On 18th October 1945, following the aftermath of WWII, proceedings began in the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg to prosecute prominent members of the political, military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany. It was hoped by many that the Nuremberg trials would be the trials to end all wars. Subsequent history, however, now make the aspirations of Nuremberg seem fantastic and naïve. For example, in 2022, the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research observed a total of 363 conflicts worldwide, including 21 wars. [1]
We live in a world that is full of conflict. Whether interstate wars or intra-state conflicts, rising divorce rates or an epidemic of domestic violence, lawsuits or a falling out amongst friends, we are surrounded by conflict. The question is: what is the cause of the conflict we witness and experience in the world today? The answer lies in the first book of the Bible.
In The Beginning
The world that God made was very good (Genesis 1:31). Adam and Eve were the pinnacle of His creative work, His image bearers, originally without fault or blemish. They were truly blessed: God gave them life, dignity, liberty, and the capacity for rewarding work and meaningful relationships; they could want for nothing. But even in its perfect state, as McIlroy observes, “the world contained a Law” (page 18). God commanded Adam: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17).
Adam and Eve disobeyed. They deliberately and defiantly rejected God’s authority and broke His law. They seized God’s unique right to be able to determine what is good and evil. They wanted to be the ones to decide right from wrong and good from evil without accountability to anyone else. In short, they wanted to play god. “From its very beginnings,” McIlroy writes, “human sinfulness expressed itself in lawlessness and law breaking” (page 19).
The repercussions of this rebellion were by no means insignificant. This act of disobedience rendered all of Adam’s descendants and therefore all of humankind predisposed to be a law unto themselves and consequently to fail to conform to the moral law of God. Following the first sin, God’s image in humanity has been marred, and the result is the distortion of peaceful and respectful human relationships into oppressive, conflict-ridden, and even homicidal attitudes.
The injustice and broken relationships that lawyers routinely deal with are therefore the result of the broken Law, Creation and the Fall relationship between mankind and God. Sin is the root cause. It is not surprising then that in a world where billions of people disagree about what is good and right, relationships break down and conflict ensues. It is perhaps more surprising that the world in which we live is not significantly worse than it is.
Common Grace
Things are not as bad as they could be because God, thankfully, is at work in the world restraining the consequences of sin. Theologians term this ‘common grace’. Common grace is God’s underserved kindness (abundantly generous, but to a limited measure) to all He has made, irrespective of whether they love or obey Him (Matthew 5:45; Genesis 9:8-17).
An aspect of God’s common grace is His law. God’s law is the expression of His unchanging nature and righteousness. It is the ultimate ethical revelation. It is a gift from God to teach us right from wrong, good from evil.
God’s law goes beyond natural law, because nature and man’s intellect are fallen, to the extent that “although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22). Natural law is the portion of God’s law that any person can discern for himself. However, due to the fallen state of humanity, we require the grace of God and His revelation in Scripture (Biblical law) to fully comprehend His divine will.
Biblical law teaches us how to relate well to one another. It provides an ethical framework that maximises individual and societal relational well being (also known as shalom). Law then is a form of order that, as McIlroy writes, “regulates relationships and makes good relationships possible” (page 31).
It therefore follows that if a nation’s laws are in harmony with the ethical principles embodied in God’s laws, the level of relational wellbeing of the individual members of that society and hence the society itself will be significantly higher than they would be otherwise.
Christian Lawyers
What relevance does this have to understanding the calling and work of a Christian lawyer? Plenty! A Biblical understanding of law, creation and the fall instructs Christian lawyers to mitigate and restrain the consequences of sin by redeeming God’s good gifts, restoring good relationships, and advocating Biblical standards/principles (the latter is addressed in more detail in subsequent studies). This points to the greater expression and work of grace in Jesus Christ.
In many ways redeeming good gifts and restoring good relationships overlap, not least because meaningful relationships are one of God’s good gifts. For example, redeeming meaningful work will typically involve restoring the relationship between an employer and an employee. Nevertheless, to help us gain a firmer understanding of the calling of the Christian lawyer, let’s consider each of them separately in a little more detail.
Good Gift Redeemers
David Mcllroy identifies five good gifts: life, dignity, liberty, rewarding work and meaningful relationships.
Life
God created Adam and Eve and therefore the whole human race, i.e. He gave us life. McIlroy writes (page 21): “Christianity values life as God’s gift, which is why … the commandment says ‘Do not murder’”. A Christian approach to beginning and end-of-life issues such as abortion and euthanasia therefore needs to take into account the value of life as God’s gift.
Dignity
God has given human beings dignity by making us in His image. Each and every human being is infinitely valuable because we are made in the image of God. McIlroy comments (page 22): “The biblical view of justice is not Law, Creation and the Fall utilitarian, in that it seeks the good of each and every one, not just the greatest happiness of the greatest number.”
Liberty
McIIroy writes (page 24): “In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were given the choice to obey God or to eat the forbidden fruit.” God has not created human beings as robots compelled to obey Him but as people with the capacity to make meaningful moral choices and to face the consequences of those choices.
Rewarding Work
Mark Greene writes in relation to Genesis 1:28 and 2:15: “…God, in his generous love, gives humanity work to do. We are designed for work. And this work is clearly given as a blessing…” [2]
Meaningful Relationships
De Blois, cited by McIlroy (page 26) writes: “The first pages of the Bible make clear that people are not created only as individuals to live on their own…people are created in communion with other people. Not only the individual, but also the communities of individuals, such as marriage and families, deserve respect.” [3]
The good gifts of God given in creation – life, dignity, liberty and the capacity for rewarding work and meaningful Law, Creation and the Fall relationships – marred by the fall are taken up and redeemed by Christ. McIlroy writes (page 34):
“Jesus came to give life in all its fullness (John 10:10). In his dealings with people, Jesus treated each and every one with dignity. Indeed, he paid special attention to the weak, the crippled, the blind, the leprous, the social outcasts (prostitutes and tax collectors), demonstrating by his actions and attitudes their value to God. Jesus came to proclaim freedom and he acted to free people trapped by sin and sickness. He declared, ‘If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8:36; Galatians 5:1). His followers grasped the implications of his teaching as laying the foundations for a new pattern of mutual service that was capable of transforming work and family relations (Ephesians 5:21-6:9; Colossians 3:12-4:1; 1 Peter 2:13-3:7).”
Since we Christians are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29), we should work with God, using our privileged position as lawyers to redeem the good gifts He has given in creation.
The redemption of these good gifts should point to, as McIlroy writes, “the work of God in Christ, a work which will ultimately transcend their limitations: transforming abundant life into eternal life, dignity into glorification, liberty into release from sin, sickness and death into worship, work into Sabbath rest, and relationships into perfect communion with God and the saints” (page 34).
The idea of redeeming God’s good gifts provides a transformative frame of meaning to the work of Christian lawyers. Each and every opportunity to meet with clients, draft documents, resolve disputes, do research, or appear in Court is seen in a different light, that of working with God to restore the shalom that has been broken by the fall
Relationship Restorers
Good laws, contracts, agreements, etc. and legal skills, such as drafting, negotiating, mediation, are important in preventing relationships between individuals and organisations from breaking down. They also provide a just mechanism by which relationships (where possible) can be restored if (or more likely when) they break down. Christian lawyers therefore have a privileged opportunity to advocate a Biblical model of good relationships in the contexts in which we work.
It is worth keeping in mind that, by the time a dispute reaches a Christian lawyer, the parties to a dispute may already have fallen out, and very badly so. Sometimes a Christian lawyer might not be able to solve all the issues, but they can often make a real difference in limiting the damage and spread of the dispute, and they can pray for and seek justice and shalom. The Christian lawyer might be the only person in the world praying about that dispute. And the way the Christian lawyer performs their work can help to foster justice and shalom.
[1] Conflict Barometer 2022. Available at https://hiik.de/conflict-barometer/current-version/?lang=en
[2] Greene, Mark. Thank God It’s Monday (Muddy Pearl, 2019), page 29.
[3] de Blois, M. “The Foundation of Human Rights: A Christian Perspective”, in P. Beaumont, (ed.), Christian Perspectives on Human Rights and Legal Philosophy (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1998).