What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?: Reclaiming the Intersection of Protest and Prayer, By Charlie E Dates

What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?

Reclaiming the Intersection of Protest and Prayer

by Charlie E. Dates
Foreword by Esau McCaulley

What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?
Paperback
$18.99
  • Length: 160 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.5 in
  • Published: August 25, 2026
  • Imprint: IVP
  • ISBN: 9780830847884
Other Formats:

“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 kingdompurpose.
  • 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?

"What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness? is one of the most dynamic works written on the inseparable connection between justice and righteousness within the American church and culture. Author Charlie Dates holds nothing back, masterfully presenting a biblically grounded case that the call of the Christian is 'to think rightly about God and humanity.' This book is certain to provoke reflection and perhaps even discomfort, but it reminds us that our divine assignments are not always meant to be easy or comfortable. I strongly encourage anyone who is genuinely interested in the unity of the body of Christ in America to read this book and engage in meaningful, transformative dialogue."
"In a time when justice is often reduced to a political slogan and righteousness is divorced from biblical truth, What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness? offers a timely and necessary corrective. This book reminds us that justice without righteousness becomes ideology, and righteousness without justice becomes hypocrisy. Scripture does not allow us to choose between the two. God demands both. Jesus embodied both. Charlie Dates stands as one of the most compelling, courageous, and biblically grounded voices of this generation. His clarity, conviction, prophetic voice, and pastoral heart shape every page of this book, making his contribution especially vital in this critical hour for the church and our nation. If we are serious about transforming our cities, strengthening our families, and restoring moral and spiritual order, we must recover the biblical connection between justice and righteousness. This book guides us in doing just that. I commend it to pastors, leaders, and believers who seek to walk in truth and love while serving God in a broken world."
“In What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?, Charlie Dates challenges the false divide between justice and righteousness and calls the church back to what God has always joined together. With biblical and historical depth, he reminds us that justice is God’s righteousness in action. This is not partisan rhetoric but theological clarity. It is a timely invitation to courage and holiness. I am grateful for Charlie’s voice. The church needs this.”
“Charlie Dates offers a timely and courageous reminder that Scripture never separates righteousness from justice. With biblical depth and pastoral clarity, he calls the church back to a faith that prays fervently and protests faithfully. This book challenges the complacency of American Christianity while pointing us toward a more faithful witness. It serves as both a prophetic critique and an open invitation.”
“Charlie Dates is uniquely positioned to guide readers toward the divine merger of justice and righteousness, not because he has studied these themes but because he lives them. I have watched him embody this integration with uncommon faithfulness as a preacher, a pastor, and a prophetic voice in his community. In these pages, he reminds us that justice and righteousness are not competing convictions but biblical necessities, inseparable from the practice and proclamation of faith. This is a clarion call, and we will all be better if we heed his words.”
“Like Thomas Jefferson with his Bible, many modern Christians cut away at the parts of Scripture that don’t fit their preexisting political conditions. The Word of God is not so easily mauled. In this book, Charlie Dates prophetically shows us that the Scriptures do not pit righteousness and justice, or love of God and love of neighbor, against one another. Beyond that, Dates casts a positive vision for what a whole-Bible people could do to turn this cynical age upside down and back to the way of Jesus.”
“Charlie Dates is the most gifted preacher in America in my estimation. But we need more than gifting in this calamitous era. We need the gospel truth. In these pages, 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. We have, in effect, ripped the seamless fabric of the kingdom in two and, just as Jesus warned us, a divided kingdom cannot stand. Dates uses theological precision like a surgeon’s instrument, sewing back together what has been ripped apart. I think many of us are weary of the fracturing. Tired of the infighting. Ready for God to do what only he can do. If we are willing, we can be made whole.”
More

Read an Excerpt

CONTENTS

Foreword by Esau McCaulley

Introduction

1. The Divorce of Righteousness from Justice
2. A Marriage Made in Heaven: The Unbreakable Bond Between Justice and Righteousness in Old Testament Language
3. A Vow Revisited: The Unbreakable Bond Between Justice and Righteousness in the New Testament
4. On Protest and Prayer
5. Heavenly Minded, Therefore of Earthly Good
6. So Heavenly Minded but of No Earthly Good?
7. Doing the Wrong Thing for the Right Reason
8. A Complicit Church and a Corroding Society

Acknowledgments

Notes

More

You May Also Like

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.