LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
What does the Bible say about injustice?
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
What does the Bible say about injustice?
The Bible has a lot to say on the subject of injustice. We know that God is in favor of justice;
we know that He is against injustice, even in the most basic terms. The writer of Proverbs
mentions this: “The LORD detests differing weights, / and dishonest scales do not please him”
(Proverbs 20:23). Justice is foundational to God’s throne (Psalm 89:14), and God does not
approve of partiality, whether we are talking about a weighted scale or an unjust legal system
(Leviticus 19:15). There are many other verses, in both Old and New Testaments, that give us an
idea of God’s distaste for injustice (2 Chronicles 19:7; Job 6:29; 11:14; Proverbs 16:8; Ezekiel
18:24; Romans 9:14).
Isaiah lived in a time when Judah was struggling under the weight of injustice: “Justice is
driven back, / and righteousness stands at a distance; / truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter. / Truth is nowhere to be found, / and whoever shuns evil becomes a
prey. / The LORD looked and was displeased / that there was no justice” (Isaiah 59:14–15).
God’s message for them was simple: “Learn to do right; seek justice. / Defend the oppressed. /
Take up the cause of the fatherless; / plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17). Later, God tells
them to “loose the chains of injustice” (Isaiah 58:6; cf. Psalm 82:3), indicating that injustice is a
form of bondage and oppression.
In the book of James, we see more deeply into the heart of God regarding injustice. God is
not petty or obsessive. He does not value justice simply for the sake of having orderliness.
There are deeper issues at stake. In James 2, we see a discussion about partiality. James speaks
to a group of believers who have been judging the people in their gathering according to their
social status. In the human heart, injustice is a sign of partiality, judgmentalism, and a lack of
love. When we strive to be righteous by our own human measurements, we invariably forget
God’s measurement: perfection. Anything less than perfection is, to God, a scale out of balance.
Every human is, because of the fall, unjust. We do a lot of incongruent things. We make
mistakes, we blow hot and cold, we do and say things that are totally contradictory. As James
says, “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). Injustice permeates our lives, as we judge
unfairly and hold others to a different standard than we are willing to abide by ourselves.
The only way to truly escape injustice is to first accept that God is perfectly just and
humans are inherently unjust, i.e., less than perfect, and then to accept God’s righteousness (1
John 1:5–9). Only when we are no longer concerned with making ourselves righteous can we
trust the One who justifies the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Then, as God’s children, we can see
clearly to combat the injustice around us with a merciful attitude (Micah 6:8; James 1:27).
Jesus is totally just; there is no injustice in Him at all. Because of His perfection, Jesus can
provide true justice. In fact, “the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the
Son” (John 5:22). We look forward to the time when righteousness and justice will be the order
of the day and injustice will be banished forever: “Of the greatness of his government and
peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing
and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the
LORD Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:7).
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the
widow’s cause. (Isaiah 1:17 ESV)
In the wake of the horrific murder of George Floyd on television, we have seen activists
take to the streets in the form of protesting, and the mention of social injustice in a popularized
chant, “No Justice, No Peace,” among other avenues.
First, let’s take a look at what social justice means and involves before moving forward in
this much-needed discussion. Wikipedia defines social justice as “a concept of fair and just
relations between the individual and society, as measured by the distribution of wealth,
opportunities for personal activity and social privileges.”
The words “fair” and “just” are key in this definition. The institutions of society that are
applicable to social justice often include taxation, social insurance, public health, public school,
public services, labor law and regulation of markets to ensure fair distribution of wealth and
equal opportunity. However, some religious leaders choose not to mention the peaceful
protesting of social injustice in their churches, or they fear ostracism and retaliation if they do.
Meanwhile, the Bible speaks of getting involved to correct social injustice in countless
scriptures.
When any group in society is oppressed or suffering and is constantly denied the privileges
and rights of the institutions that the majority enjoys, it is social injustice. Therefore, it is unfair
and will ultimately lead to contention, discord and uprisings, such as what we are seeing now
across the globe. A lack of basic human rights, systemic racism, police brutality, a broken
criminal justice system, a disparity in funding of public schools, unequal access to healthcare
and religious oppression are among the many social injustices that are in dire need of attention
in order to ensure freedom, justice, and equality for all citizens in America.
Sin is sin, no matter who commits it; therefore, social injustice is wrong and should not be
tolerated because the Word says, “But glory, honour and peace, to every man that worketh
good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.”
(Romans 2:10-11 KJV)
Here are some of the Scriptures that are found in the Word, relevant to social injustice. All
of them are from the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. As you read these verses,
study them to see why social injustice is a sin, according to the Word:
Proverbs 31: 8-9 — “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Zechariach 7:9-10 — “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Render true judgments, show kindness
and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner or the poor,
and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.’”
Micah 6:8 — “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Romans 12:15-18 — “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in
harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in
your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight
of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Matthew 7:12 — “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for
this is the law and the prophets.”
I John 3:17-18 — “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet
closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in
word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
Leviticus 19:15 — “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or
defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”
Amos 5:24 — “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing
stream.” (This scripture was often quoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Further, it is inscribed on
the Civil Rights Monument at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., where it
memorializes 40 individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of civil rights,
including Dr. King.)
Deuteronomy 16:20 — “Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and
inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Proverbs 14:31 — “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker, but he who is
generous to the needy honors him.”
Proverbs 29:7 — “A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not
understand such knowledge.”
Mark 11:15-17 — “And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to
drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of
the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone
to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, ‘Is it not
written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a
den of robbers.”
Luke 12:48 — “But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will
receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given of him much will be required, and
from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”
Thus, everyone bears a responsibility to right the wrongs of social injustice. In the wake of
the social unrest that is presently going on internationally, I leave you with timely words from
Marian Wright Edelman, an American activist for children’s rights from Bennettsville, who is
also the founder and president emerita of The Children’s Defense Fund and a recipient of the
Presidential Medal of Freedom: “You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed
fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the
biggest nation.”
