What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?: Reclaiming the Intersection of Protest and Prayer

“Dates doesn’t speak on his own authority. He takes us to the authority of God expressed in Scripture to demonstrate how the wrongful tearing apart of righteousness and justice within much of the church has also torn us apart.” ― Beth Moore, founder and president of Living Proof Ministries

Justice is God's Righteousness in Action

Reclaim what was always meant to be whole. Justice and righteousness are not opposing forces but inseparable pillars of God’s design. But often our minds divide them, even set them in opposition to one another.

In What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?, Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates provides a biblical and historical overview of the bond between these two pillars of the Christian faith that challenges our assumptions, renews our understanding, and invites us into a new movement of protest and prayer.

With biblical wisdom, theological reflection, and an honest critique of cultural blind spots, this book boldly declares that justice is God’s righteousness in action. True justice cannot exist apart from righteousness, and righteousness is hollow without a commitment to justice. God’s justice restores and reconciles. “When Jesus hung on a cross, God got justice, and we got righteousness.”

In What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness? you will:

• Understand Justice Through a Biblical Lens: Explore how the Bible defines justice as an expression of God's character and His kingdom purpose.
• Resist Systemic Injustice on Biblical Grounds: Learn how Scripture equips believers to stand against oppression and advocate for equity in society.
• Persevere in God’s Truth: Receive spiritual guidance and motivation to remain steadfast in the pursuit of God’s justice.

Dates challenges assumptions, exposes divisions, and delivers a call to action for both protest and prayer. Prepare to be called, inspired, and equipped to resist systemic injustice on biblical grounds and embody both justice and righteousness in every step you take. Are you ready to unite what the world seeks to divide?

Charlie E. Dates (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the senior pastor of Salem and Progressive Baptist Churches of Chicago. A sought-after speaker, he is widely invited to preach at churches, conferences, and universities throughout the United States and abroad. He is an affiliate professor at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Anderson University, and Wheaton College. He is a contributing author to the Handbook of Contemporary Preaching and Letters to a Birmingham Jail. He and his wife, Kirstie, and their children, Charlie II and Claire, live in Chicago.

Esau McCaulley (PhD, St. Andrews) is associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College and a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. He is the author of Reading While Black and Sharing in the Son's Inheritance, as well as the children's book Josie Johnson's Hair and the Holy Spirit. He lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with his wife and four children.