Pastor Jason Fest preaches on God’s love and justice.

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Biblical Justice: Handling Public Accusations and Denials

Deuteronomy 19:15-21

A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses shall a charge be established. If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and the rest shall hear and fear and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity, it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot¹.

Saints, this is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Well, saints, this morning our sermon is going to be on biblical justice. I think I preached this back in 2023, but I’m not 100% sure. I think I’ve only preached it once.

This sermon is the culmination of what we have learned as elders through some very difficult and challenging times. But it is also the culmination of valuable lessons and tremendous insights that we’ve learned from our brothers in our own presbytery and in our denomination. These are men who’ve been around the block a time or two, and they have been gracious enough with us to share their wisdom and insights. So we’ve greatly benefited from it.

We as elders have been greatly blessed by it, and so have you, by the way. If you’ve been enjoying this time of peace here at Trinity, which has been going on for so long, it’s become the new norm. Praise the Lord. You’ve benefited from it as well.

This is the direct fruit of hard lessons, correction, and training in righteousness and justice. It reminds me of Hebrews 12, a wonderful verse: Hebrews 12:11. “For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields something.” What does it yield? What does discipline yield? It yields this peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who’ve been trained by it. Praise the Lord.

Now, it is precisely in times of peace that we want to shore up the defenses. It is precisely when there are no issues—and there aren’t, that we’re aware of—precisely when there are no issues requiring biblical justice that we want to teach on it and preach on it so that we can be as certain as we possibly can that we are all here in the household of faith, that we are all on the same page.

We have peace in this church. Praise the Lord. What we want to do now is keep and maintain and cultivate and nurture that peace so that it extends and lasts for generations to come.

Now, how do we do that? How are we going to do that? Well, one of the chief ways we do that is by having a thorough agreement and understanding of the principles of biblical justice.

For our purposes today, here this morning, we’re going to be looking at dealing with a very specific aspect of biblical justice that often occurs in churches. Any of you who have been parents for some time, it’s already happened in your family, I’m sure, you’ll see, regarding this specific aspect. So here it is. If you’re taking notes, this is the sentence. This is the encapsulation of what the focus is here.

Public accusations and charges that are denied by the one being accused.

That is the specific aspect of biblical justice that we are going to be looking at here this morning. Public, not private, accusations and charges that are denied, not accepted, but denied by the one who’s being accused. There’s certainly many other aspects to consider when it comes to this topic of biblical justice, but this morning, this is what we’re going to be considering.

Why We Need to Understand Biblical Justice

Now, I want to give a few more important reasons why we need to hear and consider this. And these are big ones. So here’s number one.

The Lord Requires You to Do Justice

We heard it in our Old Testament reading. Number one, we need to understand and consider this because the Lord requires you—did you know that the Lord requires you—to do justice? You heard that in Micah 6, verse eight. “He’s told you, oh man, what is good? What does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifices.” That’s what Proverbs 21, verse three says. To do justice, righteousness and justice, more acceptable than your sacrifices of either time or money. So here’s a question for you. Are you that concerned with justice? Are you more concerned with doing justice than in your sacrifices of time and money? We need to examine ourselves here. Change our ways of thinking, which means repentance.

Love Always Involves Justice

Now number two, the second reason that we need to hear and consider these things is that we’re commanded to love. We’re commanded to love. Now what does that have to do with justice? Well, what we have to understand is that love always involves justice. Love is just. Love and justice cannot be separated.

The clearest demonstration we can point to for this truth is at the cross. It wasn’t just or only the great love of God on display at the cross of Calvary. No, the satisfaction of God’s righteous justice was also fully on display as well. 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

God sent His Son in love to make satisfaction for our sins and to cancel the record of debt that stood against us. So the cross, in other words, has met God’s righteous demands for justice. There was a debt we owed. There was a debt you owed that had to be paid in order for God’s righteous justice to be satisfied. He could not simply sweep our sins under the rug, so to speak. And the death of Jesus Christ as our substitute made full satisfaction of that debt. So the cross then demonstrates both the love and the justice of God.

So we are commanded to love one another. We’re commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. We’re even commanded to love our enemies. And a vital aspect of that is understanding and obeying God’s principles of justice.

Accusations as Weapons

Now, third reason. We live in a culture where accusations have become weapons in and of themselves. Just the accusation itself, just to be accused of something, is bad enough. We’ve seen plenty of examples of that. I’ll cite later.

So here are a few reasons why we need to hear and consider what God’s Word tells us about this important topic.

The Focus of Biblical Justice

And so here it is again. This is coming, by the way, from a wonderful book that was given to us as elders called A Justice Primer. I’m fairly certain we still have multiple copies. If you’re a member of this church and would like one, we’ll give you one. It’s written by two long-term CREC pastors, Doug Wilson and Randy Booth, two OGs. And this single sentence here captures again what this is all about.

They say, “justice often, not always, but often, justice often has to do with public accusations and charges that are denied by the one who is accused.”

How should that be handled? What do we do if and when accusations or charges go public? Through emails, through texts, gossip, slander, back-channeling, or on social media? What should you do if you’re somehow involved? And what should you do if you’re not involved directly? Should you, or is it your duty to get involved? Is that your responsibility? What is your responsibility as a bystander or as a friend? These are important questions that roll around in your head.

Now, just as important, if not more important, what if it is you? You are the one who is being accused. And now it’s gone public. Is it up to you? Is the burden on you to prove or demonstrate your innocence? Or is it up to the one making the accusations to prove their case? And then, to whom do they prove it? To the angry mob? And then who decides the matter, finally? Who is in charge here and who makes the final call? So you see, these are all very, very important questions.

If you have ever been falsely accused, you know how extremely unpleasant it is to go through something like this and how important, therefore, it is for you to know your rights. And that is precisely the focus of biblical justice. Here’s the first important lesson. The focus of biblical justice, its focus is on the rights of the accused and the protection of the innocent. In other words, biblical justice leans that way.

From the Bible, for example, we’re taught this principle: All suspects in a criminal case are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. All of it is encapsulated. This is a fundamental principle of justice. And that’s deduced from this very text we’re looking at here this morning.

Now, you can contrast that. I still remember it. It’s still a good example. I think it was Nancy Pelosi. Donald Trump was being sued, President Trump, and her statement was something to the effect of, he will have his opportunity to prove his innocence in a court of law. In other words, he’s guilty until and unless he can prove or demonstrate his innocence. So you see, that’s a complete inversion of biblical justice. Basically, we’ve declared you guilty as charged. Let’s see now if you can defend yourself. Horrible.

Principles from Deuteronomy 19

So, in our church, in your families, there is going to be conflict. That is for certain. There’s going to be conflict. The question becomes, how are you going to handle it when it comes? And this applies to everything from major offenses to what is by far the most common form of conflict in a church or in a family, which is petty interpersonal conflicts that get absolutized and treated as major offenses.

Matthew 18 is a key text, but it’s not the only text that we have to turn to for guidance in dealing with conflict and pursuing justice. There are many others as well. So let’s look at our passage this morning. If you have your Bibles, open again to Deuteronomy 19. We’re starting at verse 15 here.

Now, I want to point out, if you’re reading from the ESV translation, you see the translators have given the heading here for this block of text, “Laws Concerning Witnesses.” I think this can be almost misleading because as you’ll see, as we start to unpack this, there is so much more here in this text than just witnesses. I like the NASB translation, which says, “Laws of Testimony.” These are laws of testimony.

One Witness is Not Enough

So starting at verse 15. First, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or any wrong doing, or any wrong, I’m sorry, in connection with any offense that he has committed.” Now, for our purposes this morning, we’re not going to be dealing with alleged criminal activity, but rather alleged wrongs or offenses that don’t necessarily rise to that level.

And we see here in this opening verse already a leaning towards the protection of the innocent or the falsely accused. One witness does not cut it. And why is that? Well, in the context here of chapter 19 of Deuteronomy, the one witness may be in the heat of his anger at the news that his brother was killed and be seeking vengeance. When the truth may be that the death was purely accidental.

And so God told Israel when they were entering into the promised land to make at least three, what he called cities of refuge, where someone who was accused of wrong doing, in this case, murder, could flee and receive due process rather than be killed by the blood avenger or we could say lynched by an angry mob. But we can think of other reasons too why this is so important. The witness may have an ax to grind. The witness may be malicious. They may be holding a grudge or seeking personal gain.

Did you know that Christians do these things in churches? They do. Christians do these things. But the principle, the principle is that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. In other words, more is required of the accuser. The burden is greater for the accuser.

The Need for Multiple Witnesses and Established Charges

Look at the next sentence. “Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” Now here again, a lot to consider. You have evidence. You have witnesses. You have a charge. And keep in mind, for all of this, this is for any crime, any wrong, any offense.

So let’s look at a charge. Notice, a charge, first of all, a charge must be established. In the NASV, it’s confirmed. The charge must be confirmed. And that begins by answering the question, what is it? What is it exactly? What is it specifically?

Often as elders, and this can certainly apply to parents as well, we’re just trying to get clarity as to what the specific charge is. We’re asking the question, so what is your accusation specifically? Are you in fact accusing so and so of thus and such? There’s a lot of time spent just there trying to get clarity. And an accuser who is not interested in biblical justice often will attempt to hide behind a lack of clarity. “Well, I’m just saying.” Okay, what are you saying exactly? That is what needs to be determined. So first, is there a charge being made? And secondly, what is it exactly?

Now, we have witnesses. Again, there needs to be a charge. And then in order for that charge to be confirmed or established, there has to be witnesses and there has to be multiple witnesses. And we see this principle of multiple witnesses continue from here in Deuteronomy straight through into the New Testament. Matthew 18. “Every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Second, Corinthians 13:1. You heard me read for the New Testament reading. “Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” 1 Timothy 5:19. “Don’t admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Two or three witnesses. Multiple witnesses. There always has to be multiple witnesses.

But notice, even that is not enough. Because those witnesses must be examined themselves. They must be cross-examined by a legitimate authority. And further, they must then be held accountable by that authority. So you’re seeing, I hope, there’s an awful lot here. There’s a whole lot here.

We have plenty of examples in Scripture of false witnesses, multiple false witnesses being brought forward in order to condemn an innocent man. I think of Naboth’s vineyard and the two worthless men who were selected by Queen Jezebel. That’s in 1 Kings 21. We have, of course, Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin. Multiple witnesses brought forward. We have Paul’s multiple trials in the book of Acts. In all of this, you notice the right number was there, but these were bad dudes who were coming and bearing false witness.

The Evaluation of Evidence by Legitimate Authority

Now let’s look at evidence. There has to be actual evidence. And something very, very important for us to understand. Other accusers making similar accusations does not equal evidence. There’s an important biblical principle. Other accusers making similar accusations does not equal evidence. Now one major reason for that is because an accusation is only an opinion until it’s proven with due process. So finally, all of this evidence must be evaluated by a legitimate authority.

Look at verse 16. “If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, verse 17, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.” Now in this context, the legitimate authority was those priests and judges who were in office in those days.

So this is answering the very important question, who has the final say in all of this? Who is responsible for rendering final judgment? Those questions, all of these questions, must be answered and established ahead of time. And that’s because there’s accountability and there is responsibility involved.

Verse 18, “the judges shall inquire diligently.” So there’s the responsibility and there’s the accountability. Notice, not of the bystander or friend, but of the governing authority appointed by God over that particular sphere or realm, be it the family, church, or civic realm. The word we use for all of this right here is jurisdiction. Jurisdiction, very, very important word. Who has the jurisdiction here and who does not have the jurisdiction here?

Accountability of the Accuser

Now listen to this, continuing verse 18, “And if the witness is false and has accused his brother falsely, verse 19, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother.” “So you shall, in this way, purge the evil from your midst.” And here we come to perhaps the most important principle that we have to ingrain into our minds and recover for the peace of the church. And it’s called accountability. Not only of those who are in authority, who have jurisdiction, and who must inquire diligently, not using unequal weights and measures or accepting a bribe. There’s accountability there, but also the accountability of the accuser, the witness who is accusing his brother or sister.

When dealing with church disputes, conflicts, or alleged offenses, the question that must be asked and considered is this: what authority is the accuser submitted to or under, such that if his or her charge or accusation is proven to be false or even unsubstantiated or simply careless or negligent? In other words, if it does not meet the biblical criteria of proof, who is going to hold them accountable for their false or careless charges?

That is a very, very important question. Because if the answer to that question is absolutely no one, no one’s going to hold them accountable. That must be taken into account. If the answer is no one, that means that accusations can fly left and right. You’re just looking and hoping for one of them to stick. Because there are zero consequences. There is nothing to lose, so why not? And that is precisely how accusations can very easily become weapons in and of themselves. There’s plenty of examples of how that has happened. We can think of not too long ago the #MeToo movement, the “Believe All Women.” That was happening a lot during that period of time.

So, who is making the charge? What is the charge? Who are they accountable to? And is that authority going to act righteously and bring consequences if the witness is proven to be false and has accused his brother falsely? In biblical justice, that is what’s called evil. And that evil must be purged from your midst.

And why is that? And here we come to the end of our passage. Verses 20 and 21. “So that the rest will hear and fear and shall never again commit any such evil among you.” “Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Here is God’s intent in all of this. It’s so that the rest will hear and fear. Do not make false accusations. If you do, what you were wanting done to them will be done to you.

So as elders and parents, we could ask the question, okay, are you accusing so and so of thus and such? Yes? Okay. What is it exactly that you want to have happen to them? That’ll end things real quick, a lot of time. What exactly is it that you want to have happen to them if they are found to be guilty after we conduct due process? Do you want a personal apology? Made to apologize in front of the whole family? Or the whole church? Removed from the church? Okay then. If you are found to be false or careless, the same will be done to you, eye for an eye. Do you agree to the terms? In other words, the punishment must be proportionate to the crime.

Due Process and Repentance

So saints, to summarize all of this, this is all what we call, again, due process. Here is the criteria needed to be met in order for us to do justice, which is what the Lord requires us to do. “He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” If you are willing to set aside justice out of anger, out of bitterness, out of revenge, or to simply take the focus off yourself, that reveals that you don’t ultimately love kindness. And rather than walking humbly with your God, you are exhibiting only pride and selfish ambition.

Now perhaps as I’ve been going through this, you’ve been recalling some things to mind. Maybe the Holy Spirit is convicting you right now. If He is, please pay attention. The process is very simple. If you’re guilty of doing these things in the past, because this is not a category, you either did it in ignorance or maliciously. It’s very simple. Be honest and confess to the Lord your sin. Right now, you can do that right now. And repent, and you repent by changing your mind about these things. And going in a godly direction that conforms with Scripture.

As you look ahead, and as we look ahead to the future, to the coming days, weeks, months, years, together, and as other baptized Christians come into the fold, brothers and sisters come into this fold, as the Lord brings them in His time. And as you consider your neighbors outside of this church, and God’s command to love one another, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, know this, that biblical justice is a primary means of doing that. Biblical justice is a primary means of doing that. And again, as always, and with everything, it all begins with repentance.

Have you, let me ask you this, have you ever received a bad report against somebody? Anyone? Have you ever had a beef with someone, and then upon hearing a juicy morsel of gossip or accusation against them, received it? Then you must confess that as sin, and repent. That’s not just. So have your mind changed about that, which is what repentance involves. Confess your sin, so your conscience can be clear, and resolve to never again be in any way involved in or receive a bad report or accusation about anyone if it’s outside of your jurisdiction.

Four Guidelines for Doing Justice

Now finally, I want to close with just four guidelines. This is a summary I’ve written from the book, A Justice Primer. Four guidelines for doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with your God.

1. An Accusation is Not a Conviction

Number one, an accusation, again, an accusation is not a conviction. Again, it is an opinion until proven with due process and by a legitimate authority. Proverbs 18:17, “the first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him.”

2. Respect Established Authorities

Number two, God has established authorities. God has established authorities. They exist in order to make lawful judgments regarding the crimes and or sins of others, be it, again, the civil realm, the realm of the church, or the family. So we need to be humble, and that involves remembering that many matters are simply none of our business. That’s a humbling thought. Whatever’s going on over here, guess what? None of my business, and it doesn’t need to be my business. Walk humbly with your God. Yeah, but that’s my friend. Well, that doesn’t make it your business, and it doesn’t make it your jurisdiction. If you really love your friend and you really want to help, the first thing to do is get on your knees and pray hard. You pray for your friend, that they receive justice, and pray for the legitimate authority that’s in place for wisdom and clarity and biblical faithfulness. There is nothing good to be gained and certainly no blessing to expect from God when you meddle in a quarrel, not your own. Proverbs 26:17. So watch yourself. Watch yourself with this.

3. Proof Must Meet Biblical Standards

Number three. Proof, quote-unquote proof, has to meet biblical standards. Proof has to meet biblical standards. One witness, even if you think they are the greatest witness of all time, will not do. And witnesses must be accountable to the appropriate court. They must be in a position where they can be cross-examined because, believe it or not, this is a shocker, not all witnesses can be believed. 1 Kings 21. “And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him and the scoundrels witnessed against him.” That is, against Naboth. So witnesses need to be examined.

4. Bypassing Authorities is Sinful

And number four. Those who bypass legitimate authorities are in sin. Those people who attempt to do this and spread accusations in order to harm those whom they accuse are in sin and their reports must not be believed. And this is especially true, by the way, if their excuse, if their excuse for bypassing or ignoring the legitimate authorities is because those authorities can no longer be trusted. Because guess what? That in itself is another accusation. That requires due process according to biblical standards and principles of justice. It’s easy to say. It is very difficult to prove.

Avoid Engaging in Gossip

One last remark before I close. It is the impulse of many sincere Christians to seek to hear both sides in a dispute. To find out what’s going on. And that’s what many end up doing. So they go to meet with the accuser to hear their side. Good intentions, but misguided.

As we’ve just learned, as we’ve gone through all of this, a huge problem is that only applies for a legitimate authority that is in a position to make a judgment. Again, it’s about jurisdiction. An example would be a mom or dad getting to the bottom of a dispute between a brother or sister. They’re a legitimate authority and that’s their jurisdiction. They need to hear both sides and they need to weigh the evidence and conduct due process. It could be a judge hearing both sides of a case in a courtroom. It could be a police officer collecting eyewitness testimony. Finally, it could be a pastor hearing both sides of a dispute among congregants.

Otherwise, despite good intentions, you are engaging in gossip and you can end up being swayed. Or at the very least, seeds of doubt can be planted and remain undetected only to bear rotten fruit much later. So avoid, do not listen to reports from anyone, again, who’s bypassed the legitimate authority and is now spreading accusations.

So saints, let us strive for peace so that this peace, which we are enjoying, may continue. But for it to continue, we’ve got to strive for it. We need to be thankful for it, praise the Lord for it, and strive for it. And we’ve been given the tools to do so. Love one another. And biblical Christian love, not the world’s definition of love, I’m talking about biblical Christian love, it either covers sin or it confronts it. But love is just. And if you’re going to confront, go to your brother and sister with the hope of gaining that. All right, let us pray.

Prayer and Communion

Our Father, our God, thank you that your word speaks so clearly to us as we see here in this passage. Thank you for these instructions, Lord. Please, Lord, please forgive us for many times we have not at all been thinking this way and have engaged in injustice and participated in it in our past. May it never be anymore going and looking ahead. Forgive us, Lord, for our past sins in this area. Grant us the repentance we need, which you give. And make us changed as we leave here today and go forward. And make us to be on guard against these things and wherever injustice is, wherever gossip and slander are, that we may not at all partake in it because we know you hate it, Lord. So please cleanse us from all unrighteousness and wash us clean with the blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name I pray. Amen.

As we continue to think about justice, God’s justice, his love and justice, it’s helpful to think of God’s courtroom as we come to this table. And remember that we are guilty of breaking God’s law and that God’s justice demands the death penalty. That’s what he told Adam and Eve. You sin, you die. However, is not God also merciful? Yes, absolutely. Forgiveness is available. There is a way to escape God’s wrath and again have peace and fellowship with him, which is what this table signifies.

The central issue is how? How? I alluded to this before. How can that happen without God’s justice being compromised by him simply sweeping our sin under the rug, so to speak? Well, it requires a sacrifice. Blood must be shed. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins, Hebrews 9 tells us.

Now, can we shed our own blood to atone for our own sin? No, of course not, because it requires a spotless sacrifice and we ain’t that. Okay, so then what about animals? No, the blood of bulls and goats, under the law, never took away sins. They only pointed. And what did they point to? They pointed to the Redeemer who was to come and we need the perfect sacrifice of this Redeemer. In love, God sent forth his Son. Love and justice. And it is only through his broken body and shed blood that fellowship between God and man is restored. Hallelujah. That’s what this table signifies.

Conclusion and Benediction

Okay, saints, as you go out from here then into the week, remember Micah. Micah chapter six, verse eight. “What does the Lord require of you?” “He’s told you what is good and what does he require of you but to do justice.”

So remember these very, very important principles in your family life, among your siblings, mom and dad, make sure these things are being enforced. And then also, of course, remember these things and how you live throughout the week and when you come here to meet every Lord’s day. That is how we will maintain and keep and nourish this peace that God has blessed us with.

Receive this, benediction saints, in faith from 2 Thessalonians chapter three, verse five. “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. Go in peace.”

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