Justice is the concept of ?moral rightness? based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness, religion and equity. It is also ?judgment? involved in the determination of rights and the assignments of rewards and punishments. Some maintain justice is from God?s will or command, while others believe justice is inherent in nature itself. And there are others who believe justice consists of rules common to all humanity which emerges out of some sort of consensus.

Social Justice may be defined as action in accordance (agreement) with the requirements of established law. In a narrow sense, justice is fairness. It is action that pays due regard to the proper interest, property and safety of one?s fellowman. In the broader sense, justice as fairness is where one strives to work out something comfortable to ensure others receive their ?fair share? of benefits and burdens and adhere to a system of ?fair play.? The principles of justice and fairness can be thought of as rules of ?fair play? for issues of social justice. Social justice requires the rules to be ?fair? and also for people to ?play? by the rules.

Just institutions tend to instill a sense of stability, well-being, and satisfaction in society, while perceived injustices may lead to dissatisfaction, rebellion and revolution. There are different types and concepts of justice: distributive, procedural, retributive and restorative. These types of justice have important implication for socio-economic, political, civil and criminal justice. It is the principles of justice and fairness that points to ideas of ?fair treatment? and ?fair play? that should govern all modes of exchange and interaction in a society. When the principles of justice fail, it is then confidence in society?s institutions is undermined, and people become alienated and comment toward unjust practices. Or, they may rebel until corrective action is taken or until new institutions are created.

Distributive (economic) justice is concerned with giving all members of society a ?fair share? of the benefits and resources available. To find what is fair, one must establish and follow the criteria of distribution such as equity, equality and need. Equity means one?s reward should be equal to one?s contributions to society, while equality means everyone gets the same amount, regardless of their input. Distribution of need means people who need more will get more, while people who need less will get less. Distributive justice is crucial to the stability of a society and the well-being of its people.

Procedural (fairness) justice is concerned with making and implementing decisions according to ?fair processes? that ensure ?fair treatment.? Rules must be impartially followed and consistently applied in order to generate an unbiased decision. If people believe procedures to be ?fair?, they will be more likely to accept outcomes, even the ones they do not like. Implementing ?fair procedures? is central to many disputed resolution procedures, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication.

Retributive (criminal/punitive) justice is concerned with ?just dessert?, the idea that people deserve to be treated in the same way they treat others. It is a retroactive approach that justifies punishment as a response to past injustice. The central idea is that the offender has gained ?unfair? advantages through his/her behavior, and punishment will set this imbalance straight. Retributive justice plays a central role in legal proceedings in responding to violations of international law, human rights and war crimes.

Restorative justice focuses on violations as crimes against individuals and is concerned with healing victims? wounds, restoring offenders to law-abiding lives, and repairing harm done to interpersonal relationships and the community. It tries to strengthen the community and prevent similar events from happening in the future. More discussion on restorative justice will continue under the section on Punishment.

More importantly, what about God?s justice? He demands us to be like Him in moral character. Neither justice nor righteousness bestows rewards because it is demanded of God, instead of being optional. No one can claim anything for the gift of god?s grace. Justice in God is devoid of passion or irrationality. God has no selfish anger or pleasure in the death of the wicked. God executes the penalties of law, and it is no better stated than in the first two chapters of Romans. Just as much as justice binds God to punish, it binds the sinner to punishment. God?s justice is perfection as to His will, and an unchangeable principle of His very nature. ?He is the Rock; His work is perfect for all His ways are law and justice. A God of Faithfulness without breach or deviation? (Deuteronomy 32:4). God?s righteousness is the ultimate and absolute standard of civil law. Every society, whether religious or humanistic, along with its law, will be judged by God?s standard of righteousness. Conscience is often shaped by mores of a culture which is a dangerous path to follow because every law and behavioral choice should be measured against God?s standard of righteousness.

God?s legislative (rectoral) justice requires us to conform in all respects to God?s moral laws (Deuteronomy 4:8). God?s distributive justice is God?s dealing with us according to the requirements of the law in rewarding or punishing (Romans 2:6-11). God?s renumerative (reward/blessing) justice is where God distributes rewards and blessings (Deuteronomy 28:1-6). God?s punitive justice is where God inflicts punishment on account of transgression. His eternal righteousness demands Him to visit every sin with merited punishment (2 Thessalonians). God?s political justice is where God has appointed the state or civil authorities to be His instrument of justice (Romans 13:3-4).

What about legal systems? Today, crime is broken down into the following categories: ?Traditional? which includes murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary and larceny; ?Organized? includes groups of individuals with formal organization and structure engaged in illegal gambling, prostitution, racketeering, and drugs; ?White-collar? includes crimes of business operations such as embezzlement and fraud; and finally, ?Political? includes assassinations, sabotage, kidnapping, espionage, and terrorism aimed at destroying political systems or influencing political or social change. In our modern times there are three major legal systems: civil law, common law and religious. Law is a system of rules which are enforced through a set of institutions. Law influences politics, economics, religions and society. Some examples of the different types of law are contract law, property law, trust law, criminal law, tort law and constitutional law.

Moral values are the standards of good and evil which govern an individual?s behavior and choices. For years now, our moral values have been collapsing, and whenever a society loses faith in its legal system, it could become revolutional. With extreme greed controlling world banking systems and governments today, it is easy to see how governments and world economies could fail. When people lose faith in the moral foundation of law that governs, they begin to search for a legitimate alternative. There is only one alternative and that is God?s law. God?s law has existed as long as sin has existed. Christianity goes beyond other religions when it comes to moral values. Christian moral values go beyond society?s values. To the Christian, it is a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. If our hearts have been changed through salvation, then living in compliance with God?s commandments should be a loving act of obedience. ?If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15). ?If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father?s commands and remain in His love (John 15:10).

Christians should be interested in justice whether it is retributive (criminal/punitive) justice or civil (social) justice for the following reasons. The retributive justice system is at the center of Christ?s atonement for sin. The principles of righteous judgment are biblically based. History shows Christians with good intentions have unfortunately influenced politics and criminal justice systems toward secular practices by not understanding biblical law. We as Christians do a poor job studying biblical laws, and how they should or should not motivate Christians to influence legislation or instruct their community regarding morality. Whenever a retributive justice system strays from God?s law, it may breed more crime and rebellion against the laws of God. I feel the decades of lack of concern for Bibical law has lead to our acceptance of immorality today.