God is Just
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.” — Deut. 32:4“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” –Mic 6:8 [/perfectpullquote]
“That’s not fair.” — me (negotiating)
“Life isn’t fair.” — my Dad (ending negotiations)
You may have had that conversation. Although we train our children to expect fairness in dealing with people, the “Life isn’t fair” lesson must eventually be learned. And, while
we may ask for fairness, most of us who are blessed to live in the USA benefit from the fact that life isn’t fair; God has smiled on us with his common grace. So, if life isn’t fair,
where does justice fit in here?
Justice and fairness are used interchangeably in today’s common language, but, in Biblical usage, justice is different from fairness. Legal justice is getting what we deserve according to law; God’s justice is getting what we deserve according to God’s law. Fairness is our understanding of justice, and often differs from our neighbor’s idea of justice.
God is Just. That might be an uncomfortable thought. Our problem is that God’s justice is righteous and perfect, but we are not. We know “there is no one righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10), and we know that means we are not perfect and we “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) So we can say there are, “…no perfect people here”. This justice of God means our sins must be judged, — heaven or hell — and that is frightful.
But this justice of God, which condemned us as sinners, also guarantees our forgiveness and salvation. How? While we are awestruck by the mercy of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, justice was being done at the cross. Jesus paid the price for our sins — that’s not fair — but it satisfied God’s demand for justice.
Also, God’s justice is operating when He continually forgives us our sins. Notice that I John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Forgiving our sins sounds more like mercy. But, because mercy was granted at the cross, God sees us as justified; in believers He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself. So, being a just God, he will not punish us for the sins that Jesus covered. Mercy, grace and justice make us a new creation.
What does having this new life tell us about how to practice justice and “fairness”? We have the God-given benefits of grace and justice; we have Christ in us (Col 1:27); we have the power of the Holy spirit (I Cor 6:19); and we have the example of Jesus — God with us — exercising justice with grace and mercy. So, by the power of God, may our “fairness” — that is our interpretation and expression of justice — reflect the justice that Jesus’ life on earth taught us —with grace and truth. “… to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”
God Bless You, Andy Nordquist
