Holiness Means Doing Justice

Leviticus 19v2, 18 You shall be holy, for I YHWH your God am holy… but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am YHWH.

The golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We may have heard this rule quoted, or read it in Matthew 7. We may also have heard the similar command—repeated often in the New Testament, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

What many of us don’t realize is that these commands represent a broader commitment to justice throughout the entirety of Scripture. Jesus wants to “justify” us, so that we can live just lives. That’s the goal of God’s holiness: As we get closer to him and his holiness, we become more like him, more holy—more just.

This message from Leviticus 19 is meant to challenge and encourage us as followers of Jesus to be committed to God’s vision of justice.