God’s Justice

There is no ignoring the cry for justice that pours from the mouth of our nation, that flows as tears from our eyes while current events unfold around us, grieving us to the core. Racial tension increases daily, our freedom is evaporating, marriage is redefined, unborn babies are murdered, and communities turn on one another. What was once called evil is now esteemed. Yet, despite this, we stand united in our desire to see true justice served to evildoers, to hatemongers, to selfish opportunists who would cut others down to see themselves built up. Wherever one stands on the issues of the day, there remains a collective sense of necessary justice running as a common thread from one soul to the next. From where does this shared, innate longing for true justice stem? The answer, far from being heady or out of reach, is actually quite simple…the concept of justice comes from God Himself.

God reveals Himself to us through His holy Word, the Bible. His perfect, unfailing, unchanging revelation, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and powerfully preserved to this day serves as a lamp to light our way, a source for knowing Him and who we are in relation to Him. The Bible says that “righteousness and justice are the foundation of [His] throne” (Psalm 89:14) and that “His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.” (Deuteronomy 32:4) He establishes Himself as the ultimate standard of justice because He is Himself the embodiment of perfect justice. Our heart-longing for justice, to see evil punished and the innocent protected, flows from our hearts because we are created by Him as image bearers, reflections, of a just God. (Genesis 1:27) Romans 2 tells us that the law of God is written on our hearts, regardless of whether we have yet bowed the knee to acknowledge His Lordship.

This God-given sense of justice is also God-ordained; justice is not optional. “Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” (Psalm 82:3) “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless and plead the widows cause.” (Isaiah 1:17) There is no option given for turning a blind eye to the needs of those around us. Jesus illustrates this point clearly in His parable of the Good Samaritan…a man who would not look the other way when he saw a man in need while the religious rulers in this story were condemned for their lack of love as they passed by on the other side of the road, pretending they had not seen the injured man. Further, we are not free to devise our own methods or establish our own arbitrary standard of morality. The Bible warns, “there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Any manmade construct that seeks to establish justice outside of God’s law will inevitably collapse on its foundation of shifting sand. We are commanded to seek justice by God’s standard, using God’s means. It is not enough that we long for justice. It is not enough that we cry out for justice. It is not enough to seek justice by any means. True justice can only be established by the standard of the One from whom justice flows. It is done God’s way or it is not justice at all. God has given us His law and we, in turn, are to establish the laws of our land. Based on His truth, our law serves as a school master. Evil still exists, but the law marks a boundary that informs minds, deters behaviors, and provides for justice to be served. This is why it matters so much that our law reflects Biblical values. Only “In [God’s] light do we see light.” (Psalm 36:9)

As Americans, we hold dear that “justice is blind”, that it is for all persons equally, regardless of age, race, social or financial status, gender, etc. In Psalm 82:3, Isaiah 1:17 and, indeed, throughout Scripture we find that the weak, the fatherless, the widows, the innocent, the stranger in the land, and the oppressed are to be shown true, impartial justice—the same due to every image-bearer of God—but that they are regularly without a voice with which to claim it. Those who do not have a voice with which to defend themselves depend on the law of the land to establish their justice and God’s heart of compassion for the needy shines brilliantly through the pages of His Word. Every one of us are simultaneously victims of the sin that makes our world so broken and the perpetrators of wrong-doing every day. Pulling ourselves from this pit is far beyond our capability. We are dead in our sin. Yet, far from leaving mankind to wallow in sin and perish without hope, God sent His own Son Jesus Christ, without sin and having done no wrong, to take the guilt of our sin upon His own shoulders… to pay the penalty and so establish ultimate justice. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:21 that Jesus, who was completely without sin, became sin for us who are completely lost in our sinful nature and sinful actions. He was the ultimate victim, a lamb that was slain as a sacrifice, innocent and silent in the face of His accusers and murderers–humiliation in the extreme. God’s standard of justice was met. The price was paid, and now we can be free from our enslavement to sin, free to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. This is justice. A holy God establishes holy law, wretched sinners like every one of us are unable to meet the demands of that law and are subject to punishment richly deserved, but Christ satisfies the requirements that perfect justice demands. Let us look to Him alone for mercy. Let us search Scripture diligently to understand God’s justice. And let us seek to enact that justice in our broken world. A true great awakening of the people to these truths is what is needed, if we are to live in liberty, justice, and peace. We at Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church are calling on true believers in the Word of God to pray toward that end and call our nation to repentance.

“But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24