bible study

What Authentic Justice Looks Like

The following is from a book I am presently writing…

Social Justice. It is the current phrase that seems to define liberal activists the world over. But beware: social justice is not to be confused with the justice that America was founded upon, which is the type of justice found in the Bible.

According to the ATS Bible Dictionary, this divine and authentic justice is, “that essential and infinite attribute which makes his nature and his ways the perfect embodiment of equity, and constitutes him the model and the guardian of equity throughout the universe.”

Authentic justice is an absolute, defining something as completely right or wrong; there is no wiggle room. It is to be practiced with kindness and humility.

Justice is a major theme in Scripture. Behavior that is just aligns with what is morally right and fair.  For followers of Jesus, justice has to do with conduct in relation to others.  Jesus speaks of this in Luke 6:31 when He shares what is often referred to as The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.”

Since the fall of mankind society at large has progressively veered from moral absolutes. It became so bad back in the days of Noah that God did a total re-boot via the Flood. But, despite that judgement, in no time humanity started once again rolling down sin’s dark road. The result is a world filled with injustice manifesting with partiality, discrimination, unfairness and outright lawlessness.  In many cases, systems of justice have been corrupted; this is especially troubling in America where the pillars of justice were founded upon Biblical principles.

The U.S. Supreme Court today is often quite decidedly liberal but in an 1892 statement the court declared, “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian,” (Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 1882).

When the Biblical underpinnings of morality, right behavior, religious freedom and political independence are loosened, redefined, and removed from a nation’s justice system, due process can become weaponized and fundamental freedoms smothered. This is what we are witnessing today.

Advocates of social justice seek to use the laws of the land to oppress certain members of society.  Judging others based on net worth, status, race, color, creed or family history is acceptable.  Reverse discrimination is acceptable. Intolerance towards Christians is unobjectionable.

Activists use the public education system to further their long term agenda. Politicians and facets of government are used to deliver prescriptions for intervention, aid, and even punishment. Big Tech media conglomerates have become willing gatekeepers who maintain the societal message.

God’s system of justice is counter to liberal ways. He does not just want bad people to receive punishment and good people to be rewarded. Instead, God desires everyone on this planet realize how much He loves us all and discover the unique purpose for which He created each one of us.  Though the laws of the land may require unjust behavior to be punished, God’s justice finds it is unacceptable for anyone to be written off, no matter what they have done, because He desires each of us become the man or woman He fashioned us to be. Remember, He is the God of another chance as we are reminded by Peter, The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

Seeking God’s justice requires a major paradigm shift.

Some wrongly assume that God wants or needs to give people the hell that they deserve, but Jesus didn’t die to appease an angry God; the cross was God’s self-sacrifice through Jesus to appease an angry crowd of humans who needed salvation.
God’s justice is better represented by the impartial, blind-folded, Lady Justice, who carries her scale of fairness in one hand, and her sword of authority in the other.

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Going with the Flow? Might Want to Rethink That

Please Note: The following is a snippet from a book I’m working on about the Proverbs of Solomon as found in the Old Testament.

Perhaps you have been in that awkward situation where you received a peculiar Christmas gift from an eccentrically odd, but otherwise nice, classmate, cousin, co-worker or neighbor, and you were not sure how to react.

Is this a joke, or is she serious, you silently wonder?

You quickly put on your best face and go with, “Oh, thanks for the gingerbread man tree ornament…with the little bite taken out of the head.”

Which brings me to Proverbs 1:3,

To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity.

Wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity—I refer to these as the Big Four. Solomon prompts us “to receive” the Big Four. Receive means “to take,” but this is not a polite taking, like the gingerbread man with a chunk of missing skull. “Receive” can also mean “to seize.”

You see, we are living in an age where wisdom, justice, judgment and equity have become relative terms, veering far from their original interpretations and their use within Scripture. The Bible is the sole objective source of all the revelation God has given us about Himself and His plan for humanity. It runs contrary to the fluffy rhetoric flaunted on various media platforms by quasi coaches and counselors who advise their faithful followers, “We’re all on a journey,” or, “It’s your karma,” or, “Go with the flow.”

Solomon is not dishing out such delusion.

True, we’re are all on a journey, but the journey ends at a destination that determines one’s place in eternity.

And karma? It sounds so edgy, but in reality, it pertains to pagan religions that believe good intent and deeds contribute to happier rebirths, or reincarnations, while bad intent and deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. In other words, bomb in this life and you might come back as an amoeba.

And we should be always be wary of going with the flow; that’s what dead fish do.

Solomon is referring to heartily seizing his specific instruction regarding wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity. These are personality traits of the only, and Holy, God.

Hebrews 4:12 provides us with an important reminder,

For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Talk about cutting edge!

The Bible: Fact or Fiction?

The Bible—particularly the New Testament—is perhaps more than ever routinely under attack and its reliability and accuracy constantly contested by critics.

Nearly all biblical scholars, both liberal and conservative, agree that the New Testament documents were all written before the close of the First Century.  Assuming Jesus was crucified in A.D. 30., then that means the entire New Testament was completed within 70 years. This is important because there were plenty of people around during that short period who could have contested the popular writings at the time they were penned.

In other words, those who wrote the documents were aware that if they were creating fictitious accounts, their critics would have been plentiful.  However, there are absolutely no ancient documents contemporary with the First Century that contest the New Testament texts.

It’s worth a repeat: there are absolutely no ancient documents contemporary with the First Century that contest the New Testament texts.

Additionally, there is more evidence for the Bible’s authenticity than for any literature of antiquity.

There are some 25,000 early manuscripts of the New Testament in existence.  The earliest textual evidence we have was copied not long after the original.

In contrast, Caesar’s Gallic Wars was written in the first century B.C. There are only 10 manuscripts in existence and the earliest textual evidence we have was copied 1,000 years after the original.

Aristotle’s Poetics was written in the fourth century B.C. There are only 5 manuscripts in existence. The earliest textual evidence we have was copied 1,400 years after the original.

The Old Testament (Jewish Bible) has been more accurately transmitted to us than any other ancient writing of comparable age. The textual evidence is greater for both the Old and New Testaments than any other historically reliable ancient document. The ancient scribes were very meticulous.  For example:

– Samaritan Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Old Testament, or Torah): 400 B.C.

– Septuagint Greek (first 5 books of the Old Testament, or Torah): 280 B.C.

– Dead Sea Scrolls (both Old and New Testament): 0 A.D.

In 2010 scientists discovered fragments from the Old Testament from the 10th century B.C., during the period of King David’s reign, four-centuries earlier than previously discovered.

There is abundant biblical and extra-biblical evidence that Moses wrote the Torah during the wilderness wanderings after the Jews left their slavery in Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land (about 1445–1405 BC).  Contrary to liberal theologians and other skeptics, it was not written after the Jews returned from exile in Babylon (approximately 500 B.C.).

Those who believe Moses wrote the Torah at God’s behest do not need to feel intellectually intimidated.  It is the enemies of the truth that are failing to think carefully and face the facts honestly.

As a prophet of God, Moses wrote under divine inspiration, guaranteeing the complete accuracy and absolute authority of his writings.  Those writings were endorsed by Jesus and the New Testament apostles, who based their teaching and the truth of the gospel on the truths revealed in the books of Moses, including the truths about a literal six-day creation about 6000 years ago, the curse on the whole creation when Adam sinned, and the judgment of the global, catastrophic lood at the time of Noah.

The attack on the Mosaic authorship of the Torah and Old Testament is nothing less than an attack on the veracity, reliability, and authority of the Word of God.  Believers in the One true God should be reminded of the words of  Jesus who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6).

The above commentary is from my personal Biblical teaching file. 

Back to Basics: My Story

My story of coming to faith in Jesus began when I was a boy. My dad made sure my brother and I grew up with our Jewish identity, but we were largely quite secular.

During the fall of my tenth year I happened upon a terrible accident that occurred on a Saturday afternoon just up the street from the apartment complex we lived in. There was a small MG sports cars parked, with a dented front end. Outside the car a teenage girl was completely distraught. In front of the car was a twisted bicycle. Next to the bike was the body of a young boy.

I didn’t know who the boy was until his parents arrived on the scene. It was my friend Kenny. We had just played a Pop Warner football game that morning.

Kenny didn’t make it. Later that week I was a pallbearer at his funeral.

I came home from that funeral petrified of death. That night I prayed: God, if you’re there I need to know who you are. I don’t want to die like Kenny. I don’t want to go to hell; I want to go to heaven. 

There seemed to be no response from God for many years.

My life began to unravel from within as I was so paranoid about dying. I don’t need to go into all the details, but I was a mess. Finally, in college, I met woman my age who recognized the need in my life. She encouraged me to read the New Testament with her. I was reluctant, because as a Jew the New Testament is off-limits. But, honestly, thanks to her attractiveness, I obliged.

I read about Jesus and his disciples. They were all Jewish. Jesus spoke of heaven and eternal life. He said, “Cast your cares upon me.”  Jesus was more than just a good man. He was the only Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. He promised his followers eternal life.

It was everything I had hoped for.

So, I prayed. I privately prayed to God to take my fear away, and come into my life and empower me with His Spirit. Immediately that fear of death and hell that had gripped me for years finally vanished. That initial prayer turned into a lifestyle of surrender to Jesus.

My heart has been in a state of renewal ever since.

This is my story.

And by the way, I married the attractive young woman.

Are you ready to let God rewrite your story?

Back to Basics: The Only Thing That Really Matters

These are indeed wild times. Vaccines, mandates, masks, censorship, supply chains, inflation, war abroad, finger-pointing, Putin, Ukraine, communism, propaganda, persecution, anti-semitism.

It’s all becoming too much.

I’m going back to basics.

I love talking politics and attempting to get past the propaganda and to the root of the issues. But even if–and when–I make it to the heart of the matter in these various affairs I am  lambasted by others who are convinced otherwise. There is no winning such arguments.

Therefore, for the time being,  I’m going back to the only thing that really matters: the joy, hope, and eternal salvation found through God’s only Son: Jesus. This is a topic for which I am an expert. No, I don’t have a degree in theology, but I do have a personal relationship with the “theo” in that four syllable word.

My following blog posts and podcasts will reflect this major shift.

Thank you for your support.