Social Justice: Justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.1

•  Social justice is the desire and action of people to promote being treated “fairly” and treating others “fairly.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CURRENT HOT TOPICS WHEN IT COMES TO SOCIAL JUSTICE?

•   Abortion
•   Race Discrimination
•   Gay Marriage
•   Gender Identity

TWO MAJOR CHALLENGES WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE TODAY:

•  Who defines Justice? The reason universal social justice will never come to fruition is that everyone you ask to define justice will have a different definition.
•   Humans will always get in the way. In other words, even if we could accomplish perfect social justice for one day, we would mess it up the very next day!

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE? We should care about what’s going on around us.

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Isaiah 1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow ’s cause.

THE QUESTION WE SHOULD BE ASKING: “What is the Church’s role in social justice?”

1. WE, AS THE CURCH, HAVE TO LOOK INWARD BEFORE WE LOOK OUTWARD.

Matthew 7:3-5 3Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

•   The number one indictment against the Church (from the world’s perspective) is that we are hypocrites. It’s that with the topic of social justice, Christians apparently have all of the answers, but we don’t apply them to our personal lives.

2. HOW WE ENGAGE SOCIAL ISSUES IS AS IMPORTANT AS HOW AIR-TIGHT OUR ARGUMENT IS.

•   We will not win the world to Jesus because we solved political or social battles. We will win the world to Jesus because of WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST!

WOMAN AT THE WELL

John 4:1-6 1Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4And he had to pass through Samaria. 5So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

John 4:13-19 13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”

DON’T MISS THIS: JESUS’ PRIMARY FOCUS WAS NOT ON THE WOMAN’S BEHAVIOR-IT WAS ON HER HEART.

John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

•   This woman had a heart condition that was causing her to make poor life decisions.

3. WHAT IS MY ENDGAME?

•   Feeding the hungry, curing the sick, protecting the innocent—these are all great things, but without the hope of Jesus, they are just good deeds that will need to be taken care of again and again.

Mark 9:41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. When was the last time I offered someone the “living water” that Jesus talks about? When was the last time I shared the gospel with someone?
2. How am I engaging in social issues, and do my interactions reflect those of Jesus?
3. Does anything need to change in me, personally, before I voice my opinions on what the world is doing wrong?

QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS IN LIFE GROUP OR WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Passages to consider: Micah 6:8; Luke 5:17-25 or John 4:1-6 &13-19; James 1:26, 27, 2:14-19

1. What was meaningful, impactful, or challenging to you from the sermon?
2. Read Micah 6:8, then read either: Luke 5:17-25 OR John 4:1-6 & 13-19. A) How do you see Jesus responding to the social injustices, issues, or needs of His day? B) What do you discover? Unpack the story together.
3. What has been your experience with engaging with social justice or humanitarian needs?
4. Is there anything that breaks your heart, or makes you mad, or is a wrong that you want to right? Please share if you are willing to. A) Have you stopped and asked yourself, “What am I hoping to accomplish?” Does it reflect eternity?
5. What would it look like for you to meet people at their place of need and bring them the gospel?
6. How are you actively looking for ways to serve and care for those around you? A) What does (or would) it look like for you to engage in tangible ways?