{"id":2582,"date":"2019-04-02T10:53:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T15:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/?p=2582"},"modified":"2019-05-01T12:15:26","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T17:15:26","slug":"justice-kevin-sneed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/justice-kevin-sneed\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice: Kevin Sneed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By missionary, Kevin Sneed<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In John 18:38 Pilate asks, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d Like many today, Pilate was expressing skepticism in objective truth. Jesus had just brought up the concept of truth, but Pilate would not engage the conversation. With his rhetorical question, he dismissed the truth that Jesus wished to convey. Your truth is not my truth. Pilate\u2019s exasperation with truth is especially shared in cultures like ours that value individual truth over objective truth.\u00a0 The question, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d is a snide devaluation or rejection of truth. Jesus need not go on in Pilate\u2019s court speaking of universal truth since what is true for a Jew is most likely not true for a Roman. Likewise, Westerners live by the mantra: what is true for you may not be true for me.<\/p>\n

It is important to remember that the biblical context for Pilate\u2019s question is a court scene. Jesus is on trial and Pilate is tasked with administering justice. Messianic prophecies notwithstanding, Jesus did not stand a chance. Justice suffers when truth is abandoned. In a court, where universal truth is dismissed, justice becomes elusive and unfamiliar. In Pilate\u2019s court, justice was more influenced by the whim of the mob than the truth of the ages. When Pilate turned to the outspoken crowds for direction, he was actually pursuing personal benefit rather than true justice.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this approach to justice is not only present in our society, but also creeping into the Church. Justice is being influenced by what is popular or advantageous. Scripture is used more to support a stance than form one. Among the seven IPHC core values, justice is the most difficult, for many of us, to define. The erosion of truth has led to a crisis in understanding justice. Our hope is that this year\u2019s emphasis on justice will help us grapple with the topic and come to an understanding of justice that is biblically based, Christ-centered, and faithfully expressed.<\/p>\n

Justice must be biblically based. A primary victim in the rejection of universal truth is Scripture. Rather than seeking after what God meant through Scripture, we ask what Scripture means to me. However, the purpose of Scripture is to communicate universal truth. Indeed, that truth is communicated in a variety of styles using a variety of people in a variety of situations. Yet, behind every text is a principle given by God. These principles apply to our whole life, including our concept of justice.\u00a0 Justice should be defined by biblical truth. In our society, there are many special interest groups competing for influence over our concept of justice.\u00a0 Even the screaming mobs can correctly identify injustices and solutions, but the crowds do not convey the totality of biblical justice. Godly justice is never a popularity contest. There will be times when Scripture will compel us to stand for that which is neither popular to the crowd nor immediately desirous to us. We are often tempted to seek justice for the people and causes that appeal to us and neglect the rest. Biblically based justice never takes into consideration whether something is appealing or popular, and often calls us to participate in what is uncomfortable and unpopular. If we accept that Scripture contains universal truth, we must look to all of Scripture to inform all of our understanding of justice and resist the temptation to only stand with what is trending.<\/p>\n

Justice must be Christ-centered. The ultimate expression of God\u2019s divine communication with humanity is found in Christ Jesus. It was once popular for people to wear bracelets with \u201cWWJD\u201d imprinted on them. This reminded people to ask, \u201cWhat would Jesus do?\u201d While this slogan was clever and helpful, it fails to capture the total responsibility of the Christ-follower. Being Christ-centered is not simply a matter of mimicking Christ\u2019s actions, but rather having the mind of Christ. Christ-centered actions flow most genuinely from those whose minds are no longer \u201cconformed to this world\u201d but \u201ctransformed by the renewing of your mind\u201d (Romans 12:2).\u00a0 Anyone can act Christ-like for a moment, but true justice will require consistent Godly thinking as a prerequisite to any action. Unfortunately, many elements of popular social justice are me-centered and undertaken to make us feel better or trend better on social media. We act like Jesus in front of the camera or in the midst of injustice, but fail to think like Jesus when eyes are not watching. Having the mind of Christ motivates us to intervene in the injustices that are unseen or neglected. God is grieved by injustices, whether or not they are shared on Facebook or marched against in city streets.<\/p>\n

Justice must be faithfully expressed. I have come to learn that injustices exist for three reasons: distance, disdain, and distrust. First, people act unjustly because they are distant from God; they do not know Him. Second, injustice thrives because people have disdain for God; they know Him but do not love Him. Third, injustice survives (even in the Church) because people distrust God; they love Him but do not always trust Him. Indeed, trust is a difficult thing. The erosion of truth has been greatly aided by widespread diminishment of faith. In fact, calls for social justice are sometimes made in an attempt to portray the Church as a relevant entity in a culture that is increasingly suspicious of the Church, rather than faithful to its God. If the Church is losing its voice, credibility, understanding, or even interest in the matters of justice, the solution is not to chase after what is popular, but to return to faithfulness. It may sound quaint or unrealistic, but our pastors today have a huge task in front of them in helping their congregations trust the God they love. Scandals in the Church and pressures outside the Church have taken their toll on many believers. Faith is now a matter of convenience and the Church is working overtime to cater to this reality. We are seeking new ways to make it convenient to attend, convenient to give, convenient to study, and even convenient to practice justice. Biblical, Christ-centered justice, however, is often inconvenient and is only sustainable when practiced out of a deep trust and faith in God.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t make justice popular or convenient enough to foster a lifestyle of thinking and living justly. We may inspire moments or bursts of good behavior, but those are short-lived and inconsistent. Thus, we must lead people (even Christians) into trusting relationships with God that will ultimately manifest in both the desire and the courage to think and act justly in every situation. Authentic faithfulness is tested more in our daily dilemmas and mundane activities than in monumental decisions. Genuine justice is lived out just as much in our grocery shopping as it is on foreign missions trips. Justice should be practiced just as much when we buy our clothes as when we protest in the streets. Justice that is biblically based, Christ-centered, and faithfully expressed will permeate our lives, our homes, and, eventually, our culture. Our pursuit of justice will not be limited by what is popular, advantageous, or convenient. The world outside the Church does not even know what truth is. Why would we allow them to lead us in areas concerning justice? The Church must prepare to lead the way in defining and practicing justice and, before we organize the first protest or fund the first project, we must develop people ready to take on the task.<\/p>\n

When we consider justice in our world, we can get overwhelmed by the amount of injustice we see. God reminded me recently that He only called one person to save the whole world, that was Jesus and not me. The rest of us are simply called to be obedient in the situations and callings in which we are led by His Spirit. Thus, we must prepare to be obedient. That preparation is caught up in being biblically based, Christ-centered, and full of faith. Alongside our strategies to promote social justice, we must also implement strategies to develop people to take on the task of everyday justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By missionary, Kevin Sneed In John 18:38 Pilate asks, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d Like many today, Pilate was expressing skepticism in objective truth. Jesus had just brought up the concept of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[335,4],"tags":[336,337,93,318],"class_list":{"0":"post-2582","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-justice","8":"category-world-missions","9":"tag-336","10":"tag-justice","11":"tag-kevin-summer-sneed","12":"tag-sneed","13":"entry"},"title_es":"Justicia: Joe Delport","content_es":"\"\"<\/a>\r\n

La injusticia en el \u00c1frica moderna<\/span><\/h2>\r\nJoe Delport - Director Regional de \u00c1frica del Sur<\/strong><\/em> Al considerar el tema de la IPHC, \"Valoramos con justicia la justicia\", quiero reflexionar sobre las muchas injusticias que prevalecen en el mundo donde vivo. La justicia, para muchas personas, se refiere a la justicia. Pero si bien la justicia es importante para casi todos, significa diferentes cosas para diferentes grupos. En \u00c1frica, la justicia parece ser lenta e injusta. \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 las personas parecen tener que tolerar tantas desigualdades en la sociedad en la que viven? Un anciano, que vive en la calle de Johannesburgo, que tose y lucha por sobrevivir, se encuentra con miradas y burlas de los transe\u00fantes, pero nadie es lo suficientemente compasivo como para acudir en su ayuda. La estructura del gobierno social en el pa\u00eds est\u00e1 fallando debido a una financiaci\u00f3n inadecuada, a la corrupci\u00f3n, a la falta de preocupaci\u00f3n o a la espera de que empresas privadas externas o donantes llenen el vac\u00edo. Esta experiencia parece ser a trav\u00e9s de todas las fronteras en \u00c1frica. Los sistemas judiciales en \u00c1frica est\u00e1n llenos de leyes que protegen las injusticias de la sociedad, ya sea el maltrato infantil, la trata de personas o las atrocidades humanas. Pero, sin embargo, estas mismas leyes parecen estar solo en el papel y no se hacen cumplir en absoluto. Todos los d\u00edas escuchamos historias traumatizantes donde las personas son tratadas injustamente pero no tienen recurso a la justicia. Parece que si una persona m\u00e1s pobre o desfavorecida tiene menos posibilidades de disfrutar de las leyes favorables que fueron creadas para protegerla. Los aventajados son aquellos que son ricos, de alto perfil o estatus de celebridad. Como misionero, siempre me desaf\u00edan las injusticias que veo en mi rinc\u00f3n del mundo, que es muy frecuente. Incluso yo, en muchas ocasiones, soy incapaz de ayudar. El ap\u00f3stol Pablo hizo una declaraci\u00f3n en 1 Corintios 9:22 diciendo: \"Me he convertido en todo para que todos puedan, por todos los medios, salvar a algunos\". \u00c9l era celoso de llevar a la gente a Cristo. Aunque a menudo me siento impotente ante tantas injusticias en \u00c1frica, y me doy cuenta de que no puedo ser todo para todos, sigo siendo celoso de guiar a las personas hacia el conocimiento, la justicia y la esperanza de Jesucristo.","author_name":"Kevin Sneed","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/01\/Justice-Gaphic.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Ar-FE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/missions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}