Justice 

Jesus tells us to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.' (Matthew 22:40). 

Loving our neighbour should be a straight-forward part of our natural commitment to following Jesus, but often it isn't. In today's world, we see injustice towards those on the fringes, we see those in poverty ignored or marginalised, we see a world where those who have no voice are left abandoned. As a church, we believe the call of God on our lives is to speak into these situations and we take Jesus' call in Luke 4 very seriously. 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me [He says] because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.' (Luke 4:18-19, where Jesus is citing Isaiah 61:1-2). 

The cry for justice in the prophets is raw, heart-felt and challenging. 

'Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow', says Isaiah (1:17), while Micah (6:8) famously says, 'He has told you, O mortal, what is good...to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.' And Amos (5:24) tells us, 'let justice roll down like rivers, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.'

We could go on. Justice forms an intrinsic part of our call to be followers of God, living in a way that Jesus calls us to. Here at Heaton Baptist Church, we take this seriously, and we have established a Justice Hub which focuses on the following areas. 

If you would like to know more about any of them, click on the buttons below to see how you might make a difference.