The word “just”, translated from the Greek term dikaios, is a common word in the New Testament. It occurs 81 times in 76 different verses. The primary definition of the term is, according to Thayer: righteous, observing divine and human laws, one who is such as he ought to be.
This term, dikaios, is translated “righteous” a total of 41 times in the KJV of the New Testament. It is this wide sense of the term that is most common. A righteous (dikaios) person is upright, virtuous, and keeps the commands of God.
For example, in Luke 6:1, the term is used to describe the parents of John the Baptist, Zacharias and Elizabeth, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”
In Titus 1:8, the term is found as one of the qualifications for elder. The term is translated “just” here, and seems to have a narrower definition than that found in the verse above.
Thayer states of the term dikaios: In a narrower sense, rendering to each his due; and that in a judicial sense, passing judgment on others, whether expressed in words or shown by the manner of dealing with them.
So an elder should be a just “judge” in his dealings with the flock. Here there is found the need for compassion and fairness in the exercise of oversight. Consider the destructive nature of a man in that position that does not deal fairly with brethren. His actions must instead be right, or just.
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