An arrest, a jail sentence, or a death penalty are all acts of violence in which the system uses force against a person who has been made in the image of God. God permits this in order to maintain law and order in his world. However, it is critical that such violence be committed justly, which is to say, that it be done in love for both the victim and the accused. Hence, this is a book about love and how a criminal justice system—and especially America’s criminal justice system—can display love, for a truly just system is a system that will be marked by God’s love for accused and victim alike.

Most of us probably assume that the criminal justice system in our country is generally sound. We may believe that it needs some tweaks here and there. We may understand that because it exists in a fallen world it will in some ways reflect the sins and weaknesses of the people who control and oversee it. But rarely do we pause to ask questions like this: If we had to design a criminal justice system from scratch and do so in a way that is consistent with Scripture, what might it look like? What principles would we embed within it? And how closely would it resemble the system we currently have?
Matthew Martens has thought deeply about these issues. He thought about them as a lawyer who graduated at the top of his class at the University of North Carolina School of Law, as a law clerk for a federal court of appeals judge, and then for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist at the Supreme Court. Over the past 20 years, he thought about them while serving first as a federal prosecutor and then as a defense attorney. And then he thought about them as a seminary student who graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with a master’s degree in biblical studies. He is nothing if not well-qualified. His reflections and analysis of criminal justice in general, and the American criminal justice system in particular, have now been published in Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal, a book that is fascinating, concerning, and challenging all at once.
Martens explains that the book had its genesis in a conversation with one of the pastors at his church. This dinner took place shortly after the events in Ferguson, Missouri that followed news of the death of Michael Brown. Knowing that Martens was familiar with America’s criminal justice system, this pastor encouraged him to write a book on the subject. He considered it but, being busy with other matters, set it aside. Several years later, following the death of George Floyd and all the unrest that followed, another pastor encouraged him to write the same book. And this time he agreed.
He begins it this way: “You have heard it said that justice delayed is justice denied. But I tell you that justice denied is love denied. And love denied to either the crime victim or the criminally accused is justice denied. This, I hope to persuade you, is not merely my view but also Christ’s.” He means to show that the Bible speaks to the issue of criminal justice and that “the root of the biblical concept of justice is love.” For justice to be done, love must be extended to both the victim of a crime and to the one who has been accused of it. A system will be just to the degree that it extends love in this way.
Martens believes there are two roadblocks that have prevented Christians from having helpful conversations about criminal justice. The first is that some of the loudest voices on the issue are not well-informed and do not have an accurate knowledge of the way the criminal justice system actually operates. The second is that much of the discussion “occurs without reference to a comprehensive Christian ethic of criminal justice.
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For many years, it was widely assumed that this much higher level of unhappiness was due to humiliation over others’ disapproval. Though society has become much more accepting of the LGBQT lifestyle, unhappiness persists even among those surrounded by affirmation. Being gay or transgender may be celebrated in our culture, but that doesn’t change its nature or eliminate the harm to those engaging in such a lifestyle.

Sex as God intended—in marriage, between a man and a woman—is a pleasure to be celebrated (see Proverbs 5:15-19). Sex outside of marriage brings serious negative consequences—emotional, physical, and spiritual. Promising long-term pleasure it can’t deliver, addiction to sex and pornography enslave and degrade everyone involved. “[The adulterer] follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter. . . . He does not know that it will cost him his life” (Proverbs 7:22-23).

Research data from 16,000 American adults who were asked confidentially how many sex partners they’d had in the preceding year proved the same point made in the book of Proverbs: “Across men and women alike, the data show that the optimal number of partners is one.” [1] Other research similarly revealed that “people with more sexual partners are less happy.” [2]
Satan would like us to believe that people who have sex outside marriage are happier, but that’s a lie.
Sin Does Not Lead to Lasting Happiness
The unhappiest-looking person I’ve ever seen—face drawn and haggard, eyes vacant—was holding a sign that said, “Gay and happy about it.” I’m not suggesting, of course, that homosexuals can never be happy. God’s common grace offers some happiness to all. But Romans 1:27 speaks of those making these choices as “receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” Romans lists many other sins God hates, yet that one is singled out as particularly self-punishing.
I’ve had long, honest talks with those living the “gay lifestyle” who are decidedly miserable—just like many heterosexuals who have idols of their own.
Teenagers and single adults often face heavy pressure to pretend they’re having a great time sleeping around, when privately they’re filled with self-loathing and disillusionment, because reality never lives up to the promises. Likewise, there’s pressure on gay people to project an image of fulfillment. Some people—both heterosexuals and homosexuals—go out of their way to publicly celebrate their promiscuous behavior, all while trying to ignore the emptiness and pain. With the Satan-scripted obligatory claim, “[Fill in sin] makes me happy,” they offer false advertising for the father of lies, who relishes their self-destruction.
Little Idols vs. Infinite God
There’s a tragic irony in the positive term gay. No matter how happy gay may sound, these are the facts about the suicide rate among homosexuals:
The risk of suicide among gay and lesbian youth is fourteen times higher than for heterosexual youth.
Between 30 and 45 percent of transgendered people report having attempted suicide.
I didn’t get these statistics from religious conservatives, but from a secular website sympathetic to gay and lesbian issues. [3] A study that analyzed twenty-five earlier studies regarding sexual orientation and mental health showed that “homosexuals and bisexuals are about 50% more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to suffer from depression and abuse drugs.” [4]
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Everything that happens in life is under God’s sovereign rule and will have eternal ramifications. Whether it is sickness, suffering, or seemingly pointless pursuits, recognize that God has brought you through it all to mold and shape you into the person you are today and the person you are becoming. Christians are promised that all that comes our way will make us more like Jesus (Rom. 8:28-30). So don’t look on your past with disdain, disapproval, or despair. Reflect on it and consider how God has grown and prepared you for where you are today. 

The sentiment “If only I had known then what I know now” permeates the human experience. Time and again, in counseling and in general conversation, I hear some variation of the theme of regret over one’s past. This is not referring to particular regrets but a general regret that one’s past was wasted, damaged, or a complete loss. The comments tend to fall into one of three broad categories: regret that sin tainted one’s past, that suffering stole all or a significant portion of one’s past, or that one’s past was wasted in some other way. Without dismissing the real experiences of life, we need to encourage one another to redeem our pasts, not regret them.
Before diving into each of the three categories above, I want to lay some groundwork that is broadly applicable to the life of every Christian. First, we are influenced by our past, but our past does not determine or define us. Second, God is in the habit of creating beauty from ashes, He builds towers from trash heaps. He is the God of redemption. No person’s past cannot be redeemed. Third, God is sovereign, even over our past. There is nothing from our past that He did not know about or plan. Nothing happens to us by accident. God uses everything in the lives of believers on purpose, for a purpose. This is not always easy to see, believe, or feel, but it is true. The truth of God’s sovereignty gives hope for those regretting their past and is the bedrock on which redemption is possible.
Regret Over a Sinful Past
The most prominent category of regret I encounter in the counseling room is people who feel like their past was ruined or wasted by their sin. Scripture does call us to weep and mourn over our sin (James 4:7-10). But we should not be overwhelmed by shame over our past sin, no matter how deep it was or how long we were steeped in it. The same passage in James calls us to action regarding our sin. We are instructed to weep and mourn our sin, turn away from it, resist Satan, humble ourselves, and draw near to God. The end result is that God will exult us. He lifts us up; He doesn’t cast us down or leave us downcast.
Think about all the examples of people in Scripture who committed heinous sins or spent large amounts of their lives in sinful pursuits: David committed sexual sin and murder (2 Sam. 11). Paul stood by and affirmed the martyrdom of Christians (Acts 22:20). Peter denied Jesus and after being restored went on to forsake the gospel before being confronted by Paul (Matt. 26:69-75; Luke 22:55-62; Mark 14:66-72; John 18:16-27; Gal. 2:11-14). Rahab made her living as a prostitute (Josh. 2). The Samaritan woman at the well had a string of broken marriages and was living in sexual sin when Jesus met her (John 4:1-42).
These people could have considered themselves unworthy of God—useless for work in His Kingdom. But God redeems each one’s entire life. He adds them to His family—in some cases (Rahab and David), directly in line to His only begotten Son (Matt. 1:5-6). He restores some to leadership in ministry. He used all of them to bring Him glory.
Regret Over a Past of Suffering
Some look back on their lives and feel like significant portions have been robbed by suffering. For some, this took the shape of severe physical suffering. Disease and disability can consume a person’s life for years, sapping up all time, energy, thoughts, and resources. It can leave them asking, “What was the point, God? I could have done so much more for you if I were healthy!”
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