Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Which comes first, justification by faith or justice?


We are all familiar with the old riddle: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
There is a similar theological riddle: Which comes first, justification by faith or justice?  The answer given by most of the Protestant church is justification by faith--preaching and planting of the church.
The Protestant Reformation got it wrong.

The Haitian Jean Thomas was trained in an American seminary that put justification by faith first.  Then providentially, Jean Thomas was mentored by a third grade black Mississippi drop out named John Perkins for four years in Christian Community Development.  CCD makes justice an equal partner with justification by faith.  Justice is the key to rebuilding poor communities.  Biblical justice must never be downplayed or ignored.

God declared in Amos: "I want justice-oceans of it!" [Amos 5:24 The Message]

When Jean Thomas returned to rural Haiti, [Fond-des-Blancs], he gave justice high priority.  Clean water was the top priority for the people of Fond-des-Blancs.  So the first thing Jean Thomas did in cooperation with the people was to provide clean water; this was a justice act.  For thirty-five years, Haiti Christian Development Fund has specialized in CCD--doing justice.  For example, clean water supply, education of 1500 children, planting millions of trees, starting a pig nursery, starting a credit union, and a farming project.  Also eight churches.  The above represents a rare biblical balance of justice and justification by faith.

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