Grace and forgiveness are essential for the carriers of Christian justice, but when practiced alone, they can become the absence of justice. Such kindness may turn around the lives of some, and we can celebrate those moments, but profoundly hardened and unrepentant people may use that grace to continue their injustice to even greater extents. Since Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, we must turn to the Holy Spirit and ask for guidance on each scenario. God loves and wants justice, and he will teach us what proper morality and prophetic provocation look like in each case of injustice.
As it ends up, justice is a major issue for Christians. God has been speaking about it for a long time and has gone to unusual miraculous lengths to ensure we receive the message. It is crucial enough of an issue that if we don’t practice it, we should expect Jesus to bring it up on the day of judgment. There’s a lot about Jesus and the prophets that we have to openly ignore if we’re going to do Christianity without justice. We may carry the name and belief of Jesus, but if we don’t care for the poor, we have not carried his good news; for what is good news to the poor if it doesn’t have some concern for their crumbling lives in the here and now? Jesus believed good news had everything to do with their liberation. Do we?
Heavenly allegiance is recognized in our works of justice. The dismantling of Babel is recognized in our concern for the poor. The installation of the Kingdom of Heaven is recognized in our good works. The gospel is good news that affects society, and therefore it is a social gospel. The gospel is good news lived out through Christians’ lives, so works are required.
May we be found with a heavenly kind of busyness on the day of judgment. For if we belong to Babel, we belong to the gods. And if we belong to the gods, then we belong to the fire where immortal beings go to perish. But if we belong to Jesus, then we belong to Heaven. And if we belong to Heaven, then we belong to the new creation when our mortal bodies become immortal and only righteous justice is practiced. Christians are the replacement plan for the dead gods. We are Jesus’ new divine council. We are God’s new heavenly family. This is an invitation into the world of good news.
This is an excerpt from my shortest book, Supernatural Justice.
Jamin Bradley 
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