When “justice” is an abomination…

The value in using another Christian’s devotional book is in becoming aware of truths that I may not have noticed. Piper does that today. He first quotes:

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord. (Proverbs 17:15)

Then Piper points to Romans 4:5 that says God “justifies the ungodly” and Isaiah 53:5 that says God condemns the righteous, namely, his Son Jesus who was “wounded for our transgressions.” In other words, he who justifies the wicked is an abomination, and he who condemns the righteous is an abomination, but God justifies the ungodly and God put Jesus to death for sins that were not his. Why is this not an abomination?

Piper uses examples of court cases that show how the human way of acquitting the wicked dishonors the law because when this happens, there is no compensation. The law is demeaned, society is degraded, victims are hurt, and recompense is ignored. This treats the law and the person who was assaulted as though they were unworthy of vindication, not too far from the same way the criminal treated them. So it is an abomination.

This kind of acquittal frees a person who will likely commit the same crime again. There is no  guarantee of reform. This too is an abomination.

Condemning the righteous is the same in reverse. The example is a mother who takes the place of her hardened criminal son so she is executed and he goes free. This would not exalt the worth of the law, but exalts the worth of the son at the law’s expense. It would also release a dangerous criminal on society and the mother’s apparent goodness would be lost.

So what about God putting Christ in our place on the cross? This is very different. Christ’s willingness to die in my place is not a desecration but exalts the worth of God's glory and His law: “For this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name” (John 12:27–28). 
God demonstrates His righteousness in justifying the ungodly.

. . . .  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. (Romans 3:25–26)

The loss of honor that came to the law and to the name of God through our sin was, in fact, restored through the death of Jesus. He paid the penalty for us. Not only that, the justification of the ungodly does not unleash any criminals onto the world. Instead, faith in Him changes lives.

(Christ) gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:14)

As Piper says, Christ did not take from society the influence of a good man. Instead He put the Spirit of Christ in all whom He justified. He not only rose from the dead to continue his powerful, positive influence in the world, but gave new life to all that have been set free, a new life that is His life -- lived out in millions of sinners set free to serve Him.

PRAY: Lord God, Your ways are entirely different from ours. You justify sinners, yet that is not at all an abomination. It is the greatest gift ever offered. Love and justice met at the cross and Your goodness reveals how far short we fall. Even in trying to demonstrate love and justice we cannot give Your life to criminals or make society better by releasing them. Forgive our sin of being ‘nice’ to the guilty and so often trampling the innocent in the process. Open eyes so that all who sin will realize how our sin is so degrading to the goodness of You, and how much You can change people by the way You justify those who sin by sending Jesus to die in our place.

On guard against prejudice

 

Today’s devotional calls it prejudice, a word defined by the Oxford Dictionary as a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Wikipedia says it can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. This could include political affiliation, gender,  beliefs, values, social class, age, disabilities, religion, ethnicity, language, nationality, culture, complexion, beauty, height, body weight, occupation, wealth, education, criminality, sport-team affiliation, music tastes or other perceived characteristics.

The key word is ‘perceived’ because prejudice is not a thought-out opinion based on actually seeing negatives in a particular person’s life, only assuming they are there. As MacArthur puts it, prejudice is an uncalled-for generalization usually based on feelings of superiority.

This sin fuels hatred and conflicts, divides nations, causes much misery, and blinds people to obeying God. An OT example is the prophet, Jonah. He was so prejudiced against the Assyrians, he refused to go to Nineveh to preach to them. Even after God convinced him to obey, he wanted to die because the people of Nineveh had repented and God had spared them.

When I was young, my only encounter with a certain culture group was when they were drunk and disorderly. I grew up assuming all people in that group behaved like way. This is prejudice and I had to unlearn it.

The Bible calls it “respect of persons” or “partiality” that accepts or rejects people unjustly or for the wrong reasons. God is not like that. “Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes.” (2 Chronicles 19:7) One reason to drop prejudice is that we are all in the same category — sinners who need God . . .  

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. (Romans 2:1)

God’s impartiality is the NT basis for Christian masters to treat their slaves fairly and for slaves to serve their master wholeheartedly:

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ . . . . Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. (Ephesians 6:5-9)

As a child of God, I’m to behave as such, refusing to respect persons, pervert justice, or be unfair when making evaluations. This means no fear of man, no bribery, no respect to the great or the poor. If I’m stumped or confused, then I must take it to the Lord for His evaluation as Moses said:

You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ (Deuteronomy 1:17)

Even though God calls me to hate sin, I need to be careful what I do when seeing or evaluating it. Again, He says: “Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes.” (2 Chronicles 19:7) but He also says, “These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging is not good. Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are in the right,’ will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.” (Proverbs 24:23–25)

Prejudice has blinded many people to the gospel. The Jewish religious leaders rejected Jesus because He didn’t fit their idea of a Messiah, wasn’t from Jerusalem, and wasn’t trained in their synagogues. When I interact with people who are different than I am, partiality can also block me from ‘speaking the truth in love’ for partiality tends to rank people based on what I think they deserve or how I think they will respond rather than caring about their lives and eternal destiny.

PRAY: Lord, I’m thankful for the many ethnic groups in our church and that our congregation is made up of people from many walks of society. I know that I can be prejudiced against those whose appearance is off-putting or whose manner is negative in some way. Forgive me for ungodly pride and enable me to accept others as You do, concerned for sin yet not quick to condemn but anxious for their redemption.

READ: James 2:1-13. What does this say about partiality? Compare this to Ephesians 4:1-6 and Philippians 1:1-8.

 (Note, yesterday's devotional was posted this morning! Had a late night 😀 )