Faculty Contribution
19 Rodney D. Chrisman Professor of Law, School of Law
LAWYERS AS MINISTERS OF JUSTICE Justice as a Part of the Gospel An often-overlooked part of Jesus’s mission (i.e., the Gospel) is justice. In modern times, the Gospel is all too often thought of as being exclusively concerned with personal evangelism. This view relegates other professions and vocations, such as business, engineering, or law, to secondary concerns — important to be sure, but not rising to the level of Gospel concerns. The Gospel presented in the Bible, however, is not so truncated. Certainly, Jesus was and is concerned with the evangelism of individual souls, but this is not His only concern. The Old Testament prophets consistently condemn God’s people for not only their idolatry but also their injustice. Two passages from the book of Isaiah are illustrative, although many more could be cited and discussed. In Isaiah 10:1-2, in the midst of warning Judah that God’s judgment was coming upon them via the instrument of Assyria, Isaiah writes “Woe to those who enact evil statutes and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor of My people of their rights, so that widows may be their spoil and that they may plunder the orphans” (Is 10:1-2, NAS).
This passage is addressed to a society pervaded by injustice. It is replete with unjust legislation (“evil statutes”) and “unjust [judicial] decisions.” In such a society, people are deprived of justice and robbed of their rights such that they become spoil and plunder. In such a setting, where there is no rule of law, the ruling principle becomes power resulting in the relatively powerless and vulnerable (“the needy,” “the poor,” “widows,” and “orphans”) bearing the brunt of the injustice. Into this context of wide-spread injustice, God describes the mission of the Messiah as establishing justice in the earth. In Isaiah 42:1-4, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God states: Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed