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Biblical Justice

The word justice typically causes us to think in legal terms, or what is morally right and wrong. In the legal field, people disagree upon what constitutes fairness or justice, but as believers, we are guided by Scripture. God tells us that we should seek justice and defend the oppressed (Isaiah 1:17). “Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your [God’s] throne” (Psalm 89:14). God is just; therefore, we should seek to be just in our words and actions.

Christians should love what God loves. We should be people marked by love (John 13:35), but likewise, we should hate what he hates. Hate the sins of racism and pride. Hate the taking of innocent life, whether in the womb or outside of it. Hate the systemic oppression of those born into poverty.

Seeing or experiencing injustice should lead us to action. “Speak up” and “defend” are not passive nouns that invoke images of sitting on one’s hands doing nothing; rather, these are action verbs that require movement, armed with the truth of Scripture, backed by the Spirit, in service of King Jesus.

A Just City Conversations

In our ongoing endeavors to start with ourselves when seeking justice, we are hosting a series of conversations with leaders in our community. These conversations help us listen to perspectives that may be different from our own as we continue to seek justice from the inside out.

A Just City Conversation with Colleen Odegaard

A Just City Conversation with DeAngelo Burse

A Just City Conversation with LaTarzja Henry

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In July 2020, New City Church embarked on a sermon series to help us start with ourselves while seeking justice. We all have blind spots. It takes character development, conversations with those who don't look like us, and a commitment to the process for us to heal as individuals and as a nation. Psalm 139:23-24 challenges us to step toward Jesus and toward one another by seeking justice from the inside out. A just city begins with each of us seeking a just God, through Christ, and allowing him to have authority over our relationships, especially with those who are different from us.

 

Blind Spots: Character (July 12)

Blind Spots: Conversation (July 19)

Blind Spots: Commitment (July 26)

Highlighted Studies

We want to learn and grow as a community in our understanding of the history and implications of racism in our country and in the church. We invite your community group to work through this study together or you to explore it on your own.

 
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The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism

The Color of Compromise takes readers on a historical journey: from America’s early colonial days through slavery and the Civil War, covering the tragedy of Jim Crow laws and the victories of the Civil Rights era, to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. The accompanying video study on RightNow Media reveals the obvious—and the far more subtle—ways the American church has compromised what the Bible teaches about human dignity and equality.

Oneness Embraced: Reconciliation, the Kingdom, and How We Are Stronger Together

Black/white relations in the culture at large and in the church in particular continue to be a struggle. The church must seek to function by God's kingdom perspective. In this series, Tony Evans seeks to promote a biblical understanding of the kingdom foundation of oneness. RightNow Media series with accompanying study guide available for download.

Resources

You may be looking for resources to explore this topic on your own. Here is a list of books, podcasts, and videos we recommend.

Talks & Documentaries

Video Studies

Video Resources

We have video series and documentaries in our resource lists, but these are a few short videos that are a great place to begin.

Resources for Families

Parents, as we partner with you to raise up the next generation of Christ followers, here are some resources that may help you begin conversations with your kids about race. This list is just a starting point of resources. You may find that some are not a fit for your family, but we encourage you to dig into the others.

Picture Books

Chapter Books

Your students may be interested in some of the resources we’ve provided for adults and younger teens may benefit from some of the resources above intended for older kids. But here are a few options students may find particularly interesting. Some of these wrestle with challenging issues and tell difficult stories, so we encourage you to engage with them alongside your student.

Fiction Books

Movies and Videos