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

by Charlie E. Dates

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?

Genres: Christian Non Fiction, Christian, Social Issues, Nonfiction

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2026

Reviews

[Aashish Baskaran]

Convicting and compelling.

“What do you do when God stops going to your church, but because the music is so good and the sacrifices are so large, you can’t tell that God has left the building?”

[Alexandria Joy]

if you have taken the call of christ seriously, it includes justice and righteousness. thank you, thank you Pastor Charlie for this book! I’m blessed, challenged, convicted, and pushed forward by your words!

“the fight for justice was not a substitute for the gospel but a consequence of the gospel.”

[Reader]

Rev. Dr. Dates provides a riveting, interesting take on how justice divorced from righteousness looks. He relates multiple times and in multiple ways how the relationship between justice and righteousness is like that between faith and works and gives examples of how different churches, going both direction, have failed to hold to both virtues.

Dr. Dates primary discussion is that the American church has traded justice away to focus solely on righteousness to the point that it has hurt the church’s witness to the world. This, he summarizes as: “Rather than more singing, we need more marching while singing. Rather than more holy convocations, we need less obstruction of justice.” His call is that the church not only reflect the righteousness of God internally but also the justice of God externally because “justice is what righteousness looks like in practice.”

An amazing read and worth it for everyone.

[Daniel]

I think I highlighted about a third of this book.