574 - A Concern for Justice

A Concern for Justice

God’s instructions concerning justice continue, in the Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 19: verses 14–21 (in the NLT)…

“When you arrive in the land, that the Lord, your God, is giving to you, as your special possession, you must never steal anyone’s land, by moving the boundary markers, that your ancestors set up , o mark their property. 

“You must not convict anyone, of a crime, on the testimony of only one witness. 

The facts, of the case, must be established, by the testimony, of two or three witnesses. 

“If a malicious witness comes forward …and accuses someone of a crime, then both the accuser and accused must appear before the Lord, by coming to the priests and judges, in office at that time. 

The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. 

If the accuser has brought false charges, against his fellow Israelite, you must impose, on the accuser, the sentence he intended, for the other person. 

In this way, you will purge such evil, from among you. 

Then the rest of the people will hear about it …and be afraid, to do such an evil thing. 

You must show no pity for the guilty! 

Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. 

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Some think that this means God’s intention was simply to provide a framework for retribution.

However, what if God’s justice is meant to restorative?

Modern day Restorative justice is an approach where victims and the offender are brought together, usually with representatives of the wider community, including the church, with the goals: to share their experience of what happened, to discuss who was harmed by the crime and how, and to try to come to some consensus, for what the offender can do to repair the harm caused by the offense. 

This may include a payment of money, given from the offender to the victim, apologies and other amends, and other actions to compensate those affected …and to motivate the offender to not cause future harm.

A restorative justice programs aim to motivate offenders to take responsibility for their actions, to understand the harm they have caused, to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves, and to discourage them from causing further harm. 

For victims, its goal is to give them an active role in the process and to reduce feelings of anxiety and powerlessness… and to provide them a path to forgiveness in order to move on and live a fruitful life.

Restorative justice is designed to provide an alternative to the traditional methods of judicial punishment, which often focus on retribution.

However, restorative justice programs can also be used to complement traditional judicial methods.

Academic assessment of restorative justice is positive. 

Most studies suggest it makes offenders less likely to reoffend. 

A 2007 study also found that restorative justice programs also have a higher rate of victim satisfaction and offender accountability than traditional methods of justice delivery, when appropriate restorative practices are implemented. 

These Restorative practices improve and repair relationships between people and communities. 

The purpose is to build healthy communities, increase social capital, decrease crime and antisocial behavior, repair harm and restore relationships.

But, let us not forget, that it is God who will ultimately judge us all… He alone knows a man’s heart.

Praise be to God!