free. That's what Jesus goal here. So you ask me what justice means for a Christian?It means restoration. Let me tell you some examples of this. My grandfather's brother. My grandfather's brother was from a small town in West Virginia.He's a small grocery store owner. I mean, you talk about mom and pop shop is a definition of that.And as he was going on in life, he discovered Several of his elderly customers were struggling to pay off their tabs. Back in those days, you ran up a tab they didn't worry about, oh, you pay me next time. We're just going to keep track of how much you owe.And instead of sending bills or cutting off their credit, he could have easily said, you know what? You come into the store, you're not getting anything else until you pay me. He could have sent them a bill. He could have done all those things.You know what he did one time? He erased every debt of theirs. He erased 12,000. Now, this is. This is 50 years ago.Just to give you an idea of how much money we're talking about, he erased $12,000 worth of debt and left notes on their receipts that simply read this, Paid in full. God bless you. He didn't have to do that. He was well within his rights to collect that money.He had given them services, he had given them products, he had given them groceries, he had fed their families. But he forgave those and marked it, simply paid in full. God bless you. See, that's justice. That restores dignity. He didn't just not do wrong.See, it's one thing to say, well, I'm not going to do wrong. I'm going to live in justice. He went over and above that, didn't he? He made something right. That's a challenge for us, isn't it?Let me tell you about a police officer in Los Angeles. An officer stopped a single mother for driving with an expired registration, well within his rights to write a ticket.He gave her a ticket, gave her a fine, probably could have locked her up. As they were talking, he learned she'd lost her job. And he noticed in the backseat of her car, it seemed like she had everything she owned in there.Well, guess what? That's right. Because she lived in her car with her children. Now, this officer could have made things really ugly for that woman.Could have given her a ticket, probably could have called social service at the end. These kids are living in a car. But that's not what he chose to do justice for him was. He raised money with his precinct.He went back to the precinct and helped raise money to repair her vehicle and help her find temporary housing. Wow, that's amazing, isn't it? See, that's what it looks like when justice and mercy walk hand in hand.Let me tell you about a teen who rebuilt after vandalism. Listen to this one. You're not going to believe this one. A local church youth center was vandalized. This place was Messed up.The people in charge of this church could have pressed charges. They figured out who was involved in this. They found out who did it. You know what the pastor did?He invited that teenage offender to help repaint and restore what he had damaged. They could have had him prosecuted. They didn't. Chose not to do that. They said, listen, we realize what you did. Come in here and restore what you did.Repaint these things. And this is where God plants. He was talking about seeds earlier, right? Planting seeds.Well, months later, that same teen joined the church's internship program. Guess what that teen does now? He mentors other kids just like him. Other kids at risk. That's not justice. That's restoration. That's not retaliation.The church had every right to retaliate. Could have put this dude in jail, locked him up, and thrown away the key. But they said, no. There's a message here.There's a way that we can teach this. That was restoration. They tell you about a bakery owner in Indiana. Now, this baker owner in Indiana had an interesting bakery.She hired women coming out of incarceration, people who came out of jail. And what she said was this. And I thought this was awesome when I read this. The world labels them as criminals.I see them as image bearers with potential. Wow, talk about a mindset shift. I don't know about you, but I'd be thinking, these women are incarcerated. They did something wrong, right?They did something to break the law. What did they do? Were they drug addicts? Who knows what they did, Right? But that's not the way the woman, this baker, looked at them.She said, wait a minute, no, no. Their potential. And it's reported that many of those women now manage stores and mentor other women leaving prison. See, it just grows from there.See, that's what necklace meant. When justice, that rebuilds what society discards. That's what she meant by that. Let me tell you this story.When I read this one, I was like, I don't know if I. This is true or not. This is what I read. I'm telling you what I read. A man accidentally caused a car accident.That car accident seriously injured his neighbor's son. Can you imagine this? Your neighbor is hurt in a car accident you caused. Now, that family could have sued. It's not what they chose to do.They invited him to dinner again and again. It wasn't just a one time thing. It's, oh, you know, we're gonna invite you over dinner one time. No, no. They did it again and again until.What happened? He began attending Their church. Guess what? He came to know Christ. He became a believer. Someone who was lost is now found.See, that's what happens when forgiveness becomes justice. It heals. So let me ask you right now, could you live that out in your life? Could you do that? Let's talk about my next session.I'm gonna call this section Grace as the Engine. We're going back to Keller again, the guy we talked about at the beginning, Pastor Keller. And he ties it all together with grace. He says this.If a person has grasped the meaning of God's grace in his heart, he will do justice. If he doesn't care about the poor, it reveals that he has not really encountered the sin saving mercy of God. Man. That's powerful, isn't it?See, grace isn't the opposite of justice. It's the fuel that makes justice possible. I want to say that again because I want you to hear that. See, grace isn't the opposite of justice.A lot of people say, well, if you give grace, that means you're not giving them justice, not at all. It's the fuel that makes justice possible.See, when you understand how much mercy you've been shown, and I've been shown mercy, I don't deserve anything that I have.When you understand that, when you understand that God has shown you mercy that you do not deserve, you can't help but extend that mercy to other people. And Keller went on to say this.He said, it is the generosity of God, the freeness of his salvation, that lays the foundation for the society of justice for all. We use that term around here all the time. And justice for all, what does that mean? It's generosity. It's the generous of God, that.The freeness of his salvation that allows that to be the case. In other words, let's get real practical. The cross. A lot of people don't want to talk about the cross.The cross is our model for justice because that's where righteousness met mercy. That's where truth met grace and restoration was born. See, it took the cross. I want to get back to that. Grace fuels justice.The forgiven become forgivers. The redeemed become restored. Let's get right into the Word. Let's go right to Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 8 to 10, Ephesians 2, 8, 10.For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. You notice it doesn't say through your works. We could talk about that on another show. Through faith.For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. See, grace isn't the end. It's the beginning of a life of action. I want to challenge you today. Live a life of action.Let's go to Titus, chapter 3, verses 4 to 7. When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things that we had done.So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. We didn't earn that. We didn't deserve that. That was grace, and it gave us hope of eternal life.See, God's grace produces transformed, merciful people. But how many people receive that grace and refuse to give that to somebody else? Yeah, I'm calling you out right now, aren't I?I'm stepping on my own toes. How many times have you been given that opportunity? Like the people we talked about today? I'm giving you some more examples here in a minute.How many times have you said, oh, and I'm not going to give them grace. They don't deserve grace. But somehow you got it. Did you deserve it? I know I didn't. Let's go get the Book of Colossians, chapter 3, verses 12 to 13.Therefore, as God's chosen people, and yes, we are God's chosen people, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility. Bear with each other and forgive one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Think about that for a second. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.See, grace received becomes grace extended. Let me tell you some examples here. There's a Christian restaurant owner in Kentucky. This guy was robbed one night. Young man desperate for cash.Police caught the guy. The owner refused to press charges. Think about this. This is what the owner did instead. I was amazed when I read this.Instead of pressing charges, he offered him a job. This guy just came in and held him up at gunpoint and robbed his restaurant. And he offered him a job. We clearly needed money, right?We can see that, right? Months later, that man who was. Was given that job said this. He said, he gave me grace before I deserved it. And that grace changed everything. Amazing.He gave me that grace before I deserved it, and it changed everything. See, if he hadn't been given that grace, he wouldn't have got to where he was. See, that's Keller's point.In flesh and blood, when you've received mercy, you become a vessel of it. Are you a vessel of God's grace? Listen to this one. A woman lost her husband unexpectedly. I can't even imagine what that would feel like.And it left her struggling financially. But during that grief A neighbor quietly paid her rent for several months.This neighbor didn't even know her that well, knew she was struggling, but paid her rent for several months. Would you do that? I don't know if I could do that.A year later, when another single mother in her apartment complex lost her job, she did the same thing. Paying that woman's rent for three months. Kind of like that Pay it Forward model we hear about all the time, right? When asked, she said that.She said, I just wanted to give someone the grace that once held me together. Isn't it amazing what grace can do? We're talking about Justice Day, but what are we landing on right now? Grace. Right?See, grace became the engine of generosity. Not obligation, but gratitude. Listen to this one.After years of addiction and homelessness, a man came to Faith in Christ through a recovery ministry. Those are wonderful things. If you ever have the opportunity to get involved in one, Recovery ministries are amazing. Go see one. Go volunteer for one.They will change your life. And instead of walking away from the Lord, he went back this time to lead others out.And he now runs a sober living home and employs dozens of men rebuilding their lives. He says this. He said, I was rescued by grace, so I lived to rescue others. See, that's grace producing justice. Restoration through compassion.Let me tell you about a congregation in Michigan. They partner with a charity to erase over $3 million in unpaid medical debt for families across their country. But here's the most important part.They never asked one time for those families to attend a church. They never asked one time for those families to donate or sign anything. They simply said, this is what grace looks like.In the newspaper, their local newspaper, the headline read, this church cancels debt for thousands. No strings attached. See, that's the gospel in action. That's mercy moving through people who know what mercy feels like.I know I'm giving you a lot of stories about. And we have to talk about these. Say there's a missionary couple in Kenya. I actually know somebody that's doing this right now in Kenya.And they had their supply stolen by locals struggling with poverty. Now, it could have been that these Kenyan missionaries. You know what? I can't stand it here in this country. I'm out of here.But they chose something different. Instead of leaving or demanding justice, you know what they did? They doubled down. They returned with food and blankets for that same community.They said, oh, we see. You have a need. Let's make this work.They reached out to their people, and they flooded them with food and blankets for the same people who had robbed them. Guess what happened? See, this is how amazing Christ and God really are. Months later, many of those villagers came to Christ not because of a sermon.They didn't hear a sermon. They had food in their bellies and blankets to keep them warm because that was grace lived out loud.But now, with all this comes a warning we're going to talk about. A guy is a French theologian, a sociologist called Jacques Ulu. It's E L L, U L. I'm not sure I'm pronouncing it right, but that's his name.And he warned believers about confusing politics with the kingdom of God. He wrote this. He said, Christians must never identify themselves with this or that political and economic movement.Rather, they must bring to social movements what they alone can provide. See, he reminds us of something. Our allegiance is to Christ, not a cause. A lot of people get hung up on that.Your allegiance isn't to a cause, it's to Christ. See, when the church simply echoes the world's talking points, I see so many churches that are doing this.But when the church does that, we lose our distinct voice and the power of our witness. See, justice without Jesus becomes noise. There's a lot of noise going on around us all the time now.But justice empowered by the gospel, becomes light. See, this is the problem with today's church. The church got to be really careful not to confuse political loyalty with kingdom loyalty.Let's get into the Word. The Book of John, chapter 18, verse 36. This is Jesus talking. He said. Jesus said, my kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight.But now my kingdom is from another place. It pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? See, Jesus refused to let his mission be hijacked by politics.I see so many Christian people, I'm not judging you, that are called off and being hijacked by politics. But Jesus said, this isn't my place. If it was, I would fight. But he said, this isn't my place. My mission here is to do this.Let's move on to Philippians, chapter 3, verse 20. Talk more about citizenship. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.See, a lot of people get hung on this with us, other countries. But you got to remember this political affiliation is temporary. It's just temporary. You're going to die someday.Sure you are in this country right now, but it's temporary. But don't ever forget this kingdom Identity is eternal.So when you're thinking about that, yeah, my identity right Now I'm a US citizen, I'm a UK citizen. Wherever you're from, that is a temporary identity. Where is your true identity, your long term identity?I heard it said one time in church that this is just a temporary home. This is a tent. Well, man, if we're making this all about everything, we're fighting for the wrong team, aren't we?We got to be fighting for kingdom purpose. Our identity is eternal. Let's look at the Book of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 14 to 16. You are the light of the world.Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. What's that telling us? Our witness shines brightest when it's distinct from the world's noise.You want to stand out in this world, shine your light for Christ and move away from that noise. I'm going to share some more examples of this with you.In the heat of an election year, a once thriving congregation turned every sermon and social post into campaign material. Yeah, they took the bait. They took a side and man, it was great. At the time, Pastor remarked, he said attendance spiked for a season.But something interesting happened. Baptism stopped and members who disagreed with that political affiliation quietly drifted away.And when the election was over, pastor walked into the church one day and he said, the church is half empty. And bigger than that, the community no longer saw them as a light for Jesus, but they saw him as an arm of a party. They picked a side.They picked a side that was temporary, that was here. Their temporary home, their temporary tent. And that's exactly what Alu warned about.He said, when the church echoes the world's talking points, right now, is your church echoing the world's talking points when they do, the voice for eternity grows silent. Let me tell you about this pastor in a small Midwestern town, a pastor who was pressured by both sides to endorse candidates.He stood up one Sunday and said this. He said, the pulpit belongs to the lamb, not to an elephant or a donkey. I thought that was great. He wasn't going to be a Republican or Democrat.He wasn't going to buy into that elephant or donkey party. And instead of losing members, think about this. His congregation grew because people were hungry for truth, unshaped by politics.See, that's the prophetic balance that Luke called for. Allegiance to Christ above all. That's what that pastor decided to do. He says, I'm not going to talk about donkeys.I'm not going to talk about the other one. I'm going to talk About Christ. Let me tell you about a Christian relief worker in Eastern Europe.Now, this particular worker led a massive aid project for refugees. And over time, donors wanted her to stop sharing her faith, to keep it neutral. He said, you know what?It's great you're running this relief, but, you know, you talk about that Christ guy way too much. You need to keep it neutral. I don't want you to take a side. She refused. And she said this.If we meet needs but hide the name of Jesus, we met a need but missed the eternity. Yeah, I can see you nodding your head right now. See, that's the difference between good deeds and gospel driven justice.See, I'm not saying that you can't. That you can't have a side for Jesus. I'm not saying that at all.If it's a side of Jesus versus the Word, I'm gonna tell you, take this side with Jesus. Because justice without Jesus feeds the body, but justice with Jesus transforms the soul. Let me tell you about a group of Christian college students.Probably happened on your campus, maybe when you were in school. Group of Christian college students saw their campus erupt over racial and political tensions. Man, we're seeing that right now, aren't we?Now, this particular group could have joined one side. They could have said, I'm going to march with this side. Not what they did. They invited both groups to a night of prayer and listening.The next day, the local paper ran a headline. This is what the headline says is when the shouting stopped praying started. Isn't that amazing?And they stopped shouting at each other, stopped pointing fingers at each other. Came to one body of Christ. Stop looking at one as the other and the enemy. And you know what I'm talking about.That's what it looks like when believers bring what only they can bring, and that's peace born of the spirit. Listen to this 1. A CEO known for his outspoken political post felt convicted after reading Matthew 5:9.This is what Matthew 5:9 says, if you don't know it. Blessed are the peacemakers. So here's a CEO. He was known for being outspoken on his political beliefs.As soon as he heard Matthew 5:9, Blessed are the peacemakers. Guess what he did?He deleted all of his online rants and began using his platform to highlight ministries serving veterans, the homeless, and single parents. He said, I realized I was defending my opinions more than I was representing my Savior. Now that's action. See, that's repentance in real time.That's light replacing noise. Get back to our cultural contrast. That's why I do the show. See, culture says this. Culture says pick a side.Right, left, red, blue, whatever that looks like. But scripture says something completely different. Scripture challenges us to take up your cross. Take action.See, culture says cancel those who hurt you. Cancel that person that killed your daughter in a drunk driving accident. Cancel that person that caused harm to your son in an accident. That's a.That's what culture tells us. Cancel those who hurt you. But scripture says forgive those who persecute you. Culture says this, and I hear this with a fist raised up.Justice is power. You know exactly what I'm talking about there. But scripture says something. Justice is mercy in motion. See, that's the difference.See, God's justice doesn't just balance the scales, it transforms the soul. Now, we've gone a lot and talked about a lot today, but so what does this really look like in your life?This week I'm going to encourage you with some things you want to really live out this justice that we're talking about. You notice I haven't talked about sides. I haven't talked about right or wrong. I talked about justice, mercy, grace.Here's what I encourage you to look for one person in your circle who's vulnerable or overlooked. All of us know somebody like that, don't we?And help them not out of obligation, but because of grace, because of the grace that someone once gave you. Here's something real practical you can do. Rethink your spending. I do a financially show every day. It's called Financially Confident Christian.I encourage you to check it out 10 minutes a day, real financial issues. But here's one thing I'm going to tell you right now. Rethink your spending. Ask yourself this question.Could part of your resources serve someone in need? Could you forego that Starbucks coffee? Could you forego that vacation this year and go do some missionary work?Think about where you're spending your money. Where you're spending your money is where your heart's at. Look at where your money's going.Open up your checkbook and it'll tell you where your heart is. Another thing I'm going to encourage you to do and this is not an easy one to do, man, because there are people in our.I'm going use myself as an example in US Politics that I do not like, that are leading places that I that I do like. I encourage it, pray for leaders, even those that disagree with you.I'm not saying don't stand up against what if you think something in your heart is wrong? I'm not saying that you can't disagree with them, but pray for them.One of the things that I pray every night, I pray for our leaders every night, said God, give them to will to make right decisions. I don't have to agree with them to pray for them. I also don't have to criticize them either. They're human beings.They may feel like what they're doing is right, but we can pray for them. And above all things, act justly. You want to live. You want to see justice, Live justly. Love mercy and walk humbly. See, justice isn't a movement.I want to end with this. Justice isn't a movement. It's a lifestyle. We said a little while ago that justice begins at the cross.That's where mercy and righteousness met perfectly. If you've never experienced that forgiveness, today can be the day you step into God's justice.You can step into being redeemed, you can can step into being restored, and you can step into being renewed. He offers you peace, not just for eternity. See, you can have that right now.If you've never received Jesus Christ as your Savior, and maybe you're feeling that tug in your heart right now, that's not an accident, my friend. That's the Holy Spirit. I truly believe the Holy Spirit speaks through people just like me. And right now he's inviting you to step into God's grace.He's asking you to receive his forgiveness and to begin a brand new life in him. If you're ready to do that, you can pray this with me right where you are. Just pray this prayer right now.Father, I know I've sinned and I've fallen short of your glory. Lord, I've tried to live my life my own way, but today I turn back to you.I believe that Jesus Christ is your son, that he died on the cross for my sins and he rose again to give me new life. And right now, I surrender my heart to you. Forgive me, Lord. Wash me clean.I invite Jesus to be my savior, my Lord, and to guide me from this day forward.Fill me with your Holy spirit, Lord, and help me to walk in your truth and live with your love and to seek justice and seek mercy and humility in your name. In Jesus name, I humbly pray this. Amen. Listen, if you prayed that prayer today, I want to welcome you to the family of God.You've just made the most important decision of your life. Nothing else you've done up to this point makes a bit of difference.And I'd love to hear from you if I can help you, I encourage you to visit truth unveiled with Ralph.com decision I'm not going to try to sell you anything. I just want to hear from you. I want you to know that there's somebody out there praying for you. Let me help you.I can send you some resources bigger than that. I can walk with you on this new journey because you need help. When this journey Remember this justice is God's idea, not man's.It requires action, but you got to walk in justice with mercy and humility. So many people don't get that. And true justice always flows from the Gospel because Jesus is the standard.How about we pray together as we close say Father, give us humility as we seek it justice. Lord, give us compassion to see people as you do. Give us courage to act even when it costs us.We heard some stories about costs that really cost those people. Lord, teach us to balance conviction with mercy and let your love guide every single decision. And we ask this boldly in the name of Jesus. Amen.As I close today, remember justice begins at the cross. That's where mercy met righteousness. And remember this true justice restores, it humbles, and it's a reflection of God's heart.This week I want you to take one step towards mercy in action. Remember what Micah 6, 8 said. I charge you with this act justly. Love mercy, walk humbly with your God.Let your grace guide your justice and shine Christ's life. I just want to thank you right now for listening and I encourage you, live boldly, walk humbly and let the grace of God fuel your justice.God bless you. Hope to see you again next week.