Justice . . .

Exodus 22; Job 40; John 1; 2 Corinthians 10

Several people in my family are strongly concerned about justice. I am too. Every case of injustice that I hear arouses strong emotions and a desire to fix it. Since I’ve no clout in that area, the topic of justice comes up often in my prayers.

Justice goes two ways. It involves making a sound judgment in the determination of rights and the assignment of rewards and punishments. It is also a godly quality that God wants in His people; being free from favoritism, self-interest, bias, or deception, a quality that conforms to His standards.

Society is built on justice and falls apart when not upheld. For instance, Exodus 22 lists several standards regarding restitution. Thieves must not only pay back what they stole, but something extra as well. The extra amount is a punishment for them but also compensates the victim for the sense of being violated and the inconvenience of being deprived of whatever had been stolen.

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. (Exodus 22:1–4)

Note that the thief is protected somewhat, but for the most part, the victim is the one who is supposed to get justice.

Nowadays, thieves are usually sent to prison. Then the debate begins: is this remedial, therapeutic, educational, custodial (for the preservation of society), or vengeful? Those in favor of restitution argue that a sentence directly related to the crime preserves the primacy of justice.

However, this and other laws of God are contended by the human powers that be. Is there a better way? Or are the contentions simply rooted in sinful rebellion against doing what God wants? Perhaps we need to hear and consider God’s words to Job: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” (Job 40:1–2)

Job wisely answered, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” (Job 40:4–5) and God’s response to him is His response to all of us who dismiss His ways as if we know better . . .

“Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?” (Job 40:8–9)

In human imperfection, we fail at perfect justice. Seeing injustice provokes retaliation in me —often with favoritism and other selfish reasons for punishing someone who I think is doing wrong. Sometimes my reactions to injustice are based on imperfect knowledge and I’m unfair in my judgments.

It is for all of this and more that God sent His Son. Only Jesus is perfectly just and the justifier of those who break the laws of God and man.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

It was to show (God’s) righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)

Even though perfect justice was satisfied in Christ in that sin can be forgiven and hearts can be changed, crime and injustice still happen. The latest statistic on slavery alone is that 40 million people in the world live in bondage of some sort. Justice escapes even the strongest human systems of justice. We need more than law and restitution; we need changed lives.

APPLY: The Word of God tells me that I am required to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8) It this world of injustice, that seems so insignificant; I’d rather bang heads. Yet I realized that doing things my way could result in more injustice not less. Instead, I should treat people according to the definitions of justice and do it in loving and kind ways realizing that apart from the grace of God, I am also guilty and could be behaving just as they behave or worse.

Being transformed to what I already am!

I’m glad that salvation means i am justified. That is, because of Christ, God looks on me ‘just as if’ I had never sinned. That is my standing before Him — not guilty, free from condemnation. However, I’m also glad that even though justified and loved just as I am, His love refuses to leave me that way!

A huge hindrance to the process of spiritual growth is self-condemnation. The voices in my head say, “You are so stupid” or “How can God bother with a sinner like you?” When any person, or the devil (who is called the ‘accusor’) or even my negative outlook begin to accuse me with charges of falling short, I stop trusting the Lord, stop bearing spiritual fruit, and start looking at poor me. With that, I stop growing because I’ve turned from a foundational truth — in Christ I am justified!

Romans 5 begins with a statement of fact about who I am and what God has done in Christ for me:

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1–2)

These and the verses following are clear; I do not have to take accusations seriously, at least those regarding my salvation. It was accomplished by Jesus Christ and does not depend on me, on what I do or don’t do, either in the past, now, or in the future:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly  . . . but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:6; 8–11)

Jesus, my substitute, satisfied the law’s requirements and its penalty. Only because of Jesus can God, in perfect consistency with his justice and holiness, declare me forgiven of all sin and justified. Jesus Christ died for all that I could ever be accused of and was raised again for my justification. Because of Him, by faith I have peace with God. By faith, I can rest alone in Jesus Christ.

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8:33)

However, relying on ‘no condemnation’ does not exclude the Holy Spirit from convicting me about my flaws. If I am to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, He needs to expose and remove all that does not look like Jesus. God’s Spirit tells me what needs to change, not that I can change it, but so I can confess it and He will change it!

 

Therefore, when those gentle yet firm accusations come at me, I must acknowledge that He speaks the truth about my selfish, sinful, ungodly thoughts, words, and deeds. When I do, God forgives me and cleanse these from my life.

Certainly discernment is required. Do I know the difference between truth and false guilt. Can I detect Satan’s accusations when he tries to stop me from growing? Do I know the nudgings of the Holy Spirit who is working to transform my life?

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Jesus, I’m so glad that I know Your voice. I’m also grateful that my sins are forgiven and I am justified in the estimation of God and at peace with Him. I’m also joyful that faith in You includes Your work to change me, and let me know what needs changing so I will cooperate with the transformation. Grant me wisdom and grace to always recognize who is doing what — so I can joyfully submit to what You are doing and refuse to accept what Satan tries to do. Thank You for the peace that comes with knowing and trusting You, both in being justified and being transformed.

Age-old questions

Some of humanity’s problems exist in every culture for all time. These universals include being hungry and thirsty, fear, and being lonely. Another one is in this question asked by one of Job’s ‘friends’ in what is perhaps the oldest book of the Bible. It is the same question that many are still asking:

“How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure? Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes; how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm!” (Job 25:4–6)

The sad part is that instead of looking to God for the answer, most people conclude that their only hope is to try harder. My hubby visited a man in the hospital who was dying of cancer. They talked about eternal matters and the sick man said he was going to “take his chances” with God, hoping for the best. Bob explained the gospel to this man, much like these verses explain it:

“Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 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.” (Romans 3:19–26)

At the end, the sick man said ‘no’ to God’s offer. Instead, he still wanted to try harder, rely on his own efforts, and “hope for the best.”

He hoped to justify himself. On the other hand, Job said, “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me” and the New Testament repeats, “By the work of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Once God’s Law is broken, nothing can ‘unbreak’ it.

It is God who justifies. This is accomplished through the shed blood of Christ who represented sinners as our substitute. The law requires perfect obedience and Christ alone perfectly obeyed. The law requires full payment for sin and Christ alone paid that debt. Because He fulfilled the law’s demand and its penalty, all who believe are freely justified by God’s grace.

This justification is received by faith yet faith alone does not do it; Christ alone justifies. Faith is trusting Him, not trusting me or anything that I can do or have done. Faith is not ‘taking my chances’ but resting in the sure promises of God based on what Jesus Christ has done.

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Jesus, what a sorrow that any person would try to rely on their own merits when justification is freely offered to all. Yet I know that unless Your Spirit opens spiritually blind eyes, this false hope is what everyone hangs on to for their eternal destiny. Sinful pride puts people in the dark and in the hopeless effort of trying to do what only You can do. The answer to the question is not to try harder, but to trust You, to believe Your promises and rest in them, rejoicing in what You have done for us.