"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: JUSTICE and MERCY and FAITHFULNESS; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" (Matt 23:23)

Without justice you cannot have mercy or compassion. Justice is abso-lutely necessary for true mercy and compassion. Yehovah, God, in the Old Testament told the Jews, His Light in the world at that time, "In truth, in JUSTICE and in righteousness: then the nations will bless them-selves in Him, and in Him they will glory" (Jer 4:2). Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again, it is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." Paul the Apostle wrote, "For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep" (1 Cor 11:29-30). Paul said in this passage that believers had become weak, sick and even died due to a lack of justice within the body of believers themselves.

Jesus taught us that justice is more important than tithing, giving, wit-nessing, anything. God speaking through Jeremiah tells us that the world will not turn to the Church or listen to the Church unless it first sees justice and mercy among God’s people. Without justice and love among our-selves we have no witness.

If a Member is falsely accused morally, his ability to function and minister in the body of Christ is brought to a stand still. This is not good. For this reason we are committed as ministers and a Church to daily work at being impartial in our relating to and dealing with members and staff. We are also committed to, in love, doing what we can to provide justice to any member or staff: innocent until proven guilty. We are not talking here about witch hunting, but just the opposite, that before a person is wrongly condemned by the body to make sure that whatever he or she is accused of is first proven true beyond reasonable doubt; and then secondly, en-couraging the body to loving reconciliation once the person has turned from their sin and repented and then treating that member from that point on just as if they never sinned. I recommend reading my book, Experi-encing Jesus’ Love and Forgiveness on a Daily Basis for further un-derstanding of my understanding of loving justice and reconciliation in the body.⁴⁶³

Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away." The Bible given to us is eternal truth. Because it is the above stated position concerning Justice in the Church handed down to us in the Bible will never become old fashion or change.