Doing Justice and Mercy – Pastor Tim Keller

Pastor Tim Keller defines VERY clearly what “justice” means from a biblical perspective.  He says it’s only possible in pursuit of beauty, not duty.  In other words, your motive should not be out of a sense of duty.

The obligation to do BIBLICAL justice in the context of charity is a PERSONAL obligation, not a state or governmental obligation.  Biblical INJUSTICE results when charity becomes a GOVERNMENT or STATE or LEGAL obligation.  NOWHERE does the bible authorize secular governments to engage in charity or social security or welfare. Charity has always been and always will a family and church function and should NEVER become a governmental function.  To do otherwise is to remove economic and social power from families and churches and make the government essentially into a civil religion with supernatural powers, the most important of which is as the owner of ALL property.  You can’t redistribute wealth without STEALING UNLESS:

1. There is no PRIVATE property that is absolutely owned by a single human.
2. The government is therefore the owner of EVERYTHING.

This sermon, from Tim Keller, is the fourth from Redeemer Presbyterian Church’s current series “Where We are Going: The City and the Mission”. It’s a series focused on Redeemer’s gospel based core values and is part of a special season at Redeemer called “Rise”. During this season, we’ll be making these sermons widely and freely available. Please visit http://rise.redeemer.com for more information, including daily devotionals.

This sermon was preached by Rev. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on March 20, 2016.

Series “Where We are Going: The City and the Mission”.

For an analysis of the implications of his interpretation of biblical and legal justice and an exhaustive comparison between the two, see:

1. What is “Justice”?, Form #05.050
   https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/WhatIsJustice.pdf
2. Why Domicile and Becoming a “Taxpayer” Require Your Consent, Form #05.002, Section 10.2
   http://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/Domicile.pdf
3. Requirement for Consent, Form #05.003, Section 3: Justice
   http://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/Consent.pdf
4. Generous Justice (OFFSITE LINK) -Tim Keller
   https://youtu.be/280nS1_p2Kk
5. Justice and Compassion in Biblical Law (OFFSITE LINK) – Richard H Hiers, Scribd
   https://www.scribd.com/doc/83851708/Justice-and-Compassion-in-Biblical-Law