What is Economic Justice? and What Does the Bible Have to Say About It?

Justice in economic life really matters. Many people are aware of that; and, as I have read and studied the Bible over many years, I have discovered that economic justice matters very much to God. But economic life is complex, and often confusing. So I – an economist and theologian – have written this book in order to encourage and equip you to engage more effectively with this complex world in which we live. I want to share with you what I have been discovering about doing economic justice – on the basis of what God himself reveals to us in his written word (Scripture). And as we explore Scripture and search our hearts, this will change the way we engage with the world around us.

Jesus Christ wants his followers to live in obedience to him every day of the week. This includes the economic dimensions of our lives: all of us buy goods and services; we have money in bank or building society accounts; many of us have paid jobs; all of us have the responsibility to decide how to relate to people who are poor and needy in material terms – both in our country and across the globe. The book digs into all of this. As we explore what the Bible has to say about these different aspects of our economic living, we will see that doing economic justice is a crucial part of God’s agenda.

I want to persuade my readers that doing justice is central to having a good economy. But I also want to show you that we need to rediscover what economic justice actually is. Lots of people like the idea of ‘economic justice’, but what if we are confused about what it means? I am convinced, from Scripture, that God loves justice – including justice in economic life. So I also want to persuade you that the roots of economic justice are found in God and in his character. And, happily, God’s written word tells us all the key things we need to know about what economic justice is. It is vital, then, that we explore Scripture and let it re-shape the way we live.

I hope you will see that doing economic justice is not a ‘niche’ topic reserved for a few specialists. Instead, Christ calls all of his followers to do economic justice in their lives and their relationships, in this messy world, from Monday through to Sunday. In this way we will do a better job as we play our part in God’s good economy.

And there is another purpose in writing this book. Living for Christ and witness to Christ belong together. This combination is especially important in the very secularized 21st century Western world. This secularization poses a huge difficulty for Christians. God has been pushed right to the edge of the table. Just watch or read the latest news: is there any sense that God is in any way part of it? God and Christianity seem trivial and irrelevant.

In the economic aspects of life, secularization is if anything even more dominant. How many people in Britain, or the West as a whole, would think that God has anything to say about GDP and economic growth, or about economic justice?

But God is still God! He is still working out his salvation plan! We must not, then, be defeatist. The way to respond to secularization is to push back. Being in the world means engaging with what is happening, including in public, economic and business life. It means being part of all this: getting stuck in. It means doing good in all the rough and tumble of life, Monday to Sunday. And doing justice in economic life is central in this. So, it is by living and working in the world – including in the economic dimension – that we will have greater opportunity to testify to people about the good news of Jesus Christ. Life and witness belong together.

God's Good Economy publishes on 15th August 2019. Order your copy here >>