Faith that stands: Why Christians must oppose injustice by Ron Brise

Ron A. Brise is a Florida House of Representatives, Serving the 108th district 2006-2010 and Former
Chair and commissioner of Florida Public
Service Commissioner 2010-2018

Faith that Stands: Why Christians Must Oppose Injustice                                    by Ron Brise

There is a dangerous misconception in
modern Christianity that faith should
be quiet, private, and detached from
the public struggles of the world. Some
argue that speaking out and protesting
against injustice is “political”, divisive, or
incompatible with Christian humility.
Yet history, Scripture, and the very life
of Jesus Christ tell a radically different
story. Christianity, at its core, is not a
passive belief system. It is faith that
confronts injustice, challenges power
and demands moral courage.

Christians are not merely called to
personal piety; they are called to public
righteousness. When injustice thrives
whether through racism, poverty,
violence, corruption, or oppression
silence is not neutrality it is complicity.
The Biblical Mandate for justice
The call for justice is woven throughout
the Bible. It is not an optional add-on to
the Christianity faith; it is central to it.
The prophet Micah famously asked,
‘What does the Lord require of you but
to do justice, love mercy, and walk
humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8).
Justice is not separate from humility of
faithfulness- it is an expression of them.
In the Old Testament, God repeatedly
condemns societies that maintain
religious rituals while ignoring injustice.
Through the prophet Amos, God
declares, “ I hate, I despise your
religious festivals... But let justice roll
like a river, righteousness like a never
falling stream” (Amos 5: 21-24). Worship
divorced from justice is not only hollow;
it is offensive to God.

Jesus Himself embodied this mandate.
His ministry consistently centered on
those marginalized by society: the poor,
the sick, women, children, ethnic
outsiders, and sinners. In His first
recorded sermon, Jesus announced His
mission plainly: “The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me... to proclaim good news to
the poor... freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to
set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18)
To follow Christ is to follow someone
challenged unjust systems, confronted
religious hypocrisy, and paid the
ultimate price for speaking truth to
power.

Silence Has Never Been Neutral
Throughout history, some Christians
have used faith to justify inaction,
claiming that social issues are
“worldly” or that change should be
left entirely to God. However, history
exposes the danger of such thinking.
One of the clearest examples is slavery.
While many Christians defended slavery
using selective readings of Scripture,
others recognized that the gospel
fundamentally opposed the
dehumanization of any person made in
the image of God.

Abolitionists like
William Wilberforce in Britain and
Frederick Douglass in the United States
both deeply shaped by Christian
convictions refused to separate faith
from justice. Wilberforce spent decades
fighting the British slave trade, driven by
the belief that Christianity demanded
moral responsibility in public life.
Similarly, during the Civil Rights
Movement, many churches remained
silent-or worse, actively resisted
desegregation. Yet it was Christian
leaders like Christian leaders like Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. who reminded
the nation that justice is a spiritual
issue. Writing from a Birmingham jail,
King criticized some churches and
their leaders that urged patience over
action, calling their silence “more
frustrating than outright rejection.”
His message was clear: waiting for
justice often means denying justice.

History shows that injustice does not
fade on its own. It persists when good
people, including people of faith,
choose comfort over courage.
Jesus and the Cost of Confrontation
One reason Christians hesitate to
stand against injustice is fear- fear of
backlash, loss of status, or conflict.
But Christianity has never safety. It
promises truth.

Jesus confronted both religious and
political authorities. He overturned
tables in the temple, publicly rebuked
corrupt leaders, and exposed systems
that exploited the poor under the
guise of religion. His crucifixion was
not the result of quiet spirituality; it
was the consequence of disruptive
righteousness.