We Are Justified and Just
Friday’s Verse:
From Amos 5:24 ESV
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
The prophet Amos minced no words. He was a mouthpiece for God who tore away all hypocrisy when it came to religion. Israel had all the trappings of a religious society. Offerings, songs, festivals… all the rituals of worship were still being observed. But where was the spirit? Where was the heart of the matter? Israel was going through the motions, having forgotten the heavy matters of justice and righteousness. God was not amused. He was not going to be placated with louder songs, more offerings.
Righteousness and justice are not afterthoughts in the Christian faith—they are the product of it. When the gospel of God’s mercy invades our hearts, it spills out into our lives, into how we interact with the poor, the widow, the orphan, the outcast, the downtrodden. In Christ, we are made righteous before God not by works, but by faith. But faith in Christ has a transforming effect. It makes us merciful. We cannot truly experience the mercy of God without being moved to love our neighbors. We cannot truly know the sacrifice of Christ and not be filled with compassion. We cannot truly be forgiven without wanting to forgive others.
There is an old Lutheran distinction between two types of righteousness: righteousness before God and righteousness before the world. They are two different words in German. The former is righteousness before God, the righteousness we have passively, through faith alone, by virtue of Christ. The latter is righteousness before the world, the righteousness we are to show through our active love for neighbor. The righteous walk with the oppressed, even when it costs them.
We cannot truly be justified unless we are just. Our faith does not stay inside the church. It pours out of the doors into the world, to help set the world right, to help love the world, to set the oppressed free.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord, You are righteous and gracious. May your goodness work in our hearts so that we have a concern for what You have a concern for. May justice run through our lives like a river—constant, powerful, and never-ending. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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