Deuteronomy 32:3–4. “For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”
In the OT, JUST is also translated as “righteous” and with several other words such as “rules” and “judgments” again pointing to the principled character of God and to what He calls for in the people He created.
Leviticus 18:4. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God.
The OT adjective is like the noun which describes someone “characterized by or proceeding from accepted standards of morality or justice.” This standard is set by God who is perfectly JUST . . .
Genesis 18:25. Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
In the NT, the English word JUST is from Greek word also translated sincere, upright, morally right, righteous, innocent. These words are applied to people yet as Jesus said, no one is good (morally good) but God alone. We do not measure up but this is where His just nature comes to our rescue:
Romans 3:23–26. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
I’m in awe that God would consider it right, even just, to grant His righteousness to sinners. For many, wrath comes to mind much quicker than mercy, but perhaps this is because we do have that inner sense of what is upright and righteous and we already know that we all fall short. The Bible backs that up by the reminder in Romans 3:10-11 that it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
That God would take on our problem was predicted in the OT as Galatians 3:8 says: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’”
The NT has much to say about God who justifies His people. Jesus prays, “O righteous Father . . . .” and Jesus Himself is called righteous — clearly saying that what God has done to provide salvation for sinners is just, right, even a morally right thing. He saves people yet does it without forcing it on anyone, because it is the right thing to do!
Romans 7:12 declares God’s law as holy and righteous and good, even as Galatians 2:16 affirms: “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” No one can become a just or righteous person by their own behavior.
It was Jesus who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 4:25–5:1) Because God is just, no one can bring any charge against God’s elect. It is God who justifies. And if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1).
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. This morning I realize that God saved me because it was the just or right thing to do for those He loves. His message of salvation is for all, and while not everyone will say yes to it, God is still just and the justifier of those who sin. It is also just that He respects our choices. As someone with strong desires for justice, I need to “do justly” yet must also respect decisions that are contrary to God holy and just nature — because that is what He does.
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