Deeper Reflection
FOR CHRISTIANS, FLOWING FROM OUR RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God (through faith in Jesus Christ) ought to be right relationships with the people around us. Regarding the latter, the Lord Jesus commanded a radical righteousness that involves loving our neighbours as ourselves and even our enemies (v.31; Lk 6:27, 31 and 35). May God enable us to live righteous lives for His glory!What is the relationship between our vertical relationship with God, our horizontal relationships with other people and the biblical concept of justice? Pastor Timothy Keller explains:⁵⁶

The Hebrew word for “justice”, mishpat, occurs in its various forms more than 200 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Its most basic meaning is to treat people equitably. It means acquitting or punishing every person on the merits of the case, regardless of race or social status. …But mishpat means more than just the punishment of wrongdoing. It also means giving people their rights. …Mishpat, then, is giving people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care.

We get more insight when we consider a second Hebrew word that can be translated as “being just”, though it is usually translated as “being righteous”. The word is tzadeqah, and it refers to a life of right relationships…day-to-day living in which a person conducts all relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity and equity. It is not surprising, then, to discover that tzadeqah and mishpat are brought together scores of times in the Bible. …Therefore, though tzadeqah is primarily about being in a right relationship with God, the righteous life that results is profoundly social.

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⁵⁶ Cited by Joe Carter in this article The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About Social Justice. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/faqs-christians-know-social-justice/