My Life and Books (19) Voluntary Justice

A really important discovery was that the system of justice established by God in the Torah is voluntary. The judges raised up to apply the law do not have a police force to enforce their decisions. All the judges can do is hear the case brought before them. They cannot force people to appear before the court. All they can do is hear the testimonies of the people who came before them and announce their verdict. They will specify the amount of restitution that should be made if a crime has occurred, but they have no power to enforce their decisions.

In a voluntary community, the only constraint on behaviour will be peer pressure from within the community. When a judge declares a person guilty, the elders of the community should help the person make restitution (they might even lend them the money). They should do what they can to help the person change their behaviour and live at peace with their neighbours.

If the guilty person rejects the judge’s verdict, they are also resisting the wisdom of the people who are trusted by the rest of the people living in the community. They are undermining people who have loved and served them. Their relationship with the community that had sustained them would be dead.

The person rejecting a judge’s verdict would be left out of all community activities (Deut 17:12). They will lose all the benefits that come from participating in its activities, including financial support and spiritual protection. Protection from evil (physical and spiritual) comes from belonging to a community. The price of this protection is submission to the justice imposed by the community.

The person who rejects the verdict of the judge respected in their community is rejecting the authority of its elders. This withdrawal of respect eliminates the elder’s authority to provide spiritual protection for them. Spiritual protection comes through submission to elders who stand together against enemy attacks. When a person rejects the authority of their elders, their protection evaporates (1 Cor 5:5,13).

People who refuse to comply with the justice imposed by judges recognised within their community will lose physical and spiritual protection. This might have more serious long-term consequences than the penalty they are attempting to escape, as those who refuse to submit to judges make themselves vulnerable to evil.

If a person persists in doing evil, they become a threat to the peace and security of the community. The leaders might need to exclude them from the community to prevent further harm.

More at Voluntary Justice.

Debt Claims

In a modern society, the government enforces debts on behalf of the creditors, unless the government is the debtor. Governments usually take the side of creditors. They generally do this, even if the debt is unfair and the interest rate is exorbitant. The only escape for a debtor is to declare themselves bankrupt.

In a kingdom society, there is no state authority with the power to enforce the repayment of debt. Judges can confirm that a debt is owing, but they would not have authority to enforce payment of the debt. This means that repayment of debt will be voluntary. Pressure to repay debt may come from within the community, however the community will only put pressure on debtors, if they believe that it is justified.

All other creditors will be reliant on the good will of the debtor. They will usually repay, because they will realise that they might want a loan in the future and do not want to spoil their credit record. They will also understand that they might be a creditor in the future, so they will want to set a good example for other debtors by repaying as promised.

In the Kingdom of God, repayment of debt will always be voluntary. The debtor can walk away from the debt, if they are willing to incur the wrath of the creditor. This takes us back to the teachings of Jesus. He said,

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back (Luke 6:35).

All lending should be done with an expectation that the debt might not be repaid. The effect of this will be a significant reduction in debt levels. Most people will be unwilling to make big loans to others, because it will be too risky.

The only people who lend to those who are poor will be Christians demonstrating the love of Jesus. Most other people will be unwilling to run the risk. Equity financing will become much more import than debt financing.

Control of the State

Both the religious right and the religious left are seeking control over the power of the state to implement their agendas for the world. This strategy is clearly wrong, but it leads to an important question. What should be the attitude of Christians to the power of the state.

There seem to be two other options. The first is to leave the power of the state to the people of the world, and indirectly to the evil one. This does not seem very satisfactory in light of the Lordship of Christ.

The second option is to reject the power of the state totally by declaring it to be immoral. That seem to be a more satisfactory option to me. However, Christians will need to demonstrate that an orderly society can function with the coercion of political power. We have not done that yet, but it is a key part of our calling. I have described how this could happen in Voluntary Justice.

Voluntary Justice (9) Price of Protection

The modern state allows people to live in isolation without any connection to a community that has moral authority over their lives. People can have physical protection and the support of the rest of society without needing to submit to the moral authority of their community. This means that justice has to be imposed by physical force.

In a tribal society or Christian community, members get protection from evil (physical and spiritual) by belonging to their community. The price of this protection is submission to the justice imposed by the community. People can avoid the consequences of justice, but the price they pay is the loss of the protection. Tribal members refusing the justice required by their tribal judges would become very vulnerable to physical attack.

Christians who refuse to comply with the standard of justice imposed by their leaders will lose physical and spiritual protection. Losing spiritual protection might have more serious long term consequences than the penalty they are attempting to escape. Paul reminded the Corinthians of what happens when those who are unwilling to repent are cut off from the body of Christ.

hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord…. God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you (1 Cor 5:5,13).

Churches will only be able to fulfil this role, if there is a church in every street. A church whose members to drive many miles to a mega meeting cannot be a tribe. Only community-based churches that functions in a defined area can provide protection and justice.

The full article is here.

Voluntary Justice (8) Outside Community

If a Christian experiences an injustice at the hands of someone from outside their community they would go to their elders. The elders will approach the community of the accused person and say,

We want to stay at peace with your community, so this dispute needs to be sorted. If you want to continue our relationship with you, we suggest that you encourage the accused person to go before a judge that we all respect. We need to get this issue sorted.

The other community would probably agree to this request, because they would not want to lose the benefits that come from the relationship. Even if they were not a Christian community, they would probably agree to ensure that they would be able to obtain justice for their members in the future.

The members of any community that refused to support justice might find themselves isolated and unable to trade, because they would no longer to be trusted. When trust disappears, the cost of trade increases enormously, so wise leaders would ensure that justice is done, even when a member of their community is being accused.

If the accused person does not belong to a community, they might be able to evade justice for a while. However, they could eventually find themselves being excluded from normal society, so they might need to join an outlaw community to survive. This would be a terrible place to be. Most people will choose to submit to justice, so that they can remain in their community.

Earthly justice will never be perfect, but love triumphs over justice. If the person harmed is unsuccessful in getting restitution, the other members of the church might provide compensation to them as an expression of the love of Jesus. The victim would receive justice, even if the criminal escapes. Of course, their escape is temporary, because everyone will receive perfect justice when they stand before the throne of God.

Voluntary Justice (7) Christian Community

We need a system of justice that does not depend on force or require coercion from above. God’s way is voluntary justice. The key to voluntary justice is free submission to the leaders of a community, in return to their promise of care. Thus, submission to church leaders can also provide a foundation for voluntary justice. This is why Paul described judges emerging out of churches (1 Cor 6:1-4).

If a Christian is accused of a crime, their elders should say something like this.

This accusation could be true. We want to stay at peace with the people of your accuser’s community, so we want you to submit to a judge, and get things sorted. If you do not like the judge they suggested, we will find one we all recognise as being reliable and honest. If you refuse to submit to him, you will lose our spiritual protection and oversight and become an outlaw from your family and church.

The church leaders will urge the Christian to submit to a good and honest judge, so that the church can remain at peace with the rest of the society in which they live. If the judge declares the Christian is innocent, the church will provide them with protection from harassment.

If the judge convicts the accused and imposes a penalty, the leaders of the church will expect the Christian to pay the specified penalty. They may even loan the money and organise repayment over time. The price for this will be closer submission to the Christian(s) making the loan.

Voluntary Justice (6) The Modern World

Free submission to tribal leaders provides a foundation for voluntary justice. A tribal culture has three important characteristics.

• Loyalty between members of the tribe.
• Submission to the authority of tribal leaders.
• Leaders responsible for well-being of tribal members.

The problem in the modern world is that tribal affiliations have been destroyed. People no long belong to a tribe, so individuals are isolated and society is disjointed. This creates problems for voluntary justice. Most people would not recognise anyone they will freely submit to (other than employers). There is no one with sufficient moral authority to persuade them to submit to justice, so justice must be imposed by force.

The good news is that the role of the tribe can be fulfilled by community-based churches that function in the way that I described in my book Being Church Where We Live. A church has the following characteristics.

• Church members committed to loving each other.
• Submission to the authority of elders.
• Elders responsible for caring for church members.

These three characteristics parallel the characteristics of tribes listed above. Community-based churches can become the new tribes.

Voluntary Justice (5) Outlaw Communities

If a person convicted of a crime chooses to avoid justice by leaving their tribe, they could seek to join another. The problem is that most tribes would not accept someone with outstanding justice issues. The tribe would not want to offend a neighbouring tribe by harbouring a person who has refused to submit to justice. The person avoiding justice might not be able to find a tribe to join, because they would be treated as an outlaw.

Groups of people avoiding justice might come together and form a community of outlaws. These outlaw communities would be a terrible place to live, as the leaders of the community would those who have refused to accept justice. The strongest men would rise to the top, so the community would have only rough justice. Outlaw communities would be like self-run, self-funded prisons.

These outlaw communities would be like the Cities of Refuge established in Israel (Num 35:6-14). They were a place of escape for people with outstanding justice issues running away from their tribe.

Entry into an outlaw communities would be voluntary, because the only people entering permanently would be those escaping justice or refusing to submit to the leadership of their tribe. Some Christians enter temporarily to share the gospel and other tough people might visit regularly to trade. Other might call to visit relatives.

No outlaw would have to stay in an outlaw community, but they could only leave by going back to their tribe and accepting the consequences of the justice that that they had been avoiding. To leave the outlaw community, they would have to submit to justice in the community they had escaped.

The outlaw community would not be a happy place, so the cost of avoiding justice would be quite high. Most people would prefer to pay the penalties that had been imposed by the judge, so they could remain with their tribe. This would be a powerful incentive for the voluntary acceptance of justice.

Voluntary Justice (4) Protection

If the accused person is judged to be innocent, the tribal leaders will provide the innocent person with protection from any further harassment.

Belonging to a tribe is voluntary, but the condition for belonging is submission to the authority of tribal leaders. Willingness to submit disputes to a judge and agreement to comply with the judge’s verdict is also a condition for belonging. Freedom is not reduced, because the person is always free to leave their tribe and cease submission. They would lose the benefits of being part of their tribe, but they are always free to go.

Moses is an example of one who used his freedom to escape justice (Ex 11:11-21). The price he paid was forty years in the wildness tending sheep for a much poorer tribe (God used this for good). This is different from the modern nation-state, where submission to authority is enforced with force and people are usually not free to leave.

Tribal affiliations are fluid. If the leaders of a tribe started to impose bad justice, people would leave that tribe and join another related tribe with better standards of justice. The bad tribe would shrink away.

Voluntary Justice (3) Rejecting Justice

The person found guilty by the judge might refuse to accept the penalty imposed by the court. If the guilty person refused to pay the specified restitution, their tribal elders would say,

We want to stay at peace with our neighbouring tribe. If you want to remain part of us, you had better make restitution specified by the judge.

The guilty person would come under immense moral pressure to pay the penalty.

You must act according to the decisions they give you… Be careful to do everything they direct you to do. Act according to the law they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left (Deut 17:10-11).

A person who refuses to accept justice of the judges has placed themselves under a curse.

Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out (Deut 27:26).

The tribe will not want a person that is under a curse in their midst.

If a convicted person cannot afford to pay the specified restitution, family or tribal leaders might make the payment on their behalf and find a way for guilty person to work and repay what they owed. They would do this to maintain peace with their neighbours.

If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him..... If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you (Lev 25:35-36;39-40).

This is an additional benefit of belonging to a tribe. If the convicted person refused to repay their debt to those who had bailed them out, they would lose all the benefits of belonging to their tribe.

Voluntary Justice (2) Tribal Culture

The system of law and judges established by God functioned effectively in Moses time, because he was part of a trouble culture. Although, most people no longer live in a tribal culture, the experience is worth studying, because it shows how a voluntary system of judges can work. We should also not that the modern drive to destroy tribal culture and replace it with nationalism and democracy has made it harder to operate a biblical system of justice. That is why God blessed a tribal culture (Deut 33) but never blessed democracy. Tribal cultures are conducive to a system of law and judges, whereas democracy establishes justice by force, which God hates.

Tribal societies can be quite fluid, but a persons place in society is established by submission to the tribal leaders. They can change to a new tribe, if they submit to the leaders that tribe, but they cannot have the benefits of belonging to a tribe, if they will not submit to the authority of the tribal leaders. This free submission to tribal authorities makes the system of law and judges work.

Members of a tribe would be expected to submit to the judgment of judge that their family or tribal leaders recognise as being wise. If the accuser was a member of the same tribe, the tribal leaders would demand that the two sides to the dispute get things sorted so that the tribe would not be divided. The accused person could not continue to enjoy the blessings of tribal membership and refuse to go to a judge recognised by their tribe.

If the victim of the crime belonged to another tribe, their tribal leaders would come to the tribal leaders of the accused person and ask for the issue to be sorted. They would agree on a judge that both tribes respected. If the accused person refused to submit to this judge, the elders would say,

This accusation could be true. We want to stay at peace with your neighbouring tribe, so we want you to submit to a judge, and get things sorted. If you do not trust the suggested judge, we will find one that we all recognise as being reliable and honest. If you refuse to the judge, you will lose our protection and oversight and become an outlaw from your family and tribe. We are not prepared to put our tribe at risk of attack, because you are willing to appear before a judge.

The accused person would have no choice but to submit to judgment. To ensure they continue to receive the benefits of being part of their family and tribe, they will freely submit to judgment.